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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 2009)
Page 10 The INDEPENDENT, November 19, 2009 State budget topic at Nov. 15 Town Hall Left to right, State Senator Betsy Johnson, State Represen- tatives Brad Witt and Debbie Boone during recent Town Hall in Vernonia. Twenty-six Vernonia citizens took time out of their Sunday evening plans, November 15, to attend a Town Hall meeting with State Senator Betsy John- son, and State Representatives Brad Witt and Debbie Boone. The Town Hall was billed as an opportunity to discuss Ore- gon’s budget shortfalls, rev- enue options, and other issues before the Legislature con- venes in February. After being asked about the projection for state revenues and what will happen to servic- es provided by the state, John- son responded that since Ore- gon relies on income taxes, “the most volatile funding,” the state is projecting about a $4 billion problem and they may have to make $2 billion in service cuts to balance the budget. Witt and Boone con- curred with Johnson’s expla- nation of the budget problems facing Oregon. There will be a January elec- tion with Measures 66 and 67 asking voters to approve ideas to increase revenue by adding additional taxes for corpora- tions and individuals making over $125,000 or couples mak- ing over $250,000. Specific in- formation on these measures will start showing up in mailbox- es in January. Other discussion centered around the need for green and small business opportunities in this area and the possible use of the state’s income tax “kick- er” refunds for a rainy day fund to help balance the budget dur- ing economic recessions. Chance to Become Scholarships given $55,000 The estate of Portland resi- dent Mona Dobbins recently al- located $55,000 to be directed to The Chance to Become En- dowment Fund of Columbia Learning Center. The Chance to Become Scholarship program is a unique program in that it tar- gets non-traditional scholarship candidates, with recipients nominated by local educators rather than the customary ap- plication process associated with most scholarships. As of 2009, Columbia Learning Cen- ter (CLC) has awarded over 100 Chance to Become schol- arships with a value in excess of $500,000. Each scholarship is $5000 awarded to the stu- dent over a two year period. Chance to Become scholar- ships have helped area stu- dents attend Oregon State Uni- versity, University of Oregon, Portland Community College, Concorde Career Institute, Lower Columbia College, Clackamas Community Col- 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 lege, Eastern Oregon State College, Portland State Univer- sity, Mt. Hood Community Col- lege, Brigham Young University and many others. The Chance to Become pro- gram is supported through pri- vate donations and the annual fundraiser, Black Tie & Blue Jeans. CLC was founded with a mission to create and nurture an environment which values life-long learning, building com- munity relationships, and is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organiza- tion. Donations to Chance to Become may be sent to the Co- lumbia Learning Center at 375 S. 18th Street in St. Helens. Too many ads not good for kids A child parked in front of the television to watch Saturday morning cartoons is getting an unhealthy double whammy: in- activity and a barrage of junk- food commercials. “The average American child sees more than 40,000 adver- tisements each year,” says Jennifer Young, nutrition and physical activity coordinator for Oregon Public Health Divi- sion’s Office of Family Health. “Half of those ads are for food and 97 percent of those are for sugared cereal, high-calorie snacks and fast food.” The Nutrition Council of Ore- gon is fed up. In October, it launched Marketing Junk Foods to Kids: Oregon’s Parent Awareness Campaign. The statewide campaign includes ads in 200 TriMet buses, posters and bookmarks in child care and health care facilities, and a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TooMany Ads) with useful links to infor- mation on marketing to kids and providing them with healthy food. The Nutrition Council is aim- ing its campaign at parents of young kids. “Children younger than eight years are cognitively defenseless against advertis- ing,” says Young. “They don’t understand sales techniques and accept claims at face value.” The Nutrition Council hopes the campaign will raise aware- ness among Oregon parents about food marketing and pro- vide parents with the informa- tion they need to help their kids make good food choices. “There’s strong evidence that television ads for food and beverages have a direct influ- ence on what children choose !! s l a De t a SAVE up Gre to 50% Save on Hundreds of New Pet Items in stock! For Birds, Fish, Reptiles, Dogs, Cats + to eat,” says Young. “The ma- jority of ads targeting kids are for products high in calories and low in nutrients; foods completely out of balance with healthful diets and contributing to the current obesity epidem- ic.” The Nutrition Council of Ore- gon urges parents to learn all they can about how food mar- keters target kids, so that they can help their children make good choices about the foods they eat and develop good eat- ing habits that can last a life- time. They offer these three suggestions: • Offer children healthy food choices; • Limit TV and computer time; • Teach kids to be media lit- erate and understand the tac- tics advertisers use. The Nutrition Council of Ore- gon is a group of nutrition pro- fessionals representing public health, academic settings, nu- trition and food programs, and non-profit organizations inter- ested in promoting the health of Oregonians through healthy food choices. For more infor- mation, visit the “Too Many Ads” Facebook page at www. facebook.com/TooManyAds. NWS gives new signs to county Columbia County has ob- tained four road signs from the National Weather Service (NWS) to use during flooding events. Representatives from the emergency management and roads departments visited the NWS Portland forecasting of- fice recently to pick up the signs and discuss forecasting for the upcoming winter. The NWS purchased signs for Co- lumbia County as well as other counties within its forecasting area in order to promote safe driving during conditions where heavy rains have flooded local roadways. The red signs say, “Flooding Ahead: Turn Around, Don’t Drown”. See page 3 for Vernonia Library Column