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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2009)
Page 2 The INDEPENDENT, January 1, 2009 The INDEPENDENT Published on the first and third Thursdays of each month by The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064. Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410. Publisher Clark McGaugh, clark@the-independent.net Editor Rebecca McGaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net Mentor Noni Andersen, noni@the-independent.net Vernonia 2008 Year in Review From page 1 following the December 2007 flood). Feb. 7 – Public Hearing held on Flood Ordinance. Feb. 14 – Jim Krahn appointed to 47J Board. Feb. 19 – City Council creates Economic Development Committee by Ordinance. Council approves contracts for M.R. “Dick” Kline and Aldie Howard to run through June 30. Feb. 22 – Vernonia 2020 planning meeting held with community stakeholders. Feb. 28 – City in default with Oregon Secretary of State’s office when audit not turned in by extension deadline. Mar. 3 – 1st Vernonia 2020 open meeting with com- munity members. Mar. 6 – Interim City Administrator Aldie Howard says he won’t allow Vernonia Police column to be sent to The Independent. Improvised Explosive Device (IED) set off by students in garbage can behind Vernonia Middle School. Mar. 11 – 1st 47J School Board held in District Office since Dec. 3 flood. Mar. 17 – 1st of 23 FEMA manufactured homes arrive. City hands out audit at council meeting. Mar. 20 – Vernonia Police column back in paper, must be hand delivered by Interim City Admini- strator Aldie Howard, rather than e-mailed. Mar. 21 – FEMA Center at City Hall closes. Mar. 31 – EPA & DEQ arrive to clean up hazardous flood debris from Nehalem River. Donation Center at Lincoln Grade School closes. Apr. 2 – City turns off Leonard Simmons water after he refuses to pay water loan replacement fee and Howard refuses his utility payment, throwing it back at him. Apr. 3 – Vernonia Police column out of paper after Howard bills paper $52.30 for that column and Library column. Apr. 7 – Council approves lease of Vernonia Community Learning Center (VCLC) space to Columbia County Flood Relief (CCFR). Apr. 10 – 47J Board announces start of Oregon Solutions project to fund and resite schools. Apr. 11 – Howard tells paper, “No columns” then allows columns submission via email the same day. Apr. 16 – Howard sends letter to Vernonia Chamber of Commerce suggesting they suppress The Independent, and support Vernonia’s Voice. Apr. 18-19 – Snow falls in Vernonia. Please see page 14 Ike Says… By Dale Webb, member Nehalem Valley Chapter, Izaak Walton League I approached the gated road with apprehension, I was a little later than I wanted to be. Would somebody already be there? I sighed in relief, nobody was parked at the gate, my opening day of elk season would not be an immediate competition. I quickly got my mountain bike out of the back and started pushing it up the hill, I’m no Lance Armstrong, besides it was still dark and I wanted to take my time and stay cool. I slipped up the mountain in the dark and could just slightly make out my surroundings. I was going through a new clear-cut and was pretty much discounting the possibility of seeing elk in it because it was so new. I reached the upper end of the clear-cut and thought to myself, I should glass this little basin above me, just in case. I looked through the binoculars and hmm…a line of stumps; stumps heck, those are elk! I quietly put the kickstand down on the bike and slipped my rifle off the handlebar rack. It was way too dark; I fig- ured I would just wait until daylight and legal hunting time. I could see the elk in the darkness, but couldn’t see if any of them had antlers. Then the fog moved in and the elk disappeared, this was not good. I finally decided to backtrack down the road, cut up through the clear-cut to hit the road above, then sneak around the top and the elk should feed out in front of me. I made the 400-yard climb fairly quickly, but was paying the price for getting over-heated. Luckily I had sprayed all my optics with a good de-fogging agent, all I had to do was cool down. I sneaked down the road while I peeled off some clothing. When I got to the draw where the elk should have been, they were gone! Then I heard crash- ing in the timber off to my right and I knew I had been winded and the chase was now on. I have killed very few bulls in clear-cuts, today was def- initely not going to be one of them. Of course the elk were heading down into a hole. I fol- lowed along, then started skirting above them, I hoped. Soon I jumped them again and saw a cow and calf, but could only hear the others crashing through the forest. I got to a good van- tage point where I could look down through some bigger timber (a real rarity today) and hoped the elk would circle underneath me. Fi- nally I gave up, started up the old cat road I was on and into a reprod patch about 10 years-old. I looked across the small draw onto the opposite hillside 150 yards away and there stood an elk! I got the binoculars up and, as the elk moved its head, I saw the legal antlers swinging with the head. I quickly switched to my rifle’s optics and brought the crosshairs to the ribs, but I could also see all the limbs of the roadside alders, oh, this was not good. Finally I picked the best hole I could and touched the .270 off. The bull imme- diately bolted forward. I ran up the cat road a few Please see page 3
