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The INDEPENDENT, January 20, 2011
Between the Bookends
by Nancy Burch, Librarian
Vernonia Public Library
In late December the library received a
Ready to Read Grant for 2010-11 in the
amount of $1,000.00. This annual grant,
funded by the General Fund of the State of
Oregon, is administered by the Oregon
State Library. Established in 1993 to assist
local libraries in helping achieve the Ore-
gon Benchmarks for childhood learning
and development, this grant must be used
to improve public library services to chil-
dren. Realizing the importance of encouraging youngsters to sus-
tain their reading skills throughout the entire year, we have chosen
to use this grant to support our Summer Reading Program by pro-
viding incentives for reaching reading goals, supplies for crafts,
themed books, and by presenting entertaining and educational
performances for the youngsters in the community. We agree
wholeheartedly with State Librarian Jim Scheppke when he says,
“We want every child to come to our library reading programs and
to go home with a stack of books that will help to make them life-
long readers and learners.”
We feel that the weekly Pre School Story Time and After School
Reading Enrichment-Activities are equally important in encourag-
ing youngsters to have a love of reading. All youngsters are wel-
come to take part in these activities, which take place on Mondays
at 10:30 and on Tuesdays at 3:30 respectively. We rely on funding
from the Friends of the Library for supplies for these programs,
and the new year is a good time to join the Friends of the Library
by paying dues of $5.00 for an individual or $10.00 for a family,
and to think about helping this organization in their ongoing efforts
to raise money to supplement library programs/materials. Nearly
$800.00 has been donated to the book fund that was initiated to
restore the amount that the book budget was reduced this year.
Administered through the Friends, this amount is, of course, being
used to purchase books, but the Friends have also provided
snacks and supplies for the after school and pre school programs,
helped pay for having the carpet cleaned, paid for overnight lodg-
ing for authors, etc. and have recently provided money for imple-
menting improvements to the children’s area. (Watch for this—it’s
going to be fantastic!)
New acquisitions include the latest Joe Pike-Elvis Cole thriller,
The Sentry, by Robert Crais; Tami Hoag’s suspenseful novel, Se-
crets to the Grave; the first in Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy, Fall of
Vernonia
Veterinary
Clinic
Formerly Midway Veterinary Clinic
700 Weed Avenue
Vernonia
Giants; Decision Points by George W. Bush; Rescue by Anita
Shreve; William and Kate: The Love Story by Christopher Ander-
son; and In the Still of the Night by Ann Rule. Patron interest in
knitting and crocheting has been revived lately, bringing about the
addition of several new books on these techniques.
Book discussion for the month will take place on Monday, Jan-
uary 31 at 5:30 with My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Dur-
rell being the topic.
Movie night will be Thursday, January 27 at 6:30 with Happy,
Texas being shown. This is a comedy where a case of mistaken
identity leads to a beauty of a con game. The public is welcome to
enjoy the movie with friends while having some free popcorn.
Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Avenue
Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tues., Thu. 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Preschool Story Time: Mondays, 10:30 a.m. when school is
in session.
Phone: 503-429-1818
Money stretching tips provided
by Jason Alderman (www.prac-
ticalmoneyskills.com)
Between holiday shopping
bills now coming due, in-
creased winter heating bills
and the upcoming income tax
season, many people are feel-
ing the pinch. Your best bet for
getting back on track is proba-
bly to trim expenses.
Here are several ideas – big
and small – that might do the
trick:
• Lower your thermostat.
Each degree you lower it saves
up to three percent on your
heating bill. Turning down your
thermostat 10 to 15 degrees for
eight hours at night can save 5-
15 percent. For a $300 month-
ly heating bill, that’s up to $45
in savings.
• Up to 30 percent of heated
or cooled air can be lost
through leaks, so add insula-
tion, apply weather stripping
around windows and doors,
and caulk around ducts, plumb-
ing bypasses and other open-
ings.
• Water heating is the third-
largest home energy expense,
so try lowering your water
heater temperature to 120° F or
lower to see if it’s still comfort-
able.
• EnergyStar products con-
sume up to 50 percent less en-
ergy and water than standard
models (visit www.energystar.
gov).
• Compact fluorescent lamps
use up to 75 percent less ener-
gy than incandescent bulbs
and, although initially more ex-
pensive, last three to 10 times
longer.
• A faucet leaking one drop
per second wastes about 2,000
gallons a year.
• If you have low-deductible
home, renter’s or auto insur-
ance (say $250), ask your in-
surer how much your premi-
ums would drop by raising the
deductible to $500 or $1,000.
Many save 15 to 30 percent or
more.
• Balance your checkbook to
avoid fees for overdrawn ac-
counts and returned checks.
Ask your bank about phone or
email alerts when your balance
drops below a certain level or
payments are due.
• Switch to free checking.
You can shop rates for banks
at www.bankrate.com and find
credit unions for which you’re
eligible at the Credit Union Na-
tional Association (www.cuna.
org).
• Consider generic vs.
brand-name drugs; copay-
ments are usually much lower.
• Ask whether your insur-
ance offers quantity discounts
for mail-order prescriptions. Of-
ten, the copayment for a 60- or
90-day supply will equal a 30-
day supply at a regular phar-
macy.
• Ask your doctor or pharma-
cist about pharmaceutical com-
panies’ drug assistance pro-
grams for uninsured or low-in-
come people. There’s a lot of
paperwork involved, but you
could save thousands of dol-
lars if you qualify.
• Examine your phone bill
for services you’re not using
like call waiting, call forwarding
or caller ID. Dropping them
could save $100 a year or
more, depending on your plan.
• Slow down. Fuel efficiency
drops about 5 mpg for each 10-
mile speed increase over 55
mph.
And finally, this may be my
favorite off-the-wall tip: By
switching from Ariel, the most
common type font, to Century
Gothic, someone printing 25
pages a week on their home
printer could save $20 a year in
ink costs.
For more cost-saving ideas:
• AARP has great tips on the
“Budgeting & Saving” site
(www.aarp.org).
• America Saves is full of
savings strategies and links to
other resources (www.americ
asaves.org).
• Visa Inc.’s free personal fi-
nancial management program
Practical Money Skills for Life
(www.practicalmoneyskills.co
m) offers numerous savings
and budgeting tools.
Valentine’s Day is coming soon!
Call 503-429-4910 to get a
Valentine’s Day ad
in our February 3 issue