The INDEPENDENT, June 19, 2003
Community events
create full schedule
To the Editor:
It seems we were just plan
ning these coming events and
now they are about to happen.
First: the Spaghetti Dinner at
Lew’s on Sunday, June 22,
from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. All you
can eat - Adults $8.00 and chil
dren 12 and under $5.00. Sal
ad, bread and dessert included.
This dinner is a benefit for the
fireworks. Show your support
by attending this fundraiser.
Second: The Open House at
the Museum on Sunday, June
29, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. We
will have our plaque in place for
everyone to see. Our museum,
“The Oregon American Mill Of
fice” has been placed on the
National Register of Historic
Places. The Golden Oldies will
be providing music for our en
joyment. We are asking for
good weather so we can sit
outside and visit (bring a chair)
or you can take the time to walk
through the museum.
Third: The 4th of July will be
here soon. We will be having
Between the Bookends
By Nancy Burch, Librarian
Vernonia Public Library
Two exciting events will
be taking place in the li
brary in the month of June.
W hitney Otto, author of
How to Make an American
Quilt, will be here Saturday,
June 21st at 2:00 p.m. She
will be reading from her
books and signing any that
are purchased that day.
She will also bring the beautiful quilt from the
movie of the same name. Saturday, June 28th
will be the very first Chautauqua program at the
library. Pat Gold will present a program on the
history and culture of the Chinookan people. Ms.
Gold is an artist whose work (basketry) has been
exhibited nationally and internationally. She has
won numerous awards and honors and is a high
ly respected lecturer and artist-in-residence. Ms.
Gold resides in Scappoose in our very own Co
lumbia County, and it would be especially grati
fying to have a large number in attendance at
her presentation. These programs are free to the
public and refreshments will be served.
The annual library Summer Reading Program
will be starting Tuesday, June 24, at 11 a.m. Sci
ence will be the first topic for youngsters who will
be Reading, Discovering and Exploring. The
only evening presentation this year will be on
July 2nd at 7:00 p.m. This will feature Steve Tay
lor, the magical ventriloquist, with his program on
Lewis and Clark. Registration is still open, with
forms and schedules available at the library.
Youngsters, six and under, will be meeting at the
library and those seven and older will meet at
Anderson Park. This summer’s sponsors include
United Grocers (of which Sentry Market is a
member) and The Friends of the Vernonia Li
brary. Both Fred Meyer and Wal-Mart have do
nated gift certificates with which prizes for
youngsters meeting reading goals will be pur
chased.
The Friends of the Library have received noti
fication that the organization can reasonably ex
pect to be a publicly supported organization (ex
empt from federal income tax). This stage of the
process is called “an advanced ruling period.”
Now, individuals filing income tax forms may of
ficially consider donations given to the group to
be tax-exempt. The Friends have worked very
hard to complete paperwork associated with this
process and would like to publicly thank the law
our usual parade which will
start at 7:30 p.m. from City Hall
and Weed Ave. We will march
down Bridge Street, exiting at
California Ave. by WGS onto
the school grounds.
The
Boosters and Scouts will be
selling their usual goodies. Sit
and visit with friends and neigh
bors until it is time for the fire
works. Vernonia Pride will be
collecting donations for the fire
works at the close of the dis
play.
Fourth: Please leave all of
your own fireworks at home.
Someone could get hurt and
bringing them to a public dis
play could result in closing
down our show in com ing
years. Please respect this re
quest. Sit back and have a
good time and enjoy the fire
works. Have a happy and safe
4th.
Enid Parrow
President of the Vernonia
Pioneer Museum and a
Member of Vernonia Pride
Another successful
Senior Spelling Bee
To the Editor:
The Senior Spelling Bee was
held recently, and everyone at
the Senior Center seemed to
have a great time. It went
smoothly due to the help of
some senior citizens and some
not-yet-seniors. Thank you to
our judges, Carol Sawyer and
Noni Andersen - both of these
ladies have won the local con
test in past years; their knowl
edge of words made it easy.
Thanks also to Ralph and Car
olyn Keasey and Bob Wagner
for their help and support. We
appreciate, as usual, the sup
port of the Senior Center, help
ing us in many ways, as they al
ways do. And a special thanks
to Sentry Market for the won
derful fruits, veggies, and
drinks.
The Vernonia Spelling Bee is
an annual event, open to any
one over 50. It is always a
“user-friendly,” informal party,
and quite competitive. The win
ners this year: Tobie Finzel,
first; Bob Eastman, second;
and Ruth Bell, third. Congratu
lations! Watch for notice of the
fourth annual Spelling Bee next
spring. I like to say that it is
proof that seniors can, and do,
stay active. And that “learning
never stops!”
office of Tim Marble for the beneficial and free
advice that helped them finally achieve this sta
tus. The group is hoping that their big fund-rais
er (book sale) during Jamboree weekend will be
a huge success. Donated books may be
dropped off at Glen Purvee’s building on June 28
and on July 26, from 10 a.m. to noon, both days.
Books for discussion this month are A Collec
tion of Beauties at the Height of their Popularity
by Whitney Otto, and Liberty Falling by Nevada
Barr. Next meeting of this group will be Monday,
June 23 at 5:30 p.m. at the library. It’s very infor
mal and all are invited.
New acquisitions include Good Morning, Killer
by April Smith, Naked Prey by John Sandford,
Dead Binger by Lisa Scottoline, Say When by
Elizabeth Berg and A Body to Die For by Kate
White.
Also added to the collection in appreciation to
Judy Thiringer, who has diligently served eight
years on the library board, are 1001 Ingenious
Gardening Ideas: New, Fun, and Fabulous tips
That Will Change the Way You Garden-Forever!
and A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill
Bryson. Judy’s invaluable advice, wit, and tact as
a board member will be greatly missed. She will
continue to be an advocate for the library and to
regularly catalog library materials. She is one of
the three dedicated individuals who started elec
tronically entering items three years ago and has
continued on an almost weekly basis since. This
has not always been an easy task, as some of
Vernonia’s holdings are so obscure that they
could not be found in any other library’s collec
tion for downloading. Finding current call num
Audeen Wagner
bers has been such a challenge that Judy re
Vernonia
cently purchased the latest edition of the Dewey
Decimal Classification and Relative Index for the
Spaying/neutering
library. This contains call numbers for such
strange subjects as yo-yos, wrenches, wheel costs are too high
barrows, toothpicks, sawmill operations, saxo
phonists and cucumbers, as well as nearly any To the Editor:
new subject one might wish to categorize. This
In response to Kim Sebring’s
reference book will be an indispensable asset to
letter in the June 5 issue of The
the library and will be one more way in which
Independent
Judy will be remembered and appreciated.
You are fortunate that you
could handle this kitten, most
Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Ave.
feral cats will not let you handle
Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m,;
them. The problem really lies
Tues., Thur. 2 p.m. - 7 p.m.
with the people who have the
Sat 10 a.m. -2 p.m.
ability to perform spaying and
Preschool Story Time; Mondays, 10.00
neutering, but refuse to do so
a.m., when school is in session.
without charging a fee that
Phone: (503)429-1818
many people cannot afford. We
heard about the spay and
neuter clinic and thought, now
that is something that should
benefit everyone who cannot
afford to have their feral cats
spayed or neutered. Think
again!!! They charge a fee, too
and you are lucky if they even
bother to call you when your
name is on the list. They did not
call us and our name was on
the list. The veterinary clinics
should have one day a month
where they do nothing but
spaying and neutering, why
haven’t they done that? Is it be
cause they can make more
money doing what they do
now? Some say let the cats
starve to death, well that’s o.k.
if you are that type of person
who can just let an animal
starve to death.
The Oregon Humane Soci
ety will take cats and not put
them to sleep. You have to
make an appointment and then
they ask for a donation of
$39.00 for each cat. You do
have to get lucky and catch the
cat in a trap the day, or
as
close to the day, you are taking
it in. This is sometimes a chal
lenge. We decided this was a
more caring way to handle the
cats that we can catch. Those
that we can’t catch, well, we
just can't let them starve.
Diana Russell
Vernonia
Emergency response
is remarkably good
To The Editor:
On June 2, 2003 I was in
volved in a log truck accident
that put me on the other side of
the fence.
For the past two plus years,
I have been a member of the
Vernonia Volunteer Fire De
partment. I joined so that I
could help others in our com
m unity during their tim e of
need. On this Monday morning
I became the one in need of
help. As my truck came to a
sudden stop and the dust set
tled, I climbed out of my truck
with my scalp laying in my face
and bleeding badly, but I had a
sense of calm come over me as
I realized that my extended
family would soon be on scene.
What I didn’t realize at first was
that there was so much blood
covering my face that these
people that I work with all the
time had no idea who I was. It
wasn’t until I started talking to
them that the medics and fire-
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