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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 2000)
The INDEPENDENT, September 20, 2000 Lotters to the Editor: Between the Bookends opens in 1919, with Amanda Starkey returning to her family home in rural Wisconsin. Amanda is returning because her shame from having The newest and most eye-catching addition been seduced by a dishonorable married man to the library is the tile mural in the entryway. has caused her to have a nervous breakdown. This was done by the Hands On Art Center fol Within a year, her beloved sister Mathilde lowing the ‘96 flood in Vernonia and colorfully drowns under mysterious circumstances. depicts feelings and memories of youngsters Mathilde’s husband, Carl, returns from the war and adults relating to that event. The mural (yet to find his small daughter, Ruth, in Amanda’s to be framed) is a wonderful work of art and a tenacious grip. Amanda will tell him nothing great addition to the library. about the night his wife drowned. The circum Cataloging is progressing with 4,073 items stances of that fateful night plague Carl, Aman having been entered in the computer. Since the da and Ruth and keep the reader intrigued to the process began in June, a total of 150 volunteer final page. hours have been used to save $975.00 if mini Winter Range takes place during a hard, mum wage had been paid for their work, or Montana winter. When Sheriff Ike Parsons, $1,955.00 if the items had been converted elec hears that rancher, Chas. Stubblefield, has fall tronically. These volunteers have been doing a en on hard times, he plans to offer assistance. remarkable job. They remain committed to com When he finds Stubblefield’s cattle starving in pleting the project as soon as possible, have be the snow or freezing where they stand, he feels come very adept in entering the materials, and obligated to notify authorities. Stubblefield is the are to be highly commended for their efforts. heir of an old Montana family, while Ike is a Wis Latest efforts have been concentrated on the consin native who has come west to marry the non-fiction for young readers. Try the Athena daughter of another Montana rancher. Ike is Search on your next library visit. caught between the law pertaining to humane A suggestion box will soon be in place in the treatment of animals and the belief that a man’s library. If there are recommendations for reading land and property are his own to use as he material, programs you would like to see as part chooses. Starkey presents a vivid description of of the library’s service to the community, or ranching in Montana, while she develops com changes (hopefully, positive ones), you will have plex personalities and relationships that make a place to submit these ideas. All suggestions this novel as fast paced as a thriller. will be reviewed and utilized, if feasible. Planned for the near future will be a selection The Monday morning Pre-School Storytime of materials labeled “Recommendations by Ver will be conducted by Orissa Burghard and the nonia Library Patrons.” This area will include aiter school story/craft sessions will resume in books that local readers consider “good reads” October. These will be Monday afternoons at and that they would like to bring to the attention 3:30 and Orissa will also oversee these ses of other readers. As you read, make note of sions. Watch for the starting date. books that you think others might enjoy and ask Library patrons are being encouraged to re that they be displayed in this section. turn all overdue materials to the library so others can use them. Policies regarding fines for over Vernonia Library 701 Weed Avenue due materials are under consideration, but no Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. decisions have been made. Patrons are encour Tues., Thur. 2 p.m.-7 p.m. aged to check their status regarding overdue Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. materials and to resolve any discrepancies. Preschool Story Time, Mondays, 10:30 a.m. My recommendations for the month are Drowning Ruth by Christine Schwartz and Win Phone: (503)429-1818 ter Range by Clarie Davis. Drowning Ruth By Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library New PCC multimedia program may be chance to develop professional career The digital world has op portunities for people equipped to take advantage of them. Portland Community College has a newly accredit ed program that aims at arm ing students with the skills needed to be multi-faceted en trepreneurs. PCC’s Multime dia program is designed to provide students with the skills and experience needed to be a valuable employee in the professional world of multime dia. Some of the types of jobs that await a graduate of the program include multimedia associate produces, Web de signer, Web content creation specialist, interface designer, multimedia programmer or au thoring specialist, digital video specialist, interactive technical writer and multimedia project manager. The new certificate program also gives people already in the multimedia profession on going skill development to bol ster their skills. The program was formally approved by the Oregon State Board of Educa tion on Thursday June 15. The classes for the certificate pro gram begin this fall, starting Monday, Sept. 25 at the Cas cade Campus located at 705 N. Killingsworth Street. The Multimedia program was created out of necessity and quickly became a part nership between the college and the industry. Its begin nings were a PCC faculty task Peace and beauty out of tragedy From page 1 hung. A decision had already been made to hang the mural in one of the newly planned municipal buildings, either the library or city hall, but they were barely started. Because wall construc tion hadn’t started, there was still opportunity to incorporate elements in the design that would make it possible to hang the heavy ceramic mural on a wall. The library entryway was selected, and extra studding and bracing were incorporated in the wall’s construction. Now, in the fall of 2000, the mural has been hung and awaits only the finishing touch of a frame. Dan Brown will de sign, build and install the frame. Even without that, how ever, it is heart-warming to see the beauty and optimism that emerged from devastation - with the help of a cadre of ded icated volunteers and liberal applications of hands-on art. Page 3 force formed in 1996 after a multimedia conference in Port land. An advisory committee to the task force was then formed, composed of repre sentatives from a variety of Portland companies starved for graduates versed in the emerging technologies of the burgeoning multimedia mar ket. By fall 1998, a complete multimedia program had been created. The one-year Multimedia certificate requires a total of 60 credit hours, including 45 Multimedia credit hours, and 15 hours of approved elec tives. Some of the courses that are included in the Multi- media program include multi- media design, graphics, video and audio, authoring, Internet building interactive Web pages, digital video editing, and vector graphics and ani mation. Students entering the program need to possess strong Macintosh or Windows computer management skills and should be familiar with es sential software such as word processing and draw and pain programs. For more information on this program, contact Terri Greenfield, division dean of Business and Government di vision, at (503) 978-5235. Memory Walk 2000 for Alzheimer’s Dear Friends and Neighbors: In honor of our many family members and friends who have suffered or are suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, Rising River Ranch Retirement Resi dence, a community resource since 1993, has formed a team of volunteers to walk in this year’s Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk. The primary goal of this walk is to solicit your contributions to help aid in the research to find a cure for this progressive and degenera tive disease. This disease is in curable and ultimately fatal. For your information, Alzhei mer’s Disease currently affects nearly 12 million people in the United States alone, and that number will rise to over 14 mil lion by the middle of this centu ry. It affects nearly one in four households and it is estimated that by the year 2020, this dis ease will become the second leading cause of death in our elderly. Over the past seven years, Rising River Ranch has taken care of many of your mothers and fathers, your grandmoth ers and grandfathers and sib lings who have suffered from this mentally, and ultimately physically, debilitating disease. We have worked together to improve the quality of their de clining years and we have cried with one another as the hope for a cure was not found in time for your family member. This year, we have dedicat ed our walk to Ramona Shirley, a long time Vernonia resident who is in the final stages of this disease. She still resides with us at the Ranch. We ask that each and every one of you who is in a position to help, give what you can to help find a cure for this frustrating and de bilitating disease. Thank you for your support and your contribution, which is, of course, tax deductible. Please make your checks payable to the Alzheimer’s As sociation and return to Rising River Ranch before October 6, 2000. Your donation will be tab ulated and given to the Associ ation as part of the team effort for Rising River Ranch Vernon ia, on the day of the walk. God bless you all for your help and your contribution. Don & Donna Foster Rising River Ranch 16941 Timber Road Vernonia, OR 97064 Supports Corsiglia for commissioner To the Editor: I have heard some stories about Joe Corsiglia. Most of the stories have been positive, but one story that I heard both ered me. I was told by an indi vidual that Joe was hard to work with. I asked this person for specifics and I was told that he did not cooperate well with the City Council and Mayor. My comment: “So, this is a bad thing? Joe is not a yes man.” I then asked this person if he had ever worked with Joe, and the answer was “no”. I have known Joe for a num ber of years and have frequent ly had the opportunity to work with him. I have found him to be a great person to work with and to be around. Talk to any one on any board or commis sion that Joe has served on or overseen, and they will tell you that he is a real gentleman. He is a listener, creative, innova tive and sensitive to the needs of others. Joe is the sort of per son who has put public needs before his own, and has logged in hundreds of hours of donat ed community service. He was very much appreciated when he served on the Library board, and is now very much appreci ated for the work that he is do ing with the City Parks Board. He is good at getting a City Council’s attention, particularly when they want to remain inat tentive. Joe can be a hard per son to ignore. Joe has a vision for our county, and it is a vision that we all can share in. Joe will listen. Joe is concerned, and it is just not lip service, Joe really cares. People may tell stories, but Joe’s actions go beyond just stories. He really does care. I am supporting Joe Corsiglia in his race for County Commis sioner, and I would like to en courage others to support him as well. Bill Eagle St. Helens You will pay for tim- berland tax break To the Editor: Taxes are like weeds - you do not really want them, but they keep on growing. Your property taxes may grow this tax year. Your assessment will probably go up and thus, your rate will go up. For example, last year Ver nonia Fire District had a tax rate of .9535, just under a dol lar per thousand [of assessed value]. But you did not pay that much because there was an “offset” of .1018, the spread- out amount paid in taxes by timber. This year, Vernonia Fire Department’s rate is still .9535 (that number is set by law, by one of the silly initiatives passed in recent years). But you, the property owner, get to pay all of it. There is no more “offset", because the Oregon legislature changed the way taxes on timber are collected and distributed. So, when you get your tax bill in a month or two, don’t howl at the Fire Department, the schools, etc. We did not do it. Don’t complain to the county assessor - he’s just following the law. If your tax bill hurts, talk to your elected representa tives about why they felt they had to give millions of dollars of tax relief to timberland owners, at the expense of house own ers. Members of the Board of Directors of the Vernonia Rural Fire Protection District
