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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2008)
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid Vernonia, OR 97064 Permit No. 37 “Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley” Vol. 23, No. 11 Vernonia has new interim city administrator, keeps planner Civics in action… Mayor Sally Harrison an- nounced that the city has a new Interim City Manager as of the June 2 Vernonia City Council meeting. Harrison introduced Jim Johnson, with little fanfare, saying he came to Vernonia through the League of Oregon Cities. The announcement came at the beginning of the meeting, although council did not officially approve Johnson’s contract until the end of the meeting, after an executive session to review the perform- ance of a city employee. There was no public discussion prior to the vote on Johnson’s con- tract, which was unanimous. (There will be more informa- tion in the next issue of The IN- County Commissioner Hyde sits on the stage at Washington Grade School after introduc- ing Congressman David Wu, shown taking questions from students. See article below. Wu and students discuss government, politics Congressman David Wu was in Vernonia, May 27, start- ing the day with Vernonia mid- dle and high school students in the Washington Grade School gymnasium. Wu was introduced to the students by County Commis- sioner Tony Hyde who told those present that Wu was here to “do what he normally does – connect with students.” “I have done, probably, 300 school visits in my years in con- Voters recall two Jewell School Board members, two other members resign Two members of the Jewell School Board were recalled in the May 20 Clatsop County election. Karl Meier and Ann Samuelson lost their seats af- ter a recall campaign put to- gether by former board mem- ber Ulrich “Oly” Schockelt, with Carrie Thompson and Marsha Tisdale. The recall petition stated that Samuelson and Meier were “violating executive session provisions of Oregon’s public meeting law” after a January board meeting where the inter- im superintendent’s contract was extended by two years. Two other board members resigned as the final ballots were being counted; Cathy Rozinek and Allen Foster had been on the board since spring. The resignations and recalls leave one board member, Tania Skinner. Usually the remaining board members would appoint new members, but when there is no majority remaining, the open positions must be filled by appointments by the Northwest Regional ESD. June 5, 2008 gress,” began Wu’s discussion, “There is nothing more important in our community than what’s going on in your classrooms. That’s important to society.” Questions from students ranged from “What are your views on Iraq?” to “How can we do a better job of preparing for natural disasters?” and includ- ed questions on his views on marijuana, dependence on oil, the right to bear arms, global warming, and President Bush. The short version of his an- swer to the Iraq question start- ed with, “It’s a lot easier to get into a war than to get out of one,” and ended with, “We need to start extricating our- selves from this war right away.” Four federal appropriations that Congressman Wu has re- quested, because of his con- cern for Vernonia, are funds for Please see page 4 DEPENDENT , after there is time for an interview with the new administrator.) Council approved the final lease agreement between the Vernonia Community Learning Center and Columbia County (for the Columbia County Flood Relief offices). The County will pay the city $1,400 per month for January 1 through June, 2008. Thereafter, an initial one- year extension starts July 1, 2008 with lease payments dropping to $600 per month. The Vernonia Community Learning Center director con- tract was set for renewal on July 1, 2008, though it was not included in the proposed budg- Please see page 5 Bridges Planning Group presents final report on Vernonia project The 2020 Vernonia Bridges Planning Group gave council a final overview of their project at the June 2 council meeting. The highest priorities, identified based on the public meetings held, are: 1. Create/build indoor and outdoor facilities (including places for teens). 2. Economic development (while preserving small town character). The recommended projects that came out of the meetings to create youth-oriented facili- ties are: • Creating an outdoor am- phitheater, • creating a teen lounge, and • repurposing the middle school building for active uses. On the economic develop- ment priority, the recommend- ed projects are: • Marketing Vernonia to resi- dents and consumers through- out Oregon, • Plugging the leaks; capture resident spending in the local economy, and • providing business devel- opment and management as- sistance. The recommended actions from the project are: • Marketing the future of Ver- nonia to residents, because “Vernonia is better together!” • fostering cooperation through the Agents of Recov- ery Collaborative (ARC); a group of involved citizens that acted as the information shar- ing stakeholder group. • Formation of a Youth Advi- sory Committee (YAC). • Reviving a Business Assis- tance Team (BAT). The Group also lauded Ver- nonia for having already identi- fied, and working toward, some of these goals. A project notebook with more information was given to city councilors with hope that the information will be used to create a better Vernonia.