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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 2010)
The INDEPENDENT, February 4, 2010 OAEF announces two scholarship opportunities are now open The Oregon Agricultural Ed- ucation Foundation (OAEF) has announced that applica- tions are available for two scholarship programs for the upcoming 2010-2011 academic year. Oregon Farm Bureau Memorial Scholarships (OF- BMS), with 10-12 awards an- nually, are open to any Oregon high school graduate preparing for an agriculture or forestry-re- lated career. Students attend- ing institutions outside of Ore- gon are also eligible. The goal of the OFB Memorial Scholar- ship program is to “Support stu- dents that will have a positive impact on production agricul- ture and other agriculture-relat- ed fields”. The OFB Associate Member Scholarship funded by COUN- TRY Financial, one award of $1000, is open to any Oregon High School graduate/resident with an associate membership (or a dependent child of an as- sociate member) in Oregon Farm Bureau preparing to con- tinue his/her education through a junior college, or a four year college or university with intent to seek a bachelor’s degree. Students attending institutions outside of Oregon are also eli- gible. Employees of Oregon Farm Bureau and COUNTRY Financial and their immediate families are not eligible for this scholarship. The goal of the COUNTRY Financial Oregon Farm Bureau Associate mem- ber Scholarship is to “Help fu- ture community and business leaders obtain a baccalaureate education with the aim of strengthening understanding, cooperation, and mutual re- spect among rural, urban, and suburban Oregonians.” The deadline for applica- tions is March 1, 2010. Schol- arship procedures, applications and additional information are available on the Oregon Farm Bureau website: http://www.ore gonfb.org/programs/scholar ships.shtml Page 11 Chalk Talk Chalk Talk is a column of information about Vernonia schools. This column was provided by district Super- intendent Dr. Ken Cox. It has been a busy couple of weeks! The Ore- gon Solutions Steering Committee met last week to discuss progress on finding funding for our new schools. It was a very encouraging meeting where Tony Hyde, Mark Ellsworth (of the gover- nor’s office), myself, and others reported on the meeting we had January 14 with Governor Ku- longoski. This was not the first time I had met with him, but it was the first time he spent over an hour talking just about Vernonia and the chal- lenges we face as a community. We met in a room with an oversized dining table, with four chairs to a side and one at each end. When the governor arrived he shook hands around the room and then sat down at the head of the table. I sat down near the other end. Dur- ing the meeting he looked directly at me, eyeball to eyeball across the table, and asked, “What do you want your community to look like in twenty five years?” As I responded I remember looking him in the eye as I spoke of what I hoped for the future. It was obvious from his questions and comments that he was still current with our situ- ation and was encouraging us to think holistical- ly about the future of our schools and our com- munity. Senator Betsy Johnson led our delegation and shared our work to date and our needs, let- ting the Governor know that our current plan calls for state support for our project and that we had identified a number of potential avenues for further exploration of that support. His response was positive, indicating his willingness to help. All in all, it was a very exciting meeting. Earlier that day we met with Representa- tive David Wu, and ear- lier that week, both Senators Wyden and Merkley. We shared with all of our federal dele- gation our appropriations requests and dis- cussed our need for federal support. We shared with them the recent opportunity to have FEMA buy out our school buildings, which could poten- tially generate more than $5 million toward our project. To a man, they indicated they would do all they could to help us get these funds and each gave advice on other ways we can get the funding we need. In addition to these meetings, I have spent many hours meeting with our architects finding ways to keep our building design within our budget and still provide a quality, sustainable fa- cility, with all our programming needs, that will last into the next century. I would like to share the latest designs with you at an upcoming Town Hall meeting (February 25th, 7:00 p.m., in VMS Cafeteria), where we will also discuss ways to in- clude local contractors and workers in construc- tion when it starts. We will be following this up with a Town Hall meeting in conjunction with the next Board meeting, March 11th, where we will discuss the latest budget and finance informa- tion. I encourage interested members of the community to attend one or both of these meet- ings to keep up to date and to provide feedback to us. As always, please feel free to contact me via email, phone, or by stopping by the office. I would be happy to answer your questions. Veterinary check-ups recommended for all puppies and kittens From page 10 ensure your pet will be a treas- ured member of the family and not a “problem child.” The sooner you get started with training, the better. Socializing your puppy is an important part of this training. Socialization is the process by which a dog learns how to be- have appropriately with others in its environment. If you desire more advanced training, your veterinarian may be able to recommend some- one in your area that has class- es you and your pet can attend. • Nutritional Counseling. Since the most active growth period for young dogs and cats is the first seven to 10 months, advice on the best choice of diet is important. Overweight or malnourished pets face serious health risks. • Health Insurance. Along with the joys of a new puppy or kitten come the responsibilities of pet ownership, including meeting the cost of veterinary care. An increasing number of pet owners are choosing to pur- chase pet health insurance policies for their pets. Such policies typically provide reim- bursement coverage for your pet’s eligible medical treat- ments, surgeries, lab fees, X- rays, and prescriptions. A good time to obtain cover- age for a pet is when they are young. Older pets may have medical conditions that would be excluded from coverage. As with people, older pets may in- cur higher premiums. Your vet- erinarian may be able to rec- ommend a company or plan V ALLEY V ETERINARY C LINIC R ABIES S PECIAL $ 50 8 Per vaccine, per animal Through February 2010 Open Thursdays From 9 am to 5 pm that he or she has experience with. The Oregon Veterinary Med- ical Association is a nonprofit organization of veterinarians who are dedicated to helping people give their animals a high quality of life. Pet of the Month Columbia Humane Society in St. Helens has a variety of wonderful pets available for adoption. Find the pet that’s right for you in the shelter at 2084 Oregon Street. Phone 503-397-4353 Open Mon - Fri 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 11 am. to 5 pm. Sarge was brought to Columbia Humane Society because his owners didn’t have time for him. This 11-month-old sweetheart is a playful, loving, and friendly dog. Full of energy with lots of love to give, Sarge is waiting for his forever home with people who can give him the love and attention he deserves. He is good with kids, cats, other dogs and is house broken. The Columbia Humane Society is a No-Kill non-profit shelter dedicated to helping friends find each other since 1985. 1-503-556-3084 This Adopt a Pet is Sponsored by: 58376 Nehalem Hwy. S. Vernonia Senator Betsy Johnson