■Library
U n iv e r s it y o f O ogon
SCHOOL ENROLLMENT RISES
Council Hears Proposal for
Water Wheel as Attraction
At the meeting of the Vernonia
city council Tuesday evening of
this week, Mayor Sherman S. Fish
er, Councilmen L. E. Atkins, D. L.
Bair, D. G. Roberts and C. E. Mill
er, and Attorney Robert R Vagt
were all present.
Lester Sheeley was present and
introduced a tentative proposal for
installation of a water wheel which
he claimed would be a potential
tourist attraction. Along with the
presentation were pictures of exist
ing wheels of historic vintage, prin
cipally from the eastern states. He
suggested that a first step might
be for the city to pour a concrete
base for erection of such a wheel
as an adjunct of the city park and
swimming pool facility.
The police report for August
showed 10 traffic and four parking
citations issued, plus 17 warnings
for equipment irregularities and
minor violations. One arrest was
made for disorderly conduct and
one for drunk in a public street.
Two cases of giving liquor to mi
nors were disposed of by convic
tion. There were 86 other activities
processed, 24 of which were during
off-duty hours. Juveniles drew four
curfew warnings, six minors smok
ing warnings and two disorderly
minors warnings.
Five copies of a compilation,
Directory Help
Asked by C of C
Vernonia area firms are being
urged by the chamber of com
merce to cooperate in the biennial
survey of Oregon manufacturing
firms for the 1968 Directory of Ore
gon Manufacturers.
Orin Davis, chamber president,
said prompt return of survey ques
tionnaires would assure accurate
and complete listing of local firms
in the new directory. He pointed
out that previous editions of the di
rectory have been much in de
mand, and are widely used as a
buyer's guide by firms seeking
Oregon suppliers.
The survey is being made by the
Economic Development Division
of the Oregon Department of Com
merce, which compiles and publish
es the directory. Local manufactur
ing establishments which did not
receive a copy of the questionnaire
can either notify the Vernonia
Chamber of Commerce or write to
the Economic Development Divi
sion, 560 State Office Building, Por
tland, Oregon.
Local logging firms listed in the
1967 directory included Atkins,
Bair, Bergerson, Brewer, Dass &
McKee, Davis, F & E, Hays,
Holce, Michener, Serafin, Shaw
Bros., Smejkal. Sword and Webb.
Other firms listed are B & B
Wood Products, Cedarwood Tim
ber Co., Crown Zellerbach Corp.,
Mist Shake & Ridge Co., and Ver
nonia Eagle.
From the Birkenfeld area the
logging firms of Bellingham; Nord
strom & Bellingham; Nystrom,
Conrad and Leston were listed.
If any changes in the listing
need to be made the chamber sec
retary will be glad to make them.
Telephone 429-3702 to reach her.
Hearing Site Changed
Robert Glosenger, C o l u m b i a
county commissioner, relayed in
formation this week that the pub
lic hearing on the court house an
nex proposal will be held at the St.
Helens junior high school gym at
8 p.m. Friday evening, September
8. It was previously scheduled for
the Village Inn but was changed to
insure room for all who wish to at
tend.
“Smaller Communities Program”,
were received from the office of
the county judge together with an
announcement of a meeting for a
public review of the reoort to be
held at the Village Inn, St. Helens,
at 8 p.m. September 27.
A notice was received from the
Center for Population Research
and Census that they are making
arrangements for a census of the
Vernonia population to be taken
about the middle of the current
month. They asked that enumera
tors be engaged so that they may
be briefed in the census require
ments. The council later voted to
contract the ladies of the Nehalem
Social club for tliis work.
Robert Olsen presented notes
relative to certain property des
criptions in the River Side View
area necessary for obtaining rights
of way for streets. The material
was submitted to Attomev Vagt
for the drawing of proper deede.
Engineer Robert E. Meyer sub
mitted preliminary data and esti
mates for street improvements, on
East avenue from D to E street
and D street from East to Califor
nia avenue, together with the ne
cessary intersections. This mater
ial was also submitted to the city
attorney for use in setting up pro
cedures for creation of an improve
ment district.
New business included authoriza
tion of purchase by the fire depart
ment of six safety belts for use in
riding the outside of fire trucks.
No bids for reroofing the water
plant building and for alterations
and repairs to the fire hall were re
ceived. The council voted to call
for bids for repairing the founda
tion and understructure of the cem
etery caretaker’s house, specifica
tions for the work to be provided.
Mayor Sherman S. Fisher sub
mitted his resignation from the of
fice effective September 15, 1967.
The resignation was not officially
read into the minutes or acted up
on. In the discussion which follow
ed, it developed that the mayor
was taking this action because of
his inability to find a solution to
excessive complaints voiced to him
by citizens, mainly pertaining to
heedless use of city streets, and an
alleged lack of cooperation of the
city council and inaction of the po
lice department.
After payment of bills, the coun
cil adjourned at 10:35 p.m. The
next meeting will be September 18.
Briarcliff to
Break Ground
Briarcliff Golf and Country Club,
Inc., exercised its option and is
now the owner of 214 acres of land
on which their big recreation com
plex will be built near Rainier.
A contract has also been let for
the logging and clearing of the
property and Briarcliff officials an
nounced this week that ground
breaking and tree cutting ceremo
nies will be held next Thursday,
September 14, between 9 and 10
a.m. to get the project underway.
As soon as the land clearing is
finished, they intend to start on the
first nine holes of the golf course.
These and the pro-shop and prac
tice range will probably be ready
for use in the jummer of 1968. An
other nine holes will be added la
ter and the restaurant complex is
yet to come.
There are now 280 stockholders
in the enterprise and with the ex
ception of less than 50, all are resi
dents of Columbia county.
Officers of the corporation said
Tuesday that they have only $40,-
000 in shares at $10 per share to
sell.
All schools in administrative dis
trict 47J opened for the 1967 68
school year with a full day of class
es on Tuesday, September 5. Total
enrollment for the first day was
739. compared to the 716 first day
enrollment last year.
At Vernonia high school, the to
tal enrolment was 245, uo 25 from
VOLUME 45, NUMBER 36
VERNONIA, OREGON 97064
THURSDAY, SEPT. 7, 1967 last year’s peak of 220. This again
represents the highest number of
students in the history of the high
school. There were 73 freshmen,
64 sophomores, 54 juniors and 54
seniors.
At Washington e l e m e n t a r y
school, the initial enrollment was
383. There were 23 first graders,
25 in the second grade, 26 in third,
53 in fourth, 52 in fifth, 68 in sixth,
51 in seventh and 44 in the eighth
grade. Kindergarteners totaled 41
for the two sessions.
Lincoln school has enrolled 23 in
the first grade, 25 second graders.
24 in the third and 12 in the spe
cial multiple-grade class for a total
of 84.
Out Mis! wav, there wer? 14 in
Mrs. Mathews’ first, second, and
third grade and 13 in Mr. Caron’s
fourth and fifth grade class.
The total enrollment for the dis
trict compares with the average
daily membership of 735 at the
close of last school year. The high
school increase is 30 students more
JAY WILLIAMS and Mel Miller, cable splicers, found
phone cables in a wide area in the Nehalem Valley
than at the close of last year while
plenty to do in the course of stringing General Tele-
the grade schools show a decrease
section of their svstem.
of 26. It is anticipated that an addi
tional 10 to 20 students will regis
ter in the district during the re
mainder of September.
Oemonla
GTC Projects
Improve Area
Phone Service
General Telephone Company has
had an extensive project underway
in this area for the past several
weeks and their trucks and work
men with huge spools of cable have
attracted the attention of young
and old alike.
The project for the area repre
sents a $100,000 investment by the
company in their effort to improve
service to telephone users in this
portion of their system.
Included in the projects now in
the construction period is the lay
ing of buried cable along Rock
Creek road. This will reduce sub
urban lines and provide for five-
party service. They are providing
facilities for subdivision and state
that the replacement of onen wire
system with the buried cable pro
vides for more trouble-free and re
liable service. This section of the
project amounts to an approxi
mately $26,000 investment.
Aerial cable is being strung along
highway 47 south of Vernonia and
buried cable is being placed along
the Nehalem Market road, more
commonly known as the Timber
road which runs out past the golf
course. This will also provide five-
party line service for that rural
area which has had ten-narty lines
previously. Provisions are made
for growth in this area, also and
allows for the addition of services
as needed. This section of the pro
ject is estimated at approximately
a $51,000 investment.
Buried cable is being extended
along highway 47 north of Verno
nia. also, from the Scappoose road
junction at Pittsburg to Oblack
road. As in the other areas, it will
provide for better service with few
er lines and better prospects for
trouble-free service.
Dan Murphy, district manager
for this area of the General Tele
phone system, was in Vernonia
Wednesday and stated that this en
tire 8100,000 investment in this area
represents the desire of the com
pany to provide the best possible
service.
Courthouse Annex Proposal to Be Aired
A special meeting has been call
ed by the Columbia county court
for consideration of the courthouse
annex proposal. It is scheduled for
8 p.m., Friday night, at the St.
Helens junior high school.
The presentation has been pre
pared by Ragnar C. Qvale and As
sociates, architects, and the coun
ty commission, comprised of Judge
Earl N. Seawright, and commis
sioners Robert Glosenger and G. A.
Violette.
The public is invited to the mee
ting, which is hoped to bring about
a decision on the courthouse mat
ter, which has been hashed-over
and kicked about since 1952.
The presentation states:
“In June, 1952, it was apparent
to the county court that the time
had come to start thinking about
the future housing of Columbia
county government. At that time,
a sinking fund was established, for
the construction of a courthouse an
nex.
“Since that time, a period of 15
years, much has been done by the
various county courts to either con
struct a completely new facility,
or to enlarge present space.
“In September, 1965, an agree
ment was signed by the court with
the firm of Skidmore, Owings &
Merrill, Architects, to study the
feasibility of a new courthouse, or
an annex. At a public presentation
of their findings, held on April 25,
1966. their findings showed that Co
lumbia county needs much more
space for their offices, and that it
would be more feasible to construct
a new building, on a different site,
than to either remodel the present
courthouse or construct an annex.
‘‘However, at the hearing, as
you remember, petitions were pre
sented to the court, necessitating
an election to be held. At the elec
tion, held on May 24, 1966, all court
house measures were defeated.
Therefore, the people of Columbia
county expressed their wishes that
a new courthouse not be built, al
though ample funds had been pro
vided through the years.
“This left the current county
court with no alternative but to
seek a solution to the overcrowded
space problem by means of an an
nex.
“In May, 1967, an appraisal of
possible annex sites was ordered
by the court from the firm of Carl
Trowbridge & Associates. These
appraisals included what became
known as the “City Hall” site, and
the “Dillard” site. The results of
the appraisals showed the “City
Hall” site to be too expensive to
justify.
“This left the “Dillard” site, that
Ragnar Qvale will use in his pres
entation tonight (Friday).
“At the present time, nearly
half, or 12 out of 27, of the county
functions are housed at various lo
cations outside the courthouse.
Space is being rented at the rate of
$7,650 per year, not including utili
ties. This alone costs the county a
considerable amount, and does not
begin to fulfill the needs of the
various departments. However, of
fice space is not readily available
to be rented.
“Over the period of years, some
thing like $19,000 has been spent
by the courts to seek a solution to
the problem. Of this amount, $11,-
605.26 was spent for the feasibility-
study, and $6.391.25 was spent for
an appraisal of annex sites.
“The current county court has
been trying to up-date the entire
county government. This has in
cluded the installation of bookkeep
ing machines, new recording ma
chines, provision of ad d i t i o n a 1
space for some of the offices, and
renovation of the building, inside
and out. Much time has been spent
visiting other counties to see how
they operate, talking to various ar
chitects, appraisers, and the pub
lic, to decide definitely what is
needed, and why.
“At the present time, there is
$1,266,653.94 available for use to
acquire space, construct and equip
an annex.
“Current and future plans make
it a growing coui.iy, demanding
much more in the leadership of Co
lumbia county to prepare for the
future. This cannot be evidenced
more than by the construction, and
enlargement, of the mill at Wauna,
the enlarged facilities at Boise-
Cascade, the PGE nuclear plant at
Prescott, and future uses of the
“ Beaver” site.
“Columbia county is growing!
Therefore, we cannot allow the
seat of the county government to
stagnate in small cramped quar
ters, doing things much the same
as they have for the past 30 or 40
years. Time does not stand still,
and now is the time to provide the
much needed facilities to keep up
with our growing county.”
Departments now housed in the
courthouse, include treasurer, tax
office, accounting, assessor, clerk,
county court, circuit court, circuit
court reporter, law library, jury
room, sheriff and jail, appraisers,
civil defense, justice court, survey
or
Departments housed outside the
courthouse: Health, mental health,
building inspector, sanitarian, vet
eran service officer, juvenile de
partment, district attorney, IED
district, extension and agriculture,
welfare, surplus foods and road de
partment.
Cancer Drive
Totals Given
By Treasurer
Ralph E. Bergerson, Columbia
county treasurer of the American
Cancer Society, made the annual
turnover of funds to the Oregon
division on August 28, 1967 in the
aoount of $3667.15.
Mrs. Oscar Kelty of Clatskanie,
Columbia county chairman, stated
that area chairmen are urged to
attend the annual meeting to be
held October 5 and 6 at the Hilton
hotel in Portland.
Reatha Horn, Columbia county
secretary, is arranging the annual
county meeting to be held in the
middle of October at St. Helens.
Sylvia Gilliland, local crusade
chairman, exnresscd her apprecia
tion to local workers for their help
during the last American Cancer
Crusade. The use of the theater
building and the assistance of lo
cal doctors at the film showings
were very helpful.
All memorial monies may be
turned in at any time to the
county treasurer for credit within
this county. The official receipts
will be prepared and mailed from
the Portland Division
By areas, the contributions to the
1967 drive were as follows: Colum
bia City, $128.60; Clatskanie, $491.-
62; Rainier, $795.58; Scappoose,
$550.20; St Helens, $678.00; Verno
nia, $275.50; Warren, $357.65 Me
morials amounted to $390.00 to
make the county total $3667.15.
County Woman
Renamed to Post
Mrs. Florenz Huff, Vernonia, was
re-elected chairman of the Oregon
Fryer commission at an August 26
meeting of the commission in Sa
lem. and Melvin Purvis, Eugene
named vice-president. Also re
elected to his post was Clarence
Buhler, Dallas, who has been serv
ing as secretary-treasurer.
In other action taken during
their session the commission ap
proved the fall advertising cam
paign for Oregon fryers, which for
merly was approved by a special
committee named to work on ad
vertising.
The promotion this year will in
Friday night will mark the debut
Starting lineup Friday night will elude the return to radio, via 30-
of the 1967 Vernonia Logger grid be: Right end, Smith; right tackle. second spots, of Felicia Fryer, a
iron squad when they travel to Rai Aldrich; right guard. Bush; center. young Oregon grown fryer who is
nier to engage that eleven in the Fisher; left guard, Carl Koch; left featured in “Perils of Felicia Fry
first COWAPA lea sue encounte r tackle, Burton; left end, Bruns- er”.
But something new is being ad
Crowston's charges have been man; quarterback, Nelson; tail
hard at it al, week in preparation back, Elton; fullback. Matt Koch; ded to this mini feature this year.
The knight who keeps rescuing
for the start of the season. Verno slciback, King.
Vernonia JVs will play their first Felicia is to be given a name and
nia fans will see the local eleven
sporting a new offensive formation encounter of the season next Mon this will be through a “Name the
day night on the local field at 7 Knight” contest with weekly win
this year, running from an unbal
ners selected at each station carry
anced winged T, which should p.m. against the Clatskanie squad
ing the snot and final selection
provide them with a better offen
made from among entries of the
sive threat than in previous years
weekly winners.
Defensively the local team will
field a 5-4-2.
Vernonia is ready to go. accord
ing to Coach Crowston, physically
in top shape with only minor bruis
es and ready to meet the onslaught
The body of a 48-year-old Port
Three armed men effected a rob land man was found in his car on
of the Columbians.
Vernonia's key to success this bery of the Scappoose Branch, Smoke Ranch road, off Skyline
year, according to Crowston, will Bank of St. Helens, shortly after Trail, Tuesday morning. He was
he the local's line and what the line the firm opened for business Wed identified as Richard Stuart Arms
by Washington county authorities,
does will determine the future of nesday morning.
Six employees and four custom who investigated. Carbon monox
the Logger team The Loggers
ers
were
bound
and
forced
to
lie
have enough backfield personnel on the floor of the vault, with the ide poisoning was attributed with
this year to put on quite an offen robbers locking them in as they his death.
sive show.
escaped. Police immediately began
Rainier’s field is likened to a con combing the area for the suspects
crete parade ground, since they who were reported to have made
have been without water due to the their get-away via Old Portland
severe water shortage in that com road.
State Senator Daniel Thiel will
munity. However, the Columbians’
Bank official, R. A. Severson, discuss "How a legislator Views
field in previous years has always stated shortly after the hold-up Education” in a speech Thursday
been a headache to the local teams that the amount taken was approx evening, tonight, before the ele
and they managed to win their imately $13,560.
mentary and secondary educators
share of encounters on the turf
from Clatsop and Columbia coun
there. Not much is known about
ties. The program, sponsored by
V E R N O N IA LOGGERS va.
the Columbia eleven, but they are
the Astoria Chamber of Commerce,
R A IN IE R CO LUM BIAN S
reported to be much heavier than
is to be held in the Astoria high
the local squad.
FRIDAY NIGHT - BE THEREI school at 7:30 p.m.
GENERAL Telephone company crews have been at work in this area for
some time stringing cable and installing some underground cable to im
prove service in the local area. Here Jack liolscy and Rod McLean are
at work on one phase of the construction project.
Loggers to Open Season with
Game at Rainier This Friday
Bank Robbed
At Scappoose
Riders Locate Body
Thiel Schedules Talk