The INDEPENDENT, January 20, 2011
School board hears construction update
At the January 13 Vernonia
School Board meeting, the
board was presented with a
copy of the financial audit for
the fiscal year ending June 30,
2010. The district’s books and
procedures were so clear and
concise that the auditors did
not even include a Manage-
ment Letter, that would outline
areas of concern or the need
for improvement.
Since January is School
Board Appreciation Month, the
board was treated to dinner
and received a number of pres-
ents from students, demon-
strating their appreciation.
New school Project Manag-
er Steve Effros reported to the
board that construction is on
schedule and that P&C Con-
struction is scheduled to start
pouring concrete at the begin-
ning of March.
Fundraising efforts for the
new school continue to add up,
with new contributions an-
nounced by Providence Med-
ical Group in the amount of
$10,000 and three $50,000 do-
nations (names not yet avail-
able) reported.
Superintendent Dr. Ken Cox
received approval from the
board for his suggestion that
the district’s mission statement
be reviewed in the near future.
In other business, the board:
• Approved 17 policy up-
dates; and
• approved the Education
Service District local plan for
2011-12.
The next meeting, on Febru-
ary 10, will be held earlier than
usual to accommodate a Town
Hall meeting. The board will
meet in the cafeteria (green
building) from 5:30 to 6:30
p.m., before the Town Hall,
which starts at 6:30 p.m. in the
same location.
Agriculture scholarships are available
The Oregon Agricultural Ed-
ucation Foundation (OAEF)
has announced that applica-
tions are available for two
scholarship programs for the
upcoming 2011-2012 academic
year.
Oregon
Farm
Bureau
Memorial Scholarships (OF-
BMS), with 10-12 awards annu-
ally, are open to any Oregon
high school graduate preparing
for an agriculture or forestry-re-
lated career. Students attend-
ing institutions outside of Ore-
gon are also eligible. The goal
of the OFB Memorial Scholar-
ship program is to “Support stu-
dents that will have a positive
impact on production agricul-
ture and other agriculture-relat-
ed fields”. The deadline for ap-
plications is March 1, 2011.
The Oregon Farm Bureau
Associate Member Scholar-
ship, funded by COUNTRY Fi-
nancial, one award of $1000, is
open to any Oregon High
School graduate/resident with
an associate membership
(non-farming/non-voting), or a
dependent child of an associ-
ate member, in Oregon Farm
Bureau preparing to continue
his/her education through a
junior college, or a four-year
college or university with intent
to seek a bachelor’s degree.
Students attending institutions
outside of Oregon are also eli-
gible. Employees of Oregon
Farm Bureau and COUNTRY
Financial and their immediate
families are not eligible for this
scholarship. The goal of the
COUNTRY Financial Oregon
Farm Bureau Associate mem-
ber Scholarship is to “Help fu-
ture community and business
leaders obtain a baccalaureate
education with the aim of
strengthening understanding,
cooperation, and mutual re-
spect among rural, urban, and
suburban Oregonians.”
Scholarship procedures, ap-
plications and additional infor-
mation are available on the
Oregon Farm Bureau website.
(http://www.oregonfb.org/pro
grams/scholarships.shtml)
Student works sought for anthology
A single stream, A string,
a line, A bit of water,
Small, so fine.
But then the hearts, Of
many lives, Turned a dy-
ing river To one that
thrives.
– Claire Brown, Grade 4
“Honoring Our Rivers – A
Student Anthology,” a Willa-
mette Partnership project, is
designed to stimulate aware-
ness of an important but fragile
resource, our Watersheds – the
waters, land, plants, animals,
and habitats that make up our
beautiful and fragile river sys-
tems.
The project is also designed
to provide an opportunity for
students to have their original
literary, artistic, and scientific
works published alongside in-
vited artists and writers such as
Ursula LeGuin, Barry Lopez
and Kathleen Dean Moore.
Moore, the author of Wild Com-
fort, recently remarked, “Con-
gratulations to Honoring Our
Rivers! What could be more im-
portant for the world than invit-
ing young people to pay loving
attention to its wonders and
wounds? Reading their delight-
and sorrow-filled stories re-
minds us grownups why we
have to work so hard to save a
beautiful future, and why we
must succeed.”
All students, from kinder-
garten through college, are eli-
gible to submit their original
works between now and Febru-
ary 25, 2011. Literary submis-
sions can include fiction, poetry
or essays. Artwork, including
black and white photography,
sketches or drawings, is en-
couraged either as a separate
submission or as an aid in clar-
ifying and supporting written
See Literary on page 22
Chalk Talk
Chalk Talk is a column of information about
Vernonia schools. This column was provided
by Grade School Principal Aaron Miller.
Vernonia School
District 47J
Town Hall Meeting –
Educational Programs
Thursday, February 10,
6:30-8:00 p.m.
The Vernonia School District will be holding an Educational
Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, February 8, from 6:30-8:00 p.m.
in the district cafeteria. This Town Hall Meeting will be an oppor-
tunity for parents and community members to become more famil-
iar with the programs and projects staff are working on with stu-
dents to provide a comprehensive, well-rounded, effective educa-
tion for students in Vernonia.
While planning is still underway, we are planning for a number
of breakout sessions, including updates on the Vernonia Rural
Sustainability Center, the Title I reading programs at WGS, our
District-wide Positive Behavior Intervention Support Program, Ca-
reer Education offerings, Scholarships application information,
and more. During these sessions, information will be provided by
staff, but there will also be ample opportunity for questions to be
asked and answered. People attending the meeting will be able to
move from station to station, to learn more about the topics that
interest them the most.
Babysitting for children of all ages, and activities for school age
children (K-12) will be provided by District staff and Vernonia High
School leadership students. Coffee and tea will also be served.
While there has been a great deal of discussion about our new
school facilities, there has not been a great deal of communica-
tion on the great things that are happening in Vernonia’s schools.
This is a great opportunity for parents and the community to find
out more information about the programs that are in place to help
our youth grow and succeed.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Ball teams sign-ups scheduled
Baseball, t-ball and softball
sign-ups will take place on
Wednesday, February 2, and
Wednesday, February 16, both
from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in
Room 6 at Washington Grade
School.
For more information, call
Brooke Morrison (baseball) at
503-429-0560, Melissa Za-
736 Bridge St. Vernonia
Mon-Sat 10-6
vales (t-ball) at 503-429-2710
or Katie Poetter (softball) at
503-429-0700.
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$
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Dog, Cat
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PET SUPPLIES,
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Page 11
Per vaccine, per animal
Through February 2011
Thursdays
9 am - 5 pm
1-503-556-3084
58376 Nehalem Hwy. S. Vernonia