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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)