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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 2003)
nun: Leslie Larson UO Library-OMP 1299 University Of Oregon Eugene OR 97403-1299 Voi. 18, No. 12 PRESORTED STANDARD U S. P o sta g e Paid V ern on ia, O R 97064 Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley Remembering... June 19, 2003 July 4th Parade and Fireworks planned .... <———**...». I .... ........... Boy Scouts formed a well-practiced color guard to honor veterans during Memorial Day services «♦ Vfrr^n»» Memorial Cemetery. .............. * ■ ■ ■ ■ ««. , '■ ■ ■ ■ Vernonia’s annual Indepen dence Day Parade will start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 4th, and the day of fun will end with a fireworks display starting at dusk. There is no entrance fee for the parade and, while children are especially encouraged to join in, it is open to everyone who wants to decorate them selves — or their bikes, or cars, or wagons, or dogs, or horses — in Red, White and Blue In dependence Day themes. The parade will form on Weed Avenue, adjacent to Ver nonia City Hall, march down Bridge Street to Washington Grade School and disband at California Avenue and the WGS parking lot. The fireworks display will be staged behind Vernonia High School, with the prime viewing area on the lawn between the VHS and WGS athletic fields. It is not usually dark enough to start the fireworks until after 9:00 p.m., so viewers are ad vised to bring a blanket to sit Cancer and unemployment strike family simultaneously Just weeks after former Ver nonia resident Steve Barker lost his job, with the closing of the Sony plant in Springfield, his 3-1/2 year-old daughter, Kendra, was diagnosed with a rare and fast-growing malig nant tumor. Because the tumor, a rab- domyosarcoma, is wrapping around blood vessels and inter nal ear structures, it cannot be surgically removed. Treatment to destroy the rapidly growing tumor relies on chemotherapy and radiation. At this time, the right side of Kendra’s face is paralyzed, she is unable to close her right eye and is losing weight because her jaw hurts when she eats. (She has also lost her hair to chemotherapy, FREE but her five-year-old brother, Austin, had his head shaved to keep her company.) The Barker family - Steve and his wife, Susan, Kendra and Austin - are now traveling back and forth from their Springfield home to Doern- becher Children’s Hospital in Portland for 12 weeks of chemotherapy. This will be fol lowed by eight weeks of radia tion, then another 38 weeks of chemo. Some sessions are day trips, others require an over night stay. In addition, Steve Barker, Kendra Barker who is the son of Lyle and Car ol Barker of Vernonia, is sched Steve’s health insurance uled for reconstructive knee sur coverage from Sony will cease gery, the result of aggravating in two months and the cost of an injury incurred 12 years ago. monthly premiums for switching to private insurance, under the federal COBRA plan, would be approximately $700 per month, Carol Barker explained. Su san's insurance, from her job in a small business, will cover only part of the cost for Kendra’s treatments. To further the financial stress on the family, Steve’s unem ployment benefits may be cut off because - between trips to Doernbecher, helping to take care of Kendra and waiting for knee surgery - he cannot ac tively seek employment. To help defray costs, friends have set up the Kendra Nicole Barker Cancer Relief Fund, at US Bank. Anyone wishing to contribute may do so at any US Bank branch. on, and be prepared for what is often a cool evening. The display is free to all spectators, but privately pur chased fireworks are not al lowed and will be confiscated. Vernonia Pride sponsors both the parade and the fire works display. The pyrotechni cal display will be handled by the Vernonia Volunteer Fire fighters Association. Spaghetti Dinner for Fireworks Fund The annual spaghetti dinner which helps raise funds for the fireworks, will be held this Sunday, June 22, from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Lew’s Place. Organizers say “Bring your appetite” and enjoy the buffet-style dinner of spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and dessert. The price is $8.00 for adults; for children 12 and under, the dinner is $5.00. County returns to consideration of Goal 5 plans Columbia County Planning Commission has set a date of June 30 to deliberate on the Goal 5 Sensitive Lands and Habitats Protection Program and proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance. At the May 19 hearing, the record was left open to receive written testimony for 30 days, until June 18. Any person may submit written comments about the proposed amendments to the county’s Land Develop ment Services, up to 5:00 p.m., June 18, 2003. Suggested changes to the proposed amendments, made because of com m ents re- Please see page 4
