The INDEPENDENT, July 5, 2012
Debris from tsunami should
be handled carefully, if found
From page 9
tion will be shared with the ma-
rine debris response team and
invasive species experts to de-
termine what action needs to
be taken.
If you are able to move the
item, then please do your part.
Help us clean up the debris
and dispose of it as follows:
• If you find small marine de-
bris items – with or without liv-
ing organisms – dispose of
them in a garbage can off the
beach or in a landfill. If you are
too far from a disposal site, re-
move the item from the water
and place on dry land (above
the high tide line) so that any
organisms living on it will die
and not be returned to the
ocean. If you find debris that is
too large to remove: Report it
and its location to Oregon
Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment via email, beach.de
bris@state.or.us
• Never move debris with or-
ganisms on it to other bodies of
water – an aquarium, pond or
estuary. It increases the risk
that invasive species will
spread.
OPRD and ODFW staff also
remind Oregonians that:
A lot of marine debris that
washes ashore is not from the
tsunami: Marine debris arrives
on Oregon’s shore every day
from around the Pacific. Accu-
mulation and disposal of ma-
rine debris is an on-going man-
agement issue for OPRD
Not all marine debris carries
invasive species nor does it
pose a risk: Much of the marine
debris that arrives onshore
every day has living organisms
on it; many of these organisms
are native to the open ocean
and do not pose a threat to our
coastal environment. The items
related to the Japan tsunami
that are most likely to carry in-
vasive species are those that
were floating in Japan’s waters
for extended periods of time
before the tsunami – docks,
buoys, barges and boats, for
example.
Marine invasive species
pose a serious threat to Ore-
Page 13
Power of the People
By W. Marc Farmer, General Manager,
West Oregon Electric Cooperative
Annual Meeting
Mailing & Co-op
Connections Card
Discount Program
The new and improved
West Oregon Electric Co-
op Connections Cards will
be mailed out in our official
annual meeting mailing the first week of August.
Please watch your mail for this important mail-
ing, read all the annual meeting information and
return your ballot, and make sure to keep and
use your new Co-op Connections Card. This
new card has added benefits including the
Healthy Savings Program, National and local
deals on goods and services, coupons.com
printable coupons, and My VIP savings, which is
an amazing Internet Mall where you can enjoy
cash back rewards and exciting savings at over
1,000 of your favorite online stores.
The Healthy Savings Program includes pre-
scription savings and discounts on dental, vi-
sion, chiropractic, hearing aids, and lab and im-
aging costs. Prescription savings are honored at
over 60,000 participating pharmacies and the
gon’s marine environment and
native species by competing
with our native fish and wildlife
discounts range from 10% up to 85%. The new
vision benefit of the Healthy Savings Program
offers discounts of 10% to 60% on eyeglasses,
contact lenses, eye exams and LASIK. Dental
care such as cleanings, x-rays, root canals,
crowns and orthodontics can have discounts of
20% to 40% at participating providers. All you
have to do is show your WOEC Co-op Connec-
tions card at participating providers to receive
the discounts.
The Co-op Connections card program has
also added a new feature called, My VIP Sav-
ings. This feature allows you to enjoy cash back
rewards and exciting savings at over 1,000 of
your favorite online stores including Walmart,
Macys, Best Buy, and Target. The Coupons.com
link from our WOEC website/Co-op Connections
page has printable coupons for groceries that
are updated daily, which allows you to save on
things that you buy regularly. Be sure to check
out the flyer that will be included in the mailing
that lists the discount deals at local businesses.
Don’t forget to watch your mail for the enve-
lope that says “Annual Meeting Notice and Bal-
lot Enclosed” and “Your New Co-op Connec-
tions Card is Enclosed” the first week of August.
Then keep and use your New Co-op Connec-
tions Card to save even more money!
for food and habitat. While not
all nonnative species are de-
structive, most often, they exist
at the expense of native fish
and wildlife and can impact the
state’s economy.
School Based Health Clinic moves forward with planning grant
From page 1
but this is a huge deal,” said
Peter Weisel, Vernonia school
counselor, “Vernonia kids and
families will benefit very direct-
ly because of the Public Health
commitment to us.”
“Our goal for Columbia
County is to have a school-
based health center in every
school district,” said Public
Health Administrator Karen
Ladd, “Vernonia makes the
third of five districts to have
clinics.”
Other SBHCs awarded plan-
ning funds in this round are As-
toria School District, Milwaukie
High School, Century High
School, Estacada High School
and Sandy High School. There
are currently 63 School-Based
Health Centers in Oregon.
According to The National
Assembly on School-Based
Health Care (NASBHC) web-
site www.nasbhc.org, school-
based health centers (SBHCs)
ensure that kindergarteners
through high schoolers can get
a flu shot, have an annual
physical, have their teeth ex-
amined and their eyes
checked, or speak to a mental
health counselor in a safe, nur-
turing place – without the barri-
ers that families too often face.
SBHCs exist at the intersec-
tion of education and health
and are the caulk that prevents
children and adolescents from
falling through the cracks. They
provide care – primary health,
mental health and counseling,
family outreach, and chronic ill-
ness management – without
concern for the student’s ability
to pay and in a location that
meets students where they are:
at school.
SBHCs may vary based on
community need and re-
sources.
Common characteristics of
SBHCs include:
• Located in schools or on
school grounds.
• Work cooperatively within
the school to become an inte-
gral part of the school.
• Provide a comprehensive
range of services that meet the
specific physical and behav-
ioral health needs of the young
people in the community.
• Employ a multidisciplinary
team of providers to care for
the students: nurse practition-
ers, registered nurses, physi-
cian assistants, social workers,
physicians, alcohol and drug
counselors, and other health
Made in Vernonia
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professionals.
• Provide clinical services
through a qualified health
provider such as a hospital,
health department, or medical
practice.
• Require parents to sign
written consents for their chil-
dren to receive the full scope of
services provided at the SBHC.
• Have an advisory board
consisting of community repre-
sentatives, parents, youth, and
family organizations, to provide
planning and oversight.
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