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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 2011)
The INDEPENDENT, April 7, 2011 Head Start seeking 2011-2012 students Head Start, a federally fund- ed pre-school program, is seeking students for the 2011- 2012 school year. Applications are being taken from all three- and four-year-olds in Columbia County. Recruitment for fall en- rollment is now in progress and will be completed in August. If parents are interested in enroll- ment information they are urged to phone immediately. Prospective students must be three- or four-years-old by September 1, 2011. Children must be from limited income households or have a disability and/or special needs to qualify. Head Start incorporates a total family program that in- cludes nutrition, education, medical and dental services for the enrolled child and home visitations. USDA approved meals are served. Training on various subjects and on-the-job training is offered to all enrolled families. Limited transportation may be available. The U. S. Dept. of Agricul- ture (USDA) and the State of Oregon prohibit discrimination in all USDA programs and ac- tivities on the basis of race, col- or, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability. The Vernonia Center is lo- cated in the Blue Heron Hollow Apartment complex. Families who live in the Mist, Birkenfeld and Vernonia areas may phone 503-429-9243 for more infor- mation. The Clatskanie Center is lo- cated behind the high school in Clatskanie. Families in the Clatskanie, Quincy, Westport and Knappa areas may phone 503-728-2940 for more infor- mation. The Rainier Center is locat- ed in the Riverside Church building. Families in the Rainier and Goble area may phone 503-556-2807 for more infor- mation. Students in the St. Helens area attend class at the center on Columbia Blvd. next to Mc Bride School. Families may contact 503-397-4114 for more information. Youth Soccer Club now taking signups The Vernonia Youth Soccer Club is ready and eager for Fall 2011! Not only is the club ready for Fall 2011 signups now, but the week of June 27 through July 1 Vernonia will host a soc- cer camp for ages 3-12 (and a little older if there’s interest). The club has also arranged for Timbers’ tickets at a reduced rate to the April 30th game – it promises to get the kids who attend jazzed about the sport, as they will get the opportunity to meet the team and run through the fan tunnel with them! The goal is to grow the club, providing fun new activities for the kids and, hopefully, get enough kids signed up to allow the club to get away from co-ed teams for the older youth teams this fall. The Boosters club is taking on a new code of con- duct requirement for all sports and soccer is already on board and ready to go. The soccer camp will be run by Challenger sports; a group that taught soccer skills to over 100,000 kids in the US in 2010. The soccer coaches will be British or Irish, stay in town with host families during the week of camp and really give kids a chance to grow, learn and prac- tice their soccer skills with a guarantee of 1000+ touches of the ball each during camp. All kids get a soccer ball, T-shirt and personal soccer evaluation form completed by the coach- es. Those who sign up 45 days prior to the event get a free jer- sey mailed to them to sport around town. Further informa- tion on the soccer camp details and signup is found at this web- site: https://registration.chal lengersports.com/FindA Camp/FindACamp.asp?Metho d=CampSession&Key=0|1|176 97&~= . Signup opportunities for Ver- nonia Fall 2011 Soccer will be- gin at Run for the Arts day on April 14, the Washington Grade School field day and a session at the Vernonia Library in June. If there are any questions, please contact Mark Lemay at 503-432-7742 or via email mr- lemay2@yahoo.com. Exchange student families sought World Heritage Student Ex- change program, a public ben- efit organization, is seeking lo- cal host families for high school boys and girls from Spain, Ger- many, Thailand, Norway, Chi- na, Russia, France, The former Soviet Union countries, Den- mark, Italy, Sweden and more. Host families are asked to include the student as a mem- ber of their family. Couples, sin- gle parents, and families with and without children in the home are all encouraged to host. You can choose a student for a semester or for the school year. Each World Heritage student is fully insured, brings his/her own personal spending money and expects to contribute to his/her share of household re- sponsibilities. For more information call us at 1-800-888-9040 or email us at info@world-heritage.org . VHS Equestrians off to good start The Vernonia High School Equestrian Team had fun and did well at their second March district meet, Coach Diane Benes reported. Senior Brianna Carr took 1st place in keyhole and 4th in bar- rels, placed 9th in pole bend- ing, and 10th in figure 8. Senior McKenzie Tarkalson placed 5th in In Hand Trail, 6th in steer daubing, and 12th in keyhole. Junior Brett Benes took 5th place in steer daubing and 14th in pole bending. Chrissy Garri- son, also a junior, earned team points in every event entered. Carr and Tarkalson placed 4th in the team birangle events, and 6th in Team Flags. “As a coach, it has been fun watching these athletes team up and work with, and train their horses,” Benes said. “They have done a great job learning to put their horseman- ship skills to the test.” Benes added that she “is proud of them and feels very confidant that they will have some State qualifiers this year.” Coach Benes is encouraging the local community to come to McMin- nville to show support at the kids last district meet on the third weekend of April. Page 11 Chalk Talk Chalk Talk is a column of information about Vernonia schools. This column was provided by Superintendent Dr. Ken Cox. I am happy to report that despite our many challenges we con- tinue to educate our students well. If you are a parent of a Vernon- ia student you should have received a copy of the District Report Card last week. In that report Vernonia High School improved from a Satisfactory to an Outstanding rating while both Washing- ton Grade School and Vernonia Middle School maintained their Satisfactory ratings from last year. We have also met the federal No Child Left Behind requirements for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the past two years. My hat goes off to our staff who make the best of our current circumstances as they ensure that our children get a good education. I would also like to inform you that this week we started using our Alert Now phone system to make calls to parents whenever a student is absent and we have not been notified. Each morning the system will call about any student with an unexcused absence and another reminder to parents of VMS and VHS students each afternoon. If you get a call, please call our district attendance number (429-7801) to make sure we get things sorted out as soon as possible. Finally, our thanks go out to the many, many people who con- tinue to make the future of our schools possible. Most recently we had Governor Kitzhaber here to celebrate the FEMA funding, which means $10.4 million toward our new schools (with the re- mainder of the $11.2 million going toward demolition and the new Spencer Park at our current site). In making this funding a reality I would like to thank Dan Brown and Kathy Denckla, from the Community Action Team here in Vernonia, and Marie Knight and Dawn Plews in the district office, for all the work they have done to get the information together to qualify for and apply for these funds. With regards to the Governor’s visit, my thanks go to Bet- sy Miller, who does so much behind the scenes in coordinating fund raising efforts for the district, and the VHS and VMS leader- ship students, Vernonia Rural Education Corps (VREC) Crew and the many WGS self-managers who attended and did so much to help make the event successful. We are where we are today as a community not only because of who we are, but also because we have learned how to work to- gether in establishing partnerships, and to put the good of the whole over our individual desires and aspirations. Thank you for being committed to the future of Vernonia! G RAND O PENING & O PEN H OUSE C ELEBRATION !! Saturday May 7 th 10am Join us as we welcome the new owners of “Creatures”, Michal and Dennis Smith & Celebrate Ben and Lisa Edger’s 10 years in business Bring your Mom and get $3 off your Mother’s Day Gift from Vernonia Florist. F REE C ANDY B ASKET T REATS , C AKE , P UNCH , C OFFEE , R AFFLE P RIZES B ALLOONS FOR K IDS Mackenzie Carr, Miss Rodeo Oregon will be signing autographs Vernonia Florist Creatures Pet Supplies 503-429-PETS (7387) (503) 429-2000 www.creaturespetshop.com www.VernoniaFlorist.com 736 Bridge St. Vernonia