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The INDEPENDENT, February 16, 2000
Free car seat check-up set for child passenger safety awareness
A free child safety seat clinic
will be held Saturday, February
19, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00
p.m. at Mountain View Motors,
2175 Columbia Blvd., St. He
lens. The clinic is sponsored by
the local chapter of Oregon
Safe Kids, in partnership with
the Oregon Child Safety Seat
Resource Center and Mountain
View Motors.
The event is being held in
conjunction with Child Passen
ger Safety Awareness Week,
February 13-19, as part of a
national effort to help reduce
injuries and loss of life to chil
dren who are passengers in
motor vehicles.
According to Jay Tappan, St.
Helens Fire District and
spokesperson for the Safe Kids
Chapter, spot inspections con
ducted recently by the Oregon
Department of Transportation
showed 43 percent of Oregon’s
children under four are still not
Time to sign up for crop program
The federal Agriculture Ap
propriations Act for fiscal year
2000 provided $1.2 billion for
assistance to farm producers
who have suffered losses of
greater than 35 percent on
1999 crops due to natural dis
asters. Provisions of this pro
gram cover all crops, insured,
non-insured and non-insurable.
Advance payments of 35
percent will be issued after ap
plication approval. Final pay
ments will be made after all ap
plications, nationwide, are pro
cessed and the national pay
ment factor is determined.
Signup for this program
ends Feb. 25, 2000. Potential
participants should call the
Washington/Columbia Co. FSA
office for more information or
for an appointment, at (503)
648-3174 Ext. 2.
Sew-N-Things changes location
Dorothy Sullivan’s Sew-N-
Things, has been around for
what seems a lifetime —
around 25 years — starting in
her own home and establishing
a downtown presence in Ray
Deeth’s Banks business build
ing at 180 S. Main. After sever
al years in that location she re-
turned to her home location,
only to reappear in the Marcus
& Marcus Antique warehouse
on Main and Banks Road.
Coming full circle, she is
now back in the Deeth building
providing the same quality fab
rics and professional sewing.
Pick up INDEPENDENTS at office
ter to pay Paul” phenomenon
when, in order to get papers,
the missed person “borrows”
from another drop, leaving that
supplier with less papers than
needed for his customers.
To prevent this from happen
ing, we ask those missed to
come to The INDEPENDENT,
Occasionally a missed drop 725 Bridge Street, to pick up
results in a “borrowing from Pe your papers. Thank you.
Over the years, The INDE
PENDENT has developed a
self-correcting distribution sys
tem for a press run of 3,200 pa
pers based on the average de
mand at each drop, maximizing
the readership and minimizing
the waste of unused papers.
Earned Income Credit may aid you
The maximum income for a
family with one child is $26,928,
with maximum Federal EIC of
$2,312, and $116 from state.
A family with no children and
income under $10,200 may
qualify for Federal EIC of up to
$347 and State EIC of $17.
Directions for both federal
and state credits are included
with the tax forms.
Mentors needed
for Wheels Park
Youth in Action is looking for
adults to act as volunteer con-
sultants/mentors with youth
working on the campaign to de
velop a Wheels Park in Ver
nonia. Knowledge of fund rais
ing through grants, or other av
enues, would be helpful to the
youth who will be doing the ac
tual work.
Anyone who can help is
asked to call Lisa Orth at 429-
3018 after 6:00 p m.
Doing your income taxes
may not be fun but, if you qual
ify, could pay you more than it
costs you.
A family with two or more
children and income under
$30,580 may receive up to
$3,816 from the Federal
Earned Income Tax Credit and
$191 from the state.
riding in an approved safety
seat as required by state law.
Of those children who are
buckled up, four out of five are
not restrained properly. Tappan
says that this is a big reason
why over 2,000 children die
and 300,000 are injured nation
ally each year in traffic
mishaps.
“The seat clinic is a great
opportunity for families to have
their car seats examined by
safety specialists for proper in
stallation, condition, and to see
if there might be a recall on
their particular seat,” Tappan
said.
In a related effort, Oregon
State Police Sgt. Mike Dinge-
man says that OSP officers will
be working with local law en
forcement in heightening en
forcement of seat belt and child
restraint rules during this same
time frame.
“Our officers will be stepping
up enforcement of adult safety
belt laws because it’s a proven
fact that most adults who don’t
buckle themselves also don’t
buckle their kids,” said Dinge-
man. He added that 23 children
under the age of 14 died in
1999 in car crashes in Oregon.
Other organizations sup
porting the safety seat clinic
are St. Helens Fire District,
Program honors family businesses
Applauding the innovation
and hard work of family-owned
businesses, Oregon State Uni
versity’s Austin Family Busi
ness Program has opened
nominations for the 2000 Ore
gon Family Business of the
Year awards.
In conjunction with corpo
rate partner US Bank and
award sponsors MassMutual,
Perkjns & Companyi p.c ., and
Tar|ow Jordan & Schrader the
awards are open to any family
business with the exception of
prior winners, who may not win
again in the same category.
Nominations may be made by
anyone, including employees
and business associates and
should be sent by May 15.
Once selected, nominees
will receive an invitation to ap
ply along with instructions for
applications due June 30. Ap
plications will remain active for
three years.
Winners in six categories—
Large, Medium, Small, Old,
New and Women or Couple
Owned— will be honored at
Family Business Day, an edu
cational and award event slot
ted for Wednesday, November
15 at the Oregon Zoo, Cas
cade Crest Banquet Room, in
Portland.
For nomination forms or ad
ditional information, call the
Austin Family Business Pro
gram at 1-800-859-7609.
Clean-up day plans get underway
The sixth annual Vernonia
area Beautification/Clean-up/
Earth Day is scheduled for April
29. Vernonia Pride and SOLV
(Stop Oregon Litter and Van
dalism) are joining forces once
again to organize and fund this
event, which is a time of pride
and fun for all.
Beautification areas and
sites for litter pick up are being
targeted now, and enhance
ment projects are being
planned. SOLV-lt has already
awarded four $250.00 grants
for projects, and Vernonia
Pride has promised matching
funds where needed. The ball
is rolling, but it will take groups,
organizations, families, individ
uals — volunteers of all ages
ANNUAL
and skill levels to make it hap
pen!
Call Genny at 429-1204 or
Donna, 429-5201, if there is a
site you feel needs attention, or
for more information. Mean
while, plan to set this day aside
so everyone can work together
and make a difference in this
place we call “home."
Oregon State Police, Columbia
County Public Health, Colum
bia County Traffic Safety Com
mission, General Motors, Head
Start/Even Start, St. Helens
Police Dept., Rainier Police
Dept., St. Helens High School
Parenting Program, St. Helens
HIPPY Program, Community
Partnership Program, Colum
bia County Commission on
Children & Families, and Com
munity Action Team.
R id g e R id e rs
elect officers
Officers for the coming year
were elected at the 1999 Ver
nonia Ridge Riders year-end
banquet on January 15 at
Lew’s Place. Approximately 30
members attended.
George Bellingham will
serve as president in 2000, as
sisted by vice-president Tony
Gilbertson, secretary Shelly
Lende, treasurer Jeri Cropp,
and publicity secretary Liz
Brainerd.
The trophy for the 1999 All
Around Ridge Rider went to
Vern & Beth Weaver.
For more information about
the Ridge Riders, or to join the
saddle club, please contact
George Bellingham at 503-
429-9523.
S’
o
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429-4045
Pick up your FREE copy of
Computer B its at
The INDEPENDENT 725 Bridge
507 Rose Ave., Vernonia
You're Invited...
— > FREE
Fishing Seminar
Sunday, Feb. 20th, 1-4 pm
M E E TIN G T IM E
E lection o f O ffice rs • Door
F ebruary 23, 2 0 0 0 - 7:30 p.m.
Senior Citizens Center, 446 Bridge Street, Vernonia
Please use side entrance.
429-8031
VERNONIA FEDERAL
CREDIT UNION
Serving the Nehalem Valley since 1940
622 Bridge Street Vernonia, OR 97064
@ Vernonia Fire Station Meeting Room
Learn how you can improve
your catch by up to 80%!
Save time preparing your gear.
Save $$ on gear whether you
fish in a stream, from the bank,
or in a boat.
Bridge S treet Bait & Tackle
872 E. Bridge St., Vernonia • 429-2240