The Chronicle
SHC-0801-A01, 04:Layout 1
7/31/12
3:16 PM
Page 1
Scappoose high grad Stephen Bowe tells us about his preparation for the East-West Shrine Game, Page A13
Wednesday August 1, 2012
New admin joins St. Helens staff BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
The City of St. Helens has a new city administrator at the helm. John Walsh, replacing former city administrator Chad Olsen, who left John Walsh in January after accepting the city manager position in Carlton, Ore., officially joined the city staff on July 30. Walsh comes to St. Helens from Myrtle Point, where he served as city manager for the past three years. He was chosen from a pool of 71 applicants based on his qualifications and experience deemed best suited to fit the St. Helens community. “St. Helens feels like a great fit [for me],” said Walsh, “and I look forward to becoming part of the community and working to achieve the City Council’s goals to make it even better.” Selecting a new city administrator was quite an undertaking. Candidates were interviewed by three separate panels, one comprised of the city council, another of city staff department heads, and finally, a technical peer panel. The peer panel was made up of representatives from Columbia County Economic Team, Columbia County Commissioners, Community Action Team, the City of Clatskanie and the Columbia County Human Resources Department. Walsh said he brings to St. Helens strong “community development and comSee ADMIN, Page A4
INSIDE Classified Ads. . . . . . . . A9 Legal Notices . . . . . . . . A9-12 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Opinions . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Out & About . . . . . . . . . A7 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . A13-16 TV Guide . . . . . . . . . . . A8 Weather. . . . . . . . . . . . A14
St. Helens student wins Oregon award, Page A2
Partly sunny PAGE A14
TODAY’S WEATHER Highs to 74 Lows to 53
75¢ Vol. 130, No. 30 16 Pages
164 cattle seized from farmer Oregon Humane Society is caring for cattle, some 50 percent underweight BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
A Scappoose cattle farmer convicted in February of illegally discharging cattle waste into tributaries of the Columbia River now may face animal cruelty and neglect charges after authorities seized more than 160 head of cattle from his properties. Columbia County Sheriff’s Office deputies executed a search warrant on three properties in Scappoose and Warren owned by William Holdner, 86. The animals were seized as part of a joint operation conducted by the Oregon Humane Society and the sheriff’s office. “We seized them because we were really concerned about the weight of the cattle, the emaciated condition,” said David Lyttle, public affairs manager for OHS. “Some appeared to be as much as 50 percent underweight.” The warrant was initially served at Holdner’s residence at 32456 Viewcrest Drive in Warren, just after 7 a.m. Two additional locations at 34109 Johnson Landing Road and 30754 Dutch Canyon Road, both in Scappoose, were included in the
Courtesy photo Sheriff’s deputies and Oregon Humane Society workers remove visibly emaciated cattle from properties owned by a Scappoose farmer.
warrant. The last of the cattle were removed around midnight. “We have an ongoing understanding with the Oregon Humane Society whose agents handle most of the animal abuse complaints in Columbia County that are not associated with dogs. In this case, humane society agents enlisted our help in investigating these crimes and executing the search warrant," said Columbia County Sheriff Jeff Dickerson. “Our ef-
forts were greatly helped by the knowledgeable OHS staff, who provided the expertise necessary to develop the probable cause for this warrant, who, as well, assisted us in identifying the cattle requiring immediate intervention.” Dickerson said help also came from Oregon State Police and the Scappoose and Vernonia Police departments in executing the warrant, along with aid from number of volunteers in gathering the cattle and transporting them to an offsite location designed to provide for their care. The search warrant also required the cooperation of the Columbia County District Attorney's Office
Artists, property owners find success in beautification project BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
ST. HELENS — For the past few months, volunteers from the St. Helens Economic Development Corp.’s design committee have been working to beautify empty storefronts in St. Helens using works created by local artists. Their efforts have been paying off for both those who own those empty storefronts and the artists displaying their work. Normally, being asked to move out of a space isn’t considered good news. But for Phillip and
Stephanie Stanton, owners of the Pythian Building in Olde Towne, it is good news − really good news. The Stantons recently leased their building, which has been sitting empty for a while, and had to ask the artists to remove their work to make room for their new tenants. “I think this is a sign of success for the concept of making the vacant buildings look ‘vital and alive’ to prospective tenants, and we are personally grateful to the artists and volunteers who in part helped our building attract a tenant,” said Phillip Stanton. The new tenant had ap-
Courtesy photo Volunteers and local artists work together to beautify the Pythian building in Olde Towne. The building was recently leased, thanks in part to the beautification efforts.
parently been looking at the Pythian building for some time but decided to move forward after seeing
the art displayed in the See ARTISTS, Page A2
Photos by Kyle Boggs LEFT: The Taqueria Purificacion food cart has made its home along Highway 30 for the past five months. RIGHT: Danny Wert makes good eats inside the small amount of space he has in the Noi's Thai Kitchen cart.
In big cities, food carts are nothing new. Stroll down Fifth Avenue in Portland or in Manhattan and your bound to find fried mobile delights. Now it appears the industry is making its way into smaller cities. With the introduction of Noi’s Thai Kitchen at Highway 30 and Firlok
Park Blvd. last week, St. Helens is now home to two food carts. Both sit on Highway 30. Taqueria Purificacion has been in the Star Home Theater and Security parking lot for the last five months. For some, eating a meal prepared in a truck or trailer only sounds appetizing at a fair or festival. For others, it’s becoming the norm. Many see food carts as a quick solution for lunch
See CATTLE, Page A4
Shooter sentenced to 50 months
BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
Food carts cropping up in St. Helens
BY KYLE BOGGS The Chronicle
and the Board of County Commissioners – the latter of which had to take action on behalf of the county to address the care and feeding of the cattle for a protracted amount of time. According to Lyttle, a total of 164 head of cattle were seized. More than 145 of those were taken from the Dutch Canyon farm. Lyttle also said only those animals that showed signs of neglect were seized. “There’s a minimum care standard in Oregon law. It is illegal to deprive an animal of food, water or needed medical care. That applies to
on the go. There’s no need to sit in a restaurant and wait to be served. Rather it’s walk up, order, wait a few minutes and head back to the grind. Others see it as a cheaper alternative to traditional restaurants. In some Oregon cities, like Bend and Corvallis, debate has risen about whether food carts get an unfair advantage over traditional brick-and-mortar establishments. Some
restaurateurs claim food carts tap into their clientele. That doesn’t seem to be the case in St. Helens. Dave Wuollett, executive chef at the Klondike, said he views his restaurant and the Highway 30 food carts as completely different options. For example, Klondike customers can sit down for their meals, whereas See FOOD, Page A4
Jesus Ochoa, the man accused of a shooting Anthony Connelly, 36, of Portland, in what authorities believe may have a drug buy that went bad, recently pleaded guilty to assault III. Ochoa had Jesus Ochoa been scheduled to go to trial on July 25 after initially entering a not guilty plea. Assistant District Attorney Dale Anderson said Ochoa received a 50-month sentence in exchange for his plea, which he has already begun serving. Police were called to the area of Tarbell Road and Shamrock Lane in Warren shortly after 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 15, 2011, after Connelly, who had been shot in the head, drove himself and a female passenger to the Columbia River Fire & Rescue fairgrounds station. Connelly told authorities he had been shot at the Tarbell Road location. The two men had apparently been at a St. Helens residence together and then traveled separately to the Tarbell Road area. Ochoa then fired a single shot through the driver's side window of Connelly's car and fled the scene in another vehicle. Connelly was taken to a nearby hospital. Police eventually caught up to Ochoa after getting a tip that he had been spotted in a Tacoma, Wash., area motel. Ochoa was identified by Connelly and a witness as the man who fired the gun on a rural roadway in the Warren area in South Columbia County.