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