PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Permit No. 37
Vol. 19, No. 12
“Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley”
Lazy summer days have started and it’s play time for kids and dogs in Rock Creek.
GED class cancelled, may not resume
Don Webb resigns
from VRFPD board
The resignation of Don
Webb at the June 8 meeting of
the Vernonia Rural Fire Protec-
tion District has created a va-
cancy on the Board of Direc-
tors.
Those interested in serving
on the board should attend the
VRFPD board meeting on July
13 at 7:00 p.m.; applicants will
be interviewed at that time.
The term of Webb’s position
runs through June 30, 2005.
Board meetings are held at
the fire station, 555 E. Bridge
Street, Vernonia.
June 17, 2004
Critical questions,
good survey for 47J
Fun in the sun…
In prior years, residents of
this area could take lower divi-
sion Portland Community Col-
lege courses in mathematics,
English, writing and foreign lan-
FREE
guages, plus a handful of non-
credit courses, without driving
over the hills to the valley. The
classes weren’t all available at
one time, just one or two class-
es per semester, but they pro-
vided a foundation that led
many adults to pursue addition-
al learning opportunities.
One of the most important
classes – and the only class
remaining this year in Vernonia
– was adult basic education,
the ABE/GED class that led to
a high school equivalency for
those who had not finished high
school.
Even that class will not be
offered next school year unless
either PCC or the Vernonia
School District changes their
plans.
The GED class, which was
taught by a PCC teacher in a
Vernonia High School class-
room, was abruptly halted in
May. The reasons for can-
celling the class vary, depend-
ing on the source of the expla-
nation. Both PCC and the Ver-
nonia School District have ex-
pressed a desire to reinstate
the class, but there has been
little apparent effort to reach
solutions to what are basically
procedural problems.
The local equation is this:
Local taxes go to both PCC
and Vernonia schools and a lo-
cal GED class is needed. The
cost is not excessive and there
is no public transportation to
get to other PCC classes.
There will be a meeting in St.
Helens on June 28 at 7:30 p.m.
at the Columbia Center, 375
18th Street. PCC President
Preston Pulliams wants to hear
how PCC can better serve Co-
lumbia County. Those interest-
ed should take advantage of
this opportunity to let him know.
Vernonia School Board’s
June 10 meeting was well-at-
tended, with audience ques-
tions, at both opportunities for
comment, pointed and some-
what critical of actions taken or
contemplated by the board.
Speaking as a member of
the budget committee, Noni
Andersen asked some ques-
tions pertaining to the budget.
Superintendent Mike Fun-
derburg explained that what
appeared to be a cut in the cer-
tified music position at the high
school, resulted from the differ-
ence in the salary scale of the
individual hired to fill that posi-
tion last year, compared to the
prior year. A second question,
about an increase of almost
$25,000 in the office of the prin-
cipal at the high school, Fun-
derburg said, was due to clos-
ing Lincoln School and moving
the administrative position from
LGS to one with shared re-
sponsibilities at the high school
and the grade school.
Andersen’s last question
pertained to board philosophy
and, she said, an answer was
not expected. At the last school
Urban Renewal
Districts will be
meeting topic
Many communities in Ore-
gon have used Urban Renewal
Districts (URD) to revitalize
their downtown areas. Does it
make sense to create an Ur-
ban Renewal District in Ver-
nonia?
In an effort to learn more,
the City of Vernonia has invited
Jeanette Launer, an attorney
specializing in Urban Renewal
Districts, and Jeff Tashman, of
Tashman, Johnson, LLC, a
consulting firm, plus represen-
Please see page 5
board candidates fair in 1991,
according to Andersen, all can-
didates, including three current
board members, were asked
whether they would cut athlet-
ics before academic subjects, if
faced with the challenge of
budget cuts. All three (Jim
Krahn, Tim Titus, and Randy
Hansen) responded affirma-
tively, she said. Comparing
cuts in the recently approved
budget, she said, 77.6 percent
of funds remain in the extracur-
ricular athletic budget, but only
22 percent remain for all other
extracurricular activities. Noting
that drama has been eliminat-
ed and music cut back, she
questioned, “whether cuts
should be that heavy in non-
athletic activities when com-
pared to athletics?”
Questions during the final
audience comment time cen-
tered around how the school
could build in a flood plain, the
wisdom of closing LGS prior to
the completion of a new build-
ing, and how furnishings would
be paid for. Funderburg said
that useful equipment, includ-
ing some playground equip-
ment, would be moved to
WGS.
Amy Cieloha questioned
why some sixth grade students
would be in the basement
when Funderburg said in a pre-
vious meeting that all students,
including those transferring
from LGS, would be in upstairs
classrooms at WGS. Funder-
burg said that it is the decision
of the building principal on how
to utilize his building. Andersen
asked the same question and
said that the superintendent
had previously said “everybody
would be on the main floor.”
Funderburg explained that this
would happen after completion
of the new building. Murmurs
Please see page 20