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The INDEPENDENT, July 5, 2001
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Business Notes
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Dan Rodriguez is new owner of
Vernonia Family Dental practice
Though many people were
sorry to see local dentist Scott
vanDyken return to Port Ange-
Daniel Rodriguez, D.D.S.
les to work with his father, they
can relax with the knowledge
that his replacement is just as
comfortable to work with.
Daniel R. Rodriguez, D.D.S.,
purchased Vernonia Family
Dental and is now practicing
here three days per week. He
works two days each week in
Raleigh Hills with his brother,
Robert, who is also a dentist,
and who will work in Vernonia
from time to time.
The brothers attended ele
mentary school in Sandy and
high school in West Linn.
Daniel earned a Bachelor of
Science degree from Portland
State University, then attended
Creighton University School of
Dentistry in Omaha, Nebraska.
He and his wife, Sarah,
have a 15 month-old daughter,
Sarah.
Patients who knew van
Dykens’ staff will be happy to
know that the same friendly
faces will greet you, at the
same place in the Vernonia
Credit Union building. The
phone number will also remain
unchanged.
This photo has just a sampling of the 80 plus motorcycles whose riders and passengers en
joyed good weather and a ride in the hills while participating in a Poker Run. The Lyon’s Den
was one of the stops on the day-long activity.
Mortgage funds
for rural housing
After gaining 11 years of experience working with contrac
tors in the Hillsboro area, Troy Jerman of Vernonia has
opened his own electrical contracting business, Century
Electric LLC, for commercial, residential and industrial ap
plications. Jerman can be reached at 503-429-4218, or look
for the Century Electric ad in The INDEPENDENT Service
Directory.
New Food Stam p application
form simpler, more user-friendly
Access to food assistance
has become easier for thou
sands of low-income Oregoni
ans with the statewide intro
duction of a new, two-page ap
plication for the Food Stamp
Program. Since mid-June all
Adult and Family Services
(AFS) offices have been using
a new two-page application for
people requesting food stamps
or daycare assistance. This re
places the longer ten-page ap
plication previously needed to
apply for all AFS programs.
Oregon is one of the hungri
est states in the nation, and ex
cessive paperwork is cited
most often by anti-hunger ad
vocates as a barrier in access
ing food stamps. The short
ened application was produced
through a collaborative effort
between AFS and anti-hunger
advocates, including the Ore
gon Law Center, Oregon Food
Bank, Oregon Action and the
Oregon Hunger Relief Task
Force.
The simplified process has
been successfully tested in
several AFS offices over the
past eight months. Several
state and county agencies are
also distributing the new appli
cation as a community re
source for clientele.
The new application is one
of a number of changes made
in the Food Stamp Program
during the past year. Outreach
efforts, improved customer
service at AFS offices, and the
recent expansion of guidelines
regarding client resources
have combined to increase the
number of Oregon households
receiving food stamps by over
22 percent between May 2000
and May 2001.
Not only does this increase
bring enrolled food stamp
households back up to pre-wel
fare reform levels, it brings an
additional $2.9 million in feder
al food dollars into the state
each month.
People wanting more infor
mation about food stamps can
call Oregon SafeNet, a health
and human service hotline,
Monday through Friday, at 1-
800-SAFENET (723-3638).
USDA Rural Development
recently announced that con
gressional legislation now per
mits Guaranteed Rural Hous
ing (GRH) loans to be used for
refinancing both existing guar
anteed loans and refinancing
USDA Section 502 direct sub
sidized loans. The change pro
vides an opportunity for guar
anteed loan borrowers and di
rect subsidized borrowers with
satisfactory payment histories,
to take advantage of lower in
terest rates.
“With interest rates at their
current low levels, many rural
Oregonians with GRH and di
rect subsidized loans have an
excellent opportunity to refi
nance those mortgages at pos- •
sibly lower interest rates,” said
Rural Housing Program Direc
tor Stan Schmidt.
The
Guaranteed
Rural
Housing program is used pri
marily to help eligible buyers
purchase homes in rural Ore
gon with no down payment and
100 percent financing. No
monthly mortgage insurance is
required with the loan and clos
ing costs may be included.
To be eligible for the pro
gram, homebuyers must meet
income guidelines, show the
ability to repay the loan and
demonstrate a history of meet
ing obligations. Eligible income
limits in Oregon for a family of
four range from $60,400 to
$64,250, depending on the
county.
Participating lenders make
the loans, which are then guar
anteed by the Rural Housing
Service of USDA Rural Devel
opment. Sufficient funding au
thority is available for the guar
antee program.
For more information, call
503-414-3335.
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