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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2012)
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid Vernonia, OR 97064 Permit No. 37 Vol. 27, No. 13 THE FREE INDEPENDENT The Voice Voice of of the Upper Nehalem River The River Valley Valley for for Over Over 25 27 years years July 5, 2012 County Assessor’s office reduces business hours Vernonia celebrated our country’s birthday with a parade, a concert and fireworks. Planning starts for school based clinic The Public Health Founda- tion of Columbia County has received a state grant to sup- port the planning and roll-out of the School Based Health Cen- ter in the new Vernonia K-12 campus. The $60,000 planning grant will be used to finalize the Ver- nonia business plan, get con- tracts in place, set up billing and support the formal clinic opening which is slated for win- ter. The remainder will support the first year of clinic opera- tions. After that the State fund- ing formula will provide help with operations. Public Health will provide medical sponsorship for the Vernonia clinic. Sherrie Ford, School-Based Health Center coordinator for the Public Health Foundation, said the Rainier and St. Helens SBHCs provide great models, “We’re using those models to build a clinic that will meet the needs of the Vernonia community, and are establishing valuable local partnerships.” “Some may not realize it yet See School on page 13 Public business hours for the Columbia County Asses- sor’s Office were reduced ef- fective July 2. The decision to reduce hours was made by the County Assessor and is due to contin- ued budget shortfalls that have resulted in 26-furlough days, in addition to staff reductions in the Assessor’s department. The reduced hours will allow uninterrupted time for the re- maining staff to complete the duties necessary for compli- ance with state mandates. For all services except man- ufactured structure changes from July 2 thru October 11, 2012, and November 19, 2012, through June 27, 2013, the hours are Monday through Thursday, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., or by appointment. From October 15 through November 15, 2012 (Tax Season) they will be open Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Manufactured structure ownership/situs changes and trip permits will no longer be available for immediate pro- cessing. Requests for manu- factured structure changes will be processed within one week of receiving completed applica- tion and fee. There will be two worksta- tions available for self-service use by the public. These com- puters are located at the front counter of the Assessor’s Of- fice on Monday thru Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Assessor’s Office web- site, at www.co.columbia.or.us includes current property records, as well as forms, ap- plications and general informa- tion for most programs main- tained by the Assessor’s Office. Public forum on proposed coal terminal A public forum is scheduled on a coal export terminal pro- posed for Columbia County. The purpose of the forum is to identify public concerns regard- ing the project, and to clarify misinformation. Panelists invited to present their views include representa- tives from corporations making the proposals, advocacy groups that oppose the project on environmental grounds, and agencies in a position to regu- late the proposed projects. Par- ticipants have been invited from Ambre Energy, Kinder Morgan, Columbia Riverkeep- ers, the Governor’s office, Army Corps. of Engineers, Oregon Department of State Lands, Portland and Pacific Railroad, Oregon Dept. of Transportation and the Port of St. Helens, plus state and na- tional legislative representa- tives. The forum will be held Wednesday, July 11, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Wenceslas Catholic Church in Scappoose. It is sponsored by Columbia County Citizens for Human Dignity (CCCHD) and the South County Spotlight. “The goal of this forum is twofold,” said CCCHD mem- See Coal on page 17 VHS sent six to All-State Six Vernonia High School Baseball players went to Lin- field College on June 9 and 10 for All-State play. Josh Butcher earned 3rd Team All-State hon- ors, 1st Team All-League and played in the All-State Senior All-Star Series. Jake Titus was also on the 3rd Team All-State and 1st Team All-League. Joe Benes earned 2nd Team All- League. Jackson Miller, Tim Jennings and Bo Clark all re- ceived Honorable Mention All- League honors. Josh Butcher appears very happy to be one of the Vernonia players at Linfield College during All-State play. Photo by Betsy Miller.