Police recognize upstanding youth
Clatskanie lifter to complete globally
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TODAY’S WEATHER Highs to 60 Lows to 47
Rain Page A9 Page B1
Classified Ads B4-5 • Legal Notices B5 • Obituaries A6 • Opinions A4 • Calendar A7 • TV Guide B6 • Sports B1-3 • Weather A9
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
The Chronicle
$1 Vol. 134, No. 40 18 Pages
www.thechronicleonline.com
Spirit of Halloweentown activities this week CODY MANN/The Chronicle
Thousands turned out to see the first annual Spirit of Halloweentown parade in St. Helens on Oct. 1. The south Columbia County Chamber of Commerce sponsored the event.
Just visiting: A peek at the Columbia County Jail BY CODY MANN cmann@countrymedia.net
Columbia County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) held an open house and jail tour on Sept. 29. There were exhibits from each division and explanations on the various services and programs CCSO oversees. Sheriff Jeff Dickerson said the open house was the first opportunity since the jail was built to showcase the facility and the programs provided by CCSO. “I believe it is important for our citizens to understand how the services we provide are carried out, and the degree to which we rely on the public’s good will and partnership in order to keep these vital public safety programs in place,” Dickerson said. Margaret Margruder, a candidate for county commissioner, was among the first group to tour the jail that evening. She shared her thoughts on the facility and the upcoming jail levy vote with The Chronicle. Chronicle: Give us your overall impression of the jail.
Citizens take a close look at the Columbia County Jail.
Magruder: Deputy Townsend was the guide on my tour during the recent Jail Open House. I was pleased to see the excellent physical condition and cleanliness of the facility. While we were there, a prisoner intake occurred and dinner was being served and
CODY MANN/The Chronicle
cleaned up. The operation of these tasks appeared to be carried out in a very efficient and professional manner. I was favorably impressed by the staff and by all the activities that I observed while on the tour.
See JAIL, Page A8
more food vendors in the area and provided ample sanitary facilities to meet the expected crowds. St. Fredric’s Church holds its fourth annual Fall Festival and Pumpkin Patch on Saturday and Sunday at 175 South 13th Street. Admission is free and the public is welcome to this familyfriendly event. The event features great food, music and entertainment, games, hayrides, a silent auction, horse rides and a bounce house, weather permitting, of course. Locally grown pumpkins are available for sale in the pumpkin patch. There is also a beer garden both days. Hours are 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday and 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sunday. Brown arrives on Saturday and multiple events are planned to give people a chance to meet the Halloweentown star. Most of
BY DON PATTERSON dpatterson@countrymedia.net
The second weekend of the month-long Spirit of Halloweentown festival in St. Helens features a full slate of events capped by a visit by Kimberly Brown, aka Marnie, for the pumpkin light ceremony. Marnie will preside over the ceremony at the courthouse plaza on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Last year, thousands of people crowded the plaza to watch Marnie perform her magic. Admission is free. In 2015, throngs descended on St. Helens from all over the United States, causing traffic tie-ups and overloading systems. Event organizers learned from those mistakes and this year are better prepared. Traffic to the waterfront area is being rerouted and additional parking on City property is provided adjacent to the event. Organizers also contracted for
See PARADE, Page A8
Local artist connects with Wildwood Golf Course
portfolios to show prospective clients. “It gives you an opportunity to design without any constraint,” he said. “You don’t have to rely on anybody to fulfill your vision.” He said sometimes the process might take a piece of artwork across platforms, finding the desired result in a whole other medium. The first major project Furnish took on at Wildwood was a set of decorative panels that opened the view of the course from the clubhouse while creating a safety barrier from stray golf balls. He hand-cut and bent 20,000 pieces of steel, spending hundreds of hours to achieve a panoramic representation of the course itself within the panels. Using homemade and modified tools, Furnish manipulated bits of steel, sometimes using a forge and anvil to achieve the right shape, but essentially the entire work is done by hand, relying on elbow grease and sweat to bring his vision to light.
BY CODY MANN cmann@countrymedia.net
If anything could improve on the natural beauty of Wildwood Golf Course, it is the artistic touch of Clatskanie artist Jeremy Furnish. Furnish has completed a number of artworks in Columbia County in past years, most notably his glass lighting work in the Clatskanie Cultural Center. He recently created a metal and glass “Learning Tree” as part of a benefit drive for schools in Clatskanie as well. Furnish was helping a friend at Wildwood, located outside of Scappose, working as a laborer, moving rocks and other such tasks when course owner Bill O’Meara discovered Furnish was valuable as an artist. After a look at Furnish’s portfolio, O’Meara knew he had the opportunity to add some touches of flair to Wildwood’s aesthetic. “What great family to work with, “ Furnish said. “They really know how to treat an artist.” Working across many artistic platforms, Furnish has numerous
See ARTIST, Page A8
Rainier, ODOT review A Street improvement plan BY JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
“It is an accident waiting to happen.” That’s how Rainier Mayor Jerry Cole describes the daily mix of
trains with autos and pedestrians along A Street. “It is a dangerous situation,” he said. “That is my number one concern. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.” In August 2014, the ConnectOregon V program awarded $2,996,264 to the City of Rainier for the “A” Street Safety Corridor project. The funds are being used to relocate/ reconstruct about 2,800 feet of track occupying the center of “A” Street through downtown Rainier. Approximately 1,300 feet of the reconstructed track will be isolated from the street on a narrow median protected from motor vehicle intrusion by raised concrete curbs. At the east end of “A” Street approximately 800 feet of concrete panels
will be placed over the track to facilitate truck and auto mobile access to a business on the waterfront. Two cross streets that intersect “A” Street will be truncated by the new railroad median while other cross streets will be retained as through routes over the track. “It boils down to safety,” Cole said. “The hold up is frustrating because we want to see the work done, but it is a state process that must be done.” Rainier City Administrator Debbie Dudley said the process has required multiple agency participation, including the City of Rainier, ODOT, Burlington Northern Railroad and others. “We want a safe corridor for our citizens” she said. “We are working
JEREMY C. RUARK/The Chronicle
Trains rumble down A Street in Rainier. Initial plans for a $7m fix are on the drawing board.
in partnership with these agencies to develop a plan that would provide a safe rail corridor but not have a negative impact to our businesses.” Dudley said there have been sev-
eral A Street improvement proposals and ODOT has been working to blend the proposals into a conceptual plan.
See A STREET, Page A8
THIS WEEK ONLY! SAVE MONEY! SEMI-ANNUAL TRUCKLOAD MEAT SALE
OCT. 6TH & 7TH!
1111 Columbia Blvd centerplacemarket.com/sthelens.html f
Canned Food Sale forms
are available at register stands.
Pick up Oct. 8th & 9th