august21 2014
VERNONIA’S
volume8  issue16
www.vernoniasvoice.com
reflecting the spirit of our community
Seniors Look for Answers
Before Construction of New Center
By Scott Laird

The Vernonia Senior Center Board
of Directors is getting ready to take the first
steps towards construction of their new joint
facility with the Vernonia Cares Food Bank.
Yet there are several questions that need to
be answered before they move forward.

The issues the Seniors must sort
through over the next several months in-
clude securing all needed funding for con-
struction, planning which existing and new
programs will be included at the new facil-
ity; the size and design of the new facility;
an interim plan to provide services between
demolition of their old building and comple-
tion of construction of the new facility; and
how to create an operations budget that al-
lows the center to function and be financially
successful.

The Vernonia Senior Center has his-
torically provided congregate meals for their
members during lunch time on weekdays.
The Center also provides social activities for
members as well as some health and social
services. A Thrift Store inside the facility
takes donations and is a main source of fund-
ing for the operation of the center. The hope
among Senior Center members, the Board
and other supporters is that a brand new fa-
cility will enliven the membership base and
bring more activity and usage to the center.

On August 18, 2014 the Vernonia
City Council held a hearing to determine
whether to apply for a Community Develop-
ment Block Grant (CDBG) and to consider
potential projects the City might apply for.
Several members of the community spoke
in favor of the City making an application
on behalf of the Vernonia Senior Center for
construction of a new Senior Center facility.

CDBG funds were previously used
to construct the Vernonia Community Learn-
ing Center and can be used for public fa-
cility and housing improvements, including
infrastructure projects. CDBG funds are
continued on page 3
Superintendent Explains K-2
Blended Classes to Concerned Parents

Over twenty people attended the
August 14, 2014 Vernonia School Board
meeting, most of them there to express con-
cerns about the District’s plan to group all
kindergarten through second grade students
together for instruction this coming school
year.

After hearing the concerns of one
parent, School Board Chair Bill Langmaid
asked Superintendent Aaron Miller to ex-
plain the rationale for the decision to place
students in five K-2 blended classrooms this
school year.

Other parents raised questions and
expressed their own personal concerns
throughout the rest of the discussion, which
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lasted for over an hour. The parents were
mostly focused on how individual student’s
needs would be addressed in a blended class-
room setting.

Miller told the audience that the ini-
tial impetus for the move was the breakdown
of numbers of registered students in each of
the three grade levels. “As we were look-
ing at those numbers and trying to figure out
how to put them into equitable class sizes
between the four teachers, there were no
good options,” explained Miller. Miller said
that even by adding a fifth teacher there were
still big disparities in class sizes and went on
to explain that the solution to blend all three
grades came from the teachers themselves
continued on page 14
Vernonia Geographic
Provides Tools
and Information

The City of Vernonia is
moving forward and making the
best use of new technologies to
make their administrative office
more efficient, accurate and
accessible.

Ben Fousek, a contractor
for the City, is the owner of Vernonia
Geographic Information Systems
(VGIS). Through VGIS Fousek
has worked on several projects to
create information systems that
provide technological tools to make
the work of city staff simpler.

“Staff is pleased that we
have it because it is a good reference
for us to go to for information,”
said Vernonia City Recorder Joann
Glass. “It helps us find specific
information very quickly that we
need to do our jobs. It makes our
job easier and saves time and makes
us more efficient.”

Fousek says his hope is
to help city staff do their job by
building usable systems and “...
finding ways to make things more
efficient but not too tech heavy.”

Fousek will be hosting
an open forum on August 28 th for
citizens to learn more about GIS
and the new Vernonia Geographic
website he recently launched.

The following are some of
the projects Fousek has recently
worked on for the City of Vernonia.
Called COVIS (City of Vernonia
Information System), the system
is designed to be scalable and be
expandable for any use which staff
may need. “Staff is using this site
continuously,” says Fousek. Some
of the features include nuisance
violation tracking, and Vernonia
Memorial Cemetery web map
and burial database. The COVIS
platform is also being used to host
tools to make staff more efficient.
One example is a parcel buffer
tool. “A common planning task
is notifying landowners within
a certain distance of a property
that a land use action is being
considered,” explains Fousek. “In
the past staff would have to look
at a map and then identify all the
properties within a certain radius
for notification. This simple tool
quickly produces an accurate list of
properties for this purpose with the
click of a button.”
Address Updates

The VGIS uses addresses
from the county’s tax data. Some
site address information is incorrect.
There are also some inconsistencies
in street names, direction prefixes,
etc. VGIS is working to update
this information and share it with
Columbia County and Columbia
County 911 to improve their data
sets as well. “We’re working
City of Vernonia Information to improve not just the City’s
System (COVIS)
information base but the county and

The City of Vernonia has others who rely on this data,” says
launched a web based internal Fousek.
GIS and information system.
continued on page 10
New Day Massage to Expand Services

After spending several years
on hiatus, Heather Lewis is ready to
re-open her New Day Massage prac-
tice in Vernonia to new patients.

Lewis, one of Vernonia’s
best and most talented health care
providers, has continued to treat her
chronic and regular clients while she
spent the last several years working
with the Vernonia Health Board on
the construction of their new Health
Center. Lewis says she is now ready
to get back to providing health care
therapy.

“Now that the health center
is preparing to open, I want to re-
engage with the general community
and expand my services,” said Lewis
during a recent interview at her of-
fice.

Lewis will hold an Open
House on Saturday, September 6 th
from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM. It’s a
chance to see her office and facilities
if you’ve never been there before,
ask questions, get to know Lewis,
Heather Lewis in her studio at New Day Massage.
and receive a $5 off coupon for an
upcoming visit. Lewis’s ‘New Day
Massage’ office is located at 847
Madison Avenue.

The official business name is
‘New Day Medical Therapies, Con-
sulting and Solutions.’ “That busi-
ness name reflects the other work
I have been doing with the Public
Health Foundation of Columbia
County where I’m still a Board mem-
continued on page 8