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The INDEPENDENT, April 7, 2011
Eight new child advocates sworn in
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.
Petunia is about 7 months old. She
is a super-sweet girl who just
wants to play, run, climb, snuggle
and live her life to the fullest. She
gets along well with other cats and
dogs, and is great with kids. She
was kept as an indoor and outdoor
cat. Petunia is a happy little cat
who deserves a person of her own,
Could you be her person?
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
One of the many fishers who
enjoyed the Free Fishing
Derby sponsored by the Pio-
neer Baptist Fellowship.
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INEXPENSIVE – EFFECTIVE
503-429-9410
$4.50 for the first
10 words, then just
10¢ for each
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Judge Ted E. Grove swore in
eight new Court Appointed
Special Advocates on Thurs-
day, March 17. “These new
CASA advocates will dramati-
cally increase CASA for Kids,
Inc.’s ability to serve abused
and neglected children in Co-
lumbia County,” said executive
director Kathryn Bourn.
Court Appointed Special Ad-
vocates (CASAs) are trained
volunteers appointed by a
judge to advocate for the best
interests of abused and neg-
lected children in juvenile court.
The new CASA advocates un-
derwent more than 30 hours of
training focusing on the issues
that bring children into the fos-
ter-care system (parental sub-
stance abuse, domestic vio-
lence, physical abuse and sex-
ual abuse), and learned how to
advocate for children.
“We’re especially excited
that two couples have decided
to volunteer,” said CASA super-
visor Sara Bonnell. CASA ad-
vocates Tom and Marjorie Fra-
zier of Deer Island and Robin
and Gordon Scherdnik of St.
Helens plan to work on their
cases as couples. “Encourag-
ing men to volunteer as CASAs
can be challenging, but their
experience and perspectives
are so important,” Bonnell
added.
The other new CASA advo-
cates are Rajean Lakson of
Deer Island, Yvonne Pea of
Warren, Linda Rusch of St. He-
lens, and Donna Holmes of
Scappoose.
CASA advocates work with
children, biological parents,
siblings, relatives, casework-
ers, foster families, attorneys,
teachers, counselors and other
treatment providers to ensure
that the children’s best inter-
ests are identified and met. The
newly sworn-in CASA advo-
cates brings the total program
volunteers to 19. The program
currently serves 35 children in
the foster-care system, and
Bourn anticipates that the new
CASA advocates will serve an
additional 20 to 25 children.
Each CASA is appointed to
advocate for a single child or
sibling group. CASA advocates
work to ensure that children ei-
ther return home to their par-
ents or find a permanent family
as quickly as possible, while
also ensuring that their educa-
tional, medical, mental health
and cultural needs are met.
To support the new and on-
going advocates, CASA for
Kids, Inc. is kicking off an Adopt
a CASA program. While CASA
for Kids receives some money
from the State of Oregon and
from foundations, the organiza-
tion needs significant support
from the community. CASA for
Kids, Inc. needs to raise $3,000
a month to make up the differ-
ence between state and foun-
dation funds and its basic oper-
ating expenses. Businesses
and individuals can adopt a
CASA for the full year for
$1,428 or adopt for a month, ei-
ther on a continuing or one-
time basis, for $119 a month.
The adoption donation covers
the costs of ongoing staff su-
pervision, background check,
and training. For more infor-
mation on how to adopt a
CASA, contact executive direc-
tor Kathryn Bourn at 503-366-
4133 or director@casaforkid
sinc.org.
Free Fishing Derby a success
The Vernonia Community
Free Fishing Derby, presented
by Pioneer Baptist Fellowship,
saw over 86 participants, aged
four to 56 years of age. One
family came all the way from
McMinnville.
Approximately $2,500 in
prizes were given away, includ-
ing tackle packages and rod
and reel sets from ultra-light to
steelhead.
Tons of cookies were eaten
before, during and after the
event, washed down by coffee
or hot chocolate (a case of hot
chocolate was used).
Said Pastor John Cahill of
the event, it was held “in the
spirit of Wells Oviatt, who
shared his love of fishing with
so many.”