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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2004)
Page 10 The INDEPENDENT, February 5, 2004 Another 1,000 trees arrive for planting along Nehalem streams The Upper Nehalem Water- shed Council (UNWC) took delivery of about 1,000 trees, January 29, trees that are destined to be planted along local stream and riverbanks. This is the second year that the Council has received trees from the Horning Nursery, a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) facility. Horning Nursery is part of the Nursery Coopera- tive Program funded through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. “Fish and Wildlife supports projects that improve or enhance stream habitat for threatened or endangered fish species, such as the Salmo- nids”, said Marilyn Lowery of BLM. UNWC members have worked at the nursery for the last three years, potting, repot- ting and overseeing the growth of the trees. In addition to labor, UNWC provides a matching grant to support the nursery project. Container-grown trees have a 90 percent survival rate, which is higher than that of bare root trees that were plant- ed in the past. The trees in last week’s shipment included Sitka Spruce, Grand Fir, Western Red Cedar, Bigleaf Maple, Cascara and Oregon Ash. Some trees will go to Scap- poose for planting but most will be planted in Vernonia at Anderson Park and by the transfer station. The trees will be planted by UNWC members and the Youth Corp. For more information about the Upper Nehalem Watershed Council, call 503-429-2401. Run with Extra Confidence with Chevron DELO 400 ™ PLUS MOTOR OIL The name you trust for: • Gasoline • Diesel Fuel • Oils • Solvents • Additives • Greases Winter is here…see us for A NTI F REEZE H EATING O IL CALL (503) 429-6606 WILCOX & FLEGEL 720 Rose Avenue • Vernonia Trees being delivered to the Upper Nehalem Watershed Council were quickly unloaded by, left to right, Jason Titus and Greg Mustola from the Water Shed Council, Ray Price and Marilyn Lowery from the Bureau of Land Management. The trees will be used for streamside stabilization and to provide shade on local rivers and creeks. School Report Cards available online State school reports cards for the 2002-03 school year are available now on the internet and, after adding local informa- tion and messages, they will be mailed to all patrons in every school district by the end of March. The report cards were created by the 1999 legislature and, according to the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), are meant to allow educators an opportunity to communicate directly with parents and taxpayers to chart the progress of Oregon schools. However, as a result of the need for statistics used in the reports be reliable and consistent throughout the state, the data included in the reports are very narrowly defined. Report cards are based on four areas of collected data. • Student Performance: Average test scores on statewide assessments for the previous two school years. • Student Behavior: Average attendance and dropout rates for the previous two school years. • School Characteristics: Percentage of student partici- pation in statewide assess- ments. • Improvement Rating: Four- year improvement in assess- ment scores, attendance and dropout rate. Data from all of these areas is combined to produce an overall rating of exceptional, strong, satisfactory, low or unacceptable. Review of the report card summaries for the Banks, Vernonia and Jewell districts reveals steady erosion in overall ratings in most schools, with three execptions. Banks Elementary (BES) has held steady, with a rating of satisfac- tory for the last four years. Washington Grade School (WGS), in Vernonia, has received a satisfactory rating for the previous five years. Jewell School has maintained a satisfactory rating for the last three years. Mist and Lincoln Schools, in the Vernonia School District, are not rated. Following a state-wide trend, more significant declines are generally seen in the upper grades. Banks Junior High School maintained the satisfac- tory rating it received last year, but prior to that was rated strong. Banks High School dropped from a rating of strong on the 2001-2002 report card, to satisfactory this year. Vernonia High School (VHS) had a rating of strong in 2001, went down to satisfactory for the next two years, and is at an overall rating of low. However, some evidence of significant changes in atten- dance policies has resulted in improvement at BES, WGS and VHS in the rating for student behavior. All of the schools except one received improvement ratings indicating that test results have stayed about the same over the last four years; WGS showed improvement. Further details are available online at <http://reportcard.ode.
