SHC56

Page 1

Teacher Appreciation Week

Election 2020:

ELECTION 2020

Voices of the community

Pages A5, A6, A11

Page A11

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Chronicle

$1

thechronicleonline.com

Serving Columbia County since 1881

Graduation Isolation Chronicle photo

Seniors toss their caps in tradition at the end of the 2018 St. Helens High School graduation held at the school’s athletic field.

2020 graduation to be different ing orders to slow COVID-19, new restrictive graduation guidelines have been issued by the Oregon Education Department (OED). See the guidelines with this story at thechronicleonline.com. In releasing the graduation guidelines, the OED stated, “despite recent modeling that shows current efforts are “flattening the curve” or slowing the spread of COVID-19, Oregon is still in the

JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net

Seniors tossing their caps into the air has been the tradition of St. Helens High School over the years, but the 2020 graduation will have seniors following a more creative and health safety path as they graduate in early June. Due to the state’s social distanc-

midst of the outbreak and must continue to “Stay Home, Save Lives.” The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) recognize that this creates challenges for school districts and local communities that wish to provide students an opportunity to participate in the life milestone of a graduation ceremony or other year-end celebrations.”

St. Helens High School Activities Director Noelle Freshner has been charged with developing the schools 2020 graduation plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “It has been nuts,” Freshner said in describing the hours and days she has been devoting to the creative graduation ceremonies. At first, Freshner developed a graduation ceremony that would have taken place at the high school

Homeless count Reopening begins for census use those services, according to Burkhart. “Homeless” is a broad category that includes people who may be housed part of the time or none of the time. It does not necessarily mean those who only live outdoors. For those who live only outdoors, the second part of the

CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net

It is time for the Census again, which is taken once every 10 years. While Columbia County being a rural population is already cause for it to be hard to count, there’s another population within the county that is definitely hard to count: those experiencing homelessness. The homeless count, originally expected to be completed by April 28, is still not finished. “Unfortunately due to the COVID-19, the count of people experiencing homelessness has been postponed,” United Way of Columbia County census community liaison Cameron Burkhart said. According to Burkhart, there is no date yet set for the official count of the homeless population, but the timeline for both parts of the count is currently under review by the U.S. Census Bureau to ensure that it happens as safely and accurately as possible. To complete the census, the count of people experiencing homelessness will be broken down into two parts, both of which are handled by local partners and organizations under the direction of the regional census & partnership leaders. The first part involves census workers going to service providers such as soup kitchens, regular food pickups, shelters and other places to interview and count those who

Opinion: .........................A4 Poll: .................................A4 Letters: ..................A5, 6, 11 Classified Ads: ...............A6 Legals: .............................A7 TV Guide: .......................A8 Obituaries: .....................A9 Teacher Appreciation: A11 Vol. 138, No. 19

­­­­

See HOMELESS Page A10

MAX KIRKENDALL newsguardeditor@countrymedia.net JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net

Oregon Gov. Brown has extended her Stay at Home restrictions to July 6, but the order signed on May 1 allows her to terminate the restrictions at anytime if the situation warrants. The executive order made on March 8 was to expire May 7. State officials said they will continue to use science and data to

with the social distancing guidelines, but because of the encouragement and excitement offered by city and community members, the ceremony was changed and is now scheduled for 12 p.m. June 5 at the Columbia County Courthouse steps in downtown St. Helens.

­­­­

See GRADUATION Page A9

Oregon

create criteria for reopening Oregon. Brown said the state has set a goal of testing 15,000 Oregonians per week, and currently, that testing is on track of meeting that goal. Oregon health officials said they’ve been able to administer on average 1,500 tests per day last week. As testing has become more readily available, they have begun to expand testing criteria to those experiencing even mild symptoms of COVID-19. Brown said they will continue to expand testing to anyone showing symptoms, provide priority testing for

facilities such as nursing homes and prisons, as well as make testing available for at risk populations and rural areas of the state. “In order to reopen and stay open, we must have randomized testing across the state,” Brown said. “A strategy of testing and tracing helps us identify who has the disease and who may be at risk of infection — knowledge that is incredibly powerful as we look to reopen.”

­­­­

See REOPENING Page A7

JUSTICE WITH INTEGRITY COLUMBIA COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE DISTRICT 19, POSITION 3 Endorsed by: The Honorable Judge Cathleen B. Callahan, Circuit Court Judge of Columbia County • Stephen D. Petersen, attorney in Rainier • Agnes M. Petersen, attorney in St. Helens • David B. Herr, attorney in Scappoose

Paid for by Clarke 4 Judge

To our valued customers,

At St. Helens Market Fresh, we are committed to always to serving the needs of our community during this crisis. In an effort to be safe and proactive, we have adopted a enhances sanitation procedures including disinfecting bathrooms, cart handles and carry baskets multiple times daily. In additions, we are offering customers the opportunity to order groceries and pick up curbside. Customers who would like to utilize this method may call, text, email or Facebook Message their orders to the store. Curbside pick up will works as follows: 1. Orders placed before 2 pm can be pick up the same day by 4 pm with curbside payment. 2. Orders placed after 2 pm will be scheduled for pick-up the next day by 4 pm with curbside payment. 3. Orders paid via phone may be picked up anytime. Coming soon:

Whole Alaskan halibut: curbside edition

LOOK INSIDE NEWSPAPER FOR ORDER FORMS

4. Customers will be notified of completed orders using the same method used to place the order. 5. Customer name and contact info must be included in all orders 6. Customers specify whether substitutions are acceptable. 7. Curbside pick-up will be available Monday through Friday. Coming soon:

Mother’s Day Floral Tent Sale

LOOK INSIDE NEWSPAPER FOR INFORMATION

Customers may contact the store to place orders using the following: Phone: 503-397-2288 Text: (To be added soon) Email: sthelensmarketfresh@yahoo.com Facebook Messenger St. Helens Market Fresh

Unfortunately, we are unable to accept EBT and WIC benefits for curbside orders. We appreciate the health and happiness of our community and wish to thank for you continued support! Sincerely, Brian Brame, Vice President Kirby Company

NEW HOURS: 7 AM - 9 PM EVERY DAY 1111 Columbia Blvd, St Helens, OR 97051 • (503) 397-2288


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
SHC56 by C.M.I. - Issuu