PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Permit No. 37
Vol. 25, No. 16
THE
INDEPENDENT
The Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley for Over 25 years
August 19, 2010
Governor’s order directs state
to help in Vernonia’s recovery
Lawnmower races provided fun and laughs for both participants and spectators during the
2010 Vernonia Friendship Jamboree, August 6-8. This picture shows Lawnmower race organ-
izer, Gadget Abney (foreground) waving the flag for the first race of the event. Additional pic-
tures from Vernonia’s 54th Friendship Jamboree are on pages 16 and 24.
Dallas Brass will return to Vernonia in September
The Dallas Brass return to
Vernonia with a concert on
September 17, at 7:00 p.m.,at
Washington Grade School. The
Dallas Brass has a strong dedi-
cation to working with young
musicians, frequently going into
the public schools to present
clinics and workshops for stu-
dents of all ages. Dallas Brass
will work with Vernonia band
students and, later, the stu-
dents will join Dallas Brass for
the performance of a piece in
the concert.
Tickets to the concert are
$10 for adults, $5 for students
and seniors. Tickets are avail-
able at Creatures Pets/Vernon-
ia Florist and at the Vernonia
School District office.
Since its founding in 1983 by
Michael Levine, the Dallas
Brass has become one of
America’s foremost musical en-
sembles. The group has estab-
lished a unique blend of tradi-
FREE
tional brass instruments with a
full complement of drums and
percussion, which creates a
performing entity of extraordi-
nary range and musical chal-
lenges. The Dallas Brass reper-
toire includes classical master-
pieces,
Dixieland,
swing,
Broadway, Hollywood and patri-
otic music.
Governor Ted Kulongoski
has issued an executive order
aimed specifically at helping
Vernonia’s physical and eco-
nomic recovery after the devas-
tation caused by flooding in De-
cember, 2007. Executive Or-
ders are written directives of
the Governor, setting forth poli-
cies and procedures in further-
ance of his statutory and consti-
tutional responsibilities.
In his August 3, 2010, Exec-
utive Order No. 10-07, Rebuild-
ing Vernonia’s Schools and the
Surrounding Community in the
Wake of the December 2007
Storm, the governor stated,
“The community is working
valiantly to rebuild,” and went
on to say, “Notwithstanding the
fact that it experienced two sig-
nificant and damaging flood
events in eleven years, Vernon-
ia can be seen as a classic ex-
ample of the decline of Ore-
gon’s rural resource based
economy. This community was
one of the first historic timber
towns to see the loss of its for-
est products infrastructure. If a
strategy can be designed and
implemented to bring this com-
munity back, beginning with its
schools, the economy of the
surrounding region can be revi-
Most county offices
closed this Friday
The Dallas Brass will return for another day of instruction
with Vernonia band students, followed by a performance in
the evening. Tickets are now on sale for the evening concert.
Columbia County offices will
be closed Friday, August 20, for
one of four furlough days ap-
proved by the County Commis-
sion in response to the Coun-
ty’s budget situation. The Sher-
iff’s Office and the Roads/Parks
Department are not included in
the furlough plan and will be
open for business.
Residents will not be able to
conduct County business on
furlough days, however, State
Court Offices will remain open
and operating on those days
from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
talized. In addition to this signif-
icant achievement, a model will
be in place that can then be
replicated across other hard hit
communities of the state. Suc-
cess in Vernonia will send an
important message that the
tools exist to rebuild economic
viability in Oregon’s rural, as
well as its urban communities.”
The Order continues, saying
“agencies are encouraged to
think broadly and creatively
about actions that can be tak-
en,” adding, “This Order directs
state agencies to work collabo-
ratively and assist Vernonia
and its surrounding community
to rebuild its schools and public
infrastructure.”
Specific agencies named to
assist Vernonia include the
Oregon Parks and Recreation
Department, Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation, Depart-
ment of State Lands, Depart-
ment of Environmental Quality,
Oregon Department of Forestry
and the Oregon Department of
Energy.
See page 4
Pinchot
Institute
meeting tonight for
woodland owners
Private non-industrial forest-
land owners in Columbia Coun-
ty have been invited to a meet-
ing tonight, August 19, at 6:30
p.m., in the Vernonia High
School gymnasium.
Forestland owners with more
than 10 acres will meet with
representatives from The Pin-
chot Institute for Conservation
to discuss possibilities for being
part of the nation’s first re-
search project to look at linking
carbon investor payments with
health care cost funding.
The Pinchot Institute is pro-
posing that Columbia County
and Vernonia, specifically,
serve as a location for this pilot
project.