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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2012)
The INDEPENDENT, January 4, 2012 Page 5 Business Notes Fall Creek Woodworking offers wood floors and so much more A smiling Cory Colburn, of Fall Creek Woodworking, stands in front of a shed that holds some of the wood he has avail- able for his flooring and woodworking jobs. Council sees Conner take oath The January 3 Vernonia City Council meeting started with the oath of office for newly ap- pointed Vernonia Police Chief Michael Conner. Council was presented with the certified 2011 population estimate for Vernonia, from Portland State University. As of July 1, 2011, Vernonia had a population of 2,110. This is down slightly from the 2,155 population number from July 1, 2010. Liquor license renewals were approved for All In Pub & Eatery, Black Bear Coffee Co., Blue House Cafe, Bridge Street Mini Mart, Cedar Side Inn, New Hong Kong Restaurant and Vernonia Sentry Market. City Administrator Bill Haack was given authorization to sign a contract addendum with Shannon and Wilson for further studies needed to determine what changes should be made at the wastewater lagoons for the wastewater improvement project. The city chose, based on the Public Works Commit- tee recommendation, Tetra Tech Engineering and Architec- ture Services, and council au- thorized Haack to negotiate a contract with that firm. Two en- gineering firms had answered the request for qualifications for the project. Resolution 01-12, outlining the city’s new purchasing poli- cy, was adopted. The new poli- cy will require a completed pur- chase order prior to purchases. This will allow the city to better track spending. During discussion, it was mentioned that two citizen budget committee members are needed. Contact the city for information or an application. The next city council meet- ing will be January 23, at 7:00 p.m., (not the regularly sched- uled January 16) at city hall. Look down at your floor. What do you see? If you don’t like what you see, consider calling Fall Creek Woodwork- ing and let Cory Colburn give you a wood floor that will make you smile. Read on for other woodworking projects Fall Creek can do that will enhance your living space. Fall Creek Woodworking started business in Vernonia in 1988. Colburn had been doing different woodworking projects since high school woodshop, making items such as cider presses, furniture, music stands, benches, mantels, stairs, even decks and outdoor wood projects. Fall Creek Woodworking also does spe- cialty wood projects, and just finished a beautiful, large wooden bar for an establish- ment in Portland. The largest floor job Fall Creek Woodworking has done was a 2,000 square foot resi- dential job, though Colburn has also done commercial jobs as a subcontractor, such as the floor for a small chapel for the Arch- diocese in Portland. Colburn says, “I really enjoy jobs working for people I know, those are very satisfying.” He has installed floors made of exotic woods like Brazilian cherry, Mahogany, and Guara- bu (called Tiger Wood), but re- ally likes doing floors from the domestic woods: maple, red or white oak, doug fir, and eastern red birch. He’s even done maple and white oak floors us- ing wood found locally. Colburn has even milled wood for small jobs, with his own small mill. In some years, he’s laid as many as 30 floors. Colburn can also refinish ex- isting wood floors, often in as short a time as one day. Refin- ishing an existing wood floor can be much more cost effi- cient than replacing a floor, and wood floors can last many, many years. Just sitting down and talking to Colburn, his depth of knowl- edge about wood, from tree to finished project, is impressive. This man knows wood and what can be done with it. If you looked down and did- n’t see a wood floor by Fall Creek Woodworking, now is a good time to call 503-429-4351 and get yours started. He’s just up Keasey Road. Run with Extra Confidence with Chevron DELO 400 ™ PLUS MOTOR OIL The name you trust for: • Gasoline • Diesel Fuel • Oils • Solvents • Additives • Greases Wage increase started on Jan. 1 From page 4 of increases you see in the minimum wage – they’re small, they’re predictable – have very little impact on employers. They absorb them in a bunch of ways.” Schmitt acknowledges some companies might raise prices a bit to cover the cost, but in his view, if it allows them to pay workers enough to keep them off public assistance, it’s an ac- ceptable trade-off. For a full- time worker in Oregon, the higher minimum wage will mean just over 600 more dol- lars a year. The pay hike is expected to affect about 137,000 Oregon workers, mostly in retail and hospitality businesses. Schmitt says it should also help those who make a dollar or two more per hour, “You’re increasing the wages of people at the very bottom of the wage distribution, people who’ve fallen the far- thest behind over the last 20 or 30 years. It helps to set a floor and strike a blow against this rising inequality we’ve seen for the last three decades or so.” He says people need to earn more, and spend more, to speed the pace of economic re- covery, and he believes a high- er minimum wage will help. Oregon is one of eight states that raised its minimum wage on January 1. Winter is here… see us for A NTI F REEZE H EATING O IL CALL (503) 429-6606 WILCOX & FLEGEL 720 Rose Avenue • Vernonia