The INDEPENDENT, March 3, 2011
Page 11
Chalk Talk
Chalk Talk is a column of information about Ver-
nonia schools. This column was provided by Su-
perintendent Dr. Ken Cox.
board meeting (June 9),
which also acts as a
budget hearing.
We are looking for
three more budget
committee members to represent the communi-
ty. Please consider taking a few hours of your
time to share your ideas. We are looking for in-
put and have invited our community budget com-
mittee members to attend our BAT meetings
where we will brainstorm and prioritize cost sav-
ing ideas.
By contributing only a few hours of your time,
you will not only become more familiar with the
way we finance our schools, but you can help
make a difference in the future of our children.
We met with the building inspectors and city
planner last week to make sure we get every-
thing in order to proceed. We began pouring
concrete at the new school site this week!
Meanwhile, back at the district…we have a
budget to prepare for next year.
We are facing some cuts, though not as many
as we thought we faced last December. The cur-
rent K-12 budget forecast is for $5.6 billion,
which translates to needing to cut approximately
$433,000 from our current budget. To do this we
have begun holding Budget Assistance Team
(BAT) meetings involving ad-
ministrators, staff, and commu-
nity members from the district
budget committee to discuss
our options.
We need your help! The de-
cisions we will be making will
impact the education of our
children. You can be part of this
process!
Officially there are only
three meetings that a budget
The name you
committee member needs to
attend: a budget committee
trust for:
meeting held as part of the
May school board meeting
• Gasoline
(May 12), a second meeting to
• Diesel Fuel
review the budget in detail
• Oils • Solvents
(May 26 for about 90 minutes),
and the last being the June
• Additives • Greases
Run with Extra Confidence
with Chevron
DELO 400 ™ PLUS
MOTOR OIL
Vernonia’s 15 Austin Edgar blocks a shot by Gaston’s 30
Tyler Lewis in recent game at Gaston. Photo by Chase Allgo-
od/News-Times.
OSU announces 4-H scholarships opportunities
OSU Extension Service in
Columbia County has an-
nounced their $5,000 scholar-
ship for 4-H youth attending
Oregon State University in the
fall.
The Columbia County 4-H
Finance & Investment Scholar-
ship is designed for youth who
are interested in pursuing a de-
gree at Oregon State Universi-
ty. This is a multi-year scholar-
ship, of up to $1,250 per year,
for four years at OSU. Appli-
cants must have participated in
the Columbia County 4-H pro-
gram and have some experi-
ence in the area of business
and finance (examples: mem-
ber of FBLA, high school per-
sonal finance or investments
classes). Scholarship recipi-
ents must be attending Oregon
State University and be major-
ing in Finance or a closely re-
lated field in either the College
of Business or the Agricultural
and Resource Economics Pro-
gram.
Application and letters of
recommendation must be re-
ceived by April 1, 2011. For
questions about qualifying, call
Jenny Rudolph, Extension Ed-
ucator, OSU Extension Ser-
vice, Columbia County at 503-
397-3462.
For more information and a
copy of the application, go to
http://extension.oregonstate.ed
u/columbia/sites/default/files/C
olumbia_County_Scholar-
ship_Application_2010.pdf; call
or visit the OSU Extension Ser-
vice office at: 505 N. Columbia
River Highway, St. Helens.
Pet of the Month
Columbia Humane Society in St. Helens has a variety of wonderful pets
available for adoption. Find the pet that’s right for you in the shelter
at 2084 Oregon Street. Phone 503-397-4353
Open Mon - Fri 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 11 am. to 5 pm.
JayJay is a wonderful 4-1/2 year
old Australian shepherd mix. He is
house trained and can be trusted
indoors unsupervised. According
to his previous owner JayJay gets
along with most dogs but is not
good with other fertile males. He
prefers not to share his toys with
other dogs but is not aggressive
about it. JayJay loves people and
being petted.
The Columbia Humane Society is a No-Kill non-profit shelter
dedicated to helping friends find each other since 1985.
This Pet of the Month is Sponsored by:
Senator Betsy Johnson
Winter is here… see us for
A NTI F REEZE
H EATING O IL
CALL
(503) 429-6606
WILCOX & FLEGEL
720 Rose Avenue • Vernonia