Page 10
The INDEPENDENT, April 5, 2007
“Wheels” Film Festival off to successful start Summer project grants avail-
By Scott Laird
A good crowd turned out on
Friday, March 30, for the first
annual “Wheels of Fire” Film
Festival at the Vernonia Com-
munity Learning Center. The
Bicycle Skills Park Group creat-
ed the event to continue pro-
moting the new park being
planned for the Mill Site this
summer.
A number of people showed
up throughout the evening and
enjoyed a variety of films that
showed Mountain Bike riding
and stunts, in locations like
Whistler, B.C.; Moab, Utah;
Turkey; Morocco; and down-
town Portland. The audience
was thrilled and awed by the
amazing skill and daring of the
riders in the films as they nego-
tiated downhill single track
trails, incredible jumps, thin log
bridges, roller coaster-like
wooden ladders, even rock
walls!
The planners of Vernonia’s
park now have lots of ideas for
stunts we can build for riders
here. There were great door
prizes supplied by Olsen’s
Bikes in Forest Grove, West
Side Trailriders, Nike and
IMBA, and almost everyone
won something. Pizza, popcorn
and sodas, provided in part by
Mariolino’s and Vernonia Sen-
try, were enjoyed by all and
everyone had a good time.
Next up for the Bicycle Skills
Park is an event in partnership
with the Community Learning
Center. “How and Why to Jug-
gle” will be held on Saturday
April 28, time TBA. Cost is $10.
Come out and have some more
fun and support the Skills Park
and your Community Learning
Center!
For information, contact the
Learning Center at 503-429-
1030. For more information
about the Skills Park contact
the Chamber of Commerce at
503-429-6081.
It’s time to plan for 4-H Summer Camp
The Columbia County 4-H
Camp committee is busy work-
ing on making the 2007 camp
another great experience for
those who attend. The commit-
tee has selected June 17-20,
2007 for the annual 4-H Sum-
mer Camp, held at Camp Ki-
wanilong on the North Coast.
The committee understands
that, due to the large number of
snow days and winter weather
the county has experienced,
there are some schools that will
still be in session during the
camp. The committee was un-
able to change the dates be-
cause other camps are booked
in and around the dates of the
Columbia County 4-H Summer
Camp.
The committee hosted “Teen
Retreat” early in March and is
very pleased with the older
State Farm ®
Providing Insurance and Financial Services
Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710
Bunny Girt, Agent
1229 N. Adair
PO Box 543
Cornelius, OR 97113-0543
Bus 503-357-3131 Fax 503-357-9667
bunny.girt.b71g@statefarm.com
VERNONIA INN
youth who have shown interest
in serving as Camp Counselors
and Camp Staff. Selection of
Camp Counselors will occur in
April.
Mark your calendars and be-
gin preparing your fourth
through seventh graders for the
2007 4-H Summer Camp. Reg-
istration forms will be distrib-
uted through the schools, as in
years past. Registration forms
are due by June 1 with the
$75.00 registration fee.
HOT TUBS
Queen Beds • Private Bath • Separate Entrance
Cable TV • Phones • Handicapped Access
• Commercial Rates
FOR RESERVATIONS CALL
1-800-354-9494 / 503-429-4006
Gift Certificates Available
900 MADISON AVE., VERNONIA, OR 97064
Just one block off scenic Nehalem River Hwy. (Oregon 47)
portunity to spend a summer
working on a humanities re-
search project. The humanities
comprise everything from film
and literature, to ethics and ar-
chaeology, offering a wealth of
fascinating topics to pursue. As
Young Scholars explore their
own questions, they transform
their experience from being
cultural consumers into becom-
ing cultural producers, ob-
servers, and creators. Each
Young Scholar will spend 20
hours per week working on
their chosen project.
The 2006 Young Scholar
grant recipients came from
Neskowin, Philomath, Pendle-
ton, Deadwood, and the Port-
land area. Their projects includ-
ed a community poetry anthol-
ogy, several documentary film
projects, an analysis of the
grunge music subculture, liter-
ary studies, and a project ex-
ploring how interior design af-
fects healing. Last summer’s
projects are posted online at
www.oregonhum.org.
More information about
OCH programs and publica-
tions can be found at www.ore
gonhum.org.
Spelling competition not just for schools
Public, private and home
school students in Columbia
County are urged to participate
in the 31st Annual Spelling
Contest for the State of Ore-
gon.
The competition is held at lo-
Mariolino’s
Enjoy a quiet weekend with us.
FULL SIZE, IN ROOM
While most of their peers
spend the summer watching
movies or going to camp, 12
Oregon teenagers will have the
opportunity to work on a hu-
manities project like exploring
the heady Northwest grunge
era or creating a documentary
film about immigration.
For the sixth year in a row,
the Oregon Council for the Hu-
manities (OCH) will award
$2,000 grants to 12 Oregon
sophomores. These grants will
allow students to complete hu-
manities research projects of
their own design.
Interested students can
download application forms
from the OCH website, www.
oregonhum.org, or call 503-
241-0543 or 800-735-0543 to
receive a copy by mail. Applica-
tions are due April 20, 2007.
“It was hard, it was painful, it
was time consuming. But look-
ing back, I would do it for free.
It was educating, it was fun, it
was confidence raising – it was
life changing,” said Rosie Paz-
dral, a Deadwood teenager
who created a documentary on
community last year.
Young Scholar Grants offer
Oregon sophomores the op-
cal school district, county and
state levels. At each level, stu-
dents are expected to write all
spelling words. An oral spelling
bee is not part of this program.
Local school districts will be re-
sponsible for conducting and
Weekend
Specials
• Friday Night Chicken Fried Steak
• Saturday Niight Prim Rib
721 Madison Ave.,Vernonia • 503-429-5018
Schann’s
Basket
Now every Friday,
10am til the
eggs are gone,
inside or out at
Black Bear Coffee Co.
831 Bridge St., Vernonia
Eggs ~ $3 dozen
coordinating their own con-
tests. Home-schoolers should
contact their local district to
participate at the district level.
Students must compete at the
district level in order to com-
pete at the county level. Local
districts should complete their
competition no later than May
2, 2007.
The County Spelling Contest
will be conducted at NW Re-
gional Columbia Service Cen-
ter on May 16, beginning at
9:30 a.m. Visitors are welcome
to view the competition at the
county level. Students will be
competing for the opportunity
to go to the state competition
held on September 1.
The contest at both the
county and state level is divid-
ed into three groups: Division I
is for elementary students
through grade 5; Division II is
for students in grades 6-8; and
Division III is for students in
grades 9-12.
Contact the Columbia Ser-
vice Center at 503-397-0028
with any questions.