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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2010)
Page 4 The INDEPENDENY, April 1, 2010 Local businesses form Downtown Association Wauna FCU has positive growth A meeting of downtown busi- ness owners and Paul Koch, a downtown revitalization con- sultant, was held by the City of Vernonia on March 9. The Ver- nonia City Council has asked the State of Oregon to make Vernonia a Main Street Pro- gram city. At the meeting, business owners were asked to decide whether the Main Street Pro- gram or another model would work best for the city. Those at- tending requested time to re- view the documentation pre- sented and another meeting was set for March 28. Thirteen downtown business owners or downtown property owners decided at the March 28 meeting to form a Down- town Association to work as a subcommittee of the city’s Eco- nomic Development Commit- tee. The Association decided to wait until the city complete’s the vision process they have be- CEO Robert Blumberg an- nounced Wauna Federal Cred- it Union 2009 financials at the 43rd Annual Meeting, held on March 6, at the Columbia County Fair Grounds in St. He- lens. Blumberg reported Wau- na grew by $13.8 million in total assets, $8.9 million in net loans gun, before deciding on further direction. The city held a work session, March 22, with members of the Planning Commission and City Council to work on the wording of their 20 year Vision state- ment, Mission statement and Strategic Plan. The city then held a community meeting on March 29 to get citizen input into the process. With 22 peo- ple in attendance at the March 29 meeting, drafts of the Vision and Mission statements, and a list of Strategic Initiatives and Proposed Values was re- viewed. A final draft will be pre- sented and discussed at the April 5 Vernonia City Council meeting, with approval of the fi- nal draft expected at their April 19 meeting. In the meantime, the newly formed Downtown Association chairman, Marilyn Nicks, met last week with a representative of the Main Street Program to gather information for the Asso- ciation. The next meeting of the Association has not yet been scheduled and may not be set until the council finishes their Vision statement. County jobless rate shows improvement Columbia County’s season- ally adjusted unemployment rate was 11.3 percent in Febru- ary, a significant decrease from the previous month (12.0%) and lower than the year before (12.0%). The rate was above the statewide rate (10.5%) and the national rate (9.7%). Total employment climbed by 155 to 21,254 and the number of un- employed people fell by 83 to 3,189. Total employment this February was 388 fewer than one year before but there were 265 fewer people unemployed this year. Biomass available from area growers From page 1 other idea linked to the project is the possible exchange of carbon sequestration on fami- lyowned tree farms for health insurance credits. Other com- ponents are being investigated as the ideas are put forward. On April 9, the Pinchot Insti- tute president and others will spend the day in Vernonia looking at the potential for a community wide project in sus- tainability. More information will be provided as it becomes available. and $11.7 million in shares. This growth is a result of mem- bers utilizing the Credit Union to satisfy more of their financial needs. Wauna recorded a net loss for 2009 of $9,624. This was a result of expensing $784,008 to support the credit union industry, instead of the industry using taxpayer money. All credit unions participated in supporting its industry rather than using taxpayer’s money. Without this expense, which did not arise from Wauna’s ac- tivity, the Credit Union would have shown a net income of $774,384 compared to $660,167 for 2008. Member shares at our credit union are insured by the NCUA (National Credit Union Associa- tion) for up to $250,000 as part of the Economic Stabilization Statute. According to the NCUA website, not one penny of in- sured savings has been lost by See Wauna on page 10 Community Calendar VERNONIA Alcoholics Anonymous Mondays 6:30 p.m., 410 North Street Alcoholics Anonymous Thursdays (Big Book Study) 7:00 p.m., 410 North Street American Legion Post #119 2nd Thursday 7:00 p.m., 627 Adams Avenue Booster Club 2nd Wednesday 7:00 p.m., VHS Library Boy Scout Troop 201 Tuesdays 7:00 p.m., Scout Cabin Boy Scout Troop 860 Wednesdays 7:00 p.m., LDS Church Cemetery Beautification Comm. 2nd Thursday 6:30 p.m., City Hall CERT 4th Wednesday For Info Call 503-429-3018 Chamber of Commerce 2nd Wednesday For Info Call 503-429-6081 Community Coalition 2nd Monday 12:30 p.m. School District Ofc. Cub Scout Pack 201 Scout Cabin For Info Call 503-429-4250 Friends of the Library 1st Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Vernonia Library Girl Scouts, Neighborhood 4-2 For Info Call 503-819-0143 Hands On Art Committee 1st & 3rd Thursdays 4:00 p.m., City Hall Izaak Walton League 3rd Thursday For location call 503-429-7193 Lions Club 1st & 3rd Tuesdays 6:30 p.m., Buckhorn Restaurant Municipal Airport Committee 4th Thursday 7:00 p.m., City Hall Pioneer Museum For Info Call 503-429-3713 Public Works Committee 4th Tuesday 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Cares Directors For Info call 503-429-1414 Vernonia City Council 1st & 3rd Mondays 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Community PTA 2nd Wednesday 7:00 p.m., WGS Library Vernonia Garden Club 2nd Tuesday 1:30 p.m., Vernonia Library Vernonia Grange 3rd Monday 7:00 p.m., Grange Hall Vernonia Health Center 2nd Monday 6:00 p.m., 510 Bridge St. Vernonia Learning Center 1st Wednesday 6:00 p.m., VLC Vernonia Parks Committee 3rd Wednesday 6:30 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Planning Comm. 1st & 3rd Thursdays 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Pride 2nd Thursday 1:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Ridge Riders Last Thursday 7:00 p.m., Senior Center Vernonia RFPD Board 2nd Tuesday 6:00 p.m., Fire Station Vernonia School Board 2nd Thursday 6:00 p.m., District Office Vernonia Sr. Center Board 2nd Friday 10:00 a.m., Senior Center Vernonia Transfer Station 2nd & 4th Saturdays, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Behind VHS Vern. Volunteer Ambulance Assoc. 1st, 3rd & 4th Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Fire Station Vernonia Volunteer Firefighters 2nd Monday 7:00 p.m., Fire Station WOEC Directors 3rd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., WOEC MIST-BIRKENFELD M-BRFPD Board Business Mtg. 2nd Tuesday M-BRFPD Board Workshop 4th Tuesday M-B Ambulance Drill 1st & 2nd Thursdays M-B Fire Drill 1st & 2nd Wednesdays M-B Helping Circle 2nd Monday M-B SAR Drill 3rd Wednesday M-B Volunteer Assoc. 1st Tuesday Natal Grange 2nd Wednesday T.O.P.S. Mondays Upr Nehalem Watershed Council For date call 429-0869 BANKS Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous American Legion Post #90 Banks City Council Banks Fire District #13 Banks Library Commission Banks Planning Commission Banks School Board Banks Youth Group Chamber of Commerce CPO 14 Everybody’s Hometown Band Friends of the Library Lions Club Sunset Park Assoc. T.O.P.S. Friday Wednesday 2nd Tuesday 2nd Tuesday 2nd Wednesday 3rd Tuesday Last Tuesday 2nd Monday Sunday, Wednesday 1st Thursday 3rd Monday Tuesdays 2nd Tuesday 1st & 3rd Mondays 3rd Wednesday Wednesday 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:30 p.m., Natal Grange Hall 9:00 a.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:30 p.m., Methodist Church 7:30 p.m., Methodist Church 7:30 p.m., Main Street Post 7:30 p.m., City Hall 7:00 p.m., Station 13 7:00 p.m., City Library 7:00 p.m., City Hall 7:30 p.m., Jr. High Library 7:00 p.m., UMC Youth Bldg. 12:30 p.m., Fire District Office 7:00 p.m., City Library 7:00 p.m., BHS Music Room 7:00 p.m., City Library 7:00 p.m., Brown Derby 8:00 p.m., Gun Club 7:00 p.m., Administration Bldg. COLUMBIA COUNTY (All meet in St. Helens unless otherwise noted.) Board of Commissioners Wednesday 10:00 a.m., Courthouse Citizens for Senior Justice 2nd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Sunset Park Church Columbia Comm Mental Health 1st Tuesday 5”30 p.m., 58646 McNulty Way Columbia Soil & Water District 3rd Wednesday 7:30 p.m., NRCS , 2514 Sykes County Fair Board 2nd Monday 6:00 p.m., Fairgrounds 4-H Bldg. County Parks Commission 3rd Tuesday Times vary, 1054 Oregon St. Mental Health Advisory Comm. Quarterly For Info call 503-397-7211 Comm. on Children & Families 3rd Thursday 5:30 p.m. OSU Ext., 505 N. Hwy. 30 Local Alcohol & Drug Plann. Comm. Quarterly For Info call 503-397-7211 Organizations and meeting dates not listed may be included by calling 429-9410 or by mail to The INDEPENDENT, 725 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR 97064.