L ib ra ry
U n iv e r s ity o f Oregon
E ugene, Oregon
Oernoti i a £
VOLUME 52. NUMBER 5
VERNONIA. OREGON »7064 — 10c P er Copy_______________ THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 1974
Columbia County Road Repairs Reach
Neighborhood Of Over Half Million
Representatives Irom
(our
Oregon counties met in Hillsboro
Mondas January 28. with mem
bers of slate and federal agen
lie s Io discuss and hear deci
sions reached on aid tor allevia
tion of damages caused by the
recent flooding Attending the
meet were officials from Colum
bia. Washington. Tillamook and
Clatsop counties who were
informed that every thing possi
ble would be done to aid them
with their problems
Estimates of repair of Colum
bia County roads were set in the
neighborhood of three-quarters
of a m illion dollars following a
lour ol the area by members of
the Columbia County Board of
Commissioners, r o a d m a s t-
er Keith Thompson. J W Coch
<•11. Oregon State Highway De
partment. I ’ E O'Neill. EHWA.
and Michael Flynn. US Corp of
Engineers, who surveyed the
heavy road damages caused by
the high waters and heavy rains
of mid January
Columbia County representa
tives. including members of the
Board of Commissioners, learn
ed Monday that a S30.000 appli
cation had received tentative
approval from the state, needing
only the final okay from the
Federal Disaster agency which
is handling the emergency road
program—an amount which
would aid in repairing relatively
minor road damages in the
county However, the group was
s till awaiting word on the larger
portion of funding necessary
which is in aggregate of $6(Xi.(XX>
Alien Reports
Due By Jan. 31
January 25. 1974 Albert Con
versano. J r . District Director,
of the Im migration and N atural
ization Service reminded aliens
in Oregon that Thursday is the
deadline for filing address report
forms as required under provi
sions of the 1952 Im migration
and Nationality Act
The Im migration Official urg
ed aliens who have not yet filed
their address reports to do so no
later than January 31 to avoid
possible penalties
Conversano said the law re
quires that every alien except
those having diplomatic status
and representatives of certain
international organizations must
file the address report during
January of each year at the
nearest Po- Office or Im m igra
tion and No ’■alization Service
Office
Conversano sa'd an estimated
15,1X10 aliens in the state of
Oregon have filed address re
ports so far this January
A total of 23.791 aliens filed
address reports in Oregon last
year An increase in this figure is
expected for 1974
The biggest amount of this
would go to repair the large
washout on the Scappoose-Ver
nonia Highway approximately
250 feet across and over 150 feet
deep while a slide on the Fern
Hill Road near Rainier would
take another $261,000 to repair
The smaller fall on the Scap
poose-Vernonia road just above
the Crown Zellerbach sorting
yard, was expected to cost
nearly $51.(XX) to repair
"We have a lot of road damage
that won't be covered by the
emergency road program, also "
said Fred Foshaug. chairman
of the Columbia County Board of
Commissioners, who attended
the Monday morning meet in
Hillsboro "Some of the prob-
lems were caused by the freeze.
Worst hit in this area were the
roads in the Warren district
where blacktop has buckled
badly from the icy weather."
Foshaug also said, for those
who wish to travel between
Vernonia and the St Helens
Scappoosearea. that "the old St.
Helens road is open but it's
rough We sent a blader up there
but in some places the road is
down to bare rock. Unless i t ’s an
emergency I wouldn't recom
mend its use," adding "although
the Crown Zellerbach private
road is closed to the public,
travel is possible over the Oak
Ranch Creek Road that goes by
Camp Wilkerson.”
Vernonia Site Of Mobile
Emergency Aid Assistance
Following President Nixon's
declaration that 17 counties in
western Oregon had been de
clared disaster areas, machin
ery was set into motion to make
federal assistance available to
flood victims
The declaration w ill enable
local disaster victims to obtain
several types of recovery relief
Assistance from state and vol
unteer assistance agencies had
already been made available
prior to the declaration
To assist flood victims in
Columbia and west Washington
County in applying for aid. a
special mobile unit of the FDAA
and the Oregon Division of
Emergency Services office w ill
be set up in Vernonia Friday,
February 1. from 12 noon until 7
p.m . and Saturday. February 2.
10 a m to 7 p m at the IOOF
Hall located on Grant and North
Streets
Residents from St. Helens
Rainier. Scappoose. Warren and
other areas of Columbia and
west Washington counties w ill be
able to apply for all types of
assistance." a Salem spokesman
said "People who have suffered
damages from the flood and high
water should bring their social
security numbers with them
when applying Many feel they
do not qualify but there are
ACS Sponsors Films
Tuesday, February 5. at 7:30
p.m there w ill be a show at the
Joy Theatre on the signs and
treatment of lung and rectal
cancer The two film s, w hich are
sponsored by the Vernonia bran
ch of the American Cancer
Society, are free and residents
are urged to attend There w ill
be a doctor at the theatre to
answer questions
several programs available and
there w ill be specialists in all
fields to assist them in making
applications and to explain the
programs to them so if they have
damages they should come in
and talk with one of the
specialists and see what can be
done.”
Vernonia was chosen as the
site for the mobile unit since it is
centrally located in conjuction
with both west Washington
County and the Columbia County
area and had suffered the big
gest damage.
A few of the programs that are
available through the emergen
cy assistance program
are
temporary housing, employ
ment, small business and house
hold loans, etc. Trained disaster
specialists w ill also continue to
offer assistance in the repair of
streets, bridges, schools, sewer
systems, water plants, etc.
Victims of the flood are urged
to visit the assistance center as
soon as possible since some of
the assistance programs have
deadlines for application
Those wishing further in fo r
mation may contact John De-
France. 397-0300
Dairymen To
Hear Wm. Knox
William D Knox of Fort
Atkinson. Wis.. editor of Hoards
Dairyman magazine, w ill be
principal speaker at the 80th
annual meeting of the Oregon
Dairymen's Association
Thé three-day meeting
is
scheduled February 4-6 at the
Holiday Inn, Medford
“ The Oregon Dairy Wives
organization w ill hold its annual
business session concurrently,”
Twigg noted
VERNONIA
WEATHER
As gathered from the weather
station located at the Venoala
water plant.
Weather for the week of Janu
ary 22 29 showed a high of 50
degrees on January 24. and a low
of 26 degrees on January 22.
Precipitation for the week total
ed 2 40 inches
CCOG A sk For
Membership
CCOG members have adopted
a resolution petitioning the Ore
gon State legislature to amend
Senate Bill 769 to include Co
lumbia County as a full voting
member of the Columbia Re
gional Association of Govern
ments after it was discovered
that although the new bill - which
reorganized the CRAG - included
Columbia County as an associate
membership in the regional
planning district, they are not
members with voting power.
The petition w ill be presented
to the special session of the
legislature which is to convene
early February
Members of CCOG learned
this past week that the state
officials felt Columbia County-
wished to be excluded from
membership and therefore pass
ed the bill on that basis.
Legislative members who had
contacted officials in Columbia
County were given the impress
ion that the county did not desire
to participate in the organi
zation Since that time, however,
local governments have discov
ered the regional authority to be
beneficial and wish to be part of
it.
Senator Wm. Holmström, who
encouraged the CCOG member
ship to draw up and adopt the
resolution, commented that the
organization of CCOG and de
velopment of better commun
ications between the -ities and
the county has been beneficial in
that the groups are now working
together to solve mutual prob
lems
Holmström believes that -
although he cannot guarantee
that the legislation w ill pass
during the special session the
resolution can be considered for
the consent calendar in the
upcoming session.
OFBF Convention
Cancelled for 1974
In light of the current fuel
crisis, the Oregon Farm Bureau
Federation has decided to cancel
its 1974 annual convention sch
eduled for February 10-12 at
Salishan Ixxlge The decision
was reached following a confer
ence call conducted among the
OFBF Board of Directors
Company Fights Pollution Following IWL Complaints
Members of the Nehalem
Chapter of the lzaak Walton
League and Oregon Game Com
mission took an environmental
tour Saturday, January 25
Guided by plant manager. M il
ton Schultz and Water Pollution
Consultant. Brian Johnson, they
saw and heard how Empire
Lite Rock Inc is doing its part in
overcoming pollution problems
in the area, after many years of
complaints
In January of 1970 the lzaak
Walton league had converged
on the banks of Castor Creek
after weeks of intensive investi
gation into the source of silt
which was polluting the Neha
lem River.
Starting from the Vernonia
area, they had traced the fish
killing pollution to a holding
pond on the property of the
Empire Lite-Rock
The com
pany. which has manufactured
concrete aggregate on the land
situated near the tunnel on
Highway 26, for the past 20
years, had been draining waste
from the manufacturing proces
ses into the holding settling pond
for disposal
During this period the pond
had filled to a depth of 25 feet
with the residue which drained
downstream in both low and high
water, to pollute the creek which
flowed into the Nehalem
This, then, was their foe the
silt and sludge which would
cover the spawning beds of
salmon and steelhead, smother
ing the fish eggs and, according
to th«* game commission, prob
ably reducing the number of
these fish for years to come.
Today, four years later, there
has been a dramatic change in
both the plant operation and the
countryside around it. No longer
desolate and lacking in vegeta
tion. heavy grass now covers
most of the scars of prior
operation. A new and deeper
holding pond has been provided
lor the w aste products one which
w ill not overflow in highwater.
To encourage the flow of pure
water, the holding pond is pres
ently being treated with calcium
sulphate, a product which is
non-poisonous to fish and which
w ill precipitate the water so that
solids settle to the bottom of the
pond, leaving clear water above
Another source of dissention
has been the smoke from the
furnaces Laden with pollutive
dust, the prevailing westerly
winds blow it onto the surround
ing countryside, which many
feel is detrimental to the area
although there has been no
official complaint on this score
from the Department of E n vir
onmental Quality.
Still, Empire Lite-Rock—in an
effort to comply with both the
DEQ and the world around
it have gone many steps fu rth
er then simply providing con
trols in the old plant. In order to
prevent both water and air
pollution the company has built a
modern plant which features
many controls to protect the
environment.
Now, instead of water being
released into the nearby trib u
tary of the Nehalem, it w ill be
recycled from the holding pond,
mixed with the dust—which
form erly went into the atmos
phere with the smoke — and
burned in the large kilns, leaving
only steam to escape. The new
plant, which is expected to open
shortly, w ill have no residues to
be disposed of, thanks to this
procedure Everything w ill be
used to produce the aggregate in
the self-contained unit so that,
while the Nehalem River may
suffer from past operations,
future ones w ill not cause pollu
lion in any form.
"We've worked hard to meet
environmental standards," said
Schultz, "both from the stand
point of the DEQ and of the
economics aspect We think
we've done a pretty good job ”
M EM BER S OF Ike Nehalem Valley Isaak WaL
to« League and the Oregon Game C ommloo l oti on
environmental tear r f Empire Ltte-Itock lac.
shown above I* plant now In operation which wW
rlooe when new plant Is completed,
Members of the lzaak Walton
Ijeague have tentatively agreed
that the plan looks good Now
they wait to see if it works, in
hopes that the Nehalem River,
which provides so much pleas
ure to sports fishermen, w ill no
longer suffer from the disaster-
ous si lea product as it has in the
past
Picture above shows load of
raw lumber strewn on highway
after load shifted on the truck-
trailer combo, last Friday as
John Biggs, d river for Olympic
Forest Products, turned the
corner at Bridge and Rose
Avenue. The truck overturned
although the trailer remained
upright. Luckily no one was
injured in the early evening
accident. Picture in
center
shows truck being lifted by use of
tow cables while in photo at
right. Biggs views damage to
truck after it was finally upright.
The highway was quickly clear
ed of lumber once the truck was
moved and tra ffic was able to
flow freely once more in a short
time.
CCAC Slates
Feb. 6 Meet
The Columbia County Alcohol
Council meet recently to discuss
their work goals for 1974. Gu°sts
from OAHA were Jim D. Duncan
and Norma Taylar, Oregon A l
cohol Council Development Con
sultants.
The council was incorporated
in 1972 for the purpose of
educating the local communities
about the problems of alcohol
ism. With the cooperation of PCC
workshops on alcohol problems
were provided to the public,
informative material was d is tri
buted to industries and inform a
tion and referral was provided
by HELP, Inc of Columbia
County The Alcohol Council has
member representation from the
community at large, churches,
schools, mental health, welfare,
industry, Police and druggists
Anyone wishing to serve or do
volunteer work on the council
should contact Rev. Charles
Paulson. 397-1484.
The Alcohol Council w ill meet
February 6 at Dino’s in St.
Helens at 12 noon, no host lunch,
to begin defining and emple-
menting their goals for 1974
Meetings are open to the public
and volunteers are needed.
Goals for 1974 as recommend
ed by the council are information
and referral, run by volunteers,
a speakers bureau to inform the
public of the council’s work, and
an employees assistance pro
gram
Bank Debits
Up In County
Bank debits for the eight
reporting banks including Col
umbia County
were up in
December, 1973, compared to
December 1972. the University of
Oregon Bureau of Business Re
search has reported
Debits for December 1973,
totaled $33.915,(XX) For Novem
ber 1973. the total was $30.029.<XX)
and for December, 1972, the total
was $27,382,(XX)
Oregon, with 427 banks report
ing, has a percentage decrease
of 5.3 in December 1973, as
compared with November, 1973.
and 50 o percentage increase in
December 1973, compared with
December 1972
Total bank debits for Decem
ber 1973. came to $10.804.842.000
For November 1973, the total
was $11.407.396.000 and for Dec
ember 1972. the total
was
$7.208,610,000
C of C-JC Annual Banquet
Scheduled For February 17
Plans are being finalized for
the annual Chamber of Com
merce Citizen of the Year-Jay-
cee DSA Awards Banquet to be
held Sunday, February 17 at 3
p.m. at the American Legion
Hall.
Speaker for this year’s event is
tentatively slated as Senator
Betty Roberts , Democratic
candidate for governor of Ore
gon. Senator Robert’s w e l l
known for her active legislation
for both senior citizens and
women equality, has been in the
legislature for many years and
should provide an interesting
view of today’s problems.
Each year the Chamber of
Commerce gives a Citizen of the
Year award to the person, man
or woman, regardless of age,
who has made an outstanding
contribution to the community.
At present the Chamber of Com
merce is asking for nominations
for this award However resi
dents are reminded that the
award is not given for the
number of nominations received
but, rather, for the quality of the
individual contributions of the
nominee.
The Junior Chamber of Com
merce annually give a Disting
Tax Aid Available
Vernonia residents a r e re
minded that they can receive
assistance in preparing forms
for the new Homeowners and
Renters Refund program F ri
day, February ft when a tax
representative w ill be at the
West Oregon Building from 10
a m. to 2:30 p.m
Mobile Home
Show Slated
The committee for the 1974
Portland Mobile Home Show is
in the process of a series of
several planning meetings to
finalize arrangements for the
most elaborate show ever offer
ed in this area, according to Ric
Penna, Show Chairman This
year’s show w ill be held Wed
nesday, February 20 through
Sunday. February 24 in Port
land’s Memorial Coliseum
The planning committee con
sists of Keith Spencer, Trailer
Life Show, Inc president, Fred
Cavanaugh, V i c e President,
Shorty Diederich, Treasurer,
and Eli Neal, Secretary. who w ill
divide responsibilities with Pen
na on move in of over fifty
mobile home units, placement,
decoration and other basic plan
ning activities
uished Service award to the
outstanding individual, man or
woman under 35 years of age, for
their service in the community.
Boxes have been set up in
several businesses around town
and residents are urged to enter
the name of their nomination for
the Citizen of the Year award
This year’s dinner w ill feature
barbecued chicken, cooked by
Cecil Huff with a dessert of
homemade pie ala mode for only
$2.50 for adults; $1.50 for child
ren under 12.
Tickets for the Sunday dinner
may be purchased soon from any
member of the Chamber of
Commerce or Jayeee, or from
participating businesses.
Residents are urged to attend
this annual event as all profits
from the banquet w ill be donated
to the Vernonia Heart Machine
Fund.
At present the Heart Machine
Fund has reached a total of
approximately $2900 and Wed
nesday, January 30 funds were
used Io purchase one piece of
equipment, the read-out mon
itor However, due to rising costs
the entire Life Pack Three unit
now costs in the neighborhood of
$42(Xi instead of the original
estimate of fasoo. However it is
hoped that through continued
contributions and events such as
the annual banquet the fund w ill
soon have reached its goal and
the Life Pack Three unit install
ed in the ambulance.
1974 Officers
League Elects
Nita Beane, St. Helens
The members divided into a
St. Helens unit with Theresa
Burr, unit chairman and a
Scappoose Unit with Marge En
dicott, chairman.
The units are working on
different parts of a county study
which w ill be published when
finished
All women citizens are eligible
Io join the League of Women
Voters For further information
call Edith Bartel, 543 6287
The league of Women Voters
of Columbia County met Jan
uary 14 at the home of Theresa
Burr of SI Helens After accept
ing by-laws the following of
ficers were elected President.
Edith Bartel of Scappoose; 1st
vice-president Ix*e Hamilton, St.
Helens; Secretary, Clare Nee
lands, Scappoose, and Treasur
er Juanita McKee, Scapp<x>se
Also four Board of Directors
were elected. Marge Endicott,
Lura Freeman and Geraldine
Meyers, all of Scappoose; and