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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 2005)
The INDEPENDENT, November 17, 2005 Page 3 Letters Thanks for great idea of Halloween parade To the Editor: HATS OFF and a BIG round of applause to Camrin Eyrrick for having the foresight to start what I hope will be a yearly event. She planned and put to- gether the Halloween Sidewalk Parade for the younger kids in town. It was great for the little kids and the adults as well. I counted approximately 90 kids (including the ones in strollers) that participated in this event. The businesses that helped support this need a BIG THANK YOU too!! Being a Monday, there were several businesses that were closed but the ones that were open all had big smiles while handing out treats to the kids. Here’s hoping that more businesses will help support this fun time in the coming years. THANKS CAMRIN!!!!!!!!!!! JOB WELL DONE!!!!!!!!!!! Janie Wasmann Vernonia Students are helping NW Medical Teams To the Editor: A group of Vernonia students has volunteered to help North- west Medical Teams by collect- ing items for hygiene kits to go out to hurricane victims and such. From November 21 through January 21, the students will have bins at Sentry, US Bank, Wauna Federal Credit Union, and all four schools including Mist. There will also be a col- lection bin at Birkenfeld Fire Station. Items that can be do- nated are toothpaste, aspirin, shampoo, combs, brushes, Nix, RID, Pronto, Tylenol, Advil, Motrin, multi-vitamins (child and adult), cold medicine, Tums, Band-Aids, Neosporin, anti-fungal cream, toothbrush- es, bar soap, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen. These items may be deposited in bins around town from Nov. 21 to Jan. 21. The students will then take the items to Northwest Medical Teams. Later in the year the stu- dents will hold a new towel drive, collecting towels for Ro- Between the Bookends By Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library Even though the Mayflower with its 102 passengers dropped an- chor in Massachusetts on November 21, 1620, it wasn’t until after the har- vest of 1623 that they cel- ebrated their first day of thanksgiving. (The original feast in the Fall of 1621 was just that—a feast.) While celebrating an annual thanksgiving contin- ued through those early years, a national day of thanks was first declared by George Washington in 1789. In the early 1800s this presidential thanksgiving proclamation ceased until about the middle of the nineteenth century, when many states were celebrating Thanksgiving Day and on October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November to be set aside as a national holiday of Thanksgiving. In 1939, with the country still struggling to recov- er from the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roo- sevelt moved Thanksgiving from the fourth Thursday in November to the third Thursday with the hope that by adding one extra week for Christmas shopping the economy would be giv- en a boost. Unfortunately, some of the states continued to celebrate on the last Thursday of the month and, in 1941, Congress decreed that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November; this proclamation still stands. The library has recipes, ideas for table and home decorating, games, crafts, stories, poems, songs and prayers to add to the enjoyment of this National Holiday celebrated in remembrance of all the things for which we are truly thankful. There was a great audience for Merv John- son’s, November 5th, program on historic log- ging. It was gratifying to see several people who don’t usually use the library. If there are speak- ers or topics of interest that would be an incen- tive for these residents to return, please let me know. A copy of Mr. Johnson’s book, In Search of Steam Donkeys , has been added to the li- brary’s collection of reference books. Library board members are presently choos- ing books to be adopted (purchased) as gifts for the library during the holiday season. These items will be offered at 20 percent off the retail price and will be on display by early December. This promotion will once again be made possible by the St. Helens Bookshop, which as moved to a new location just south of the Dollar Tree on Highway 30 in St. Helens. New acquisitions include Predator by Patricia Cornwell, At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks, Jar- head by Anthony Swofford, Fury by Robert Tanenbaum, The Franciscan Conspiracy by John Sack, The Camel Club by David Baldacci, Best American Short Stories of 2005 , The Christmas Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini and Sav- ing Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan. The book to be discussed on December 5th is Catherine Marshall’s A Man Called Peter . Time for this informal discussion group to meet is 5:30 at the library. Don’t forget Pre-school story time at 10:30 on Monday mornings and Reading Enrichment on Mondays at 3:30 when school is in session. Mark your calendar for Family Movie Night— Saturday, November 19 at 7:00 p.m. The film will be one that the entire family can enjoy and pop- corn and apple juice will be served. As Charlie Brown says, “…it doesn’t matter where you eat Thanksgiving dinner. Whether it’s at a condo or at a doghouse, it will always be special when your share the feast with friends.” Enjoy your day of thanks! Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Ave. Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Tues., Thur. 2 p.m. - 7 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Preschool Story Time: Mondays, 10:30 a.m., when school is in session. Phone: (503 ) 429-1818 manian orphans. The students hold meetings twice a month in Vernonia and go to the SAC (Student Action Council) meetings at NW Med- ical Teams head office in Tigard. Actively participating stu- dents will have the opportunity to submit an application to go with an international volunteer team to Mexico City or Oaxaca, Mexico. The trip will be either during spring break or in June. The application process is quite intense and, if chosen the stu- dent must raise $1,500 to pay for his/her own trip. Donna Webb Vernonia Salmon Festival team did a great job To the Editor: A very big THANK YOU to all of the people that worked so hard to make the Salmon Festi- val a success this year. We are a great team. I would like to invite anyone that would like to join our team to call me at 503-429-9002. We can always use more volun- teers. Shirlee Daughtry Vernonia Festival Committee Results of 1st Festival Fishing Derby To the Editor: The first (hopefully annual) Salmon Festival Fishing Derby is now history. Turnout was lower than expected, yet every- body had a good time. Lots of local youth took advantage of Lake Vernonia being stocked with trout and took some real nice trout home. Due to the lower than ex- pected return on tagged fish, the prize money was adjusted to reward those who supported the derby. Following are the winners: Kraig Carter, Vernonia, Green tag – $50 Daniel Forbragd, Beaverton, Yellow tag – $15 Andy Clark, North Plain, Yel- low tag – $15 Tom Nelson, Portland, 2 Red tags – Consolation prize. We want to thank the 23 en- trants for helping raise much needed funds for next year’s youth fishing derby to be held during the Salmon Festival. One of the two 40% payout tags was caught by a local youth, but unfortunately he was not registered for the derby. Many other tags were also caught by unregistered people. Approximately 85 trout of the estimated 300 were caught during the derby. We have learned a lot this year and will apply that knowl- edge to next year’s event to make it bigger and better. Dale Webb Vernonia Found help needed in an Independent ad To the Editor: When you live in Vernonia and don’t have friends or family to help with repairs, what do you do? Until recently I didn’t know. I saw a new ad for a Handyman in the classified section of The Independent . I called the number and spoke with Brian. He started working the next day and has been here several days as my work list keeps getting longer. His prices are reasonable; he works hard and has great skills. Beyond all that he is dependable. I hope the community will support him in his new business. His servic- es are seriously needed in Ver- nonia. Sharon Terrazas Vernonia POLICY ON LETTERS The INDEPENDENT is pleased to publish letters from our readers. The following guidelines will help assure that your letter is published: • No anonymous letters will be published. All letters must be signed and have a verifiable name and address, though only the town will be printed. • Personal attacks on individuals will not be printed. Comments on public figures are accepted as long as they relate to the public function. • Brief letters will receive first consideration.