Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 2010)
The INDEPENDENT, July 15, 2010 Langmaid chosen to join school board The July 8 Vernonia School Board met early to interview for an open position on the board, created by Tammy Jennings resignation. The only candidate for the position was Bill Lang- maid who has served on the district’s budget committee for a couple of years. The board was obviously pleased by his responses to their questions and Langmaid was appointed and sworn in as soon as the regular board meeting began at 6:00 p.m. Superintendent Ken Cox told the board that the next new schools Town Hall will be held in the cafeteria building on July 28, starting at 7:00 p.m. Cox told the board that ground breaking for the new school is still planned for October of this year. Completion of an Environ- ments Assessment process, which usually takes 18 months, is expected to be done in six months. New student fees were ap- proved, including a $15.00 mid- dle school student body fee, a $10.00 fee for middle school art classes, new art ($20.00) and shop ($20.00) fees at the high school level, and increased fees for pay-to-play sports. The board approved 2010- 2011 substitute teacher pay at $170 per day, the same rate as this past year. Approval was given for the school band to go on a spring break trip, by bus, to California next year. In other business, the board: • Elected Jim Krahn for board president and Cari Lev- enseller as vice-president, • toured a small bus, newly delivered to Curl’s Transporta- tion. The bus has two seats that can be removed to make space for wheelchairs. The next board meeting is scheduled for August 12, at 6:00 p.m., in the District office. Stub Stewart offers many activities Many activities are planned for the next few weeks at L.L. “Stub” Stewart State Park, just a hop, skip and a jump away on Hwy. 47. You don’t have to be camped at the park to enjoy the programs and activities. July 15 – Signs of Wildlife (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 10 a.m.); Eyewitness Reptile (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 9 p.m.) July 16 – Junior Rangers Leave No Trace (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 10 a.m.); Leave No Trace (Dairy Creek Am- phitheater, 9 p.m.) July 17 – Saturday’s at Stub: Building a Park (Hilltop Day- use Area, 10 a.m.); OMSI Star Party Lunar Viewing (Hilltop Day-use Area, 9 p.m.) July 18 – Newts are Neat (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 10 a.m.); Eyewitness Amphibian (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 9 p.m.) July 19 – Slugs, Bugs and Other Ughs (Stub Stewart Wel- come Center, 10 a.m.) July 20 – Treasure Hunt (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 10 a.m.) July 21 – Incredible Insects (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 10 a.m.); Wonderful Watersheds (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 7 p.m.) July 22 – Where Does JR Beaver Live? (Dairy Creek Am- phitheater, 10 a.m.); The Silent Invasion (Dairy Creek Am- phitheater, 9 p.m.) July 23 – Junior Rangers Leave No Trace (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 10 a.m.); Leave No Trace (Dairy Creek Am- phitheater, 9 p.m.) July 24 – Cowboy Day, co- sponsored by the Friends of Stub Stewart State Park and Banks-Vernonia Rails to Trails, includes a treasure hunt for hik- ers, bikers and equestrians for prizes ($6 entry fee), dancing horses, square dancing demonstration, real cowboys, and more. Begins at Hilltop Day-use Area at 8 a.m. for treasure hunt, other activities and booths open until 3 p./m. July 24 – Leave No Trace (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 9 p.m.) July 25 – Incredible Insects (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 10 a.m.); Tall Trees (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 9 p.m.) Pics, Pups ‘N’ Pancakes in the Park Load everyone up on August 1 for Columbia Humane Soci- ety’s “Pics, Pups “N” Pancakes in the Park”. Come out to Tro- jan Park for a 2K stroll with your favorite furry friend and enjoy a pancake breakfast with all the trimmings afterward. Admission is $25 per individ- ual or $40 for couples/family. Goodie bags are included with admission. Photos will be taken by professional photographer Beth Polito from Creekside Studios of Scappoose. The fun starts at 8:00 a.m. with registration, followed by breakfast at 9:30 a.m., then take a nice walk. What a great way to start the day and help out the dogs and cats of local shelter! July 26 – Signs of Widlife (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 10 a.m.) July 27 – Newts are Neat (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 10 a.m.) July 28 – Talkin’ Trash with JR Beaver (Dairy Creek Am- phitheater, 10 a.m.); Eyewit- ness Reptile (Dairy Creek Am- phitheater, 9 p.m.) July 29 – Incredible Insects (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 9 p.m.) July 30 – Treasure Hunt (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 10 a.m.); Tall Trees (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 9 p.m.) July 31 – Saturdays at Stub, Where Does JR Beaver Live? (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 10 a.m.); Owl Prowl (Dairy Creek Amphitheater, 7 p.m.) August 1 – Slugs, Bugs and other Ughs (Stub Stewart Wel- come Center, 10 a.m.); Incredi- ble Insects (Dairy Creek Am- phitheater, 9 p.m.). Yappy Hour for Humane Society The Columbia Humane So- ciety will hold their next Yappy Hour fund raiser July 23, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., at Scap- poose Creek Inn, 53758 W Lane Road (near the Scap- poose Airport), with a backyard setting to enjoy the evening with canine friends. Ten per- cent of food and drink purchas- es will be donated to the hu- mane society. Well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome. Page 11 Chalk Talk Chalk Talk is a column of information about Vernonia schools. This column was provided by Superintendent Ken Cox. School may be out but we are still hard at work this summer getting all of our ducks in a row so we can break ground this fall. We continue to communicate at least weekly with FEMA and Oregon Emergency Management to make sure that the FEMA buy-out of our existing schools is on track. Last week we met face-to-face with a FEMA representative about making sure that the outline or Scope of Work that needs to be done to complete this process contains no surprises. The scope will include: historic considerations, two levels of environmental site assessments, biological evaluations, and a wetland delin- eation and mitigation plan. Once this scope is completed, it will be posted on our website for your review. In order to keep you informed of what is going on and the re- sults of the many different studies that are being done, we will be holding a Town Hall Meeting in the VHS Cafeteria at 7:00 p.m. on July 28. In addition to reports on the “scope” studies mentioned above, we will discuss the Spencer Park transfer, Construction Manager/General Contractor selection process, and updates on all other aspects of the various projects that are currently in process. We look forward to seeing you there. I am making regular posts to the website at www.vernonia schools.org so you can check there for updates on specific proj- ects. You may have noticed that there is (finally) a skate-board/bicy- cle park in town. It is currently located in the old tennis court be- hind the district office. It is important for everyone to know this is not a school sponsored park, we are only providing the space at the request of the Vernonia Lion’s Club. Use of the park is volun- tary and at the users’ own risk. Please make sure your children have helmets and adequate safety gear when they spend time at the skate park. The kids I have seen at the park all seem to be having fun, so let’s make it as safe as possible for them! Time for Fall Soccer registration Two registration sessions are scheduled for Fall Soccer Sign-ups. Sign up at the Ver- nonia Library on July 20 and July 22, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Registration will be taken for U6, U8, U10 and U12 Teams. Registration fees are $50 or $75 per child. Get $10 off the registration price by emailing or calling Mark Lemay today at mr lemay2@yahoo.com or call 503-432-7742. Dates given for car washes There will be car washes on July 24 and July 31 at the Ver- nonia school district office, as fund raisers for the VHS Sophomore Class homecom- ing and their 2011 Costa Rica trip. Creatures & Vernonia Florist PET SUPPLIES, GROOMING & U-WASH (503-429-PETS (7387) www.creaturespetshop.com Plants ~ Antiques ~ balloons ~ Handmade Crafts Stuffed Toys ~ Greeting Cards & More (503) 429-2000 www.vernoniaflorist.com OPEN Mon-Sat 10-6 736 Bridge St. Vernonia Family Owned & Operated Superior Customer Service