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About Vernonia freedom. (Vernonia, Oregon) 1978-198? | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1981)
JIM BUXTON & C BEUL KEASEY RT BOX 136 VERNONIA OR 97064 8 PAGES 250 freedom^ Thursday August 27.1981 VOL 3 NO. 42 Serving the Nehalem Valley VHS principal faces school year with "mixed emotions" by Dennis Dobson Calling his first year in Vernonia as VHS principal “A very positive experience,” Randall Aultman is looking forward to the coming year with mixed emotions. Caught between the press of sharply reduced programs and the desire to provide Vernonia's high school students with the best educational opportunities he can. Aultman says, “As always, the strongest emphasis is still on academics. My biggest disappointment this year has been the need to cut back on extra-curricular activities for all of our students,” he adds. Curriculum changes, the formation of a new Occupational Versatility Program and the expanded facilities the Chevrolet Garage acquisition represents are all going to help maintain the standards this district has set, Aultman says. “Academically, we’re stronger this year than last. Social Studies, especially, will be improved,” Aultman says. “I’m really enthused over the new additions to our teaching More on new gas well . Northwest Natural Gas Company has announced that the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Oregon Natural Gas Development Corporation, together with its joint venture partners, Reichhold Energy Corporation and Diamond Shamrock Corporation, have discovered a new natural gas well in the Mist area of northwestern Oregon. Mr. Miller stated that the new well tested a flow rate of 2.6 million cubic feet per day through a restricted orifice. “We are very pleased with this new natural gas find, which is yet another step in our efforts to secure the company’s energy future,” he said. Mr. Miller pointed out that the new well is the eighth producing natural gas well discovered in the Mist area. Natural gas in commercial quantities was first discovered in the Mist area of Oregon in May 1979. John Van Bladeren, vice president of Oregon Natural, said of the new Mist find, “It’s a very good quality commercial well,” having a test flow pressure of 775 pounds per square inch. Van Bladeren pointed out that the well is located in a new and separate reservoir, the fifth such pool to be discovered near Mist. Van Bladeren saidr “until we do additional drilling, we won’t know the size of the new pool.” The testing of the new Mist well was completed coincident with the “christening” of a new drilling rig at a wildcat well site near Olney, 22 miles west of the Mist area. The new drilling rig is locally owned by a partnership of Oregon Natural, Riedel International, Inc., and Voorhees Rig Company. Smoke detectors recalled According to local fire department officials some commercial and residential battery-operated photoelectric smoke detectors sold since 1979 under the brand names of Chloride Pyrotector, Archer, Masterguard, Vanguard, Vantage I and Protect-er Systems are being recalled. A number of potentially defective units have been sold to Vemonians. A potentially defective electronic microchip may prevent the alarm from sounding in the presence of smoke these officials say. The recall is being conducted voluntarily by the Chloride Pyrotector Division of Chloride, Inc., Hingham, Mass., in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Some of the firm’s 185,000 smoke detectors manufactured from March 1, 1979 to March 15, 1981 may contain a transistor array semiconductor that will not operate in the presence of smoke. Owners of the smoke detectors have been asked by the manufacturer to remove the back plate of the product so that the model or code number may be checked on the interior housing. Potentially defective smoke detectors include the following: Chloride Pyrotector - Models 3077, 3078, or 3079; Archer number 275453 sold through Radio Shack; Masterguard MGB 360; Vanguard 817; and Protect-er Systems P365. Potentially defective models also will have a 6-digit date code on the housing showing dates between 030179 and 031581. Consumers wishing to verify the model number should contact CPSC’s toll-free Hotline at 800-638-8326; in Maryland, call 800-492- 8363; and in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands call 800-638-8333. Commercial and residential users may verify the integrity of the smoke detectors by testing the horn with a fresh factory specified 9- volt battery. If the horn sounds when the test button is pressed, the detector does not contain a defective microchip; if the horn does not sound, the user is requested to call Roberta Calla of Chloride Pyrotector at 1-800-343-5647 for instructions on where to send the product for a free replacement or repair. staff,” he added. Aultman gets excited when he talks about the new Occupational Versatility (OV) program that will begin this year. “By knocking down some walls in our old shop space, and instituting the OV program two teachers can now handle as many as 35 students in five vocational skill areas. In the past we had a number of instructors teaching a class of five to nine students each, in cramped quarters,” Aultman said. “That’s not really efficient,” he added. In addition to better utilizing the existing shop space, the area formerly used as Auto Class now contains athletic equipment, such as the Universal Gym and the weights, that had to be carted about all year long from one location to another simply because there was no permanent space for them. Aultman feels the acquisition of the old Chevrolet garage (or Davies garage, as it is sometimes known), .represents a marked improvement over the facilities in use up to last year. “The district made a good deal on this property,” he says. “Renovating the facility only cost the district for the wiring and personnel hours in fixing it up. The owner paid for the heating system, the insulation and all the rest,” he added. For that investment, and a reasonable rental fee, the school gets two classrooms, small engine repair and advanced metal working space and enough room for the automotive students to work on as many as eight to ten cars at a time. All of this and space left over as well. Moving these Vocational Skills classes into the garage has enabled the school to better utilize the old shop space and consolidate classes more effectively. “This garage fulfills our needs at a reasonable cost. We certainly couldn’t afford to build a facility like this,” Aultman says. A program instituted last year, Saturday School, has been an unqualified success, Aultman said. “As a matter of fact, it’s been so successful that it has been continued in this year’s budget and other school districts are interested enough ii) it to want details of the program to study for their own use,” he says. The secret of its success seems to lie in the stigma that a student’s friends attach to anyone lazy enough to find himself spending his Saturday’s making up school instead of out and around. “Oddly enough,” Aultman says, “the kids themselves are often the program’s strongest supporters.” Aultman, who attended VHS in his own high school days, says he has experienced no awkward feeling at all in being the principal here. “Not only do I like Vernonia, but I’ve always felt I am more effective in smaller school systems,” he says. “If a school is too large for me to remember my students names, then I don’t want to work there,” he added.
