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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2009)
Page 10 The INDEPENDENT, May 21, 2009 The right life jacket for your child Between the Bookends By Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library Some of the most re- cent acquisitions at the li- brary include The Fade Away, Breaks of the Game, The Yankee Years, Pastime, Bang the Drum Slowly, Perfect Game and Major League. Do you see a theme here? Just enter “Baseball” on the search and titles such as Jackie Robinson and the Sto- ry of All-Black Baseball, Chicken Soup for the Baseball Fan’s Soul, Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball, The Natural, The Sweetheart Season, and A League of their Own are just a few of the 129 titles that may found in the library. This month’s movie nights will feature The Bad News Bears on May 28 at 7:00 p.m. and Air Bud: Sev- enth Inning Fetch on May 30 at 6:00 p.m. It was a pleasure to have a team of young baseball players and their coaches view an in- structional DVD on baseball fundamentals re- cently in the library. Maybe May should be de- clared Baseball Month at the library. Other new acquisitions (with no connection to baseball) include Starvation Lake, Bryan Gru- ley’s debut novel of suspense and violence set on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; Borderline, Nevada Barr’s latest Anna Pigeon mystery set in Big Bend National Park in Texas; and Jennifer Chiaverini’s 14th installment in her Elm Creek Quilters series entitled The Lost Quilter. Book discussion will take place Tuesday, May 26 at 5:30 p.m. The Reader, by Bernard Schlink, is the book chosen for this month. Plans are being finalized for the upcoming Summer Reading Program, Be Creative @ Your Library, with complete schedules to be available soon. Jennifer Moloney, Linda John- ston and Kelli Martinez have an activity-packed, fun-filled six weeks planned for youngsters of the community beginning June 30th. Although the budget for the upcoming fiscal year isn’t finalized yet, it appears that the library will be able to provide the same level of service to patrons as it has for the past several years. For this we can all be thankful as our library and libraries throughout the country are filling more and more needs as communities suffer econom- ically. If there are services or materials that you would like to see implemented, please let us know and we’ll see what can be done. Books may be donated for the Friends of the Library Jamboree Book Sale beginning in June during library hours. Items that cannot be ac- cepted are Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, text books, and materials that are torn or dirty. πππ Do you know why Cinderella got kicked off the baseball team? (Because she ran away from the ball.) Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Ave. Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Tues., Thur. 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Preschool Story Time: Mondays, 10:30 a.m. when school is in session. Phone: 503-429-1818 Summer will soon be here and for many parents, this may be the first time your family goes boating. To make sure everyone is ready, the non- profit BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Wa- ter has three free online re- sources at www.BoatUS.com/ foundation/LJLP/fit_video to make sure the kids are safe. How to properly fit a kid’s life jacket: Having a child wear an adult or incorrectly sized life jacket could be as dangerous as having no life jacket at all, giving parents a false sense of security. A short online video explains how to fit a right-sized life jacket to your child. How to borrow a kid’s life jacket if you don’t have one: Boaters don’t always have every kid-sized life jacket aboard. However, the BoatU.S. Foundation has over 500 loca- tions across the country – local marinas, fire departments and other waterfront businesses – where parents can borrow a kid’s life jacket (in various sizes) for the day or weekend, absolutely free. The Web site allows parents to searocation near them. The program loaned out over 90,000 life jackets last year, and three lives have been saved to date. Know your state’s life jacket laws: Confused about who needs a life jacket? The Web site has a state-by-state listing of life jacket regulations. For more information on boating water safety and the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boat- ing Safety and Clean Water go to www.BoatUS.com/founda tion . Founded in 1981, the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boat- ing Safety and Clean Water is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit ed- ucation and research organiza- tion primarily funded by the vol- untary contributions of the 600,000 members of BoatU.S. It excels in providing safe, smart and clean boating re- sources for boat owners na- tionwide. Do you know what to do to avoid problems if you meet a bear? Spring is a time of renewal in Oregon and around the Pacific Northwest. It is also the time of year when bears wake up from their long winter naps and come out of their dens to look for food. Unfortunately, many of these animals get themselves into trouble by looking for meals in all the wrong places – porches, sheds, garages, garbage cans, barbecues, kennels and bird feeders, where they can be- 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 come a nuisance…or worse. Not only do these incidents pose a threat to the bear, which may have to be destroyed if the behavior continues, they can also pose a threat to humans who may have a run-in with one of Oregon’s largest wildlife species. Every spring, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife responds to calls from individu- als from all over the state con- cerned about some kind of en- counter they have had with a black bear. Oregon is home to about 25,000 to 30,000 bears. While sightings are not unusual, bear attacks on humans are ex- tremely rare. Even so, any con- tact with a bear, or any other wild animal for that matter, should be considered potential- ly dangerous and be avoided if at all possible. A few precautions can pre- vent most of the problems that people have with bears, ac- cording to Dave Bostick, assis- tant district wildlife biologist for the North Willamette Water- shed District. “The fixes are pretty simple,” said Bostick. “Don’t feed the bears – intentionally or uninten- tionally.” Unsecured garbage is one of the leading causes of conflicts between bears and humans, according to Bostick, who rec- ommends keeping garbage cans inside a garage or shed until the morning of pick-up service. “Don’t put it out the night be- fore or you’re asking for prob- lems,” said Bostick. Pet food bowls left out side and bird feeders improperly hung are the other primary sources of problems, he said. Pets should be fed inside, and bird feeders should be hung away from the side of a building or trunk of a tree so bears can- not get to them. Store extra bird seed in a secured location, and keep the area under bird feed- ers clean. Compost piles should be covered and outdoor barbecues kept clean. The object is to take away any incentive for bears to come around, and it usually boils down to food. These precau- tions are much more effective if everybody in the neighborhood follows them. “If you follow these tips but the person down the street doesn’t, they could still cause bear problems for you and your neighbors,” Bostick said. He suggested that, if bears are found venturing into a neigh- borhood, that people work co- operatively with each other and ODFW to resolve the problem. All of these precautions are aimed at keeping bears from habituating themselves to hu- mans because, if they lose their fear of people, it can become a potentially dangerous situation. ODFW recommends that in the unlikely event a person en- counters a bear they react as follows: · Give the bear a way to es- cape · Steer clear of bear cubs · Stay calm and do not run or make sudden movements · Back away slowly as you See Bear on page 14