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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2008)
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid Vernonia, OR 97064 Permit No. 37 “Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley” Vol. 23, No. 4 February 21, 2008 Deadline extended for proof of loss flood policy claims North E A D B C The deadline has been ex- tended for submitting a signed Proof of Loss statement to sub- stantiate flood insurance claims. The statement includes a detailed estimate to replace or repair the damaged property. The Proof of Loss must be signed before the flood insur- ance program or insurance company can make payment. Previously, flood insurance policy holders in Oregon had 60 days from the date of the in- cident to sign and return the Proof of Loss document. For Public meeting on floods, forecasting A City Hall, B Middle School, C Mill Pond, D Green Bridge, E Heather Lane Pink = 100 yr. flood way. Dark Blue shade = 100 yr. flood zone. Blue shade = 500 yr. flood zone. Above is a draft of the new flood zone map that will take effect after it is officially adopted. The final map may differ somewhat from this draft. Council approves ordinance changes The February 19 Vernonia City Council meeting started with a public hearing on a 64- page ordinance regarding de- velopment standards. The Planning Commission met prior to the Council and voted to rec- ommend that council approve the new ordinance. According to Planning Com- missioner Heather Lewis (who gave the staff report to council), the ordinance contains only two new items, and is mostly a con- solidation of existing ordi- nances so that all pertinent in- formation is in one document for both stick-built and manu- factured homes. The two changes, said Lewis, were a change to the required roof pitch (to 4:12), and the inclu- sion of a requirement that the main entrance must face the street and open onto a porch, or have at least a 5x10’ cov- ered entryway. Three people spoke in favor of the ordinance, though two of the three were Planning Com- missioners who wrote the ordi- nance. No one spoke in opposi- tion and there were no neutral comments. Councilor Randy Parrow had obviously slogged through the 64-page document and had valid questions, though most were on the parts of the ordi- nance that were already in place, such as the part saying that the impermeable ‘footprint’ of a property cannot exceed 50 percent, including paved drive- way, house and outbuildings. Af- ter the hearing process was completed, council voted to adopt the new ordinance with only Parrow voting nay. During Topics from the Floor, citizen Kim Perry spoke on the Knott St. petition which does not seek to stop temporary housing from being placed on Knott St., but does ask the City to address drainage concerns before allowing such siting. She stated that the drainage in the area has been getting worse in Please see page 4 United States Geological Service and the National Weather Service will hold a public meeting tonight at 7:00 p.m. at Washington Grade School to present in- formation on floods and fore- casting. Blood drive set for Monday in Vernonia The Red Cross Blood- mobile will be in Vernonia on Monday, February 25, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the schools. To schedule an appoint- ment, e-mail high school Ac- tivities Director James Brookins at jbrookins@ver- nonia.k12.or.us. SOLV cleanup for Nehalem River There will be a SOLV Clean- up in Vernonia on Saturday, March 8, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to clean-up flood debris along stream banks of the up- per Nehalem River, both above and below Vernonia. Local volunteers and team leaders are needed to help with this project that is being spon- sored by the Upper Nehalem Watershed Council. To partici- pate, meet at Vernonia High School parking lot at 9:00 a.m. For more information or if you have flood debris on your riverbanks that needs to be cleaned up, call Maggie Peyton at 503-429-2401. example, if flooding occurred December 3, 2007, Oregon policy owners originally had un- til February 1, 2008, to sign the document. The new deadline for the December 3 flood has been extended to April 2, 2008. This extension applies to all claims for flood-insured Wash- ington and Oregon properties damaged by flooding between November 30, 2007, and De- cember 8, 2007, whether the policy was issued directly by the Federal Emergency Man- agement Agency or through one of the private insurance companies. Some policy holders were concerned that by signing the Proof of Loss, their payment would be limited to the amount listed on the statement. That is not the case. If a policy holder believes they have additional damage or the identified amount is insufficient, they should sign the statement and include: • A separate letter detailing the additional damages or costs; and/or Please see page 5 Door-to-Door survey set to assess needs Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) will be conducting door to door needs assessment surveys of flood affected residents for the purpose of continuing relief and rebuilding efforts. CR- WRC’s services were request- ed by Columbia County Flood Relief (CCFR). CRWRC mem- bers will have proper identifica- tion and will be wearing green shirts with their logo when they being surveying on Monday, March 3. CCFR appreciates the community’s cooperation in this effort to determine continu- ing needs.
