PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Permit No. 37
Vol. 26, No. 2
THE
INDEPENDENT
The Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley for Over 25 years
January 20, 2011
Vernonia Schools to Receive
$11.2 Million in FEMA Grants
Despite recent heavy rains, groundwork on the new school construction is on schedule. Con-
struction on the building is scheduled to begin March 1.
Update on Hwy. 26 tunnel closure
Repairs on the Dennis L. Ed-
wards Tunnel, on Hwy 26, orig-
inally scheduled to start on
Monday, January 17, were
postponed until Hwy. 6 could be
stabilized and cleared of ap-
proximately 1,000 cubic yards
of landslide debris. The state
Department of Transportation
anticipated that the Hwy. 26
work would start on the night of
Wednesday, January 19.
During the work, the tunnel
will be open every weekend
and weekday but will close
nightly Sunday through Thurs-
day until late May.
On weekends, the tunnel will
close at 10:00 p.m. on Sun-
days. On weekdays, Monday
through Thursday, the tunnel
will close at 8:00 p.m. and re-
open the next morning at 6:00
a.m. The tunnel will remain
open during Spring Break,
March 18-27.
FREE
The tunnel will be relined,
have drainage improved, light-
ing replaced and a bicycle
warning system will be in-
stalled. The final repairs are ex-
pected to be completed in July,
though the nighttime closures
should be over at the end of
May.
View www.tripcheck.com or
dial 5-1-1 for information about
road closures. For information
about the Dennis Edwards Tun-
nel project, visit www.dennised-
wardstunnel.org.
Wyden Town Hall
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden will
host town hall meetings in Co-
lumbia and Clatsop counties on
Saturday, January 22, 2011.
Senator Wyden has been hold-
ing town halls in each county
every year since 1996.
The Columbia County Town
Hall will be held in St. Helens,
starting at 3:30 p.m. at the St.
Helens Armory, 474 S 7th St.
The Clatsop County Town
Hall will start at 10:30 a.m at
the Columbia River Maritime
Museum, 1792 Marine Drive,
Astoria.
Concert to benefit scholarship fund
There will be a concert by
Hill Road Band (with special
songs by Brian Maynard and
Mark Brown) to benefit the
Zack Rumbolz Memorial Schol-
arship Fund on Saturday, Janu-
ary 29, starting at 7:00 p.m. at
the
Vernonia
Community
Church, 957 State Avenue.
Admission is free but cash
donations for the scholarship
and canned food donations for
Vernonia Cares Food Bank will
be accepted.
For more information, call
Mark Brown at 503-961-5281.
Senators Jeff Merkley and
Ron Wyden and Congressman
David Wu announced, on Janu-
ary 13, that the Vernonia
School District will receive
$11.2 million from the Federal
Emergency
Management
Agency (FEMA). The new grant
comes in addition to the
$150,000 in funding that the
school district received through
Congressional appropriations
in fiscal year 2010.
According to FEMA, the
agency will acquire the existing
Vernonia K-12 school buildings
through its Flood Mitigation As-
sistance program. The $11.2
million in proceeds from the ac-
quisition will go toward the con-
struction of a new school cam-
pus outside the floodplain.
Groundbreaking for the project
took place last month.
“This grant will do more than
just construct a school, it’ll help
rebuild a community and create
jobs,” Merkley said. “I’m thrilled
these unspent disaster funds
have found the right home.
Congratulations to the commu-
nity. Not even a 500-year flood
can wash away Vernonia’s
bright future.”
“This announcement means
that the federal government
and FEMA are doing the right
thing for the families of Vernon-
ia who have worked tirelessly to
put their lives and their commu-
nity back together,” Wyden
said. “The schools in Vernonia
have always been the heart
and soul of the community and
this money means that it will
stay that way into the future.”
“Money can’t build the spirit
of community that the citizens
of Vernonia have shown since
the flooding,” said Wu, “but
$11.2 million can certainly build
a top-notch school, create
some jobs, and foster new
hope for a better future. This is
a proud day for a much-deserv-
ing community.”
In 2007, devastating flooding
washed through Vernonia,
completely destroying sections
of the Vernonia School District.
The district received $150,000
in Congressional appropria-
tions funding in fiscal year 2010
after Senators Merkley and
Wyden requested funds to re-
place equipment damaged by
the flood.
According to school superin-
tendent Dr. Ken Cox the $11.2
million includes $10.4 million
for buy-out of the existing build-
ings
and
approximately
$800,000 for demolition of the
existing buildings. The district’s
new school budget already in-
cluded the $10.4 million.
Fire protection award to Fishhawk
The small community of
Fishhawk Lake is being recog-
nized for their efforts to reduce
their risk from destructive wild-
fires. On January 8, the resi-
dents of Fishhawk were award-
ed a plaque and signs to post
around the community recog-
nizing them as the newest
member of Firewise Communi-
ties USA. Firewise Communi-
ties are special communities all
over the nation that have in-
vested time, energy and re-
sources toward protecting their
communities from the threat of
wildfires. The Firewise organi-
zation is dedicated to spreading
the message of what individual
homeowners and communities
can do to take charge of pro-
tecting themselves.
Fishhawk has long been
See Rural on page 5
— CORRECTION —
Willow Burch’s name was
misspelled in a photo caption in
the January 6 issue. The Inde-
pendent apologizes for the error.