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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 2012)
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid Vernonia, OR 97064 Permit No. 37 Vol. 27, No. 18 THE FREE INDEPENDENT The Voice Voice of of the Upper Nehalem River The River Valley Valley for for Over Over 25 27 years years September 19, 2012 Local men make artwork for Vernonia school On Tuesday, September 4, Dr. Ken Cox, Vernonia Schools Superintendent, was presented with an beautiful piece of art- work for the halls of the new school. Local businessmen and the local carpenter fore- man for the Vernonia school project put their skills together and built a sawblade with the Vernonia school logo and pre- sented it to the school. A wall in the lobby of the new school includes a moun- tain landscape, trees cut from the school grounds, and a donor board with honors to those contributing to the Ver- nonia school project. Dewayne Cowles of Cascade Acoustics felt that the four foot diameter, round steel sawblade with Ver- nonia logo would go perfectly with the design of that wall. Cowles contacted two local men, Chris Provost of Chief- built CNC to help design and manufacture the blade, and Gary Meyer of Meyer’s Auto Body for painting. In addition to the blade, Provost, with the help of Meyer, presented Ver- nonia with a gift of CNC art- work worth in excess of a thou- sand dollars to help with project funding. One in serious condition, one jailed after Hwy. 47 crash Left to right; Vernonia School Superintendent Dr. Ken Cox, Wall & Ceiling foreman for Cas- cade Acoustics Dewayne Cowles, Beylee Provost, helper extraordinaire, Chris Provost of Chiefbuilt CNC, and Gary Meyer of Meyer’s Auto Body, all of Vernonia. Photo courtesy of Rachel Cowles. BOLI announces 2013 minimum wage Brad Avakian, Comissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), on Sep- tember 17, announced the min- imum wage rate that will take effect on January 1, 2013 will be $8.95 per hour. The 15-cent increase tracks a 1.7% increase in the Con- sumer Price Index from August 2011. Speaking at a press con- ference in Springfield, Avakian called the increase necessary to help Oregon families make ends meet in tough times. “Oregonians recognize the rising cost of living facing every one of us, and our strong mini- mum wage law is essential in- surance that Oregon workers and their families can maintain their purchasing power and continue to contribute to our lo- cal economies,” said Avakian. State law, enacted by Ore- gon voters in 2002, directs the BOLI Commissioner to adjust the minimum wage for inflation every September, rounded to the nearest five cents. The ad- justment accounts for inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a statistic published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics measuring the average change in prices over time for a fixed “market basket” of goods and services, such as food, shelter, medical care, transportation fares and other goods and services people purchase for day-to-day living. “Especially in a tough econ- omy, it’s critical that we not let working families, who are al- ready struggling to tread water, drift into even deeper water,” said Bob Baldwin, president of Lane Central Labor Council. “Increasing the minimum wage is fundamentally necessary to preserve the purchasing power of low-wage Oregonians, who would otherwise see the same paycheck no longer covering the same expenses.” Oregon is one of ten states that makes annual adjustments to its minimum wage based on inflation and the CPI. Revised minimum wage posters reflect- ing the new rate will be avail- able for free download from BOLI’s website. That site, which includes additional infor- mation about all of BOLI’s ac- tivities, is http://www.oregon. gov/BOLI. Julie Ann Maria Johnson, shown in her booking photo from Columbia County Jail. Julie Ann Maria Johnson, 26, Vernonia, was arrested September 17 after a motor ve- hicle accident on Hwy. 47 in which a passenger in the vehi- cle she was driving was in- jured. According to Oregon State Police Sergeant Luke Schwartz, at approximately 4:37 p.m., a single vehicle crash was reported on High- way 47 about two miles north of L. L. “Stub” Stewart Start Park. Upon arrival, police and fire personnel found the pas- senger, Sarah E. Leloff, 32, Vernonia, seriously injured and learned the female driver fled the scene on foot. LifeFlight re- sponded to the scene and transported Leloff to Oregon Health & Science University. Preliminary investigation in- dicated the vehicle Johnson was driving was southbound when it traveled onto the shoul- der. The driver lost control and the vehicle rolled before com- ing to rest. Neither occupant was using safety restraints. Johnson was in custody af- ter she was found two hours later. She was taken to the Co- lumbia County Jail, charged with Hit and Run Property, Criminal Mischief 2nd Degree, Assault 4th Degree, Reckless Driving, Reckless Endangering and Driving Under Influence of Intoxicants.