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
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Boy Scouts formed a well-practiced color guard to honor veterans during Memorial Day
services «♦ Vfrr^n»» Memorial Cemetery.
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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