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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (June 2, 2011)
The INDEPENDENT, June 2, 2011 Page 15 Power of the People By W. Marc Farmer, General Manager, West Oregon Electric Cooperative Building Projects Update First of all is good news on the new substation project. We suc- cessfully received the funds from our first-ever Federal Earmark Grant of $475,000 that will go to- ward the construction of the new Vernonia Substation. These funds will greatly reduce the cost of the project, and since it is a grant, will not have to be paid back. We are grateful to Senator Ron Wyden, Representative David Wu, and former Senator Gordon Smith for obtaining these much needed funds for West Oregon. The sub- station project will allow us to replace an aged trans- former and relocate one of the Vernonia substations out of the flood plain. The new transformers have been ordered and shipped. They are being held at a site in Portland until we are ready for them to be installed. The Federal Ear- mark Funds paid for the new transformers and toward engineering work for the project. We are now working on the final permits to begin construction of the new substation. We anticipate beginning site work and con- struction in June. I would like to answer another question I received on the new building. I was asked why we are putting building, not an industrial looking building. As it is one cedar siding on the building. The answer is really a of the first buildings you will see as you enter Vernon- two-part one. First is that, originally, the truck bays and ia, they wanted it to represent the City in a pleasing warehouse were scheduled to be metal with a skin on manner and set a positive tone. We chose to go with a them to achieve the answer to the second part, that of timber theme to represent the rich historical culture of appearance. That was before metal prices escalated the community as a logging and timber town. To build to levels that greatly exceeded our budget. In fact, it out of locally logged and milled trees definitely kept since the contract was signed, metal prices have in- with that theme. It also kept our commitment to use as creased over 44%. The amount of metal we would many local products, goods, and services in the con- have purchased to cover the truck bays and ware- struction of the headquarters as possible. house would have significantly run us over budget. We So, to answer the question, we were able to create then made the decision to switch to a wood building as a beautiful timber and logging community theme build- lumber prices were declining. ing, using local trees that were locally logged and While obtaining cost estimates on lumber pricing, milled using local labor, and save money while doing we came up with another idea to not only save us so. Seems like a real win-win decision for everyone. money, but also to accomplish the other objectives of appearance. We were offered the opportu- nity to harvest and cut some local cedar trees. Other than the framing studs and plywood, most of the wood in the project we are milling ourselves from local timber using local labor. So the first answer to the ™ question of cedar siding is we saved mon- ey by doing so instead of purchasing lum- ber at market prices, and especially by not building with metal. As for the appearance, we made a com- mitment to the City of Vernonia that we The name you would construct an aesthetically appealing Run with Extra Confidence with Chevron DELO 400 PLUS MOTOR OIL trust for: Grill safety tips for the summer season From page 13 stops, bring your grill to a pro- fessional to be serviced before further use. If the leak does not stop, call the fire department. • Use only equipment bear- ing the label of a recognized testing laboratory. Use the manufacturer’s instructions re- garding assembly, use, and proper care of the grill. • If you smell gas while using the grill, get away from the grill immediately and call the fire department. • Do not store propane tanks indoors in houses or garages. If storing your grill indoors during the winter months, disconnect the cylinder and leave it out- side. Charcoal grills: • If using a “charcoal chim- ney” to light charcoal for grilling, use a long match to avoid burning your fingers while lighting the paper. • Never add starter fluid to coals or kindling that have al- ready been ignited – and use only charcoal starter fluid. Nev- er use gasoline or any other flammable liquid. • Keep charcoal fluid away from heat sources and out of reach of children. • When finished grilling, wait for the coals to cool completely and then dispose of them in a metal container. For more safety tips, videos, facts and figures, and audio clips, please visit http://www. nfpa.org/grilling. • Gasoline • Diesel Fuel • Oils • Solvents • Additives • Greases S EE US FOR CPAC elections occur on June 14 Columbia County will hold Citizen Planning Advisory Committee elections for expir- ing terms. CPACs provide advice and recommendations to county land use planning entities, in- cluding the Planning Depart- ment, the Planning Commis- sion and the Board of County Commissioners. Each CPAC is divided into neighborhoods. Members rep- resent neighborhoods where they live or own property. There must be at least five voters who live or own property in a neigh- borhood to hold an election for the neighborhood. Voters must show picture identification that verifies resi- dency in the neighborhood or a tax statement that shows prop- erty ownership. Elections will be held for Scappoose-Spitzenberg on June 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Scappoose Library and for Up- per Nehalem on June 14 at 7:00 p.m. at Vernonia City Hall, 1001 Bridge Street. H EATING O IL D ECK & S HINGLE O IL A NTI F REEZE CALL (503) 429-6606 WILCOX & FLEGEL 720 Rose Avenue • Vernonia