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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2000)
FCC change makes local radio possible in Vernonia The approval of Low Power FM (LPFM) radio service by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may result in the culmination of many Ver- nonians' long-held dream— a local radio station. Rules adopted Jan 20 by the FCC create two classes of LPM radio stations - a 10 watt station that would reach an area with a radius of between one and two miles, and a 100 watt station that would reach an area with a radius of ap proximately three-and-one-half miles. The new LPFM service will be exclusively noncommercial, according to the FCC. Parties currently holding broadcast li censes, or parties with inter ests in other media such as ca ble or newspapers, will not be eligible for LPFM stations. An additional regulation will also provide opportunity for lo cal development. During the first two years of availability, li censes will be awarded exclu sively to local entities. Follow ing the two-year period, non-lo cal entities will be eligible for li censes. Each licensee may own only one station in any giv en community but, eventually, a licensee may own up to ten stations nationwide. Vernonia City Councilor Cin dy Ball, and a group of addi tional volunteers, have been supporting local efforts to de velop a radio station» The initial impetus for a local radio station derived from the need to be able to notify people, area wide, in case of emergency. From there, the idea quickly took hold because of the po tential for education and com munity-based programming. For further information, or to help with any aspect of the pro ject, contact Ball at 429-6033 or by e-mail: ckball® easvs- treet.com. INSIDE: Wheels in a park.... ..pg. 5 Cookin.,... •• pg- 7 STARS shine in Vernonia.. ...pg. 8 More Wheels p g -16 BULK RATE U S . Postage Paid Permit No. 37 Vernonia, OR 97064 “ Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley” Voi. 15, No 3 FREE February 2, 2000 Road closed five hours by lumber truck accident Ready to dig in... Scappoose-Vernonia Road was closed for approximately five hours last Friday when a lumber truck lost its load going around a curve. Cameron Hall, a Sweet Home resident, was driving the 1986 Kenworth owned by Smalley Trucking of Sutherlin. He suffered minor injuries that were treated on the scene by a Metro West/Vernonia Ambu lance crew. Judy Hill/The INDEPENDENT The Wheels Park design committee met last Saturday with even more ideas, following a presentation by skatepark de signer Tony Gembeck. See story on page 5 ._____________________________ _____________________________________ Weight limitations considered for residential streets Vernonia City Councilors, at their Jan. 24 meeting, dis cussed instituting an ordinance governing allowable weights on residential streets. Among the elements discussed by the council were weight limits, sig nage, a parking area for over weight vehicles and a permit process for exceptions. Elroy Miner, a city resident who initiated the subject at a prior meeting, emphasized that he wasn’t referring to log trucks only, but to all heavy vehicles that contribute to the deteriora tion of residential streets, which are not designed for Handicapped fishing dock gets recommendation for second time When funding for a handi capped accessible fishing dock at Vernonia Lake disappeared last year because the legisla ture eliminated the program which had already approved the project, the idea was put on the back burner. The pot ap pears to be boiling again. The Oregon Watershed En- hancement Board (OWEB), which was formed to replace the former advisory panel, has also approved the project. The project must now go to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for final approval. It will consider OWEB’s recom mendations at its March 24 meeting. heavy use. The council will also review applicable ordinances currently being used in Cornelius, St. Helens and Forest Grove. There will be a new water fountain on Bridge Street, Councilor Mario Leonetti an nounced, funded by Vernonia Pride. It will be installed at the corner of Madison Avenue, in front of the former J. C. Penney building, where, long-time resi dents remember, there used to be a drinking fountain. Plumbing for the fountain was installed at the time of the streetscaping project. The cost to Vernonia Pride, for the foun tain and freight, is approxi mately $750. In other business, the council: • Approved the reappoint ment of Mike Seager and Don Stevens to the Airport Commit tee. • Agreed to extend sewer service to Todd Sullivan, on Noakes Road, in exchange for an agreement to annex at a lat er date. Sullivan must pay all costs for the extension. Hall had just picked up a load of lumber at the Olympic Forest Products mill in Mist and was enroute to California when the load shifted, about three miles east of Pittsburg junction, dumping both the lumber and the truck. It also caused a small toxic spill of about 35 gallons of diesel oil, according to Vernon ia Fire Chief Paul Epler. The lengthy road closure was caused partly by how much time it took to pick up lumber - estimated to be worth about $140,000. Law enforce ment officers kept unauthorized “helpers” away. Grumpy’s Tow Service of Scappoose removed both the truck and the lumber. Road closure disrupts meeting The truck accident that closed Scappoose-Vernonia Road also closed a meeting for local residents with the Colum bia County Board of Commis sioners. Commission Chair man Jack Peterson and Com missioner Rita Bernhard were expected to join Commissioner Tony Hyde in Vernonia at 1:00 p.m. to meet with local resi dents at City Hll and tour the linear trail extension project. Unable to get through, Pe terson and Bernhard took the long way around, using Meiss ner and Apiary to get to Hwy. 47, and arriving in Vernonia about 3:00 p.m. Most people had to leave before they ar rived. Before people left, Hyde said the commissioners would reschedule the meeting.
