NW Natural Hopes to be Catalyst for Giving
When a natural disaster strikes any region, the very best of human nature emerges as people bend over backward to help their neighbors. But unlike the theory that lightning never strikes twice, the community of Vernonia has been struck twice with a one-two storm punch from Mother Nature: once in 1996 and again in 2007.

Now, more than two years after the second flood, the small Oregon city has a big plan called CATALYST: The Campaign for Vernonia’s Schools--and NW Natural is the first company to step up and support it.

“The people of Vernonia have been hit incredibly hard with not one, but two major storms that ripped through the area and paralyzed its infrastructure,” said Von Summers, NW Natural manager of community relations. “This is our own Haiti or Katrina right in our backyard, so supporting the CATALYST plan was an easy decision."

NW Natural is the first company to invest in CATALYST and urges other businesses to follow suit.  

CATALYST:

Like many rural communities, Vernonia schools function as the heart of its community. CATALYST will create a more vibrant community hub, plan for long-term community needs and align the design and educational program with advancing sustainable practices to create long-term economic opportunities. The new Vernonia schools will be: 

• Carefully located in a central, accessible and safe location high above the flood plain;
• Built for current classroom capacity and at least 30 years of projected population growth;
• The first LEED Platinum-certified public K-12 building in the country which will lower operating costs considerably in the long term;
• Designed with “green” environmental features and indoor/outdoor spaces that provide powerful learning opportunities and curricula that link to emerging Oregon economic opportunities;
• A unique-to-Oregon integrated K-12 model; and
• A case study in investing in schools as a means to stimulate rural economic development and recovery.  

The plan originated through a collaborative public process facilitated by a governor-appointed Oregon Solutions team. The diverse group of community leaders selected a site and developed the master plan for the new campus. In November 2009, the community approved a $13 million bond--the down payment toward the $37 million price tag to rebuild three schools, and a heavy burden for the struggling community.

“The true test of any community--large or small--is how it reacts to a great crisis. Vernonia has been tested as no other place in Oregon,” said Tom Kelly, co-convenor of the Oregon Solutions Team and President of Neil Kelly, Inc. “The test for the rest of us in Oregon is how we respond to Vernonia’s effort. I’m so pleased that NW Natural has embraced a leadership role in showing the citizens of Vernonia that the rest of this state is ready to help them transform their future.”

Flooding History:

In 1996, a major 500-year flood decimated much of the region. In the storm’s wake, the tight-knit community of Vernonia banded together to repair and rebuild the town. The residents took great care to rebuild responsibly above the flood plain. But on December 3, 2007, heavy rains caused Rock Creek and the Nehalem River to rise again, and a second 500-year flood of historic proportions washed over Vernonia. Much of the city’s public infrastructure and property were damaged or destroyed.

As much as five feet of flood water poured into the elementary school, middle school and high school, rendering them uninhabitable. The health clinic, food bank and senior center were also inundated, along with both electrical substations, and the waste water treatment facility was severely damaged. Half of the district’s 2,200 homes suffered damage, 800 of which were substantially damaged. Over 100 homes were deemed to be beyond repair.

“New schools, built to last into the next century, will indeed be a catalyst for the future of this community as we work together to reinvent who we are and serve as a model of the rest of rural Oregon”, shared Dr. Ken Cox, Vernonia’s school superintendent. “On behalf of the students and patrons of the Vernonia School District, we want to express our great appreciation to NW Natural for stepping up in this effort to help us help ourselves.”

Return to March 2010 Western Energy News

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