PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Permit No. 37
Vol. 26, No. 24
THE
FREE
INDEPENDENT
The Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley for Over 25 years
December 21, 2011
Carr is Miss Rodeo America
Mackenzie Carr, newly named 2012 Miss Rodeo America, signing an autograph for a young
fan at her Welcome Home Celebration at Vernonia High School on December 17.
Three promoted at Vernonia Rural Fire
Mackenzie Carr of Vernonia
has been crowned the 2012
Miss Rodeo America. Carr, the
daughter of Alan and Barb
Carr, was selected from a field
of 28 Miss Rodeos from across
the country, at the Miss Rodeo
America pageant held in Las
Vegas, Nevada, from Decem-
ber 2 through December 11.
Carr, 21 years old, the Vale-
dictorian at her graduation from
Vernonia High School in 2008,
was already involved in Miss
Rodeo contests. She was a
Columbia County Fair and
Rodeo princess in 2007, and
was queen in 2008. She was
named Miss NPRA in 2009, be-
fore being named the 2011
Miss Rodeo Oregon, in July
2010.
Carr was in 4-H for nine
years, competing in horseman-
ship, cooking and, once, in hor-
ticulture. Carr has also found
time since 2008 to spend two
years at Oregon State Univer-
sity (OSU) studying Civil Engi-
neering, then earned an asso-
ciate’s degree from Lower Co-
lumbia College, across the Co-
lumbia River in Longview,
Wash. She plans to return to
OSU for a degree in Construc-
tion Management after com-
pleting her year as Miss Rodeo
America.
During the national pageant,
Carr won the competitions in
Horsemanship (the most covet-
ed one due to the silver sad-
dle), Personality, Appearance,
Speech, and Scrapbook, and
also won the Raenan Wad-
hams Spirit Award, before be-
ing named the overall winner.
In addition to the silver saddle,
a beaver coat, jewelry, clothes,
another saddle, and many oth-
er items, Carr will also receive
$25,500 in scholarship funds.
Carr said her favorite part of
the competition was the inter-
view with the judges, “I really
liked getting to know them bet-
ter.” There were four judges,
two women, who were previous
title winners, and two men.
Carr’s win was the first time a
contestant from Oregon has
won the title since the pageant
began in 1956.
She will be appearing in
about 100 rodeos over the next
year, starting January 4 in Den-
ver, in addition to appearances
at schools and special events.
She expects to travel about
100,000 miles in 2012. During
her official duties, she will be
wearing the Miss Rodeo
Crown, which is made of
Alexandrites, pearls and Black
Hills gold.
Carr has an 18-year-old
paint horse, named Pedro
(nicknamed Mexican Bob), but
won’t have time to take him
along. Also, only quarter hors-
es are used in rodeo. Each
rodeo will provide her with a
horse for her “arena ride”,
where she takes a circuit
around the arena waving from
horseback.
Ever wondered how they
keep those white cowboy hats
white? Those hats now have a
See Mackenzie on page 3
Merkley helps pass legislation to
keep renters in their homes
Newly promoted as lieutenants in the Vernonia Rural Fire Protection District are, left to right,
Loren Loomis, Dan Hanson and Jesse Harbour. Photo by Kate Talbott
Three Vernonia Rural Fire
Protection District (VRFPD)
volunteers have been promot-
ed to the rank of lieutenant,
based on their dedication and
leadership qualities.
Loren Loomis, Dan Hanson
and Jesse Harbour were offi-
cially sworn in to their new po-
sitions at the Fire Board Meet-
ing, on December 13, by
Deputy Fire Chief Earl Dean
Smith.
All three men will be taking
on additional responsibilities in
the areas of training, safety and
operations.
Congress passed final legis-
lation that includes language
championed by Oregon‘s Sen-
ator Jeff Merkley to help fami-
lies in rental assistance proper-
ties stay in their homes. The
provision reforms three com-
monly used rental assistance
programs to provide more cer-
tainty for individuals and fami-
lies if those properties should
change hands or rental assis-
tance status.
“A stable home environment
is incredibly important for the
success of a family. Unfortu-
nately, if ownership of a fami-
l y ’s r e n t a l h o m e c h a n g e s
See renters on page 3
Vernonia Middle
School Honor Roll,
See page 12