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The INDEPENDENT, September 21, 2011
Between the Bookends
by Nancy Burch, Librarian
Vernonia Public Library
Notification has been received that the
Columbia County Cultural Coalition has
approved a grant application made by the
Friends of the Library. This matching grant
will allow an expanded program of “Com-
munity Reads for 2012”, by providing
funding for activities for youngsters,
young adults and adults relevant to the
books chosen for each of these age
ranges. Addie Boswell’s book, The Rain
Stomper, has been chosen for young
readers, but suggestions are being requested for the young adult
and adult books/authors—preferably Oregon authors. The plan is
to encourage the community, as a whole, to read these books,
with the related activities to take place during National Library
Week in April. If you have a favorite Oregon author that you think
others would enjoy reading and meeting, let the library staff know;
all suggestions will be considered.
For an updated list of activities taking place in the library, go to
the city’s web page, www.vernonia-or.gov., and choose library un-
der city services. Currently listed are dates, times, and themes for
preschool and after school programs, as well as information
about the movie of the month (The Perfect Game will screen on
Thursday, Sept. 22, at 6:30 p.m.), and the book to be discussed
in September (The Help will be discussed on Monday, Sept. 26,
at 5:30 p.m.)
The quarterly meeting of the Friends of the Library will take
place on Tuesday, October 4th at 6:30 p.m. in the library. If you
would like to join this group, whose sole purpose is supplement-
ing library services and materials, plan on attending this meeting.
(Membership forms are also on the city website.)
Banned Books Week is an annual event held the last week in
September in celebration of the freedom to read and the impor-
tance of the First Amendment. Information concerning books that
have been banned or challenged, along with reasons for these
challenges, will be available in the library during this week. Includ-
ed in this list are To Kill a Mockingbird, The Grapes of Wrath, and
The Call of the Wild. More recent challenges have been to the
Harry Potter series, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Snow
Falling on Cedars by David Guterson, Friday Night Lights by H.
G. Bissenger, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle, and Tiger
Eyes by Judy Blume. These books and others on the list will also
be readily available for patrons who might wish to refresh them-
selves on the types of literature that might not be available if
America’s First Amendment did not assure citizens freedom.
New acquisitions include Protect and Defend by Richard North
Patterson, The Omen Machine by Terry Goodkind, New York to
Dallas by J.D. Robb, Shelter by Harlan Coben, We the Animals
by Justin Torres, and Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger.
Even if, sometime in the future, you should happen to find any of
these books on a challenged list, be assured that you will not be
denied the opportunity to read them.
Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Avenue
Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tues., Thu. 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Preschool Story Time: Mondays, 10:30 a.m.
when school is in session.
Phone: 503-429-1818
Child safety seat law changes in 2012
Motor vehicle traffic crashes
remain the leading cause of
death nationwide for children
ages three and older. National
Child Passenger Safety Week,
September 18 – 24, is the per-
fect time for Oregonians to
learn more about preventing
child passenger fatalities and
injuries by properly buckling
G OOD F OOD
G OOD F RIENDS
G OOD T IMES
831 Bridge St.
Vernonia, OR
503-429-0214
them into the car.
“Putting children into adult
belt systems before they are
tall enough is a major contribu-
tor to this problem,” said Carla
Levinski, ODOT’s Occupant
Protection Program manager.
In Oregon, crash data for 2010
shows that 49 percent of boost-
er-age children injured in
crashes were using adult belts
instead of boosters, and half of
those killed were riding with no
safety restraint at all.
Securing children properly
— in the back seat of the vehi-
cle — is the most effective ac-
tion parents and caregivers can
take to protect them from injury
in the event of a crash. Even an
unexpected defensive stop or
swerve in traffic can throw an
unrestrained
passenger
against the vehicle interior or
other passengers, resulting in
potentially serious injuries.
Free safety seat checks by
certified technicians are avail-
able throughout the year, and a
calendar showing times and lo-
cations of local events is avail-
able at www.childsafetyseat.
org. ODOT’s primary partners
in promoting child passenger
safety include the Child Safety
Seat Resource Center (Al-
liance for Community Traffic
Safety Oregon), Safe Kids Ore-
gon, American Medical Re-
sponse, Oregon Medical Asso-
ciation, law enforcement agen-
cies, and over 500 volunteer
Certified CPS Technicians
working throughout Oregon.
Oregon law requires the fol-
lowing:
• A child weighing less than
40 pounds must be restrained
in a child safety seat.
• A child under one year of
age or weighing less than
twenty pounds must be re-
strained in a child seat, rear
facing.
• A child over forty pounds
but under age eight or less
than 4’ 9” tall must be re-
strained in a booster seat that
elevates them so the lap/shoul-
der belts fit correctly.
Beginning January 1, 2012,
Oregon law will change to allow
continued use of child seats up
to the highest weight limit al-
lowed by the manufacturer for
the seat in use – as an alterna-
tive to boosters – for children
over forty pounds but under
age eight or less than 4’9” tall.
4-H results from
the 2011 Fairs
Following are the results
from the 4-H competition at the
2011 Columbia County Fair
and the Oregon State Fair. Re-
sults listed are from the county
fair unless noted. Due to space
limitations, only results within
The Independent’s circulation
area are included.
Beef
Showmanship:
Champion – Lauren Glass.
Beef Showmanship: Re-
serve Champion – Nicole
Glass.
Cake Decorating: Champi-
on – Meghan Sullivan.
Food Preservation: Re-
serve Champion – Kaitlyn
Eyrrick.
Meat Goat Showmanship:
Champion – Jessica String-
field.
Posters: Reserve Champi-
on – Crystal-Ann Carreon.
Poultry Market: Champion
– Ely Bradley.
See 4-H on page 16
Child advocates sought in Columbia
County for children in foster care
Last year in Columbia Coun-
ty, 182 children spent time in
foster care. Fewer than one in
five had an advocate to give
them a voice in court.
“The system is full of com-
passionate lawyers, judges,
social workers and foster fami-
lies, but this intense need can
strain the system to the point
where they are simply unable
to protect the rights of each
child,” said CASA executive di-
rector Kathryn Bourn. “This is-
n’t just a problem. It is nothing
short of a violation of their ba-
sic human rights, in a country
where we aren’t supposed to
fear such things.”
CASA for Kids, which serves
foster children in Columbia
County, is recruiting new volun-
teer advocates. A new training
class for CASA advocates
starts October 20 in St. Helens.
Volunteers receive 30 hours of
training before being assigned
the child or siblings for whom
they will advocate.
Volunteers come from all
walks of life: teachers, busi-
ness people, retirees, stay-at-
home parents, millworkers,
grandparents, college stu-
dents, nurses, and other ex-
traordinary men and women.
Columbia County currently
has 15 volunteer court appoint-
ed special advocates (CASAs)
who work with 31 children.
They make sure that the abuse
and neglect that the children
originally suffered at home
does not continue as abuse
and neglect at the hands of the
system. Low caseloads for
CASA volunteers mean the
courts can make better deci-
sions for children. They handle
just one or two cases at a time
so that they can give each
child’s case the sustained, per-
sonal attention he or she de-
serves.
“Our current CASA volun-
teers are doing a great job of
serving the 20% of children
with a CASA, but our communi-
ty is failing the other 80% still
waiting for an advocate,” Bourn
said. Bourn believes that serv-
ing every child in the foster
care system is possible within
the next three years with
enough community support.
The National CASA Associa-
tion recently awarded CASA for
Kids a $41,000 new program
development grant to support
See CASA on page 16