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.