Page 4
The INDEPENDENT, February 21, 20008
Citizen asks when audit report available Flood insurance explained
From page 1
the last 10 years, ever since
the Heather Park subdivision
went in and Nickerson Creek
was insufficiently culverted.
There was no immediate re-
sponse from the council.
Helen Hudson spoke from
the floor saying, “We’ve been
told for quite some time that we
are waiting for the audit to re-
turn and I’d like to know when
that will happen.” Mayor Sally
Harrison decided to respond to
this topic and said, “Apparently
moving money from one place
to another has slowed down
this audit, but they will soon be
presenting a report.” ( The Inde-
pendent had been told last
week that the audit was expect-
ed to be received Friday, Feb-
ruary 15, but it has not arrived.)
Wayne Vaughn, Kristina Mc-
Cord, Tom Ramsey and Dean
Smith, (all first responders with
the fire district or ambulance)
spoke of concerns about the
lack of police backup on calls
that might put first responders
in physical danger. Their proto-
cols require police to secure
the environment before the
emergency responders get in-
volved on calls such as over-
doses or domestic violence.
The problem arises outside of
town when the county can’t ar-
rive for almost an hour (if at all)
and the Vernonia police have
not been available, due to over-
time constraints. The situation
could result in a loss of life on
the part of the caller or one of
the first responders. Councilor
Brett Costley responded by
saying, “I appreciate your con-
cerns and I wish we could give
police more money and had
more money to give them.”
In other business, council;
• unanimously approved the
second reading of the ordi-
nance creating the Vernonia
Economic Development Com-
mittee,
• approved contracts (until
June 30, 2008) for Interim City
Administrator Aldie Howard
and Finance Director Dick Kline
(who has quit effective Febru-
ary 28, 2008),
• approved reduced fees for
The Building Department LLC
to charge for temporary manu-
factured home sitings,
• approved a new flood plain
development permit form,
• heard from Police Chief
Workman that the force’s
Chevy Tahoe was totalled as a
result of flood water damage
and he will be bringing a plan to
the next council meeting to add
another SUV.
There will be a council study
session with staff (the public
can attend, but not participate)
on February 25 starting at 7:00
p.m. at the Scout Cabin. The
next regularly scheduled coun-
cil meeting will be March 3 at
7:00 p.m.
by Noni Andersen
Although it wasn’t a consid-
ertion just 12 years ago, many
Vernonia residents now plan to
buy flood insurance because of
the major floods in 1996 and
2007.
Two pieces of information
are readily available: One is
that a basic flood insurance
policy is both written and un-
derwritten by the federal gov-
ernment, although it is pur-
chased from an insurance
company. The other is that
many people who already have
flood insurance are extremely
unhappy with the settlements
offered by their insuror.
As one who has been flood-
ed twice, I was among those
looking at flood insurance and,
knowing very little about it, I
told my agent that I wanted to
see the entire policy before
buying it.
After reading the policy (19
pages), I went to the Vernonia
Learning Center and looked at
the maps showing the various
levels of flood risk. On the old
map my home was in the low
risk “X” zone, commonly called
the 500-year flood plain. The
new map put me in the high
risk “A” zone, which is com-
monly called the 100-year flood
plain. That seemed reasonable
to me, but the $1,300 annual
premium for my small house
was a lot more than I anticipat-
ed. So I went to city hall to go
over the policy with a FEMA in-
surance specialist.
During three or four (or five)
visits, the FEMA people pa-
tiently explained terms I didn’t
understand and answered the
many, many questions I had
scrawled on the policy. They
explained NFIP (National Flood
Insurance Program) and ICC
(Increased Cost of Compli-
ance) and FIRM (Flood Insur-
ance Rate Map).
Please see page 5
Community Calendar
VERNONIA
Alcoholics Anonymous
Mondays & Thursdays
6:30 p.m., Head Start Bldg.
American Legion Post #119
2nd Thursday
7:00 p.m., 627 Adams Avenue
Arts & Crafts Society
2nd Thursday
2:00 p.m., City Library
Booster Club
2nd Wednesday
7:00 p.m., VHS Library
Boy Scout Troop 201
Tuesdays
7:00 p.m., Scout Cabin
Boy Scout Troop 860
Wednesdays
7:00 p.m., LDS Church
Cemetery Beautification Comm.
2nd Thursday
6:30 p.m., City Hall
CERT
4th Wednesday
For Info Call 503-429-3018
Chamber of Commerce
2nd Wednesday
For Info Call 503-429-6081
Community Coalition
2nd Monday
12:30 p.m. School District Ofc.
Cub Scout Pack 201
Scout Cabin
For Info Call 503-429-4250
Friends of the Library
1st Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Vernonia Library
Girl Scouts, Neighborhood 4-2
For Info Call 503-819-0143
Hands On Art Committee
1st & 3rd Thursdays
4:00 p.m., City Hall
Izaak Walton League
3rd Thursday
For location call 503-429-7193
Lions Club
1st & 3rd Tuesdays 6:30 p.m., Buckhorn Restaurant
Municipal Airport Committee
4th Thursday
7:00 p.m., City Hall
Narcotics Anonymous
Saturdays
7:00 p.m., Head Start Bldg.
Pioneer Museum
For Info Call 503-429-3713
Public Works Committee
4th Tuesday
7:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Cares Directors
For Info call 503-429-1414
Vernonia City Council
1st & 3rd Mondays
7:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Community PTA
3rd Thursday
7:00 p.m., WGS Library
Vernonia Grange
3rd Monday
7:00 p.m., Grange Hall
Vernonia Health Center
2nd Monday
6:00 p.m., 510 Bridge St.
Vernonia Learning Center
1st Wednesday
6:00 p.m., VLC
Vernonia Parks Committee
3rd Wednesday
6:30 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Planning Comm.
1st & 3rd Thursdays
7:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Pride
3rd Thursday
1:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Ridge Riders
Last Thursday
7:00 p.m., Senior Center
Vernonia RFPD Board
2nd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Fire Station
Vernonia School Board
2nd Thursday
6:00 p.m., District Office
Vernonia Sr. Center Board
2nd Friday
1:00 p.m., Senior Center
Vernonia Transfer Station
2nd & 4th Saturdays, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Behind VHS
Vern. Volunteer Ambulance Assoc. 1st Thursday
7:00 p.m., Fire Station
Vernonia Volunteer Firefighters
2nd Monday
7:00 p.m., Fire Station
WOEC Directors
3rd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., WOEC
MIST-BIRKENFELD
M-BRFPD Board Business Mtg.
2nd Tuesday
M-BRFPD Board Workshop
4th Tuesday
M-B Ambulance Drill
1st & 2nd Thursdays
M-B Fire Drill
1st & 2nd Wednesdays
M-B Helping Circle
2nd Monday
M-B SAR Drill
3rd Wednesday
M-B Volunteer Assoc.
1st Tuesday
Natal Grange
2nd Wednesday
T.O.P.S.
Mondays
Upr Nehalem Watershed Council For date call 429-2401
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:30 p.m., Natal Grange Hall
6:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
BANKS
Alcoholics Anonymous
Fridays
7:30 p.m., Methodist Church
Alcoholics Anonymous
Wednesdays
7:30 p.m., Methodist Church
American Legion Post #90
2nd Tuesdays
7:30 p.m., Main Street Post
Banks City Council
2nd Tuesday
7:30 p.m., City Hall
Banks Fire District #13
2nd Wednesday
7:00 p.m., Station 13
Banks Library Commission
3rd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., City Library
Banks Planning Commission
Last Tuesday
7:00 p.m., City Hall
Banks School Board
2nd Monday
7:30 p.m., Jr. High Library
Banks Youth Group
Sundays, Wednesdays
7:00 p.m., UMC Youth Bldg.
Chamber of Commerce
1st Thursday
12:30 p.m., Fire District Office
CPO 14
3rd Monday
7:00 p.m., City Library
Friends of the Library
2nd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., City Library
Lions Club
1st & 3rd Mondays
7:00 p.m., Brown Derby
Sunset Park Assoc.
3rd Wednesday
8:00 p.m., Gun Club
T.O.P.S.
Wednesdays
7:00 p.m., Administration Bldg.
COLUMBIA COUNTY (All meet in St. Helens unless otherwise noted.)
Board of Commissioners
Wednesdays
10 a.m., Courthouse
Citizens for Senior Justice
2nd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Sunset Park Church
Columbia Soil & Water District
3rd Wednesday
7:30 p.m., NRCS , 2514 Sykes
County Fair Board
2nd Monday
7:00 p.m., Fairgrounds 4-H Bldg.
County Parks Commission
3rd Monday
6:00 p.m., 1054 Oregon St.
Mental Health Advisory Comm.
3rd Tuesday
10 a.m., 2nd Floor, Courthouse
Comm. on Children & Families
3rd Thursday 5:30 p.m. OSU Ext., 550 N. Hwy. 30
Local Alcohol & Drug Plann. Comm. 2nd Tuesday
3:00 p.m., 2nd Floor, Courthouse
Organizations and meeting dates not listed may be included by calling 429-9410 or by mail to
The INDEPENDENT, 725 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR 97064.