Vol. 17, No. 14
“Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley"
J
Meeting on museum
fills council chamber
Improvements continuing at Shay Park
Improvements are continu
ing at Shay Park. A roof now
shelters the old engine, and a
concrete and brick sidewalk
has been installed around it.
The sidewalk installation is a
joint effort of the City of Ver
nonia and Vernonia Pride, and
is funded partly with the pro
ceeds from sales of engraved
bricks. Local contractor Loren
Dennis constructed the side
walk and set the bricks.
Those interested may still
purchase a brick engraved with
your name, or in memory of
someone else. Vernonia Pride
is still taking orders for the
$25.00 bricks. They will be en
graved on the Saturday of Jam
boree by Fred Bass, from Bass
Memorials and Stone Art, who
will work on bricks already in
stalled in the walkway. For
more information, call Donna
Webb of Vernonia Pride, at
429-5201.
People concerned about
keeping the museum in Ver
nonia open and accessible to
the public, filled the Vernonia
City Council meeting room
Monday night, and expressed
what Mayor Cindy Ball charac
terized as a “mostly gracious
exchange of opinion.”
Although most people in
volved in local museum opera
tions were under the impres
sion that the collections in both
Vernonia and St. Helens had
been conveyed to the Colum
bia County Historical Society,
extensive research by county
staff could find no documenta
tion to support that position, ex
plained Columbia County Com
missioner Tony Hyde. (The St.
Helens museum is in the old
county courthouse and the Ver
nonia museum is owned by the
City of Vernonia, with museum
expenses paid by the county.)
According to Hyde, the only
documented agreement is for
museum operations, which
would indicate that the county
retains ownership.
Having completed their re
search, the county had already
arranged to reopen the muse
um in Vernonia—with staffing
by local volunteers—so access
was no longer a concern, pro
vided there are enough volun
teers.
Enit Parrow, who has volun
teered at the museum for sev
eral years, said that the muse-
Bike trip Saturday on proposed linear trail
Bicycle enthusiasts can pre
view about 25 miles of a pro
posed linear trail between Ver
nonia and Scappoose on Sat
urday, July 20, by joining a ride
along an old railroad right-of-
way from Pittsburg to Scap
poose.
Participants will meet about
10 a.m. at Chapman Landing in
Scappoose, then take a bus to
the Spar Tree Restaurant for
breakfast and the starting point
of the ride. To add an interest-
ing historical element to the
day, there will be a stop at the
divide between the two local
watersheds (Nehalem and Co
lumbia) for a short hike to an
abandoned railroad tunnel.
Everyone should be back in
Scappoose by 3:00 p.m. Riders
may also join the group at the
Spar Tree, but will have to
arrange their own transporta-
tion from Scappoose. Bike trail
tires are recommended, though
not essential for most of the
route.
The original use of the right-
of-way was by a railroad that
carried logs for Clark & Wilson
Please see page 12
um was closed for three
months this winter because the
furnace needed to be repaired,
then because the president of
the county historical society
changed the locks, but that it
had seldom been closed for
lack of volunteers.
Questions of inventory re
mained. The past two curators,
Barbara Werner and Robb Wil
son, had each prepared com
plete inventory lists, but the
lists are missing. County Coun
sel John Knight said that there
should be written agreements
for materials given to the muse
um, with any special conditions
noted. No one asked about ar
tifacts missing from Vernonia.
Vernonia Museum
Open Friday,
Saturday, Sunday
1:00-4:00 p.m.
Arrangements can be
made fo r groups.
Volunteers needed.
For inform ation, call
Enid Parrow:
503-429-8134.
Costley named to
Council vacancy
The Vernonia City Council is
now at full capacity, with the
appointment of Brett Costley,
July 8, to fill the vacancy creat
ed when Mario Leonetti re
signed as Mayor, and Coun-,
cilor Cindy Ball was appointed
to fill the mayoral position.
Costley is already familiar with
many ongoing projects in the
city, having served for nearly
two years on the Vernonia
Planning Commission.
The only other applicant
was Sam Hearing, a longtime
Vernonia resident and former
businessman.