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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1999)
Local boy walks out of the woods after getting lost Kevin Swayze has had bet ter days...but so have his par ents, Kevin Sr. and Candace. Monday, the 11-year-old sixth grader took the school bus home, but when he wasn’t at his Siedelman Road home by 5 p.m., his mother called 9-1-1 to report him missing. Columbia County Sheriff’s Sgt Fred Oviatt responded and by 6 p.m. ten people trained in Search & Rescue were looking for Kevin’s trail. Within a short time there were 35 people looking for the missing boy, mostly volunteers from Colum bia County Search & Rescue, Vernonia Fire District and Mist- Birkenfeld Search & Rescue. Searchers continued looking and picked up Kevin’s trail, Oviatt said, but night was com ing and the temperature was dropping, conditions that wor ried everyone. Meanwhile, on Bacona Rd. in Buxton, Frank Bailey an swered a knock on his door about 8:15 p.m. and found a frightened, tired and thirsty boy who tried to take a “short cut” home through the woods and ended up walking about six miles, uphill through snow in rugged terrain, before finding help. The Baileys had just fin ished a family dinner so, after calling Kevin’s parents, Sue Bailey heated a plate of food for him...and added some INSIDE: chocolate pie. Though he was still tired and having some trouble walking, Kevin went to school Tuesday. He didn’t have his backpack, though, it was lost in the woods. “I can’t find words to thank people for all of their support,” said a grateful Candace Sway ze. “ I couldn’t believe how many showed up to help. “I don’t think this would hap pen in most places.” Blooms and Brakes..........pg. 4 A century of living.............pg. 6 Microwave cooking..........pg. 7 Spring sports ............... pgs. 8-10 BULK RATE U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 37 Vernonia, OR 97064 , •i I Voi. 14, No. 7 4 ... , 4. A A- i À a “ Voice o f (fie Upper Nehalem River V a lle / Old fire station dismantled... Last week, volunteers removed the antenna from the Tri-City Fire Station in Banks as they started work on de-commissioning the building. It will be replaced by a modern, ___ __ larger fire hall to meet the needs of the growing community. Ten local SOLV projects picked A “Welcome” sign and land scaping at the south entrance to Vernonia placed first with lo cal residents at the SOLV/Best of Oregon meeting last Thurs day. About 30 people attended the meeting to select ten pro jects from among 19 initially proposed for Best of Oregon project funding. The additional projects, in the order of preference, were: 2. Hawkins Park landscap ing, trash receptacles and oth er improvements. 3. Log benches with planters for downtown. 4. Extensive improvements at Vernonia Lake., including blackberry removal and land scaping. 5. Garbage/cigarette/recy- cling receptacles downtown. 6. Purchase supplies for a community greenhouse/garden FREE 7. Light existing Welcome Park and plant native vegeta tion. sign at east entrance to town; 18. Paint over graffiti, repair 8. (tie) Improve hanging basket irrigation method; paint vandalism. 19. Sponsor hazardous a mural or murals. waste disposal day. 10. (tie) Paint movie theater With a $250 maximum per with cooperation of owner; project, few of those selected Sponsor old tire disposal day. 12. Beautify Pioneer Ceme could be completed, though they can be started. tery. The program’s next phase 13. Participate in the Adopt- will be Volunteer Action Train a-highway program. 14. Litter pickup on Banks- ing for people who want to Vernonia Linear Trail (possibly learn more about event coordi a cooperative project with nation, planning and logistics; Banks, which may be the next volunteer recruitment and coor dination; developing sponsors Best of Oregon community). 15. Establish Vernonia as a for community events and litter-free zone and implement more. The training sessions SOLV litter/vandalism curricu are scheduled for April 28-29. Anyone wanting to take the lum in the schools. 16. Clean up house exteri training course should contact ors and yards for seniors or Nancy Spieler, Rural Commu nities Program Coordinator for others in need of help. 17. Remove blackberries SOLV, at 503-844-9571, or from Bear Creek at Anderson 800-322-3326. April 7,1999 Give Vernonia a hand for Saturday cleanup Do you have a few hours to “Give Vernonia a Hand” when the community joins forces for its fifth annual Vernonia Pride/SOLV Beautification and Clean-up Day, Saturday, April 17? Many projects are waiting. With your help they will get done! Volunteer headquarters will be at the Vernonia School Dis trict office. Work officially be gins at 8 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m. but join in for any amount of time your schedule allows. Each participant will receive a free lunch prepared at the Vernonia Senior Center with food supplied by Vernonia Sentry. Volunteers will also re ceive a snack pack, a ticket for drawings of some great prizes, and the satisfaction of knowing that you helped in making Ver nonia a better place to live. There are many projects to choose from, suitable for all ages and abilities; parks will be brushed, cleaned and beauti fied, shrubs and plants will be planted, and litter will be picked up around town. Bring work gloves, rakes, brooms and shovels. Also needed are weed eaters, chain saws and pick-up trucks. Participants can come with a group or as individuals. You can pick your own area or have one assigned, but please pre-register if at all possible, by calling either Genny at 429-1204, or Enid at 429-8134. Free childcare will be avail able at the Headstart building for anyone participating in the clean-up effort. All children must be pre-registered. Call and reserve space for your child today at the numbers list ed above. Lunch and snacks will be provided for the chil dren. The Waste Management transfer station behind Wash ington Grade School will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. ac cepting appliances, furniture, scrap metal and any non household garbage, without charge. They will also accept tires up to 16” at no charge. Truck tires 17”-24” will be ac cepted with a $3.00 charge and larger tires are negotiable. If enough people with pick ups volunteer, Vernonia Pride will arrange to have large items picked up from your home and taken to the transfer station. Burnable yard debris can be taken to the City yard at the water plant, just off State Ave. Working together, we can make Vernonia the most beau tiful place in Oregon. Fletcher retires from Post Office Richard “Dan” Fletcher re tired April 1st after 37 years with the U.S. Postal Service, 18 of them as Vernonia Post master. Though he had asked that nothing be done, Fletcher was Meet Michael Sykes The public is invited to meet Vernonia City Adminis trator Michael Sykes and his family, at an open house on Friday, April 9, in the Vernon ia City Library from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. honored on his last day with a community-based reception at the Post Office that included refreshments, flowers and bal loons—all donated. On behalf of the Postal Ser vice, Postmasters Dave Bates of St. Helens and Craig Aber crombie of Scappoose pre sented Fletcher with a plaque in recognition of his 37 years of dedication to public service. Vernonia Mayor Art Parrow also addressed the gathering with comments about Fletch er’s service to the community.
