The INDEPENDENT, July 20, 2011
Free sports physicals available
. Sports physicals will be of-
fered at no charge to those
Vernonia students who qualify
for free/reduced meal benefits
on Monday, July 25. Contact
the District Office, 475 Bridge
Street, Vernonia, or by phone
at 503-429-5891 to sign up.
Here are some summer fun ideas
During the summer months,
children have lots of unstruc-
tured time, and parents or
grandparents may have more
time with children. Adults can
enhance children’s develop-
ment while building a store of
great memories by planning
fun and stimulating summer ac-
tivities. Here are a few ideas
that don’t cost much money.
The key ingredient is an adult
who is willing to spend TIME
with children.
• Turn off the TV, video
games, and computers! The
average child spends more
than 21 hours each week
watching TV. Children need in-
teractions with others to devel-
op social skills. Summer is a
great time to “hang out” in local
public parks where children
can climb, slide, swim, and
swing. All of these physical ac-
tivities promote coordination
and enhanced self-esteem. All
the adult has to do is watch and
talk about what the child is do-
ing.
• Churn up a freezer of ice
cream. This is an opportunity
for a science lesson. How do
salt and ice make it freeze?
The end result is a cool treat for
a hot day. Any food preparation
is a science lesson. Most chil-
dren enjoy helping prepare
snacks and meals.
• Go further than food prepa-
ration. Go to production! Get
the children into the garden to
help see where food really
comes from. It is surprising
how tasty vegetables become
when you grow your own.
• Visit the library often.
Reading is a lifelong pleasure.
Libraries generally have spe-
cial summer programs. This is
a great way to improve skills vi-
tal to school (and life) success.
• Use summer events as a
way to teach children responsi-
bility. Have the children plan
and lead the games at a family
picnic. To teach money skills
give them a budget for enter-
tainment.
• Have your older children
plan dinner one night. Give
them a budget and the respon-
sibility of planning, shopping
for, preparing and cleaning up
after the meal.
• Have your children teach
you something. This is a great
way for grandparents to learn
about computers. It is a great
self-esteem builder when chil-
dren are allowed to be the ex-
perts!
• You can teach children
something you want to pass on
– recipes or a craft such as
knitting or woodworking.
• Remember what you liked
to do when you were a child,
and do some of those same ac-
tivities with your own child. This
is a great way to build family
traditions that are passed
across generations.
• Take a swimming break.
Go to a local pool, river or
creek. Don’t forget the sun-
screen!
• Try “water painting”. A
bucket of water, a paint brush
and a sidewalk or porch is all
you need for a masterpiece.
You can even pass the time
watching your creations evapo-
rate. Drawing with sidewalk
chalk on a wet pavement is
also fun.
• Take a tour around your
house/neighborhood. Look for
things you haven’t noticed be-
fore.
• Go for a nature walk. Be-
sides being good exercise, you
can investigate rocks, plants,
bugs, etc. Just remember to be
careful around critters – some
of them view humans as a
threat and will try to protect
themselves!
• Make some homemade
bubbles: 1/4 cup liquid dish de-
tergent, 1 tsp. corn syrup, and
1/2 cup of water. Make bubble
wands out of bent wire
wrapped with yarn, or use a
slotted spoon.
• Camp out in the back yard!
• Is it raining? Have a cookie
baking day. (Put some in the
freezer to enjoy later or take
some and share with the neigh-
bors.)
• Check out the local OSU
Extension Office for summer
day camps and other activities.
Source: Jinny Hopp, Human Envi-
ronmental Sciences Specialist,
University in Jasper County and
Angela M. Fletcher, Human Devel-
opment Specialist, University of
Missouri
Page 11
Young hunters must now wear orange
New rules that require youth
to wear hunter orange when
hunting take effect August 1,
2011.
As of that date, hunters age
17 and under are required to
wear a hunter (fluorescent) or-
ange exterior garment or hat
when hunting game mammals
or upland game birds (except
turkey) with any firearm.
Details of the regulation:
• Exterior garment means a
shirt, jacket, coat, vest or
sweater.
• Hat means any head cov-
ering (hat, bandana).
• The upper garment or hat
must be visible in all directions
(e.g. 360° of hunter orange).
• Hunter orange camouflage
patterns are acceptable.
• Game mammals are deer,
elk, bear, cougar, pronghorn
antelope, Rocky Mountain
goat, bighorn sheep and west-
ern gray squirrel.
• Upland birds are forest
grouse (blue and ruffed),
chukar/Hungarian (gray) par-
tridge, pheasants, quail (Cali-
fornia and mountain) and sage
grouse.
• “Hunt” means to take or at-
tempt to take any wildlife by
means involving the use of a
weapon.
Archery, turkey and migrato-
Col. County SBHC’s get awards
On July 14, Oregon Sena-
tors Jeff Merkley and Ron
Wyden announced that the
U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services has awarded
over $4 million to twelve
school-based health centers
across Oregon to expand ac-
cess to quality health care to
children while at school. Fund-
ing for these awards comes
from the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act.
Columbia Health District -
Public Health Authority in St.
Helens received $500,000 in
the awards. “In Columbia
County, we are improving two
clinics,” says Sherrie Ford,
MPH, School Based Health
Clinic (SBHC) Coordinator,
“making one more accessible
for teens, and making both
more accessible for mental
health services. Rainier is a ru-
ral community and the SBHC is
on a K-12 campus of 1050 stu-
dents. Columbia County does
not have a hospital, and
Rainier has no primary care
providers except the SBHC.
Without the SBHC, Rainier
families have to travel 60 miles
for mental health services.”
“Investments in preventive
health care, like health screen-
ings, health promotion, and dis-
ease prevention activities are a
key to making our families
healthy,” said Merkley. “If you
want to help get kids healthy,
you go where the kids are: at
school. Providing resources to
school-based health centers
will ensure Oregon children get
the care they need so they can
succeed in the classroom.”
“Early, accessible and tar-
geted investments in the well-
ry bird hunters are exempt from
the hunter orange requirement.
(Turkey and waterfowl have ex-
cellent eyesight and wearing
hunter orange could reduce
hunter success.)
The Fish and Wildlife Com-
mission adopted the new rule
last year to protect youth
hunters from vision-related
firearm incidents. Adult hunters
are also strongly encouraged
to wear hunter orange when in
the field.
Some controlled (limited en-
try) youth elk hunting seasons
open August 1 and general
season bear and cougar will
also be open that day. But most
hunting seasons don’t open un-
til September or October.
being of Oregon’s children set
the cornerstone for a path of
lifelong health,” said Wyden.
“Expanding preventive health
care in schools means healthi-
er kids and less hassle for
working parents and big sav-
ings for Oregon families.”
The Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act appropriat-
ed a total of $200 million for
2010 through 2013 for the
School-Based Health Center
Capital Program to address
capital needs in school-based
health centers. These funds
announced are the first in the
series of awards that will be
made available to school-
based health centers under the
Affordable Care Act. The
Health Resources and Ser-
vices Administration (HRSA)
oversees the program.
G OOD F OOD
G OOD F RIENDS
G OOD T IMES
831 Bridge St.
Vernonia, OR
503-429-0214
Vernonia
Veterinary
Clinic
Formerly Midway Veterinary Clinic
Monday, Wednesday & Saturday
700 Weed Avenue
Vernonia