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Wednesday, July 14, 2021
thechronicleonline.com
Serving Columbia County since 1881
Columbia County tradition returns JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
The Columbia County Fair and Rodeo opens a five-day run on Wednesday, July 14. The event had been cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This week preparations have been underway at each of the fairgrounds buildings from herding in the livestock to setting up the tents and vendor booths, it has been a flurry of activity. Columbia County Fair Vice President and Vendor Coordinator Julie Pelletier said she expects attendance will surpass the 2019 fair. “Because everybody is ready to get out and put smiles or their faces and relax and enjoy it,” Pelletier said. “And that is our goal. People want to get out of the house and see everybody again.”
The popular rides are always an attraction at the Columbia County Fair.
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Health and safety precautions
What’s new More shade and water will be available at the fairgrounds. “We are really focusing on areas where families can rest and to get out of the sun,” Pelletier said. “We have bigger pop-up shades that will be placed all over. We will have a little water area for kids to cool off, so instead of getting over-heated and heading home, we are offering more to keep them here and to help make their experience as enjoyable as possible.” The popular carnival rides and rodeo will also be in place as well as an entertainment stage. Fair economy Pelletier estimated that in 2019 the fair brought in about $200,000,
mer’s event to match and even be over what occurred in 2019. In a published interview with The Chronicle in March, Columbia County Fair President Jaime Carr said the county fair and rodeo is a tradition that helps sustain the local economy and one that should never fade away. “For me a fair just doesn’t represent watching a rodeo and getting an elephant ear,” he said. “It’s the full meal deal. You are supporting local businesses, allowing them the opportunity to interact with the public, and we are giving the community a local event and a place to gather. We are creating jobs and we are building relations.”
The popular rodeo will return to this summer’s Columbia County Fair.
money that sustains the fair and fairgrounds annually. “This year I believe it is going to give us a much-needed financial boost to keep us moving forward, doing the upkeep, the repairs and to be able to make things even bet-
ter,” she said. Pelletier said thanks to a financial infusion from the Columbia County Board of Commissioners, needed improvements have been made over the past several weeks, including new building gutters,
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restroom repairs, a waterline update and a new roof on the shop building is planned. “We still have to be self-sufficient,” Pelletier said, who added that she expected the attendance and fair gate profits for this sum-
Pelletier said the fair is also following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. “If you are vaccinated you don’t need to wear a mask,” she said. “For those people who are not vaccinated, we are asking that they follow the CDC guidelines, social distancing and to wear a mask, however we are not going to ask for the vaccine card, so hopefully everyone will be selfaccountable and self-responsible. We just have to be careful.” Pelletier, a long-standing volunteer at the fair, said the return of the event is heartwarming. “Seeing people coming in with a smile on their face and knowing that we are presenting a place to See FAIR Page A4
Parklets pose parking discussion AURORA BIGGERS chronicle2@countrymedia.net
Metro Creative Connection / The Chronicle
The main issues Oregon will evaluate are: the number, location, and accessibility of cooling centers and other resources; the speed and frequency with which health related data is provided to emergency management and responders, and how Oregon officials communicate and think about risk.
Oregon agencies evaluate response to heat wave AURORA BIGGERS chronicle2@countrymedia.net
After the West Coast’s late June heat wave — which has reportedly caused the death of 116 Oregonians, including an elderly woman from Columbia County — the Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) held a press availability to address how the state handled the extreme heat and what changes the state can make before future climate related emergencies. OEM Director Andrew Phelps addressed why OEM didn’t ask Governor Kate Brown to declare a state of emergency. “When I make a recommendation to the governor for an emerOpinion ..................... A4
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gency declaration, generally it’s because local resources have been or are in danger of being overwhelmed and state assistance is needed. This is typically in concert with a local emergency declaration,” Phelps explained. “Or there are actions the state needs to take using the tools and resources only available through an emergency declaration. Or rules that need to be waived in order toaffect an appropriate emergency response from the state. We also utilize emergency declarations to request assistance from other states … it’s important to note none of these factors were present during the heat wave event.” Phelps also said he is worried that invoking the emergency declaration too often will cause the declaration to lose its power. The main issues Phelps said Oregon will evaluate are: the number, location, and accessibility of cooling centers and other resources; See HEAT Page A7
You may have noticed wooden side-walk extensions with attached tables (and perhaps even a covering) begin to dot Portland sidewalks last time you visited the city. Through the pandemic, outdoor dining has become popularized as a safe(r) way to dine and socialize. Now, it’s looking like parklets— ‘street seats’ as Portland and New York City call them—might be here for good. St. Helens joined the growing trend of parklets, street seats, and sidewalk dining in Feb. 2015—but the process isn’t exactly easy, according to local restaurant Tap into Wine owner Marci Sanders. Sanders said she and owner of neighboring Columbia County Bistro Kayleigh Stano applied for a permit in early July and are waiting to be approved. In order to receive a parklet permit in St. Helens, the parklet design must meet city requirements. Parklets can only be constructed in nonresidential areas where the speed limit is 25 miles per hour or less; they need to be designed to the city’s specifications, including a platform under the parklet that is flush with the sidewalk. Local Brewery Running Dogs already has their parklet, though it doesn’t technically meet the city’s current requirements without a platform. St. Helens Communications Officer Crystal King said Running Dogs received a special approval to construct their parklet without a deck. “They submitted their original application over a year ago, so their approval process was not a quick one,” King explained. “The Planning Department made an exception to the decking requirement because at the time of review, there were extensive COVID-19 restric-
tions related to indoor dining.” Running Dogs also does not have a normal curb exposure outside their business. The curb is less than 1” in some areas in front of the business while a normal curb exposure is closer to 5,” which King noted makes it difficult to build a platform flush with the sidewalk. The owners of Running Dogs were unavailable for an interview prior to press time. Economic value The city created the parklet permit in order to encourage postpandemic economic growth for businesses. “Part of the City’s goal in promoting parklets recently was to support restaurants and other industries that were hit hard and struggling to remain open due to COVID-19 restrictions,” King said. Still, Running Dogs’ parklet acted as a test parklet for the city and neighboring businesses, which Sanders said is making it difficult for her and Stano to get their permit. The city requires notification of the parklet application to all abutting businesses before the permit will be approved. If neighboring businesses object to the parklet application, then the business must wait for the city council to decide whether to approve the parklet permit or not. “They’re going to notice everybody on this block, including Roof, and apparently Roof isn’t happy with [the parklet],” Sanders said of the upstairs restaurant in the same building as the Columbia County Bistro. Roof owner Marsha Lee told the Chronicle she hadn’t been notified of Tap into Wine and Columbia County Bistro’s application yet, but she had voiced her concern about Running Dogs’ parklet across the way early on, taking parking space from her cus-
tomers and the customers of other businesses. “Parking is a premium down there as it is, and we have older people who need close parking,” Lee said. And with COVID-19 seeming to be less of a concern for people and pandemic restrictions lifting, Lee said, “There’s no need to have the outdoor seating.” When asked if she would contest Sanders and Stano’s permit application, Lee told the Chronicle, “Potentially, yes. If the city isn’t going to offer up parking spaces for the businesses, then they probably shouldn’t be taking up parking from those businesses.” Without Roof’s (and other neighboring businesses’) approval, Sanders said her permit will struggle through the system for a while. Currently, Sanders is working on a new draft of her and Stano’s parklet design because their original lacked Ramps for two entrances (4’ wide minimum), since their parklet will also not be flush with the curb, railing along the street side to block entry where the parklet is uneven with the curb, and they needed to downsize their design by limiting the parklet to three parking spaces. Stano was unavailable for an interview but said, “Marci and I have the same opinions on the parklet, the city, and the unfairness, and uneven expectations between Running Dogs and other businesses applying.” Parking issues The parklet permit has presented a difficult question for the city and businesses. “There isn’t enough parking. In Portland, it’s a different situation,” Sanders said, noting that Portland has more parking options and a few parklets won’t limit businesses
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