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The INDEPENDENT, February 6, 2002
Cross country runner seeks help for invitation costs
Vernonia High School cross
country runner Ashley Murray,
one of several students select
ed to represent Oregon at the
fifth-annual Parkroyal Down
Under International Games in
Australia, is seeking sponsors
to help raise the more than
$3,000 needed for the trip,
Murray, who attends Vernon
ia Christian Academy, has been
running competitively since her
freshman year as part of the
VHS track and field team. She
joined the cross-country team
in her junior year and won the
District Championship.
In 2001, she won the 800
meter championship at the
Track and Field District meet,
then went to State, where she
placed eighth in the 2A girls
800 meter dash.
A stress fracture in her left
shin made her sit out the first
few cross-country races in this
past season, but she went on to
place third in both the All-
League Championships and
the District Championships.
Following up at the State Cross
County meet, Murray ran the
5K in 20 minutes, 52 seconds,
winning seventh place and
4-H horse judging contest results
Fifty-seven Columbia Coun
ty 4-H members participated in
the county’s 2002 Horse Bowl
contest on January 19. Top
teams will compete at regional
competition on March 9.
The top five medallion win
ners in individual placings were
as follows:
Junior - Chelle Grabhorn,
Jeff Stennick, Mackenzie Carr,
Cali Hanna, Jourdan Keim.
Intermediate - Sarah Smith-
son, Lacey Osterman, Shawna
Beardsley, Karissa Fairless,
Jamie Hanna.
Senior - Jackie Sleeper,
Samantha Klein, Nichole An
drews, Brianna Atwood, Trigg
Espelien.
The top five medallion win
ners in each category for the
Horse Judging contest were:
Junior - Nicole Baker, Cali
Hanna, Allee Lindahl, Macken
zie Carr, Jourdan Keim.
Intermediate - Amanda Cur
ran, Whitney Johnson, Megan
Jennings, Gina Cropp, Juliane
Kalhar.
Senior - Nichole Andrews,
Jessica Allison, Emily Sitnick,
Nicole McNinch, Alexis Link.
qualifying for a place on the
Oregon All-State team.
The one thing standing in
the way of Murray’s opportunity
to attend the games in Australia
is money. By February 23, she
must raise a deposit of $300;
by March 1, another payment
of $500; and by June 1, the fi
nal payment of $2,300 will be
due.
Anyone interested in con
tributing to Murray’s cause is
asked to contact her at 503-
429-5190. Any donation would
be greatly appreciated and ex
tremely helpful.
Vernonia High School senior
Shawn Robertson has also
been invited to the international
meet this year. Another VHS
runner, Jesse Walters, attend
ed the event previously.
New website will help working students with taxes
The Oregon Department of
Revenue has developed a
website for working students
who are employed and paying
taxes through payroll withhold
ing.
At www.steps2cash.org, first
time filers will learn what mate
rials they need in order to com
plete their returns, how to make
sense of a W2, how to interpret
Form 1099-INT, and how to
complete a self-calculating
Form 40S (short form) - and get
their refund. They can also
find definitions of tax terms.
The department is commit
ted to community outreach and
believes that teaching working
students how to file their re
turns is an investment in the
state’s future. “We want to give
students the tools and motiva
tion needed for lifelong tax
compliance," said Rosemary
Love, program coordinator.
More than 200 students
were involved in the site’s de
velopment.
out on a
Limb
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