PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Permit No. 37
Vol. 19, No. 14
“Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley”
As a reminder that the Vernonia Friendship Jamboree has a purpose beyond fun and
games, Jamboree committee co-chair Mark Hall, second from left, presented $150 checks
to three local non-profit organizations. Accepting the checks were Madeleine Gendron
(left) for Vernonia Hands-On Art, Bill James for the Vernonia Senior Center, and Claudine
East for the Friends of the Vernonia Library.
CERT training will be offered locally
This training program has
proven to be so successful and
beneficial that the Federal
Emergency Management Agen-
cy (FEMA) felt the program
should be made available na-
tionwide to anyone who wants
to attend.
The goals of CERT training
are to improve disaster re-
sponse and recovery, develop
a relationship with emergency
responders, improve prepared-
ness and self-reliance, and
teach effective use of scarce
resources. Additionally, the
training promotes opportunities
for cooperation among neigh-
bors and between neighbor-
hoods, building on the sense of
community.
The training course meets
weekly for 8 weeks with the fol-
July 15, 2004
Family fun awaits at
Columbia County Fair
Jamboree Smiles…
Did you notice the CERT
banner in the Fourth of July pa-
rade? Perhaps you read the
banner and wondered “what is
CERT?”
CERT is an acronym for
Community Emergency Re-
sponse Team, a concept that
was developed by the Los An-
geles Fire Department (LAFD)
in 1985.
LAFD recognized that citi-
zens would very likely be on
their own during the early
stages of a catastrophic disas-
ter such as an earthquake or
terrorist event. Accordingly,
they decided that some basic
training in disaster survival and
rescue skills would improve the
ability of citizens to survive un-
til professional responders or
other assistance could arrive.
FREE
lowing curriculum:
• Disaster Preparedness
• Disaster Fire Suppression
• Disaster Medical Opera-
tions - Part 1
• Disaster Medical Opera-
tions - Part 2
• Light Search & Rescue
Please see page 5
Mayor, two council
terms will be open
If anyone is interested in an
unpaid, time-consuming and
unappreciated position, now is
the time to file for the Vernonia
City Council.
Three positions will be open,
two council seats with 4-year
terms, and the position of May-
or, which is a 2-year term.
Forms and explanations are
available at City Hall.
Delightfully new for children
and pleasantly nostalgic for
oldtimers, The Columbia Coun-
ty Fair & Rodeo will run from
July 21 through July 25 with all
of the following events – and a
whole barnyard more – includ-
ed with Fair admission.
Wednesday, July 21; My
Fair Lady Pageant at 1:00 p.m.,
Fair Benefit Stock Car Races at
6:00 p.m., Talent Show Tryouts
at 7:00 p.m. (See Page 11)
Thursday, July 22; Creek-
side Studios NW Baby Contest
at 2:00 p.m., Jr. Rodeo at 6:00
p.m., Johnny Limbo & the
Lugnuts at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, July 23; the Holden
Band at 4:00 and 10:00 p.m.,
Lonesome Road at 5:00 p.m.
and following the Rodeo,
NPRA Rodeo at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 24; Logging
Show at 11:00 a.m., NPRA
Rodeo at 7:00 p.m., Holden
Band at 7:30 p.m., Lonesome
Road at 9:30 p.m., JP West at
10:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 25; C.A.S.I.
Oregon State Chili Cook-off at
11:00 a.m., Tractor and Truck
Pull at 1:00 p.m.
Other events going on
throughout the fair include a
carnival, Kids’ Zone, petting
zoo, Grange Museum, over 15
categories of exhibits, food
booths, and lots of animals.
Fair admission is $3 for chil-
dren 7-12, $4 for age 13-18, $6
for adults and $3 for seniors 60
and over. Children under age 7
are free. Season passes are
also available. Tickets and
passes are available in Vernon-
ia at West Oregon Electric Co-
operative, at Johnson Family
Feed & Supply in Clatskanie,
Alston Corner Feed Company
in Rainier, South County Spot-
light in Scappoose, Columbia
County Fair office in St. He-
lens, and the St. Helens-Scap-
poose Chamber of Commerce.
The fairgrounds are located
at 58892 Saulser Road (just off
Sykes Road) in St. Helens. Fair
hours will be 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
on Wednesday and Thursday,
9:00 a.m. - midnight Friday and
Saturday, 10 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sunday.
Teen is fatally
injured in crash
Shirea Lynn Ray
Shirea Ray, 17, was killed
July 6 in a crash near Ray, No.
Dakota, while on vacation with
her father, William Benecke,
42, of Flagstaff, Arizona.
According to the N. Dak.
Highway Patrol, Benecke, who
was driving a convertible, was
passing a truck on Hwy. 2
when he crashed head-on into
a pickup. He was not seriously
injured, nor were the occu-
pants of the pickup.
Shirea, who would have
been a senior at Vernonia High
School in the fall, worked at the
Country Kitchen and lived with
the family of Betty and David
Vaughn in Vernonia until re-
cently moving to Mist.
A complete obituary may be
found on page 21.