Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2001)
* * » » X % K The INDEPENDENT, November 21, 2001 Between tbs Bookends ......I By Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library Thanksgiving Day, as defined in Webster’s Dictionary, is “a national holiday celebrated as a day of feasting and giving thanks for divine fa vors or goodness..." Place mats made by youngsters at a recent after school program at the library, listed dogs, family, and turkey, as things for which to be thankful. As we prepare to feast, let’s not forget to give thanks for the many things we often take for granted. “Pollyanna’’ may have had the right idea, that of always find ing something tor which to be grateful. When she had to wear clothes from the missionary barrel, she was glad they weren’t boys’ clothes. When she was given a very small, bare bedroom, she was grateful for the window with its view, and on and on went the things that she recognized as blessings and by so doing, brought happiness into the lives of everyone that she met. While most of us don’t go around voicing our grateful ness daily, Thanksgiving Day brings the perfect opportunity to look around and really appreciate what we do have. One of the recent things for which we can give thanks at the library is the generous donation of plants by Lorna Poetter of Farm Woman’s Nurs ery. Lorna’s donation of spiraea and forsythia have been planted along the Maple Street side of the library and will be gorgeous when the yel low and pink flowering bushes are in bloom. The two ornamental plum trees in memory of Mer cedes Proehl have also been planted in this area. In appreciation of Lorna’s donation, two books have been added to the library’s collec tion. The Encyclopedia of Flowers provides in formation on choosing plants to best suit any landscaping area. It also includes information on flowering time, light conditions, cultivation and maintenance for gardening flowers, shrubs, and trees. Beautiful colored illustrations accompany each listed plant. The other book is Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul. This contains a collection of entertaining, inspirational short sto ries about the rich rewards that gardening brings to life and a wonderful selection of comic illus trations. A person to whom we can be grateful is Lu- anne Kreutzer, the owner of the St. Helens Book Shop. She has donated numerous and varied books to the library and will be ordering a list of about 20 books that will be on display in the li brary in early December. Through her generosi ty, these books may be purchased as gifts for the library at a 20-percent discount from the regular price. Anyone wishing to give to the library in this manner is invited to look at this varied collection of items and to make a choice reflecting some thing he/she would like to see in the library. A ] .. __ book plate will be placed in each of these books indicating the donor. A giant thanks is given to the members of the Friends of the Library. This group has had one successful fund raising event (the book sale and raffle during Jamboree) and will soon be partici pating in another. They will be wrapping books for Christmas shoppers at Barnes and Noble on November 25, and on December 15. Any dona tions that shoppers make for this service will be used on some library project/projects. They have already purchased a family pass to the Chil dren’s Museum that may be checked out by li brary patrons. Perhaps publicly thanking these individuals and their efforts on behalf of the library will give you the incentive to look around and give thanks. On to the feasting! Usually the turkey is the only one who cannot give thanks for Thanksgiv ing. For a different perspective on this, we have a wonderful book for children entitled ‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving. On a field trip to a turkey farm where children meet Farmer Mac Nuggett and his eight tiny turkeys, they spy an ax and realize what is going to happen to the turkeys. But, the turkeys are smuggled onto the bus and to the children’s homes where... The very next evening, Eight families were blessed With eight fluffy Thanksgiving turkeys As guests. They feasted on veggies With jelly and toast, And everyone was thankful (The turkeys were most!) So each one gave thanks For love and for living, And they all had a wonderful Happy Thanksgiving. Since the library materials are always of most importance, we do have a video of Pollyanna as well as a nice selection of new books which in clude Christmas in My Heart by Joe Wheeler, To tal Recall by Sara Paretsky, The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, War in a Time of Peace by David Halberstam, The Mitford Snowmen by Jan Karon, The Christmas Quilt by Thomas J. Davis, and The Thanksgiving Day Murder by Lee Har ris. Vernonia Library 701 Weed Avenue Hours; Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m.-5 p.m Tues., Thur. 2 p.m.-7 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Preschool Story Time, Mondays, 10:30 a.m. Phone; (503)429-1818 Federal funds secure county 9-1-1 improvements From page 1 Though the need was obvi ous, finding the money to meet that need has been a different matter. Voters in the St. Helens/ Scappoose areas, where there have been few communications problems, outnumbered Ne halem Valley/Clatskanie area ballots to defeat a bond issue that would have supported the Page 3 microwave system. Voters later supported some upgrades for the system. Communications between emergency responders (law enforcement, fire and medical) is also a problem, with agen cies unable to talk directly to each other because they use different UHF/VHF frequencies. The proposed changes, esti- mated at $1.8 million, will in clude a multi-channel VHF sys tem on a microwave “back bone,” plus equipment for emergency response agencies that will allow interagency com munications. The district has, little by little, saved $400,000 that will be used in addition to the $1.4 million grant approved by Congress. Public servants earn community’s thanks To the Editor: Since the unthinkable disas ters of September 11, police and firefighters of New York and across the nation have re ceived well-deserved praise for their valor and willingness to sacrifice their lives to save oth ers. It is also about time that we recognize our own. Our crew of unpaid volunteer firefighters is on call twenty- four hours a day, seven days a week, ready to risk their per sonal safety to protect our lives and property. They and the EMT’s respond at a moments notice, interrupting their per sonal lives to effectively safe guard our community. Every call can be life threatening. Our police department pro vides that “thin blue line” that guarantees our freedom from criminal activities. Every time they go on duty, they risk their lives doing what is often a thankless job that very few oth ers would be willing to do. Have we forgotten that we lost one police officer, shot and killed while making a routine traffic stop? May I also take this opportu nity to extend my personal thanks to a host of others? First: To the city administra tive staff: Mike, Kathy, Janelle, Cindy and Julie. They keep the City running smoothly and are always efficient, friendly and cooperative. Together, they have made Vernonia the most progressive city in Columbia County and brought it prepared for the 21st century. Second: To Robyn and the public works crew. Always will ing to give freely of their own time and talents to make Ver nonia a place to be proud of while furnishing all of the es sential city services. There is no crew better than these dedi cated public servants. Third: To the City Council, Planning Commission, dozens of committee members and lit erally hundreds of volunteers, all unpaid, except for the knowl edge that they are making a valuable contribution through their service. Fourth: To Nancy and the li brary staff, providing a public service that is way beyond that of a city of comparable size. Visit the library and be amazed. The next time you meet a public servant, how about adding your “thank you” in ap preciation of his/her contribu tion toward making Vernonia the place where you want to live? Art Parrow Vernonia Vernonia’s help will feed needy families To the Editor: Thank you, Vernonians, for helping make this year’s Fall Canned Food Drive a success. Special thanks to Susie Arm strong, who organized and ran this year’s drive. Through everyone’s efforts, the Food Bank received 2,610 pounds of food. I wish to especially thank the door-to-door volunteers: Cub Scout Pack 201; Boy Scout Pack 201; Vernonia Community Church; Vernonia Christian Academy; Shannen, Jessica and Heidi Coleman; Mary Daniels; Lee’s U-Catch crew; Lorina Rich; JoAnn Beamish; Jan Tschiggfrie; Can dy & Kristin Olsen; Judy Gwin; Deanna Brown and the Tae- Kwon-Do class. Helpers at Cares who helped sort and stow away all this food were: Debby VanZant; Margaret Berndt; Olean Wagner; Ron & Nic Welch; Angie Taylor and kids; Michele and Levi Taylor; Debbie Huntington and kids; Linda Garrymore and Candy and Nick Olsen. Thank you all so much. Thanks, too, to Gale Gardner, who repaired the can vas banner. I hope I haven’t left anyone out and, if I have, please know I appreciate you, too. Your generosity and hard work will certainly help to feed the hungry around Vernonia this fall. During the month of October, Cares received mone tary donations in the amount of $1,469.09, too. We gratefully accept donations of food or money at all times through the year to help meet the needs of the hungry. We have seen many new clients just in these past few months, often due to decreased employment. If you would care to contribute, we are a non-profit organization and your gift is tax-deductible. Vernonia Cares Food Bank is your hand extended to our town. Thank you for contribut ing the food and funds to pro vide this service to our commu nity. Truly we live in a town which proves “Vernonia Cares.” Sandy Welch, Director Vernonia Cares Food Bank
