PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Permit No. 37
“Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley”
Vol. 22, No. 13
Council approves budget with
increased permit, park fees
Summer is here!
Vernonia’s free-flowing swimming hole on Rock Creek is as popular today as it was
decades ago. The kiddy pool is also open, so come on in, the water’s fine!
Vernonia woman killed in crash on Highway 47
Tragedy struck a local family
as Amber Lynne Varnam-Dahl,
39, of Vernonia, died June 30
at approximately 8:30 p.m., in a
crash on Highway 47. Accord-
ing to the Oregon State Police
(OSP), Varnam-Dahl lost con-
trol of her car and was struck
broadside by a full-size pickup,
about ten miles south of Ver-
nonia in Washington County.
According to the OSP, Var-
nam-Dahl was driving a 1999
Subaru Forester station wagon
southbound on Highway 47
near milepost 73, and complet-
ing the pass of another vehicle
in a no pass zone. As the Sub-
aru returned to the southbound
lane it drove onto the shoulder
and the driver lost control. The
Subaru slid broadside into the
northbound lane where it was
struck on the passenger side
by a 1996 Ford F250 pickup
driven by Charles G. Davis,
age 55, from Vernonia. The
Subaru then dropped over an
embankment and plunged 40
feet before striking a large tree.
Oregon State Police troop-
ers from the Banks work site
are continuing the investigation
with the assistance of an OSP
crash re-constructionist. ODOT
July 5, 2007
and local emergency respon-
ders also assisted at the scene.
A memorial fund has been
set up at Wauna Federal Cred-
it Union, and some local busi-
nesses have cans for donations
to help the family with costs. An
obituary is on page 14.
Vernonia City Council held a
special meeting June 25 in
conjunction with public hear-
ings on changing building per-
mit fees and the city’s 2007-08
budget.
City Administrator M.R.
“Dick” Kline opened the hear-
ing on building permit fees,
saying this was a necessary
housekeeping item to bring our
fees into line with The Building
Department (TBD).
Charlcie Kaylor, Manager of
TBD, said that fuel costs,
alone, would dictate changes
and that they hadn’t changed
their plumbing fees since 1979.
Kaylor provided a handout
which stated, “We felt the need
to ask this modest increase giv-
en the cost of fuel and medical
insurance. We have requested
and been granted similar fees
in the other 13 jurisdictions we
serve.”
No one spoke in favor of the
increases. Rebecca McGaugh
spoke in opposition, reminding
Council that when the building
permits were taken over from
the county, citizens were told
that the fees they paid would
be the same as the county
would charge, though the city
would get a bigger percentage,
and the service would be bet-
ter. She went on that she had
not heard anyone speak favor-
ably of the service, and that
she didn’t much care that this
would give more revenue to the
city or help with TBD’s fuel and
insurance, but that she wanted
the costs for citizens of Vernon-
ia to remain the same as all
other county citizens.
Councilor Brett Costley
replied later, “I appreciate Re-
becca’s comment, but we don’t
know if or when Columbia
County will be raising their
Please see page 4
Stub Stewart State
Park opens Sunday
Stub Stewart State Park will
open Sunday, July 8, to the
public. Consider taking a Sun-
day drive to find out what the
newest state park has to offer
residents of the area. Just
head down Hwy. 47 from Ver-
nonia, or up Hwy. 47 from U.S.
26, to see what the newest
state park looks like.
Fire Season regulations in effect
Driver of this Ford pickup was not injured in the crash.
Fire Season has started – Outdoor burning in now banned
Fire Season for Northwest
Oregon officially began today
at 1:00 am. The fire season
designation includes all private
and public lands protected by
the Department of Forestry
within Columbia, Clatsop, Mult-
nomah, Washington, Tillamook
and Yamhill counties.
Loggers, landowners and
others conducting forest opera-
tion activities are required to
have fire prevention and fire
fighting equipment on the job
site. In addition, a fire watch is
required to be on the operation
site after the shutdown of
equipment. Fire season rules
also prohibit smoking while in
or traveling through any “oper-
ation area,” and prohibit the
use of fuse and caps for blast-
ing on forest land.
For information regarding
current public and industrial
regulations in effect on local
forests, contact the ODF Co-
lumbia City office at 503-397-
2636.
The state declaration is also
enforced in populated areas
served by rural fire districts. For
more information, call the dis-
trict where you reside. Vernon-
ia Fire District, 503-429-8252.
Mist-Birkenfeld Fire District,
503-755-2710. Banks Fire Dis-
trict, 503-324-6262.