The INDEPENDENT, September 16, 2010
Page 15
Timber holds open house for new state-of-the-art water system
hand off the plant to new mem-
bers,” and they need to replace
their 50,000 gallon redwood
reservoir with a modern tank
sometime in the future. Howev-
er, at the open house on Satur-
day, September 11, the focus
was on enjoying and celebrat-
ing all the features of their new
water system, along with ham-
burgers, sodas and visiting with
the neighbors who are now be-
ing served by that system.
Child Passenger Safety Week coming
A peek inside the new water plant in Timber shows the
pumps on the left with their computer beside them and the
new membrane treatment component on the right.
The community of Timber
doesn’t have much infrastruc-
ture, but it does now have a
state-of-the-art water plant.
Timber is an unincorporated
town with a population of 131,
just up Timber Road and
across Hwy. 26.
The Timber Water Associa-
tion (TWA) has been in place
since the 1970s when they put
in a flock filtration plant, the
same type that Vernonia cur-
rently uses. But, that system’s
lifespan was up. The TWA’s five
member board went looking for
solutions.
A year and a half ago, TWA
President George Herr, took
the association down the path
to get ARRA (American Recov-
ery and Reinvestment Act)
grant dollars to replace the ag-
ing water system. He found the
grant writing resource that suc-
cessfully brought the grant
money to Timber. Current Vice-
President Robert Wagner ac-
knowledged Herr’s contribu-
tion, saying “It wouldn’t have
happened without this guy.”
Wagner said there had been
about 122 applications for wa-
ter plants and Timber was one
of 18 chosen for ARRA dollars.
Timber received $675,685
from ARRA and the other half of
the cost from a 20-year, three-
percent-interest loan. About the
loan, Herr said, “We had to in-
crease rates, but not as much
as you’d expect.” For that mon-
ey, the 65 Timber water cus-
tomers got a WesTech, made in
America, membrane system
that can process up to 40 gal-
lons a minute of water from the
Nehalem River. The system is
fully computerized and double
‘green’ pumps work in tandem
to pump the water to the hold-
ing reservoir. TWA also upgrad-
ed all the water meters so they
can be read remotely via a
hand-held unit that sends the
data straight to the billing sys-
tem.
There are three fully-trained
operators and a Level II engi-
neer, from Hillsboro, comes out
once a week to do required
testing. The membranes must
be cleaned monthly, using a
very small amount of citric acid
or caustic soda, which is then
neutralized either by baking
soda or settling in the holding
tank. The membranes will re-
quire replacement in about 10
years, but the rest of the sys-
tem should require very little
maintenance or replacement
for many years to come.
“It’s an incredible accom-
plishment for this community,”
Herr said.
What’s next? Current board
President Zeno Lagler said,
“We want to be sure it’s easy to
Next week, September 19 -
25, is national “Child Passen-
ger Safety Week” and safety
advocates in Oregon say care-
givers can learn tips this week
that could someday save a life.
“We recently heard from a
couple that was involved in a
head-on crash, and their baby
was buckled up correctly in the
back seat in his child safety
seat. He was a little sore from
the incident, but both he and
the parents survived, unin-
jured,” said Carla Levinski, Oc-
cupant Protection Program
manager for the Oregon De-
partment of Transportation.
In Oregon, more than 500
volunteer Child Passenger
Safety technicians teach peo-
ple how to select and correctly
use child safety seats and
booster seats. During CPS
Week, there are more than two
dozen clinics scheduled around
the state, and throughout the
year, local fire, police, health
organizations and others host
free “check up” events focused
on child passenger safety. A list
of events is updated weekly
and available online at www.
childsafetyseat.org.
Statistics from the National
Highway Transportation Safety
Administration show that in mo-
tor vehicle crashes, child safety
seats reduce the risk of fatal in-
jury by 71 percent for infants
and 54 percent for toddlers.
The proper booster seat re-
duces the risk by 59 percent
(according to the Children’s
Hospital of Philadelphia).
“Securing children properly
in size-appropriate child safety
seats – in the back seat of the
vehicle – is the most effective
thing parents and caregivers
can do to protect them in the
event of a crash,” Levinski said.
In 2009, only half of Oregon’s
988 children under age eight
who were injured in crashes
were properly secured in child
seats or boosters. “Our local
car seat programs are working
hard to change those statis-
tics.”
As a reminder, Oregon law
requires the following:
• A child weighing less than
40 pounds must be restrained
in a child safety seat.
• A child under one year of
age or weighing less than twen-
ty pounds must be restrained in
a child seat, rear facing.
• A child over forty pounds
but under age eight or less than
4’ 9” tall must be restrained in a
booster seat that elevates them
so the lap/shoulder belts fit cor-
rectly.
Free class for
renters offered
A Renters Education course
will be held beginning Septem-
ber 30, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.,
sponsored by Community Ac-
tion Team. This course is free
to the public and is a 12-hour
course.
The course addresses
housing needs, problem solv-
ing, preparing finances/budg-
ets and increasing probability
for successful tenancy.
Pre-registration is request-
ed, call Cindy at 503-325-
9215, ex. 2303 or e-mail to
cindkp @cat-team.org .
Power of the People
Power of the People will be
back in the October 7 issue.
Willow Burch
Vernonia
City Council
As a local business owner
I believe involving the community
keeps information and ideas flowing
both ways to make effective decisions
that benefit our community.
Bringing People together to get things done…
That’s my commitment.
Paid for by Willow Burch
Meyers
‘ Auto Body,Inc
503-429-0248
493 Bridge St, Vernonia, OR