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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2005)
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid Vernonia, OR 97064 Permit No. 37 “Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley” Vol. 20, No. 20 Federal grant will help county linear trail plan Autumn Beauty Autumn colors highlight foliage at Vernonia Lake. Superintendent search options heard Vernonia School Board held a workshop on Superintendent Search Options before starting the regular business meeting, October 13. Greg McKenzie, represent- ing the Oregon School Board Association (OSBA), outlined the steps the board could take to hire a superintendent, start- ing with establishing the crite- ria/qualifications desired, up to the selection of the new super- intendent. He indicated that the hiring process will take from two to seven months to com- plete. The board first needs to de- cide, McKenzie explained, if they want to hire an interim su- perintendent, then a permanent superintendent, or just a per- manent superintendent, and whether to hire for half time or full time. The board must also deter- mine whether they will do the hiring themselves or contract with OSBA to find applicants and/or do the hiring. An interim superintendent may be need- ed, as most applicants will have to complete existing contracts, so the best pool of applicants may not be available until next spring. One interesting fact mentioned by McKenzie is that, nationwide, the average length of employment for a superin- tendent is 3-1/2 to 4 years per position. McKenzie made it clear to the board that in order to hold interviews in executive (closed to the public) session, they must first provide a forum for public input on the criteria/qual- ifications that should be used October 20, 2005 during hiring. Editor’s Note: A meeting was held last night in the school district office for public input. Acting su- perintendent Anne Kingsley told The INDEPENDENT that last night’s meeting will not be the only opportunity for public comments. Please see page 20 The U.S. Department of In- terior, National Park Service has awarded a technical assis- tance grant to the Columbia County Parks Department in support of development of the Crown Zellerbach Logging Road Trail. “This is the step we have been waiting for,” said Com- missioner Tony Hyde. “This technical assistance grant will allow us to complete a plan that will address all of the issues and will make this trail a crown jewel for Columbia County.” National Park Service (NPS) assistance will be focused on the planning and development of a trail master plan for the 23- mile logging road from the City of Scappoose to the City of Vernonia, including a public in- volvement component. Assistance for the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assis- tance (RTCA) program will be provided during the federal fis- cal year ending September 30, 2006. If it is necessary to com- plete the development plan, the grant may be extended one ad- ditional year. Bryan Bowden, NPS Com- munity Planner has been as- signed to the project and coun- ty officials have set an initial meeting to familiarize him with F al l , an d ta x st a te m en ts , a re he re More than 28,000 property tax bills have been mailed to Columbia County property owners at this time. Although most property owners can ex- pect a predictable three per- cent increase in their property tax bill each year, there are fac- tors that can change that amount. There was less than a one percent change in the consoli- dated tax rates for Clatskanie and Vernonia, but some other areas weren’t so fortunate. Consolidated tax rates include all taxing entities that apply within the county for each prop- erty. These may include county, city, school district and special district (for example – fire, li- brary or park districts) property taxes. The consolidated tax rate for the City of Scappoose increased by 5.4 percent this Please see page 20 the project and its location with- in Columbia County. The trail proposal calls for conversion of the old Crown- Zellerbach logging road to a multipurpose trail for equestri- ans, bike riders and walkers. As proposed, the trail would start at Chapman Landing, on the Multnomah Channel near Scappoose, then follow the log- ging road to Pittsburg. From there, it would follow other log- ging roads into Vernonia and connect with the Banks-Ver- nonia State Linear Trail. Ben Shumaker, above, will become familiar to Vernoni- ans. See article on page 4. Halloween on Bridge Street See page 10 for details
