Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2012)
The INDEPENDENT, January 4, 2012 50 Years Ago This Month The December 21, 1961, is- sue of the Vernonia Eagle in- cluded the following news story on the front page: West Oregon Electric Coopera- tive employees worked virtually around the clock from Saturday to Wednesday to repair the extensive damage to their system which re- sulted from the Saturday night windstorm. Besides West Oregon crews, crews from the City of Forest Grove, McMinnville Water and Electric Board, Portland General Electric co. and Barnes Construc- tion Co. helped to restore service. Temporary repairs were made in many areas. A tree through the Timber-Ver- nonia transmission line caused a forty minute power failure in Ver- nonia. Power was switched to the Warren-Vernonia line until repairs on the Timber line could be made. No complete tally of breaks in the power lines has been possible except to state that one time al- most all lines were down. At least 10 poles were broken in Scoggins Valley alone. Service was restored to Keasey Wednesday. An incomplete listing of lines that were down included: the Tim- ber-Elsie transmission line, all service in the Nehalem valley be- low Pittsburgh, all Olney lines, Hamlet, Timber Route, Pebble Bits & Bites Creek, Hayward area, Strassel, three lines out of Chapman Sub- station, Scoggins Valley and all Pike area. The area covered ex- tended from Northwest Clatsop county into Yamhill county through Columbia and Washing- ton counties. Manager Guy Thomas Wednes- day expressed his appreciation for the consideration of the members during the extensive outages. He also wished to thank the crews and the other utilities for their help in restoring service to all members. He stated that this was the worst storm in the history of the co-oper- ative. New transportation laws started Jan. 1 From page 8 update. This simple update lets child passengers weighing more than 40 pounds ride in any approved child safety sys- tem designed for a child weigh- ing more than 40 pounds. Pre- viously, Oregon law required a child passenger weighing more than 40 pounds to be secured in a booster seat using a lap or shoulder belt until age eight or 4’9” tall. That’s still legal; however, if you have a 5-point child pas- senger safety seat system de- signed to accommodate chil- dren weighing over 40 pounds, it is now legal to use that as an alternative to a booster. Learn more, and see a schedule for free child safety seat clinics, at www.childsafetyseat.org. ORS 807 (SB 546 from the 2009 Oregon Legislature), Mo- torcycle training. Effective Jan- uary 1, 2012, new motorcy- clists aged 40 and under must complete an ODOT-approved motorcycle safety course be- fore they can be issued a mo- torcycle endorsement by DMV. This is part of a phased-in law passed by the 2009 Oregon Legislature. For information on Oregon’s approved motorcycle rider education courses, visit the TEAM Oregon Web site, www.team-oregon.org. SB 130, Bicycle and flashing yellow arrow signals. SB 130 adds definitions for green, yel- low and red bicycle signals and describes how bicycles are ex- pected to respond to these sig- nals: • Bicyclists facing a green bi- cycle signal may proceed through the intersection, turn right or turn left, unless a sign prohibits either turn movement. Bicycles must yield the right of way to other vehicles in the in- tersection at the time the signal turns green. • Bicycles facing a yellow bi- cycle signal are warned the sig- nal will soon turn to red. Bicy- clists must stop at a marked stop line, before a marked crosswalk or before entering the intersection. If a bicyclist cannot safely stop, the bicyclist may proceed cautiously through the intersection. • Bicyclists facing a red bicy- cle signal must stop at a marked stop line, before a marked crosswalk, or before entering the intersection. The bicyclists must remain stopped until the signal turns green or to 2012 Mammogram van schedule Tuality Healthcare has an- nounced the 2012 schedule for their mobile mammography van to be in Vernonia. As in the past, the van will be parked in the parking lot of the Vernonia Medical Clinic building on Bridge St. The van will be here on Jan- uary 26, February 23, March 29, April 26, May 31, June 28, July 26, August 30, September 27, October 25 and December 13 (not here in November). To schedule an appoint- ment, call 503-681-4035. Page 9 make a turn movement other- wise allowed by law. SB 130 also adds a defini- tion for a flashing yellow arrow signal to Oregon law and de- scribes how drivers are expect- ed to respond to a flashing yel- low arrow signal. Drivers facing a flashing yellow arrow signal may make a turn but must yield to other drivers in the intersec- tion and to approaching traffic. Read the full news releases and find more information at: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/ COMM/news_main.shtml . By Jacqueline Ramsay It is 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 21st. 40 degrees, sunny, calm, cool but not really collected. Shadow and I traversed our 29 blocks this a.m. and now she is asleep and I am trying to stay awake. Here is a word for all of you Spelling Bee folk. “Annihilate”. The reason for the word is – I decided to teach my grand- daughter how to annihilate a dead chicken. It was quite amusing. “Take these chains from my heart and set me free”, that is my hope of the Holiday season. I’ve been in the valley of PAIN since the middle of July and I feel that is long enough. I do enjoy my trips to that spot in the hills where The Golden Oldies play. The music is always great, the crowd always friendly, and the food always stands in- spection. In checking my calendar, I noticed the small print. WINTER began TODAY December 21st. Mayhap it will SNOW??? Count- down. 12-22-11 cold (30 degrees) but sunny. 10:30 a.m., I’m off to dialysis. Time has marched on – it is now 3:35 p.m. and I’m home. The day was shiny bright with sun (still 30 degrees). The interesting thing, north facing roof tops have not lost their frosty white glow from Monday night’s dusting of frozen dew. The world sleeps… 12/23/11 – clear, blaa…30 degrees again. My sister would be 90 today if she were still with me (Oh, the Christmases we had as tots). Wow, noon, 41 degrees, sunny, calm and I’m watching my grand-daughter vacuum the rug. Gee, it’s a tough job teach- ing a 19-year-old how to keep a house running. 12/24/11 – 40 degrees, sunny, calm, and I’m off to dialysis. Gone to Chang’s for Christmas Eve dinner. Yum…hot & sour soup plus all the other good stuff. See you after Christmas. Santa has come and gone, so now comes the clean-up of pa- per, string, boxes, and all of those dirty dishes. Santa was good to me. I got yummies for the tummy, woolies to keep me warm and my wish, Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly. Now it’s back to the grind of hand therapy, dialysis, ear appointments. I am praying for a healthier New Year. I hope you all have a HAPPY NEW YEAR. Want to know what happens around here all year? Get The Independent delivered to your home for a year for only $20.00 Call today to start your subscription 503-429-9410