The INDEPENDENT, April 18,2002
Page 3
Letters to the Editor
Spiritually, Vernonia
doesn’t meet needs
To the Editor:
I am writing in response to
Lisa Edgar's letter in your April
4th issue. I was reading along,
nodding in agreement with her
com m ents about com m unity
support and shopping conve
nience. Then, however, came
the part where we parted opin
ions.
Although the act of locating
a church home is commonly re
ferred to as "shopping," it is
nothing like comparing prices
or delivery options on major ap
pliances. Shopping for a church
means going where the Lord
leads you, not just going to the
*
s'- y;,-»
Í,/
- ' ' ' “ '' X*
X..........
message board in the entryway has been donat
ed to the Vernonia community, “in loving memo
ry of Kathryn M. (Malmsten) Greathouse” by
Mark, Gordon,
and
Lowell Greathouse
(Kathryn’s sons) and Low ell’s father-in-law,
Arthur Knapp. Be sure to notice this new addition
on your next visit to the library.
The preschool story time continues to be well
attended. This activity, held each Monday morn
ing at 10:30, is an enjoyable time for staff,
youngsters and parents. Preschoolers and their
parents are encouraged to join the fun. Young
sters are also encouraged to attend the Monday
afternoon Reading Enrichment activities. These
sessions are held at 3:30 each Monday that
school is in session and are under the direction
of Trish Maldonado.
Although this article must be submitted prior
to the performance of Steve Taylor, the magical
ventriloquist, this should be another stupendous
happening at the library. This event is in honor of
National Library Week and is sponsored by the
Friends of the Library. If you wish to join this or
ganization, whose sole purpose is the support of
the library and its programs, meetings are held
on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.
in the library. The next meeting will be May 7.
Recent acquisitions also promise to be excit
ing, thrilling, provocative and alluring to Vernon
ia’s readers. These include Lucky Man by
Michael J. Fox, A ct o f G odby Susan Sloan, Wid
ow ’s Walk by Robert B. Parker, Justice Hall by
Laurie King, The Bondwoman’s Narrative by
Hannah Crafts, The Pillars of Creation by Terry
Goodkind, The Golden One by Elizabeth Peters,
and Three Fates by Nora Roberts.
With all of the interesting activities that are
currently taking place at the library, planning is
beginning for the upcoming Summer Reading
Program. The theme of “Don’t Bug Me, I’m
Reading” holds many possibilities for some great
activities. In order to make this a success, vol
unteers are being asked to help with the pro
gram. If you, your family, or organization will be
willing to commit to helping with at least one of
these sessions, please contact the library. The
success of this program will be in direct propor
tion to the amount of community involvement. In
formational sheets will be available in the library
shortly with available time slots for help with
reading stories, helping with a craft, or with an
activity.
Keep reading and keep supporting your li
brary. As this article points out, donors and vol
unteers are extremely valuable in insuring the
success of the library and its programs.
'! jl
By Nancy Burch, Librarian
Vernonia Public Library
These past two weeks can be described only
by adjectives such as noteworthy, unprecedent
ed, extraordinary, and marvelous.
Saturday, April 6, was the very first presenta
tion by a Northwest author in Vernonia’s library.
Co-sponsored by The Friends of the Library and
the Library Board, the event was enjoyed by the
30+ DeoDle who attended. True-adventure au-
thor Spike W alker related some of the thrilling
adventures he has written about and talked
about the way he researches and writes his
books. He also told about studying and absorb
ing the descriptive writing methods of such au
thors as Steinbeck, Michener, and Thomas
Wolfe and how these authors influenced him and
his writing. After the presentation, W alker was
gracious in writing personalized comments in all
of his books that were purchased at the event.
The books were obtained through the St. Helens
Book Shop as part of a Book Fair fundraising
event with a percentage of the gross receipts go
ing to the library as a credit at The Book Shop.
All in all, the afternoon was great— entertaining,
profitable and satisfying both to the soul and to
the stomach (One person commented that Enid
Parrow’s brownies would draw a crowd just by
themselves.).
Several contributions have been made to the
library in the past two weeks in memory of Ora
Bolmeier. Ora was a long time, respected mem
ber of the community, having taught school for
many years and, after retiring, working as a clerk
for the City of Vernonia. Although she had been
in Forest Grove for several years, she will be re
membered and missed by her many Vernonia
friends as well as by her family. The donations in
O ra’s memory will be used to purchase books re
flecting Ora’s personality and interests and are
greatly appreciated.
The newly-installed, attractive information/
Vernonia Library 701 Weed Avenue
Hours: Mon.» Wed., F it 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Tues., Thur. 2 p.m.-7 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
fe. .■ k
fe * fe
L.
;
vfe fe., fefe^fe _
closest building with a cross on
its sign.
My family has needs other
than local churches seem able
to provide. A vibrant music pro
gram is one, now that you men
tion it. 'Exciting' music is cen
tral to one of my family mem
ber's praise experience. We're
supposed to make a Joyful
Noise unto the Lord, which may
mean we need more than a pi
ano as accompaniment.
Also we believe that our chil
dren benefit by an array of pro
grams and services, not to
mention a Sunday School class
where there is more than one
other student their age.
And I have a wild suggestion
for your question regarding
'getting the draws' locally.
What if there was just one large
church? What if all the little
churches did away with their
petty differences? What if all
the local resources (monetary,
time, talent!) were combined so
that we could enjoy expanded
m inistries and an 'exciting'
praise team? I know for a fact
that my family would be there,
giving all we could to keep it
happening.
We, too, are proud Vernoni-
ans, but spiritually for us, Ver
nonia is lacking. I will buy my
next refrigerator here, but must
seek incorporeal fulfillm ent
elsewhere.
Continually seeking His ad
vice,
Susan Foster
Vernonia
Businesses need to
support each other
To the Editor:
In response to the letter w rit
ten by Lisa Edgar in the April 4
issue of the Independent, I am
the Owner/Operator of “Marie’s
Tropical Fish” located at the
Bridge Street Mall in downtown
Vernonia. I have also con
tributed, through personal and
business finances, monetary
donations to this community. I
am proud of this town and have
seen the growth in the two
years I have been here. I sup
port the letter Lisa Edgar wrote,
however, my concern is this. In
your letter, you went on about
supporting the local businesses
and how the downtown busi
nesses are “picked on.” My
question for you is “why would
you want to duplicate a busi
ness already in operation?”
I feel Creatures (your store)
is a great thing for Vernonia. I
have heard the talk from the
kids and adults, both pros and
cons, about your store. Never
have I said a bad remark re
garding your store. I have al
ways supported your store in
this way.
I have worked hard to build
my clientele. I have always
made sure my customers are
satisfied with their purchases.
The point I am making is this.
Why, after knowing I was in op
eration, would you want to take
a bit of the market I have tried
to build?
You have the “Creatures"
cornered and I feel by you
adding tropical fish to your
business, this was a slap in the
face to myself, the local busi
nesses and yourself, which is
what you wrote in the last Inde
pendent.
I ask, in fairness to your let
ter, that you remove the fish
from your business and all will
be resolved. If you choose not
to, I will still be fine with that, as
I know that I am an honest, up
standing business owner and
proud Vernonian.
Marie Due
Vernonia
Arts & Crafts can be
in Jamboree with help
To the Editor:
Over the course of the past
months it has come to our at
tention that Vernonia and the
surrounding area have a
plethora of original artists and
craftsmen.
In past Jamborees there was
a section for local artists and
craftsmen to exhibit their cre
ations. Due to the unprecedent
ed turnout for last year’s Jam
boree, and efforts to make the
upcom ing Jam boree bigger
and better, it has been suggest
ed by many people that we
bring back an original arts and
crafts section.
Are you one of these artists
or craftsmen, or do you know
someone that would like to dis
play their creations to the pub
lic during Jamboree weekend?
If you are, we want to hear from
you. We also would like to hear
from anyone who has experi
ence in coordinating Arts &
Crafts shows or would like to
help.
At present we have received
no entries for the theme con
test. We feel there was confu
sion about the original intent of
Please see page14