<p>Sara Rohne-Tanner, left, is chairwoman of the Knappa Schools Foundation, which has gathered more than $1 million in net assets and this year started using computers to track purchases.</p>

KNAPPA With a winter storm brooding over the North, organizers of the 17th annual Knappa Schools Foundation auction and prime rib dinner wondered how many people would show to shell out the dollars for the schools students.

But through the snow and ice or over the phone local bidders on Saturday raised more than $84,000 to support their schools and graduating seniors with scholarships.

Tonight, as every auction night at Knappa, is so important, and a little snow and a little ice shouldnt break the … giving streak, said state Sen. Betsy Johnson.

She was trapped by snow and ice in her hometown of Scappoose and spoke to the microphone through the cellphone of Shawn Teevin, the owner of Teevin Bros., who officiates the auction each year.

Johnson was continuing her annual plea for donations, and by the end, Johnson drew $31,500 out of the crowd, including her own commitment, compared with about $29,000 the previous year. Johnson and the auction were both hampered by the weather, but they managed a respectable haul.

Weather-related

I thought we would have five people, said Eileen Cheuvront, a founding member of the foundation who has been active for its entire 17-year history.

Sara Rohne-Tanner, chairwoman of the foundation, said there were fewer than 300 bidders at the auction, but it fell less than $10,000 short of last years record-setting amount. We were so happy that people came, and they were so generous.

She said the foundation also gathered more than $10,000 in cash and service donations before the event started.

Last year, the auction took in more than $93,000 and netted about $86,000, but with more than 320 bidders on hand.

Ive been doing this for 17 years, and weve never seen weather be a problem, said Teevin, a founding member of the foundation, entreating the thinner crowd members to open their wallets that much more.

Mac Stuart, a sheep rancher near Salem and the usual auctioneer Knappa works with, was seriously injured when the weight of snow collapsed his barn on him. The foundation scrambled and found Larry Inman of Astoria. Tanner estimated the worth of this years donations and student creations at about $52,000.

I dont come for a deal, said Susan Widawski, mother of a 2010 Knappa graduate, about a common mindset of people attending the auction. I come to donate.

Her daughter Taylor earned a scholarship from the foundation, attended the University of Washington and is now studying law at Washington University in St. Louis. I strongly believe in supporting education, said Widawski.

Student projects

One of the marquee items at the auction was a life-size, steel elk lawn ornament fabricated and painted by Knappa students. It was purchased by Jeanne Windsor, a foundation member and consultant for Teevin, and will be placed in front of The Logger restaurant.

Ive painted a lot of landscapes, said 17-year-old Jovana Kasovic, a Serbian exchange student who painted a winter scene with elk on one side of the sculpture. Fellow student Xoey Jones painted a spring scene with elk on the other side.

Kasovic is in Knappa until June, when she heads back to Cacak, Serbia, a city of more than 100,000 people.

It was interesting to experience it, but now I really love it, said Kasovic, who moved in with Anita and James Nichols. I am separate from my family, but I have a really good host family.

Art teacher Janet Hockman, in her first year at Knappa, made a concerted push to have students like Kasovic more represented in the auction. The effort resulted in more than 100 pieces of student artwork, from paintings and photos taken with cameras purchased by the foundation to ceramics and fiber arts.

In the future, I want to start having students do murals throughout the school, said Hockman. I want them to start using it to make the school a better place.

I just hope it sells, said 16-year-old junior Megan Davis about her first entry in the auction: an abstract still life of Astorias Bowpicker food vendor. The young artists painting fetched $50.

The top-selling item from this years auction was an Alaska Far West fishing trip donated by Pete and Joan Hanson, picked up for $2,400.

The pink weaponry that has become a trademark of the Knappa auction returned with a .22-caliber Keystone Cricket rifle and a Remington shotgun with pink grips, both donated by Teevin Bros.

Long-term honorees

She started out with the Knappa Schools Foundation 17 years ago, and every single year she has been here from start to finish with the dinners, said Tanner of Cheuvront, who once milked cows with her father in Brownsmead and worked her way up to CEO of Wauna Federal Credit Union. She is tireless, and she has endlessly supported Knappa schools and the kids.

Cheuvront, who was honored by Tanner at Saturdays auction, has been around Knappa for a while. The class of 1952 graduate and Wall of Fame inductee helped found the foundation, along with Teevin, and is still active. This year, she pulled back from organizing the auction and resigned after a decade on the Clatsop Community College Budget Committee.

Im going to be turning 80 this year, said Cheuvront, who will join the six or seven other graduates from her same class for a joint party later this year. While still active in the foundation, shes an Oregon State University master gardener and is involved in Kiwanis, among other engagements.

A longtime Knappa school employee, Secretary Cheri Geisler, also had her goodbye send-off. Geisler, whos worked for Knappa for 27 years, will have her last day June 30 and said she plans on doing nothing for at least two months after. Ill sleep in past 5:30 (a.m.).

Strong foundation

The foundation, which recently announced its net assets were more than $1 million, was established in 1997 to provide funding for academic programs and material, along with scholarships to graduating Knappa students. Since 1999, it has given nearly $240,000 in minigrants to buy new technology, supplies and programs for students, as well as training. The foundation also awarded $22,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors last year.

Ive seen it changing over the last few years, said Windsor, secretary for the nine-member foundation board since 2003.

The Knappa Schools Foundation has seen a recent influx in new members, many of whom were given scholarships on their way out of KHS. Among the new members are Brian Montgomery of Georgia-Pacific, Stephanie Sievers of Wauna Federal Credit Union, nurse Tonya Olds-Lampea and Windsor of Teevin Bros. and the Logger Restaurant.

The board awards scholarships to graduating seniors in May and awards minigrants in the fall.

I think it just proves over and over again how committed Knappa residents are, said Tanner about the overall outcome of Saturdays auction.