PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Permit No. 37
Vol. 26, No. 19
THE
FREE
INDEPENDENT
The Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley for Over 25 years
October 5, 2011
New wetland in Vernonia
will enhance old mill site
The new wetland, located on the O-A Mill site, is taking its final shape as the excavation work
finishes up in the next week. The logs in the middle are being put in place for fish to even-
tually hang around. See full story on this page.
Providence to leave Vernonia at year end
Providence Medical Group-
Vernonia clinic has announced
that they will leave Vernonia at
the end of this year. The Ver-
nonia Health Board has been
working on other operating
plans for the clinic and Provi-
dence notified the Health
Board recently that they will
discontinue operating the Ver-
nonia clinic as of December 31,
2011.
The Health Board had been
working with a different clinic to
expand their services to Ver-
nonia when Providence left.
That plan was contingent on
federal funding that was not
awarded to this location.
The Health Board has stated
that it is actively working on a
plan to have medical services
available at the clinic effective
January 1, 2012. The make-up
of those services and informa-
tion about who will provide
services will be announced
when plans are finalized.
Providence is an active par-
ticipant in helping plan new
health care options in Vernonia
and has donated the equip-
ment currently in the clinic
building to the Health Board.
Carreon earns award for volunteerism
Crystal-Ann Carreon, a sen-
ior at Vernonia High School,
has been selected as the Re-
gion 2 winner in the Outstand-
ing Youth Volunteer category
for the 2011 Governor’s Volun-
teer Awards. “I’m very honored
to be chosen,” said Carreon of
her selection.
Region 2 includes Clatsop,
Columbia, Marion, Polk, Tillam-
ook, and Yamhill counties.
Carreon was nominated for
her role in the Joy For Jaden
fundraising efforts. Joy For
Jaden raised money for a
young boy in Banks with can-
cer. This was a year-long
fundraising effort organized by
Carreon.
Along with her parents,
Carreon will attend a Novem-
ber 4 luncheon in Salem honor-
ing regional winners. If select-
ed as the Outstanding Oregon
Youth Volunteer of the Year
(from all regions), Carreon
would receive $500 to give to a
charity of her choice.
The Governor’s Volunteer
Awards recognize individuals
and organizations for their ded-
ication, commitment and deter-
mination in promoting and sup-
porting volunteerism through-
out Oregon. The purpose is to
inspire individuals to make a
positive difference by strength-
In order for the Vernonia
School District to use the new
school site at what used to be
Spencer Park, they had to miti-
gate a wetland that existed on
that site. The term mitigate in
this context means to replace
the lost wetland with larger wet-
lands so there is no loss from
the change.
The U.S. Army Corps of En-
gineers (USACE) is responsi-
ble for investigating, develop-
ing and maintaining the na-
tion’s water and related envi-
ronmental resources. USACE,
along with Oregon’s Depart-
ment of State Lands (DSL)
looked at the existing wetlands
and determined there were
3.72 acres of Palustrine Emer-
gent (PEM) wetland, plus .07
acre of intermittent stream that
would be lost at the new school
site. They then determined that
the replacement would need to
be 5.69 acres of PEM and
restoration of 1.3 acres of up-
land buffer.
PEM is identified as wet-
lands that are non-saline (not
tidal) with plants – such as cat-
tails, sedges, bulrushes, reeds
and saw grass – that remain
standing until the next growing
season and cover over 80 per-
cent of the wetland.
Originally, the school district
looked at a site by the city’s
wastewater lagoons that might
have been of benefit to the city
in their need to upgrade the la-
goons. When the timing of
those two projects did not
match up, the district and the
city agreed that use of the city’s
property at the old O-A Mill site
would be beneficial for both. It
was a site that would be rela-
tively easy to work on and
would add a nice feature, a true
wetland, to the site.
The site chosen required a
12-month study on the ground-
water to be sure there was
enough water (rain) at the site
so water would not have to be
added to maintain the wetland.
That study also provided data
for how deep the excavation
would need to be so the site
could hold enough water to
keep the wetland damp
through the summer months.
Historical/cultural studies
were done, to determine the
site had no archeological value
(for example, no dinosaur
bones or signs of early civiliza-
tions). That study was relative-
ly simple as there is pretty good
historical data indicating noth-
ing was there before the area
was settled in the late 1800s.
A contamination study was
done to make sure there was
no oil, hydraulic fuel or other
soil contaminants on site. US-
ACE did a 1st and 2nd stage
study before clearing the site
for construction. Finally, an en-
gineering study of the habitat
and existing plant species was
done.
After all those “planning
See Wetlands on page 14
Reward offered for information
on WOEC truck and tool theft
Crystal-Ann Carreon was se-
lected for regional award.
ening Oregon communities.
Early on the morning of Sep-
tember 20, a Ford bucket truck
was stolen from West Oregon
Electric Co-op. The truck,
along with spools of wire, chain
saws, other tools and electrical
equipment was seen on video
leaving at about 3:35 a.m.
The truck was later seen at
Staley’s Junction and was re-
covered, in inoperable condi-
tion, on a logging spur off
Strassel Rd. The other stolen
items were not recovered.
There is a $2,000 reward for
information resulting in the ar-
rest and conviction of those re-
sponsible for the theft. Anyone
with information should call the
Vernonia Police Department at
503-429-7335 or the 24-hour
dispatch number at 800-696-
7795.