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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2010)
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid Vernonia, OR 97064 Permit No. 37 Vol. 25, No. 2 THE FREE INDEPENDENT The Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley for 25 years January 21, 2010 Sandra McLean unveiled a portrait of her late husband, Judge Rod McLean, at the Vernonia City Council. The picture will hang in Court/Council Chamber. See full story on page 5. The Vernonia High School Wrestling Team at Clatskanie. Photo by Chris Barnes Alley will speak at GOP meeting Logger wrestlers dominate at Clatskanie tournament Allen Allen Alley, Republican can- drinks. The VHS wrestling team showed great depth at the Clatskanie tournament, claim- ing the team title by more than 125 points over the second place team. The Vernonia team showed superior experience and technique throughout the day and is looking very tough overall. The wrestlers claimed six individual titles: Shylo Doo- ley at 125 LBS, Dillon Dethlefs at 135 LBS, Calvin Barnes at 145 LBS, Cody Cowles at 152 LBS, Brett Benes at 189 LBS, and Alax Barber at 285 LBS. While posting champions in six of 14 weight classes is a staggering result, equally im- pressive is posting second place finishes in six of the 14 weights classes. The Loggers wrapped up the day with sever- al third and fourth place finishes as well. These results are not unusual for the VHS Wrestling team; they have been doing this all season. Vernonia Wrestling has done very well as a team this season. “In wrestling, team results are a reflection of the depth of the squad. We always hear about the guys who take first place, but the guys who help bring home team titles are the ones who go unrecognized. We have kids who are winning matches in tournaments and pushing our guys in the practice room, and you may never hear their names,” said Coach Barnes about the success of the team this season. “Wrestling cele- brates the underdog and the unknown soldier as well as the medal winners.” The coaching staff believes that everyone on the team is equally important. Anyone can succeed at wrestling if he or she is willing to do the work. Led by head Coach James Brookins, Assistant Coaches Wolf and Barnes, and several volunteer coaches, the team has depth in the coaching staff as well. As coaches, they have experience in the light, middle, and heavy weight class divi- sions so they are able to tailor techniques to meet the needs of the wrestlers based on their size. Most teams don’t have this luxury and end up being strong in some weight classes and weak in others. Based on the depth and ex- perience of the team, they ex- pect the success to continue into future seasons. Team results to date this season are first at the Banks dual meet tournament, fourth at Harrisburg, first at Amity, sec- ond at Gervais, first at Neah- Kah-Nie, and first at Clatskanie. VHS Wrestling will host two home meets this season; Fri- day, January 22, at 5:00 p.m. and Thursday, February 4, at 5:00 p.m. Plan to come out and enjoy the competition. didate for Governor in the May Primary Election, will be speak- ing at the monthly Columbia County Republican MeetUp gathering on Friday, January 29, at the Village Inn, 535 S. Columbia River Hwy, St. He- lens. The meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to about 8:30 p.m. Guests are encouraged to arrive early to order food or Ballots can be left in area drop sites Senator Ron Wyden came to Vernonia on January 13 to hold a Town Hall. Over a hundred people were in the audience at the high school gymnasium, about half of them students. In a procedural change, instead of just raising hands to ask ques- tions, a form was filled out and a ticket given to the questioner. There were two tickets, student and community. After his intro- ductory comments, Wyden al- ternated taking questions (drawn from the tickets) from each group. Drop sites for the January 26 Special Election are as follows: • Vernonia Library, 701 Weed Ave., during regular li- brary hours through January 25; from Noon to 8:00 p.m. on January 26. • Mist-Birkenfeld Rural Fire Protection District, 12525 High- way 202, through January 25 during office hours; from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on January 26. There will also be a drive-by drop box in the lower (back) parking lot at the Columbia County Courthouse, 230 Strand St, St. Helens. Over 30 years Alley has built an experience base that spans multiple disciplines from engi- neering to marketing, venture capital, entrepreneurship, and public service, as well as being the Republican candidate for Oregon Treasurer in 2008. For more information contact Fred Yauney at fyauney@ya- hoo.com or 503-543-6271. Sen. Wyden has Town Hall in Vernonia Student questions ranged from, “What do you plan to do about the deficit?” to “What would success be in Afghani- stan?” To the Afghanistan ques- tion Wyden responded, See Town Hall, page 4 Town Hall Cancelled The January 21 Ver- nonia School District Town Hall has been can- celled. It will be resched- uled for February. CORRECTION: The photo of a house fire on Page 1 of The INDEPENDENT’s January 7 issue should have been credited to Doug Harrod. We sincerely regret the omission.