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The INDEPENDENT, June 1, 2006
The
INDEPENDENT
Published on the first and third Thursdays of each month by
The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064.
Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410. Publisher Clark McGaugh,
clark@the-independent.net • Managing Editor Rebecca Mc-
Gaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net • Editor Noni Ander-
sen, noni@the-independent.net
Opinion
Potential changes at city
airport need deep study
Charges and counter-charges abound as the City of
Vernonia looks at future uses of the city-owned airport.
Such charges are fairly common when people see a
potential for substantial change, either positive or neg-
ative.
Vernonia’s airport was built during the Great Depres-
sion by men employed in the federal job creating pro-
gram of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). At that
time, the primary purpose was to put men to work so
they could support their families. Now there is consid-
eration of other sorts of jobs, created by different uses
of the airport property.
In this mix, however, there is a major concern that
city councilors should never ignore: The airport - small
as it is and inadequate as it is - remains a valuable as-
set for this community. Any decisions regarding the air-
port must be seriously and thoroughly considered. A
few of those considerations are enumerated in some
Letters on page 3; they are worth looking at.
Plaudits to VHS Softball
and Equestrian teams
Members of the Vernonia High School Softball and
Equestrian teams may be disappointed at not grabbing
all the top spots in statewide competition – but they
shouldn’t be.
Their accomplishments have been outstanding and
the community is very proud of their hard work and
good sportsmanship.
Okay, so people do vote
Though few Oregonians and, indeed, few Americans
bother to vote on unimportant things like funding for
law enforcement or who will represent us in Congress,
it is now obvious that they will vote Chicago-style —
early and often — when it is really necessary.
Proof of this is the 63-million votes for the winner of
American Idol. Obviously, the person who wins a tele-
vision show title is far more important to Americans
than the person whose finger is on the nuclear bomb.
Interesting. Depressing, but interesting.
By Dale Webb, member
Izaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter
Is River Fest going to
survive? That may be the
question a lot of people
are asking, at least those
who care. It is interesting
to note that the old river
race held by the Jaycees
years ago was a big deal.
There were lots of boats,
some racing and some
just having a good time. Some, of course, were
having too much of a good time and that was
one of the main factors that ended the event.
So, is the lack of booze the reason people are
not participating? I would think not, a good time
can surely be had on the river with out pouring
alcohol into one’s body. This year I noticed one
local family having a good time on the river; the
Joel Glass family had rented a canoe from G.I.
Joe’s and was having a hoot. I watched them as
I sped past in my kayak, they were struggling a
little with turns and getting the canoe to go where
they wanted, but they were laughing the whole
time. When they finished at Big Eddy Park, they
all had big smiles on their faces and Joel men-
tioned that a canoe would probably be in the
family’s future. So why, if being on the river is so
much fun, do not more people participate? Hav-
ing all the equipment is a big hurtle, the event re-
ally needs a sponsor who will provide rentals.
For an industry that relies on the spread of water
sports for its livelihood, they sure have not sup-
ported River Fest. Advertising needs to be more
wide spread and the date of the event is prob-
lematic, with another big water event going on
the same day on the Clackamas River. The May
date is also a problem because of low stream
flows, this year the river was barely floatable,
drift boats will not participate when the river is
this low and rafts make little headway. With
work this could be a great event, but without any
help, River Fest will be a thing of the past.
I was supposed to help people go down the
river this year during River Fest, but with very
few people entering the river, I decided that I
might as well set a benchmark. I had brought
my sea kayak down to the event, just in case I
wanted to race. A longer boat is quicker and I
knew my old creek boat would be a tank in the
low, slow waters of the Nehalem. I decided to
use my light Swift paddle and when I took off I
just about flipped myself, a person becomes
very ingrained with the paddle that he uses, and
I usually use my white-water paddle with big
blades and a feathered blade. It took me a while
to get the feel of the Swift paddle again, but I fi-
nally got the kayak streaking along. My final
time was 1:54 minutes. I was thinking I had
knocked off a pretty good time, until I saw a cou-
ple of older gentlemen come screaming down
the river in a canoe. Their time was 1:45 min-
utes. That was a very good time indeed!
Here’s a warning for the ladies out there who
are the wives to hunters. You will need to be a
little more patient the next few weeks. Your hus-
Please see page 26