january16 2014
VERNONIA’S
volume8  issue2
www.vernoniasvoice.com
reflecting the spirit of our community
State of the City
School District Receives
State Grant for Career
and Technical Education
A Conversation with Vernonia Mayor Josette Mitchell

Josette Mitchell was elected May-
or of Vernonia and took office in January
of 2011. She was re-elected in 2013 after
running unopposed. At the age of 35 she
is one of the youngest Mayors in the state
of Oregon. In December of 2013, follow-
ing the dismissal of City Administrator
Bill Haack, Mitchell assumed the role of
temporary City Administrator, a role she
filled once before when Haack was fired
in 2011 before he was re-hired several
months later.

Vernonia’s Voice decided to check
in with Mayor Mitchell about the most re-
cent shake up at Vernonia City Hall and
get her perspective on what’s happening
in Vernonia as we start a new year.
1. How is the City doing financially this
fiscal year? Are there any major devia-
tions from the adopted budget?
In regards to the City budget, it is another
tight year. The economy has not yet rebounded,
we have quite a few foreclosed and bank owned
properties in town and that equates to a lower
amount of property tax income. Property tax in-
come is the primary source of revenue that makes
up the General Fund for the City. The County
informed us that there would be a $90,000 re-
duction in property tax revenue coming to the
City from what was forecasted. Fortunately, the
City Budget Committee had decided last year to
budget $50,000 below the forecast, so the City’s
real reduction in funds was $40,000 less than we
expected, troublesome but not as devastating as
it could have been. We would have potentially
had to reduce staff had we not made that deci-
sion to budget less than forecasted.
As far as deviations from the adopted bud-
get; since we have had changes in staff, along
with that comes payouts on banked vacation
time, etc. All still within the budget, however
some of the money that we would have used to
pay payroll may be reduced, limiting the options
inside
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for replacing said staff.
The City Council and staff are focused on
providing the essential services the community
deserves while maintaining the cost effective
strategies we need to follow to be financially
prudent. I think this next budget cycle will be
difficult, hard choices will have to be made.
Funds will have to support themselves or make
cuts. The involvement of the community will
be vital as the Budget Committee discusses and
makes these decisions.
2. Is the new Health Center still on track to
begin construction this spring?
The Council recently had an update from the
Health Board members regarding their project.
We were told they plan to break ground in Feb-
ruary. The City Council and Health Board are
currently working together to draw up a 50 year
lease agreement for the City land the new Health
Center will be built upon. The process has been
longer than we all would like, however it is im-
portant to acknowledge that this lease will need
to layout all potential issues that may come up
continued on page 19

The
Oregon
Department of Education and
Bureau of Labor and Industries
jointly announced this week
that the Vernonia School
District has been awarded a
$250,000 grant for Career and
Technical Education (CTE)
Revitalization. Funds from this
highly competitive grant will
be used to enlarge and finalize
the school’s current shop
facilities, providing space for
construction and metals classes,
as well as expand the school’s
current CTE course offerings.

“The district is both
very pleased and highly
honored to have been awarded
this grant by the Department
of Education,” said district
superintendent Dr. Kenneth
Cox. “It is our firm belief that
our students have to graduate
high school prepared for
their next step in life, and this
expansion of our program will
better enable those wishing
to embark on a wider array of
career options.”

Funds
from
the
Department of Education will
also provide planning time for
staff to expand existing CTE
programs in both Construction
and Digital Arts, and enable the
district to add new programs in
both Engineering and Forestry/
Natural Resources. The grant
will also enhance the current
natural resource curriculum
and provide at least six summer
internships for Vernonia High
School students, both on site
and in association with local
agency partnerships.

Two
summer
internships will be available
for Vernonia High School
students through Stub Stewart
State Park, two with the Upper
Nehalem Watershed Council,
and two will work with the
Vernonia School District. These
internships will be designed to
increase local job opportunities
and career training for students
and provide much needed
human resources for local
partners.

“These programs and
internships are key additions
to the District’s overall
effort to work with local
business partners,” stated
Aaron Miller, principal of
Vernonia Elementary School
and manager of the school
district’s natural resources and
sustainability programs. “We
are grateful for this new and
much-needed investment to
provide a well-rounded menu of
academic programs that allow
our students to develop the
skills they will need to prepare
for their future in college, trade
school and the work force.”

This is one of 24 CTE
grants recently announced
which total $8.87 million.
Additional information can be
found at http://www.ode.state.
or.us/search/page/?id=4050
Older Vernonia Grads Are Giving Back

Many Vernonia Alumni
are still connected to their former
community, particularly their old
school and now the new school.

Jim and Kathy Eckland
started The Vernonia Alumni Sports
Initiative in October, 2012, to raise
funds for the completion of athletic
fields and facilities at the new
schools. According to Jim Eckland,
during the past 15 months over
$50,000 has been contributed by 130
Alumni, in amounts ranging from
$20 to $10,000.

In addition, members of
the Class of 1973 organized the
“Give Back Bash” in early August
and donated over $10,000 to the
fund. An additional $4,000 was
contributed through the Gary Davis
Memorial last winter.

With almost $65,000 raised
in just over a year, the Vernonia
Education Foundation now has
enough money set aside to begin
work on a softball field at the new
The VHS Class of 1973 raised over $10,000 at the Give Back Bash
and donated it towards the Alumni Sports Initiative.
school campus later this spring.

Significantly, most of the
$50,000 the Ecklands have raised
through the Alumni Sports Initiative
has come through the hard work and
generosity of past graduates. Even
more significantly, 98% of those
funds were contributed by Alumni
who graduated prior to 1975.

Every summer, on the third
Sunday of August, over 100 former
Vernonia High School grads from
the 1940s thru the 1960s return to
Vernonia and gather at Anderson
Park to meet classmates and relive
old memories. Many of these same
Vernonia Alumni have contributed
monetarily to the new schools, some
during the construction phase and
continued on page 10