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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2007)
Page 20 The INDEPENDENT, April 5, 2007 Letters From page 3 at the Providence Health Cen- ter. The clean up will finish up with lunch at the Scout Cabin for all volunteers at 1 p.m. Groups and organizations that have a specific area they would like to work on are asked to pre-register by calling Genny Fisher at 429-4019. Workers are asked to bring garden tools, hoes, rakes, and especially weed eaters. If there is anyone who works for, or has a connection to, a landscaping business, we are wondering if they might have left-over flowers from their spring plantings that they might be willing to donate. We would like to plant as many flowers as we can in the parks and down- town. DeLoris Webb Vernonia Pride Easy opportunity to help county families To the Editor: I am writing to you about the Commission on Children and Families, of which I have been a member for nearly ten years. This organization meets month- ly in St. Helens at the OSU Ex- tension Building located in the “medical mall” on the Highway 30, just south of the junction of Pittsburg Road. Members of the public are always welcome at Commission meetings. The Commission is a vital part of policy planning and service delivery to families and children in our County. Some of the programs funded and tracked by the Commission are Healthy Start, Court-Appointed Special Advocates (“CASA”), and the Teen & Family Transi- tion Program. Through Healthy Start, parents with newborn ba- bies can receive home visits from workers equipped to pro- vide parent education and re- ferral information to health and other services for the critical first three years of the child’s life. These home visits have been proven to help at-risk families better parent their chil- dren, breaking the cycle of abuse and neglect into which many of the babies in our County are born. The CASA program is de- signed to help children of all ages get through the experi- ence of being placed in foster care. Whenever possible, a CASA volunteer, who has been trained to act as a first-hand ex- pert on the individual needs of abused and neglected children in the custody of the State, is appointed by the Juvenile Court to represent the children in a family where removal from their parents has occurred. This kind of individual attention by a dedicated volunteer has been shown to improve outcomes for children and prevent juvenile delinquency later on. The Teen & Family Transi- tion Program, funded by the Commission and administered by Columbia Community Men- tal Health, provides in-home counseling and behavioral in- tervention to teens in conflict with their families. Using a strength-based, solution-fo- cused approach, this program increases the performance of our youth at school and de- creases juvenile crime. The Commission is made up of both professional and lay members, and is always ac- cepting applications for mem- bership from interested mem- bers of the public. This organi- zation depends on the creative energy and life-skills wisdom of its membership, so please con- sider applying to join the Com- mission if you believe you have these qualities to share with our mission to improve the lives of our County’s children and fami- lies. If you are interested in Com- mission membership, please contact Jan Kenna, our ener- getic and knowledgeable direc- tor, at 503-397-7225. Sincerely, Jenefer Stenzel Grant St. Helens Support for cookie sales is appreciated To the Editor: Girl Scouts would like to send a huge thank you to our “little” community with the “BIG” heart for all your support in our cookie sales. Our Brownie Troop 945, Junior Troop 1858 and Cadet Troop 2067 sold cookies and the support from local residents was incredible! We could not have been suc- cessful without all your hungry cookie appetites. Another big thank you goes out to Randy and Sharon Parrow at Sentry Market for the support of our girls and for allowing them to set up “shop” for almost three weeks. Our open sales would not have been successful with Please see page 21 Your Painting & Interior Specialist Vernonia, Oregon 503-830-6057 CCB# 159353
