Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2004)
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid Vernonia, OR 97064 Permit No. 37 Vol. 19, No. 10 “Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley” May 20, 2004 County voters say YES to 9-1-1 levy Progress… What many thought was an- other wind storm, was actually a county-wide sigh of relief when the word went out elec- tion night at 10:55 p.m. that vot- ers had approved the 9-1-1 levy renewal. Just under 53 percent of the registered voters in Columbia County cast ballots in the May 18 primary election, meeting the 50 percent turnout require- ment that had defeated previ- ous attempts to renew the levy. Final unofficial returns showed that more than 70 percent of the ballots cast supported the levy renewal. Washington County Library levy fails The work is noisy and inconvenient, but steady progress is being made on the Hwy. 47 resufacing project. A bonus for the area is that many local contractors and their employees are involved in the work. Road work will cause increased delays While work on the first four blocks in downtown Vernonia has been relatively smooth, substantial traffic delays are likely during upcoming seg- ments of the Hwy. 47 resurfac- ing project. Work on the narrow Rock Creek bridge will require the closure of one lane, with traffic delays in both directions of up to 20 minutes. This starts today and should be done very soon, if no problems develop. A much bigger segment, construction of the pedestrian/ bike path on OA Hill, from the museum to the grade school, will require 24-hour, one-way traffic for a month or more. Work needed to stabilize the FREE hill and construct a safe path- way will require a lot of equip- ment, including a pile driver. Traffic delays of up to 20 min- utes may be expected, and a flagger will be on duty 24 hours. This work will start June 1. Local drivers are urged to use Stoney Point or Pebble Creek Roads whenever possible, to avoid construction delays. Curious bear visits Alder Street Wildlife sightings are com- mon in this area – deer, elk, coyotes, raccoons, occasional- ly foxes, cougar, even a bobcat or two. But a bear on the deck of a home within the Vernonia City limits is not common. Nevertheless, the Scheuer- man family watched – from in- side their Alder Street home – as a bear investigated the bird feeder on their deck this past Sunday. “It was a young bear,” Erin Scheuerman said. When she raised an upstairs window to take a picture, the bear bolted and climbed a tree. It later came down and ran off. “I know what to do with cows, and I know what to do with dogs,” said Vernonia Po- lice Chief Matthew Workman. “I don’t know what to do with bears.” Fortunately, he didn’t have to find out…yet. Washington County voters narrowly approved a levy for Washington County libraries, but with only 40.15 percent of registered voters returning bal- lots, failure to meet the 50 per- cent turnout invalidated the ef- fort. and 16.7 percent for William Daemke. State Representative District 31 and 32 District 31 Democratic in- cumbent Betsy Johnson had no challengers in the primary election, and no Republicans filed for the position. Unless an independent candidate quali- fies later, Johnson will be unop- posed in the November Gener- al Election. The District 32 incumbent, Elaine Hopson, is not running for re-election, making this the only contested legislative race for this area. Deborah Boone, who won the Democratic nomination de- cisively (66.46 percent to 33.54 percent) over Rosemary Bak- er-Monaghan, will face Repub- lican Douglas Olson. Olson also won handily, 59.5 percent to 40.5 percent, over Adam Schwend on the Republican ticket. Results for Columbia Assorted results In other contested races, County Commission Incumbent Joe Corsiglia de- feated Gary Heide for Colum- bia County Commissioner Po- sition 1, with 52.5 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary. Colleen DeShazer edged past Glenn Dorschler, 49.9 per- cent to 47.67 percent, in the Republican primary for Colum- bia County Commissioner Po- sition 1. Position 3 incumbent Tony Hyde was unopposed in the Republican primary. Rosemary Lohrke won eas- ily in a three-way Democratic primary for Position 3. Lohrke received 51.7 percent of the vote to 29.6 for Steve Sickles Columbia County voters were in agreement with state-wide results, favoring presidential candidate John Kerry on the Democratic ticket, and Republi- can Goli Ameri to challenge the Democrat pick, incumbent David Wu, for U.S. Congress in District 1. Republicans nominated Bet- sy Close to face the Democrat choice for Secretary of State, incumbent Bill Bradbury. In nonpartisan races, incum- bent state Supreme Court Jus- tices Rives Kistler and William Riggs were both local and state choices, as was incumbent Ap- peals Court Judge Robert Woll- heim.
