Page 4
The INDEPENDENT, August 1, 2012
16 receive Oregon Century Farm and Ranch award
16 Oregon farm and ranch
families will receive recognition
as Century Farms, and two will
receive the Sesquicentennial
award for those who have con-
tinuously farmed portions of
their original family acreage for
150 years or more.
The annual awards ceremo-
ny will be held at the Oregon
State Fair on Saturday, Sep-
tember 1, at 1:00 p.m. The pub-
lic recognition ceremony will be
held in the Corporate Tent on
the west side of the fair-
grounds. The public is invited
to join the Oregon Agricultural
Education Foundation and its
major partners, the Oregon
Farm Bureau, the Oregon
State Historic Preservation Of-
fice, OSU Libraries’ University
Archives and the Oregon De-
partment of Agriculture, for this
special event.
This year’s awards will bring
the total number of Oregon
Century Farms and Ranches to
1,144. The farm and ranch
families being honored in 2012
are: Maxine Strubhar, Marion
County; Hal Balin, Klamath
County, John Andrew Bodnar,
Klamath County; Lyle Defrees,
Baker County; Milton & Delores
Fanning, Polk & Yamhill Coun-
ties; David & Kari Hiebenthal,
Polk County; John and Sandra
Kalandar, Clatsop County; Ed
& Shirley Kerns, Klamath
County; Edward Leavy, Marion
County; Sharon Livingston,
Grant County; Brenda Morgan
and James Baldwin, Lake
County; Mark & Kellene Payne,
Yamhill County; Mark Walkley,
Multnomah County; Schierling
Family Trust, Polk County;
James and Barbara Jo Sly,
Lane County; and Carrie and
Ron Gerber, Union County.
This year’s Sesquicentenni-
al honorees are Ramsey
McPhillips, Yamhill County; and
Mark Talcott Trust, Douglas
County. The Sesquicentennial
Award program began in 2008
in honor of Oregon’s 150th
birthday celebration. Twenty-
five families have now received
this prestigious award.
The Oregon Century Farm &
Ranch program encourages
agriculture families to share
their unique histories and spe-
cial family stories of century-
long connections with a broad-
er audience. By promoting fam-
ily stories, rich cultural heritage
is passed down to future gener-
ations while educating Orego-
nians about the impact of Ore-
gon agriculture.
The Oregon Century Farm &
Ranch Program began in 1958
to honor farm and ranch fami-
lies with century-long connec-
tions to the land. To qualify for
a century or sesquicentennial
award, interested families must
follow a formal application
process. Requirements include
continuous family operation of
the farm or ranch; a gross in-
come from farm use of not less
than $1,000 per year for at
least three years out of five pri-
or to application; and family
members must live on or ac-
tively manage the farm or
ranch activities.
Application documentation
may include photos, original
deeds, personal stories, or oth-
er historic records. These
records help support Oregon’s
agricultural history by providing
valuable information about set-
tlement patterns or statistics on
livestock and crop cycles. All
documents are archived for
public access.
For information about the
Oregon Century Farm & Ranch
Program
contact
Sharon
Leighty, Program Coordinator,
at 503-400-7884 or cfr@ore
gonfb.org.
Job rate stays flat
in June
Columbia County’s season-
ally adjusted unemployment
rate was 9.3 percent in June,
unchanged from the previous
month (9.3%), but lower than
the year before (10.3%). The
rate was higher than the
statewide rate (8.5%) and the
national rate (8.2%). Total em-
ployment fell by 57 to 22,572
and the number of unemployed
people jumped by 143 to 2,358.
Total employment this June
was 398 more than one year
before and there were 288 few-
er people unemployed this
year.
By comparison, the Portland
metro area’s seasonally adjust-
ed unemployment rate was 8.0
percent in June, unchanged
from May. The year-ago rate
was 9.2 percent.
Community Calendar
VERNONIA
Alcoholics Anonymous
Mondays
6:30 p.m., 410 North Street
Alcoholics Anonymous
Thursdays (Big Book Study) 7:00 p.m., 410 North Street
American Legion Post #119
2nd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., 627 Adams Avenue
Booster Club
2nd Wednesday
7:00 p.m., WGS Library
Boy Scout Troop 201
Tuesdays
7:00 p.m., Scout Cabin
Boy Scout Troop 860
Wednesdays
7:00 p.m., LDS Church
Cemetery Beautification Comm.
2nd Thursday
6:30 p.m., Library
Chamber of Commerce
2nd Wednesday
For Info Call 503-429-6081
Community Coalition
2nd Monday
12:30 p.m. School District Ofc.
Cub Scout Pack 201
Scout Cabin
For Info Call 503-429-4250
Emerg. Preparedness Comm.
4th Wednesday
6:30 p.m., WOEC
Friends of the Library
1st Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Vernonia Library
Girl Scouts, Neighborhood 4-2
For Info Call 503-819-0143
Izaak Walton League
3rd Thursday
For location call 503-429-7193
Kiwanis Club
2nd & 4th Tuesdays
6:30 p.m., New Hong Kong
Lions Club
1st & 3rd Tuesdays
6:30 p.m., New Hong Kong
Municipal Airport Committee
1t Wednesday
6:30 p.m., City Hall
Pioneer Museum
For Info Call 503-429-3713
Upr Nehalem Watershed Council For date call 429-0869 7:00 p.m.,Vernonia Grange
Public Works Committee
4th Tuesday
7:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Cares Directors
For Info call 503-429-1414
Vernonia City Council
1st & 3rd Mondays
7:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Comm. Learning Center 1st Wednesday
5:00 p.m., VCLC
Vernonia Community PTA
2nd Wednesday
7:00 p.m., WGS Library
Vernonia Garden Club
2nd Tuesday
1:30 p.m., Vernonia Library
Vernonia Grange
3rd Monday
7:00 p.m., Grange Hall
Vernonia Health Center
3rd Thursday
6:30 p.m., 510 Bridge St.
Vernonia Library Board
1st Wednesday
9:00 a.m., Sept-June, Library
Vernonia Parks Committee
3rd Wednesday
6:30 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Planning Comm.
1st & 3rd Thursdays
6:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Ridge Riders
Last Thursday
7:00 p.m., Senior Center
Vernonia RFPD Board
2nd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Fire Station
Vernonia School Board
2nd Thursday
6:00 p.m., District Office
Vernonia Sr. Center Board
2nd Friday
10:00 a.m., Senior Center
Vernonia Transfer Station
2nd & 4th Saturdays
8 a.m.-2 p.m.,Behind VHS
Vern. Volunteer Ambulance Assoc. 1st Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Fire Station
Vernonia Volunteer Firefighters
2nd Monday
7:00 p.m., Fire Station
WOEC Directors
3rd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., WOEC
MIST-BIRKENFELD
M-BRFPD Board Business Mtg.
3rd Tuesday
M-B Ambulance Drill
1st & 2nd Thursdays
M-B Fire Drill
1st & 2nd Wednesdays
M-B Helping Circle
2nd Monday
M-B SAR Drill
3rd Wednesday
M-B Volunteer Assoc.
1st Tuesday
Natal Grange
2nd Wednesday
T.O.P.S.
Mondays
BANKS
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
American Legion Post #90
Banks City Council
Banks Fire District #13
Banks Library Commission
Banks Planning Commission
Banks School Board
Banks Youth Group
Chamber of Commerce
CPO 14
Everybody’s Hometown Band
Friends of the Library
Lions Club
Sunset Park Assoc.
T.O.P.S.
Friday
Wednesday
2nd Tuesday
2nd Tuesday
2nd Wednesday
3rd Tuesday
Last Tuesday
2nd Monday
Sunday, Wednesday
1st Thursday
3rd Monday
Tuesdays
2nd Tuesday
1st & 3rd Mondays
3rd Wednesday
Wednesday
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:30 p.m., Natal Grange Hall
9:00 a.m., Main Fire Station
7:30 p.m., Methodist Church
7:30 p.m., Methodist Church
7:00 p.m., Main Street Post
7:30 p.m., City Hall
7:00 p.m., Station 13
7:00 p.m., City Library
7:00 p.m., City Hall
7:30 p.m., Jr. High Library
7:00 p.m., UMC Youth Bldg.
12:30 p.m., Fire District Office
7:00 p.m., City Library
7:00 p.m., BHS Music Room
7:00 p.m., City Library
7:00 p.m., Brown Derby
8:00 p.m., Gun Club
7:00 p.m., Administration Bldg.
COLUMBIA COUNTY (All meet in St. Helens unless otherwise noted.)
Board of Commissioners
Wednesday
10:00 a.m., Courthouse
Citizens for Senior Justice
2nd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Sunset Park Church
Columbia 9-1-1 Board
3rd Thursday
9:00 a.m., 9-1-1 meeting room
Columbia Comm Mental Health
1st Tuesday
5”30 p.m., 58646 McNulty Way
Columbia Soil & Water District
3rd Wednesday
7:30 p.m., NRCS , 2514 Sykes
County Fair Board
2nd Monday
6:00 p.m., Fairgrounds 4-H Bldg.
County Parks Commission
2nd Thursday
4:00 p.m., 1054 Oregon St.
Comm. on Children & Families
3rd Thursday 5:30 p.m. OSU Ext., 505 N. Hwy. 30
Local Alcohol & Drug Plann. Comm.
Quarterly
For Info call 503-397-7211
Organizations and meeting dates not listed may be included by calling 429-9410 or by mail to The INDEPENDENT, 725 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR 97064.