The INDEPENDENT, September 19, 2012
Tree City designation has benefits
From page 7
atic management of its tree re-
sources. Additionally, a Tree
Board with a school partner-
ship, as is envisioned in Ver-
nonia, will be able to provide
educational opportunities for
people of all ages.
By becoming a Tree City,
Vernonia will join other Oregon
towns, from metropolitan Port-
land to tiny Echo, as well as our
neighboring cities of Banks and
Scappoose, which already
have had great success in revi-
talizing their urban forests.
Some of the many benefits of
becoming a Tree City USA are:
Public Image: A community’s
public image is important in
many ways. Being a Tree City
USA helps present the kind of
image that most citizens want
to have for the place they live
or conduct business. The Tree
City USA signs at community
entrances tell visitors that here
is a community that cares
about its environment. It is also
an indication to prospective
businesses that the quality of
life may be better here.
Citizen Pride: Gaining and
retaining Tree City USA recog-
nition is an award to the tree
workers, managers, volun-
teers, tree board members and
others who work on behalf of
better care of a community’s
trees
Financial Assistance: When
allocations of grant money are
made for trees or forestry pro-
grams, preference sometimes
goes to Tree City USA commu-
nities over others because
there are invariably more re-
quests than available funds. If
requests are equally worthy,
grantors tend to have more
confidence in communities that
have demonstrated their com-
mitment by becoming a Tree
City USA.
Publicity: Presentation of the
Tree City USA award and the
celebration of Arbor Day offer
excellent publicity opportuni-
ties. This results not simply in
satisfaction for those involved,
it also provides one more way
to reach large numbers of peo-
ple with information about tree
care. As one forester put it,
“This is advertising that money
can’t buy—and it is free!”
For more information about
the program, go to treecityusa.
com. Anyone interested in be-
ing involved should contact
Michael Calhoun by phone at
503-704-7837, or by email at
sunny2008vhs@yahoo.com
Page 9
Bits & Bites
By Jacqueline Ramsay
Thursday, September 13, I was awak-
ened by the sound of the honking of a
rather large band of Canadian geese. The
first ones of the season for me. Is this an
omen for the true start of fall and the fore-
runner of the winter we are about to have,
or just a bunch of birds out for an early
morning test flight? It has been cold
enough at night for me to pull up the blan-
ket. My driver did tell me yesterday that he
awoke to frost at his place Wednesday, so I guess the geese
might know something we don’t. They do get around a little bit
more than I do.
Do you know or realize that it doesn’t really take long for your
brain to put something you enjoy doing in a niche in the recess-
es of your brain? I got an urge to dig out my drawing tablets and
pencils to take with me to dialysis the other day, so I’d have an-
other time killer to occupy the time I just sit. (I read, knit, write, do
crosswords, eat lunch, and just think, but I still get tired of just sit-
ting.) Yes, I do have my own T.V., but I do not watch day-time re-
runs. Anyhow – I’ve lost my perception angle. I can draw the wall,
but can’t seem to put the floor down so I can set a chair, etc. on
it. Think it’s funny, it’s frustrating to have had it once upon a time
and now I’ve lost my notes of Art (how to bend an arm, extend a
tree branch, or turn the head of a flower). It’s what makes draw-
ing so much fun and enjoyable. To create something from within
yourself that you didn’t think you were capable of.
Anywhoo…I’m off to Blue Grass again Saturday night. Yip-
pieeeeee.
Talk to you all later.
24 Years Ago This Month
The September 29, 1988, is-
sue of The Independent includ-
ed the following news story on
the front page:
A request by Justice of the
Peace Marilyn Van Winkle to
use the Vernonia Library on the
second and fourth Fridays of
each month raised strong ob-
jections from the city’s Library
Board, at a meeting of the Ver-
nonia City Council this month.
Van Winkle, who uses the li-
brary as a courtroom on Thurs-
days, said in a letter that extra
time is needed for a backlog of
jury trials. The Columbia Coun-
ty District Attorney’s office,
which prosecutes cases for the
Justice Court, can send a
deputy to Vernonia only on Fri-
days, she added. She estimat-
ed that the library would have
to be used through the begin-
ning of the year in order to
complete the jury trials.
Speaking on behalf of the li-
brary board, Delores Webb
said that Friday is the library’s
busiest day, and the board
strongly objects to changing a
schedule that works well for li-
brary users.
After discussion of alterna-
tive locations that may be use-
able as a courtroom, Coun-
cilmember Mario Leonetti said
he would investigate and report
to the council at the next meet-
ing on October 3rd.
Resource
Recovery,
a
Washington firm, asked the
council for permission to use
Vernonia Lake to test a system
it has developed for recovering
sunken logs. They would clean
up the lake, company repre-
sentatives said, in return for re-
coverable materials. In a spe-
cial meeting on the matter, con-
cerns were raised about dam-
age to the clay seal on the bot-
tom of the lake, and to the fish
that have adapted to the former
mill pond.
Though Resource Recovery
said they would restock the
lake if necessary, the council
tabled the matter until they can
get more information.
A request for an increase in
garbage collection rates was
approved for Nehalem Valley
Sanitary Service, which has
had no increases for several
years. Bob Prohaska made the
request, explaining that new
equipment is needed and his
costs have increased greatly,
too.
The new rates, which will
become effective in November,
will be $8 a month for picking
up one can weekly, and $13
monthly for two can service.
Commercial and container
rates will also be adjusted.
Glen Higgins of Community
Action Team informed the
council that the facilities plan
for a new sewer system hasn’t
been completed as scheduled.
That may cause problems in fi-
nancing, he said, because
1988 is the last year for grants.
After that, financing will come
from a revolving loan fund, Hig-
gins said, adding that he will try
to get an extension for the city.
HGE, the city’s consulting
engineer, couldn’t complete the
facilities plan because of inade-
quate wet weather flow meas-
urements, Higgins said. City
Director of Public Works Mike
Smith, whose crew has done
the flow measurements, said
“we gave them everything they
asked for,” but will do the
measurements again.
Open Daily
11 a.m.
Biker Friendly
Sept 22 nd
Third Member
th
Step Child
Sept 29
th
th
Oct 5 & 6 Karaoke
All Bands & Karaoke start at 9 P.M.
Ladies Night: Wed. 5 pm - Midnight
Happy Hour: Mon - Fri 4 pm - 7 pm
Open until midnight Sun-Thu & until 2:30 a.m. Fri, Sat.
733 Bridge St., Vernonia
503-429-9999