The INDEPENDENT, June 16, 2011
2010-11 was a good year for athletes
by Gordon Jarman, Athletic Di-
rector
Successful, is the word I
come up with when I look back
on the athletic accomplish-
ments of our spring sports ath-
letes. To start things off, the
Vernonia track team qualified
six individuals to the state track
meet and all six placed in state
competition. The softball team
defeated Portland Christian
soundly in the first round of the
state play-off and qualified for
the state play-offs. The base-
ball team was good enough to
make the league play-offs, but
did not finish in the top two so
did not qualify for state. The
two club sports offered in the
spring, equestrian and golf,
had some individual success-
es. For more specifics on each
sport I have prepared the fol-
lowing report.
Softball – The girls ended
the season with an 11-12 over-
all record and an 8-7 league
record. This was good enough
for a third place finish in league
and a state qualifying berth.
Unfortunately, we ended up
Page 11
with a very tough draw for the
first round. We played Regis
again this year, the same team
we played last year in the first
round, and they had seven of
nine starters returning. The re-
sults were the same – Vernon-
ia lost to a very talented team
that continued to advance in
the play-offs. Five
Vernonia girls were named
to the first or second all-league
team. Natalie Wallace and
Megan Rock made first team.
Joining them were Samantha
Wallace, Ariel Rock and
Stephanie Castro as second
See Spring on page 21
Chalk Talk
Chalk Talk is a column of information
about Vernonia schools. This column
was provided by Superintendent Dr. Ken
Cox.
Parker Roach obviously enjoyed his Vernonia High School graduation ceremony on June 4.
School board okays 190 day calendar
The Vernonia School District
Board of Directors approved
the 2011-2012 district calendar
at their June 9 meeting. Provid-
ed with two versions of 190 day
(173 student days) calendars,
plus one option with one of the
versions, the board discussed
an option that would have re-
turned students to school the
Monday before the Labor Day
weekend. The final calendar
chosen is a modification of the
pre-Labor Day start, with the
first student contact day being
Thursday, September 1. The
school year will end, barring
add-ons for snow days, on
June 7.
The board also approved the
2011-2012 budget that the
budget committee, which in-
cludes all board members, plus
other community members,
had already approved.
Grade school Principal
Aaron Miller gave the board the
welcome news that the U.S.
Forest Service has given a
$25,000 grant towards the Rur-
al Sustainability Center and the
Native Plant Project, and an-
other $33,000+ grant may
come from the Bureau of Land
Management.
In other business, the board:
• Approved the May 17 Spe-
cial District Election results that
returned board members Greg
Kintz, Tim Bamburg and Bill
Langmaid for another term;
• heard that the district was
down by five students, but that
that the good news is that tim-
ber dollars came in at around
$800,000 instead of the antici-
pated $400,000;
• was told that the new
school fundraising project has
now reached 74 percent of the
projected $42 million needed,
including more good news of
the recent gift of $60,000 by
Joe and Bonnie McNutt.
The next regular meeting of
the district’s board will be on
July 14, staring at 6:00 p.m. in
the district office.
Another school year comes to a close. This one seems to have
lasted for a very long time. I hope that each of you who have chil-
dren in school will make some special family memories this sum-
mer. You don’t need to go away to an exotic location to have fun
and enjoy family. Oftentimes the best memories are when your
Dad or Mom just spent a little extra time with you. So I would en-
courage you to spend some quality family time together this sum-
mer.
While spending time with your kids and in Vernonia this sum-
mer you don’t need to worry about where to go for your children’s
lunch. Thanks to some dedicated volunteers there will be a Sum-
mer Lunch Program at the VHS cafeteria from June 20 to August
19. In fact, if you come at 8:30, there will be breakfast followed by
activities until 11:30, when lunch will be served. Thanks to grant
funding, this is a free service to ALL children ages 1 to 18. For
more information contact Cathy Meyer at 503-522-5311 or 503-
429-8033.
I would like to thank those who have been and will be involved
in this enormous effort this summer. A special thanks is in order
for DeAnna Pearl and Heather Lewis, both representing the Ver-
nonia Prevention Coalition, who were instrumental in getting the
right people to the table to make this a reality. Thank you DeAn-
na and Heather!
On a final note, at last week’s meeting the board was able to
approve a 190 day instructional calendar with 173 student contact
days for next year. This was made possible by the fact that our
teachers voted to work 190 days for 180 days’ pay, and our clas-
sified staff agreed to freeze their salaries from this year to next,
with no hourly increases whatsoever. I am honored to work with
staff who are so dedicated and committed to the education of your
children that they would make such sacrifices. Please thank them
whenever you see them for helping to provide a better future for
your children.
Have a great summer.
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