Page 12
The INDEPENDENT, November 16, 2011
Chalk Talk
Chalk Talk is a column of information
about Vernonia schools. This column
was provided by Superintendent Dr.
Ken Cox.
With Thanksgiving coming next week I thought I would take a
moment to share with you some of the things for which I am per-
sonally thankful. First and foremost I am grateful for a supportive
wife and loving family, they mean the world to me! I think we can
all agree that Thanksgiving is a family holiday and I hope that
each of you will have the opportunity to spend some quality time
with those you love next week.
On a professional level, I am extremely grateful for those with
whom I work in the district office. They have all taken on added
tasks and, in at least one case, been given less time to do them.
I am truly grateful to have such professional, dedicated individu-
als working for the district. We have a great school board and an
effective team of administrators in the district, who continue to do
more with less, and have also taken on additional tasks while I
have spent so much of my time working on the new building and
fundraising. I know that they couldn’t accomplish all that they do
without support at home, and I would extend my thanks to their
spouses as well. Our administrators have an excellent group of
teachers and classified staff, upon whom they rely to educate our
children. These staff members, too, have stepped up and taken
on additional responsibilities to do what is best for our children.
As a community, we are very fortunate to have such dedicat-
ed staff, and I want you to know that I am grateful and proud of
each of them. I hope that you take the opportunity when you meet
them and communicate with them via email or on the phone, to
thank them for their dedicated service to our children. Yes, it’s
their job and they get paid for it, but every one of them deserves
so much more than what they get in their paychecks. They de-
serve our thanks and the thanks of our children, for their goal is
to help our children be the best they can be!
My personal thanks to each and every staff member of the
Vernonia School District!
Have a Happy
Thanksgiving
Vernonia
Veterinary
Clinic
Formerly Midway Veterinary Clinic
Monday, Wednesday & Saturday
NFIB Foundation offers scholarships
An application for scholar-
ship awards is now available
online until December 15.
Since 2003, the National Fed-
eration of Independent Busi-
ness’s (NFIB) Young Entrepre-
neur Foundation has awarded
2,095 scholarships to graduat-
ing high school seniors totaling
$2,382,000.
Last year, more than 4,500
students nationwide applied for
a YEF scholarship. NFIB was
proud to award 131 scholar-
ships to young entrepreneurs
across the country, including
one Oregon high school senior,
thanks to the financial support
from numerous small-business
leaders, corporate, and foun-
dation supporters.
Oregon high school seniors
wishing to apply for a 2012
scholarship can go online at
http://www.nfib.com/yef until
December 15. The nomination
period by an NFIB member will
occur February 1 to March 1,
2012. NFIB members can also
go to the same online address
to make a tax-deductible con-
tribute to the program.
The NFIB Young Entrepre-
neur Awards program was es-
tablished to raise awareness
among the nation’s youth about
the critical role that private en-
terprise and entrepreneurship
play in the building of America.
The NFIB Young Entrepre-
neur Award recipients will at-
tend the university, college,
community college, or voca-
tional/technical institute of their
choice with $1,000-$10,000 in
tuition assistance from the
NFIB Young Entrepreneur
Foundation. In June of this
year, NFIB YEF also honored
four students selected as
$5,000 scholarships winners
and named the “2011 Young
School’s plan for building still on target
From page 3
the new schools without com-
promising sustainability or
quality, as well as continuing
with our fundraising efforts. I
am meeting each week with the
contractors to look for ways to
make these changes, as well
as constantly meeting with
prospective funders. We are all
committed to having a great
school and we will be opening
on time next fall.
Throughout this journey, as
we budgeted for the project we
were aware that we would
need bridge financing to get us
through construction while we
wait for some of the grant fund-
ing to come through. We were
able to postpone the acquisi-
tion of that financing because
of FEMA funding that we re-
ceived this summer, however it
is now necessary to pursue
bridge financing to complete
construction. We intend to use
the fundraising commitments
that are already in place to se-
cure this bridge financing in the
short term.
This is the first in a series of
articles to make sure that we
keep you informed of our
progress. If you have specific
questions or concerns please
contact me at the district office
(503-429-5891) or via email at
ken.cox@vernonia.k12.or.us.
Turkey is not difficult to cook safely
From page 9
in this way. Change the water
every half hour to be sure that
it says cool. This slows bacteri-
al growth.
The frozen turkey can also
be thawed in the microwave.
Cook it immediately after thaw-
ing.
Bake the turkey at 325º F.
Cooking at lower temperatures
for longer times could result in
bacterial growth. It’s also un-
safe to put the turkey in an un-
heated oven that is timed to
turn on early in the morning.
Never partially cook a turkey
and then finish it the next day.
Be aware that stuffing the
bird increases the baking time.
Stuff just before baking. Stuff-
ing ahead of time could give
bacteria a chance to grow.
Stuffing can also be baked in a
separate, covered dish for 45-
60 minutes.
To bake the turkey, allow
about 15-18 minutes per pound
for unstuffed birds and 18-24
minutes for stuffed ones. Use a
Mariolino’s
700 Weed Avenue
Vernonia
Entrepreneur of the Year” who
were awarded a $10,000 schol-
arship.
To qualify for a YEF Award,
students must be running their
own business. They are re-
quired to write an essay de-
scribing their entrepreneurial
endeavors and future goals.
Standardized test scores, GPA,
and class rank are also consid-
ered in the selection process.
NFIB members around the
country nominate applicants for
the
Young
Entrepreneur
Awards. An independent, out-
side committee selects a group
of qualified semi-finalists.
For
more
information,
please call or send an email to
NFIB/Oregon Member Support
Manager Stacy Jenkins at 866-
307-2846, or stacy.jenkins@
nfib.org.
Fri, Nov. 18th &
Sat, Nov. 19th
Enchiladas
FOR
S
U
N
J OI NER
D IN
721 Madison Ave.,Vernonia • 503-429-5018
meat thermometer to deter-
mine doneness. The tempera-
ture should reach 165ºF. in the
inner thigh. The stuffing tem-
perature should be at least
165ºF. as well. Allow the turkey
to sit for about 20 minutes be-
fore carving.
Food safety continues to be
important after baking. Al-
though many people procrasti-
nate, it’s very important to re-
frigerate leftovers right away.
Because bacteria grow rapidly
at room temperature, turkey
and other perishable foods
shouldn’t be kept on the table
or counter longer than 2 to 3
hours after cooking. Remove
the stuffing and cut meat off the
carcass. Refrigerate or freeze
in-size portions in shallow con-
tainers.
Source: Carolyn Raab, Extension
Foods and Nutrition Specialist,
Oregon State University
