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Wednesday, December 20, 2023

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Repping Team USA for Columbia County

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Courtesy photo from Katrina Claridge

Katrina Claridge was appointed unanimously by the other members of the Columbia City Council.

New mayor in Columbia City

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ollowing the passing of Mayor Susan Ziglinski, the Columbia City City Council has appointed Katrina Claridge as the new mayor. Claridge was elected to the Columbia City Council in November 2020 and took office on Jan. 21, 2021. It was her first foray into municipal government. She was raised in Columbia City and is a graduate of St. Helens High School. This is her first experience in municipal government. Claridge was appointed to the position of mayor by other members of the council during their meeting on Nov. 16. Claridge said she had considered running for mayor in the last election, and when the opportunity arose, she was ready to take on the challenge. “I was surprised to be able to take on this opportunity, But I’m excited for the new challenge,” Claridge said. “I had debated on running at the last election and ultimately ended up deciding to wait. When the opportunity arose, I knew it was the right time to take the leap.” In addition to being a councilor, Claridge served on the Parks

Committee and is also on the Street Committee. Some of the priorities she has her sights set on are engaging the community and addressing previous practices she thinks need changing. “One of my top priorities and hope is to get the community more involved. I would love to welcome in all new opinions and ideas to better our community,” Claridge said. “I would like to update and improve some of our practices that have become outdated and archaic.” Claridge will fill the position of mayor until the next general election, per the city’s charter. With her spot on the council now vacant, Columbia City will interview interested applicants for the position at their Dec. 21 council meeting. As Claridge gets used to her new position, she emphasized that part of what she wants to foster is more engagement with young people in Columbia City and make the town a home for all its residents. “I hope to encourage more of our youth to be more involved in the city and how it runs, to inspire them to be open about their ideas and willing to speak up for what they believe in,” Claridge said. “I want to make this community feel like home to everyone.”

Kallee Kester, a junior at St. Helens High School, was always gifted on the track, but she never expected it to take her anywhere. That is, until she received a letter inviting her to represent a USA team at the Coast 2 Coast International Athletics Track and Field meet, held in Queensland, Australia, on July 12 - 14, 2024. “I was just sitting in class, and one of the kids that helps out in the office brought me a letter,” Kester said. “I thought it was pretty cool; I didn’t really think about it too much. I was like, this is really cool, and I sent a picture of it to my parents.” Kester said that the news is still setting in a little bit. Her selection was made based on her times and marks from last year’s season and state track championships. In the spring of 2023, Kester set school records in five separate track events: 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, 4 x 100 relay, 4 x 400 relay, and high jump. This year, she placed 1st in the 100 meters hurdles in districts and 2nd in state. While Kester’s initial reaction to getting the letter was measured, the news of the unique opportunity was enough to bring Kallee’s mother, Amber, to tears. “I immediately started crying. My coworker heard me and came over, and I was just like, ‘Australia? Are you kidding?’ and she was like, ‘Kallee?’ and I was like, ‘Yes!’ I sent the picture to my husband, and we both couldn’t be more proud,” Amber Kester said. “She’s earned it. Anybody can work hard, earn a dollar bill, and take a trip like this, but to get to go on your own merit? Your hard work is what we said. It was her effort that earned her the place to be on this team.” Kallee is one of only 50 studentathletes from across the USA who have the opportunity to represent her school, state, and country. The invitation was an exciting surprise because there weren’t tryouts; students were selected based on their high school season results. While being invited to the team was a welcome chance, the cost associated with traveling for the tournament was too steep for the family to support. Kallee is a three-sport athlete and competes in soccer, track, and wrestling. With her involvement in those programs, she’s made strong connections with other students and families in the community. In an effort to support the Kesters and Kallee’s chance for international competition, Kristine Hall, a family friend through wrestling, organized a GoFundMe to raise funds for the

Courtesy photo

Kallee Kester has been invited to compete with a USA delegation at the Coast 2 Coast international track meet.

family. “It’s kind of expensive to go, and we’re all working-class families out here, so I’m like, ‘Come on community, let’s get together and send one of our own,” Hall said. “She is one of the sweetest, lovingest, kindest people I know. She will help people, and she wants to see people on her team succeed.” The fundraiser’s goal is to raise $11,000 to help support Kallee’s travel, food, and spending money for the trip. The GoFundMe has raised about $1,955 so far. The meet is in July, so Hall is hoping to have funds raised by the time spring rolls around. Kallee’s dad, Joel, echoed many of the sentiments shared by Hall. He’s “really happy” that Kallee has been recognized for her accomplishments. “She’s a phenomenal athlete. She’s very humble and doesn’t brag or boast. I’m glad people are recognizing her level of achievement and that she’s getting this opportunity to almost be rewarded at the same time as getting the opportunity to represent Oregon and show what she has in the track and field world,” Joel Kester said. For Kallee, track isn’t her favorite sport that she competes in. Her true love is wrestling, but the prospect of getting to compete at such a high level and traveling to do so is something that she’s looking forward to. “I’m just happy to be able to

represent. I’m not from any big place or anything, so it’s really cool to be recognized and have this opportunity. I’m really thankful for everybody who’s put in work to help me,” Kallee said. When the Kesters moved to Columbia County in 2005, they were looking for a small-town community to raise their family in. Amber said that they’ve definitely found what they were looking for. The support from the community to their family has been moving. Even before the GoFundMe was set up, the community helped cover the down payment for Kallee’s trip to Australia, raising more than $500 dollars at a wrestling event. “I have all the faith in our community, and it means the world to me,” Amber said. “Again, it’s amazing to see our community come together and acknowledge Kallee for her efforts. Kallee won’t toot her own horn, and for them to do it for her really means a lot. Because I don’t know that my husband and I would have done this, they did this for her. I think it’s going to answer our prayers.” To donate, visit Kallee’s GoFundMe at: https://www. gofundme.com/f/kallee-kesterinvited-to-run-in-austral-forusa?utm_medium=referral&utm_ source=unknown&utm_ campaign=comms_7mnt+kalleekester-invited-to-run-in-austral-forusa.

SHHS gives back to the community WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.

The leadership at St. Helens High School (SHHS) has undertaken two initiatives this holiday season to give back to families in need. Students helped coordinate a Giving Tree to

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Vol. 141, No. 51

get “Christmas list” items for two anonymous families, and the Key Club and National Honor Society (NHS) partnered for a can drive for the food bank. Noelle Freshner has been overseeing the leadership program at SHHS for about six years, and she said the Giving Tree initiative is something that has gone back about a decade. “We used to do a Giving Tree that was actually physical trees with tags, but since Covid, we moved to doing an Amazon wishlist version, and it’s been very successful ever since,” Freshner said. “This year, we were paired up for two families, about 12 members of the families total. We received wishlists from a few members of the family and then worked to get household supplies and gift cards for the families as well.” The items on the wishlist are a mix of items. Freshner said the items are for both adults and kids in the families. Some of the items are clothes, toys, games, shoes, and other items, but “every year is very different.” The donations are anonymous, and after they are gathered and wrapped, they are delivered to the families by Jennifer Bartocci, who is the McKinney-Vento Coordinator for St. Helens School District. Freshner said the students were

Courtesy photo from Noelle Freshner

​Students display the gifts they wrapped for the Giving Tree program.

“very excited” to get the list together and promote the project. Each day, students were checking in on the list to see what progress had been made toward getting each item requested. The student council also voted to allocate $200 to help support getting gifts that weren’t gathered through donations. “By the time that we got to our last day and wrapped up, all the gifts on the Amazon wishlist had already been taken, so we took the $200, and we used those for purchasing

Walmart and Safeway gift cards for the families,” Freshner said. “Everybody is very excited to give.” Freshner said that they promoted the Giving Tree through many avenues and on social media. With the Giving Tree being anonymous, not only for the benefactors but also for the donors, it was inspiring to see the wish list completely filled. “The donations are anonymous, we don’t know who purchased the things, they just disappear off the wishlist as they go, and we know

that they’re being taken care of,” Freshner said. “It’s just really kind of a cool thing to see everyone coming together, not for the glory of donating, but just to help a family out.” Can Drive In addition to the Giving Tree, the Key Club and NHS at SHHS held a food drive to donate to Columbia

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