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Wednesday, August 10, 2022

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Serving Columbia County since 1881

Food bank serves up its new location JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net

A grand opening and ribbon cutting are scheduled for 12 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 12 for the Columbia Pacific Food Bank’s (CPFB) new headquarters on Columbia Boulevard in St. Helens.

The facility has relocated from its former location at 474 Milton Way in St. Helens.

In the following conversation, The Chronicle gains insight about the new facility from CPFB Executive Director Alex Tardif.

The Chronicle: What is the significant advantage of this move by the Food Bank for both the community and the staff and volunteers?

Alex Tardif: This move created six times the space. The Food Bank now has the capacity to distribute 2-3 million pounds of food throughout the county.

The Chronicle: What are specific features that you’d like to point out that this location has to benefit clients?

Tardif: The new location has an instructional kitchen. This allows the space to be used for cooking and canning classes, to teach people how to use the food they receive and how to preserve it for later. Teaching self-sufficiency and sustainability. There is also a repack room, which allows the Food Bank to purchase bulk items, break them down, and repack them into smaller quantities, to distribute throughout the network. This will be a new

The new Columbia Pacific Food Bank is located at 14th Street and Columbia Boulevard in St. Helens.

opportunity for volunteers and business to volunteer for team building activities at the Food Bank, which will greatly benefit the community.

Another new feature is the produce pantry. A room dedicated solely to providing produce to the community.

and volunteers will be at this new location?

The Chronicle: When is the Food Bank opening and what will be the days/hours of operation?

The Chronicle: What is the annual operating budget for the Food Bank and how is that funded?

Tardif: The H.E.L.P pantry which is operated by the Food Bank is open 9-1 Monday thru Thursday.

Tardif: The operating budget is around $400,000. Operations are funded through community donations, grants and some state funding.

The Chronicle: How many staff

Tardif: There are four staff and over 30 volunteers. The Food Bank is looking for more volunteers, if interested please contact our office at 503-397-9708.

Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chronicle

The Chronicle: Approximately how many clients does the Food Bank serve monthly, is that up or down compared to previous years, and why?

Tardif: Around 400 boxes a month. A box is per family, so a family could have one person in it or 10 people.

In our previous coverage, The Chronicle reported that the new food bank location boasts 12,500-square-foot and features a walk-in freezer, walk-in cooler, residential-style kitchen, storage space, and a multipurpose commu-

nity room. The building came with a $350,000 price tag and required another $1.5 million grant from the City of St. Helens for development.

The Chronicle also learned from Lower Columbia Engineering Interiors Project Manager Mandi Jenks that the new building will have ample space for staff to hold cooking classes and provide clients with skill-building opportunities.

Addressing possible concerns about increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic, Tardif said six additional parking spaces have been added, including two handicap spaces on 14th Street in addition to those available on Columbia Boulevard.

Tardif said the former food bank building on Milton Way will be sold to offset the costs of the new building.

Mid-pandemic, CPFB saw a 65% increase in demand for services, making supporting the food bank a more critical endeavor than in years past, according to CPFB Director of Development Megan Fawcett, who addressed the most common misconception for people who experience food insecurity.

“A misconception is that clients of the food bank are unemployed, and that is incorrect,” she said, adding, “There are several clients that utilize our services that (are) working, trying to make ends meet.”

The public is invited to the Aug. 12 noon grand opening, the ribbon cutting, and to take a tour of the food bank’s new location. Read about a new mural being placed on the CPFB building on page A2.

For more information, contact the CPFB at 503-397-9708.

Election 2022: St. Helens City races JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net

Voters in St. Helens will have two candidates to choose from as of Aug. 8, when it comes to who to select for city mayor.

Both Incumbent Mayor Rick Scholl and city councilor Stephen Topaz have filed to run for mayor in the November General Election.

“I want to get the city moving forward,” Topaz told The Chronicle. “Doing the same thing isn’t cutting it. The world around us is changing.”

Topaz said the city government lacks transparency.

“We really don’t communicate what we know to the community,” he said. “And we have too many people who think they know everything, but they don’t know how to act.”

For his priorities if elected mayor, Topaz said he would work to stop a city push to develop a toxic waste dump and discontinue a marijuana grow facility.

“People don’t want to put a

St. Helens Mayor Rick Scholl has filed for re-election.

business near a toxic waste dump, and we need to make a clean break from the marijuana grow facility,” Topaz said.

The city should take advantage of marine works facilities and support such businesses as tug repair facilities that are established across the Columbia River from St. Helens, according to Topaz.

“We need to connect to those

Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chronicle

businesses and support companies working along the river,” he said.

Topaz also voiced concern about the condition of the St. Helens waterfront, which has been targeted by the city as a key economic development area.

“The whole riverfront is contaminated,” he said. “Boise (former St. Helens mill operator) and the Department of Environ-

Courtesy photo from the City of St. Helens

City Councilor Stephen Topaz has filed to run for St. Helens Mayor.

mental Quality want to cover up that property.”

When asked how he would help local businesses throughout the city, Topaz said more efforts are needed to establish vocational education at local schools to help better train potential employees.

“This will help the plain, working class people,” he said.

“Those are the people that buy

bread and have their hair done (in St. Helens). We have to bring in more small businesses and we need trained people for those businesses.”

Topaz said while Scholl has been a good cheerleader for the

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See ELECTION Page A6

Local team returns from wildfire battle JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net

Opinion ..................... A4 Poll ............................ A4 Community Calendar A5

Obituaries ................. A5 Classified Ads ......... A6 Legals ....................... A7 Crossword ............... A7 Sports ..................... A10

Vol. 140, No. 32

Several members of Columbia County fire agencies and a team from Banks Fire are back home after joining the battle against the nearly 11,000-acre Miller Road wildfire in Wasco County.

As of Sunday, Aug. 7, the wildfire was approximately 95% contained.

The local team of 14 personnel had responded to Maupin early Wednesday morning, Aug. 3 to assist other firefighters.

The Columbia County team includes, Columbia River Fire & Rescue, Clatskanie Rural Fire Protection District, Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD, Vernonia Rural Fire Protection District and Scappoose Fire.

Columbia County is one of five structural task forces that had been sent to the Wasco County wildfire.

Scappoose Rural Fire Protection District Chief Jeff Pricher told The Chronicle as the local team left for the wildfire that all of the responding county firefighters and apparatus would be part of the initial attack firefighting force.

That attack included responsibility for holding established firelines, providing structure protection,

Courtesy from SRFPD

The Columbia County fire agencies and Banks Fire Wildfire Mobilization Team.

executing triage of structures in the fire area (identifying the fire safety charastics of threatened structures, survivability in the interface zone of structures and performing mitigation measures (when possible) to prevent fire from destroying property), creating fire lines, coordinating with other resources in a coordinated effort for full fire suppression.

Pricher said the team went in knowing the dangers.

“There was a combination of low humidities (below 20%), sustained winds over 15 mph and gusts over 25 mph,” he said. “It was hot.

The terrain is very steep and with the smoke, visibility was limited.

The temperature firefighters are exposed to with all of the firefighting gear is very taxing.”

The fire activity in the conditions that the local crews experienced were significant, according to Pricher.

“The type of fire behavior is more dangerous than in previous years as a result of drought, climate

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See WILDFIRE Page A10

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Wednesday, August 10, 2022

State releases 2022 Oregon Wage information

JASON PAYTON Chronicle Guest Article

Understanding how your take home pay compares with others in your field, or someone in a different career, is vitally important. It can inform you about how your work is being valued, and whether you may want to pursue more lucrative career options in the future.

Likewise, hiring employers benefit from knowing the range of wages paid to workers in positions similar to those they are looking to hire, in their area of the state.

Thanks to survey responses from employers around the state, the Oregon Employment Department publishes wage estimates for over 750 occupations, as well as hundreds of occupations in every region of the state. The 2022 version of Occupational Wage Information is now available.

concentrated in rural communities, and leisure and hospitality jobs focused near the coast.

Wage estimates reflect these differences. The average hourly wage for Multnomah and Washington counties (the Portland-Metro region) was $33.25, and Clackamas County came in at $30.15 in 2022. Jobs in Eastern Oregon ($24.34) and Southwestern Oregon ($24.26) had lower average wages than jobs around the Portland tri-county area.

Wage estimates are not immune from the influences of the pandemic. We have seen shifts in employment levels and wages in different parts of the state. As we started to release wage data over the pandemic we began to see the average wage for Northwest Oregon ($27.16) was greater than the MidValley ($27.00), something we had not seen since 2016.

By the numbers

Leisure and hospitality employment

The annual average wage for all occupations in Oregon was $61,465 in 2022, or $29.55 per hour. Of the occupations with published data, gambling dealers had the lowest average wage of $14.29 per hour. General internal medicine physicians had the highest average wage ($138.86 per hour). Medical specialists like general internal medicine physicians have such a high average wage because it takes many years of education and experience in order to perform that level of work.

The cost of living, mix of industries, and available workforce can be different across the state. We may see a higher number of software engineers and folks working in corporate headquarters in Portland, while natural resource jobs may be more

While variations from one year to another can usually be stocked up to adjustments for inflation and changes in the composition of businesses sampled in the survey, national data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the states that experienced a higher relative decline in leisure and hospitality employment saw higher than expected changes in average wage.

Prior to the pandemic, Northwest Oregon had a higher share of workers employed in leisure and hospitality than the Mid-Valley area. Leisure and hospitality jobs in many cases pay a lower than average wage. If the shutdowns from the pandemic adversely affected jobs on the lower end of the pay scale, then the average wage

for the jobs that remain in the area will increase because those lower-paying jobs are not counted. That may be what we are seeing in Northwest Oregon, and generally across the country.

We will have to watch wage estimates for the next couple of years to see if average wages in Mid-Valley move ahead of Northwest Oregon as leisure and hospitality employment recovers.

Average wages Looking at average wages is like trying to diagnose a patient by only taking their temperature. You can get a sense that something is off, but you may not be able to fully understand the many reasons why. We need to scan the wage ranges of different occupations to better assess how pay for one career aligns with another. Wage ranges give us a better idea of what we could expect if we were to hire, or work in a particular occupation.

We provide wage ranges by publishing a series of percentiles for each occupation.

A percentile wage shows the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more.

In most cases, wages in the 10th or 25th percentile likely reflect workers just entering a career, or who have less education attainment than others performing similar work. To better our understanding of wage ranges let’s look at the wages for some nursing occupations in Oregon.

Nursing wages Many front-line health care providers begin their career working as a nursing assistant, home health aide, or some other personal care provider. Workers interested in becoming a registered nurse usually need to have previous related experience, and these entry-level positions are a great way to do that. Registered nurses work in a number of settings, and

Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chronicle

Nick Patton works on the large mural on the side of the new Columbia Pacific Foodbank building in St. Helens.

New mural rises from a passion for art JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net

Nick Patton and his wife Jenna Reineking have a passion for art.

The two Scappoose residents have partnered with the Columbia Pacific Food Bank CPFB board to paint a large mural on the side of the food bank’s new building on Columbia Boulevard in St. Helens.

“The mural is a picture of giving and the contributions of the community,” Patton said. “It will show a bunch of hands reaching up to a basket filled with produce and food items and other arms that are reaching out from above placing food items into the basket.”

Reineking said the two are using funds from a grant from the Columbia County Cultural Coalition to pay for the supplies needed to paint the mural.

“Murals beautify,” she said. “And we thought a mural was a great way to give back to the community and a

good contribution to the new food bank location.”

“The mural depicts both the act of contributing to the food back and also the act of the community helping to hold up the rest of the communities,” Patton said.

“Murals beautify.”

Jenna Reineking, Scappoose artist

Patton said the timing to complete the food bank mural is up to the weather and the surface of the wall where the mural is being placed.

“When the sun hits it, you can’t see a darn thing,” Patton said. “The other challenges are the size of the wall and the texture. It is hard to get a crisp line while you are painting because of the texture of the wall. But we will get there eventually.”

Columbia County’s trusted local news source

Patton and Reineking have a history and deep education in art and most recently painted a mural, with help from local teens, at the Scappoose Public Library.

Patton acknowledges that being an artist can be challenging.

“Whenever you decide you want to be a professional artist, it is all about love what you are doing,” Patton said.

“You sacrifice a lot. You struggle. You work a bunch of different jobs you don’t want to work, so you can start doing more and more of the kind of work that you do love. So, that’s really what it is.”

Both Patton and Reineking said their struggle to be professional artists has been worth it.

“When you are able to communicate to people through art, it has always been a large driving factor for me as an illustrator, so communicating through artwork, I just love doing it,” he said. “I’ve always been inspired by it and it is great to be doing this as a living.”

many nurses have either an associate degree or bachelor’s degree as well as retaining the necessary licensing.

Most registered nursing jobs in Oregon pay between $37.95 and $63.60 per hour.

We can see that those who continue on their career path and move into other jobs, such as nurse practitioners, may also see significant wage increases. About half of all nurse practitioners in Oregon earn more than 90% of all registered nurses.

Wages can also be different based on the setting health care providers work in. According to the US

Courtesy graphs from the Oregon Employment Department

Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nurses working in a hospital setting typically earn wages more than 20% higher than their counterparts working in nursing and residential care settings. A higher minimum education requirement, as well as challenging work conditions may be some of the reasons we see higher wages for hospital nurses.

Occupational wage information allows us to bet-

ter understand what people get paid for the work they do, and how that may differ across the state.

To get additional wage estimates for hundreds of careers, visit QualityInfo.org.

Jason Payton is an Oregon Employment Department Occupational Economist. He may be reached at jason.m.payton@employ. oregon.gov or at 503-8710069.

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Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Monkeypox spreading, governor urges precautions STAFF REPORT chroniclenews@countrymedia.net

Governor Kate Brown is urging Oregonians to take precautions to prevent the spread of hMPXV, more commonly known as the monkeypox virus.

In a statement issued late Monday, Aug. 8, Brown said the virus hMPXV, more commonly known as the monkeypox virus, is spreading in communities across the state.

“It is time for us again to help protect each other., Brown said. “Let me be very clear: monkeypox is a virus that can impact anyone.

Viruses spread regardless of your background, zip code, income level, race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation––anyone can be infected by hMPXV. Period.

We are all very much in this together.”

Brown said public health experts are following the science and data to make sure that testing and contact tracing resources, vaccines, and information are reaching the populations of Oregonians that are at highest risk.

In the current outbreak, the most impacted communities have included gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex

Courtesy photo from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The monkey pox virus.

with men.

“We have an ugly history in this country of ignoring diseases that primarily impact the LGBTQ+ community,” Brown stated. “I remember the early days of the HIV epidemic, when a generation of gay men was dying, and the government did not seem to care. It took years before there was general recognition from the public that HIV, like all viruses, spreads indis-

criminately.

“Fortunately, we know much about how to protect ourselves from hMPXV. It is rarely fatal, and there are already effective tests to diagnose the disease among people with symptoms. There are also safe and effective vaccines for those at highest risk of the disease, as well as safe and effective treatments for those at highest risk of severe disease––which is why

it is so critical for the federal government to distribute them quickly.

“I am urging all Oregonians to take steps to protect yourself and others from hMPXV. If you’re planning to attend a festival, concert, party, or other event, consider the amount of close, personal, and skin-to-skin contact that may occur. If you are feeling sick and have symptoms like a new rash,

avoid close skin-to-skin contact, and call your health care provider or 2-1-1 if you think you may have been exposed.

“If you are scared, if you feel like no one cares––know that I stand with you. Know that you are not alone. I am urging the federal government to speed up the purchase and distribution of vaccines nationwide. And, I am working with our state, local, and federal partners to

ensure vaccines, resources, and information are being distributed as quickly as possible. This is Oregon, and we do not stand by when our neighbors need help.”

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) said 89 people throughout Oregon are known or presumed to have contracted hMPXV as of Aug. 8. The virus hMPXV is spread primarily through close or prolonged skinto-skin contact, including through sex, cuddling, kissing or massage. Contact with towels, clothing, or other objects used by someone with the virus can also spread the virus., according to the OHA..

Earlier Monday, Aug. 8, Brown met with leaders of community-based organizations representing the communities at highest risk for hMPXV. OHA has been operating an Incident Management Team focused on hMPXV for the last several weeks, guided by advice from a medical advisory panel composed of organizations serving Oregon’s most impacted communities.

More information about hMPXV is available on the Oregon Health Authority’s website.

$340,000 possible for SHPD

St. Helens Police could see $340,000 in new federal funding.

The St. Helens Police Department (SHPD) is in line to receive $340,000 for new law enforcement technology improvements.

The funding, if approved, will be used to make improvements at the SHPD specifically related to helping assist in the investigation

of child abuse cases, according to a SHPD Facebook post.

“This will help our St. Helens detectives and patrol staff in our fight to bring justice to exploited children,” the post states.

The funding is part of a federal commerce, justice,

Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chronicle

and science appropriations bill that is expected to pass in the U.S. Senate late this year. Oregon U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley assisted in securing the funding on behalf of the SHPD for this critical need, according to the Facebook post.

Why You Should Give a Darn about these Dams MICHAEL J. SYKES Sponsored content

The region’s hydropower generation is its superpower.

Hydropower represents 40% of Oregon’s electric generation and almost 90% of the Northwest’s renewable energy.

As a result, the Pacific Northwest boasts the lowest-carbon electric grid in the USA, the least costly renewable energy in the nation, and the lowest energy burden for low-income customers in the country.

The lower Snake River dams are an important part of this equation. These four hydroelectric dams are located in Eastern Washington, but they provide millions of megawatthours of affordable, reliable, zero-carbon electricity to the entire Pacific Northwest.

These dams play a key role in filling in the gaps for wind and solar power, provide much needed irrigation for farmers, and support Washington state’s trade economy by transporting 10% of America’s wheat to port. They have been upgraded with the most advanced fish passage systems in the world, and they are essential in helping us meet our emissions reduction goals as our state and country work to confront the impacts of climate change.

Despite these facts, US

Senator Patty Murray and Governor Jay Inslee of Washington state initiated a process to see if the services provided by the dams can be replaced due to concerns over low salmon returns.

The findings of the report were eye-opening. Estimates to replace the benefits the dams provide Northwest residents ranged from $10 billion to $27 billion, and the report acknowledges it left some significant things out. A new study from the Bonneville Power Administration indicates replacing the reliable power from the dams could cost up to $77 billion if costly new long-distance transmission lines need to be built. For utilities that get nearly 100% of their electricity from BPA, like Columbia River People’s Utility District, our customer rates could jump by as much as 65% according to that study.

Our already fragile grid is facing unique challenges and threats. Removing the lower Snake River dams would not only create even greater challenges, but their loss would harm our efforts to keep the power on when we most need it.

Additionally, losing the lower Snake River dams makes it virtually certain that grid operators will be forced to continue using coal or natu-

11th Annual 2022 Columbia County

Business

Guide

ral gas generation for years— and perhaps decades—longer than allowed under Oregon’s clean energy law to avoid blackouts.

Despite these hugely negative impacts to the price of power, undermining reliability, and moving us away from meeting our climate objectives, activists still want to remove the lower Snake River dams. While the draft report by Senator Murray and Governor Inslee did not call for removal, they will be under tremendous pressure to take that position in the coming weeks and months.

That is why we are encouraging our customers to make their voices heard. No matter your opinion we encourage you to provide your comments to Senator Murray, Governor Inslee, and your Congressperson directly. This link makes it easy: https://secure. everyaction.com/QmoPXvGNUUuD04QB2JiiZQ2.

You can sign up to learn more at www.nwriverpartners. org.

Michael J. Sykes General Manager, Columbia River PUD

The 2022 Columbia County Business guide is a full color, glossy magazine that showcases local business and highlights current news events. It is the go-to reference for visitors, newcomers, residents, and potential customers of Columbia County.

For space reservation or more information, contact us at: 503-397-0116 or chronicleads@countrymedia.net

The Chronicle

The Chief

Columbia County’s trusted local news source

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Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Opinion

Garden Plots: Gardens coming along nicely

CHIP BUBL Chronicle Guest Column

Despite the 80-90 plus degree daytime temperatures, vegetable and berry gardens are doing well. Here are a few things to pay attention to: Pruning and training raspberries and blackberries: Most cane berries have an unusual growth cycle.

Canes produced this year will fruit next year. Boysen and Marion berries are almost done. Some varieties are still several weeks from first harvest. Once a row is done, you can remove all the canes that bore fruit this year and trellis the new ones for next year’s crop. They are easier to work now than they will be in a month or so as they seem to get more brittle. Raspberries are usually topped at about 6-7 feet and tied to the wire.

Blackberry type canes are longer and generally wrapped

around the trellis wire (see picture). But here is the big exception: If you have everbearing (also called fall bearing) raspberries, they bloom and fruit first in August/September on the top of the new canes. Then next July, they fruit on the lower portion of those canes, after which the canes die. Prune the top portion of first year canes that bore fruit this year. Usually, that top section starts to die back after fruiting, so it is easy to see. After the lower portion of the canes fruit again next July, you remove those canes entirely.

Late blight on tomatoes: With the slow tomato start, it would be awfully cruel if late blight were to show up early. This disease, which affects both tomatoes and potatoes, is driven by extended cool and wet weather. It can destroy most of your tomato and potato plants over the course a few

constantly moist, windless days. It is the disease that caused the famous Irish potato famine in the mid-1840s.

I have seen it happen here.

While long-term weather forecasts are often incorrect in our turbulent and complex weather landscape, they are slowly getting better. With that in mind, there are some forecasts for cooler, rainy weather as we move into the second half of August. So late blight could be an issue.

Few tomato varieties are completely resistant to late blight, though there are modest levels of resistance in some.

What you can do is keep your vines open for good air circulation by some selective pruning that doesn’t reduce your tomato crop too much. In addition, spraying a copper fungicide before the rainy weather hits will slow the disease. Generally, in a four day misty period you will lose some treated varieties but others will come through and bear until October if the weather cooperates. Most copper sprays are considered organic and are readily available in garden centers and stores that have garden sections.

on publications and start exploring.

OSU Master Gardener™ signups being taken for 2022-23 class to be held in St. Helens

When to harvest corn: Corn is catching up fast in the warm weather. The best way to check corn maturity is to pinch a few kernels.

If they squirt

white, milky juice, they are prime for eating. Clear juice indicates it needs a few more days. No juice means it is getting a little starchy.

It can still be good but not sweet corn perfection.

Many Extension publications available online Are you putting up salsa, saving seeds, or thinking about planting kiwis?

OSU has a large number of its publications available for free download. Just go to https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu. Click

Assuming we get enough interest, the OSU Extension office in Columbia County will be offering a mostly in-person OSU Master Gardener™ training starting this fall at the OSU Extension office in St. Helens.

This year, we are trying a new schedule that allows people that work to attend.

The classes will be held on alternate Saturdays from 9 a.m. - noon starting on Sept. 10 through Thanksgiving. Then there will be a winter break. The classes will start again in early February and go through the end of April. There will be classes on vegetable gardening, growing fruit, plant identification, understanding your soil, insects, diseases, plant propagation, composting, household pests, managing deer and other animals in your garden, plant and weed identification, and much more.

Cost of the program is $100, which includes a large resource book. Scholarships are available. OSU Master Gardeners™ are responsible for volunteering to work on gardening education projects for partial payback for the training.

If you think you might be interested in the program, call the Extension office at 503-397-3462 for more details or email Chip Bubl, OSU Extension

Agent/Columbia County directly at chip.bubl@ oregonstate.edu.

Important notes The OSU Extension Office is fully open from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Donate produce and/ or money to the food bank, senior centers, or community meals programs. It is greatly appreciated.

The Extension Service offers its programs and materials equally to all people.

If you have questions on any of these topics or other home garden and/ or farm questions, please contact Chip Bubl, Oregon State University Extension office in St. Helens at 503397-3462 or at chip.bubl@ oregonstate.edu. The office is open from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Monday through Friday.

The Oregon State University Extension office in Columbia County publishes a monthly newsletter on gardening and farming topics (called County Living) written/edited by yours truly. All you need to do is ask for it and it will be mailed or emailed to you.

Call 503-397-3462 to be put on the list. Alternatively, you can find it on the web at http://extension. oregonstate.edu/columbia/ and click on newsletters.

Contact information Oregon State University Extension Service – Columbia County 505 N. Columbia River Highway St. Helens, OR 97051 503-397-3462

Voices of the Community Thank You To the Voters of the Rainier Cemetery District (including the Clatskanie area cemeteries).

The Board of Directors of the Rainier Cemetery District would like to express their extreme gratitude for voting the 5-year operating levy for operations.

The additional funding has allowed the District to hire two maintenance crew members and one office manager, as well as update vital pieces of equipment: two commercial mowers, for the daily operations of the 12 cemeteries in the District.

All our staff have been working very hard over the last year to get and keep the 12 cemeteries within the District, to a level of service the voters in this District expect and deserve.

The Board is aware that there have been a few miscues along the way, but please know that there are

plans and schedules being put into place that will ideally allow for a level of confidence of service.

Again, we offer the sincerest Thank You and ask for your patience and grace.

Janice Carstensen Scott Falconer Lisa Christen

Gates on the road As of today I and my neighbor, have installed gates on Erickson Dike Road.

There is no longer public access.

We own the road down to the river. Only the Beaver Drainage District has the right to access.

Both my neighbor and I have picked up the last beer can as well as used needles.

The Spaulding family has owned this property since 1968 and I cannot believe it

has come to this.

This entire fiasco began months ago when the County Road Master informed me they will no longer gravel or maintain my road. I also found out, all the roads in the various drainage districts are not county roads. This would include Riverfront Road going to Jones Beach.

Should you dive faster than 10 mph you will find your head hitting the ceiling of your truck or car. So, while Mr. Russell is getting patted on the back for saving so much of the county budget we all suffer.

I encourage all people who are paying through the nose at the pump to contact our County Road Master in St. Helens. I guarantee as we are cut off of services, he will continue with raises and the biggest fraud of all, his PERS pension.

Russell Spaulding Columbia County Resident

Let us know what YOU think EMAIL YOUR LETTERS TO: CHRONICLENEWS@COUNTRYMEDIA.NET

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Weekly Online Poll If the election were held today, of the two candidates who have filed so far for Mayor of St. Helens, who would you vote for?

Last Week’s Results If the election were held today, of the three candidates running for Oregon Governor, who would you vote for?

34.6% Republican Christine Drazan 25.7% Democrat Tina Kotek 39.7% Independent Betsy Johnson

Rick Scholl Stephen Topaz

Vote online at thechronicleonline.com The Chronicle (USPS 610-380) is published weekly by Country Media, Inc. 1805 S. Columbia Blvd., P.O. Box 1153 St. Helens, Oregon 97051 Periodicals postage paid at St. Helens, OR 97051

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Community Events August 12 Food Bank Grand Opening Columbia Pacific Food Bank (CPFB) Grand Opening, Ribbon Cutting, and Public Tours at 12 p.m. at the new CPFB headquarters at 14th Street and Columbia Boulevard in St. Helens.

August 13 Strawberry Pancake Breakfast A strawberry pancake breakfast will be held from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Columbia City Community Hall, 1850 2nd Street in Columbia City. The breakfast includes a slice of ham, scrambled eggs and two fluffy pancakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream. Breakfast comes with coffee and a choice of orange juice or milk. Adults $12.

Children $9. Call 503-3965658 for more information.

August 13 Show & Shine Car Show 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Columbia City School, 2000 2nd Street in Columbia City. The event includes a book sale, quilt raffle, craft vendors, an art show and kids zone. For details, call 503-396-5658.

Ongoing events Back to School Supply Drive It’s that time of year - Back to School! And Columbia County is hosting a Back to School Supplies Drive. Students often need basic school supplies such as pencils, markers, crayons, glue, scissors, paper, folders, notebooks, and backpacks. Your contributions will stay within the county to help local students prepare for a successful school year. Donation boxes are located at the Columbia County Courthouse on Strand Street, the Columbia County Sheriff’s office on Port Avenue, or at the Public Works Department on Oregon Street in St. Helens. Donations will be accepted until Sept. 9.

13 Nights Annual St. Helens waterfront music concerts at the Columbia View Park amphitheater.

Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Columbia View Park amphitheater. See the concert schedule and feature stories about the performers at thechronicleonline.com.

Movies by Moonlight Scappoose Public Library and the City of Scappoose offer free Movies by Moonlight each Friday in August at Heritage Park, 52469 SE Second Street, in Scappoose. A

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series of four family friendly movies will be shown with thematic activities and events each night. For up-to-date information about the events, visit the Movies by Moonlight website link, Facebook page, or contact Jeff Weiss 503-543-7123. Food vendors will be on site with snacks and full meals available for purchase. All movies start at dusk with pre-movie events beginning at 7 p.m. In the event of rain, the showing will be rescheduled. Alcohol and smoking are not permitted in the park.

Farmers Market The 20th season of the Scappoose Market 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. For more information, contact scappoosefm@gmail.com.

Lower Columbia River Watershed Council Meets at 7 p.m. every other second Tuesday. Meetings are currently held electronically by Zoom. For more information, contact Council Coordinator Allan Whiting at E-mail: allan@whitingenv. com, or call 503-789-9240 Visit the council’s website for agenda postings and Zoom at www.lowercolumbiariver.org/ events-page.

Resonate Recovery Meets at 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Wednesday - Sundays. This is a Bible based, Christ-centered spiritual recovery meeting for those struggling with addictions and compulsive behavior at 220 S. 1st St., St. Helens. Everyone is loved and welcomed. Free childcare available. For more information call Debbie at 503-5600521 or check the Resonate Facebook page.

Columbian Toastmasters Promoting positive learning and leadership through public speaking. Anyone is welcome! Meeting virtually via Zoom from 12 p.m.-1 p.m. every Thursday. Call 503369-0329 for more information.

Overcomers Outreach Meetings are held every Saturday at 9 a.m. at Creekside Baptist Church, 51681 SW Old Portland Rd., Scappoose.

Call Fred 971-757-6389.

To list an event in the Community Calendar, email details with a phone number that may be published for anyone that might have questions, to chronicleclassifieds@countrymedia.net, or call 503-3970116.

Crossword Solution

Obituaries Everett V. Stermer

Aug. 31, 1923 ~ July 24, 2022 Everett was born Aug. 31, 1923, to August and Adella (Koberstein) Stermer at the family farmhouse in the Fernhill-Apiary area of Rainier, Oreogn. He joined three older siblings, Herman, Edith and Lydia Marie (Mary). He passed away July 24, 2022, at age 98. Typical of the times on rural farms they had no electricity or indoor plumbing. He attended Fern Hill Grade School and Rainier High School graduating in 1941. In high school Everett helped his dad, who had a broken arm, build a new barn.

Post high school, Everett went to work for Shepherd Towing Co. in St. Helens, working on tugboats on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.

In 1943 he was drafted into the U. S. Army. He went to Camp Grant and Camp Ellis in Illinois. After basic training he was sent for two months of training to be a lab tech in Springfield, Missouri. The 334th Station Hospital was formed here.

Next, he took a troop train to California and in January 1944 sailed towards Hollandia, New Guinea. Here they would construct the hospital on the jungle coast-

line. Everett was assigned to the Hospital Patrol, a security detail and never served as a lab tech. Near the end of the war the 334th was deployed to Japan for occupation duty. He was discharged at Ft. Lewis, Washington in February 1946 as a Tech 5.

After the war Everett returned home to work on the tugboats where he remained for a 40-year career. He worked for various owners and managers, ending with his retirement from Knappton Towing in 1985.

He worked as a deck hand, captain, derrick operator and a carpenter.

In 1949 he married Brita Johnson in Rainier.

In 1963 they moved their large family into their new

home, which Everett built with sub-contractor(s) and the help of many friends.

Early vacations were to the beach or fishing and camping. He could often be found working a crossword puzzle or watching the Ducks and Beavers.

In retirement he and Brita traveled the U.S. in their motor home visiting family in California, Mississippi and Michigan and attended Army reunions. Everett and Brita took three trips to Finland and Sweden to visit Brita’s cousins. Everett was a member of Bethany Lutheran Church and previously the St. Helens Elks Lodge and worked on many service projects.

Dad was a kind and

practical man. We will miss him greatly.

He is survived by his wife of 72 years Brita; five children, Steve (Bev) of Springfield, John (Tamra) of St. Helens, Carol (David) St. Onge of Goble, Bruce (Cathy) of Portland and Sandy (Geoff) Hunnicutt of Portland; five grandchildren, Heidi Green of St. Helens, Doug Stermer of Portland, Richard Hunnicutt of Newberg, Willy Hunnicutt of Portland, and Margo Stermer of Portland; stepgrandchildren, Cova Metcalf of Tidewater, Leith St. Onge of Washougal, and Chad St. Onge of Scappoose.

He is also survived by many great-grandchildren; nephews, Jerry Stermer of Woodburn and Wes Canaan of Longview; and former daughter-in-law Julianne Stermer of Eugene.

A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. on Fri., Aug. 12, 2022 at Bethany Lutheran Church in Warren, Oregon with a reception will follow. In lieu of flowers please donate to the Stermer Memorial Fund at Bethany www.bethany-lutheranchurch.org or the charity of your choice. Arrangements are being handled by Columbia Funeral Home.

Loren Eugene Olson July 4, 1950 ~ July 21, 2022

Loren Eugene Olson passed away in his sleep on July 21, 2022 at the age of 72.

The son of the late Arlen and Phyllis Olson, he is survived by his three siblings, Alan Olson and Caroline Dubois of St. Helens and Gordon Olson of Columbia City; and his two sons, Jason Olson of St. Helens and Scott Olson of Creswell, Oregon.

He was born on the 4th of July 1950 in Minneapolis, Minnesota but spent his childhood and most of his life in St. Helens after his parents moved the family to Oregon in 1954.

After graduating St. Helens High School, Loren

learned the family trade of autobody repair and painting from his father Arlen V. Olson. He worked at Arlen’s Body Shop in St. Helens, Oregon alongside his parents until their retirement, when he assumed management of the shop. He was a fine craftsman, perfectionist, and consummate professional in all that he did, never cutting corners, he completed many fine automobile and home renovation projects, never hesitating to help family and friends with theirs.

Loren was a stoic and soft-spoken man with a strong current of emotion

and thoughtfulness beneath the surface. Like most Olson’s, he had a hard time expressing his feelings, but those closest to him knew that he cared deeply. He enjoyed hunting, camping, home improvement projects and fishing most of all. An excellent fisherman, he was happiest with rod and reel in hand and yelling “fish on!” with his close family and friends nearby.

Loren’s celebration of life will take place at 2 p.m. on Aug. 28, 2022 at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 360 Wyeth Street, St. Helens, Oregon.

Betty Reynolds

Sept. 17, 1926 ~ Aug. 5, 2022 Betty May (Senn) Reynolds passed away Aug. 5, 2022, at home, in St. Helens, Oregon at the age of 95 years old.

Betty was born in Rainier, Oregon to Ethel M (Golden) and Jay N. Senn.

Her family was in the dairy business, and she often helped milking and feeding all the cows. After attending St. Helen’s High School, Betty went on to work several jobs including the Shipyard on Swan Island, several positions at the paper mill, and even attained the rank of a certified welder.

In 1944, Betty married her longtime boyfriend Louis Reynolds after his return from the service. They soon

Solution for the August 10, 2022 crossword puzzle

welcomed their sons, Dennis and Roger, and daughter Louise. Their family went to live in Deer Island for nearly 30 years, before she finally settled down in St.

Helens in 1974.

Betty had many joys in life, including photography, visiting museums and old churches, traveling throughout the country and even Mexico. She was very adventurous and loved learning about different cultures and their history.

Betty was preceded in death by her daughter Patricia Ann Reynolds (1955); sons, Dennis J. Reynolds (1969), and Roger L. Reynolds (2019); former husband Louis B. Reynolds; sisters, Edith and Helen; and greatgrandson Kyle.

She is survived by her daughter Louise E. (Dennis) Morehouse; four grandchildren, Carrie Wargny,

Jeffrey (Barbara) McLean, Kelly (Tammy) McLean, and Megan (Dave) Kennedy; Sandra (Allan) Santos Meluis, Kari and Rodger Brown; 10 great-grandchildren, and five great-greatgrandchildren.

Many friends preceded her and many still remain.

She made friends wherever she went and left a lasting impression on all she met.

A memorial service will be held in Betty’s honor at 11 a.m. on Sat., Aug. 13, 2022 at Sunset Park Church in St. Helens, Oregon. A private family interment will be held at Kobel Cemetery.

Please sign our online guestbook at www.columbiafh. com.

Mary Jo Simpson

Jan. 23, 1943 ~ June 22, 2022 Mary Jo (Martin) Simpson, a lifelong resident of Columbia County, passed away on June 22, 2022, at the age of 79 in Longview, Washington just four months after her husband.

Mary Jo was born on Jan. 23, 1943, in Mandan, North Dakota to Lillian and Donald Martin. Just shortly after, her family relocated to Yankton, Oregon, and eventually St. Helens. After graduating from St. Helens High School, Mary Jo attended Secretarial College in Portland and spent one year in Agricultural courses at Oregon State University.

Mary Jo had several jobs including working at the White Stag Manufacturing Co. in Portland, a Beneficial Finance Manager, USDA Farmers Home Administration (where she retired after 30 years), a Rural Develop-

ment Manager, and a State Civil Rights Director for Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

She was actively involved in the community and was a dedicated member of Warren Community Fellowship. She loved her church family dearly. In her free time, Mary Jo loved canning, baking, square danc-

ing, bowling, growing and tending to her garden, and traveling across the U.S. and internationally to places across the United Kingdom and even Japan. She LOVED her great-grandkids, Blakelyn, Laurel, Kayleigh, and Kai. Family and friends were very important to her.

She loved hosting holidays and trivia on Christmas, and always went out for Sunday dinners with her family.

Mary Jo is preceded in death by her loving husband of over 40 years, Richard M. Simpson (Feb. 26, 2022); parents, Donald H. Martin and Lillian M. (Johnson) Martin; and brother Darrel W. Martin.

She is survived by her children, Brad Blackburn, Shelly Booth (Bob), Rick Simpson, and Jeri Ann Simpson; grandchildren, Zak, Trevor, Ryan Blackburn,

Brandon Booth (Jamie), Nolan Booth (Lana), Karleigh Booth (Michael), Andrew Simpson, Kassie Simpson, Kaity Nita Simpson; greatgranddaughters, Blakelyn, Laurel and Kayleigh Booth; great-grandson Kai Booth; brother Jon Martin (Judy); sisters-in-law, Carolyn Blackburn, Hattie Martin, and Mary Alice Simpson; and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

Grammy will be missed by so many!

A celebration of life will be held in Mary Jo’s honor at 3 p.m. on Sun., Aug. 14, 2022 at Warren Community Fellowship in Warren, Oregon with a reception to follow. She was interred with her husband at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. Please sign our online guestbook at www.columbiafh.com.

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Health & Nutrition

Help Wanted

Help Wanted

Garage Sales

Garage Sales

Estate Sales

Misc for Sale

Alcoholics Anonymous Info-line, (503) 366-0667 www.pdxaa.org

hiring a Field Engineer I/II Salary: Field Engineer I: $32.21-$45.94/ Hr DOQ Field Engineer II: $36.18$51.61/Hr DOQ Deadline: Open Until Filled. If you are interested in becoming a part of the Columbia River PUD team, please visit our website at www.crpud.net to view and apply for open positions or call us at (503) 3971844 to have an application packet mailed to you.

PUD team, please visit our website at www.crpud.net to view and apply for open positions or call us at (503) 3971844 to have an application mailed to you.

water jug, propane stove, fridge, coffee table, plantar boxes and more.

in box) ALL ELSE $1 Baby, Clothes, Books, CD, Toys, Camping Equipment, Tools. 52364 SE 2nd St. in Scappoose.

Help Wanted Looking for person with chainsaw to help cut dry peach wood at 2365 Columbia Blvd, St. Helens in the morning. Will pay.

Please call 503964-0275.

Moving Sale It All Has To Go! No reasonable offer will be refused.

Hardy R Cave 503-396-2665, at 225 S 13th St., St. Helens, Friday - Sunday from 9 am - 6 pm.

Kunekune pigs available after Sept 2022 Prefer to sell in pairs, as meat pigs best butchered around 20 months.

Located off Pittsburg Rd, starting at $150, email happy hollowhomestead. hogs@gmail.com.

and equipment and are sold on a first come, first serve basis. Items are sold as is on site without representations or warranties. Buyer responsible for moving items prior to the conclusion of the sale. Cash or Cashier Checks only.

Columbia River PUD is hiring Position name: Vegetation Management Operator Salary: $33.66/hr 1st 6 mos, $37.40/ hr thereafter. Deadline: Thursday, August 25, 2022 by 5:30 pm. If you are interested in becoming a part of the Columbia River

Garage Sales

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MOVING SALE Too much to list.

FRI & SAT. 9 - 3.

Cash Only. 35266 Firlok ParK Blvd.

Behind Dollar Tree.

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Building Official Columbia County, OR EOE Deadline 8/17/2022 Apply at ColumbiaCounty OR.gov.

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Columbia 9-1-1 Communications District (C911CD) is conducting a hiring process for a Chief Financial Advisor. Apply online at www.col u m b i a 9 11 . c o m / careers. Additional information can be found on our website or by calling 503-366-6972.

Columbia River PUD A CommunityOwned Utility is

2-Family Sale 34364 NE Raenna Ln, Scappoose.

2-Family Sale. Sat 7/13 & Sun 7/14 from 10-5. 5-pc queen bedroom set, secretary desk, couch tables, end tables, lamps, collectables, cobalt blue & green glass,

Garage Sale 8/13 & 8/14 from 9 am- 4pm at 444 S 16th St.

Multi-Family Garage Sale Saturday 13th 9am-3pm Tires, Table, Couch, Overstuffed Chair 2 lawnmowers (1

For Sale 6 ft Cedar fence boards, 4x4x8 posts, 2x4x8 ft rails and 2x6x8 ft boards. Please call 503-396-1884.

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Estate Sale Fri-Sun from 9-4.

Large amount of tools, including Proto sets, chain saws, large safe, large amount of golf clubs, including Golfsmith tools, furniture, kitchenware, refrigerators, freezers, washer & dryer, 1988 Chevy 2500 truck, clothing and much more.

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St. Helens School District Surplus Sale Friday, August 12th, 2022 - 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM Lewis & Clark Elementary - 111 South 9th Street, St. Helens. The St. Helens School District will conduct a surplus sale on Friday, August 12th to dispose of district equipment declared as surplus. Items include furniture

Hosting a garage sale?

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ELECTION From Page A1

city, he lacks experience as an effective city leader.

“He could be more effective if he had a wider horizon of experience,” Topaz said. “I have more experience. I am older and have lived in a few other towns.”

But Topaz acknowledges that experience might also be a negative for his campaign for city mayor.

“Having experience in other places is a detriment to my campaign,” he said.

In the spring of 2021, Topaz was censured by the St. Helens City Council.

After an investigation into Topaz concerning allegations of behaving in an inappropriate and discriminatory manner, using derogatory and racist language, and bullying city staff, the St. Helens City Council has passed a resolution in May 2021, publicly censuring and reprimanding Topaz.

The resolution applied sanc-

tions to Topaz, restricting his access to city hall and the city’s employees.

When asked if he believed he could continue to fulfill his duties as a city councilor while following the restrictions placed by the resolution, Topaz told The Chronicle following the censorship decision, “I know I can’t do it as well as I should be, but I can still do my job. I was elected to be here four years, and that’s what I plan to do.”

Topaz said he figures he’ll likely spend about $200 on his campaign for mayor.

“I have to figure out how much the signs will cost, that will be my big thing,” he said, adding that he prefers meeting and greeting voters at various people gathering events in the community, rather than going door-to-door to reach voters.

“They are more likely to tell you what they need and that’s much better input for me seeing them at the city park or events around town,” he said.

Rick Scholl Scholl told The Chronicle the reason he is running for reelection is because, “I told myself I’d do six to eight years (in office), and I am coming up on six. I definitely want to run because we have a lot of things underway in the city and we have some momentum going.”

The redevelopment of the city’s waterfront is critical for the economic future of St. Helens, according to Scholl.

“The waterfront development is going to be bigger that any of us,” he said. “It is something for future generations that we are going to leave a legacy behind. That’s actually really why I want to run, is to get that going.”

Scholl said the city’s efforts for changes on 1st Street and the waterfront architect landscaped walking boardwalk design will be key to the waterfront redevelopment.

“It’s going to be very impactful,” he said.

Scholl acknowledged citizens and business operators concerns about parking in the city’s Riverfront District, but said, “If you look at the new plan, parking is actually laid out very nice and we have another little area that we probably will open up for parking.

We have adequate parking right now in the area. I wish people would get used to utilizing the parking lot in the area.

He added that additional efforts, such as developing a parking structure, would be up to developers.

“It costs a lot of money to develop (a parking structure),” Scholl said. “But that’s something we will definitely explore.”

In looking ahead, Scholl said as mayor he wants to continue the city’s efforts in improving the St. Helens water, storm and sewer systems, and the efforts to update the utilities master plans.

“That’s a big challenge right there,” he said. “It is disruptive when you have contractors shutting down

streets or making delays, hammering the rock, because we have basalt. That’s a big one that I hear a lot about. It’s unfortunate that we are on basalt.”

The city council recently approved customer rate hikes for city water and sewer services, which Scholl said was the correct decision.

It’s not an easy decision,” he said, “but it was the right decision. To do nothing is not in my wheelhouse and it is not in the city council’s wheelhouse.

We have a good council, a good balance, a good vision, and it is a good time to be mayor.”

Scholl said being mayor is rewarding.

I like to listen to the citizens, what they are struggling with and how we can help out where we can,” he said. “This is still a quaint small town. We’ve been very thoughtful in where we are going forward and in keeping that quaint feeling, but still bringing in new development that makes our town livable for

everybody.”

The city’s future also depends on utilizing available industrial land, according to Scholl.

“We do have the industrial property and we do need new jobs out there,” he said. “We have land available to help balance our small-town livability.”

In an upcoming edition of The Chronicle, we will feature council candidate Mark Gundersen and any other candidate who may file by the Aug. 15 city election deadline.

Who is running Candidate List (As of Aug. 8) Mayor Rick Scholl, incumbent Stephen R. Topaz, councilor Councilor Mark Gundersen Filing Deadline Aug. 15

We are looking for a Media Consultant to join our team in the advertising department This position is a full-time job and comes with a very competitive salary and commission package that also includes paid vacation, sick leave, health, dental and vision, mileage, cellphone reimbursement, and more. Come work in a professional setting in a fastpaced job that is different everyday. Advertising skills desired. People skills and marketing experience desired. Our new consultant will work to grow an established territory.

Email resume to jwarren@countrymedia.net or call 503-397-0116.

Columbia County’s trusted local news source

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Public Notices

PROTECTING YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW

CH22-1165

ST. HELENS HIGH SCHOOL ADDITION AND RENOVATION BID PACKAGE: #6 - STEEL & OTHER MISCELLANEOUS WORK PRE-BID MEETING: 1:00 P.M., AUGUST 16, 2022 BIDS DUE: AUGUST 30, 2022 AT 2:00 P.M. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Hoffman Construction Company, Construction Manager/General Contractor (“CM/GC”) for ST. HELENS HIGH SCHOOL ADDITION AND RENOVATION (“Project”) being performed for St. Helens School District No. 502, a public school district of the State of Oregon (“Owner”) requests sub-bid proposals for Bid Package #6 - Steel & Other Miscellaneous Work. A non-mandatory, but strongly encouraged, pre-bid meeting has been scheduled for 1:00 p.m., August 16, 2022 at the St. Helens High School Addition and Renovation jobsite. Attendees are to meet at 2375 Gable Road, St. Helens Oregon, in the Hoffman Field Office (see map in RFP). Attend-

ees must bring/wear their own OSHA-compliant Hard Hat and Safety Glasses, Reflective Vest, long pants and boots in order to attend the job walk following the pre-bid meeting. All bidders are encouraged to attend the pre-bid meeting in order to acquaint themselves with the local conditions under which the work is to be performed and to correlate personal observations with the requirements of the Contract Documents. Proposals must utilize the specified PROPOSAL FORM and be submitted as a single file (less than 10MB) to BIDS@ hoffmancorp.com, no later than 2:00 p.m., August 30, 2022. Bidders are hereby advised that an affiliate of Contractor intends to submit

a proposal for Bid Item #6 – FRP, Wall & Corner Guards in response to this RFP. Per Owner instructions, the affiliate bid will be sealed and turned in no later than 12 PM, August 30, 2022. All other bids for these bid items shall be sealed and should be delivered to 805 SW Broadway, Suite 2100, Portland, OR 97205 on August 30, 2022 no later than 2 PM. There will not be a public opening of bids. A completed Subcontractor/Vendor Questionnaire including latest year-end safety and financial information must accompany the proposal unless previously submitted. Questionnaire may be attached as a separate file or submitted separately.

Elaborate proposals or the inclusion of non-essential

CH22-1164

information e.g. marketing/promotional material, safety manuals, resumes, etc. is strongly discouraged.

Proposals that are materially incomplete, do not include current Questionnaire with latest year-end safety and financial information (unless previously submitted), are directed to other locations or received after the bid deadline will not be considered.

Bidders must be properly licensed with the Oregon Construction Contractors Board (“CCB”) at the time of bid. Bidders are required to file a $30,000 Public Works Bond with the CCB in accordance with ORS 279C.836 EXCEPT exemptions allowed under paragraphs (7) or (8) will not be permitted.

Due to the scheduled start of

the work, the $30,000 Public Works Bond must be on file with the CCB at the time of bid. This is a prevailing wage project. Bidders must comply with requirements of the prevailing wage law in ORS Chapter 279C. A District-Specific Insurance Program (“DSIP”) for on-site operations is being provided for general liability. Refer to proposal documents for complete proposal requirements and additional information. Proposal documents may be examined at local plan centers, viewed and/or downloaded without charge at www.hoffmancorp.com/ trade-partners. Contractor is committed to promoting and stimulating the growth of disadvantaged business enterprises, minority business

enterprises, women business enterprises, emerging small businesses and servicedisabled veteran business enterprises (D/M/W/ESB/ SDVBE) and maximizing opportunities for these firms, as well as local businesses, to participate in the work of this project. Subcontractor shall endeavor to utilize such firms through sub-tier contracting and/or material purchases and shall provide documentation of their good faith efforts and achievements. Contractor is an equal opportunity employer and request bids from all qualified firms including disadvantaged, minority, women, disabled veterans and emerging small business enterprises. CCB License # 28417.

CH22-1155

CITY OF ST. HELENS MEASURE REFERRAL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: PORT OF COLUMBIA COUNTY SCAPPOOSE BAY NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF BALLOT TITLE On August 3, 2022, the St. Helens City Council adopted Resolution 1961 referring a City Measure to the voters at the general election on November 8, 2022. Notice is hereby given that the City Elections Official of the City of St. Helens has received a ballot title related to prohibiting psilocybin-related businesses within St. Helens for two years. Any voter may file a petition for review of the ballot title in the Columbia County Circuit Court. The deadline to file a petition for review is August 15, 2022. Copies of the ballot title are available on the City of St. Helens website, https://www.sthelensoregon.gov/, or at St. Helens City Hall, 265 Strand

Street, St. Helens, OR 97051. On August 4, 2022, the following ballot title was filed with the Elections Officer of the City of St. Helens: BALLOT TITLE Caption: Prohibits psilocybin-related businesses within St. Helens for two years. Question: Shall the St. Helens prohibit psilocybin-related businesses for two years? Summary: State law allows for the manufacturing, transportation, delivery, sale and purchase of psilocybin, the psychedelic drug found in certain mush-rooms. State law provides that a local government may adopt an ordinance to be referred to the voters to prohibit the establishment of licensed psilocybin product manu-

facturers and/or psilocybin service centers. The St. Helens City Council adopted an ordinance to refer to the voters that temporarily prohibits psilocybinrelated businesses within the city’s jurisdiction to enable the city to consider local regulations once the Oregon Health Authority establishes the state’s psilocybin regulatory program. Approval of the measure would prohibit the establishment of psilocybin product manufacturers and psilocybin service centers within the St. Helens city limits until December 31, 2024. Dated this 4th day of August 2022. Kathy Payne City Recorder/Elections Officer City of St. Helens, Oregon.

MARINA MARINA MAINTENANCE DREDGING – DESIGN AND ENGINEERING PROJECT The Port of Columbia County is seeking proposals for design and engineering services from qualified consulting firms for maintenance dredging at the Scappoose Bay Marina in Warren, OR. RFP docu-

ments with further details may be found on the Port’s website, www.portofcolumbiacounty.org. Submissions must be received by 5:00 pm on Friday, August 19, 2022. Bid packets may be submitted by mail to PO

CH22-1007

CH22-1158

The Greater St. Helens Aquatic District is holding their board meeting at Eisenschmidt Pool basement at 5 p.m. on August 15, 2022.

ing scheduled for Tuesday, August 16, 2022, has been canceled. The next regularly scheduled meeting

Box 190 Columbia City, OR 97018, delivered to our Port office located at 100 E. Street, Columbia City, from 8:00 to 5:00 pm; or emailed to house@portofcolumbiacounty.org. For questions, please call 503-397-2888.

NOTICE OF NOTICE OF MEETING Columbia River for the Board of Directors MEETING PUDTheRegular Board Meetis Tuesday, September 20, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. at Columbia River PUD headquarters in Deer Island, Oregon.

Crossword Puzzle

STATEPOINT CROSSWORD THEME: BACK TO SCHOOL ACROSS

1. *Beginning of a computer class?

6. Mandela’s org.

9. Horned birds 13. Silly and insignificant 14. U.S. counterpart to British M15 15. Inuit skin boat 16. Long oar 17. Acronym, abbr.

18. Movie “____ Day Care” 19. *End of a pencil, sometimes 21. *”Back to School” star 23. Asian restaurant frying pan 24. Anne ____ of gothic fiction fame 25. ____ Beesly of “The Office” 28. Cote d’Azur city 30. Opposite of comic 35. Major mountain chain in Russia 37. It launched Columbus, acr.

39. Walk through slush 40. Lindsey Vonn’s prop 41. *Geography class prop 43. Bear in the sky 44. Idealized imaged of someone 46. Reflect deeply

47. Stake driver 48. Dismiss (2 words) 50. Not want 52. Albanian money 53. *Cafeteria ware 55. Rare find 57. *Paper holder 60. *Fictional high school in “Grease” 63. Pope’s court 64. Barley brew 66. Run-of-the-mill 68. Boat contents 69. Little bit 70. Tale, in France 71. Small island 72. I, to Claudius 73. Terminated

DOWN

1. Fleur-de-____ 2. Sometimes it’s enough 3. Wild ox of India 4. On spouse’s side 5. Infamous Baby Face 6. A long way off 7. Network at 30 Rock 8. Wispy clouds 9. Yemen’s neighbor 10. ____ receiver 11. The Tramp’s spaghettislurping companion 12. Limit, to some 15. Bovine milk dispensers 20. Increasing

22. Month X 24. Reverberate 25. *Student 26. Scent, usually pleasant 27. Malaysia native 29. “Keep ____ and Carry On” 31. *One at high school reunion 32. Small Asian ungulate 33. September edition, e.g.

34. *Dry-erase marker predecessor 36. Toy construction set 38. Having the know-how 42. Lament for the dead 45. When one is not oneself (2 words) 49. Joker to Batman, e.g.

51. *Do this in Math class 54. *Do this in Speech class 56. Subatomic particle 57. Sable and beaver, e.g.

58. *Type of exam 59. Like SNL 60. *Grader’s suggestion 61. City in Sweden 62. “A day ____ and a dollar short” 63. Some special effects, acr.

65. Fall behind 67. Type of Christmas lights

Solution to crossword in next week’s issue of The Chronicle.

Columbia County’s trusted local news source

A8

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Wednesday, August 10, 2022

‘Vital’ repairs slated for Lewis and Clark Bridge JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net

The public is invited to join the conversation concerning a needed closure for the Lewis and Clark Bridge.

The closure is slated for six days in 2023.

The bridge in Rainier that connects Oregon to Washington at Longview, needs vital preservation work, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

Closure of the bridge is planned for the spring/summer of 2023 to conduct the work. WSDOT is conducting a public survey about the closure.

The project The Lewis and Clark Bridge will fully close for six days as crews replace two bridge expansion joints, one joint on the north end of the bridge and one on the south.

Steel expansion joints allow the structure to expand and contract with daily temperature variations. These two expansion joints have deteriorated and need to be replaced. This repair project will help preserve the bridge and extend its service life, according to transportation officials.

During the closure, all vehicle traffic crossing the Columbia River will detour to either the Astoria-Megler

The Chronicle

The Lewis and Clark Bridge needs vital preservation work, according to WSDOT.

Bridge between Megler, WA and Astoria, or the Interstate 5 Bridge between Vancouver and Portland. Pedestrians, bicyclists, and emergency vehicles will be provided access across the bridge during the full closure.

“While construction won’t happen until 2023, we are proactively planning for impacts to business, commuters, and freight haulers,” a release from WSDOT states. “The Lewis and Clark bridge is currently in working condition and safe for all travelers.”

Construction will start in 2023. The construction schedule and bridge closure dates will be determined once a contractor is selected.

While the heaviest impacts to travelers will occur during the full closure of the bridge, travelers should prepare for up to two months of traffic impacts.

During construction, expect longer delays and congestion whether you commute over the bridge or travel in the project area. The work zone will have reduced speed limits for the safety of travelers and the construction crew.

Emergency services will be able to cross the bridge during the full closure within a coordinated response time at low speeds.

Full closure for six days To replace the expan-

sion joints, the bridge must fully close to vehicle traffic for up to six days to allow the concrete adjacent to the new expansion joints to cure fully. This will reduce the likelihood of the bridge needing unscheduled, emergency repairs in the future.

Nighttime single lane closures Before and after the full bridge closure, there will be nightly single lane closures for additional joint work, project staging, and cleanup. This will leave only one lane open for both northbound and southbound traffic to share each evening.

Northbound and south-

bound traffic will alternate crossing the bridge in the open lane, as the other direction waits. Occasional daytime single lane closures may be needed but will be avoided to reduce congestion throughout the region.

Ferry service During the full bridge closure, the Wahkiakum County Ferry between Cathlamet, WA and Westport, OR will run twice an hour all day.

WSDOT determined that a full bridge closure of up to six days was the best strategy to deliver this critically important preservation work for three reasons: safety,

traffic impacts and quality of the repair.

WSDOT evaluated the safety of the traveling public and construction crews in the work zone; the overall traffic impacts for businesses, freight, and the general public; and the quality and lifespan of the repair.

In addition to the bridge expansion joint replacements, WSDOT crews will use the time to perform routine maintenance on the bridge during construction activity to maximize the use of the closure time.

You can weigh in on the timing of this closure through Aug. 15 at the WSDOT’s online survey at https://www.surveymonkey. com/r/LCBridge.

The information hotline for this project is 1-800545-1393.

About the Lewis and Clark Bridge The Lewis and Clark Bridge spans the Columbia River between Longview, Washington, and Rainier, Oregon. The bridge was built in 1930 and designed

by Joseph Struss, the engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. The Lewis and Clark Bridge carries over 20,000 vehicles per day and is a vital route for local economies and communities.

City seeks Library Board members The City of St. Helens is currently taking applications from interested persons in the community who would like to volunteer to serve on the St. Helens Library Board.

Full terms are for four years. This vacant position’s term ends June 30, 2023.

Generally, this city board meets at 7:15 p.m. once per month on the second Monday at the Columbia Center Auditorium. The group may meet more often depending on what projects they are working on.

Currently, the Library Board is meeting electroni-

Oregon U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden speaks before a group in St. Helens at a previous town hall.

A sweeping climate change and health care package has been approved by the U.S. Senate and heads to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act is designed to lower prescription drug prices, tackle climate change, reduce the federal deficit and hike taxes on corporations.

Oregon U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said the historic legislation would cut carbon emissions and also adds federal funds to the fight against wildfires and drought.

Wyden said that the linchpin of the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy package is his Clean Energy for America Act, first introduced in 2015, which reforms the energy tax code to incentivize emissions reductions rather than specific technologies.

The Clean Energy for America Act would reduce carbon emissions in the power sector by about 70 percent over the next decade, and is the main driver of the overall 40 percent reduction in emissions achieved by the Inflation Reduction Act. “This historic clean energy package has been a decade in the making. When clean energy legislation failed in 2010, we regrouped to ensure success the next time Democrats had an opportunity,” Wyden said. “We turned to emissions-based, technology-neutral tax incentives, and spent nearly a decade preparing this bill.”

On health care, Wyden noted that the bill would finally allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, particularly for the most expensive drugs that have no competition after being on the market for years. The bill also includes an inflation rebate that limit Big Pharma’s ability to price gouge year after year, and it creates strong protections for seniors including a $2,000 per year out-of-pocket cap.

“For too long, Medicare has been forced to contend with Big Pharma with one hand tied behind its back – that ends when this bill is signed into law,” Wyden said. “Ever since I became the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, I have been spotlighting how the drug pricing system is broken top to bottom. At last, the Senate has begun to redefine the relationship between Medicare and Big Pharma.

Wyden said Medicare negotiation is the centerpiece of the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug pricing reforms.

“No longer will drug companies be able to string Medicare along for years or even decades while taxpayers’ foot the bill,” he said.

“This policy targets the most expensive, most used drugs that have had zero competition for years on end. It lowers prices in a way that is fair and designed to promote innovation, not stifle it.”

Wydn said those negotiations will begin next year.

“The legislation creates a limit on Big Pharma’s ability to price gouge with the Medicare inflation rebate, requiring drug companies

taken to the webpage that lists information about the Board and the current membership list.

If you are interested in volunteering your time to serve on this city board, complete the application for City Boards and Commissions webform available on the website. If you would like a paper application mailed/ emailed to you, please contact Kathy Payne, City Recorder, kpayne@sthelensoregon.gov or 503.366.8217.

The deadline to submit an application is 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2.

The Chronicle

$740B to cut prescription drug costs, address climate change STAFF REPORT chroniclenews@countrymedia.net

cally via Zoom.

The St. Helens Library Board was created, and members appointed by the St. Helens City Council and is advisory to the council.

The board stays informed of trends in library services, identifying growth related needs, long-range planning for services, and providing recommendations to the city council.

Visit the city’s website at www.sthelensoregon.gov, click on Your Government and then select Boards and Commissions, then select Library Board. You will be

to pay a fee to Medicare if they raise their prices faster than inflation,” Wyden said.

“Critically, the bill will protect seniors from high out-of-pocket costs in less than a year and a half with a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap on drug costs, which will spare more than a million seniors from financial peril.”

Taken together, Wyden said, these policies represent a seismic shift in how Medicare pays for medicine, and it does so in a way that will greatly lower costs for seniors and taxpayers.

The Inflation Reduction Act also provides the following for Oregon and the country:

• More than $20 billion for farmers and ranchers to support climate-smart agriculture practices • $14 billion for rural electric cooperatives in the state and country to make the transition to cleaner energy • $5 billion to protect communities from wildfires by investing in projects on public and private lands, increase carbon sequestration, and reforestation • More than $4 billion for drought mitigation • $3 billion to EPA for grants to reduce air pollution at ports, which could benefit Oregon’s 23 ports.

The Act imposes a 15% corporate minimum tax on companies with over $1 billion in profits.

Republican congressional leaders argue that the tax will adversely impact economic growth across the nation.

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Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Resilience, recovery from earthquakes, tsunamis

Courtesy photo

The Cascadia Subduction Zone was the site of an estimated magnitude 9 earthquake in 1700 and is building up stress where the Juan de Fuca Plate is sliding underneath the North American Plate.

Courtesy Oregon Sea Grant

Special earthquake safety advisory signage is located in Newport and Lincoln City and along the entire Oregon Coast.

STEVE LUNDEBERG Chronicle Guest Article

Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a computational model for predicting the resilience of local and regional infrastructure networks and the recovery time for impacted communities following a massive earthquake and tsunami in the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

The work is important, the researchers note, because some studies predict a 7% to 11% probability of a major quake – a “full-margin rupture” – occurring in the next 50 years along the offshore fault, which extends from British Columbia to northern California.

The modeling The new research, led

by College of Engineering doctoral student Dylan Sand-

erson, involved transportation networks but the model is designed as a framework for use in other types of networks as well, such as water and electrical power networks. The study focused on 18 communities along the Oregon coast, from AstoriaWarrenton to Brookings.

“Our work looks at the connectivity of Oregon communities after ‘the really big one’ and how long it might take the transportation network to recover from the damages due to a magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami,” said co-author Dan Cox, professor of civil and construction engineering at Oregon State. “We look at connectivity from two perspectives: a local index related to getting around within a community, and a regional index related to going from the community to other locations. We show that without regional considerations, recovery time may be severely under-

predicted.”

Findings of the study, partially supported by Oregon Sea Grant, were published in the Journal of Infrastructure Systems.

“Our work is still ongoing, so we haven’t taken our results to the communities yet, but we are planning to meet with them as a next step,” Cox said.

The Cascadia Subduction Zone was the site of an estimated magnitude 9 earthquake in 1700 and is building up stress where the Juan de Fuca Plate is sliding underneath the North American Plate.

Earthquake magnitude is measured on a logarithmic 1 to 10 scale – each whole number represents a 10-fold increase in measured amplitude and a 31-fold increase in released energy.

The largest recorded earthquake was a 1960 temblor in Chile that measured 9.5. The 2011 quake that led

to significant damage and radioactive release at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan was measured at 9.0.

Sanderson, Cox, Andre Barbosa of the College of Engineering and John Bolte of the College of Agricultural Sciences analyzed the 18 Oregon communities individually and together as a regional network extending about 60 miles to the east, considering factors such as earthquake ground shaking, tsunami inundation depth and proximity both to airports and to highway and bridge maintenance facilities.

“Once we established the regional and local connectivity indices, we examined network status at multiple scales,” Sanderson said. “In some instances, regional recovery happens faster than local recovery, such as North Bend and Coos Bay, whereas in other communities, such as Toledo, the local recovery is faster than the regional.”

For some communities, such as Rockaway Beach

and Lincoln City, the regional and local recoveries are predicted to happen at about the same pace, he added.

“By comparing our results to other work in which the regional network was not considered, the time to recover for a single community was shown to be four times longer than previously estimated,” Sanderson said.

Communities with fast regional recovery had access to roads that were identified as higher priority for restoration and also access to roads in areas with smaller hazard intensity measures, the researchers said. Communities that quickly recovered locally did so because of their access to maintenance facilities.

“We showed that adding additional maintenance facilities helped some communities, but others saw little to no improvement in local recovery time,” Sanderson said. “Communities that are more rural saw improvements in time to recover when an additional maintenance facility was added in

• Understanding “boater’s hypnosis”: this can slow your reaction time almost as much as if you were legally intoxicated.

• Eliminating alcohol consumption: Alcohol induces an inner ear condition (caloric labyrinthitis) that can cause you to become disoriented when underwater

and not realize which way is up.

the region, but communities closer to metropolitan areas experienced only minimal improvement.”

The study highlights some of the disparities in the rate of recovery for coastal communities following large disasters and shows that more work is needed to solve these issues, the authors said.

“In the short term, the framework can be used to support decision-making by different state or federal agencies, both at the local and regional scale, especially when studying the impact of different policies for enhancing community resilience,” Barbosa said.

Also supporting this research were the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Oregon Legislature, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Colorado State University.

Steve Lundeberg is a researcher and writer for Oregon State University Relations and Marketing.

He may be reached at steve. lundeberg@oregonstate.edu

‘Needless drownings, boating deaths in Oregon’ STAFF REPORT chroniclenews@countrymedia.net

Drownings and boatingrelated deaths needlessly continue claiming lives in Oregon, recently fueled by a heat wave, according to the latest report from federal and state agencies.

The Oregon State Marine Board (OSMB) reported 19 boating-related fatalities in 2021 and the Oregon Health Authority recorded 57 drownings in natural waters in 2020, which is 160% increase from 2019 (35 drownings). Life jackets may have prevented many of these deaths, officials said.

“Heat waves can exacerbate drownings and accidents,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District spokesman Tom Conning.

“More people are out on the water, trying to cool off and they don’t always wear life jackets. Men, especially between 17-65 years of age, are the worst about wearing life jackets due to several things, including their arrogance about swimming abilities.”

Even when the air temperature is hot, water temperatures in the Pacific Northwest can still cause involuntary gasping and hypothermia, according to Melissa Rinehart, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Natural Resources Management chief.

“It’s already too late if you fall into the water unexpectedly without a life jacket, even if you know how to swim,” Rinehart said.

“We want everyone to enjoy their time at Corps parks and head home safely. We have

over 20 life jacket loaner stations for those who don’t own a life jacket or forget to bring one.”

Recreational boatingrelated incidents and deaths are beginning to trend upward with the growth in paddling activities which include kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddleboards. 2020 was a record high number of fatalities, and OSMB staff still note the fatality rate remained higher than the ten-year average.

“We take safety so seriously, it’s written into our mission statement,” OSMB Public Information Officer Ashley Massey said. “It makes you wonder, would 11 of the victims who weren’t wearing life jackets have survived if they’d been wearing one? For instance, the U.S. Coast Guard’s nationwide recreational boating statistics from 2020 show nearly 86% of drowning victims would have survived if they’d worn a properly fitting life jacket.”

Portland District reservoirs saw three drownings in 2021 at Fern Ridge, Foster and Fall Creek reservoirs.

The district averages more than four million visitors per year at 133 recreation sites across 18 dams and reservoirs in Oregon and Washington.

Corps officials urge users to take precautions, such as • Wearing a life jacket: it will help you survive an unexpected fall into the water and can save your life if you become exhausted due to fatigue, waves or current while swimming.

• Knowing your swim-

ming abilities: swimming in natural waters is different from swimming in a pool, and your swimming ability decreases with age.

• Expecting the unexpected: if you fall or jump into water that is colder than 70 degrees, you can inhale water from involuntary gasping.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district staff stress the importance of water safety year-round, but especially during the summer season because that is when most public recreation fatalities occur.

Courtesy from the Oregon Marine Board

For more information about recreational boating incident and fatalities in Oregon, visit: https://www. oregon.gov/osmb/pages/accidents-and-fatalities.aspx.

For information about drownings in Oregon, visit: https://bit.ly/3zXSs9c.

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According to the Oregon Marine Board, most accidents and fatalities on Oregon’s waterways are due to falling overboard, collisions, operator error/misjudgment, and reckless behavior.

Resources

A10

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Drivers race towards division championship

Regal.

“This is the 15th race of my career and I’ve won two straight now, so I’m very excited,” said Phillips, who won the last Pure Stock main on July 16. “I just love Theresa and Brock Ross, owners of Ross Diesel & Auto. They’ve been super helpful and they’re very supportive and they’re also on my pit crew sometimes as well. I’m currently second in the point standings, so I’m hoping to win the championship. I’m competing against a very talented competitor, Tom Zywicki, who won the championship last year and he’s ahead of me in the standings and he’s a phenomenal driver.”

Berg, 58, took fifth place in the 14-car, 40-lap Tuner main with his Cozy Lawn Maintenance sponsored 1997 Dodge Neon. Berg is ranked fifth in the standings, just ahead of sixth place St. Helens driver Anthony Brinster, who drives the Economy Auto Parts sponsored Nissan. Berg leads the Four Cylinder Division point standings and he’s seeking to win the fifth title of his 30-year motorsports career.

“It was a good race, the track conditions were nice and smooth, but I lost my brakes for the last 10 laps and they caught on fire and we had exited the track and put the fire out,” said Berg, whose wife Tiffany is sixth

in the Four Cylinder standings, while driving the Eaton’s Tire & Service Center sponsored Dodge Neon.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to maybe win another championship,” said Berg. “I don’t have a big lead in the point standings, but I think I’ll have a good shot at winning the Four Cylinder Division title.”

Berg currently has 319 points for first place, with Sam Simmet of Vancouver in second with 311 points.

Myke Landis of West Linn, who leads the series standings, won the Tuner Division main in his Landis & Landis Construction sponsored 2003 Ford Focus.

Fox, 15, took third place

with his Economy Auto Parts sponsored Volkswagen GTI. Fox had an outstanding performance on the quarter mile clay oval track as he also won the trophy dash and he took second in the heat race for a total of three top-three finishes.

“It was a good race, I had lots of fun and hopefully, this will help me move up in the point standings a little bit,” said Fox, who is a Rainier High sophomore and he plays on the Columbians OSAA Class 3A basketball team. “I competed in the Tracer class last year, but there wasn’t much competition there for me. It’s a lot more fun in this class, because you get to race

for the lead other cars and there’s lapped cars and more traffic to deal with, which makes it more exciting.”

Fox is the fourth generation of his family to compete in stock car racing. His dad Sean competes in the Modified class and is ranked fourth in the standings.

Sean’s dad Dan is a former driver who competed for many years in CCRA events and Dan’s father raced at Portland Speedway, which closed in 2001.

In other events last Saturday, Street Stock Division leader Dustin Wilkinson of Milwaukie, won the 40-lap main in the Tri-Pod Development sponsored Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Vancouver’s Don Jenner won the Modified Division main.

Jamieson Johnson, 16, of Olympia, WA, won the Tracer Division main. Kasey Lee of St. Helens, took second in his Grumpy’s Towing sponsored Dodge Neon.

Lee, 12, won the trophy dash on Saturday and he leads the division standings as he seeks to win the series championship. Lee’s dad Christopher competes in the Tuner class and he’s ranked fourth in the standings.

The ninth round of the 14-race schedule is the Aug. 20th “Back To School Night” special event beginning at 5 p.m., followed by an Aug. 27 race. Races in September are on the 3rd, 4th, 10th and the Championship Night season finale on the 24th.

Day 2 Aug. 4

instances, several miles of hose are established. One of the bigger challenges is the movement of water from the limited water sources to the fire line to help suppress the fire.

Cold trailing and continued securing of the firelines.

Cold trailing is another systematic method that firefighters use to make sure the fire is completely out. In many cases this involves firefighters using their bare hands to make sure there is no heat.

This can include digging out

of root systems and making sure any trees that were felled or that had fallen near the fire control lines are devoid of smoke and heat.

This was the first large fire for five of the Columbia County firefighters, according to Pricher. They were all shadowed (watched over) by experienced firefighters.

“Columbia County thankfully does not experience fires of this magnitude regularly.,” he said. “For all of our crews to be able to obtain this valuable experience will only strengthen our county capabilities in the future. While it is hard on tour families, the fire districts, and be challenging

for day to day responses, this practical experience is worth every minute. Having the ability to work on large scale incidents, will allow for those experiences to be put to good use in other emergencies (winter storms, flooding etc).”

The Columbia County crews were responsible for 10 miles of fireline at the Wasco County wildfire. The county task force returned at midday Sunday, Aug. 7 from the Miller Fire without incident, Pricher said.

MIKE WEBER Chronicle Guest Article

Midway through River City Speedway’s stock car racing season a number of area drivers are enjoying success and are contenders for a Columbia County Racing Association (CCRA) division championship.

A quartet of local competitors recorded top-five finishes Aug. 6, including St. Helens drivers Lanette Phillips, Bob Berg and Stephen Kaptur and Austin Fox of Rainier. Phillips won the Pure Stock Division main event and Berg notched a fifth place in the Tuner Division main. Fox took third in the Tuner main and Kaptur was fourth in the Modified Division main event.

The four drivers are also ranked in the top-five of the season point standings and have a shot at winning a title at the Columbia County Fairgrounds motorsports facility in St. Helens. Other drivers who are also focusing on possibly winning a title include St. Helens drivers Kasey Lee, Christopher Lee, Sean Fox and Bernie Lujan who are each ranked in the top-five of the point standings too.

Philips, 48, started on the pole position of the 13-car Pure Stock main and she led the 40-lap race from start-to-finish to get her second main event win this year in her Ross Diesel & Auto sponsored 1979 Buick

WILDFIRE From Page A1

change and significant fuel loading,” he said.

Pricher provided the following brief synopsis of what the team was able to accomplish: Day 1 - Aug. 3 Initial attack providing structural protection for the Juniper Flats Fire station.

Stephen Kaptur, of St. Helens, driving the number 90 yellow car competes in the Aug. 6 modified division main event.

Mop up around structures. Mop up is a systematic method of making sure that all hotspots are identified and mitigated. Mop up includes strengthening firelines but putting out fire from the fire edge to different interior distances depending on safety factors and fire intensity. Depending on the slope, water bars are created to prevent erosion from fall rains on the newly created firelines. In some

Day 3 Aug. 5 More cold trailing and mopping up further off the fire control line and into the fire area. There was a small flare up and the crews responded to that to prevent any further spread of the fire.

Crews completed over three miles of cold trailing.

Courtesy from Mike Weber

Columbia Chorale of Oregon River City Children’s Choir If you like to sing, join our non-audition choir!

2022-2023 Season

Rehearsals for the children start at 6:00 and for the adult choir 7:00.

Sept. 8, River City Children’s Choir picnic (grades 2-8) Sept. 15, First rehearsals for both Columbia Chorale and the Children’s Choir at the Christian Church of St. Helens, 185 S 12th St, St. Helens.

1-4 series 1-4 SERIES 1-4 SERIES

Dec. 17, 6 pm Christmas music at the Grotto’s Festival of Lights

Columbia Chorale Dec. 18,of 3 pm Christmas concert in St. Helens, both choirs.

Oregon Spring, 2023 (tentative) and

Mar. 12,River Lux Eterna City

on

Children’s Choir Mid-June, The Wisdom of Columbia County

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Alice Rice Boyer, Alice Rice Boyer

Artistic Director Artistic Director, Columbia Chorale of Oregon Columbia Chorale of Oregon

Dr. Lynnda Fuller,

Lynnda Fuller Artistic Dr. Director, River City Children’s Choir Artistic Director River City Children’s Choir

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Clark County Lawn and Tractor

Clatsop County Lawn and Tractor Clark County Lawn and Tractor Astoria

Vancouver 17900 NE 72nd Ave, Vancouver, WA 98686 360-573-3171

Vancouver 34912 Hwy 101 Business, Astoria, OR 97103 17900 NE 72nd Ave, 503-325-0792 Vancouver, WA 98686 1Offer valid on qualifying purchases made between 03 August 2022 to 28 October 2022. Subject to Clatsop County Lawn and Tractor 1Offer valid on qualifying purchases made between 03 August 2022 to 28 October 360-573-3171 approved installment credit with John Deere Financial.

Down payment may be required.

Average down Down 2022.

Subject to approved installment credit with John Deere Financial.

Astoria

payment mayfinanced. be required.0% Average is 10%.only. $13.89Taxes, per month for payment is 10%. $13.89 per month for every $1,000 APRdown for payment 84 months 34912 Hwy 101 Business, every $1,000 financed.

0% APRmonthly for 84 months only. Taxes, freight, setup, insurance, freight, setup, insurance, fees, and delivery charges could increase payment.

Sales to governfees, and delivery charges could increase monthly payment. Sales to government Astoria, ORdirect 97103 ment agencies, company sales or other individuals entities John Deere in any agencies, companyor direct sales orparticipating other individualsinor any entities participating Special Discount503-325-0792 Program or Rental BusinessJohn Program are Discount not eligible.

Available at participating Deere Special Program or Rental Business Program areU.S. not eligible.

Available participating dealers.

Prices andand models dealer. Offer dealers. Prices and models may vary by dealer.

Offeratavailable onU.S. new equipment in may the vary U.S.byonly. available on new equipment and in the U.S. only. Prices and savings in U.S. dollars.

Prices and savings in U.S. dollars.

Clatsop County Lawn and Tractor Astoria 34912 Hwy 101 Business, Astoria, OR 97103

1Offer valid on qualifying purchases made between 03 August 2022 to 28 October 2022. Subject to approved installment credit with John Deere Financial. Down payment may be required. Average down payment is 10%. $13.89 per month for every $1,000 financed. 0% APR for 84 months only. Taxes, freight, setup, insurance,