Mam m ogram van
will be in Vernonia
April is Cancer Awareness
Month and the Vernonia Unit
of the American Cancer Soci
ety has, once again, arranged
to have the Tuality Health
C are m am m ogram van in
Vernonia.
It will be at the Vernonia
Health Center on W ednes
day, April 20. An appointment
is necessary and may be
made by calling the Health
Center, 429-9191.
Industries selected for Regional Strategies funding
The N o rth w e st O regon
Economic Alliance (NOEA)
has targeted three industries
as the basis for Oregon Lot
tery funding through the Re
gional Strategies program of
the state Economic Develop
ment Department.
Forest products, tourism
and the rapidly growing field
of environmental services are
the in d u strie s se le cte d by
NOEA, which is composed of
officials, community and busi
ness leaders in C olum bia,
Clatsop and Tillamook Coun
ties.
NOEA staff is dra fting a
plan for the development of
those industries in the region.
The board will meet April 15
to review the draft. Funding
available for the project, over
a two-year period, is approxi
mately $600,000.
In a related event, Portland
General Electric (PGE) offi
cials announced that Concor
dia College of Portland plans
to use buildings and wetlands
at the closed Trojan nuclear
plant fo r a b a ch e lo r’s pro
gram in environmental resto
ration and remediation.
If the c u rric u lu m is a p
proved and accredited, the
program will start in 1995. It
would be the first such bach
elor’s program in the nation.
Clatsop Community College
is developing a two-year pro
gram in environmental clean
up, and Mount Hood Commu
nity College has a two-year
program in hazardous waste
management.
(INSIDE:
Brown Derby changes
hands_____ Page 4
Cookin’ with
Gladys.........Page 7
School news..............
................Pages 8-11
New firefighter
recruits___ Page 12
Jamboree theme
picked--------Page 15
BULK RATE
U.S. Postage Paid
Perrrtit No. 37
VBmonia. OR 97064
À
''-TÍ
Vol. 9, No. 7
A
Voice o f the Upper Nehalem River Valley*
Visitors...
April 13,1994
Spring Spirit will fly
with help of friends
A S pring S pirit Day has
been announced by Vernonia
Pride, for Saturday, April 30.
The day w ill start with a
com m unity-w ide spruce up
effort that will be carried on
from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a
hot dog lunch for all volun
teers who are working on the
project.
Then there will be an All
You Can Eat Spaghetti Din
ne r and Pie S o cial in the
W ashington G rade School
c a fe te ria from 5 p.m. to 7
p.m. Tickets for the dinner will
be $5 for adults, $3 for chil
dren 12 years and under; free
under age two.
An all-day tour of Columbia County brought Democratic gubernatorial candidate John
Kitzhaber to Vernonia on March 31 to talk with local residents. He is shown here with
Vernonia Mayor Tony Hyde, left, and County Commissioner Mike Sykes.
Kitzhaber stresses community
John Kitzhaber, candidate
fo r go vern or, b ro u g h t his
cam paign to Vernonia, ex
pressing concern about rural
economic development and
the need to “ re-cre a te the
feeling of community” in Ore
gon.
State government needs to
recognize that what affects
one part of Oregon, also af
fects other parts, though not
necessarily in the same way,
Kitzhaber told the small group
gathered in the Fire Depart
ment meeting room.
Responding to a question
on adequate funding for edu
cation, Kitzhaber said he is
meeting with legislators from
both parties, asking them to
go through the budget with
him. Pointing to the last leg
islative session as leaderless
FREE
partisanship, he said, “Educa
tion is more important than
partisanship,” and a biparti
san consensus is necessary
to help solve the problem.
On the question of salmon
survival/electric power gener-
a t io n / f is h in g / lo g g in g ,
Kitzhaber said the need for
balance on the Public Power
Planning Council is “critical” if
Northwest governments are
going to get ahead on the is
sue. He added that federal
funding is needed to help with
the restoration and rehabilita
tion of salmon habitat.
“The issue is not placing
fault,” he said, ‘but finding so
lutions.”
As a former state legislator
and senate president, K itz
haber was known for building
con sen sus am ong diverse
legislators in order to achieve
goals. He is also a physician
and the “father” of the Oregon
Health Plan.
Levy asked for law officers
A three-year operating levy
fo r expanded law e n force
ment services through the
C olum bia C ounty S h e riff’s
D epartm ent w ill be on the
ballot for the May 17 election.
The $1.1 m illion levy in
cludes a split rate proposal of
3 ce n ts p e r $ 1 ,00 0 of a s
sessed value on property in
side city limits, and 77 cents
per $1,000 of assessed value
on properties in unincorporat-
Please see page 20
Following the Pie Social,
there will be a silent auction,
a child ren’s auction and a
standard auction to round out
the evening.
More workers are needed
for all of the activities. Any
one who can spend a few
hours on Spring Spirit Day, or
on advance preparation, is
asked to call Genny Fisher at
429-1204, Debbie Sturdefant
at 429-9004, or Sandy Welch
at 429-9602.
C a ro lyn K e ase y is in
charge of the dinner, Colin
Tierney is working on the chil
dren’ auction, Jeff Parker is
seeking auction items and Bill
Yeo will do the live auction
eering.
For donations to the Pie
Social or one of the auctions,
also call the phone numbers
given above.
Look for more details in the
April 23rd issue of The INDE
PENDENT.
ike helmet law here soon
Oregon's new law requir
ing all children under age 16
to wear helmets when they're
on bicycles goes into effect
on July 1.
Violators or their parents
will be fined $25. The fine will
be waived fo r first tim e o f
fenders if they either buy a
helm et or show pro o f that
they own one. Subsequent vi
olations carry a $25 fine.
If a child is under age 12,
the parent or guardian will be
cited. Either parent or child
can be cited in the 12 to 15
age group.
The law covers children
riding any bicycle, or riding as
passengers on bicycles, in
any public place, including
streets, roads, sidewalks and
parks. It does not include tri
cycles for young children.
Approved helmets need to
meet current ANSI or Snell
certification and must be so
labeled. Helmets must also
be available to rent at places
that rent or lease bicycles.
“We didn't pass this law to
punish people. We passed it
to get them to wear helmets,”
s a id S tate S e n a to r Ron
Cease. “Lots of people have
been injured because they
didn't wear helmets. We want
to keep people healthy so
they can get back on the ir
bikes and ride another day.”
Cease co-sponsored the bill
with State Senator Wes Coo
ley, who says protecting chil
dren from injuries with a bicy
cle helmet law is good public
policy.
“The problem is that the
brain usually can't be fixed,
so the death rate doesn’t tell
the whole story,*' said Joanne
Fairchild, trauma coordinator
at Em anuel H ospital, “And
I've seen what helmets can
Please see page 20