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.se Also four Board of Directors were elected. Marge Endicott, Lura Freeman and Geraldine Meyers, all of Scappoose; and