The INDEPENDENT, July 2, 2009
Ray picked for My Fair Lady Princess
Senior News
covered wagon from Kansas in
1903; her father drove a wagon
from Montana after the depres-
sion. The family, now including
four children, moved to Vernon-
ia in 1941, looking for work and
her father worked in the mill
and helped build Staley’s in the
40’s.
Ray graduated from Vernon-
ia High School and went to
work at the Commercial Bank
(which later became US Bank).
That began a long career of
money handling, as Ray
worked at banks here, in Banks
and in Hillsboro. After her mar-
riage, she raised five children
while working part-time. She
finished her working career as
manager at the local US Bank
branch.
On being selected as a My
Fair Lady Princess, Ray said,
“It is an honor and a pleasure to
do, even though I was railroad-
ed into it.” Really, she’s enjoy-
ing being a princess. When
Ray is not being royalty, she
By Karen Miller, Senior Services
Community Action Team
The Vernonia My Fair Lady
Princess for 2009 is Patricia
Ray. Ray was nominated by the
Vernonia Senior Center, where
she volunteers as their book-
keeper and treasurer, and also
helps out with pricing, selling,
and sorting in the senior center
thrift store.
Ray was born in Hillsboro;
her mother arrived there by
enjoys quilting, sewing and mu-
sic. She loves to sing, and
sings with the Golden Oldies at
the Senior Center on Wednes-
days.
The My Fair Lady pageant is
held during the Columbia
County Fair. On July 15, at 1:00
p.m. (that’s Senior Day at the
Fair) the princesses will answer
questions and a panel of
judges will select this year’s
Queen of the My Fair Lady
pageant. The Queen will ride in
area parades and hand over
the crown to next year’s queen.
Columbia River PUD organized
the event, in conjunction with
the Retired and Senior Volun-
teer Program (RSVP) and Co-
lumbia River Fire and Rescue.
The other 2009 princesses
are Eila Kynsi of Clatskanie,
Rowena Tetz of Scappoose,
Sally Norbom of Columbia City
and Wanda Yost of Rainier.
Don’t miss the pageantry
and the fun at the Columbia
County Fair on July 15.
Beaver Falls Road closed for repairs
A guardrail replacement and
roadway re-paving project will
get underway July 6 on Beaver
Falls Road, in Columbia Coun-
ty near Clatskanie. The con-
struction work will take place
between mileposts 6 and 8.5
and will require a complete
road closure through the end of
October.
The scope of work will in-
clude the replacement of exist-
ing damaged guardrail, repav-
ing a portion of the roadway,
paving the turn-outs near the
falls and fencing for safe view-
ing of the falls from the road-
way. In order to widen the road-
way at the falls, the project in-
cludes a viaduct of sorts, which
leaves no room to allow traffic
to pass while the work is in
progress.
County Road Department
Director Dave Hill asks resi-
dents and other Beaver Falls
Road users for their patience
as the project is underway.
The project is funded under
an Oregon Department of
Transportation program for
transportation enhancement.
The project construction con-
tract has been awarded to Dirt
& Aggregate Interchange, Inc.
with OBEC Engineering doing
the project management/in-
spection.
Beaver Falls Road is an his-
torically significant road. The
primary work of replacing the
existing guardrails with period
guardrails will bring the road-
way closer to its original ap-
pearance, in addition to provid-
ing a significant improvement in
Mitchell wins yard work in raffle
At the June 5 First Friday,
with tickets at $5 apiece, the
Vernonia Community Garden
project group was thrilled to
raise $230 towards their goal of
$2500. The winner of the free
yard work was Anne Mitchell
and the hanging basket winner
was Susan Wagner.
So how did the group deliver
on their committed prize?
Sunday, June 28, a group
set to work, trimming back
weeds and overgrowth, pulling
ivy, falling a small tree and
spreading bark dust…followed
by an awesome lunch provided
by Anne. Anne’s son and his
family were also there to help.
The work crew was made up
of Sig Mitchell and family, Nikki
and Zachary Larke, Kelli and
Ben Schulte, Mark Lemay,
Jeana Gump, Marilyn, Abigail
and Hannah Nicks.
roadway travel safety for those
who use the road.
Help the Band,
get a clean car
The Vernonia Middle and
High School Band students will
hold a car wash on Saturday,
July 11, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00
p.m. in front of Vernonia High
School (green building). Dona-
tions appreciated.
Page 7
Hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful
summer weather…again…finally, and hope
an enjoyable fourth of July is in store for
you.
Don’t forget, coming up July 15, come
join us and ride the bus for free to the Co-
lumbia County Fair to support our own Pat
Ray, our Vernonia Senior Center princess
for this year. Go Pat!
From now on the Center is having
THREE games of bingo right before lunch, every Monday. Come
join the fun.
Don’t forget we have free blood pressure checks here on the
third Wednesday of the month at 11:00. Columbia Hearing comes
on the second Monday. Call for an appointment.
Footcare twice a month. Only $15.
Remember: Hot weather can be hard on cars. Higher temper-
atures speed up a car’s wear and tear, as fluids and lubricants
break down more quickly. By following the manufacturer’s recom-
mended maintenance schedule, your car will be ready for a long,
hot summer. Happy motoring and be safe this fourth of July!
INFORMATION NUMBERS
Senior Services...429-9112
Senior Center.......429-3912
Transportation......429-4304
Don’t miss the Boosters on July 4
The Boosters will be serving
up hamburgers and hot dogs at
the Snack Shack behind Ver-
nonia High School from 6:00 to
9:00 p.m. on the 4th of July.
Your support of the Boosters
will be appreciated!
This year, Boosters have
helped both the band and sen-
ior class go to Disneyland,
gave four $500 scholarships to
seniors, helped fund the 4th of
July fireworks, and all little
osquito Lodge Lavender
Grand opening
Saturday, July 18
July 17th through August 2nd
Friday, Saturday & Sunday 10 am to 4 pm
or by appointment
U-Pick Lavender $5 Bunch
Fresh and Dried Lavender
Lavender Plants
Barb & Kathy Larsen
503-429-0589
58329 Wilson Cutoff Road, Vernonia
guy/gal sports are under the
Boosters. This is just a few of
the programs that the Boosters
support.
Help them keep supporting
our kids and our community.