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The INDEPENDENT, February 21, 2008
Self-funded CAM volunteers
provide help where needed
Since the Flood of 2007,
Vernonia has received help
from great numbers of volun-
teers who have done every-
thing from crawling under
houses and pulling out wet in-
sulation to putting up new
sheetrock and more.
Volunteers from Christian
Aid Ministries (CAM) were
here after the 1996 flood, and
they are back now to help.
CAM has a specific arm of
their organization, Disaster
Response Services, which co-
ordinates volunteers to rebuild
in natural disaster areas in the
United States. CAM’s disaster
teams helped after Hurricane
Katrina, and they are helping
here.
Dan Hostetler, a building
contractor from Missouri, is
one of the volunteers who
came in 1996 and is back in
2007. Hostetler says most of
the CAM volunteers are using
their vacations to fly here,
many used their own money to
buy their plane tickets, and
most find it more fulfilling to
help others than to take an ac-
tual vacation. Hostetler started
helping in 1993 and has been
to a number of disasters, and
has volunteered in other coun-
tries, as well.
The CAM volunteer servic-
es are matched with needs
through Columbia County
Flood Relief. Hostetler says
that CAM volunteers expect to
remain here until May and may
return in the fall if volunteer as-
sistance is still needed. Ser-
vices rendered by CAM volun-
teers have ranged from basic
cleaning tasks to skilled con-
tractor services and everything
else in between.
Disaster Response Ser-
vices are only a very small part
of what CAM does. CAM start-
ed in 1981 to help people in
Romania. Their literature puts
it this way, “Our primary pur-
pose is to provide a trustwor-
thy and efficient channel for
Amish, Mennonite, and other
conservative
Anabaptist
groups and individuals to min-
ister to physical and spiritual
needs around the world.”
CAM continues to help peo-
ple in Romania with a project
called Family Food Parcels for
Romania,
Moldova,
and
Ukraine. There is a Haiti
School Program, a Help-for-
Orphans program and more
than 10 additional programs to
help others. All of the pro-
grams are supported largely
by donations from Amish and
Mennonite churches and indi-
viduals. Medical aid is the
largest program, with over
$100 million per year in sup-
plies and pharmaceuticals go-
ing to the needy.
When asked how those who
have received help from CAM
volunteers can repay the help,
Hostetler said CAM’s services
are not provided with an ex-
pectation of repayment and
that the best way to repay is to
“pass it on” by helping some-
one else in need when the op-
portunity arises. Because
CAM has helped so much,
many of us will be looking for
“pass it on” opportunities.
10 th A NNUAL T REE S ALE !
19 S PECIES , P RICES
FROM
$1.00
SATURDAY, MARCH 8
(503) 556-8800
8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Lawrence Oil Co. parking lot
845 N. Columbia River Hwy
(US Hwy 30) St. Helens, OR
Can You Dig It?
By Schann Nelson
OSU Master Gardener
Alleluia! The sun re-
turns! Or at least it peeks
out from time to time. It
can get HOT in your south
facing windows, so be
sure to water house plants
(or plants kept in the
house for the winter) or
you will lose them!
Disgusting as floodmud
is, the yard, garden and lawn think its fertilizer.
It’s filled the holes and added silt and organic
matter wherever it’s on the ground. It doesn’t do
the streets any good, that’s for sure. Because we
live in the grass growing capital of the universe
(Western Oregon) we can plant grass seed in
the spring and be assured of good growth before
grass goes dormant in the summer. When se-
lecting seed, consider the sun exposure and
amount of traffic the area get. Reserve some
seed for repairs, I’ve found that raking out and
immediately reseeding the mole hills it one of the
best preventive measures for reducing the num-
ber of dandelions and other unwanted weeds.
My other favorite method is to transplant the lit-
tle English daisies into new homes all over the
lawn. This year I’m going to try an orchard seed
blend offered by Braintree Nursery that’s de-
scribed as “a mixture of dwarf perennial ryegrass
and creeping fescue. Inherently low and ex-
tremely dense, it recovers quickly from heavy
traffic and needs mowing only 2 or 3 times a
year.”
Though it may be a little late, it is possible to
gently pull trees and shrubs flattened by wind,
snow, rain and flood back into an upright posi-
tion. Even large trees can be saved if you have
something you can tie-off to that is strong
enough to hold the weight. After getting the dam-
aged plant into the position you want, stake and
tie firmly until roots have a chance to reestablish.
Be sure to remove stakes and ties when no
longer needed to avoid damage.
Believe it or not, it’s time to think about what
to order for late summer and fall blooms. Dahlias
will continue to bloom until frost and can be
planted as soon as the ground stops freezing.
I’ve been planting summer bulbs much earlier
than recommended. I’ve found that if I wait until
“all danger of frost” is past in May, I barely get
plants, much less bountiful blooms. So I’ve been
planting bulbs (or tubers or whatever) of dahlias,
lilies, hostas, begonia, and cannas in the ground
early, last year in March as I recall. It seems that,
as long as there is good drainage, they build
roots systems and rise out of the ground when
it’s warm enough. Other summer delights to try
include caladiums, callas, gladiolas, and iris. I
have trouble growing a lot of these because I
have so much shade.
It’s WAY to early to plant seeds or set out
plants without fairly serious protection. If your
garden has good drainage, you can think about
planting peas or spinach or setting out young
broccoli and cauliflower plants. These will stand
a little frost and can be protected by row covers
or cloches. You can make a cloche by cutting the
bottom out of a plastic gallon milk or water jug.
Lose the lid to allow hot air to escape and watch
carefully because plants will outgrow these very
quickly. If this happens before it warms up you
may end up improvising row covers every night
for a while. It’s so hard to predict what the weath-
er will be like, I can’t believe I heard the frog cho-
rus two weeks ago!
Looking forward to COLOR…
Church Directory
N EHALEM V ALLEY B IBLE C HURCH
S T . M ARY ' S C ATHOLIC C HURCH
Gary Taylor, Pastor
Grant & North Streets, Vernonia
503 429-5378
Sunday School 10:00 a.m.
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.
Nursery available
Wednesday Service 7:00 p.m.
Rev. Luan Tran, Administrator
960 Missouri Avenue, Vernonia
503 429-8841
Mass Schedule
Sunday 12:00 Noon
Religious Education
Sunday 10:30 a.m.
V ERNONIA F OURSQUARE C HURCH
S EVENTH D AY A DVENTIST
Carl Pense, Pastor
850 Madison Avenue, Vernonia
503 429-1103
Sunday Worship Service: 10:30 a.m.
Children’s Sunday School
2nd Ave. and Nehalem St., Vernonia
503 429-8301
Morning Worship, 11:00 a.m.
Bible Study 9:15 a.m.
F IRST B APTIST C HURCH
V ERNONIA C OMMUNITY C HURCH
Grant Williams, Pastor
957 State Avenue, Vernonia
503 429-6790
Sunday Breakfast 9:00 a.m.
Morning Worship 9:45 a.m.
Children and Nursery 10:00 a.m.
Youth Group 6:00 p.m.
Preschool Tues. & Thurs. 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday Prayer 7:00 p.m.
Friday Adult Volleyball 7:00 p.m.
359 “A” Street, Vernonia
503 429-5190
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
Sunday Worship Service 11:00 a.m.
Wednesday Prayer Meeting 7:00 p.m.
S T . A UGUSTINE (C ANTERBURY )
E PISCOPAL C HURCH
375 North St. (Vernonia Grange Hall)
Vernonia, 503 705-2173
Please call for service schedule.
C HURCH OF J ESUS C HRIST
OF L ATTER D AY S AINTS
Marc Farmer, Branch President
1350 E. Knott Street, Vernonia
503 429-7151
Sacrament Meeting, Sunday 10 a.m.
Sunday School & Primary 11:20 a.m.
Relief Society, Priesthood and
Young Women, Sunday 12:10 p.m.
A SSEMBLY OF G OD
Wayne and Maureene Marr
662 Jefferson Ave., Vernonia,
503 429-0373
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m
V ERNONIA C HRISTIAN C HURCH
Sam Hough, Evangelist
410 North Street, Vernonia
503 429-6522
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.
Every Wednesday:
Ladies' Bible Study 9:30 a.m.
Ladies’ Worship 10:00 a.m.
Children’s Choir 3:00 p.m.
Family Bible Study 7:00 p.m.