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.