city/community news
february28
2012
Vernonia City News...
At the February 21, 2012 City Council Council Approves Contract for
Hydrology Study—Council authorized
Meeting:
City Administrator Haack to sign a
Mayor Appoints Buxton to Emergency contract with HDR Engineering to
Committee—With
approval
from conduct a hydrology assessment of
City Council, Mayor Josette Mitchell Rock Creek above the City’s wastewater
appointed Jim Buxton to the Vernonia lagoons. According to Haack the City
is attempting to prove through this
Emergency Preparedness Committee.
engineering model that the removal of
Council Approves Release of Escrow numerous structures in the flood zone
Funds for School—At the request of and a proposed change to a section of the
School Superintendent Ken Cox, the Linear Trail between the Vernonia Lake
Vernonia City Council approved the and the wastewater lagoons would allow
release of escrow funds of approximately the City to avoid a costly reconfiguration
$500,000 to be paid out to the Vernonia of the wastewater lagoons as part of their
School District.
The funds were Wastewater Facility Upgrade Project.
designated for the replacement of
Spencer Park to be developed at the City Rezoning Project to Begin—City
existing school site. (See story on front Administrator Haack reported to Council
on behalf of City Planner Carole Connell,
page.)
that the City has received grant funds of
5
$6,000 from the State Department of
Land Conservation and Development
and can now begin a planned re-zoing of
properties within the City.
property as a parking area for City Parks.
The City will acquire this property
in the near future through the FEMA
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and
the property is subject to flood plain
Council Approves Second Reading restrictions, which limit its uses. The
of Committee Ordinance—Council City will request that the paved parking
approved the second reading of area at the corner of Maple Street and
Ordinance 880 which establishes the Adams Avenue be allowed to remain
organization of all City Committees and paved and provide parking for City
prescribes the general powers and duties Parks.
of those committees. This restructuring
of City Committees has been a goal of Council
Approves
Personnel
Mayor Josette Mitchell since she took Handbook—Council approved a revised
office in January of 2011.
version of the City Personnel Handbook
for employees, a revised Communication
Council
Approves
Designation and Communications System Policy
of Parks Parking Area—Council and a revised Guidelines and Media
approved
Resolution 05-12 which Relations Policy. All of revisions had
would designated a portion of the former been prepared and reviewed by the City
West Oregon Electric Cooperative Legal Council.
Vernonian Becoming CASA Volunteer
By Scott Laird
Leslie Seibert believes she can
make a difference in a child’s life.
Seibert, who lives just outside
Vernonia, is getting ready to begin
training to become a CASA volunteer
in Columbia County through CASA for
Kids, Inc.
CASA stands for Court
Appointed Special Advocate. CASA
volunteers help make sure that abused
and neglected children who are in foster
care don’t fall through the cracks of our
overburdened legal and social-service
system.
“These kids have social workers
and they have attorneys—they have
professionals in their lives. But those
professionals have many other children
that they are also responsible for,”
explains Seibert. “And these kids just
really need an advocate that is focused
on them. That is really taking the time
to get to know them and to listen to their
story.”
CASA for Kids, Inc. screens,
trains, and supervises volunteers who
advocate for the best interests of children
in juvenile-dependency court system.
They have an office in St. Helens that
assists children in Columbia County.
Executive Director Kathryn
Bourn says that last year 253 children
in Columbia County were placed in
foster care. And that number is rising—
quickly. In 2009 it was 182.
“There are kids of all ages in
our county that are in foster care for one
reason or another and for them to have an
individual advocate that they can really
talk to, really get to know and trust—
that seems like a good idea to me,” says
new volunteer Seibert about the reasons
she chose to become a CASA volunteer.
“And that’s what they [CASA For
Kids] are doing. They’re taking people
continued on page 13
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