n From the April issue
of Imaging Magazine comes positive international press about Deschutes
County, Oregon. "The Vital Records Office in Deschutes County,
Oregon, is making the move from microfilm to imaging, and expects
to leapfrog onto the Internet within months. The state archivist
currently mandates microfilm for permanent storage, but county
network administrator Joe Sadony sees the migration to digital
archives as inevitable.
"One obvious reason to adopt digital technology is to speed
retrieval. Microfilm is still usable, but it's not fast enough,"
Sadony says, "and many customers need assistance with the
film readers."
The article goes on to describe the equipment used and the fact
that the department's own programmers are writing most of the
supporting applications, Sadony explains, "We're writing
a custom application that will take information from our Pick
database and populate the other fields. This will give us a little
more information to search on.
"Fast and trouble-free retrieval is a key to pleasing not
only the occasional public user but also the department's regular
business customers in real estate and law. It also points the
way to a fee-based service the department can offer in the future."
Way to go, Deschutes County!
n If
you're curious about salary ranges for differing job fields or
parts of the country, the March 22 issue of Infoworld has some
fee-based salary websites for you to check.
1. Wageweb
www.wageweb.com
This site, provided by Human Resources Programs Development and
Improvement, charges $100 for salaries for 150 different job titles
divided by industry, size of company, and geographical location.
2. PinPoint Salary Service
members.aol.com/payraises
For $95, PinPoint allows you to hire a person to wade through
a database of salary information published by the Economic Research
Institute (www.erieri.com). They provide detailed compensation
assessments from a variety of surveys for clients such as human
resources staff members and the IRS. PinPoint's researchers analyze
the Institute's data to create a customized list of median and
maximum salary ranges for a given job title, evaluated by geographic
region and years of experience.
3. Abbott, Langer and Associates
www.abbott-langer.com
This consulting group offers the results of a survey sponsored
by the Data Processing Management Association, which is now called
the Association of Information Technology Professionals.
n Bank of the Pacific and the Bank of Astoria are sponsoring "Financial Management for the Closely Held Business," at the Astoria Golf and Country Club on Monday and Tuesday, May 17 and 18. The $149.00 fee for the two-day seminar includes breakfast and lunch and the daily events run from 7:30am to 5:00 pm. Call 360/642-2336 or 503/325-2228.
n From the April issue of InnSights magazine, comes good news for potential B&B innkeepers. Jerry Phillips, president of the Independent Innkeepers Association and co-owner of the Old Rittenhouse Inn, located in Bayfield, Wisconsin, announces availability of the "Free Bed & Breakfast Success Tip Sheet." There is no charge for the Tip Sheet and author Phillips states that he hopes to give new innkeepers an advantage that he didn't have. Call 800/779-2129 to order.
n The 5th Annual Lite Bite of the Columbia will be held Thursday, May 20 at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds. The event is held 5-8pm and there will be a People's Choice Award. Cost is a $5.00 entrance fee. Generally 700-800 people attend and as many as 16 restaurants will be there "putting their best food forward," said fair manager Denny Holmes. Call Dr. Brad Pope, this year's event chair, 503/861-1621, for more information.
n From the April 9 issue of Daily Shipping News comes a story about the mouth of the Columbia River. The article states federal and state agencies have agreed to prohibit access to East Sand Island, one mile from Chinook, Washington, in an effort to recover threatened and endangered juvenile salmon and steelhead. The island is also earmarked as the new temporary home for Caspian terns and home to several other species of colonial nesting seabirds. Members of the Caspian Tern Working Group include National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Bonneville Power Administration, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Idaho Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Oregon State University. Call any participant or e-mail dsnews@europa.com for details.
n The
Clatsop County Budget Committee will hold a public meeting on
Tuesday, May 18, at 9am at 800 Exchange Street, in Astoria. Participants
will receive the budget message and documents of the following
districts: Clatsop County General Fund, Road District 1, Westport
Sewer Service, Clatsop County Rural Law Enforcement, 4-H, and
Extension Service Special District. Documents are now available
for review or purchase at the Clatsop County Court-house, manager's
office, 503/325-1000.
n From the April issue of the Costco Connection, come top business issues for entrepreneurs as identified during the 1999 Small Business Congress in Orlando, Florida, sponsored by National Small Business United. Here's the top 10 in order of importance: Health-care reform, tax parity, availability of capital, death (estate) tax elimination, fundamental tax reform, pension reform and simplification, the SBA Office of Advocacy, bankruptcy reform, regulatory reform, and capital for small business technological development. Also of concern were paperwork reduction, flexible scheduling, patent and OSHA reform, and the impact of the Tele-communications Reform Act. More details are at www.nsbu.org/thecongress.
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