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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 1996)
Page 2 The INDEPENDENT, August 7,1996 m n L The INDEPENDENT u rf 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. - T o p- R.-O p. TW“ ' Jamboree a success in spite of obstacles A lot of people said it couldn’t be done, that the com munity was just too devastated following the February flood to get the Vernonia Friendship Jamboree togeth er this year. But those people didn’t count on the en ergy and dedication of Gwen Milligan and a small - very small - crew of helpers. Fortunately, most of the events - softball tourna ment, cruise in, horse gaming, Alternative Stage, fish ing derby, logging show, fast draw, black powder ren dezvous, worship service — have individual commit tees, but the overall organizing still had to be done. When it’s done right, and Milligan did it right, it takes considerable time just to handle the concessions, ob taining permission for spaces on private property, set ting a size for concessionaires, checking the contracts and being sure all regulations are observed. Then there’s the parade, mailing out entry forms, getting enough people to keep it organized, getting qualified judges, putting up No Parking signs, and more. It s easy to forget the time involved in arranging for extra trash cans and trash hauling, obtaining enough portable toilets, obtaining and putting up signs show ing the parade route and where events will be held. And there are always the last-minute changes: This year it was a change in the parade route because there was no room to disband behind Washington Grade School due to construction equipment and piles of gravel. While some events couldn’t continue because there was no place to put them, most notably the teen dances, one major event was added to the mix - a full carnival. The City of Vernonia is to be commended for the way it really cooperates with Jamboree; many munici pal governments aren’t so supportive. Commendations, too, to all of the individual commit tees for their hard work, but especially to the Jam boree committee: Milligan, Deborah Colby, Ken Scramm, Denise Edwards, Martha and Melvin Mc Namee, and two special helpers, Pat Miles and Bar ney Phillips. Just think, some people said it couldn’t be done! Right idea, wrong name While trying to honor people, in the recent Jam boree tabloid, whose special efforts made life a little safer during the flood, we published the wrong name for the man who spent a long night keeping the phone switches dry so we could maintain local communica tions. That special person was GTE employee Stu Stephen of Vernonia. We also missed two people whose efforts have been invaluable during the recovery period: Audeen Hanson and Sue Bailey, at the Vernonia Recovery Center, have the huge task of keeping track of every body who was flooded and putting them in touch with the right people to help them back on their feet. Your efforts are appreciated. 7/V/j SEÆ/cus G ames ... J u rr r Mt By D avid M ichael Jones, member izaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter My cast flipped the black woolly bugger out among the rocks on the mainstream of the Umpqua and, as it sank, the smallmouth’s ag gressive take parted my line. I was fishing on the Umpqua with Chris Winslow of Winslow’s Guide Service (541-584-2332) and, as usual, he was outfishing me about three or four to one as he is a better fisherman and it was his water. Part of the credit goes to the fly Chris was using, the pattern of which I will pass on in a future column after I clear it with Chris. But, as Chris said when we we discussed pat terns to tie before the trip, “Think green for the immature crawdads with the soft shells that the smallmouth feed on.” He was kind enough to let me use his fly and pole as we were tak ing the boat out behind his house and in four casts I hooked two of the bronze bass. I think they were named Sally and Joe and we let them go to be caught again. Chris also was kind enough to show me a knot that is new to me, called the “Salmon Trailer’s Knot” and I will pass that along in a future column too. Hopefully this knot will cut down on the number of fish I lose due to my blood knots parting. The mystery of the disappearing stoneflies on Rock Creek in the Nehalem River system has this writer concerned. For years I have noticed a decline of the large, robust black and brown stonefly that was common on Rock Creek for the 15 years that I have been here. I have noticed a few of the little yellow stones, but not many, and certainly not the number that I’ve seen on the Wilson or the North Umpqua. I asked some Fish & Game person nel doing a stream assessment on Rock Creek to keep their eyes open and the report I got back was of one adult stonefly and one nymph. They also mentioned that they were seeing very few fish, which is something I have noticed as I wade Rock Creek. Although mayflies can be more indicative of stream pollution than stoneflies, I’m not famil iar enough w ith the various species of mayflies to know one from the other. The large stoneflies, on the other hand, have really got ten my notice while out riding my bike in the Rock Creek drainage since catching one in ' ii a .. ....... ' « Cntcus ? » a c. o <3 l i i the face will get your attention. Plus, as a fly- fisherman, I know how trout can go crazy on the feed when stoneflies come out. Consider ing the size of the larger stoneflies, I would imagine a trout or salmon smolt getting one for dinner must be similar to a human sitting down to a Thanksgiving feed. I wonder if the years of spraying deciduous trees, poisoning big leaf maple stumps, and using chemical fertilizers on the commercial tree farms up stream from Vernonia has contributed to the decline of the insect populations that are so crucial to the health and well-being of our na tive fishes. The Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission will deal with fishing regulations during a meeting coming up in September. The public can still comment by calling Charlie Corrarino at (503) 872-5252, or write in care of Angling Regula tions, ODFW, P.O. Box 59, Portland, OR, 97207. A change that would help our fishing and our fish is to reduce both the daily and yearly bag limits on salmon and steelhead. Who really needs two fish a day over twenty inches, and forty fish a year? At a time when even the most harvest-oriented sportsmen must admit that our native fish are in trouble, it is absurd to encourage the killing of that many fish. Reducing the bag limit on trout in our run ning waters and closing smaller streams to be used for rearing areas for pre-smolt salmon, steelhead and sea-run cutthroat trout would be a positive step in making sure our children will have fish in the future. We need to get over the idea that a stringer of trout is a great feat - trout are not smelt. Restrictions on the use of bait would also help the mortality of the smaller fish caught and released. It is often the handling of the fish that stresses and kills it, even if the hook is removed promptly and as safely as possible. Leaving the fish in the water as much as possible helps and using surgical forceps to grasp and turn the barbless hook without even touching the fish will en sure the minimum of stress on the fish. My Uncle Dick is going to take me out for steelhead flyfishing on the Deschutes River sometime in the near future, I hope. He has a summer steelhead fly pattern he calls “Old Purp that I will pass on in the future when I Please see page 3 I
