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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 1998)
The INDEPENDENT, October 7, 1998 WEATHER REPORT SEPTEMBER, 1998 DATE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 TEMPERATURE PREÇIP. Hl LQ. AMT. 97 91 86 87 83 80 86 80 64 68 75 78 79 79 80 87 78 71 63 63 69 77 77 77 61 58 70 79 75 73 45 43 46 42 40 39 42 48 33 35 42 44 40 41 38 44 45 49 49 44 42 39 40 41 48 42 40 40 42 36 — — — — — — -- — — — — — — — — — — .14 .45 .01 T — — — .11 .16 — — — — Temperature and precipitation amounts are from the official U.S. weather station at the Ver nonia water plant. Measurable precipitation in September to talled .87 inch. Page 9 Good news, some concerns at WOEC annual meeting By Jim Buxton O ver 550 people voted this year, mostly by mail, in W est Oregon Electric’s annual elec tion and by-law change process. A pproxim a tely 30 people, in addition to W OEC board members and em ploy ees, physically attended the meeting. The proposed by-law am endm ent to extend the pos sible annual meeting dates to include August, and to allow annual meetings to take place in areas of the service territory other than Vernonia, passed 484 to 75. The incumbent di rectors easily won their seats back, w ith R obert VanN atta from District 2 receiving all 59 votes cast; and Tom Budge of District 5 receiving 62 of the 64 votes cast in his area. A fter the usual preliminaries of the flag salute, introductions, et cetera, brief reports were given by board President Van Natta, Financial Officer Royce Haggelstein and General M an ager Russell Green. The m es sages were: • It’s been a good year • The cost of power and m aintenance expenses are re duced from 1996 • The balance of the short term loan has been paid off •The portion of the Coop that the members actually own has risen from 25 percent to 31 percent since 1996. • At the end of last year, we had a $4 00,000 short-term loan balance and essentially no bank balance; now we have $400,000 in the bank and no loan balance. These che ery m essages w ere tem pered by w arnings that: • The Coop easily spends $50,000 per day to repair storm dam age • The (favorable) BPA con tract expires in 2001 • The actions of the upcom ing legislature are unkown. Present actions and future Coop goals are: • Setting financial reserves aside to flatten out peaks and valleys • Improving in-house engi neering capabilities • Recognizing the need for and acting to “ Improve service to meet the changing lifestyles of the m em bers” • Keeping eyes open and planning for the future. Youth Energy Camp Dele gates Randee Parker of Ver nonia High School and Dewey Foster of Jewell High School each gave a presentation about their experiences at the camp. The guest speaker was Jer- rie Leone of the Public Power Council. In her talk, she mostly pointed to the expense and the d ifficu ltie s of m itigating the You or someone you love may qualify for a free Women’s Health Check which can include Blood Pressure Check Breast Exam Breast Self-exam Pelvic Exam Pap Test Mammogram problem of the declining sal mon population in the Colum bia River system. During the question and an swer period, more discussion took place on the salmon prob lem as it relates to electric gen eration facilities and the rate paying public. In response to another question, it became obvious that the Year 2000 Problem (Y2K) is being taken very seriously by W OEC and BPA. They intend that all goes well, but realize that no matter w hat they do, unexpected glitches can occur. As usual, door prizes were given out. Since the institution of vote-bv-mail far fewer peo ple have been attending the Annual Meetings, letting almost all those attending this year to walk away with a prize. Those attending had one additional treat: a delicious and attractive luncheon catered by the folks who have taken over the Sun nyside R estaurant and deli near Vernonia. County gets USDA housing grant The U.S. D epartm ent of A griculture, throug h its m ulti-family housing programs in Oregon, awarded $162,310 in housing preservation grants to public organizations in C o lumbia, Linn and Deschutes counties. The Section 533 Housing Preservation Grants help very low and low income hom eow n ers repair their hom es. The grants can also be used to re pair rental property, if the ow n ers agree to make the units available to low and very-low income families. “This program provides modest grants and in some cases loans to help cover the cost of preventive maintenance and weatherization for mostly elderly hom eowners,” said Jill D avis, m u lti-fam ily housing program director in Oregon for USDA Rural D evelopm ent. “While the total am ount may not seem significant, to these homeowners it may mean the difference in having a safe, and warm home.” In Columbia County, C om munity Action Team received $62,310 to help qualified ow n ers repair and w eatherize homes. In Linn County, The Comm unity Services C onsor tium in Corvallis was awarded $50,000 to help six households in the City of Harrisburg w eath erize and repair their homes. In Deschutes County, the Central Oregon Comm unity action Net work in Redmond was aw ard ed $50,000 to help very low in come households in the Red mond Fire D istrict w hose dwellings are in need of repair or weatherization. Huser elected by statewide group Elizabeth (Betty) Huser, C o lum bia C ounty C lerk, was elected Secretary of the O re gon A ssociatio n of C ounty C lerks at th e ir 86th Annual C onference held recently in Jackson County. Huser has served as C olum bia County Clerk since 1989. The Oregon Association of County Clerks is a professional organization for county clerks, elections directors and support staff. The organ ization p ro vides leadership and training for recording and election pro cedures. The OACC is also a lobbying body to the Oregon Legislature for recording and election issues. Other officers elected were: President, R. Nellie Bogue-Hib bert, Union County Clerk; 1st Vice-President, Georgette Brown, Josephine County Clerk; 2nd Vice-President, Dana Jenkins, Lincoln County Clerk; Treasurer, Karen LeBreton, Wasco County Clerk. You’ll always score with an INDEPENDENT Classified CR eativ e | mpu lse Eligibility Guidelines: Do you have insurance available? You’re eligible if you have no insurance, Medicaid, private insurance with limited coverage or private insurance with deductible not met Are you age 40 or older? Is your family income within the limit? Family size 1, $1,644 limit; Family size 2, $2,210 limit; Family size 3, $2,777; Family size 4, $3,344; Family size 5, $3,910; Family size 6, $4,477. In S t Helens: Columbia County Public Health, 397-4651 Carolyn McCarton, 397-0480 In Vernonia: Vernonia Health Center, 429-9191 In Clatskanie: Clatskanie Clinic, 728-4905 Iced, Blended & Hot Drinks Daily Assorted Fresh Donuts on Tuesdays Tanning Appointments Available 7 Days a Week HOURS: MON 5:30 -12:30 • TU, W, TH & F 5:30-5:30 • SAT 7-5:30 • SUN 8-5 854 BRIDGE ST., VERNONIA *429-9011 Rive*, R& hjc I i , 9tu t lie d an d faieahljoAt On Ute Ilekalem fauesi, Vernonia, Onet^on Next to Vernonia Airport & Vernonia Golf Course M eeting Facilities and Catering TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM HISTORIC VERNONIA S ia d youA. day um IU ouA. Uunplnoul, Itonte-dyle, ivwakfcAi. For Inform ation or Reservations This program is funded by a grant from the centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The program is administered by the Oregon Health Division. Phone: (503) 429-0409 Fax: (503) 429-0419 15640 Airport Way, Vernonia, OR 97064
