The independent., May 15, 2003, Page 2, Image 2

Page 2
The INDEPENDENT, May 15, 2003
The
INDEPENDENT
Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published twice
monthly, on the first and third Thursdays of each month, by
Public Opinion Laboratory Ltd., 725 Bridge Street, Vernonia,
OR 97064, as a free newspaper. Publishers, Dirk & Noni An­
dersen. Editor, Noni Andersen. Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410,
e-mail: noni@vernonia.com Display Advertising, Clark Mc-
Gaugh, 503-429-9410, e-mail: clark@vernonia.com
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Credit Union helped
neighbors succeed
Most small town people are familiar with credit
unions, but may not know how they differ from profit­
making financial institutions. About the easiest way to
explain the difference is to say that credit unions are,
basically, co-ops. In other words, they are owned by
the people they serve and decisions are made by vol­
unteers on the board of directors and the various com­
mittees. Credit unions have employees, certainly, but
volunteers still determine policy.
A lot of those volunteers were recognized at the final
annual meeting of the Vernonia Federal Credit Union,
but they deserve more recognition. Here they are:
- Sam Hearing, too many years and committees to
specify
- Gary Davis, 21 years, Board of Directors
- Mary Tolonen, 19 years, Loan Committee
- Ken Bateman, 15 years, Board of Directors
- Darlene McLeod, 14 years, Loan Committee
-A rn ie Tolonen, 12 years, Board of Directors
- Melissa Hunt, 7 years, committee not specified
- Carol Davis, 7 years, Supervisory Committee
- Pat Schrier, 7 years, Supervisory Committee
- Betty Holsey, 4 years, Supervisory Committee
- Rick Gwin, 4 years, committee not specified
- Gunny Cox, 4 years, committee not specified
To all the others who weren’t at that meeting, the rest
of us can only say “Thank you for helping.”
As for VFCU’s only manager, see below:
V j H éa J T H é Y C a / v t
^ i /6 aj F ua /P
SCHOOL
S ports
Board decision on
Mist is not adequate
To the Editor:
The Vernonia School Board
at their May 6th special meeting
voted to keep Mist Grade
School open next year as a sin­
gle room, single teacher (with
aide), K-5 grade level. This is to
serve local students and up to
10 students from Vernonia The
decision seemed to appease
most area residents.
I hope that the administration
does not see this as merely a
compromise to a small group
and fail to support it in every
way possible. I trust they will,
and believe that parents and
community members will step
up to assist.
I am deeply saddened that a
long-standing mutual agree­
ment between two communities
has been broken. This agree­
ment, which was honored for
over forty years, was made in
an era where a man’s word was
indeed his word. Maybe the
ideals of that era no longer ex­
ist. It may also typify what peo­
ple will do when they do not
have roots or a vested interest
in a community. This second
premise could easily be accept­
ed, as the action is consistent
with others within the last week.
This decision does not respect
the spirit of unity and may have
seriously jeopardized some lev­
els of trust. Mist Grade School
is a true gem. It should not be
written off.
What began long ago as a
small community school be­
came district wide five years
back to address issues of small­
er class sizes out at Mist. A pri­
or superintendent experiment­
ed with placing a teacher and
her straight 3rd grade class in
Mist. He did this to promote it;
to sell parents on the idea of a
small rural school. It worked.
Parents liked it and the follow­
ing year Mist became a K-6
blend with three teachers. Bus­
sing students from Vernonia to
Mist was, and is, voluntary.
Since that time enrollment
has steadily increased. Mist
currently serves 65 students
from throughout the district.
There are students and parents
who want this quiet, rural edu­
cation for their children.
The reason did include mon­
ey at first. Send more kids to a
rural school and collect more
money for them. One could de­
bate the ethics issue, but on the
other hand we are providing
children with an alternative for
TU f K
ANb
programs
!
their education.
I am not knocking Vernonia
area schools or staff as they are
highly qualified and care for the
kids equally. The Mist option,
however, provides an environ­
ment and social experience un-
like others in the district. Many
excel in Mist’s small environ­
ment that might not in the larger '
Vernonia schools. Most districts
have no choice. We do and we
should continue to maximize
options for all of our children.
At the May 1 special board
meeting, three cost analysis
scenarios were presented con­
cerning Mist. This was followed
by a discussion of blended
classrooms versus single grade
classes. There are now three
blends at Mist and one split in
Vernonia. Under the scenarios
studied, blends work into the
picture as a means to match
enrollment with educational
staff. Blends do not work well
for some children and some
teachers don’t like them, but the
converse can be true as well.
Mist elementary is a perfect ex­
ample. They had hoped to sac­
rifice only one position to Ver­
nonia. What remained might be
one class of K-3 and one class
of 4-5. This better aligned the
Please see page 3