The INDEPENDENT, March 1, 2007
Jamboree seeks theme and design
Have you marked your cal-
endars for the 51st Annual
Friendship Jamboree, August
3-5, 2007? The Jamboree
Committee has done a tremen-
dous amount of planning to
date and is now looking to the
community to create the theme
and design for the event t-
shirts.
The individual/group winner
will receive their choice of a
$100 U.S. Savings Bond or an
equal-value pizza party. Please
keep in mind the group could
be any local non-profit organi-
zation, for instance, Vernonia
PTA, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts,
Senior Center, school class,
etc.
The committee will be decid-
ing the winner of the theme
competition on Thursday, April
26. Submit all ideas by Mon-
day, April 23, via the website at
vernoniachamber.org “Contact
Us”, or by mail to Jamboree
Committee,
1001
Bridge
Street, Vernonia, OR 97064.
Among the lighthearted ac-
tivities planned for the Jam-
boree weekend are Riding
Lawn Mower Races, Podunk
Races, Big Maple Leaf contest,
Mini-log Float Races, and Dunk
Tank.
The Jamboree Committee is
still looking for volunteers from
the community to help with the
planning and execution of this
year’s event. The committee
meets on the fourth Thursday
of the month. The next meeting
is Thursday, March 22, at 7:00
p.m., at Vernonia City Hall. If
you have any questions, con-
tact Helen Hudson at 503-429-
1902 or hajohnston55@earth-
link.net, or Randy Parrow at
503-429-3811.
Bits & Bites
By Jacqueline Ramsay
Hello,
Spring
h a s
sprung.
A couple
of days
anyhow.
How do I
know?
Lots of dogs walking their com-
panions at the lake. Several
boats on the lake and people
on the fishing docks. Some
folks just letting their dogs run,
no leashes in evidence. Anoth-
er bit of pet information, seen
on Animal Planet. They have
re-figured a dog age. Used to
be seven years for one of dog
life. Now it’s 50 years for each
of the first two years. Then for
all other years add four each.
So, Shadow used to be 42
years old, refigured she is 116.
Night of a Thousand Stars at Library
Night of a Thousand Stars
and Other Portraits of Iraq is
the title of the next Chautauqua
program scheduled at the Ver-
nonia Library on Monday,
March 12, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Photojournalist Joel Preston
Smith lived in Iraq for four
months in 2003, documenting
Iraqis’ daily lives, rituals and
struggle to survive – both be-
fore and after the U.S. invasion.
While the preponderance of
journalism in Iraq has focused
on political analysis and vio-
lence, Smith’s work provides
another dimension by introduc-
ing Iraqis and U.S. soldiers as
human beings.
Smith’s slides and stories of-
fer an intimate portrait of Iraqis
at home, work and worship.
Viewing images of a nurse car-
ing for pediatric cancer pa-
tients, a professor teaching
Romeo and Juliet at the Univer-
sity of Baghdad and musicians
playing for a wedding helps us
question how racism, xenopho-
bia and media bias may play a
role in prejudging Middle East-
ern societies. When the enemy
appears like a loving father with
his daughter or children delight-
ing in a water fight, we may be
encouraged to consider our
cultural similarities and shared
human experiences.
Smith is a freelance writer,
photographer and artist in Port-
land. He served as a photojour-
nalist in the U.S. Army. As a
civilian, Smith served on hu-
Welcome Addition
Elliott Thomas LaPointe
Pearcia and Eric LaPointe of
Vancouver, Washington, wel-
comed their first child, Febru-
ary 23, 2007. Elliott Thomas
LaPointe weighed 7 pounds, 1
oz. and was 19.75 inches long.
Pearcia Blum LaPointe
graduated from Vernonia High
School in 1998.
Grandparents are Jeff and
Michelle Blum; great-grand-
mothers are Isabelle McDaniel
and Marilyn Blum.
Page 9
manitarian aid missions to
Rwanda, Honduras, Palestine
and Iraq. Smith is the author of
a book of essays and photo-
graphs, also titled Night of a
Thousand Stars and Other Por-
traits of Iraq .
The Vernonia Library, in con-
junction with the Friends of the
Library presents this program,
which is made possible by
funding from the Oregon Coun-
cil for the Humanities. Over-
night accommodations are pro-
vided by the Friends of the Li-
brary and the Vernonia Inn Bed
and Breakfast. Refreshments
will follow the program.
C a m e lo t C ar e
Ce nt e r
Medicare / Medicaid Certified
VA , HMO and
Insurance Contracts
Sub-Acute Skilled Nursing
& Rehabilitative Therapies
Respite & Hospice Care
Long Term Intermediate Care
Dedicated & Caring Staff
3 9 0 0 P ac if i c A ve . ,
F or es t G ro ve
( 5 03 ) 3 59 - 04 4 9
I admit she sometimes acts it,
but then she catches a scent
and is off on the trail of who
knows what?
I received a new ‘gimmick’ in
the mail last week. A post card
from “Lifesystems Institute.”
send them eight $1 or $3 plus a
39¢ stamp and they will tell you
how to get up to $100,000.00
and never have to pay it back –
ever. OH????
Here’s another thing to pon-
der. How many men have not
become president since you
were born. Do you remember
who they were?
Oh, Clark, where were you
and your camera or camcorder
at 5:00 p.m. on February 22? I
was feeding the ducks when
BAM, every duck and bird in
the place took off squawking
and trying to hide. The pair of
eagles were on the hunt. Soar-
ing, diving and missing two
lone ducklings (last spring’s)
alone on the water. The duck-
lings were diving under, coming
up and trying to head for shore.
The eagles made about five
passes before giving up and
perching on the tall posts in the
lake. Oh, what a show.
Another show at the lake this
past week (21st). Have you
heard of the movie “The Birds”
(years ago)? At feeding time
again for the ducks – the crows
came swooping in 30 or a few
less – diving and swooping try-
ing to spook the ducks to leave
the feed to them. Kudos to the
ducks, they didn’t give.
The Donkey Basketball was
fun again this year.