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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (May 7, 2009)
The INDEPENDENT, May 7, 2009 Page 5 Flu: More information on how More benefits County jobless rate climbs steeply number of unemployed for unemployed Columbia County’s seasonal- the to handle the H1N1 virus people rose by 324 to 3,805. ly adjusted unemployment rate From page 1 dent absenteeism. Schools that have been closed based on previous guidelines may be reopened Other details: • Public hotline: For more in- formation about the H1N1 in- fluenza virus, the public may call a toll-free public health hot- line weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Pacific time: 1-800- 978-3040. • H1N1 testing: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention sent testing materials today to state testing laborato- ries, with those coming to Ore- gon expected to arrive over the weekend. By Monday, Oregon expects to be able to test for the H1N1 influenza virus. • Protections against the flu: Best protections against the H1N1 influenza virus are to wash your hands frequently, cover coughs and sneezes with tissue or sleeve (never your hand), and stay home if you are ill. Surgical masks can protect people’s noses and mouths from droplets carrying the in- fluenza virus; however, use of surgical masks is not being rec- ommended at this stage of the disease. • Antivirals: Oregonians are discouraged from stocking up on antivirals for which they have no immediate use. • Pork not a disease source: People cannot catch H1N1 in- fluenza virus, also known as swine flu, from eating pork. Washington County public health has opened a bi-lingual hotline for citizens concerned about H1N1 Virus. The hotline will be available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The phone number is 503-846-2999. Following are precautions to help prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus: • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tis- sue in the trash after you use it. • Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Al- cohol-based hand cleaners are also effective. • Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way. • Try to avoid close contact with sick people. • If you are sick, stay home. Do not go to work, school, church, or any public gather- ings. This is to keep from in- fecting others and spreading the virus further. Elections are scheduled to pick neighborhood CPAC members Columbia County will be holding Citizen Planning Advi- sory Committee (CPAC) elec- tions, for those positions whose term is expiring. CPACs provide advice and recommendations on Land Use Planning to the Planning De- partment, the Planning Com- mission and the Board of County Commissioners. CPAC members serve for two-year terms. Each CPAC is divided into neighborhoods. Members rep- resent neighborhoods in which they reside or own property. Residents and/or property owners within the neighbor- hoods elect their CPAC mem- bers. There must be at least five voters from each neighbor- hood to hold an election for the neighborhood. In order to be el- igible to vote you must show ei- ther picture identification prov- ing that you live in the CPAC neighborhood where you will cast your ballot; or a tax state- ment proving that you own property within the neighbor- hood where you are voting. You may vote only once in your CPAC area. CPAC elections will be held in the following locations, and at the following times: • Upper Nehalem, Tuesday, May 12 at 7:00 p.m. at Vernon- ia City Hall, 1001 Bridge St. • Mist-Birkenfeld, Wednes- day, May 13 at 7:00 p.m. at the Hemeon residence, 14090 Wallace Rd., Mist. For more information about the boundaries of the CPAC and the elections process, con- tact Columbia County Chief Planner Glen Higgins, or Land Use Planner Debbie Jacob at 503-397-1501. (Salem) – Governor Ted Ku- longoski signed into law Sen- ate Bill 462, which will allow 6,000 more jobless Oregoni- ans to qualify for unemploy- ment benefits. The bill comes at a crucial time when more Oregonians are looking for work and need assistance to make ends meet as they seek employment. “People across Oregon are struggling and this bill is critical to keeping food on the table and shelter overhead for those who have lost their job due to the declining economy,” Gover- nor Kulongoski said. “By changing how benefits are cal- culated we are opening the door for thousands of Oregoni- ans to get help when they des- perately need it.” Current law determines eli- gibility for benefits based on something called a “Base Year.” Wages are counted in four of the last five calendar quarters, but wages from the most recent completed quarter are not counted. Senate Bill 462 creates an “Alternative Base Year” which counts wages from the four most re- cent completed quarters. Due to this change in calculation, more Oregonians will be eligi- ble for benefits. The law also allows Oregon to receive $85 million dollars in federal funds from the Unem- ployment Insurance Modern- ization Act, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to further enhance the state unemployment insur- ance system. “With this bill we will be able to take advantage of federal dollars to provide more efficient and comprehensive unemploy- ment insurance services to the people who need them,” Gov- ernor Kulongoski said. Unemployment benefits come from an employer-paid trust fund. The fund is automat- ically adjusted to provide eight- een months of benefits through a moderate recession. Current- ly, Oregonians can receive a minimum of $138 and a maxi- mum of $443 per week for as many as 79 weeks (including a federal $25 per week addition). The state Employment De- partment will contact individu- als who will qualify for benefits under this new law, which takes effect July 1, 2009. rose to 14.3 percent in March, a significant increase from the previous month (12.2%) and the year before (6.2%). It also exceeds the statewide rate (12.1%) and the national rate (8.5%). Total employment dropped by 251 to 21,545 and Total employment this March was 1,064 fewer than one year before and there were 2,246 more people unemployed this year. March’s unemployment rate was the highest in the county since the current data series began in 1990. Buy first home canearn tax credit by Steve Calhoun, Oregon Realty 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. Vote counting test, ballot drop sites The Public Certification Test of Columbia County’s counting equipment for the May 19 Spe- cial Districts Election will be held on Tuesday, May 12. The testing will begin at 2:00 p.m. in the County Elections Dept. at the Columbia County Courthouse The public is wel- come to attend. Drop sites for the election will be as follows: • Vernonia Library, May 1-18 during regular hours. Hours will be extended on May 19 from noon to 8:00 p.m. • Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD Of- fice: May 1-18, during regular office hours, plus extended hours of noon to 8:00 p.m. on May 19.