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By Nancy Burch
Vernonia City Librarian
The citizens of Vernonia are presently in
volved in making some very important deci
sions concerning the direction they would like
Vernonia to take in regard to their city and the
services they wish to receive from it. Those
who have been reading The INDEPENDENT,
attending the council meetings, or just hearing
talk around town, have heard that plans are
taking shape for a new multipurpose/municipal
building for Vernonia. Every effort is being
made to provide answers to all possible ques
tions concerning this facility. Since the library
will be an important part of this building and
since library patrons will benefit directly, I am
hoping that these people will be vocal in their
support for this much-needed facility. These
are the people who have seen the conditions
under which we function...no display areas,
no work space for staff, no areas for quiet
study or reading, no space for a permanent
circulation desk, no separate space for com
puter work stations, no space for children’s
programs, and no storage for supplies or un
processed books. Because of other, neces
sary city uses of the library, hours of operation
are limited.
These are just the day-to-day conditions
under which we, in the library, operate. The
building itself has a flat roof that gathers water
and deposits it periodically in the library, a wall
in the back of the building that has been con
demned, outdated wiring, no method of circu
lating air in the summer, and no hot water in
the leaky, unisex restroom. The building does
not meet ADA standards.
IPO m I I
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The other city departments all operate un
der sim ilar substandard conditions in this
building that was designed as a Safeway store
in the 1930's.
For ten years the City of Vernonia has been
working toward a new building. Recently, new
impetus has been given to the project, which
would include the library, police department,
city offices, public meeting room, municipal
court, and a Visitor Information Center operat
ed by the Chamber of Commerce. A site has
been agreed upon and obtained, a preliminary
design for the building has been presented,
and a financing program is under investiga
tion.
You are welcome to view these proposed
plans, to ask questions about probable financ
ing, to see the condition of the present build
ing, to ask any questions you may have, and
to offer input regarding ideas for improved li
brary services or for program s you think
should be implemented.
Your support is needed for this project to
become a reality because it will be your build
ing, serve you and be a constant reminder
that Vernonia is proud of its past, living in the
present, and planning for its future.
(Of course, if you have a million or so dol
lars to contribute, it would be gratefully ac
cepted.)
Vernonia Library is located at 919 Bridge
Street. Library Hours: Monday and Fri
day 1-5 p.m., Wednesday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.,
Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Preschool Sto
ry Time: Wednesdays, 10:30-11 a.m. Call
429-1818 for information.
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By Dale Webb, member
Izaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter
(Ed. Note: This article was written prior to the re
cent Federal decision to approve Gov. Kitzhaber’s
Coastal Salmon Initiative, but could not be pub
lished at that time.)
By the time you read this article, we will ei
ther have a Federally listed species in our local
streams or the Governor’s Coastal Salmon Ini
tiative will be approved. I have very mixed
em otions about which will be in the Coho
salmon's best interest. Listing the Coho will
most likely result in a tangle of red tape for any
project that can be demonstrated to impact the
salmon. This same red tape will result in the
slow-down of fish enhancement projects. Not
listing the Coho salmon will allow activities that
are still damaging the fish’s habitat. The Gov
ernor’s initiative relies too heavily on voluntary
• compliance; in the past this has been abused
and will most likely continue to be so. In the
real world, money talks.
A case in point is the destruction of habitat
in the North fork of Wolf Creek, a tributary of
the Nehalem River. After a hard rain in late
March, my father and I noticed that the Ne
halem did not clear up as soon as it should
have. Realizing something was wrong, I decid
ed to start checking upstream. Dad said he
thought somebody was logging up the North
fork of Wolf Creek. Sure enough, the North fork
was slightly discolored and a look at the tracks
coming off Wolf Creek road onto Hwy. 26 said
there was a logging operation going on up
stream. Driving up Wolf Creek road, I soon re
alized I had found the culprit — the road had
become a muddy quagmire. If you have ever
driven on a State Forest road you know that
the crushed rock is usually so thick that, if you
drive off the shoulder of the road, you can
hardly get back on. The road I was looking at
had been totally destroyed. Every culvert
crossing had a load of ballast rock (this is big
ger than pit run) dumped on it. In many places
the road had actually been pushed below
grade by the weight of the log trucks and, of
course, the road was a muddy mess. When it
rained, the mud flowed off the road, down the
ditch into small tributaries, then into Wolf
Creek. I have pictures of this, so I won’t have
to be verbally abused by a state emyloyee who
questions these statements. To me, this was in
total disregard of the Governor’s initiative and
it was allowed by the government agency that
the Governor is relying on to rein in forestry
practices that are harming the Coho habitat.
When asked how this damage had occurred,
the state foresty official in charge said that it
was “a judgment call” and that they are “still
learning.” Well, sorry fellas, the time for learn
ing is over! How many years of experience
does it take to see that a road is going to hell!
The private timber company that bought this
sale is just as culpable. They should have
stopped hauling, but no, they were near com
pletion of the sale so they tried to finish, to the
detriment of the road and the salmon. So much
for voluntary compliance! To top this off, Wolf
Creek is recognized as a key watershed for
Coho in the Governor’s Initiative. I wonder how
State Forestry treats streams that aren’t given
this special recognition.
The timber industry’s proposal to help fund
the Governor’s Initiative really boiled down to
blackmail. Saving the salmon is either the right
thing to do or it isn’t. We all know that man’s
uses of the land have had an impact on the
fish and if you’re a big exploiter of natural re
sources you should step up to bat and help
out. I read, a couple of years ago, about how
the timber industry spends six-million dollars a
year on TV ads, to show us the good they are
doing. Frankly, I would be a lot more support
ive of the timber industry if they put that money
on the ground, into worthwhile projects. The
adage, “Money talks and *&# walks,” applies
here. On a positive note, I have noticed a real
Please see page 17
] [More Lettere
A rt C enter needs
help of community
To the Editor:
The Vernonia Hands On Art
Center was established as an
outlet to help the kids of the
community deal with the flood
of 1996. The art center has
been funded by C olum bia
C ounty
M ental
H ealth
(CCMH), the Oregon Flood
Support Project (OFSP) and a
few individual donors from out
side the community.
It is now time for the com
munity to step in and provide
support fo r the program to
continue. The CCMH/OFSP
funding has expired, but there
are opportunities for additional
funding through various grant
and trust organizations. In fact,
several organizations have ex
pressed a keen interest in sup
porting the program.
There is only one obstacle.
These organizations require
that the program be supported
by local businesses and indi
viduals as well.
The art center has been in
corporated as a 501 C(3) non
profit entity, so your donation,
however large or small, is tax
deductible.
I encourage the businesses
and individuals of this commu
nity to contact Michele Kunkel,
Director at 429-4014. Find out
more about the center, its pro
grams and future.
Sincerely,
Don Kunkel
Vernonia
County employees
object to budgeting
To the Editor:
A proposed 1997-98 budget
was recently presented to the
C olum bia C ounty Budget
Committee. We are writing this
le tte r as em ployees of the
County and taxpaying citizens
because we are seriously con
cerned about the priorities set
out in this budget.
The budget a llo ca te s
$300,000 to Courthouse reno
vation and to lease additional
office facilities. This plan is not
part of the State mandate to
create local correctional facili
ties, in fact, if a new correc
tional facility is built, the jail
may be m oved out of the
Courthouse, thereby increas
ing available space within the
Courthouse. Also, the building
that is under consideration for
a lease will need extensive re
modeling, so it appears the
County might lease a building
that it does not have the mon
ey to renovate or operate.
The above plans are unnec
essary and particularly unwise
in the face of budget reduc
tions. The facilities plan can
only be paid for by further re
ducing services to the public.
This budget would do that by
eliminatiing about six employ
ees, expanding proposed lay
offs from about two or three
positions to NINE positions.
In sum m ary, th is budget
proposes to REDUCE COUN
TY SERVICES while at the
same time ADDING FACILI
TIES
W ITH
UNKNOW N
COSTS and providing NO TAX
SAVINGS to the public. If you
believe these priorities need to
be changed, you can make a
difference. The full committee
will not finish its work until May
21, and the Com m issioners
can change it any time prior to
July 1. Please let the County
Budget Committee know how
you feel. A schedule of meet
ing times is available from the
Commissioners Office at 397-
4322. Committee members in
clude the three County Com
missioners — Jack Peterson,
Joel Yarbor and Tony Hyde,
and three citizen members -
Sandy Dillard, Bob Schm or
and Bessie Hausler.
Sincerely,
Kathy Bouchor
Pam Benham
Alan King
Michael Simpson
Jeff Benham
Judy Gettman
Ethelmae Jordan
Double majority vote
creates participation
To the Editor:
Your May 7th editorial posi
tion on Ballot Measure 50 was
well taken. Comments on the
double majority provision of
both BM 47 and BM50 are
wrong. Double majority provi
sion is there to promote both
debate and voter participation.
I was a volunteer aid in the
W ayne Morse cam paign in
1968. Among the many lec
tures and training sessions
was one presented by a local
teachers union on how to pro
m ote an u n po pu la r school
levy. It’s simple. You give it as
little publicity as you can and
hope only the teachers turn
out to vote!
I have watched our taxes
forced through the roof all over
the state in the thirty years
since, by a minority of voters.
The double m ajority forces
these measures into the public
forum. Those that are neces
sary w ill be debated and
passed by the majority. Those
issues that are excessive, un
necessary or superfluous will
attract only a minority and will
be defeated.
Isn't that how the system is
supposed to work?
Sincerely,
Bergh Bechen
Banks
Chamber continues
vital involvement
To the Editor:
Many positive thin gs are
happening in Vernonia. Strate
gic planning on the future of
the city, discussions about the
new Vernonia Building, and a
renewed sense of community
pride are just a few of the ex
citing reasons that Vernonia
will be a town of future vitality
and g ro w th . The V ernonia
Area Chamber of Commerce
is an organization that is ac
tively involved in these events
and many others, and looks
Please see page 9
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