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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2000)
The INDEPENDENT, November 15, 2000 Page 13 to document reservoir cleaning project By Noni Andersen As a concern, it isn’t on the top ten list for most people, but even the best kept reser voirs accumulate some sedi ment and must be cleaned from time to time. That is why people driving by Vernonia’s Stoney Point Reservoir in early October might have seen what appeared to be a diver on top of the reservoir. It was no mirage, it really was a diver, in full gear. ing water, the diver’s one- piece dry suit, plus the hoses and any other equipment that would come in contact with the water, had all been de contaminated with a bleach solution. A helmet-mounted under water camera, complete with lights, recorded what could be seen. Harvey, who had two-way communications with the van, supplied a com mentary for further clarifica tion. “The flakes you see are bits of corrosion off the lad der," he said, while descend ing the ladder with the vacu um hose. The diver was Mark Har vey, one of three employees of Hydrotech Tech Interna tional who came to Vernonia from Port Townsend, Wash., To keep the diver’s hose to clean and inspect the and the vacuum hose from reservoir. Assisting Harvey stirring up sediment, floats were Chad Masi and Chris are used to suspend them in Green. Masi stayed on top of the water. Before stepping the reservoir to tend hoses, onto the bottom of the reser supply equipment to the diver voir, Harvey vacuumed a and generally keep an eye on space around the ladder, also the operation. Green, who to keep from disturbing the usually dives, was inside the sediment audio/video-equipped van “The interior may be gunit watching, listening and taping ed,” he observed, adding lat the procedure. er that some of the concrete After inspecting the exteri was sloughing off and settling or of the concrete structure, on the bottom along the including the observation that walls. Approxim ately three moss was forming on the top, inches of “light, silty sedi Harvey donned the diving ment” on the bottom was vac gear and, using the built-in uumed out through a hose metal ladder, descended into that went up over the top and the interior through a 24-inch down the side, emptying into by 48-inch hatch. Because a natural drainage area out- the reservoir contains drink- Mark Harvey, in diving gear, and Chad Masi make preparations to start an inspection of the interior of the Stoney Point reservoir. The large hose on the left is a vacuum hose that will remove sediment from the bottom of the reservoir. side the reservoir. The vacu um couldn’t remove old weld ing rods, left from the installa tion of the ladder and hatch, which could also be seen on the bottom. When the Hydrotech crew left Vernonia, a couple of dayslater, they also left a videotape of the job with the C ity’s public works depart ment. It’ll never be a top box office draw, but it’s a lot bet ter than trying to guess what shape the reservoir is in. Book tells story of building a railroad from Hillsboro to Tillamook The town of Timber was just beginning its growth spurt in this photo from The Saga of Pacific Railway & Navigation Co. Photos of Buxton, Timber and Cochran are both surprising and fascinating. By Noni Andersen Paul Clock grew up in For est Grove and started doing historical research in earnest as a student at Pacific Univer sity. He also discovered that he had difficulty staying in the classroom when there were mountains and streams calling him. When Clock became inter ested in the history of the Pa Copies of Punk, rotten & Nasty are available at $29.95 from The INDEPENDENT, 725 Bridge Street, Vernonia. To order by mail, send a check or money order for $29.95 plus $4.00 shipping and handling to: Corbett Press, P.O. Box 80343, Portland, OR 97280. Call 503-452-5358 for more information. cific Railway & Navigation Co., he didn’t know how many years he would invest in the story. Nicknamed Punk, Rotten and Nasty because of the compa ny’s initials, the line is now known as the Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad. Some twenty years after starting, Clock has produced a fascinating tale that began, for him, on hunting and fishing trips with his father in the Coast Range drainages of the Tillam Paul and Elizabeth Clock have self-published the “coffee table” book filled with historical photos of the PR&N railroad construction., in order to keep costs down and make the book available to more people. ook and Nehalem Bays. Photos of early settlements and huge trees are fairly com mon in many collections, but this book stands out for the range of the photographs. Many of the most magnificant show incredible detail of the engineering and constuction that were involved in spanning rivers, streams and canyons as the railroad crossed the Coast Range. Maps, quotes and Clock’s own narrative add to the detail and authenticity of this tale of man’s quest to push his own limits farther and farther. The book is totally enjoyable and sometimes awesome. Punk, Rotten and Nasty is a must for many people, but es pecially for northwest railroad buffs. The book is well worth the $29.95 being charged-just enough to cover the costs of publication.
