PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid Vernonia, OR 97064 Permit No. 37 Vol. 27, No. 7 THE FREE INDEPENDENT The Voice Voice of of the Upper Nehalem River The River Valley Valley for for Over Over 25 27 years years April 4, 2012 Water rates increased, are sewer loan fees next? A potential increase in sewer fees was discussed at the April 2 Vernonia City Council meet- ing. The reason given is the need to raise city sewer loan fees enough to start repaying the principal on an $8.2 million loan, not just the interest. The current $12 monthly fee is paying only the interest, and is not reducing the principle on $4.3 million already spent from a 2005 $8.2 million engineering loan from the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). An increase of $19.00 would raise the current $12.00 loan fee to $31.00 per month and would allow the city to get a head start on repayment of that loan. The loan was intend- ed, and partially used, to plan a sewer upgrade for the city. That all came to a halt after the 2007 flood, when it became apparent that the planned changes Left to right, Anika Suppes, Ashton East, and Aubrey Leach are shown cleaning up the trail near Anderson Park on April 1. They are part of the Free Wheelers group who clean trails and Hwy. 47 South through town three or four times each year. Vernonia Easter Egg Hunt The annual Vernonia East- er Egg Hunt will start at 10:00 a.m. sharp, this Saturday, April 7. The hunt is for chil- dren aged 0-10, and is held at Hawkins Park. It is spon- sored by Vernonia Communi- ty PTA. Fundraiser sales for Roberts All the money from items sold at Lincoln Grade School through May 1 will be donat- ed to the Ryan Roberts Kid- ney Transplant fund. Sale hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each weekend. Donations of items are wanted to increase what can be sold. Bring donations to the sale. Vernonia Theater group performances April 13-14 The Vernonia Community Theater will present two show- ings of “Vaudeville’s My Home,” a play written by Ken Bradbury. Performances will be on Fri- day, April 13, and Saturday, April 14, starting at 7:00 p.m. in the Washington Grade School gymnasium. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students. childcare is available, provided by the Vernonia High School Leadership class, in the school library (donations appreciated). Vernonia Community The- ater is operating under the aus- pices of Vernonia Hands-on- Art, whose non-profit mission includes the performing arts. Health Center Town Hall . A Town Hall will be held tonight, April 4, at 7:00 p.m. in the school cafeteria (green building) by the Ver- nonia Health Center Board (VHCB). VHCB invites the public to join them in thanking Provi- dence Health Service for their 10 years of service to the community and to wel- come Dr. Bryan Miller of Ver- dura Wellness Clinic, the new medical provider in Ver- nonia. There will also be a dis- cussion on options for mov- ing the clinic out of the flood zone. Refreshments will be served. would not protect the system against future floods. Council did not take action on the idea of raising sewer loan repayment fees, rather they asked Administrator Bill Haack to review it further with the Public Works Committee, then talk with DEQ about other repayment plans, including the possibility of a two-to-three- year step plan to gradually raise the rates. Council asked Haack to bring the matter back to them for further considera- tion at the May 7 council meet- ing. The city recently announced an increase in water rates, from a $35 base rate and $1.25 for each additional 1,000 gallons over the first 2,000 included in the base rate. The new water rates of $36.00 base rate and $4.25 for each additional 1,000 gallons will take effect in June. I-5 charging stations will help cars “kick gas habit” March 16, the Oregon De- partment of Transportation, along with charging station partner AeroVironment (NAS- DAQ: AVAV) and the Oregon Department of Energy, opened the first phase of the “West Coast Electric Highway.” Eight charging station hubs with two outlets at each location are now available for public use. Two more will be installed soon north of Cottage Grove as part of this first phase. Together, these stations will provide EV owners access to a network of electric “refueling” spots along Interstate 5 in Oregon, paid for by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds through the Department of En- ergy. “As the first state in the na- tion to establish an EV charg- ing infrastructure along a major interstate, Oregon is leading the EV pathway and supporting adoption of the next phase in the evolution of transportation,” said Pat Egan, chair of the Ore- gon Transportation Commis- sion and vice president of cus- tomer and community affairs for Pacific Power. “Once Ore- gon’s segment of the West Coast Electric Highway is com- pleted, EV drivers will be able to travel from Ashland to Port- land at a fraction of the cost of filling a gas tank and with no di- rect emissions.” The West Coast Electric Highway will eventually allow EV drivers to travel from San Diego to Vancouver, B.C. with- out relying on carbon-based fuel. “Fast” charging stations, included at each of the newly operational locations, can pro- vide a full charge for an EV in less than 30 minutes; soon, these stations will dot inter- changes up and down I-5. “Plug-in vehicles are in- creasing in popularity, with See Charging, page 4