The INDEPENDENT, September 3, 2009
Page 5
Ramsey financial class in Vernonia Free collection day for Household Hazardous Waste
by Susan Mullikin
Vernonia Christian Church
will be offering Dave Ramsey
Financial Peace University
(FPU) classes beginning in
September. FPU is a 13 week,
biblically based class that
teaches the principles of
spending your money more
wisely, saving money, and get-
ting out of debt so you can live
a life of financial peace.
A free preview class will be
offered September 13, at 4:00
p.m. in the YFC building of Ver-
nonia Christian Church. The
13 week series will start Sep-
tember 20 at 4:00 p.m., and will
continue every Sunday there-
after. The class is open to all
members of the community
and all will be welcomed.
Class enrollment requires
purchase of an FPU class
membership kit. Purchase of kit
entitles each family to a lifetime
membership to Dave Ramsey’s
Financial Peace University, and
the opportunity to attend class-
es free for lifetime. Cost of kit
and further details will be dis-
cussed at the preview session.
If you have questions you
may contact Susan Mullikin,
the class facilitator, at 503-429-
0181 or 503-369-3245.
Saturday, September 12,
Vernonia residents can dispose
of household hazardous waste
at a free collection event host-
ed by Columbia County.
“Our monthly events in St.
Helens are open to the whole
county. But once a year we try
to make it really easy for resi-
dents in more remote parts of
the county to participate in haz-
ardous waste disposal,” said pro-
gram administrator Bill Potter.
This free collection event is
open to residents from through-
out the county, runs from 8:00
a.m. to 12 noon, and will be lo-
cated at the Vernonia Fire Sta-
tion, 555 E. Bridge Street.
Acceptable HHW items in-
clude: oil based paints and
stains, thinners and solvents,
pool and spa chemicals, pesti-
cides, herbicides, fertilizers and
poisons, motor oil, antifreeze
and other automotive fluids,
household cleaners and disin-
fectants, batteries, art and hob-
by chemicals, aerosol spray
products, propane tanks or bot-
tles from barbecue grills, fluo-
rescent lamps and ballasts,
items containing mercury, med-
ical sharps, and small arms
ammunition. No containers
larger than five gallons please.
Standard household gar-
bage and latex paints are not
accepted at HHW events. At
this time, the Transfer Station
does not accept radioactive
material at HHW collection
events or during regular opera-
tions.
Columbia County’s HHW
services
are
maintained
through transfer station collec-
tion fees.
Small businesses in Colum-
bia County can get help with
hazardous waste disposal too.
If you own or work for a small
business and would like more
information, call 503-397-7213.
Info on financing a small business County jobless rate stays above average during July
The U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA) Portland
District Office, 601 S.W. Sec-
ond Avenue, Portland will be
holding a briefing on financing
a small business. The session
is free and will be held from
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on
Thursday, September 17, at
601 S.W. Second Avenue,
Suite 2030, Portland, Oregon.
The Loan briefing is present-
ed by a SBA Loan Specialist
and will cover financing options
to start or grow a small busi-
ness. Topics will include: SBA
Loan Guarantee Program,
credit requirements, use of pro-
ceeds, how to approach a
lender and loan proposal assis-
tance.
Time permitting, there will be
a mini-tour of the Business Re-
source Center. No early regis-
tration is required. For addition-
al information, call 503-326-
2682.
Columbia County’s season-
ally adjusted unemployment
rate was 14.3 percent in July,
essentially unchanged from the
previous month (14.5%) but still
higher than the year before
(6.7%). The rate was above the
statewide rate (11.9%) and the
national rate (9.4%). Total em-
ployment rose by 167 to 21,651
and the number of unemployed
people rose by 64 to 3,621. To-
tal employment this July was
Farm, forest operators: Act now to join program
Oregon’s agricultural pro-
ducers and operators of non-in-
dustrial private forests are
urged to apply for the Conser-
vation Stewardship Program
before September 30 to be
considered for this year’s fund-
ing. This is the first signup for
the newly authorized program
under the 2008 Farm Bill.
Through the voluntary pro-
gram, producers have the op-
portunity to receive conserva-
tion payments through the
USDA, Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS).
“A limited number of acres
will be accepted into the pro-
gram each year for the next five
years,” Oregon NRCS State
Conservationist Ron Alvarado
said.
NRCS is accepting Conser-
vation Stewardship Program
applications on a continuous
basis. Applicants will be evalu-
ated and ranked for funding
competitively within the state,
based on the conservation they
agree to install and maintain on
their land.
Program rules were recently
approved, and the application
window for the 2009 funding
cycle closes at the end of the
current Fiscal Year on Septem-
ber 30. Applications not re-
ceived in time or not selected
for the current signup can be
held for consideration in future
years. As more applications are
accepted, competition for en-
rollment is likely to increase in
future years.
In Oregon, individuals, legal
entities, and American Indian
tribes have the opportunity to
enroll just over 200,000 acres
of working cropland, grassland,
pastureland, rangeland, or non-
industrial private forestland in
Fiscal Year 2009.
Final payment rates will be
determined this fall. At that
time, pre-approved 2009 appli-
cants will be notified of their
payments, which cannot ex-
ceed $40,000 per year. Those
who then decide to enter into a
Conservation Stewardship Pro-
gram contract will receive their
first annual payment in October
of 2010.
For participation in 2009, ap-
plicants must complete the fol-
lowing steps before September
30:
• Complete a Self-Screening
Checklist to determine if the
program is a good fit. The
checklist is available on the
NRCS Web site and at local
NRCS offices.
• Work with the local USDA
Service Center to verify pro-
gram eligibility.
• Submit a program applica-
tion form.
• Submit an operation map,
aerial photograph or overlay
that identifies the agricultural
and/or forest operation and as-
sociated acreage amounts.
Once these steps are com-
pleted, NRCS will work with ap-
plicants to gather further infor-
mation about the land, select
additional conservation activi-
ties, conduct field visits, and
develop a stewardship plan.
For additional information
about the Conservation Stew-
ardship Program, please go on-
line to: http://www.or.nrcs.
usda.gov/programs/csp/in
dex.html or visit your local
NRCS field office. For more in-
formation on how payment
rates will be determined, visit
the National NRCS Web site at:
http://www. nrcs.usda.gov/ pro-
grams/new_csp/special_pdfs/P
ayment_Range_Esti
mate_081309.pdf.
1,247 fewer than one year be-
fore and there were 1,975 more
people unemployed this year.