PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Permit No. 37
Vol. 27, No. 19
THE
FREE
INDEPENDENT
The Voice
Voice of
of the Upper Nehalem River
The
River Valley
Valley for
for Over
Over 25
27 years
years
October 3, 2012
Dry weather means forest
closures to deer hunters
Salmon have arrived in time for Salmon Festival. This picture taken on Rock Creek north of
the Rock Creek Bridge near Hawkins Park.
Crash on Hwy. 47 sent four to hospital
On September 25, at ap-
proximately 6:19 p.m., a 2000
Hyundai four-door driven by
Nicole A. Meglen, 21, from Ver-
nonia, was northbound on
Highway 47 near milepost 66
when it crossed the centerline.
A southbound 2005 Harley
Davidson motorcycle with two
occupants veered right to avoid
the oncoming vehicle and
crashed into a ditch. A 1992
Volkswagen Jetta driven by
William D. Mashburn, 22, from
Forest Grove, following the mo-
torcycle, crashed head-on with
the Hyundai.
Meglen and Mashburn were
transported by Metro West Am-
bulance to Legacy Emanuel
Medical Center with non-life
threatening injuries. Safety re-
straint use information was not
available for this release.
The motorcycle occupants
were transported by Metro
West Ambulance to OHSU.
Operator Stanley C. Miles, 47,
from Hillsboro, was treated and
released. Passenger Kathryn
A. McNeil, 59, from Hillsboro,
received serious injuries. Both
were wearing protective hel-
mets.
The highway was blocked
for about two hours following
the accident. Vernonia Rural
Fire Department, Vernonia Po-
lice Department, Washington
County Sheriff's Office, and
ODOT assisted the Oregon
State Police at the scene.
Dog lovers: beware of salmon poisoning
Dogs that eat even a small
amount of uncooked Salmon,
Trout, or Steelhead are at risk
of getting potentially fatal
Salmon Poisoning disease.
The cause is a microscopic
organism that sometimes lives
in a parasite that can infect the
salmon family. The germ is
killed by cooking, freezing or
hot smoking fish.
If a dog eats infected fish,
symptoms start from a few
days to five days later. Symp-
toms include decreased energy
level, increased temperature,
loss of appetite, swollen lymph
glands, vomiting, and diarrhea
(turning bloody within a day or
two)
If untreated, 90 percent of
dogs with symptoms will die
within 7-14 days from dehydra-
tion and blood loss.
If caught early enough, Sal-
mon Poisoning is treatable with
antibiotics. In severe cases, in-
See Beware on page 6
Costume Parade on Halloween
The Vernonia Costume
Sidewalk Parade will take
place on Halloween, October
31, starting at Vernonia City
Hall. Meet there at 4:00 p.m. to
start the parade at 4:30 p.m.
The parade route (and trick-
or-treat to businesses) starts
from City Hall, going first to the
Library, down Bridge St. (with
detour to Sentry) to Shay Park,
crosses the street at Adams
Ave. and returns to City Hall via
the other side of the street.
All children up to 10 years of
age and their parents are wel-
come. Businesses and organi-
zations that don’t have loca-
tions on Bridge St. may do their
promotions along the route.
With the rifle deer season
now open, ODFW and Oregon
Department of Forestry are
warning hunters they may find
more private forestlands closed
this year due to the high fire
danger.
“This year, it’s more impor-
tant than ever that hunters
check for closures before
heading afield and follow fire
restrictions,” said Tom Thorn-
ton, ODFW game program
manager.
Mike Dykzeul with the Ore-
gon Forest Industries Council
estimates that 50 percent more
private lands are closed this
year than at the same time last
year.
Forestland managers say
forest vegetation is extremely
dry. Although light rainfall has
fallen in some areas, moisture
content in vegetation in west-
ern Oregon ranges from 10-20
percent, while east of the Cas-
cades it is in single digits. “Un-
der these parched conditions,
any fire started could spread
rapidly,” said Dan Postrel, Ore-
gon Department of Forestry
(ODF).
ODF keeps a list of
landowner closures on its web-
site (see below). It changes fre-
quently and lands could be
opened if Oregon gets some
significant wet weather, though
current forecasts aren’t predict-
ing rain. Hunters should check
back before the season opener
or the day they plan to hunt for
the latest information. http://
www.oregon.gov/ODF/Pages/fi
re/corporate_closure.aspx .
Hunters who don’t see their
local landowner listed should
call them directly.
Can you help this elk hunter?
Mark Stewart, a Vernonia
resident, is looking for help
from an area landowner to help
make a dream come true.
Stewart’s father has terminal
cancer and limited mobility. He
would like to go elk hunting
once more but will need a pri-
vate landowner to allow him ac-
cess due to his mobility issues.
Any landowner who would like
to help can contact Stewart at
503-410-6243.
Salmon Festival this Saturday
The 10th Annual Vernonia
Salmon Festival will be held in
Hawkins Park on Saturday, Oc-
tober 6, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00
p.m.
There will be salmon view-
ing (if they’ve made it this far by
then) a kids’ trout pond, scare-
crow building, pumpkin carv-
ing, artist and craft vendors,
food vendors, a silent auction,
hay rides and music, and Clau-
dia the Chinook will be teach-
ing everyone about salmon.
Come join the community in
celebrating Fall and the return
of the salmon.
Volunteers Night is on Nov. 3
The volunteers who keep so
many functions and events
working in Vernonia will be
honored at the annual Volun-
teers Appreciation Night, on
Saturday, November 3 at 5:30
p.m.
If you have volunteers you
want to recognize, contact
Heather Lewis at 503-429-
4677, or email aletheia.hti@
gmail.com. The event is spon-
sored by the Vernonia Preven-
tion Coalition.