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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2008)
Page 4 The INDEPENDENT, July 17, 2008 Public interviews will precede selection of councilor Fair housing added to BOLI duties The July 7 Vernonia City Council meeting (with all cur- rent members in attendance) started off with a discussion of the process that will be used to fill the open councilor position. Five applications have been re- ceived and the city council agreed to start the July 21 meeting at 5:30 p.m. with inter- views of these applicants. Council approved a new contract with Jordan Schrader Ramis PC. The contract calls for an attorney to be present at three meetings every two months and attend other city meetings as requested, plus the handling of day-to-day legal advice and assistance, and they will represent the city in any litigation. The city will pay $1855.00 per month for the above mentioned services. Other services will be provided for an hourly rate. Council had asked Chief of Police Mat Workman to look into laws regarding use of golf carts on city streets. Chief Workman told council that what he found was that golf carts are legal on city streets (never on highways, such as Hwy. 47) only when the person driving has a Class C driver’s license due to disability, and has given up their regular driver’s license. Workman said he would be contacting all known golf cart drivers to let them know the rules (see Did You Know on page 18 for more information). In other business, council; • heard that a lifeguard start- ed at the community swimming hole. • a 2001 Ford Crown Victo- ria, that used to be the K9 unit, was declared surplus and will be sold. • approved making an appli- cation for grant funds from Ore- gon Economic Development Department for rehabilitation of single family homes damaged by the flood of December 2007. • gave consensus for D.A.D.s Recycling to continue to accept commingled recy- clables for the rest of July. • heard a presentation by Jean Lewis about the possibili- ty of starting up a teen court in Columbia County. There will be more information provided on this project at future meetings. The next council meeting will start at 5:30 p.m., at City Hall, on July 21 with interviews of those applying for the open council position, followed by the regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. Vernonia Friendship Jamboree August 1, 2 & 3 For the first time in 15 years the state Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) is again in- vestigating federal fair housing complaints in Oregon. Since 1992, complaints based on fed- eral fair housing laws have been routed to the U.S. Depart- ment of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) regional office in Seattle. “Investigations conducted closer to home tend to provide a smoother process for both the tenant and the landlord, who need to be close to their investigator and case proceed- ings,’ said Moloy Good with the Fair Housing Council of Ore- gon. “We also expect investi- gations will be processed in a timelier manner. Some Orego- nians have waited upwards of 2 to 3 years to have their claims heard in Seattle,” he added. Legislation passed in 2007, and amended in 2008, enabled BOLI to investigate these cas- es under contract with HUD. The federal agency contracts with state governments, and provides funding to enforce housing discrimination laws if their programs are substantial- ly equivalent to federal law. This program is referred to as the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP). HUD certified Oregon’s standard in March and contracted with BOLI to begin investigating cases in the Bureau’s offices around the state. Since May, HUD has re- ferred 23 fair housing cases to BOLI that would otherwise have been investigated from Seattle. “BOLI is proud to again take a leading role in protecting Ore- gonians from housing discrimi- nation,” said Commissioner Brad Avakian. “Our investiga- tors take this responsibility seri- ously and we will ensure that appropriate action is taken when tenants are victims of housing discrimination.” Please see page 22 Community Calendar VERNONIA Alcoholics Anonymous Monday 6:30 p.m., 410 North Street American Legion Post #119 2nd Thursday 7:00 p.m., 627 Adams Avenue Arts & Crafts Society 2nd Thursday 2:00 p.m., City Library Booster Club 2nd Wednesday 7:00 p.m., VHS Library Boy Scout Troop 201 Tuesdays 7:00 p.m., Scout Cabin Boy Scout Troop 860 Wednesdays 7:00 p.m., LDS Church Cemetery Beautification Comm. 2nd Thursday 6:30 p.m., City Hall CERT 4th Wednesday For Info Call 503-429-3018 Chamber of Commerce 2nd Wednesday For Info Call 503-429-6081 Community Coalition 2nd Monday 12:30 p.m. School District Ofc. Cub Scout Pack 201 Scout Cabin For Info Call 503-429-4250 Friends of the Library 1st Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Vernonia Library Girl Scouts, Neighborhood 4-2 For Info Call 503-819-0143 Hands On Art Committee 1st & 3rd Thursdays 4:00 p.m., City Hall Izaak Walton League 3rd Thursday For location call 503-429-7193 Lions Club 1st & 3rd Tuesdays 6:30 p.m., Buckhorn Restaurant Municipal Airport Committee 4th Thursday 7:00 p.m., City Hall Narcotics Anonymous Saturdays 7:00 p.m., 410 North Street Pioneer Museum For Info Call 503-429-3713 Public Works Committee 4th Tuesday 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Cares Directors For Info call 503-429-1414 Vernonia City Council 1st & 3rd Mondays 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Community PTA 3rd Thursday 7:00 p.m., WGS Library Vernonia Grange 3rd Monday 7:00 p.m., Grange Hall Vernonia Health Center 2nd Monday 6:00 p.m., 510 Bridge St. Vernonia Learning Center 1st Wednesday 6:00 p.m., VLC Vernonia Parks Committee 3rd Wednesday 6:30 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Planning Comm. 1st & 3rd Thursdays 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Pride 3rd Thursday 1:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Ridge Riders Last Thursday 7:00 p.m., Senior Center Vernonia RFPD Board 2nd Tuesday 6:00 p.m., Fire Station Vernonia School Board 2nd Thursday 6:00 p.m., District Office Vernonia Sr. Center Board 2nd Friday 1:00 p.m., Senior Center Vernonia Transfer Station 2nd & 4th Saturdays, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Behind VHS Vern. Volunteer Ambulance Assoc. 1st Thursday 7:00 p.m., Fire Station Vernonia Volunteer Firefighters 2nd Monday 7:00 p.m., Fire Station WOEC Directors 3rd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., WOEC MIST-BIRKENFELD M-BRFPD Board Business Mtg. 2nd Tuesday M-BRFPD Board Workshop 4th Tuesday M-B Ambulance Drill 1st & 2nd Thursdays M-B Fire Drill 1st & 2nd Wednesdays M-B Helping Circle 2nd Monday M-B SAR Drill 3rd Wednesday M-B Volunteer Assoc. 1st Tuesday Natal Grange 2nd Wednesday T.O.P.S. Mondays Upr Nehalem Watershed Council For date call 429-2401 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:30 p.m., Natal Grange Hall 6:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station BANKS Alcoholics Anonymous Fridays 7:30 p.m., Methodist Church Alcoholics Anonymous Wednesdays 7:30 p.m., Methodist Church American Legion Post #90 2nd Tuesdays 7:30 p.m., Main Street Post Banks City Council 2nd Tuesday 7:30 p.m., City Hall Banks Fire District #13 2nd Wednesday 7:00 p.m., Station 13 Banks Library Commission 3rd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., City Library Banks Planning Commission Last Tuesday 7:00 p.m., City Hall Banks School Board 2nd Monday 7:30 p.m., Jr. High Library Banks Youth Group Sundays, Wednesdays 7:00 p.m., UMC Youth Bldg. Chamber of Commerce 1st Thursday 12:30 p.m., Fire District Office CPO 14 3rd Monday 7:00 p.m., City Library Friends of the Library 2nd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., City Library Lions Club 1st & 3rd Mondays 7:00 p.m., Brown Derby Sunset Park Assoc. 3rd Wednesday 8:00 p.m., Gun Club T.O.P.S. Wednesdays 7:00 p.m., Administration Bldg. COLUMBIA COUNTY (All meet in St. Helens unless otherwise noted.) Board of Commissioners Wednesdays 10 a.m., Courthouse Citizens for Senior Justice 2nd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Sunset Park Church Columbia Soil & Water District 3rd Wednesday 7:30 p.m., NRCS , 2514 Sykes County Fair Board 2nd Monday 7:00 p.m., Fairgrounds 4-H Bldg. County Parks Commission 3rd Monday 6:00 p.m., 1054 Oregon St. Mental Health Advisory Comm. Quarterly For Info call 503-397-7211 Comm. on Children & Families 3rd Thursday 5:30 p.m. OSU Ext., 505 N. Hwy. 30 Local Alcohol & Drug Plann. Comm. Quarterly For Info call 503-397-7211 Organizations and meeting dates not listed may be included by calling 429-9410 or by mail to The INDEPENDENT, 725 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR 97064.
