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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (July 19, 2007)
The INDEPENDENT, July 19, 2007 Page 11 Large crowd at 47J school board meeting to hear Miller’s fate No double standard for Miller Top; the crowd, estimated at between 80-90 people, waits for the school board to come out of executive session. Above; Angie Rhodes, Tammy Jennings, Greg Kintz, Ernie Smith and Tim Bamburg shown after taking their oathes of office. Because a large crowd was but will not be dismissed, for Special Ed, and Linda Allen for anticipated at the July 12 Ver- his July 6 citation for posses- HS Art were all approved by the nonia School District board sion of 1.4 gram of marijuana. board. meeting, it was held in the Ver- Because this was a person- In other business, the board; nonia Middle School cafeteria, nel issue, no audience state- • heard that an OSHA study instead of the district office. ments were taken. Neverthe- found no errors but did issue a The first item of business less, spontaneous applause citation because the district did was swearing in new board broke out upon hearing that not have a written Hazard members Tim Bamburg and Miller would not be fired. Communication Program. The Greg Kintz, along with re-elect- The board heard that the Program has now been put in ed board members Ernie grade school basement will be written form, Smith, Angie Rhodes and Tam- cleaned, then retested for haz- • established substitute my Jennings. Board members ardous materials. If it passes teacher pay for 2007-2008 at Cari Levenseller and Kim Wal- the tests, the basement may be $160.00 per day (the same rate lace are still under their elected used in future for limited time as 2006-2007), terms and did not require periods but there will no be full • approved (with Smith vot- swearing in. day use. ing nay) an increase in high After the oaths of office, the The hiring of Peter Weisel as school student fees from board unanimously elected High School (HS) Counselor, $16.00 to $20.00. Wallace as board president for Robyn Richmond as Elemen- The next board meeting will the 2007-08 school year. Smith tary Teacher, Sarah Dahlstrom be Wednesday, August 8 and Levenseller were both as Middle School Counselor, (rather than Thursday, August nominated for vice-president, Brad Baker for HS Social Stud- 9) starting at 6:00 p.m. at the with Levenseller receiving the ies, Brenda Docken for HS District office. majority for the position. The board then recessed and went into an executive (closed) session with Superin- tendent Ken Cox. When they returned, Wallace read a state- ment by the board and Cox read a statement (see Chalk Talk on page 10 for Cox’s statement). The statements ad- dressed the fact that principal *Valid till 7-31-07 Aaron Miller will face discipline, 721 Madison Ave.,Vernonia • 503-429-5018 Mariolino’s $2.00 Off Large Combo Pizza* Aaron Miller, 41, Vernonia, is facing disciplinary action after receiving a misdemeanor cita- tion for Possession of a Con- trolled Substance (1.4 grams of Marijuana), on July 6, by a Clatsop County Sheriff’s Deputy. Miller, the principal of Wash- ington Grade School, faces a penalty that Superintendent Ken Cox describes as like, but more severe, than the penalty that would be faced by stu- dents at the district for similar citations. As the discipline is part of a personnel issue, the actual penalties are not public record, and have not been made public. The district’s Em- ployer and Employee Respon- sibility Regarding Drugs and Al- cohol policy (Code: GBEC) states that “Off-duty miscon- duct that adversely affects the effectiveness of the employee’s job performance may result in discipline.” In addition to school district penalties, Miller will also face court action. Students at the district who fail mandatory drug tests can expect a suspension from sports or other activities until they receive an evaluation. They can then resume sports or activities, as long as they re- main in compliance with the recommendations from their evaluation. Action Ads INEXPENSIVE – EFFECTIVE 503-429-9410 Midway Veterinary Clinic Senior Discounts Open in Vernonia Wednesdays and Saturdays 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Call for appointments 503-429-1612 805 Bridge Street Vernonia Small and Large Animals
