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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2005)
Vol. 20, No. 12 Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley June 16, 2005 City budget eliminates planner, adds one officer Emergency personnel free passenger from wreck. See pages 10-11 for the complete sto y -ull agenda for Vernonia School Board Two students, Rebecca 'oung and Yolande Gendron- lerndon, gave a lively report d the Vernonia School Board, une 9, on activities in the jun- 3r high. With considerable live-and-take, Young and Gen- Iron-Hendron told the board ibout the year’s activities in cluding dances, a fashion show ind a talent show won by “the imazing” Madeline O’Leary, rhe girls also said the middle school is proud of Scarlet De- aeikes for winning a scholar ship to NASA summer space camp in Portland. Lindsey Lennon, newly elected high school student body president, reported on the drug and alcohol awareness week held recently. Activities during the week-long effort in cluded collecting pledges from about 30 percent of students to refrain from using, a program ■ __ .1. student ir* llnrl where one is mi pulled from class every 15 minutes to represent those killed in alcohol and drug-related accidents, a presentation from Oregon Trauma Nurses and the final SKID program on Friday. Randy Shockey thanked the PTA for purchasing nine graph ing calculators for his class. PTA representative Jennifer Martin added that the PTA has also repaired and installed benches at the high school. Martin asked for volunteers to help assemble new playground equipment on Saturday, June 25. A group of volunteers from the Hillsboro PTA will pre-as semble and lay-out the equip ment in Hillsboro, then bring it to Vernonia to lend their experi ence with the project. Martin said that six to eight strong people are needed who can commit an entire day in order to rv»r\lnttho complete the project Joel Glass asked high school principal Curt Scholl to describe a typical day for a charter school student. Scholl explained that it is somewhat difficult to describe because of the broad range of student par ticipation in the charter school. Students can enroll in both the charter school and the high school, and many have done so because this allows them to take advantage of the technolo gy-based classes provided in the charter school. The charter school, located in Modular 4, has 25 computer stations avail able. Students who have diffi culty learning a specific subject (math, for example) in the typi cal classroom environment, can take the course through the charter school, where the sub ject is presented through an in- Please see page 15 At the June 6 public hearing for the City of Vernonia’s 2005- 06 budget, City Administrator Robyn Bassett proposed some changes that had not been pre sented to the budget commit tee prior to their approval of the budget. Two major changes dealt with the reallocation of person nel funds. The position of City Attorney/Planner was eliminat ed and some of those funds will be used to hire an additional police officer in order to provide 24 hour coverage. Some of the funds will be used, as needed, to contract for planning or legal work. City Attorney/Planner Julie Steffen said, “I’ve been here five years, nine months, and though this wasn’t my decision, I choose to view it as a bless ing. I’ll take this opportunity to devote time to my family. I thank the City and Council members for allowing me to work in this great community. It’s been a wonderful run.” Stef July 4th The annual Fourth of July festivities in Vernonia are set for another great fireworks display, preceded by the community parade. The July 4th parade has traditionally emphasized youth entries, but everyone is welcome. There is no entry fee, so decorate your bikes, wagons, horses, cars, or yourself and join the fun. The parade will start at 7.30 p.m.; to join in, entries should ar rive by 7:00 p.m. on Weed^* Avenue, alongside City Hall. Fireworks w i ll/ ^ / * ^ ^ ^ start at dusk on the playing fields of_ the schoolgrounds. Bring chairs or blankets - * fen’s last day will be June 30. When the Council recon vened after the hearing, they adopted the budget as amend ed. The council meeting started on a positive note with Mayor Sally Harrison recognizing 17 members of the new OSSOM group who were present. OS SOM (Oregon Student Safety On the Move) is a student- based prevention group who support and sponsor activities that promote healthy life styles (voluntarily agreeing not to use drugs or alcohol, for example). At the time of the meeting there were 73 members in the local group. Park Manager Dan Lucas, from L.L. “Stub” Stewart State Park, showed council a map of the park. He said there will be 17 miles of trail in the park, eventually including a single track challenge mountain bike trail. The park will open in 2007 with most of the camp grounds Please see page 5 but leave your personal fire works at home. If you arrive early, you can enjoy hot dogs or hamburgers served up by the Booster Club before Tom Ramsay and his assistants from the Vernonia Fire Dis trict start the pyrotechnical display. Cub Scouts will also be selling popcorn. To help Vernonia Pride de fray costs for this expensive display, the Buckhorn Res taurant will hold a spaghetti •^dinner, June 30 from #5:00 to 8:00 p.m. For only $7 adults can enjoy spaghetti, ’ salad, roll and ■dessert; kids’ plates are $4 for 11 and un-
