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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2004)
Page 20 The INDEPENDENT, June 17, 2004 Questions and 47J survey From page 1 from the audience implied dis- agreement. Asked about moving the modular classroom from LGS to WGS in order to locate all classrooms outside of the basement, district maintenance supervisor John Lewis ex- plained that, in addition to be- ing the district’s oldest mod, it is infested with ants, and the heating system is in bad shape. WGS Principal Nate Under- wood said that art and music would have remained in the basement, regardless of com- pletion of a new building, as well as one other class. Rather than attempt to hold K–8 spe- cial education in a single room, Underwood said, he decided to move the sixth grade to the basement. Public Opinion Survey Do n Funderburg gave an over- view of the results of a non-sci- entific survey of community, staff and student attitudes about the district. The survey was divided into eight topic ar- eas (Safety, Staff, Character Education, Specialized Pro- grams, Academic Programs, Facilities Communication and Technology) and participants were asked to agree or dis- agree with several questions in each category. In spite of ef- forts to distribute the survey to the community, he said, most of the community responses were from parents. Staff and students also completed the survey. In the area of safety, while Get Y ! W t t i a ’ staff, community members and younger students feel safe at school, older students had a different view. WGS students felt the schools do not do a good job of preventing fighting, harassment and bullying. High school students, mostly neutral on the issue of fighting, agreed that the schools could do a bet- ter job in preventing harass- ment. High school students also felt the school did not do a good job of preventing theft and drug use. All groups feel that the staff is knowledgeable and skilled, but staff disagreed with other groups about being provided with adequate resources. In specialized programs, dif- ferences in perception from in- side and outside the schools were evident regarding the dropout rate. Community mem- bers strongly agreed the school works hard to prevent dropping out, but staff and high school students solidly or strongly dis- agreed. The groups also con- trasted in the area of atten- dance. While younger students and the community felt that at- tendance rates were accept- able, staff and high school stu- dents disagreed. All agree that talented and gifted students re- ceive inadequate enrichment. In other business, the board: • Changed the date of the budget hearing from June 24, to June 22. The public is en- couraged to attend. • Were told that grants will fund attendance of Underwood and Scholl at the National Charter School Conference. our D uck s in a Row .O Black bear facts help alleviate concern about visits With the recent black bear siting within Vernonia city limits, some information on bears might be useful. Black bears are the most common and gen- erally the smallest of North American bears and the only bear known to currently exist in Oregon. Black bears were once hunted for bounties as a preda- tor and nuisance animal and were not protected as a game mammal until 1970. Since then, bear numbers have increased under a managed harvest pro- gram. The current Oregon black bear population is estimated at 25,000 animals. A black bear can live 20 years or more in the wild. Black bears are very agile, can run in bursts up to 35 mph and can run up or down hills quickly and easily. Their short, curved claws help them to climb trees. Black bears are also strong swimmers. Threats to black bears in- clude diseases, predation and starvation. Natural enemies in- clude other bears and moun- tain lions. Black bears eat almost any- thing, including human food, garbage, hummingbird food, pet food and livestock feed. Once a bear has found the eas- ily accessible, consistent food source that humans offer, it may overcome its wariness of people and visit regularly, inc- creasing the chance of a hu- man/bear encourter. By han- dling food and garbage respon- sibly, encounters with bears can be prevented. Get Q uack e er rd Yo ur Ja mb or e ea d To day! THE INDEPENDENT 503-429-9410 in almost all cases, the bear will detect you first and leave the area. Bear attacks are rare compared to the number of close encounters. However, if you do meet a bear: • Stay calm. If you see a bear and it hasn’t seen you, calmly leave the area. As you move away, speak softly to let the bear discover your pre- sense. • Stop. Back away slowly while facing the bear. Avoid di- rect eye contact as bears may perceive this as a threat. Give the bear plenty of room to es- cape. Wild bears rarely attack people unless they feel threat- ened or provoked. • Speak softly. This may re- assure the bear that no harm is meant to it. Try not to show fear. In the unlikely event of at- tack by a black bear, fight back. Black bears have been driven away when people have fought back with rocks, sticks, binocu- lars and even their bare hands. Most black bears are just oc- casional visitors, not pests. n! For Jamboree Display Ads Call To decrease the likelihood of meeting a bear in the yard; re- move all food attractants, keep all garbage inside until just be- fore garbage pick-up, pour bleach in garbage cans that bears have already ransacked. Most bears sighted in resi- dential areas do not cause any damage. If a bear doesn’t find abundand food, it will move on. A bear exhibiting the follow- ing behaviors is considered a human safety hazard: • Exhibits little or no fear of people; • Displays aggressive or warning behavior when in con- tact with people such as false charges, growling or teeth pop- ping; • Attempts to break into resi- dences or buildings, thus indi- cating no fear of people; • Repeated feeding in garbage, pet/bird feeders or stock feeders; • Animal is in poor condition due to injury or malnutrition; or • The bear is frequently seen around people during daylight. If you do encounter a bear, No ducks were harmed in the Making of this ad. Vernonian Jim Fields is working as a flagger on the OA Hill project. Fields says that people near the construction have been great to him, bringing coffee and treats while he works the night shift on the project that now has 24-hour flagging due to the closure of one lane while a new pedestrian walk- way is installed.
