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