PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Permit No. 37
Vol. 25, No. 8
THE
FREE
INDEPENDENT
The Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley for Over 25 years
April 21, 2011
Another winning spell for Vernonia
Vernonian Noni Andersen
won the State of Oregon Senior
Spelling Bee on Saturday, April
9, in Aurora. This was Ander-
sen’s sixth trip to the Bee. In
2009, she won second place.
The Senior Spelling Bee is
open to all Oregonians age 50
and older and is sponsored by
the Aurora Colony Historical
Society. The Oregon bee is one
of only three state senior bees,
the others are in Kansas and
Illinois.
This year’s spelling bee in-
cluded three rounds of 25 writ-
ten words, followed by the oral
round. In the oral round, con-
testants are disqualified after
three incorrect spellings. The
only word Andersen missed in
the oral round was nootropic (a
substance that enhances mem-
ory). Other difficult words in this
year’s bee included; oleagi-
nous, epergne, langlauf, coela-
canth, baccalaureate and au-
tochthonous.
Vernonians have done very
well in the Oregon Senior
Spelling Bee. In 1999, Audeen
Wagner won. In 2003, Carol
Sawyer was the winner, and To-
bie Finzel took first place in
2004.
But, Andersen will tell you,
“I’m almost sorry I won because
I’ve always had so much fun at
the competition. The competi-
tors are people who have fun
with words, are supportive of
each other, and maintain a
wonderfully humorous outlook.
“The rules prohibit winners
from additional competition,”
Andersen said, “but I jumped at
See Spelling on page 6
Vernonia Easter Egg
Hunt this Saturday
The annual Vernonia Easter
Egg Hunt will start at 10:00
a.m. sharp, this Saturday, April
23. The hunt is for children
aged 0-10, and is held at
Hawkins Park. It is sponsored
by Vernonia Community PTA.
Daisy Girl Scouts pitched in and helped at Vernonia’s annual Make Vernonia Shine day, filling
bags with bark dust that was later spread around the downtown street trees.
Safely turn in old, or unwanted drugs this Saturday
Unwanted and expired med-
ications can be turned in to the
Columbia County Sheriff’s Of-
fice (CCSO) on Saturday, April
30, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00
p.m. The CCSO will hold this
event at the Vernonia Police
Department, 1001 Bridge St.
All medicines should be left
in their original containers, if
possible. In addition to expired
and unwanted medications,
you can also bring drugs no
longer used, medicines from
deceased family members, and
unknown tablets and capsules.
This event is for medica-
tions, not other items; do not
bring thermometers, needles or
medical waste of any type.
Enjoy talent show
and help Jaden
Kindergarten
Roundup
There will be a Talent Show
April 23, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.,
in the Logger Dome (high
school gymnasium). This is a
benefit to raise funds for Jaden
Krieger, a 9-year-old cancer pa-
tient from Banks. Vernonia High
School is raising money to send
the Krieger family to Great Wolf
Lodge in June. Tickets are $3
for students and $5 for adults.
Come enjoy the show and help
a family in need.
It’s time for the 2011 Vernon-
ia Kindergarten Round-up. The
Round-up will be held to enroll
children who will be five-years-
old on or before September 1,
2011.
Immunization records and
birth certificates will be required
for each child. The Round-up
will be held Friday, May 20, by
appointment only. Call the
grade school office at 503-429-
7941 for an appointment.
Noni Andersen brought another Oregon Senior Spelling Bee
trophy back to Vernonia.