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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2016)
september15 2016 www.vernoniasvoice.com reflecting the spirit of our community Helping a Burro Find a Home Two years ago Leslie Seeburger took in and trained a wild burro as part of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Great Burro Turnaround Chal- lenge. The BLM’s program cap- tures wild burros and relocates them with volunteer trainers in an effort to help find the burro a per- manent home. Seeburger worked with Cali Girl for several months before she was auctioned and sold to benefit the BLM program. This year Seeburger has once again trained a burro on her small farm on Pebble Creek Road in Vernonia through the BLM re- location program. Mona Lisa is a two year old jenny burro that came from the 1 million acre Arizona Cibo- la-Trigo Herd Management Area (HMA) in Yuma County. Mona Lisa was sold at the Oregon State Fair on September 1 to a family in Mona Lisa was trained by Leslie Seeburger and Sherwood. sold at the Oregon State Fair on1September 7. “Mona Lisa is out of a dif- gars and coyotes. Mona Lisa was one of ferent herd with a totally different mind- 15 burros captured and relocated by the set,” says Seeburger about the difference BLM this year. between her two charges. “You wouldn’t Seeburger trains the burros for ap- even know you are dealing with same proximately 100 days and teaches them to breed of creature.” be handled, to carry a saddle, and navigate The wild burros are captured by an obstacle course. Mona Lisa is excellent the BLM in corrals because they wander at walking across a narrow plank, jumping outside the HMA and create a hazard situ- over barrels and walking through a bed of ation for both motorists and themselves. plastic bottles – a very difficult task for a The Cibola-Trigo HMA is home to both wild burro. She also is very affectionate wild burros and horses. The burros and and loves to be praised and scratched says horses share the habitat with bighorn sheep, desert mule deer, rattlesnakes, cou- continued on page 16 School District Responds to Exchange Student Sanctions Before this school year start- ed the ASSE International Student Exchange Program levied sanctions against the Vernonia School District (VSD) that involves a one year ban that does not allow “ASSE students with basketball listed as an interest on their application... to be placed at Vernonia High School.” At the September 8, 2016 School Board meeting Vernonia School District Superintendent Aaron Miller shared with the School Board his letter to ASSE Executive Director Gwen McNallan, written in response to the sanctions and dated August 17, 2016. “I find this decision to be ex- tremely discriminatory for our host parents, school, and most important- ly our and your exchange students,” said Miller in his critical letter. In a usual school year Verno- nia will place between 15 and 20 ex- change students with families in the community through the ASSE pro- gram, which Miller suggests might be one of the highest rates, per capita, of any school in the country. This year Vernonia was only able to place nine students from ASSE, along with three more from other exchange stu- dent programs. “I know of at least four students who were told they could not come here,” said Vernonia resident Jeana Gump at the meeting. The Gump family is currently host- ing their fifth exchange student in as Community Action Team: The First 50 Years Part 8: Families with new babies get support in powerful and meaningful ways for 50 years. One program with a particularly long-lasting impact has been in effect for about 20 years: Healthy Families. As By Leanne Murray part of the Child and Family Develop- ment Department at CAT, it focuses on Community Action Team (CAT) providing extra support and information has been reaching out to the community to pre-natal and new-birth families. At each visit parents receive support and coaching to cultivate and strengthen a nurturing, positive rela- tionship with their baby so s/he is safe, healthy and learning. This includes in- formation on topics like child develop- ment, infant care, parenting skills, and what is going on in the community to vernonia school support new families. Research shows bond explained that the quality of the relationship be- tween a parent and their child is critical for the health, well-being, and later life canaan dog project success. There are many situations that make a family eligible to receive Healthy Family services. Generally they include vhs fall circumstances that stretch parents and sports preview families too thin: unstable housing, un- employment, rocky relationships, multi- ple children under five years old, a child vrfpd training with special needs, involvement with captain hired the child welfare system, depression, substance abuse, and the lack of natural support systems like extended family or caring neighbors. inside 3 5 9 15 free VERNONIA’S volume10 issue18 many years. Miller noted in his explana- tion to the School Board that he be- lieved complaints against the VSD and their basketball programs had been lodged by several districts that compete in the same league as Verno- nia. “Surprisingly, many of them are private schools who I believe have recruiting privileges,” said Miller. According to Miller, the Or- egon Scholastic Athletic Association (OSAA) has investigated the VSD and found no violations in regards to recruiting or eligibility of exchange student players in their sports pro- grams. “While having to address these concerns may not have been comfortable for your organization, your investigations have shown no wrong doing, because there is none, and we request you remove these sanctions immediately,” stated Mill- er in his letter to ASSE’s McNallan. “We are not looking to have this rul- ing changed in order to ensure we have basketball players from your program attending our school, but to ensure that ALL of our families and your students have the same opportu- nities that are available to everyone in the state, and the country.” Miller said the VSD has not received a response from ASSE. “What has made our program so exemplary is that we are good at continued on page 13 CAT’s pro- gram is part of Healthy Families Oregon, Or- egon’s largest child abuse and neglect prevention program. The evidence-based home visiting model has shown reductions in child maltreatment and increases in chil- dren’s readiness for school. Children are most vulnerable to (Left to right) Healthy Families Home Visitors Andrea physical abuse and ne- Broadbent, Shelby Wacker, and Kathy Appel. glect in the first few the Department of Education. The addi- years of their life, so this is critical. tional resources gave CAT the ability to As with most supportive programs at expand services by hiring two additional CAT, reaching out sooner is better. Ide- home visitors, tripling the amount of ally, Healthy Families staff would like to staff members in the community. Home connect with a family during pregnancy, visitors have backgrounds in early child- even if it’s not the first baby. After the hood education with an endorsement birth of a child, home visitors must start in mental health. Additional training is building their relationship with the fam- undertaken through a rigorous 120 hour ily within the first 90 days. Typically program led by the state. Families answer potential participants are referred to the a new baby questionnaire to give staff an program by the hospitals, doctors, other accurate assessment of the strengths the CAT programs and community partner family already has, as well as identify- agencies like DHS. ing areas where they have unmet needs. Currently there is not a waiting In addition, home visitors make referrals list in Columbia County because CAT to other CAT programs and community recently got a boost in funding through partners for needs that aren’t addressed Healthy Families Oregon/America and continued on page 16