The INDEPENDENT, February 19, 2004
Chalk Talk
Chalk Talk is a monthly column of information about
Vernonia schools. It is written by various staff mem-
bers.
By Laurie Harrison
Special Services Coordinator School District 47J
It’s almost that time of year again – tax sea-
son! The Vernonia School District currently
serves 87 students (K-12) with disabilities, and
the below information is for the parents of some
of these students.
The Oregon Tax Code provides an additional
tax exemption for parents of children with dis-
abilities in Oregon. The procedure for claiming
an exemption for the 2003 tax year is explained
in the Oregon Individual Income Tax Return and
Instructions, Nonresident and Part-Year Resi-
dent or the Full-Year Resident booklet.
Who qualifies for the exemption?
• Children who meet ALL of the following:
• Qualify as a dependent;
• Are age 17 or younger on December 31,
2003;
• Are eligible for “early intervention services”
or receive special education as defined by
the Oregon Department of Education (learn-
ing disabilities or communication disorders
alone do not qualify);
• Have been considered to have a disability as
of December 31, 2003, under the federal In-
dividuals with Disabilities Education Act and
related Oregon laws. Eligible disabilities in-
clude:
– Autism
– Visual impairment
– Mental retardation
– Serious emo-
tional disturbance
–
Traumatic
brain injury
– Hearing impairment
– Orthopedic impairment
– Other health impairment
– Multiple disabilities
– Deaf/Blind
What documentation is needed?
The tax booklet explains that a child must
have an Individualized Education Program (IEP)
or an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)
and an eligibility statement for one of the disabil-
ities listed above. A copy of the IEP or IFSP cov-
ersheet and a copy of the student’s eligibility
statement may be obtained from the school dis-
trict. The coversheet and the copy of the eligibil-
ity statement should be kept with the child’s per-
manent health records – they DO NOT need to
be sent with the tax return. Write the child’s
name on “Disabled children only,” line 6d. Also
be sure to include the child’s name on line 6c for
“All dependents.”
More questions?
For general information, call Eric Richards,
Director of Operations at the Department of Ed-
ucation, at (503) 378-3600, Ext. 2330. For ad-
vice or individual assistance in completing the
tax form, consult a tax professional or the De-
partment of Revenue at (800) 356-4222.
WGS honor roll students
The Junior High Honor Roll
at Washington Grade School
includes the following students:
Principal’s Honors – Stepha-
nie Benes, Mackenzie Carr,
Connor Flynn, Samantha Lee,
Tricia Levenseller, Ashley
Paleck, Megan Perry , Desiree
Rule, Allison Schilling, Nicholas
Young.
High Honors – Janda Bar-
ber, Heather Bassett, Gillian
Cheney, Marissa Clement,
Tyler Clines, Amber Eastlick,
Cody Eaton, Celia Gendron-
Herndon, Kelsey King, Jer-
amey Lende, Wesley Lubbes,
Blake Moeller, Phillip Peerson,
Rebekahann Peerson, Tim
Prprich, Byron Schorzman,
Kymberlia Sebring, Carrie
Shaw, Lindsay Shaw, Sahrina
Smith, Joshua Vanderzanden,
Alisha
Witham,
Rebekah
Young.
Honors – Dallas Armstrong,
Ben Bamburg, Alexandria
Chadek, Shandee Cota, Ashley
Eastlick, Joseph Fergusson,
Elliott Graf, Miranda Gunter,
Keli Krieger Nicole Meglin,
Jami Mehrer, Rachel Rode,
Amy Rombach, Amanda Sliger,
Dalton Stevens.
Honorable Mention – David
Allen, Kahli Anderson, Sandy
Bevens, Jeffery Brewington,
Tyler Corey, William Forrest,
Yolande Gendron-Herndon,
Alanna Ogden, Bonnie Organ,
Taylor Smith, Mathew Threet,
Brittany Villareal.
Progressive Honors – Dallas
Armstrong, Alysa Brucken,
John Collins, Tyler Corey,
Shandee Cota, Jennifer Cut-
right, Johnathon Cutright, Am-
ber Eastlick, Ashley Eastlick,
Nicole Gray, Sean Grittman,
Kelly Howley, Adam Lane, Jer-
amey Lende, Wesley Lubbes,
Nicole Meglen, Jami Mehrer,
Gavin Roberts, Sahrina Smith,
Eric Taylor, Brittany Villareal,
Brandi Westlake.
Students with perfect atten-
dance for the second quarter
included Jeffery Brewington,
John Collins, Brittney Paden,
Phillip Peerson, Tim Prpich, Al-
lison Schilling, Joshua Van-
derzanden, Sasha Warner,
Nicholas Young.
Soccer
clinic
for youths and
coaches planned
The Vernonia Youth Soccer
Club will hold their first annual
spring soccer clinic for children
aged 5 to 13. Days and times
of age group play will be avail-
able at sign-ups.
Players will have the oppor-
tunity to tune their skills in a
two week clinic of individual
and team play. With sign-up,
players will get a Vernonia Clin-
ic jersey and club soccer ball.
Sign-ups will be taken at
Washington Grade School Li-
brary on February 25, March 3,
and March 10 from 5:00 to 7:00
p.m. Or, pick up and drop off
sign-up forms at Spiralz, 712
Bridge Street. Please note: a
copy of birth certificate is re-
quired at sign-up.
Don’t miss this opportunity
to keep and tone your skills for
the fall league play. For more
information, call Maisie at 503-
429-1059, between 3:00 and
6:30 p.m. only.
A coaches clinic is being of-
fered March 13. For informa-
tion, call Joel at 503-429-5012.
Page 9
VHS honor roll students
The following Vernonia High
School students were named to
the Honor Roll for the first se-
mester:
4.00 – Principal’s Honors;
Justin Baer, Elise Blum, Ben
Brookins, Laura Brookins, Dan
Cicon, Tiffany Cutright, John
Fitch, Carrick Flynn, Holly Hilly-
er, Brittney Lindauer, Brittanie
Roberts, Katie Roberts, Kyle
Suess, Katherine Traylor.
3.50–3.99 – High Honors;
Amber Abney, Alex Barton,
James Benes, Alex Bittinger,
Taryn
Braseth,
Andrew
Brookins, Waylon Buchan,
Kristin Cota, Tasha Dillon,
Rene Ellington, Ashley Forster,
Jessie Gehrke, Jacob Hales,
Timothy Hein, Heather Hen-
nessey, Royd Johansen, Kevin
Johnston, Kristin Kelly, Joreigh
Landers, Alex Moeller, Kizzie
Peirce, Natalie Rombach, Lisa
Scheldt, Ben Schorzman,
Zachary Serafin, Jessica Sook,
Katy Taylor, Torin Tierney,
Amanda Watts.
3.25 – 3.49 – Honors; Larin-
da Botchie, Kerstin Brixey,
Justin Campbell, Jessica Eaton,
Kyle Elliott, Nicole Frantz,
Casandra Gunter, Travis Gwin,
Melanie Holsey, Luke Johnston,
Marshall King, Dalan Lee,
James Maller, Kristy Meglen,
Brandon Peura, Samantha
Purvee, Matthew Serafin, Sarah
Tatman, Erin Titus.
3.00–3.24 – Honorable Men-
tion; Mackenzie Bassett, Travis
Baker, Brian Cook, Jessica
Dahl, Bryan Dennis, Luke En-
neberg, Robert Fetherston,
Fred Fulmer, Julie Hales, Nick
Hammons, Kortni Hyde, Brandi
Johnston, Paul Johnston, Cur-
tis Jundt, Brittney Lason-Dyer,
Jessie Long, Roman Manning,
Damon
McNeill,
Katelyn
McWhirter, Rhiannon Meyer,
Stephanie Potter, Jacob Rice,
Burdette Robb, Bodeine Rum-
bolz, Patrick Schilling, Jessica
Shaw,
Brent
Thompson,
Samuel Thornton, Jessica
Westlake.
Help make 2004 drug and alcohol
free graduation party possible
For the past 21 years, par-
ents of Vernonia seniors have
provided a Drug and Alcohol
Free All-Night Party for gradu-
ates after the graduation cere-
mony. The tradition began in or-
der to provide a fun and safe
environment to celebrate on
graduation night, and in those
21 years there has never been
an injury to a VHS graduate.
One of our goals is to provide
each student with a souvenir in
hopes that it will serve as a re-
minder of a fun, safe and mem-
orable evening. This year the
party will be June 6, 2004.
We are asking for your contin-
ued support with donations of
any kind: merchandise, service
coupons, gift certificates, T-
shirts, sweatshirts, hats, or cash.
Cash donations may be used to
purchase additional prizes and
to off set the cost of the party. All
donation are welcome and are
greatly appreciated.
B RING
IN THIS
Donations may be sent to:
Lynn Shaw, c/o Vernonia High
School, 299 Bridge St., Vernon-
ia, OR 97064. Checks should
be made payable to: VHS Grad
Night Party. For more informa-
tion, contact the Prize and Do-
nation Committee at 503-429-
2204 or 503-429-3521.
Local named to
SPU Dean’s list
Danita D. Angell, of Vernon-
ia, was named to the the 2003
autumn quarter Dean’s List at
Seattle Pacific University
(SPU). Students on the Dean’s
List have completed at least 12
credits and attained a 3.50 or
higher grade point average.
SPU, founded in 1891, is a
fully accredited Christian uni-
versity of liberal arts, sciences
and professional studies.
C OUPON
ON ANY PURCHASE OF
AND
$5
S AVE $1
OR MORE !
I NCLUDING E SPRESSO C OFFEES &
S PECIALTY D RINKS , B AKED G OODS ,
C OLLECTABLES , T- SHIRTS , H ATS ,
AND SO MUCH MORE !
$1 Vernonia Mercantile $1
831 B RIDGE S T . V ERNONIA 503-429-0214
One Coupon per visit - Coupon expires March 3, 2004