The INDEPENDENT, April 16, 2009
Page 5
Two incumbents are challenged for Vernonia school board seats
From page 1
Amy Elton Cieloha is chal-
lenging Krahn for Position 1.
Cieloha, born and raised in
Vernonia, said “This is where I
come from; I have an invest-
ment in the community.” She
has served for five years on the
PTA, on the site council for two
years, is involved with 4-H,
Camp Wilkerson and serves as
a classroom volunteer weekly.
and was a classified substitute
for over a year. In addition to
being a ‘questioning voice’ on
the board, Cieloha hopes to
help facilitate more community
involvement in meetings and to
foster more communication and
respect between the board and
the community.
Cieloha has two children in
grade school and another who
will be there in a few years. She
also operates a preschool in
Vernonia.
seeking another term.
Levenseller chose to run
again, she said, because “I feel
very strongly that we started
Angie Fetherston Rhodes,
who is challenging Levenseller
for Position 5, was on the
school board for about eight
months. She explained that she
Cari Levenseller
Amy Elton Ceiloha
Jim Krahn
Two candidates filed for 47J
board Position 5.
Incumbent Cari Levenseller,
who has been on the 47J board
of directors for 10 years, is
this new school project and we
should continue. I think it would
slow the process down to bring
in new people at this juncture of
the project. I have a lot of expe-
rience and was here the last
time we tried to pass a bond for
a new school. I want to see the
project through.”
Levenseller has five children
in the Vernonia schools.
Rescued dogs needing new homes Buy first home,
From page 1
lens at 2084 Oregon Street. It earn tax credit
The prior owner released
custody of the animals to Co-
lumbia County Animal Control,
which allows staff to begin the
process of finding homes for
the dogs. Adoption applications
are being accepted without a
fee, on a first-come basis.
Because the dogs have
somewhat of a pack behavior,
they will need homes with
fenced yards, outside shelter,
and understanding and knowl-
edgeable owners. Each appli-
cant will be asked a few ques-
tion to assure that they under-
stand and have the resources
to care for one of these ani-
mals. Shelter staff will deter-
mine whether or not the dogs
are a good match for the poten-
tial adopter.
The shelter’s goal is to find
the animals permanent homes.
It would be harder on these al-
ready neglected animals to be
returned to the shelter if an
adopter finds them beyond
their skill level.
The shelter also has a full
selection of other adoptable
dogs. If you are considering
adopting an animal, stop by the
shelter. It is located in St. He-
is open Monday-Friday, 11:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturdays
from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Court ruling on
County measure
From page 1
cies to suspend licenses and
permits not issued by the county.
The ruling noted that other
elements ignored existing
statutes and the autonomy of
other political entities,
A statement from Columbia
County Citizens for Human
Dignity noted that, while
pleased with the ruling, “…we
realize the enormous failures
with our existing immigration
system [and] hope the decision
will allow communities that have
been deeply divided over the
immigration issue to find com-
mon ground and work together.”
“It’s time to direct our frus-
trations about the immigration
issue where it belongs: on the
federal government’s responsi-
bility to carry out meaningful
immigration reform,” said Mar-
cy Westerling, Director of the
Rural Organizing Project in
Scappoose.
The American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (aka
the Stimulus Bill) authorizes a
tax credit of up to $8,000 for
qualified first time home buyers
who purchase a principal resi-
dence between January 1 and
December 1, 2009.
The purchase date is the
date of closing and title transfer.
The tax credit is equal to 10
percent of the home’s pur-
chase price, up to a maximum
of $8,000, and is refundable
even if the taxpayer has little or
no tax liability. For example, if a
qualified home buyer had a
federal income tax liability of
$5,000 and had tax withholding
of $4,000, he would owe the
IRS $1,000. If that same tax-
payer qualified for the $8,000
home buyer tax credit, he
would receive a check for
$7,000 ($8,000 minus the
$1,000 owed).
A first-time home buyer is
defined as a buyer who has not
owned a principal residence
during the three-year period
prior to the purchase. For mar-
ried taxpayers, the law uses
the home-ownership history of
both spouses.
Angie Fetherston Rhodes
left to avoid a conflict, because
she took a position with the dis-
trict as a classified substitute,
but is no longer subbing, and
would like to serve on the board
again to put her previous board
experience to good use.
She has been on the dis-
trict’s site council for two years,
volunteers in the classroom
weekly, is a volunteer at the
Bee Bucks store and is in-
volved with Girl Scouts. She
has two children in Washington
Grade School.
Rhodes was raised here and
graduated from Vernonia High
School. [I am] “active in the dis-
trict due to my kids. I have al-
ready built relationships and
am now ready to return to more
involvement by serving on the
board,” she said.