The INDEPENDENT, June 2, 2011
School board discusses budget,
Boosters donation saves band
The Vernonia School Board
of Directors held a special
meeting Thursday, May 26, pri-
or to the scheduled Budget
Committee Meeting.
At the special meeting, the
board approved the sale of the
11 acres of the current school
campus to the City of Vernonia
for $240,000, then authorized
Superintendent Ken Cox to
sign a lease with the City allow-
ing the schools to continue us-
ing the current location. Both
were routine, expected steps in
the continuing process of
switching the old school loca-
tion to the city while allowing
the school to continue using it
until the new school is ready.
The only change made to
budget-driven staffing changes
was that Band Teacher Rob
Izzett’s position will not be cut.
That change was made based
on a promise by the Band
Boosters of a $9,000 donation
to keep the position in place.
The next Budget Committee
meeting will be June 2, starting
at 6:00 p.m., at the district of-
fice. The next regularly sched-
uled board meeting will be
June 9, at 6:00 p.m. at the dis-
trict office.
Page 11
VHS Leadership Class raises money for Jaden
An assembly on May 19 was
the final step in a project by the
Vernonia High School Leader-
ship Class. A check for
$2,799.74 was presented to
Jaden Krieger, of Banks, who is
fighting cancer. Jaden’s par-
ents and brother also attended
the presentation.
At the beginning of the
school year the class, under
the leadership and guidance of
Teacher Teri Willard, decided
they wanted to do a service
project. Crystal-Ann Carreon, a
junior, put forth the idea of help-
ing Krieger after her mother
saw the Jaden Collection Cans
at Jim’s Thriftway in Banks. The
class agreed and designated
Carreon as the point person for
the project. Carreon contacted
the family and the class started
fundraising.
The Leadership Class held
assemblies,
sold
rubber
bracelets, held a spaghetti feed
with bingo (Banks High School
students also helped with this
one), held a Joy for Jaden Tal-
ent Show, accepted a $500 do-
nation from KLS Surveying, ac-
cepted a donation from the
Free Wheelers Poker Night,
and the proceeds of Shave the
Due where A.J. Due raised
money and ended up getting
her head shaved.
Krieger has been fighting the
cancer and is doing better. Part
of the money raised was to
send the family to Great Wolf
Lodge, a waterpark in Wash-
ington. The family plans to go in
August. The rest of the money
will help the family with medical
expenses.
Carreon, when asked about
her feeling on the day the
check was given to the
Kriegers, said, “It was really
cool, it was the final chapter. I
felt a good sense of accom-
plishment.” She learned many
things from heading the project,
including how important com-
munication can be and not to
expect everything to go perfect-
ly, but that it all works out.
Carreon also made new
friends, including Jaden’s
brother.
See picture on page 1.
Parents have role in teen summer jobs
VHS Scholarship Coordinator Dana Hyde and VHS Senior
Megan Rock shown receiving the $5K at the May 14 scholar-
ship award banquet where Rock won a scholarship grant.
Hyde efforts earn VHS career grant
A few years back, Vernonia
High School Scholarship Coor-
dinator Dana Hyde found a
new scholarship resource
through Kaiser Permanente.
Kaiser offers a $2,000 college
scholarship to high school sen-
iors in its service area. As a re-
sult, in 2009, Vernonia student
Gavin Roberts received the
scholarship. In 2010, the
$2,000 was awarded to Dylan
Vaughn.
On May 14, Hyde went to
the awards banquet to see the
2011 scholarship go to Megan
Rock. Rock was one of 119 stu-
dents from Oregon or Washing-
ton to receive the Kaiser schol-
arship. Also in attendance at
the banquet were Vernonia
High School Principal Nate Un-
derwood and Superintendent
Dr. Ken Cox.
When Hyde was asked to
come to the front, she didn’t
know what to make of it. Then
she found out that Kaiser had
decided to give a first-ever
$5,000 award to Hyde to be
used for her Vernonia High
School Career Development
Program.
“I feel so blessed,” Hyde
said, “and I’m humbled that our
school is the recipient of this
grant.”
With school out for the sum-
mer, many young teens will be
taking summer jobs – and par-
ents should be involved in their
children’s employment deci-
sions and know where their
teens are working, who they
are working for and what they
are required to do.
Check regularly with your
teen to make sure everything is
going okay. Discuss any prob-
lems they might be having and
make sure they have the prop-
er training and supervision.
Watch for signs that the job
might be causing too much
physical or mental strain.
Safety is a major concern.
Teenagers may not be aware of
their rights, or their employers
may not be aware of child labor
laws. Be sure to know federal
and state child labor laws. Fed-
eral law limits the number of
hours that 14-15-year-olds can
work in non-agricultural work-
sites. During the summer, fed-
eral law allows 14-15-year-olds
VHS/VMS Band plans a car wash
The Vernonia Middle and
High School band students will
be holding a car wash on Sat-
urday, June 11, at the District
Creatures
PET & SUPPLIES
PET & SUPPLIES
Office.
Donations gladly accepted
and appreciated!
We have Cute Cuddly
Kittens Looking
for Homes
(503-429-PETS (7387)
www.creaturespetshop.com
736 Bridge St. Vernonia
OPEN
Mon-Sat 10-6
to work only between the hours
of 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. They
are banned from some jobs –
baking/cooking, operating pow-
er-driven machinery including
lawn mowers, climbing ladders,
working in warehouses or con-
struction, unloading trucks/con-
veyors, jobs that require climb-
ing ladders, operating forklifts
or power equipment such as
meat slicers, power saws and
bakery machinery.
By contrast, youth at any
time may be employed in agri-
culture by their parent or
guardian. Statistics show that
agriculture is one of the more
dangerous occupations. Each
year more than 20 million
youths are exposed to farm
safety hazards.
Source: Robert Thomas, Exten-
sion & Ag Information, University of
Missouri
Car seat event
in St. Helens
Columbia County Safe Kids
will be holding a child safety
seat check up on Thursday,
June 9, in St. Helens from 4:00
to 6:00 p.m. The free clinic will
be held at the St. Helens Fire
Station, 105 S. 12th Street, St.
Helens. The clinic provides an
opportunity to have a child
safety seat checked by a certi-
fied technician, who can cor-
rect misuse, help with installa-
tion and teach you how to cor-
See Car on page 19
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.
Lucy is a friendly girl with a very
sweet and gentle temperament.
Lucy had a litter of kittens when
she first came to CHS and she was
a great mom. Lucy loves people
and doesn't mind other cats but
would prefer to be the only cat in
your loving home. Lucy has been
waiting for her forever home since
September 2010 and would truly
appreciate a second chance!
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