The INDEPENDENT, January 6, 2011
Join CASA and help children in court
CASA for Kids, Inc. has
formed to carry on the work of
Court Appointed Special Advo-
cates in Columbia County.
CASAs (or Court Appointed
Special Advocates) are trained
volunteers appointed by a
judge to advocate for the best
interests of abused and neg-
lected children in juvenile court.
The main job of CASA volun-
teers is to advocate for foster
children to have a safe and lov-
ing permanent home. “CASAs
ensure that these children do
not fall through the cracks,” not-
ed CASA for Kids Executive Di-
rector Kathryn Bourn. “And giv-
en the budget cuts to social
services, those cracks are be-
coming chasms.” Meanwhile,
child abuse is on the rise. In
Columbia County, the rate of
“founded” abuse and neglect
reports increased 68 percent
between 2007 and 2009.
In Oregon, every child with a
pending juvenile-dependency
case is entitled to have a CASA
volunteer. “Unfortunately, in
Columbia County, we don’t
have nearly enough volunteers
to serve all the children,” Bourn
said. CASA for Kids currently
serves about 15 percent of chil-
dren in the foster-care system.
In order to serve all the chil-
dren, CASA for Kids needs to
train an additional 50 to 75 vol-
unteers. Most CASA volunteers
advocate for just one child or
one sibling group. CASA for
Kids will offer a new CASA
training, starting February 24.
Training topics include child
abuse, substance abuse, do-
mestic violence, cultural com-
petency issues, speaking in
court, role of DHS, poverty, and
CASA guidelines. Volunteers
receive 30 hours of new CASA
training, write a sample court
report, and observe experi-
enced CASAs in court before
getting assigned a case of their
own.
CASA volunteers come from
all walks of life, ethnic groups
and educational backgrounds.
“What they have in common is
tenacity and compassion for
children,” Bourn said.
Currently, 12 CASA volun-
teers advocate for 37 children.
With more than 260 new juve-
nile dependency cases having
been filed in Columbia County
Circuit Court this year, that
leaves 223 children without a
CASA. Not all of those children
wind up in foster care; some re-
main in their family home while
their parents or other family
members work with the Depart-
ment of Human Services. Ei-
ther way, however, having a
CASA volunteer to advocate for
the child is extremely impor-
tant.
Studies have shown that
children with a CASA spend
less time “in the system.” They
either return to their parents or
are adopted more quickly than
children who do not have
CASAs. Children with CASAs
also receive more services to
assist them with their educa-
tional, medical and psychologi-
cal needs. When a CASA advo-
cates for the child, the child
tends to have more contact
with extended family members
too.
CASA advocacy is a unique
volunteer role. While juvenile
case information is highly con-
fidential, as parties to the case,
CASAs receive child protection
reports and medical, counsel-
ing and school records. CASAs
meet regularly with the chil-
dren, their biological and foster
parents, caseworkers, the
child’s attorney, other family
members, and community
service providers. Once ap-
pointed, CASAs go to court
and participate in hearings and
settlement negotiations at all
phases of the case. They make
their own report to the court
Please CASA on page 8
VPD offers fraud information
The Vernonia Police Depart-
ment has provided contacts for
people who have been the vic-
tim of fraud, or who want more
information on how to avoid be-
coming a victim. Fraud is
wrongful or criminal deception
intended to result in financial or
personal gain.
For internet fraud, go to
http://www/ic3.gov. For phone
scams, call 888-195-8501 or
Federal Trade 877-982-4357 or
see http://www.phonebusters.
com. For fake check frauds, in-
formation is available at http:
www.fakechecks.org.
Other helpful websites are
http://www.stopfraud.gov and
http://www.ripoffreport.com.
Joshua Exzavior Ellis
the family home.
Grandparents are Karen and
Stephen Ellis, and Judy Cle-
ment, all of Vernonia.
Great-grandparents
are
Marion and Jeanette Grant of
Vernonia and Loren Ellis of
Scappoose.
Welcome Additions
Joshua Exzavior Ellis was
born October 25, 2010, to Luke
and Torie Ellis of Vernonia. He
weighed 5 pounds and was 17-
7/8 inches long.
He joined his brother,
Joseph, and sister, Jordynn, at
Mariolino’s
Prime Rib
$13. 99
F RIDAYS & S ATURDAYS
Lunch Special!
S OUP & G RILLED C HEESE
W / SMALL D RINK
OR C OFFEE
$5. 00
721 Madison Ave.,Vernonia • 503-429-5018
Page 7
Senior Center News
Vernonia Senior Center officers and board members for 2011
were elected at the membership meeting in December. Carl
Holsey will serve another term as president; Sykes Mitchell and
Bill James are vice-presidents, treasurer Pat Ray and secretary
Sandy Welch were re-elected. Board members for the new year
are Pauline Coffman, Dick Rosen, Susan Goodhope, Jack Harvey,
George Gans, Larry Bernardi and Francine Lentz.
It’s also time to renew your annual membership or to join for the
first time. Vernonia area residents, age 50 and over, are eligible,
and the $15.00 membership fee provides many important servic-
es for our community.
Free blood pressure checks are back on schedule, courtesy of
Columbia County Public Health, on the 4th Wednesday of each
month from 11 a.m. to noon.
Now that the holidays are over, foot care is also back on the
regular schedule of the second and fourth Fridays of each month.
Call Marilyn Albro, R.N., at 503-429-0406 for an appointment. Foot
care is $15.00.
Lunch is served Monday through Friday at noon. A $4.00 dona-
tion is suggested for those 60 and older, and $5.00 for those un-
der 60. If you prefer lunch to go, for only $5.00 you can call ahead
and place your order.
If you enjoy bingo, you can also have fun at lunch time with free
Bingo each Monday starting at 11:45 a.m.
Breakfast for all ages is again available on Fridays at the Se-
nior Center, from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m., at $3.50 per person. Maple
bars are also made fresh daily for $1.00 each! If you want maple
bars for a gathering of any kind, call 503-429-3912 a day or two
ahead and place your order.
Vernonia Senior Citizens Center: 446 Bridge Street
Senior Information Assistance Rep: Rosie McCoy
Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Thrift Shop Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Phone: 503-429-3912
Master Gardener™ classes
After twenty-one years of
holding the Oregon State Uni-
versity Master Gardener™
classes in St. Helens, and last
year in Vernonia, this year’s
classes will be held in
Clatskanie. The class starts on
Tuesday, March 8, and will
meet every Tuesday through
May 31, from 9:30 a.m. until
3:00 p.m. with a thirty minute
break for lunch.
Topics to be covered will in-
clude vegetable gardening, in-
sect identification, botany for
gardeners, plant problem diag-
nosis, growing fruits and
berries, lawn management,
weed identification and man-
agement, pesticides safety,
and plant propagation.
Weekly instructors include
ft
Cra
&
s
Art sses
Cla
Oregon State University teach-
ing and Extension faculty, ex-
perienced Master Gardeners
and other professionals. Cost
of the series will be $75.00.
Students completing the class
will be expected to pay back
about 50 hours on community
horticultural projects.
Applications will be accept-
ed through February 15. For
more information or to get the
application packet, contact the
OSU Extension Office by call-
ing 503 397-3462, emailing ei-
ther Chip Bubl (chip.bubl@ore-
gonstate. edu) or Vicki Krenz at
(vicki.krenz@oregonstate.
edu), or by stopping by the of-
fice at 505 N. Columbia River
Hwy. in St. Helens.
Vernonia
Florist
75%
Ho OFF
Dec me
ore!
Plants ~ Antiques ~ balloons ~ Handmade Crafts
Stuffed Toys ~ Greeting Cards & More
OPEN Mon-Sat 10-6 ( 503) 429-2000
736 Bridge St. Vernonia www.vernoniaflorist.com