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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 2011)
The INDEPENDENT, April 21, 2011 School Board told construction on time The Vernonia School Board of Directors met for their regu- larly scheduled monthly meet- ing on April 14. At the meeting, it was reported that the district needs budget committee mem- bers, as only one is returning, there are two who have applied and there are six open posi- tions. The board approved two new members; Robert Buch- holz and DeAnna Pearl. Any- one wishing to serve should contact the district office for an application. The first budget committee meeting is sched- uled for 6:00 p.m. on May 26. Superintendent Ken Cox gave the board a Facilities Evaluation Committee Update. The committee has been dis- cussing security options from Sonitrol and ADT though no de- cision has been made. They are also working on the LEED status versus the cost of all items that would provide “points” for the status. Cox told the board that he and Steve Effros met with the district’s architect, BOORA, and P&C Construction on the Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) contract. The board au- thorized Cox to accept the final, as presented, which indicated a $3.8 million increase, from $38.2 million to $42 million. Reasons for the increase in- cluded an increase in materials cost (such as asphalt roofing up 30% and fuel prices up 27%), the late start on the proj- ect due to FEMA requirements and wet winter weather, and energy efficient design changes. The committee in- tends to continue looking for additional savings, and starting work on the Rural Sustainabili- ty Centers classrooms may be delayed while fundraising con- tinues. On the other hand, Cox told the board that construction work is now on schedule and the first gym wall should be poured this week. The board approved staff re- tirements for Linda Welsh, Jean Roediger and Steve Whiteman. Whiteman will re- turn part-time next year. Board Chairman Jim Krahn stated, “We appreciate what they’ve done and wish them well in their retirement. After returning from an exec- utive session held to review and evaluate the employment related performance of the chief executive officer (which was closed to the public in ac- cordance with Oregon’s public meetings rules), the board unanimously agreed to renew the contract of Superintendent Cox through June 2013. The next board meeting will be held on Thursday, May 12, starting at 6:00 p.m. at the dis- trict office. Vernonia High announces Honor Roll The following students were named to the Vernonia High School academic Honor Roll for the 2010-11 third quarter Honor Roll. Grade Point Aver- ages (GPA) are on a scale of 0- 4, with 4 equaling a perfect score. Principal’s Honors, 4.00 – Jacob Bringman, Charlette Burghard, Austin Cutright, Daniele Della Rossa, Janae Easlon, Robin Elliott, Jessica Gardner, Kristina Halvorson, Laura Hein, Brandon Krause, Joshua Liman, Samantha Lin- dauer, Mickell Maller, Nathen McMillen, Marina Mekidiche, Deziree Roberts, Mason Roberts, Sicily Scott, Kelly Smith, Ellyssa Szlavich, Sarah Wagner, Natalie Wallace, and Samantha Wallace. High Honors, 3.50-3.99 – Jacob Alf, Ashlee Archer, Sky- lar Binford, Rachel Brown, Sa- vannah Brown, Kaytee Burghard, Crystal-Ann Carreon, Stephanie Castro, Holly Cavett, Rowan Cheney, Christopher Dass, Katie Elling- ton, Mackenzie Frantz, Mandi Hartford, Aleksa Jacimovic, Quinlan Johansen, Kayleigh Johnston, Dalibor Kufa, Kendrick Leaverton, Alyssa Loggins, Vaclav Michalec, Jackson Miller, Kaitlin Paleck, Heather Patton, Leonie Perron- Anctil, Elizabeth Poulin, Laura Rice, Leah Rice, Austin Rum- bolz, Rowan Scott, Daniel Shaw, Sean Solberg, Roy Sta- cy, Lane Sullivan, and Shyla Tungwenuk. Honors, 3.25-3.49 – Kimber- ly Allen, Makenzie Anderson, Silvia Barberis, Joshua Butch- er, Dillon Dethlefs, Cierra Hen- son, Tudor Ionita, Jerrid John- ston, Rebecca Levenseller, Samantha Morgan, Courtney Paden, Justin Rainbolt, Makay- la Roach, Parker Roach, Sven Sandstrom, Felica Schirmeis- ter, McKenzie Tarkalson, and Paul Whiteman. Honorable Mention, 3.00- 3.24 – Mackenzie Brown, Cody Cowles, Jordan Docherty, Shy- lo Dooley, Ryan Groom, Danielle Hevron, Adonis Hop- kins, Jonah Ooten, Jerrian Pond, Austin Ragsdale, Ariel Rock, Megan Rock, Bridger Steward, Kacy Strand, Nicole Thompson, Jacob Vifquain, and Chad West. VMS Honor Roll The following students were named to the Vernonia Middle School academic Honor Roll for the 2010-11 third quarter. Principal’s Honors, 4.00 – Makayla Adams, Tristan Adams, Jacob Butcher, Emilee Easlon, Brett Jones, Sheyenne See VMS on page 21 Child safety seat event on May 12 Columbia County Safe Kids will be holding a child safety seat check up by appointment only on Thursday, May 12, in Vernonia. While the clinic is free, please call to schedule an appointment with Natalie at 503-410-3169 to reserve your car seat check up today! The clinic provides an op- portunity to have a child safety seat checked by a certified technician, who can correct misuse, help with installation and teach you how to correctly install the seat. Technicians can also check for seat recalls. There is no cost to have a tech- nician check your child safety seats. Please plan to spend 30- 60 minutes at the event. Through a grant funded by ACTS Oregon, Columbia County Safe Kids can provide low-cost child safety seats to families in need. Families who receive Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) should contact their worker about payment for a seat. For more information about the clinic or the Columbia County child safety seat program, con- tact Natalie at 503-410-3169. Page 11 Chalk Talk Chalk Talk is a column of information about Vernonia schools. This column was provided by Superintendent Dr. Ken Cox. Spring was a long time coming this year. Who would have thought we would have snow in April? One of these days it is going to warm up, in the meantime, be- sides tulips and daffodils springtime brings budget planning for the next school year. This year is going to be particularly difficult. The current state budget forecast leaves the district $800,000 be- low what it would take to establish a normal school year next year. Even the much touted $5.7 billion K-12 education budget increase will only decrease our projected shortfall by about $76,000. When I became a superintendent I never dreamt that education funding in Oregon over the past five years would lead us to elim- inate elementary music, our middle school principal/curriculum di- rector, middle school counselor, and three elementary teaching positions, among the many other changes that have taken place, in order to balance the budget year after year. The unfortunate truth is that we can’t change our revenue, we can only adjust our expenses to what the state provides our district. As we move closer to establishing a budget for next year we face difficult choices. The district is still looking for community members to join the budget committee to assist the board in ad- dressing these shortfalls and to ensure the best possible educa- tion for our children with the funds that are available. Please contact me via email or stop by the district office for a budget committee application. We need your input and your ideas. Good essay worth $500 to winner The Oregon State Bar New Lawyers Division has released the topic and reference materi- als for its annual high school essay contest, which carries a $500 cash scholarship prize for first place, $350 for second place, and $250 for third place. It is open to all high school stu- dents in Oregon. The deadline is Wednesday May 11, 2011. This year’s topic involves freedom of speech and a pro- posed law restricting the sale of certain video games to minors. Students are asked to write a persuasive essay arguing for or against the legislation, while utilizing the legal reference ma- terials provided. The contest topic, reference materials and rules are avail- able on the Oregon State Bar’s website at www.osbar.org. G RAND O PENING & O PEN H OUSE C ELEBRATION !! Saturday May 7 th 10am C OME M EET THE N EW O WNERS Raffle for: Cat Spay provided by Vernonia Veterinary Clinic, Bird Seed, Grooming Discounts & other Great Products & Prizes! Columbia County Humane Society Will be here with Pets You Can Adopt Creatures Pet Supplies & Grooming 503-429-PETS (7387) www.creaturespetshop.com 736 Bridge St. Vernonia
