schools - community
july
2009
The Boys and Girls of Summer
9
Big Hits
Vernonia’s Senior, Junior,
Midget and Junior Midget
Baseball Teams were all
having good seasons---three
of the clubs were undefeat-
ed at the end of June and
looked to be headed for the
state playoffs
It’s Not Easy
Being Green
Students
Help
Clean Up Vernonia Lake
Baseball’s not the
easiest game to learn,
especially when you’re
just starting out. These
rookies are working
hard to stay focused.
At a recent City Parks Committee Meeting, the pub-
lic was asked what they would like to see our parks
look like. Three VHS students in attendance, Bon-
nie Birkmier, Katie Wilson and Genesis Castro spoke
up, and volunteered to organize a Parks clean-up
day. Well, the girls came through and in mid June a
group of ten students spent the morning, scrubbing,
painting, weed wacking and sprucing up around
Vernonia Lake. The students were then treated to a
BBQ lunch provided by Larry Smethen and Sentry
Market. The hope is to continue with more parks
clean up projects with students again next year.
Take Me Out
To the Ballpark
Vernonia Baseball recognized their coaches and players with their annual
Appreciation Ceremony and fundraiser in June. Each player is honored
with a trip around the bases and the money raised will be used to take the
player to a Portland Beavers game later this summer.
Vernonia School District Makes Cuts
By Scott Laird
The long expected and highly dreaded
cuts to the Vernonia School District Budget
for next year have become a reality. With a
shortage in state funding and reductions to
school districts all over the state, the Vernonia
School Board was forced to make cuts in staff,
staff support, student services and supplies.
The cuts didn’t appear to be quite as drastic as
originally expected and creative personnel and
budget moves helped reduce the number of staff
cuts and program cuts.
Superintendent Ken Cox, in an
interview with Vernonia’s Voice spoke about
the difficulty of putting together this budget,
and the tough choses he and the school board
had to make. It’s been a real challenge,” said
Cox. “We notified some of these people around
Christmas. Some of these changes we weren’t
sure how they were going to work out until just
a few weeks ago.”
In the Budget Message for 2009-2010
Fiscal Year, Superintendent Cox notes that
losses in student population as a direct result of
the flood, and a deteriorating economy, have led
to a projected 11% decrease in revenue.
Significant cuts that were made to the
budget include:
At Washington Grade School- The
music teacher position was eliminated and
Kindergarten will be half day mornings and
Owned and Operated by
Don & Kim Wallace
afternoons, Monday through Thursday and
alternate Fridays.
At Vernonia Middle School- The Principal and
Councilor positions have been eliminated.
At Vernonia High School- The Athletic
Director was cut from .6 to .4 time, with
no assistant principal duties and Golf and
Equestrian sports reduced to club status.
Other reductions include: the current
Special Education director changed from .5 to
.25 time and the Special Education secretary
position was eliminated. A number of other
personnel have been reassigned. 1.6 teachers
positions at Washington Grade School who
retired will not be replaced. Calendar days for
all staff have been reduced by at least ten days.
The number of student contact days will be 170.
“We’ve had to be innovative,” said
Superintendent Cox.
Cox noted in the Budget Message that
the decisions about where to make cuts were
not made just by district staff but included input
from a Budget Assistance Team that included
principals, teachers, a business manager, a
budget committee member and community
members, before being sent to staff for final
preparation.
In the Budget Message Cox states
that this budget “...does not meet the current
needs of the district but it does fulfill our fiscal
responsibility to the patrons of the Vernonia
School District.”
VHS Spring Sports Wrap-Up
By Gordon Jarman
Equestrian Team- Four girls made the all
league team and the team was represented at
state by the same four girls. The Vernonia High
School drill team participated in the state meet
this year which was held in Southern Oregon.
The all league and state participants were
Mackenzie Tarkalson, Jamie Benes Ashley
Paleck and Briana Carr, who was also the team
MVP award winner for this year. There were
eight participants on the team with the previous
mentioned ladies leading the way in competition
and positive contributions.
At the spring sports dessert, the
following athletes earned the top honors. In
track and field Blake Moellar was selected as
the most valuable athlete for the year while
Justin Caputo was selected as the best all around
athlete and Timothy Pillow was selected as the
most inspirational athlete. Katy Stevens earned
the honors of most improved athlete.
On the Equestrian team Brianna Carr
earned the most valuable award while Jamie
Benes
was selected as the most inspirational athlete
and Brett Benes was selected as the most
improved equestrian athlete.
In baseball Chris Dass was selected
as the most improved while Caleb Rice was
selected as the most inspirational and Alex
Lende was selected as the most valuable student
athlete.
In Golf Jacob Alf was selected as
the most improved and Paul Whiteman was
selected as the most valuable golfer.
In Softball Kelsey Brown was named
the most improved player and Chelsea Patton
was named the most inspirational player while
Souvanny Miller earned the most valuable
award.
That winds up the spring sports
season as well as the year for the loggers for
2008-2009. There are several teams and
coaches working hard to help prepare the
athletes for the upcoming year. Regular fall
practices start August 24 th . Both boys and
girls basketball teams are working hard on
summer league programs while football has
started weightlifting as well as spring/summer
workouts and the volleyball team is set to start
their summer program in July. Although it may
seem like we are just finishing the year, and we
are, it is time to think about next years seniors
and teams and the legacy they want to leave
VHS. It is never too early to start preparing
for next years competition. There is a direct
correlation to the amount of time and work you
put into preparing yourself for competition in
the off season and the amount of success you
will achieve next season.
One final note as we wrap up the
VHS sports year: Recently Byron Schorzman
and Jason Weller from VHS were selected
to play in the 3A Oregon All Star basketball
series. They will be playing with and against
the best 3A basketball seniors in the state. This
is a great honor. I can’t remember the last time
when a Vernonia player was selected to play in
this game let alone two. If you see them around
town, please congratulate them.