Did You Know...

08-03-06 A reminder that "Vernonia Night Out" will be on Tuesday August 22nd, 2006 from 6pm to 8pm at beautiful Anderson Park. Last year we participated in "National Night Out" and had close to 500 people attend the festivities. Again this year I plan on having an evening filled with music, BBQ, free-raffle, public safety demos, and fellowship with our friends and neighbors. If you would like to donate funds or items for the raffle you can contact Chief Workman at the station, 503-429-7335. August is upon us as well as the 50th Annual Vernonia Friendship Jamboree. This will be my 3rd Jamboree and I once again I don't anticipate any major problems. The Vernonia Police Department would remind all attendees to have fun, welcome our visitors, be respectful to each other, and be responsible for your actions as well as the amount of spirits you partake it. Nothing puts a black eye on an event like irresponsible actions and unnecessary accidents. The past two years have been excellent events and I expect this year to be as well! Welcome the volunteer officers as they come to town to make our event safe and fun. I want to briefly address the topic of firearms safety. According to the National Center for Health Statistics since 2000 in Oregon there have been 116 reported deaths directly related to firearms with the victims being between the ages of 1-19yrs. Many of the accidents could have been prevented if the firearm was properly secured with a gun lock, safety device, or by storing the firearm in a gun safe. The VPD provides small cable-style gun locks "free-of-charge" at the station. If you have firearms in your home, make sure to talk to your children or relatives about the rules regarding your firearms and gun safety. For more information and safety tips you can go to the VPD website and follow the "Project ChildSafe" link under the "Community Resource Links".