PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Permit No. 37
“Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley”
Vol. 20, No. 16
Park & Rec grant will help
City buy mill site property
It’s that time again…
Typical of action at the Banks Tractor Pull is the V12 Allison driven by Clay Johnson in a
previous year. Last year’s event was rained out, which isn’t a threat this year. Please see
page 16 for a full schedule of events.
47J employee quits with public comments
Long-time Vernonia School
District employee Rena Titus
read an emotional letter to the
Vernonia School Board at their
August 11 meeting that left sev-
eral audience members in
tears. Detailing her frustrations
and bitterness after 16 years in
the district, Titus had many
complaints about staffing deci-
sions and charged that “tests
were watered down to make
the district appear to comply”
with No Child Left Behind stan-
dards. Titus told the board that
she felt let down by the district
Blood Drive Monday
at Community Church
A Red Cross Blood Drive will
held Monday, August 22, from
2:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Ver-
nonia Community Church, 957
State Avenue.
Positive identification is re-
quired to donate. To sign up,
call Melissa at 503-528-5608
or Pastor Grant at 503-429-
6790.
and concluded by resigning
from her position as teaching
assistant and custodian for Mist
Grade School.
Board Workshop
The meeting began with a
workshop presented by Oregon
School Board Association
(OSBA) representative Greg
McKenzie concerning board
roles and responsibilities.
Though the board engaged in
lively discussion throughout the
workshop, new board member
Kim Wallace expressed disap-
pointment, after the meeting,
that some procedures – such
as the appropriate way to re-
spond to public comment – had
not been covered.
Contractors have assured
him that the new middle school
building will be complete for
turn-over on August 28, Super-
intendent Mike Funderburg told
the board. Principal Nate Un-
derwood said that the company
that manufactures the play-
ground equipment will com-
August 18, 2005
plete the installation.
Please see page 2
The City of Vernonia has
been awarded a grant of
$285,000 from Oregon Parks
and Recreation Department
(OPRD) to purchase property
at the old mill site. The Vernon-
ia grant is part of more than $5
million OPRD is awarding to
help buy, develop and improve
parklands and outdoor recre-
ation facilities in Oregon com-
munities ranging in size from
Adams (pop. 320) in northeast
Oregon to the Portland metro-
politan area.
The lottery-funded “Local
Government Grants,” will help
finance 22 large projects rang-
ing in cost from $54,952 to
$500,000, and 15 small proj-
ects costing from $15,000 to
$50,000. The grants were rec-
ommended by OPRD’s Local
Government Advisory Commit-
tee and approved by the Ore-
gon Parks and Recreation
Commission based on criteria
that included recreation needs
and planning, the formation of
partnerships, public support,
timeliness, sustainability and
the availability of other funding
sources.
Hwy. 47 closed
this weekend to
replace culvert
The Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT) will be
replacing a culvert on Hwy. 47
with one that will allow fish pas-
sage. The culvert is located at
milepost 67.36, on Hwy. 47,
approximately 10 miles north
of U.S. 26 and five miles south
of Vernonia (one mile north of
McDonald Road). During the
culvert replacement, Hwy 47
will be closed at milepost 67.36
from 10:00 p.m. Friday, August
19 through 5:00 a.m. Monday,
August 22. Through traffic on
Hwy 47 will be directed to use
Please see page 24
V e r no n ia ma n , f ri e n d di e i n pl a n e c r a sh
Matthew Giles, 32, of Ver-
nonia, and Gary Harkins, 39, of
Columbia City, died August 5
when their plane crashed just
south of Cavanaugh Bay Air-
strip, at the southern end of
Priest Lake, near Coolin, Idaho.
Giles was piloting an RV4
experimental aircraft from
Scappoose to Idaho, when, ac-
cording to witnesses on the
ground, the plane suddenly
dove straight down, about 100
to 200 yards from the airstrip.
Atmospheric conditions may
have contributed to the acci-
dent.
Mr. Giles is survived by his
wife, Heather, daughter, Mac-
Kenzie, and an unborn child.
The MacKenzie M. Giles
College Fund has been set up
at any branch of US Bank.
A complete obituary may be
found on page 25.
Matthew Giles with his daughter at Vernonia Airport.