PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Permit No. 37
Vol. 27, No. 11
THE
FREE
INDEPENDENT
The Voice
Voice of
of the Upper Nehalem River
The
River Valley
Valley for
for Over
Over 25
27 years
years
June 6, 2012
Vernonia: Your water and
sewer bills are going up
The Vernonia High School Class of 2012 graduates wait to be called up to receive their diplo-
mas during the graduation ceremony on June 2.
City Hall will open at 11 a.m. as of July 1
Vernonia City Hall will have
new hours staring July 1, after
the city council approved a plan
presented by City Administrator
Bill Haack.
The window at city hall will
open at 11:00 a.m. (instead of
9:00 a.m.) and stay open until
6:00 p.m. on Mondays. Tues-
day through Friday, city hall will
still close at 5:00 p.m.
The phones will be an-
swered starting at 10:00 a.m.
and the Planner and Building
Official are still available by ap-
pointment. Haack told council
that the change would allow
time for staff meetings, cross-
training between jobs, and
greater flexibility for staff that
needs to attend evening meet-
ings. After six months, Haack
said he will re-evaluate the
change in hours.
The change in hours is ex-
pected to be revenue neutral,
neither increasing nor reducing
costs.
Vernonia Pharmacy closing on June 9
Vernonia Pharmacy has an-
nounced plans to close and
consolidate with their other lo-
cation, Banks Pharmacy. Their
last day in Vernonia will be
June 9.
Owner Philip Darrah cited
rising costs from drug manu-
facturers and distributors, and
the increased use of mail order
prescriptions by health insur-
ance companies, plus the gen-
eral increase in the cost of do-
ing business and the slow
economy, as the major reasons
for the closure of his Vernonia
business.
Vernonians can still use his
services at the Banks location,
a larger store with more prod-
ucts, and Darrah is offering free
shipping on the first three pre-
scriptions using the Banks lo-
cation to mail to Vernonia. In
addition, Vernonia customers
will receive a 40% Off coupon,
good for any over-the-counter
or gift item in the store, with the
first prescription picked up at
the Banks Pharmacy.
Banks Pharmacy is located
next to Jim’s Thriftway at 662
S. Main Street. They are open
Monday through Friday from
10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on
Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to
3:00 p.m. They can be called at
503-324-5780.
Water and sewer rates are
going up after a vote, on June
4, by the Vernonia City Council.
The council had already an-
nounced that the water rates
would go up, with most resi-
dential users paying $36.00 (up
from $35.00) for the base rate
and $4.25 (up from $1.25) for
each 1,000 gallons after the
first 2,000 included in the base
rate.
Council has been discussing
raising the Sewer Loan repay-
ment fee from $12.00 to $31.00
in order to start paying on the
principle, not just the interest,
on a loan that was partially
drawn upon for work that was
done prior to the 2007 flood.
The flood put an end to the
project, which was no longer
permittable in the flood plain.
The city expects to use more of
that loan, and raise fees ac-
cordingly, to complete the sew-
er project that is now being
planned for later this year. That
project is being planned in or-
der to bring the city’s waste wa-
ter treatment into Department
of
Environmental
Quality
(DEQ) compliance for the first
time in over 20 years.
Council also approved the
budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal
year, after a public hearing,
though there were no members
of the public in the audience.
Other business at the June 4
meeting included passage of
the financing plan for the Ver-
nonia Schools system develop-
ment charges for the new
school. The district negotiated
VHS Track and Field team shines at district, and at state
After setting three new
records at the district meet in
May, the Vernonia High School
Track and Field Team went to
state, where they had more
success.
At the May district meet, the
boys 4x100 relay team was the
2nd fastest in the state at 44.5
seconds. Nicolo Casale per-
formed the 100 meter dash in
11.2 seconds, and the 4x400
relay team finished in 3:35. In
addition, Casale took home the
“Athlete of the Meet” trophy,
and the team overall finished in
second place, losing to Nestuc-
ca. Track coach Byron Brown,
assisted by Teresa Williams,
took home the “Coach of the
Year” honors.
At the OSAA State Champi-
onships in Monmouth, May 18-
19, Vernonia took four first
places, one second, a sixth,
and a seventh.
Nathan Fleck won the Boys
800 Meter with a time of
1:59.01, Nicolo Casale won the
Boys 200 Meter Dash with a
time of 22.67, the Boys 4x400
Meter Relay team of Kristian
Wredstroem, Nathan Fleck, Ja-
cob Stevens, and Nicolo
Casale placed first with a time
of 3:26.80. The final first place
went to Lea Wilson with a 39-
03.00 result in the Girls Shot
Put.
See State on page 12
with the city for a final amount
of $139,159 payable over four
years with total interest of
$4,673.
The council voted unani-
mously for Resolution 22-12
amending the water and sewer
rates.
In other business, at the
May 21 meeting, council:
• approved Resolution 15-12
establishing the Parks Commit-
tee,
• passed Ordinance 881,
Rules and Regulations for the
City of Vernonia Park System
(repealing previous Ordi-
nances 761, 790 and 824).
In other business at the
June 4 meeting, council:
• authorized City Administra-
tor Bill Haack to sign an agree-
ment with the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation (ODOT)
regarding road work for the
new school,
• approved new hours for
city hall (see related article on
page 1),
• approved Resolution 25-12
that will allow volunteers with
the city to be covered by Work-
er’s Compensation.
Look for these
articles inside
Last Chance Dance, etc. on
June 23 ....................... pg. 7
Nehalem Valley Pioneer
Assoc. meeting ......... pg. 7
EPA grants $200K to Ver-
nonia ......................... pg. 4
Sign up for Community
Garden space ............ pg. 7
Vernonia Open Air Market
returns ........................ pg. 7
Banks Softball wins at
State ........................ pg. 11
Obituaries .................. pg. 5
Classified ads........... pg. 13