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About Vernonia eagle. (Vernonia, Or.) 1922-1974 | View Entire Issue (May 10, 1940)
A i; Derno FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1940 agí e VOLUME 17, NUMBER 19 VERNONIA, COLUMBIA COUNTY, OREGON Timberline GRADUATION Rates Honor------------ Extension Chamber Mention Vernonia Paper Only To Seek Of Lines to Receive H. L. Owner, Rating by Press Date in Project Slated Pomona Grange nesday Release Pal Shop to Open Doors to Business Saturday, May II Hatchard, Announces A crowded house greeted the A Cappella Choir of Pacific University pt Forest Grove, on last Sunday evening at the First Christian church »nd heard one of the finest evening's of music presented jn thi:' city for some time. Rare Peonies Now in Bloom— Credit Union Opens Office— April Showers Total3.131nches 4 Talks of Timber Clatskanie was the scene of the 147th session of Columbia County Pomona Grange on Saturday, May 4t'h, the session being held in the I. O. O. F. hall, all Granges of the county except S. Scappose being represented in attendance. Gluests from other counties in cluded members from Multnomah, Claickamas, Clatsop, Benton and Washington. State Grange Master Ray W. Gill attended in the aifter- nioon and spoke at length on vari ous farm problems. A growing ten dency toward corporation farming was deplored, small farms being eliminated and great tracts being farmed by corporations, leading to mass production and virtual serf dom of farm laborers. Mr. Gill pointed out that this is sure to lead to serious consequences for the whole country. The speaker for the evening wa- Mr. Ralph Beck of Corvallis, who poke on land use planning, which is especially important in this coun ty since our timber has been cut. Mr. Beck stated that our timbei in this county has decreased in value in the last ten years from 5 million to 1 million. We now have 3 million acres of stump lan<’ in Oregon, our county having a large share of it. We must decid the bast use of this stump land either agriculture, grazing, or re forestation, For reforestation, th afe guarding from fire has to be practiced, being one of our main problems. Increase of population is essential to provide markets for our farm products, this tq brought about by migration, immig ration, or increased birth rate. A: present, the census shows less in population In many communities. Discussion of the food stamp plan as adopted by many cities and counties led to the recommendation that this plan be adopted here, The plan was explained by Mr, Scott ' f Portland, who reported that sur- plus farm commodities will he taken care of in this way, and a bette) standard of living will be provided or those In need. Mineral resources of the county were discussed, the work of Mr. A. L. Morris in developing and pros pecting our minerals being Com mended. Mr. Morris reported that a contract has been formed to pro vide for the shipping opt of 15,000 tons of ore per month beginning with June 1, M»ny other minerals are present also, including vanad- ium, which is used in hardening and toughening steel, It was further reported that the State Legislature made an approp- riation {or development of mineral resources in our state and Colum- bia county should be given a share of this. The Pomona secretary was instructed to write the Governor asking that this be done. A contribution of $5.00 was voted for the Children’s Farm Home at Corvallis. The annual Grange pieni« was scheduled for the last Sunday in July, at the Grange Park at Big Eddy pq the Nehalem. The com mittee consist» of Mrs. Inez Lang don, Pomona Lecturer, assisted by Mr. George Nelson and Ray Tar- bell, who have charge of sports, and W- F. Sheets and Noble Dun lap why wjl| provide the program. Eleven candidates were initiated in the 5th Degree. The next meeting of Pomona Grange will be at Beaver Homes in August. Mayor Ed M. Bollinger and the city officials of Vernonia have been invited by Mayor Theodore Dichter of Seaside to attend the 15th an nual convention of the League of Oregon Cities May 23 and 24 in Seaside. Invitations to attend the Oregor Finance Officers' Association con fereiwe to be held May 22 in con junction with the League meeting have been mailed to all local' gov ernment finance officers by citj recorder, Gault Patton, of Seaside. According to an announcement today by William Hall, acting exec utive secretary of the League, par ticipation ny Oregon city official in open forum sessions on problem,- of rural fire protection, municipal finance, city planning, aoning, pub lie employees retirement, municipal insurance, recreation, traffic con trol and public health will feature the annual meeting. New sections are being organized this year for special groups in the League Including city attorneys, municipally owned utility managers civil service commissioners and air port managers. » One An examination of the coopera tive weather station records this week revealed the total rainfall of April showers to be 3.13 inches, The daily recordings have been kept for the past month and will be maintained in the future b.v' Ed Sesseman. Mr. Sesseman, re places Harry Culbertson, former co operative Weather Observer, for Vernonia, Greatest precipitation for the month oceured on the 30th day when 1.01 inches was the recording. Maximum temperature for the month was 78 degrees on the 12th. The minimum recording of 29 degrees occured on two dates, the 16th and 21st, a light frost re suiting both times. Incidental recordings during the month mentioned a light thunder storm on the 3rd, morning fog on the 8th, thunder storm on the 23rd and a light hail storm on the 28th. Strong winds were mentioned sever al times. Clloir Well Received Here Sunday Evening— Howard Reeher, owner of Reeher’» Grocery, gave word this week of the blooming of his Japanese Tree peonies. The blooms are unusually ’ large in size and very rare, being grown in very few other places in the United States, it was stated. Oregon Club Wed Officials Get League Invite I I in The opening of the newest busi ness to be added to the firms of Vernonia will be that of the Pa] Shop, slated to be ready for cus tomers Saturday of this week, ac cording to an announcement by H. L. Hatchard, owner. Mr. Hatchard has been occupied for the past several weeks in pre paring the store space in the Ore- gon Gas and Electric building for the opening. Earlier plans were intended to make the store ready for business May 1 or shortly after, The shop will feature ice cream and confections. SLATED The Vernonia Federal Credit Un ion, through the courtesy of Bert Mills, has opened an office in Mills' Real Estate office and will be open for business every Saturday between the hours of 10:00 a. m. and 12:00 noon. As a result of the 15th annual Northwest high school newspaper contest sponsored by the Whitman College Press Club, Vernonia high school’s publication, “The Timber line”, won honorable mention in class C, mimeographed papers. Ver nonia was the only cla-s C Oregon school mentioned. Wa-Hi Booster, Wallace, Idaho, won first place in that class which is made up of schools with an enrollment of 200. Comments by the judges of the contest read: “Congratulations to Miss Beck, Joanne Nichols and the staff of "The Timberline” for a paper far above aberage. There is little room for improvement.” PUD Committee Makes Reply There was recently distributee among the people of this commun ity a bulletin against the proposed “People’s Utility District”. This bulletin was so full of false and misleading information, of abuse and vilification of those who are sincerely endeavoring to advance the best interests of this commun ity, that we cannot let it go un challenged. This bulletin is a part of the power company propaganda which diligently publicizes alleged facts in underscored headlines in display type depicting the PUD as a big bad wolf ready to devour us If we don’t watch out and denounc- ing everyhody and everything hav- ing to do with the PUD. In order that the people of this district may not be entirely misled and misin formed, we are compelled to de fend ourselves and give the people the real facts: WHAT IS A PUD? Now, first of all what is a PUD or Peoples Utility District? It is a public agency like a city, town, village, or school district, oply in this case it is organized so that th 3 community can take advantage of the low cost electric power bought from the Bonneville Project and sold to the people here at cost. Is there anything terrible about that? Now, let us examine some of the false statements of this bulletin: 1. They say that the State Hydro- electric Commission tells us that the PUD cannot reduce rates. As a matter of fact, the Commission’s, report says no such thing. If you will read it carefully, you wilt find that the report indicates that an initial rate reduction is possib’e and that larger reductions may fol low later. 2. They say that if a PUD is formed, it will mean millions of dollars of debt. Wrong again. The Hydroelectric Commission’s report says that “The system could be operated at a profit.” This would amount to a total net profit of $90,012 for the thirty years. And besides, the Commission says that the projwt will pay for itself out of earnings, set up a depreciation reserve of $88,700 and pay taxes to the amount of $150,000. So that •by the end of 30 years the people of this district will be ahead a total of $295,742. So you see ’ll this hullabaloo about heavy debts, bond issues and other disastrous results is without foundation. On the contrary, th* facts show that * PUD for this community would be a mighty good investment. These are the facts, friends and neighbors, as found and published by a thoroughly dependable author ity making independent and dis interested investigations and re ports. They are not the ravings of misguided and uninformed persons who are taking the word of the privat* power company propagan dista. 3. WILL GET US OUT OF DEBT: Th* bulletin referred to is constantly Insisting that the forma- (Continued on page 8) E. H. Condit Named Head of Committee to Attempt Park Improvement Timber Power Company to Connect with Oregon Gas, Electric Service 41 Seniors Complete Work May 12, Date of Baccu- laureate at Evangelical Church The Vernonia Chamber of Com merce meeting Tuesday noon at the Terminal Cafe heard the pro posal that the group’s sponsorship be lent to the seeking of a project for improvement of the city park, the project to include improvement to the swimming pool by providing dressing rooms and general work to the park playground so that it Would be more serviceable to those wishing to use it. The suggestion was heard that the Camp Fire Girls’ cabin be moved from its present location to provide more playing field for athletic games. To carry the suggestion on E. H. Condit was named chairman of a committee to 3eek information as to the possib ility of a WPA project. He named Wallace McCrae and Marvin Kam- holz to assist him in seeking the project. In anticipation of the Rainier- Vpiary road meeting here May 21, Tom Crawford was named chairman to learn all details possible regard- ng the load and have available at he meeting. President Gildner of the Timber This coming week marks the most Light and Power Company confirm exciting and certainly the most ed reports yesterday that negotia remembered events in the lives of tions are going forward that will 41 boys and girls who will gradu give Timber residents electric rate ate from high school Friday night. reductions of 46^4% for small May 17. Skip day, last Monday, is consumers, and will also provide a past event, with the forecoming electric service to now unserved activities looming up in the near farmers between Vernonia and Tim future when the young man and ber. Average reductions for ali woman begins to wonder whether classes off service will approximate or not he or she is really about 34%. grown or is it all a beautiful “We didn’t want to make any dream- -this attention? public statement until all negotia tions were completed,” said Gildner, SENIOR CALENDAR “but since it has become known 1 Bacculaureate---- Sunday, May 12, will admit that our company is 8 p. m. Evangelical church. Rever- working on an interconnection em id H. R. Scheuerman delivering agreement with the Oregon Gas the address. and Electric Company and has been Class Day—Wednesday, May 15, for a long time. Under the pending 2:30 p. m. High school auditorium. agreement the Timber Light and Senior Banquet—Wednesday, May Power Company will build its line 15, 6:30 p. m. American Legion to the Columbia County line a dis t hall. tance of about 4 Vi miles. The Ore Commencement—Friday, May 17, gon Gas will extend its present line 8:00 p. m. Washington grade school out of Vernonia another mile and auditorium. one half bo connect with us. “We plan to buy all our power Bacculaureate services with Rev thereafter from the Oregon Gas and Electric Company. Upon com erend H. R. Scheuerman delivering pletion of the lines the company the address will' be observed this will be able to immediately reduce Sunday evening at 8 o’clock at the rates 46 Mi % flor small users and Evangelical church. Class Jlay will he the time when an average of 34% tor all class' « of residential users, based upon a the class valedictorian and the class historian will be heard. The class Salem—That the 1939 legislative permanent load. will' and prophecy will provide the act compelling People’s Utility dis Asked when the two companies tricts to pay taxes, is unconstitut would be ready to start construc- audience with enlightening and amusing predications. Special music ional knd as a result PUDs will be tion, Gildner said crews would be in and the presentation rtf the senior tax exempt, is the opinion of At- the field before the end of May, key to the ever-seeking juniors torney General Van Winkle accord- barring unforeseen conditions, and will round out the afternoon’s pro ing to a letter he has just forward- that it would require only a short ed to J. N. Jacoibsen, dairy rancher time to build the anticipated line. gram which begins at 2:30 next Wednesday afternoon, at the high and chairman of the Pomona grange The Timber Light and Power school. tax league of Coos county. Company serves 92 customers in the On the evening of Wednesday The attorney forwarded his opin Timber district. members of the American Legion ion to Jacobsen who asked for the It is understood that the State Auxiliary with the financial aid of ruling for the benefit of grange) s and farmers who must vote on a Utility Commissioner has already civic organizations will give a ban PUD proposal May 17 along with agreed >,to permit Timber’s rate re- quet for t>he graduating class. The ductions as soon as the deal goes aifliair is slated for 6:30 p. m. at six other districts. through. the American Legion hall. The attorney general’s opinion, Commencement exercises with Dr. it is believed, will clear up much O. R. Chambers, head of the Oregon confusion among people that has State College Psychology Depart resulted from persistent propaganda ment, delivering the address, will from both local PUD advocates and be held Friday evening, May 17, at the Bonneville Administration which eight o’clock in the Washington have insisted that the PUDs will grade school auditorium. pay taxes. This type of propaganda The sale of poppies, funds from has been widely circulated to over which will benefit disabled war come fears of citizens that Oregon veterans, is due to begin in Ver- PUDs will shift utility taxes of.' nonia on May 24th, The sale will themselves and onto the people, as continue for that day and the fol has been universally done by Wash lowing day. The sale has been an ington PUDs and is being done by nounced by Mrs. A. J. Schultz, Cascade Locks, Oregon, next year, president of the Vernonia unit of Mrs. Edna Engen, city librarian, announced Tuesday the addition of Exemption of PUDs from taxes the Legion Auxiliary. in Oregon, said Van Winkle is Continuing the press release the 11 new adult fiction books to the biased upon the state's constitution following statement was made: “We City Library. The books were plac which declares that taxes must be feel that Poppy Day will have in ed on shelves in readiness ifor use uniform and not discriminate bet creased meaning to America' this Tuesday. The new books are: ween those in the same taxing year because renewed warfare in classes. Since PUDs are municipal Europe has renewed the memory of The Tree of Liberty, Elizabeth corporations under the law, and those boys of ours who gave their Page; Bethel Mernday, Sinclair municipal lighting systems are tax'lives over there 22 years ago It. Lewi«; Conversation, Conrad Aiken; exempt the attorney genera] says, is for them that we put on the How Green Was My Valley, Rich the legislative act is unconstitution- ■ poppy sale each year to show that ard Llewellyn; Lonesome Road, Pat al and PUD taxes cannot be levied. I we still remember and honor their ricia Wentworth; Lest Sunrise, Kath “Clearly,” writes Van Winkle in I sacrifices, It is the flower which leen Norris; Daphne Deane, Grace his official opinion, “the develop grew where they fell and which now L. Hill; The Mulberry Bush, Helen ment and distribution of electrc blooms on the coats of Americans Topping Miller; Secret Valley, Jack- energy etc. by any municipality who appreciate their services. Wear son Gregory; Twenty-Four Hours A which is an incorporated city or ing their flower over our hearts Dey, Faith Baldwin; Self-Made Wo town is no different than such a means that within our hearts their man, Faith Baldwin; Murder Up My Sleeve, Erie Stanley Gardner; development and distribution by a love of America still lives.” municipality which is a people’s and The Case of the Lame Canary, Erie Stanley Gardner. utility district. The latter is a Pin Ball Machine* municipality as well as the former.” PUDs Exempt Attorney Rules Poppy Sale Due Soon Library Gets New Books Discussed— City councilmen at the Monday evening meeting gave official okeh to the first-of-the-month bills and The annual Mother and Daughter heard a discussion of the pin ball Banquet will be at the First Chris- machine. The machines, declared il tian church on Friday evening of legal some time ago due to the this week at 6 o'clock. The com- element of Chance involved in their mittee has been fortunate in secur- use, have been changed, it was ing the service« of Mrs. Muriel Jor statid, so that they involve no law dan of Silverton, Oregon, as guest infraction as long as no opportunity speaker. The affair will be held in' of winning money on the play is the newly enlarged dining rooms ‘ powrble. No action was taken to of the church. 1 allow machine« in the city again. Friday Evening Date of Banquet— Shrubbery Planted At Cemetery— Through authorization by the park committee of the city council, {90.00 worth of shrubs have been planted at the Memorial Cemetery. Planting was done by J. C. Kap- hanwner of Portland. Of the total cost of the shrub«, $32.50 was don ated by various city organizations and the balance paid by the coun cil. The planting adds greatly to the cemetery appearance.