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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 2011)
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid Vernonia, OR 97064 Permit No. 37 Vol. 26, No. 23 THE FREE INDEPENDENT The Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley for Over 25 years December 7, 2011 Foreclosed home buyers beware Recently, people have pur- chased foreclosed homes in Vernonia only to find out that the homes were flooded, sub- stantially damaged, and need to be raised. Once a home has been determined to be sub- stantially (over 51% of value) damaged, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requires the home to be raised, whether by the same owner or another. The City of Vernonia will not provide water and sewer serv- ice to such a home unless the current owner agrees to lift the home within six months. Lifting a home can cost from $30,000 up, not including the costs of engineering and permits. Banks and mortgage hold- ers who have not actually lived in a home are allowed to sell homes “as is” without disclos- ing that the home may be have been flooded. The banks, etc. may not even have that infor- mation. Before buying a foreclosed home or a home with a price that seems to good to be true, check with the city, the neigh- bors and your realtor to deter- mine the history of the property. New 9-1-1 administrator named Santa Claus and a helper were on hand for The Spirit of Christmas in Vernonia tree lighting and holiday celebration, held on December 3. Reward offered on items stolen at Stub Stewart Park recently The Northwest Trail Alliance is offering a reward of up to $500 for information leading to an arrest and the recovery of a trail construction machine and trailer stolen in late November from an enclosed maintenance compound at L.L. “Stub” Stew- art State Park, in northwest Washington County. Oregon State Police (OSP) is investi- gating the case. Between 4:30 p.m., Novem- ber 29, and 7:00 a.m., Novem- ber 30, unknown suspect(s) stole a gray Xtera 18-foot dual axle trailer displaying Oregon license U449427. The trailer belongs to “Northwest Trail Al- liance” and displays the al- liance’s logo on both sides of the trailer. Inside the trailer were vari- ous tools, accessories and an ST240 trail construction ma- chine valued at $80,000. A pho- tograph of the stolen trailer and The Columbia 9-1-1 Com- munications District Board of Directors is pleased to an- nounce that Operations Man- ager Lee Knowlton has accept- ed the position of Administrator. Knowlton began his career at Columbia 9-1-1 in February of 1987 as a Communications Specialist. He was promoted to Chief Dispatcher in 1988, and was in charge of day-to-day op- erations. In addition to those duties, he became involved in many aspects relating to the administration of the agency, including hiring, training, per- sonnel matters and budgeting. Knowlton’s job title was later changed to Operations Manag- er, which more clearly identified his job duties. Knowlton has an Executive certificate from the state De- partment of Public Safety Stan- See Knowlton on page 5 ST240 trail construction ma- chine is available with other in- formation on the Northwest Trail Alliance website at http://nw-trail.org. Anyone with information re- garding the suspect(s) and lo- cation of the stolen trailer and equipment is asked to call Ore- gon State Police Northern Command Center dispatch at 800-452-7888. VMS/VHS Band Concert The Vernonia Middle School and High School Band Concert will be Decem- ber 15, at 7:00 p.m. in the high school gymnasium. Children are encouraged to attend in their pajamas, as they will be doing something special with “The Polar Ex- press.” Attendance was good at the Washington Grade School Winter Concert on December 1.