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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 2010)
Page 12 The INDEPENDENT, November 4, 2010 Chalk Talk Chalk Talk is a column of information about Vernonia schools. This column was provided by Superintendent Ken Cox. When I was growing up I spent a lot of time camp- ing as a Boy Scout. Even today I can remember the very first campfire pancake I cooked, it was black on the outside and runny on the inside. We didn’t eat that one, but the ones we did eat weren’t much better. My campfire cooking skills have improved over the years, thanks to lots of practice, and the advice of patient scout leaders. One of the first things I learned in Scouts, was the Scout Motto: “Be Prepared.” I try to follow this even to- day with little things such as never going anywhere without a pen in my pocket. This brings me, in a very round-about way, to the topic of this article, Being Pre- pared. The other day my wife and I attended a presenta- tion about the fact that we are overdue for a very seri- ous earthquake in the Pacific Northwest, one that could cripple Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco si- multaneously. Now this may not happen in our lifetime, but if it did, Vernonia, and a lot of other places in Ore- gon would be cut off from the rest of the world because of damaged and/or unstable bridges. Would we survive? Of course we would! Look what we have done to support ourselves and each other in recovering from two floods. The real question is, “How as the weather service has in- well would we survive?” I would encourage each of dicated that it could be a you, each of us, personally and as families, to exam- nasty winter. ine our individual situation and develop a plan that We can also add others to would answer the question, “What would I do if…” this weather call list, so if you As a district we have some things in place and are are a grandparent or a day- working on others in order to Be Prepared. We prac- care provider, please call the district office (503-429- tice fire drills every month as well as numerous earth- 5891) and we will add you to the list. quake and lockdown drills throughout the year. These As you ponder your preparedness, here are a cou- practices are done to make sure that not only can we ple of questions to consider: get out of the buildings quickly, but that every student Where would you meet if you were separated dur- is accounted for when we do. Often, one of our admin- ing an event? istrators will pull a student out of a group that is head- Do you have enough food and water readily avail- ed outside to see if their teacher will notice that they able to survive for the typical 72 hours it takes for help are not there, and they have always been accounted to arrive in a regional event? for. For the Vernonia District the safety of your children Another way we try to be prepared is our emer- is among our highest priorities. We are working on be- gency phone system, Alert Now. We use this system to ing prepared for any emergency and encourage you to call parents and staff when there is a school-related do the same in your homes. To be better prepared all weather closure or delay, in addition to notifying the lo- you have to do is: Make a plan, Share it with your chil- cal TV stations. We can use the system to notify par- dren, and Practice. ents of other emergencies, as well, and are looking into using it to make attendance calls be- fore the end of this year. While we are on this subject, I will re- mind parents to please make sure that Columbia County Safe Kids, seats. Please plan to spend 30- your correct phone numbers are on file in partnership with Alliance for 60 minutes at the event. with the district so you will get these calls, Community Traffic Safety Additionally, through a grant Child Safety Seat check on Nov. 11 SCHOOL DISTRICTS SEEK TO IDENTIFY UNSERVED CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES The Northwest Regional Education Service District (NWRESD) and Columbia County local school districts seek assistance in locating children with disabilities (birth through age 21) who have not graduated from high school and currently are not attending nor receiving other special education services from public schools. Oregon and federal law mandate appropriate educational services for children with disabilities. The NWRESD provides educational services for eligible children from birth to kindergarten. Local school districts provide educational programs and services for eligible children from kinder- garten through high school. These services are provided as appropriate to each child’s needs and disability. Parents, guardians or others who know of a child (age five through 21*) with a disability who is not currently receiving educational services are asked to notify the special education contact per- son in the child’s home district (see below). LOS DISTRITOS ESCOLARES BUSCAN IDENTIFICAR A LOS NIñOS CON DISCAPACI- DADES QUE NO SE ENCUENTREN RECIBIENDO SERVICIOS. El Distrito de Servicio Educativo de la Región Noroeste (NWRESD) y los distritos escolares del Condado de Columbia desean ayudar a ubicar a niños con discapacidades (recién nacidos hasta la edad de 21 años) que no se hayan graduado de la enseñanza preparatoria (educación media superior) y que actualmente no se encuentren recibiendo otros servicios de educación especial en las escuelas publicas. El Ley de Oregon y la Ley Federal ordenan que se provea servicios educativos apropiados para niños con discapacidades. El NWRESD proporciona servicios educativos desde el nacimiento hasta el kindergarten para los niños que sean elegibles. Los distritos educativos locales proveen programas educativos y servicios para los niños elegibles desde el Kindergarten hasta la Enseñanza Media Superior (Preparatoria). Estos servicios son proporcionados de acuerdo con las necesidades de cada niño y su discapacidad. Se solicita a los padres, tutores legales, u otras personas que conocen a algún niño (en edad de cinco a 21 años *) con alguna discapacidad y que no se encuentre recibiendo servicios educativos, que contacten al distrito escolar de su localidad abajo enlistados. DISTRICT DISTRITO St. Helens Clatskanie Scappoose Vernonia Rainier SPECIAL EDUCATION CONTACT CONTACTO Jeri Deady Mary Mitchell Mike Judah James Brookings Laurie Kash PHONE TELEFONO 503-366-7229 503-728-0587 503-397-2959 503-429-0487 503-556-9121 * For children younger than kindergarten age, please call the NWRESD Columbia Service Center at 503-366-4141. * Para niños menores de cinco años, favor de contactar al NWRESD al 503-366-4141. (ACTS Oregon) and several community partners, will be holding a child safety seat check up on Thursday, Novem- ber 11, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Vernonia Fire Station, 555 E. Bridge Street. The clinic will provide an op- portunity to have a child safety seat checked by a certified technician, who can correct misuse, help with installation and teach you how to correctly install the seat. Technicians can also check for seat recalls. There is no cost to have a tech- nician check your child safety funded by the Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation, Colum- bia County Safe Kids is also able to provide low-cost child safety seats to families in need. Families who receive Tempo- rary Assistance to Needy Fam- ilies (TANF) should contact their worker about payment for a seat. For more information about the clinic or the Columbia County child safety seat pro- gram, contact the Commission on Children and Families at 503-397-7211. Kids: Enter Radon Poster Contest Oregon students age 9-14 are invited to compete in the 2011 National Radon Poster Contest. Radon is odorless, tasteless and invisible. It is a naturally occurring gas seeping out of the ground. It is dispersed in the outdoor air, but can accu- mulate to dangerous levels when trapped in buildings. Ex- posure to elevated levels of radon can cause lung cancer in humans. The poster contest deadline is Sunday, Oct. 31. Contest de- tails and entry forms are avail- able on the Radon Program website at www.healthoregon. org/radon, or by contacting Brett Sherry, 971-673-0442 or brett.w.sherry@state.or.us. Creatures a’s Lis ing om PET SUPPLIES, Gro gain! a GROOMING & U-WASH (503-429-PETS (7387) OPEN www.creaturespetshop.com Mon-Sat 10-6 736 Bridge St. Vernonia