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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2012)
Page 8 The INDEPENDENT, April 18, 2012 Between the Bookends by Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library Wow! Vernonia’s Community Reads for 2012 has been amazing! This year’s plan was to expand the concept of previous years to include books/activities for all ages, and to involve community-affiliated groups in the project. A grant, with matching funds from the Friends of the Vernonia Library, was re- ceived from the Columbia County Cultural Coalition in conjunction with the Oregon Cultural Trust. This grant enabled funding for author Addie Boswell to present an interactive reading program for youngsters; for a visit from award winning Oregon author Craig Lesley; for movie tickets to The Hunger Games; and for additional copies of the selected books. In addition to the enthusiastic participation in these activities, the community involvement in other aspects of the project was astonishing. Local artist Sally Harrison undertook the task of plan- ning and implementing one of the after school programs. Dana Hyde from Vernonia High School arranged a group discussion, led by Jennifer Moloney and Shannon Romtvedt, of The Hunger Games. Act V theaters in Forest Grove or Cornelius 9 donated a pair of movie tickets for lucky participants taking part in the dis- cussion. Linda Allen, also from Vernonia High School, coordinat- ed an art project to complement the popular young adult book. (The results of this art project will be on display in the library through the end of April.) Jennifer and Shannon also led a discus- sion at the library with “Capitol Style” refreshments. The Vernon- ia Study Club provided refreshments for Craig Lesley’s visit. Both local newspapers were generous in including information regard- ing all of the events. This year’s Community Reads has been a truly rewarding ex- perience which can only be attributed to the collective support of many in the community. As a reminder of how much influence a project such as this may have, the following comment was made by one youngster following Addie Boswell’s visit, “Because of Miss Addie, I have decided to be an author”. Thank you all for helping make this year’s activities such a success. Non-perish- able food to be donated to Vernonia Cares may still be brought to Vernonia Health Fair May 5, 10 am to 3 pm Vernonia School Cafeteria 249 Bridge St. (green building) Hearing Exams • Li on s Cl ub - Sight & bile & Emergency • Re d Cr os s - Bloodmo n Preparedness Informatio ln es s - Glucose, • Ve rd ur a Fa m ily Wel nsity testing Cholesterol and Bone de fasting til 3 pm) (fasting 10-12 am, non- n ci l - Nutrition informatio • Or eg on Da ir y Co un rcise & BMI testing • Pe nn y Co stl ey - Jazze fo - Medical and Exercise In • Ca ro l M cI nt yr e, ND ntal Information • Ve rn on ia De nt al - De n Co al iti on & • Ve rn on ia Pr ev en tio ug Take-back 12 - 2 pm * Ve rn on ia Po lic e - Dr Vernonia Volunteer Firefighter’s 5th Annual Pancake Feed! 8 am - 12 pm the library as part of the “Hunger Drive”. New acquisitions are varied, and include The Lost Years by Mary Higgins Clark, Eyes of Justice by Lisa Wiehl and April Hen- ry, The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan, Capitol Murder by Phillip Margolin, Damaged Goods by Heather Sharfeddin, Winter Girls by Laurie Halse Anderson, Wild by Cheryl Strayed, and a new ve- gan cookbook entitled Chloe’s Kitchen. Movie night will be Thursday, April 19 at 6:30. Check the library to see more information regarding this movie night. Book discus- sion will take place Monday, April 23 at 5:30 with The Solace of Open Places, by Gretel Ehrlich, being discussed. The next major event to take place in the library will be a Con- versation Project sponsored by Oregon Humanities, entitled Life After War: Photography and Oral Histories of Coming Home. This will take place Saturday, May 5, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. and will be pre- sented by photographer James Lommasson. 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 Candidates tell their viewpoint From page 5 of the county and it’s their re- sponsibility to hear concerns. 4. Do you think the incum- bents are meeting those re- sponsibilities? Fisher – I think we have an ex- tremely good team of folks, we work well together and are sen- sitive to our communities and try to be responsive. Luttrell – I think they are doing the best they can with what they’ve got. Sometimes they are not all connecting with the people. I know leaders don’t al- ways, but I think differences of opinion can be resolved with- out people being at odds. Preheim – No, I don’t. In gener- al, that’s the feeling I get from talking to people. I haven’t heard a lot of happiness with the current representation. 503-901-1705 All governments have to find ways to work together and share resources, such as road equipment. We have started those discussions. We need to find ways for the five police de- partments in the county and the Sheriff’s Office to work better together. We should have one law enforcement entity for the whole county. I’m hearing more people say, “We need to look at that.” Luttrell – I’d like to see better service. I’ve had questions for a county department (I’m on it) and called four different staff members and couldn’t reach any of them. There should be somebody to answer the phone. Another time with an- other department, I tried for two days to get business done and was unable to. I think we need to improve our service to the constituents. Preheim – I’d like to see coun- ty government be more respon- sive to the citizens’ needs and concerns. 5. What improvements or changes would you like to see in county government? Fisher – I would like to be able to provide more services, but it’s all tied back to the budget. We need to improve our Infor- mation Technology systems to improve our responsiveness. 6. Nehalem Valley residents feel they get little in the way of county services. What would you do to change this perception? Fisher – A lot of that is percep- tions. But, being a person from See More on page 29 Columbia County Domestic Abuse Mental Health 800-294-5211 ----------------- Suicide Hotline Hotline 1-800- 784-2433 or 1-800-273- TALK(8255) 503-397-6161 or 866-397-6161 ----------------- Military Helpline 888-HLP-4-VET (888-457-4838)