The INDEPENDENT, March 16, 2006
Page 3
Letters
Join in the fun of an
Easter Bonnet Parade
To the Editor:
This letter is addressed to all
of the talented ladies in Vernon-
ia and area. The Red Hat Soci-
ety of Vernonia is sponsoring
an “Old Fashioned” Easter
Bonnet Parade on Saturday,
April 8, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the
Vernonia Community Church,
957 State Street. This is a great
way to express your talents by
decorating a Spring Easter
Bonnet and having it judged for
fun and prizes! There will be a
$2.00 fee per entry. We are
looking forward to making this
an annual tradition.
Between the Bookends
By Nancy Burch, Librarian
Vernonia Public Library
Four members of the
Chess Club will be attend-
ing an OSCF champi-
onship qualifier event this
month. Chris Johnston,
Nick Rainbolt, Justin Rain-
bolt and Jacob Hale, with
instructor Linda Johnston
will take part in the event
to be held at Whitford Middle School in Beaver-
ton. These boys and several other youngsters
regularly play chess in the library after school on
Friday afternoons. This is a time for playing
chess while learning new strategies; anyone in-
terested in chess is encouraged to attend. (Re-
freshments are always provided, too.)
This month’s after school reading/activity ses-
sions are under the direction of Camrin Eyrrick
and are at 3:30 on Mondays when school is in
session. The program on March 20th will be con-
ducted by Cecelia Haack, Nutrition Educator for
OSU Extension Service. With March being Na-
tional Nutrition Month, Cecelia has agreed to
read a story and direct an activity with nutrition
as the theme.
During the last week in March (Spring Break)
movie matinees will be held on Monday and Fri-
day afternoons at 2:00 p.m. Monday’s featured
movie will be Zathura and Friday’s will be Mada-
gascar. The movies and popcorn will be free to
all who attend.
Then—the week of April 2-8 is National Li-
brary Week with very special activities. Forrest
Wheeler will be reading at the 10:30 Pre-School
Storytime and making balloon animals for the
youngsters in attendance on Monday, April 3rd.
Also on April 3rd at 3:30 Mayor, Sally Harrison
will be reading stories, Forrest Wheeler will be
presenting a fun activity, followed by face paint-
ing with Kate Conley. Tuesday, April 4th at 2:00
p.m., Marcia Elliott will present a slide program
entitled, Treasured Dolls that “Settled” the
West. This program is sponsored by Vernonia
Study Club and refreshments will be provided by
this organization. Following the Friday Chess
Club at 2:00 p.m. on April 7th, a movie will be
shown at 3:00. Saturday, April 8th, from 10-4 will
be the Spring Book Sale sponsored by The
Friends of the Library and at 2:00 p.m., Portland
author April Henry will be here speaking and
reading from her books and autographing any
that are purchased.
For those not familiar with April Henry’s
books, she created the inimitable amateur
sleuth, Claire Montrose, whose day job is mak-
ing sure people don’t create any nasty mes-
sages with their vanity license plates. To comple-
ment the theme of each part of this acclaimed
mystery series, Ms. Henry inserts such license
plate terms as “URBSTED = You’re Busted and
2DRESQ = To the Rescue.” She has also written
one of my favorites, Learning to Fly , which be-
gins with a freak eastern Oregon dust storm
causing a multi-car pileup. Free Meeker, the 19-
year-old heroine walks away from the accident
to later find she has been listed as one of the fa-
talities. To make matters even more interesting,
Free is in possession of a suitcase containing
nearly a million dollars that belong to some un-
forgiving drug dealers and the identity she has
assumed is that of a woman whose abusive boy
friend wants to kill her. Ms. Henry’s latest novel,
Shock Point , is written for young adults and tells
the story of a girl who discovers that her stepfa-
ther has prescribed and administered a behavior
changing drug that has caused the deaths of
three young people. When she makes plans to
expose her stepfather, he has her taken to a
supposed ‘youth camp’ in Mexico. This is really a
very brutal prison from which there seems to be
no escape. For those who would like to read
April Henry’s books prior to her visit, some are
displayed on the circulation counter. From her
writings, I’m sure those who meet and hear her
in person are in for a real treat.
New acquisitions include: The Fallen by T.
Jefferson Parker, Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah,
The 5th Horseman by James Patterson, The
Two Minute Rule by Robert Crais, The Kindness
of Strangers by Katrina Kittle, and The Session
by Judith Kelman.
Thanks to a matching grant from The Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation the library now has a
fourth computer for Internet use by patrons.
In these articles, I do my best to interest peo-
ple in library activities as well as library re-
sources because sometimes it takes something
other than a book to get them in the door, but all
of the programs—especially those for young-
sters—are designed to encourage a love of
reading and of learning. The library’s goal is as
follows: “To provide current, diverse and popular
materials and information through personalized
service to the public, and to foster children’s ap-
preciation for reading and learning.” Whether
you come to the library to drop off a ballot, sign
up for soccer, pick up income tax forms or any
other reason, be sure to look around and see if
there is something in which you are interested
and if there isn’t, make a suggestion. Recom-
mendations are always welcomed.
Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Ave.
Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.;
Tues., Thur. 2 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Preschool Story Time: Mondays, 10:30
a.m., when school is in session.
Phone: (503 ) 429-1818
The Red Hat Society hopes
that you will keep this date
open on your busy schedule
and join us for a fun-filled after-
noon. Tea and Treats will be
served.
The Red Hat Society is a
marvelous group for women
over 50 to be able to dress in
purple, wear red hats and just
have fun. If you are interested
in joining the Vivacious Vernon-
ia Vixens please call Janie at
503-429-8133 or Betty at 503-
429-5571.
Hope to see you April 8th.
Janie Wasmann
Vernonia
Former schools head
thanked for efforts
To the Editor:
Thank you Mr. Mike Funder-
burg.
For a three and one half year
period Mike Funderburg served
as Superintendent of Schools
for the Vernonia School District.
The following are just some of
the accomplishments achieved
during Mr. Funderburg’s tenure:
1. Building of a new middle
school. This was done on low
interest loans.
2. Creation of an alternative
school. This was done entirely
through grant dollars. This pro-
gram allows students to com-
plete courses of study that for
whatever reason they were un-
able to do in the traditional
classroom setting.
3. Creation of summer
school sessions for students
who, for whatever reason,
needed to catch up on sub-
jects. This was offered free of
charge for students.
4. Total modernization of the
technology within the school
system. Over 130 new comput-
ers, along with other technolo-
gy have been put in place for
students and staff. A portion of
this was done with grant dol-
lars.
5. When Mr. Funderburg ar-
rived the district was behind in
the adoption of three text book
series. In two years the district
was up to date with all text book
adoption.
6. Paving of parking lots at
the grade school and the high
school. This was done for the
cost of materials only, the labor
and use of equipment was do-
nated by Oregon Department
of Transportation and several
school employees on their time
off, one of those was Mr. Fun-
derburg.
7. Creating a committee sys-
tem within the board to allow for
more involvement.
8. Hiring of three outstanding
principals to lead each of the
schools.
9. $760,000 budget carry
over from the 2004-05 year to
the 2005-06 year.
The first two budget cycles
during Mr. Funderburg’s tenure,
2002-03 and 2003-04 saw a to-
tal reduction in state funding by
$1 million to the Vernonia
School District. Mr. Funderburg
led the approach to offset this
loss by increasing grant dollars
and tight budgeting. This high
level of fiscal responsibility re-
sulted in a $760,000 carry over
from the 2004-05 to the 2005-
06 budget year. The Vernonia
School District is in an enviable
situation compared to other
Oregon school districts.
Thank you, Mike Funder-
burg, for the three and one half
years of making tough deci-
sions, being willing to dedicate
enormous time and exhibiting a
high level of leadership that in-
cluded vision. Your consistent
focus of what is best for chil-
dren has created an environ-
ment in which Vernonia stu-
dents are benefiting today and
will continue to benefit from in
the future.
Jim and Marie Krahn
Vernonia
Dog owners asked
to clean up after pets
To the Editor:
Hawkins Park has not been
designated a dog park, but it
has become a popular place for
dog owners to let their animals
run free.
With the Easter egg hunt,
soccer and softball all coming
up soon, a lot of kids will be us-
ing the park.
I would like to remind all dog
owners to be responsible pet
owners and clean up after their
animals.
As you know, nothing smells
much worse than dog doo-doo.
I’m sure your help in solving
this problem will be appreciated
by the mothers of these young-
sters.
DeLoris Webb
Vernonia
Please see page 21