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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1996)
INDEPENDENT The Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published twice monthly on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, by Public Opinion Laboratory Ltd., 725 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR 97064, as a free newspaper. Editors and Publishers, Dirk & Noni Andersen, (503) 429-9410. No reason to wait for Thanksgiving ,..\F Recognizing the need for expansion and improve ment, the Banks School Board will ask residents of their district to approve an $11 million bond issue. They have done what they need to do to solve a problem. Recognizing the need for expansion and improve ment, the Vernonia School Board appointed a special study committee and hired a consulting firm to devel op a long-range plan. Eighteen months after the study started and a month after receiving the commit tee recommendation, the Vernonia board is still trying to figure out how to expand and improve without spending money. It’s not fun to ask voters to increase their taxes, but people who can’t make hard decisions shouldn’t run for office. It’s time to make some decisions. •A. J • . ; s a K / : 2 IF Ou K £ KI/AWA l V WouuO J V i T A t LCAST g s ~ °7 o $ €.vTe/Vce ... Q e T T tM û O u T X a? ■r6( OF ST6AO OAJ oP A .A J P a A o LÇ . th is z. p 5 WkoTj • I - • - W I • - _ Do The. Victims G c T B y D avid M ichael Jones, member Izaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter • ) * A tL l IC 1 -/A THe WAV« * » " S 0M €TW U /O * O o * VJrfU fk<s P ftlS o /'J.S ■? ■ I W I I « W I I M < fßDVö Jusrtce ? 7 protect juvenile fish. This program requires the water user to pay one-third of the cost; the re mainder will be paid by the state. The water Here is a list of proposals I worked up—be user can also receive a tax credit for fifty per fore I read either the Fish and Game propos cent of his/her cost if the screen is built to als or Dale Webb’s Ik e ’ column in the last is ODFW specifications. Contact fish biologist sue—for the 1997 Oregon fishing regulations. Joseph E. Sheahan at Hamlet Rt., Box 360, 1. No bait during trout season in any stream Seaside, 97138. Sheahan’s phone number is that dumps into the Pacific Ocean or is a tribu (503) 738-7066; fax (503) 738-6929. This tary of any system that runs into the Pacific. sounds like a good way to upgrade screen 2. Limits in streams like the above of two systems, help the fishery and save some trout daily, between 10-12 inches, with no money. more than seven in a week (The idea is to en Some good news has come up from the courage conservation, not consumption.). Coos Bay area, where some coho salmon are 3. Publish in the regulations those lakes back in a stream for the first time in about 25 that are stocked for the meat pole fishermen. years. Three years ago, school children re 4. Use a punch card for trout, especially the leased 10,000 fry into Blossom Creek; after searun cutthroat. the coho spent a year in the stream, they mi 5. Single, barbless hooks in all waters that grated to the ocean for two years of growing empty into the Pacific from the mother stream time, then returned to the creek to spawn. or from a tributary stream and/or lake system. This is of special interest to Vernonia resi 6. Reduce the salm on/steelhead punch dents because Blossom Creek travels under card limit to 20 fish per year, only ten of which the streets of Coos By, just as Bear Creek can be steelhead (Trout could be incorporated does under the streets of Vernonia. We are into this punch card for data and to upgrade fortunate to still have coho in Bear Creek. the fish in the eyes of the angling public.). It was just last week that the return of the 7. Close all small tributary streams that run first two fish was observed by the school chil into systems that drain into the ocean (The dren and ODFW biologist Tom Rum reich. purpose of this is to secure rearing streams School children and biologists are working to for native coho, Chinook, steelhead and cut restore the creek as a spawning stream and throat trout. Without rearing streams, we are are being helped by the Oregon Coastal Envi going to lose our fish, especially the coho, ronments Awareness Network. The fingerlings which spends so much time in the system be for the project were taken from native Coos fore it sm olts.). If we d o n ’t close all the River coho stock and reintroduced into the streams, at least close a portion of them. For system by the children and biologists. example, close Clear Creek and Wolf Creek There is “hire the fisherman” money avail on the Nehalem and leave the East Fork Ne able for unemployed fishermen to work on im halem open because of Scaponia Park. One provement of salmon habitat. Some eligible way to put this in the regs is to say a stream is projects include fencing streams and allowing open only if it is listed. livestock to access a stream in one area, or 8. Because there have been some late run putting in watering areas above the stream. fall Chinook showing up in northcoast streams, Planting streambanks, placing in-stream struc most notable the Kilchis, close the fall Chinook tures and creating alcoves for rearing areas season on the north coast on Dec. 10, to en are also eligible projects. There is no charge able these runs to establish themselves. Na to land owners for any of this work. Contact ture can’t establish new runs if we kill the fish person for these projects is Bill Eagle of the before they can spawn! Natural Resource Conservation Service in St. 9. Close winter cutthroat season in coastal Helens at (503) 397-4555. streams. On to another matter: Izaak Walton League meetings are the The O regon D epartm ent of Fish and th ird W ednesday of each m onth, W ildlife has a program to help pay for in Vernonia Public Library at 7:00 p.m. stalling fish screens on water diversions to The public is welcome. anks S ch o ol B oard says $11 million; Vernonia board chokes on far less »*• ' At TOOO T In spite of the weather, many good things have been happening around Vernonia and there is no rea son to wait until next Thanksgiving to mention them: WOEC line crews have been working so many weekends and nights since the January 12 wind storm that young children and grandchildren probably don’t recognize them — and vice-versa. The wind storm was followed by snow that broke limbs and downed trees weakened in the wind storm. Then tor rential rains caused mud slides, tilting trees and poles. Next came the ice and, once again, heavy rains. They’ve done a good job under difficult circum stances and they deserve a hand. Volunteer firefighters and EMTs have been on call and on the job throughout all of the bad weather. Their dedication is such that it carries over to their families, too, as was demonstrated last weekend in Vernonia when more than 20 travelers stranded by icy roads were taken in, fed and kept warm and safe. They respond whenever and wherever they are need ed, regardless of conditions. The small fire districts in this area have only a handful of paid professionals, and they also deserve kudos for the long, long hours th e /v e been spending on the job. Volunteer or paid, this is a truly selfless bunch of people; we’re lucky to have them around. The weather has nothing to do with this next thank you. Linda Hartman, manager of the Cindernook has taken lots of heat from people who may be just a bit “Holier than thou,” so it’s time to thank her for donat ing the use of the Cindernook for the Sweetheart Ball, a fundraiser for the Community Center Project. There aren’t very many business establishments that will close the doors to their regular customers (on the best night of the week, too) in order to help a nonprof it organization. Thank you all for your contributions to our commu nities. * A • Y O ü te * * . ' / * a .*». t ■.»U* * , t ' ■ ■ ' | ■■ /. r . - . A ■ •' .
