PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Vol. 18, No. 24
“Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley”
Members of Cub Scout Pack 201, with families and friends, enjoyed an evening of carol-
ing as they strolled throughout town
Blood Drive recognizes local needs, too
lives.
A Red Cross bloodmobile
will visit Vernonia January 2, in
recognition of Joel Glass, a
Vernonia resident who recently
received 111 units of blood af-
ter a hunting accident.
The blood drive will be held
at the Vernonia Fire Station,
555 East Bridge, on Friday,
January 2, from 12 noon to
Counties receive federal grants
for emergency food and shelter
Oregon will receive grants
totaling $2,571,031 from the
U.S. Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) Emergency
Food and Shelter (EFS) Pro-
gram to supplement food, shel-
ter, rent, mortgage, and utility
assistance programs for Ore-
gonians with non-disaster relat-
ed emergencies. Included in
the total are $43,595 for Co-
lumbia County and $22,353 for
Clatsop County.
The EFS national board is
chaired by the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency
(FEMA) and composed of rep-
resentatives from national
charities and relief organiza-
tions. In each jurisdiction fund-
ed, a local board establishes
priorities, selects local non-
profit and government agen-
cies to receive supplemental
funding, and monitors program
compliance.
December 18, 2003
Vernonia Lions aim
for skate/BMX park
Sounds of the Season…
The need for blood is rarely
expected and sadly, every two
seconds someone in the United
States needs a blood transfu-
sion. Being sure that blood is
available can be difficult be-
cause it has a shelf life and
must come from volunteer
blood donors.
Patients rely on volunteer
blood donations to save their
FREE
4:00 p.m. Donors must be at
least 17 years old, weigh a min-
imum of 110 pounds, have pos-
itive identification, and be in
good general health.
Take a moment to donate
blood. One hour of your time
can help premature babies,
cancer and surgery patients,
accident victims and others
who need blood and blood
products to live.
Blood products are often
needed in the following ways:
red blood cells, blood’s oxygen
carrying component, are often
used to treat surgery patients;
platelets, which aid in blood
clotting, are often needed by
cancer patients during chemo-
therapy; plasma, the liquid por-
tion of blood, is often used to
treat trauma victims; and cryo-
precipitate, a clotting factor
found in plasma, can help peo-
ple with blood disease lead
normal lives.
The local Lions Club is start-
ing the process of developing a
skateboard, inline skate and
BMX bike park in Vernonia, the
Vernonia City Council was told
at their December 15 meeting.
Making the presentation for the
Vernonia Lions, George Tice
said that club members have
been visiting other communi-
ties, talking with people in-
volved in the development and
operation of skate parks, and
researching the various kinds
of
construction.
Between
fundraising and construction,
the group expects the project to
take two to three years.
The Lions goal is to develop
the project as a community-
wide effort, working with the
city, fire district, schools, serv-
ice organizations, businesses
and churches. They are willing
to take the lead in raising the
$50,00-$100,00 needed but,
because they do not want to
handle the accounting and ad-
ministrative functions, are
seeking arrangements with the
city or another non-profit organ-
ization to handle those areas of
the project. They will be looking
for potential sites on both city-
owned and privately owned
properties.
As soon as they have devel-
oped more information, includ-
ing possible locations for the
park, a public meeting will be
scheduled, likely in February or
March. City staff will work with
the Lions in developing site in-
formation.
Highway 47 work starts
Bridge work has started on
state Highway 47, which is both
Vernonia’s main street and the
major transportation route for
the upper Nehalem Valley.
Soon to follow will be culvert re-
placement and shoulder work,
as needed, plus resurfacing
from the Sunset Highway to the
north end of the Vernonia City
Limits. In the process, there will
be some major disruption of
traffic, Vernonia Public Works
Director Robyn Bassett told the
council.
Bassett and City Administra-
tor Mike Sykes have been
meeting with personnel from
the Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT) to ob-
tain more information on
scheduling and how it will affect
the community. They will be
meeting again in an effort to co-
ordinate scheduling and mini-
mize negative impact on the
community. Council has sched-
uled an informational Town Hall
meeting at the Scout Cabin,
February 17 at 6:30 p.m., with
staff from ODOT to explain the
project and answer questions.
Senior Center
A new Vernonia Senior Cen-
ter may become reality, starting
this spring. Representing Com-
munity Action Team, which will
administer the project, Jim Tier-
ney told the council that, as
soon as the city completes ac-
quisition of land adjacent to
Vernonia Lake, an option for
property west of there will be
obtained for the building site. In
addition to the senior center,
the building will house Vernon-
ia Cares and offices for county
and/or state services. The City
of Vernonia has obtained a
$600,000 Community Develop-
ment Block Grant for the proj-
ect, but there is still a need to
seek approximately $400,000
in grants and/or loans, Tierney
said.
Transportation plan
Council members were
somewhat less than enthusias-
tic about a transportation plan
developed and recommended
for Columbia County by Lands-
man Transportation Planning;
actually, they were appalled.
Please see page 2