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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2003)
Voi. 18, No. 5 “ Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley” March 6, 2003 Children, Families agency views 5-103 Mk XI I ’ I ^^B * 1m BW»*1 Vernonia elementary schools Principal Kirk Sherrill had to use all of his “persuasive” skills to get some cooperation from his steed in a donkey basketball game on Feb. 21. National award goes to 9-1 -1 for budget Government budgeting is difficult, as anyone knows who has been involved, and when an agency receives a national award for excellence in budget ing, it should be noted. Columbia 9-1-1 Communi cations District, the emergency dispatch agency for Columbia County, has received the Gov ernment Finance Officers As sociation of the United States and Canada (GFOA) Distin guished Budget Presentation Award for its budget. The award represents signif icant achievement in meeting the highest principles of gov ernmental budgeting. In order to qualify, nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation must be satisfied. The guidelines are designed to assess how well a budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide, and a communications device. To receive the award, budget documents must be rat ed “proficient” in all four cate gories. In addition to the agency award, Office Support Special ist Kathy Simek and Adminis trative Services Manager Nan cy Edwards were recognized as being primarily responsible for the agency’s achievement. The Governm ent Finance Officers Association is a non- profit professional association serving 14,000 government fi nance professionals through out North America. Its Dis- tringuished Budget Presenta tion Awards Program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting. City of Vernonia still seeking police chief The search for a police chief for Vernonia is still underway. The nine-member search com mittee has reviewed over 30 applications - from New York, Texas, Kansas, Florida, Mis souri, and all western states - and done interviews, but no de cisions have been finalized. Columbia County Ballot Measure 5-103, which would require parental permission be fore a minor could receive any county services except in nar rowly specified emergency situ ations, has been evaluated by the Columbia County Commis sion on Children and Families (CCCCF). Because of their findings, Commission Director Jan Ken- na Spika, M.S.W., shared their concerns about the impact of Measure 5-103 on Com m is sion-funded services. The role of local Commis sions on Children and Families is to provide a method for com munities to fund locally identi fied needs, and strengthen the system of services for children and families. When local com missions identify a need and fund a program, they must show that the service has had a positive impact on that need and that something positive has happened for the child, family and/or the community. Most of the services funded by the Com m ission require parental consent before chil dren and older youth are al lowed to participate (For in stance, the swimming lessons each summer in Vernonia, which are partially funded by CCCCF.). The following do not require parental consent and Measure 5-103 will limit access to these services: • Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) are appoint ed by a Circuit Court Judge to act as advocates for children who are in the court system as a result of child abuse, and to report their findings to the Court. From July 1,2001 to De cember 31, 2002, the program served over 73 abused chil dren. Measure 5-103 allows no exemption for court ordered services and, too often, parents are alleged to have committed the child abuse. Abusive par ents are not likely to consent to this service, with the result that Colum bia County would no longer be able to help these vulnerable children. • Intensive Probation provid ed to youth, ages 12 to 15, who have two or more criminal re ferrals to the Juvenile Depart ment, has been successful in decreasing crim inal referrals and substance abuse. From July 1, 2001 to December 31, 2002, the program served 55 youth and their families, but not all families are supportive. • The Teen and Family Tran sition Program was developed by com m unity members in 1995 to divert youth from child welfare or juvenile department services through crisis re sponse, school monitoring, anger management and skill building. It has a 90 to 97 per cent success rate but self-re ferred youth who were home less or abused could not be helped. Without parental con sent, county departments could not even provide minors with information about safe shelter, food or medical care. Please see page 8 Monday, March 17, is St. Patrick’s Parade The annual St. P atrick’s Day parade in Vernonia will start at 5:15 p.m. on Monday, March 17th. The parade will form at the corner of State Av* enue and Bridge Street. There is no registration fee for this home-grown celebration. Par ticipants should arrive in time to prepare for the 5:15 p.m. starting time. Anybody who wants to join the parade is invited to do so. Decorate yourself, your bike, your car, your dog or your float and join the fun.
