The INDEPENDENT, March 19, 2009
47J Board announces new school site
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stuck here (current site), in
Scappoose or Banks.” To the
question, “Can we build
schools without a bond?”
County Commissioner and Ver-
nonia citizen, Tony Hyde, re-
sponded, “No,” without elabo-
ration.
When the time for a vote
came, a motion was made to
select the Boot Site. The mo-
tion passed with board member
Ernie Smith casting the lone
vote against the site. Language
in the motion made it clear that
the Boot Site is “the first choice
for a location for new schools.”
If that site does not ultimately
work out, for any reason, the
board made it clear that they
will look at all the possible sites
again.
The board awarded a con-
tract to BOORA Architects for
architectural services for the
new schools, based on a rec-
ommendation from the commit-
tee that reviewed the architec-
tural firms who applied. BOO-
RA Architects will prepare a
comprehensive program docu-
ment defining the needs and
objectives of the proposed re-
placement K-12 school facility,
including schedules and budg-
ets.
In other business, the board:
• heard that Tom Ramsey
was hired as the new Mainte-
nance Supervisor, to replace
John Lewis who is retiring in
April;
• adopted the 2009-10
school calendar;
• adopted the budget calen-
dar for meetings, appointed
Penny Johnson to the Budget
Committee. and announced
that there are still openings on
the committee for interested
community members.
Spring Break is March 23-
27. The next meeting of the
board will be April 9, at 6:00
p.m. at the District Office.
Dixon raising money to be Ambassador
Jacob Dixon, Vernonia, has
been accepted to participate as
a People to People Student
Ambassador to Australia and
New Zealand beginning June
27. This is a 20-day exchange
program that consists of meet-
ings with government officials,
interactions with students, and
educational activities. Dixon
will stay with a host family dur-
ing this visit.
The program was founded
by President Eisenhower in
1956. He believed that if people
from different cultures could
come together in peace and
friendship, so eventually would
nations.
Dixon, son of Russ and Gina
Lende, will be working to raise
money for his tuition for the trip.
He will mow lawns, clean up
yards, pick up donated cans
and hold a garage sale on
March 28 and 29 from 7:00
a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 61151
Stoney Point Road, Vernonia.
To have Dixon pick up cans, or
to donate towards his tuition,
call him at 503-429-2142.
Chalk Talk
Chalk Talk is a monthly column of information
about Vernonia schools. It is written by vari-
ous staff members. This column was provid-
ed by Superintendent Dr. Ken Cox.
As you may have heard, the Vernonia
School Board selected the area north of Spencer Park as their
first choice for the siting of the new schools. This decision marks
a significant step forward for our District.
I spoke to one patron of the district last weekend who had not
been in our schools prior to the recent discussions because he
and his wife do not have children in our schools. He shared some
interesting insights with me and I believe that we need to have
more of those conversations. I personally believe that new
schools will benefit the community in many ways that we haven’t
even thought of yet, but we need you, as community members,
not just parents with kids in school, to tell us what you want out of
our schools.
For new schools in Vernonia to become a reality we need your
help! We need input from you on how you want the schools to
look, how they will function as a part of the community, how they
can foster economic growth for the rest of the community. The
bottom line is ‘What do you want out of your schools?’
You can get more information about what is happening and
share your comments and opinion with us on our website. You
can post comments in the ‘Looking Forward’ section of www.ver-
noniaschools.org.
We want to hear from you! Please let your voice be heard!
Registration now open for new
Make Parenting a Pleasure group
Make Parenting a Pleasure!
is the name of a parenting edu-
cation group starting in Vernon-
ia beginning Monday, March
30, from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. at
the Vernonia Head Start Center
Sign up now to learn how to take a child fishing
The Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife will hold a
“Learn to take a child fishing”
Adult Basic Angling Class on
Saturday, April 11, from 9:00
a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The class will
be held at the Oregon 4-H Con-
ference and Education Center
property, eight miles from
downtown Salem, in the Eola
47J seeks four
to help decide
on budget
Vernonia School District 47J
is seeking budget committee
members to fill four openings.
Budget committee members
help determine the use of
available funds for district pur-
poses.
Budget committee members
serve three-year terms and
meet two to three times during
the Spring budget process. Ap-
plications are available at the
district office, 475 Bridge St.
Hills of Polk County.
This class is open to anyone
18 years or older interested in
learning basic angling skills
with an emphasis on taking
youth on a successful fishing
trip.
“If you’re someone who
wants to share the love of fish-
ing with young people and their
families, but do not have the
skills or are a little rusty…this
program is for you,” said Sha-
hab
Farzanegan,
ODFW
aquatic and angling education
coordinator. Youth leaders,
Mariolino’s
classroom teachers and fishing
club members are encouraged
to participate.
Saturday’s training will intro-
duce participants to basic fish-
ing skills, water safety, field trip
considerations and the catch,
care and preparation of fish.
They also will get some hands
on fishing time with trained in-
structors. No fishing license is
required and all fishing is catch
and release.
Pre-registration for the class
is required by April 8. The reg-
istration fee is $20 and includes
S ATURDAY
N IGHTS
F EATURING
P RIME R IB
721 Madison Ave.,Vernonia • 503-429-5018
Page 11
lunch. Space is limited.
To register, or for more infor-
mation, call Darlene Sprecher
at 503-947-6025 or e-mail Dar
lene.m.sprecher@state.or.us.
on California Ave.
Snacks and childcare will be
provided while parents of chil-
dren under age 8, and soon to
be parents, learn effective par-
enting skills and gain child de-
velopment knowledge.
This program is being pro-
vided by Community Action
Team, Inc. Sign-ups are re-
quested, as space is limited.
Cost will be on a sliding fee
scale. Call 503-556-3736 to
register.
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