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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2009)
schools VHS Fall Sports Preview Football-- Two losses to non- league opponents to start the season have not dampened the enthusiasm of first-year head coach Brad Baker. “I think we have one of the toughest non- league schedules in the entire state,” said Baker after big loss- es to Sheridan and Knappa. Two more tough op- ponents are on the schedule, Amity and Portland Christian, before the Loggers start 2009 league play at home against Rainier on October 9th. This year’s Homecoming Game will fall on October 23rd against Neah-Kah-Nie. “The playoffs are still an attainable goal,” said Baker. The top three finishers in league play make the playoffs, and Baker appears confident that Vernonia will be in contention. “Rainier looks to be the best of the league, but we should be fighting it out with the other four teams for those two spots.” Baker has a roster that is not just small in numbers, but small in stature and limited in experi- ence. “We’re up to about thirty players, now that school has started,” said Baker. “About half of our roster is freshman, and the next biggest class is soph- omores.” The squad has only six seniors and four juniors. “We have some good leadership from our seniors, there’s just not a lot of them. It’s a young group,” said Baker. “We have a lot of guys who haven’t played any Varsity ball before, who are get- ting some good experience, not only for this year, but for future years.” “We have some good players at our skilled positions,” continues Baker. “Alex Lende is play- ing quarterback and running back for us. Charles Tungwenuk is our number-one receiver. Joe Benes is a sophomore who is playing running back and quarterback. We have a couple of linemen who have started for three years-- Levi Timmerman and Bran- don Gilbertson. They’re providing some good leadership for us.” 2009 11 test of the season. The team beat Knappa, Neah- Kah-Nie, and Tillmook to advance to the champion- ship match where they defeated Warrenton. “The girls really played cohesively,” said Coach Brooke Vanmeter. Vanmeter was even more excited when Cross Country-- Coach James Brookins is pretty excited about this year’s Cross Coun- try squad. “We’ve had a good start to our season,” said Brookins in mid- September. “We have a full Boys team and a full Girls team this year.” With some very good young talent that is showing lots of po- The VHS Volleyball Team were the winners of the season tential and some good returning opening Neah-Kah-Nie Tournament. upperclassmen, Brookins has the makings of a deep team. “At our first meet, we had our first five girls finish the Lady Loggers defeated Rainier for the first time in under 30:00. That’s the first time I re- in school history on September 22. “That was a re- member that happening,” said Brookins. ally big win for us.” “And at one of our first meets, we had six Vanmeter has eight seniors on her team this boys all finish in under 22:15, and again year and three juniors. “This is an older team this that’s as good a start as we’ve had in a long time.” year that’s been playing together for a long time,” On the girls’ side, Katy Stevens has been said Vanmeter. “And a really great bunch of girls. running first, with Souvanny Miller and sophomore The nicest, most accepting of each other that I’ve Kim Allen trading second and third place on the ever coached in nine years.” team. Sami Morgan joined the team late and fresh- Vanmeter feels she has a very balanced and man Rowan Cheney, sophomore Crystal Carreon, re- deep team this year with three setters, three good turning letterman Adrienne East and middle schooler middle blockers, five outside hitters and three great Hannah Fleck have all been contributing. back row players. “This is probably the most versa- On the boys’ side, Jackson Miller has been tile team I’ve coached,” said Vanmeter. leading the team, followed by freshman Nathan “Our theme this year is ‘No Regrets,’” says Fleck, Paul Whiteman, Kodi Dyer, Daniel Shaw and Vanmeter. “With so many seniors-- this is probably exchange student Petr Jaranek. Those top six runners their last year to play competitive ball. So this is have been joined by middle schoolers Drew Cheney the time to lay it on the line, play to their capacity and C.J. Hieronimus, who show great potential. and when they leave the floor, don’t have regrets-- be “I’m pretty optimistic that this is going to be able to say ‘I played as hard as I could.’” a good season,” said Coach Brookins. Coach Vanmeter is working on the confi- The only home Cross Country race this year dence level of her players, after a tough year last year is the Vernonia Relays on October 22, the one chance when her team lost a lot of close matches. “I don’t to see our local runners here. think there is a better team than us in this league this year, they just need to learn to pull out those close Volleyball-- The Varsity Volleyball team took first matches.” place at the Neah-Kah-Nie Tournament, their first “Beyond the Field” Comes to Vernonia in November This November, with the help of the Vernonia Prevention Coalition, the Vernonia School District has in- vited 150 administrators, coaches and Athletic Directors from Columbia, Tillamook, Washington, and Clatsop Counties to join us in taking a step further in providing a safe and healthy community for all students. This two day event, entitled “Beyond the Field,” is designed for administrators, teach- ers, coaches, volunteers, parents and students. John Underwood, Founder of the American Athletic Association and creator of the innovative pro- gram “PURE PERFORMANCE,” has gained international prominence and has been a guest speaker for many forums in Oregon and throughout the U.S. In August, 2009, the American Athletic Institute, of which he is the president and founder, is proud to an- nounce that New Mexico is the 2nd state in the US to go statewide with the “Life Of An Athlete” program. This program was geared toward student- athletes and was focused on the nega- tive effects alcohol consumption has on athletes’ lives and their athletic per- formance. october On Thursday, November 19 th , administrators, coaches and athletic directors will have an opportunity to work with each other to envision how they can develop and collaborate on a unified strategy for students. That evening, parents, care providers, busi- ness owners and community members are invited to join John and the Verno- nia Prevention Coalition to highlight how we can build a safe community where our kids can grow to their full potential. Friday, November 20 th , sur- rounding schools are invited to join the Vernonia 3 rd -12 th grades in attend- ing an assembly led by John and VSD staff. This interactive program will help give kids the skills to refuse the pressures of ATOD abuse and develop a strong sense as a person who can make healthy choices that affect their future. For more on John Underwood and the American Athletic Institute, go to www.americanathleticinstitute.org. For more information on attending ei- ther day of this event, contact DeAnna Pearl by phone at (503) 369-7370 or on-line at DeAnna@vernonia-or.gov. Students and parents head to school on the first day of classes in early September. Morning fog re- minded students that summer re- ally was over. Vernonia School District Receives Good News About Bond Headed into the final month be- fore Election Day, the Vernonia School District has received some good news concerning the School Bond for $13 mil- lion dollars that voters are being asked to approve on November 3rd. “We have received word that we have been approved for the Quali- fied School Construction Bond (QSCB) program,” said Vernonia Superintendent Ken Cox in an interview just before press time. QSCB is a new program recently ap- proved as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Stimulus Bill). How qualifying for this program will affect the Vernonia School Bond is still being decided, as details were still being worked out. What it does mean is substantial savings for Vernonia residents if they do approve the Bond Measure. The program allows for no interest or low interest (less than 2%) loans to back the Bonds, depending on the market at the time the Bonds are being sold. That means the possibility of either a reduced length of time that residents would have to pay, or a reduced amount each year. District officials and Bond experts are still trying to figure out how to best take advantage of this opportunity.