PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Permit No. 37
Vol. 21, No. 9
“Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley”
Several options explored
for future school facilities
Nesting Time
By Schann Nelson
After studying the needs of
the Vernonia school district for
the last several months, at their
April 18th meeting, the Long
Range Planning Committee
(LRPC) began to look at the
costs associated with several
different scenarios. René
Kroupa, Dull Olson Weekes Ar-
chitects (DOWA) facilitator
working with the committee,
told the committee that as-
bestos abatement costs were
not included in any of the pro-
jected cost estimates.
Kroupa told The INDEPEN-
DENT that asbestos mitigation
Meet finalists for
47J district head
Nesting ospreys have again chosen to raise a family on top of one of the light poles at the
Vernonia High School football field.
Free health screens
in Lions mobile unit
The Lions Mobile Screening
Unit will be in Vernonia on Sat-
urday, May 13, from 9:00 a.m.
to 4:00 p.m. Vision, hearing,
glaucoma and diabetic screen-
ing tests will be performed.
The Unit will be on Bridge
Street in the High School office
parking lot.
For accurate test results, do
not eat the morning before
having the diabetic testing. All
services are free so everyone
who can should take advan-
tage of the testing.
May 4, 2006
Finalists for the position of
Superintendent in the Vernonia
School District will be available
to meet the public on Friday,
May 5, 4-6:00 p.m. in the high
school library. While one candi-
date is undergoing a second
interview with the Board of Di-
rectors, the other candidates
will be in the library.
Kenneth Cox will be inter-
viewing at 4:00 p.m., Bruce
Bradberry at 4:45 p.m. and
Nate Underwood at 5:30 p.m.
Many attend Vernonia Council meeting
The City of Vernonia was
awarded a plaque for their sup-
port of emergency medical
services, and Vernonia Police
Officer Mike Kay was recog-
nized for outstanding service at
the City Council meeting on
May 1.
Scott Laird, of Metro West
Transportation, presented the
plaque to the city with a state-
ment of thanks for continued
support of the service that is so
vital to the community. Mayor
Sally Harrison responded with
a proclamation designating the
week of May 14-20 as Emer-
gency Medical Services Week.
River Fest ~ May 6, 2006
Duck Races ~ Youth Fishing
Rafting ~ Kayaking ~ Canoeing
The recognition of Officer
Kay resulted from his lifesaving
response to a Lions Club mem-
ber who collapsed during a
meeting at the Buckhorn
Restaurant. Officer Kay was at-
tending the meeting, he was
not on duty. A letter from
restaurant owner Donna Tice
told the City of the incident.
Columbia County Commis-
sioner Tony Hyde provided
Council with information about
a county-wide emergency man-
agement program. “Vernonia is
Please see page 17
costs about $5 per square foot.
This adds about $300,000 for
Washington Grade School
(WGS) and nearly the same for
the high school. If WGS is de-
molished, asbestos mitigation
must be part of that process.
However, costs may be reduced
at the high school in conjunction
with remodeling costs.
Early in the process, the
LRPC reached a consensus
that the location of the schools
in the center of town continues
to be the best option. There is a
strong feeling, as there has
been in every committee to
study the problem that the
schools serve as a community
focus. In addition, the district’s
bonded debt capacity of
$38,054 million (as determined
by Seattle-Northwest Securi-
ties Corporation) is insufficient
Please see page 4
Burglar steals
funds raised by
Vernonia Cares
Over $1,000 in cash was
stolen from Vernonia Cares
Food Bank on Tuesday eve-
ning, April 25, or early the next
morning. A forced entry was
used to access the office. The
money stolen came from a
concession booth operated by
volunteers during the Oregon
Trail Rally on Sunday, April 23.
“We assist about 200 people
per month,” Food bank director
Sandy Welch said “This loss of
funds will decrease Cares’ abil-
ity to assist those people who
need it the most. This theft lit-
erally takes food from hungry
families.”
Anyone with information
which might lead to the appre-
hension of the thief or thieves
is asked to contact the Vernon-
ia Police Department at 503-
429-7335.