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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2010)
The INDEPENDENT, May 20, 2010 Page 5 Ramsey selected as WAUNA’s first CAP participant Council okays original demo bid Jennifer Ramsey / P HOTO COUR - TESY OF S ANDY S AHAGIAN P ORTRAITURE Wauna Federal Credit Union (WFCU) practices promoting from within and has developed the Career Advancement Pro- gram (CAP) to advance em- ployee careers within the or- ganization. CAP will help identi- fy and develop WFCU’s future leaders, promote employment longevity and growth for em- ployees and also provide suc- cession planning for the credit union. WFCU has selected Jennifer Ramsey, Loan Officer and Member Service Repre- sentative, as the first partici- pant in the CAP program. “CAP is great program for those eager to learn and gain a strong knowledge of any spe- cialty within Wauna Federal Credit Union. I am excited to be the first employee enrolled in CAP,” Jennifer Ramsey CAP is an honors program that prepares program gradu- ates for their desired field or position when the opportunity arises within the credit union. Employees must apply to par- ticipate in the program and manage their own progress. Applications are submitted to a committee for review and ac- ceptance. In order to gain as much as possible from participating in the CAP, participants must complete self-paced studies using WFCU-owned training programs, attend WFCU meet- ings and training sessions rele- vant to the position they are preparing for through CAP, job shadow and work with mentors, and attend relevant external training programs. Upon successful completion of the CAP, participants will be eligible for some or all of the following: tuition reimburse- ment for post secondary edu- cation; a $500 cash bonus; a certificate of completion; partic- ipation in a graduation ceremo- ny; recognition in local newspa- pers; access to external contin- ued training pertinent to their job position; opportunities to at- tend WFCU leadership and management training pro- grams; and opportunity to apply for relevant job positions as they become available. Wauna Federal Credit Union is headquartered in Clatskanie, and has branches in Astoria, Clatskanie, St Helens, Vernon- ia, and Warrenton. Everyone in Clatsop or Columbia counties is eligible for membership. For more information, call our toll free number 1-800-773-3236. Prior council decision was based on cost of court From page 1 Sean Carnahan. No identification was made of the “management team over- seeing the Police Department.” The Independent requested that information, plus informa- tion on the number of police training fee tickets written, VPD’s evidence for the state- ments against the Justice Court, and who wrote the memo. Police Chief Frank Grace’s responded that he would, “for- ward your list to the City Admin- istrator and our City Attorney to determine if any of the nine (9) questions fall under the public records law and if processing, research, and attorney fees ap- ply.” At the council meeting, how- ever, after the memo was read to council by Councilor Kevin Hudson, Chief Grace said, about the $25 Police Training fee, “I found out in late 2009 or early 2010, it hadn’t been given to the court and officers hadn’t been writing it in on the tickets, it had not been incorporated as of January or February.” The Vernonia Justice Court told The Independent that council approved the $25 fee on November 2, 2009, and that Vernonia Police (VPD) had not seemed to understand that the $25 fee applied only to moving violations that occur inside the city limits. VPD has been adding the fee to parking viola- tions and to tickets written out- side the city limits. After one of- ficer, sitting inside city limits on Rose Avenue, was ticketing people who exceeded the speed limit before entering the city, the court talked to Lieu- tenant Mike Conner, who said he’d take care of it. The court also said that they had received no tickets from VPD for over two weeks. Whether a municipal court or a justice court is a better choice for the city of Vernonia, it should be noted that the Jus- tice Court is not simply self- supporting, but put about $45,000 back into the county’s general fund last year. Clatskanie will be increasing their Justice Court starting July 1 because of the cost savings compared to Municipal Court. Small towns across the state are increasingly moving toward Justice Courts and away from Municipal Courts for the follow- ing reasons: • Justice Courts are funded through the county’s budget while Municipal Courts must be funded by the city budget. • Justice Court Judges are elected, while Municipal Court Judges are employees, so their salaries and staff are paid by the city. Most Municipal Court Judges are attorneys, though it is not required, while Justice Court Judges usually are not attorneys. • Justice Courts, in addition to handling Misdemeanor and Traffic/other violation, can also handle landlord/tenant issues, and small claims. Municipal Courts handle only Misde- meanors and Traffic/other vio- lations. • Municipal Courts can hear cases only from inside the city limits, and Justice Courts can hear cases from anywhere in the county. Because Justice Courts hear a broader range of cases from a larger area, they bring in more money and cost less to operate. The City of Vernonia looked at this same issue in the ‘90s and decided to stay with the Justice Court because of the obvious cost benefits. City Administrator Bob Young will make a report to the Council at their June 7 meeting. Council will then have the op- portunity to sort through the is- sues involved, before making a decision. Vernonia City Council held a special joint meeting, May 10, with the Unmet Needs Commit- tee and the top four contractors who submitted proposals to handle demolition services for flood property buy-outs. This meeting was a result of con- cerns brought up by audience members and council mem- bers at the May 3 city council meeting. The Unmet Needs review committee – Jim Tierney, Dan Brown, County Commissioner Tony Hyde, Councilor Kevin Hudson and City Administrator Bob Young – prepared ques- tions so the contractors could expand on what was included in their written proposals. The committee heard from the contractors, reviewed the original documents, and re- scored the proposals. The con- tractors finished in the same or- der as the original results, with Trail’s End in first place, fol- lowed by Staton, Dow Broth- ers, and Dan Riehl. City council then convened their special meeting and voted unanimously to accept the committee’s recommendation to enter into a notice of intent to award the contract to Trail’s End for a minimum of 10 dem- olitions. A notice of intent to award the contract was sent on May 12, with a seven day period for protests. A protest from Staton was received May 17, and will be reviewed before a response is drafted. Buy-outs and demo- litions should start in June.