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Wednesday, February 12, 2014
2/21/12
FOOTBALL: Zartman and Klippel work their way to scholarships at Western Oregon University. Page A12
3:24 PM
TODAY’S WEATHER Rain Highs to 50 Page A11 Lows to 41
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The Chronicle
$1.00 Vol. 132, No. 7 14 Pages
www.thechronicleonline.com
February storms blow through the county BY SHARI PHIEL news@thechronicleonline.com
The back to back storms that moved through the Pacific Northwest starting last Thursday packed quite a punch and Columbia County was no exception. Snow totals across the county ranged from 10 to 13 inches, leaving school districts, government agencies and many businesses closed, and roads slippery and snow packed. According to Northwest Weather Consultants, the four-day snow total at the Portland airport was the highest total for snow in February in 25 years. As it’s only the middle of the month, more snow isn’t out of the question. “Arctic air from the north and Pacific moisture from the west came together directly over Oregon and dumped quite a bit of snow over the region. This continues the pattern of significant winter snowstorms every five or so years in Portland,” said NWC’s Steve Pierce Pierce also said there is a trend with almost no snow for several winters, then a big snowfall, then no snow for a few more winters. Rinse and repeat every five or so years. “This past week was a classic example of nearly the perfect snowfall setup for Portland / Vancouver and the Willamette Valley,” Pierce added. See STORM, Page A4
SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle The Faulkner family in St. Helens takes advantage of the recent heavy snowfall to spend some time together building a snowman. Look for more snow photos from our staff and readers at TheChronicleOnline.com.
Scappoose Post Office may be added to historic registry BY DON PATTERSON dpatterson@thechronicleonline.com
SCAPPOOSE — The U. S. Postal Service building in Scappoose may soon be added to the National Register of Historic Places. A consulting firm in Portland has nominated the 48-yearold building to the registry as an example of the Modern style of architecture. The building belongs to the federal government.
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The post office opened in February 1966 and is a good example of a one-story Modern era building. It is constructed of reinforced concrete and covered with a flat asphalt roof. The 4,516-squarefoot building sits on a city block and was designed by the Portland architecture firm of Stanton, Boles, Maguire and Church. The Sentinel Mist reported its estimated cost at $125,000 in 1965.
The application states, “Architecturally and func-
tionally, little has changed at the Scappoose Post Office in five decades that follow. The property continues in its original use, serving the Scappoose community.” There are dozens of post office buildings similar to the one in Scappoose throughout Oregon. Post offices in Myrtle Creek, LaGrande, Florence, Albany and Portland’s Creston station are all examples of Modern style.
Anyone may apply for inclusion of a property on the historic register, but privately owned properties must have the owner’s permission to be considered. In the case of a public-owned property, such as the Scappoose location, the applicant is encouraged to work closely with the governmental body involved. The Scappoose post office is included in a multiple property application, also filed by Heritage Consulting Group in Portland. The nomination seeks to have
postal facilities identified in a 2012 study by URS Corporation on behalf of the Untied States Postal Service that were built between 1940 and 1971 added to the registry. The Oregon State Advisory committee on Historic Preservation will meet on Feb. 20 and 21 to consider the nomination. If the committee accepts the nomination it is referred to the Keeper of Records of the National List for final approval.
Jail levy likely to be placed on upcoming May ballot BY SHARI PHIEL news@thechronicleonline.com
It looks like the county may be taking another run at getting a jail levy on the May ballot after all. Although the county commissioners had originally wanted a citizens’ initiative to take the lead on the ballot measure, growing community support could convince them to take on the task. “We’re encouraged by the fact that people are finally realizing that we are planning for a closure,” said County Commissioner Henry Heimuller. The county, along with Sheriff Jeff Dickerson, have held three summit meetings, two of which included public meetings. The most recent was in Clatskanie, while the other two were in St. Helens. “We’ve got people calling and coming out to the public meetings to see and hear what people are saying and now those folks are going out to their neighbors,” said Heimuller. The county commissioner isn’t the only one encouraged by citizen turnout. St. Helens resident Randy Sanders is among a handful of local citizens working to gather enough signatures to convince the county commissioners to put the levy on the upcoming ballot. “I’m encouraged. We set up a Facebook page and a website at columbiacounty-
SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
After suffering defeat at the ballot box last year, Columbia County commissioners may be ready to reintroduce a ballot measure that would provide funding for the county jail.
workstogether.blog.com and we’re getting a lot of responses. I‘ve been trying to get on there constantly and defending the position of the jail levy… I’m very positive about this,” Sanders said. Several petitions are being circulated in person and online. Sanders and others hope to be able to present those petitions to the commissioners and convince them a levy could work despite being defeated previously. “There are basically three sides to this. You’ve got the response that the Columbia
County budget can pay for this and they just need to find it. That’s just not true. The money is not there. I put the county budget online and I welcome people to have at it. Then there are the folks that say that the sheriff has the money and he just needs to run the jail better. Anyone who knows that sheriff knows that is not true either,” Sanders added. Fellow St. Helens resident Susan Conn has also been working to get citizens on board with the levy. Although Conn is a member of the St. Helens City Council,
she says her work on the levy is a personal issue, not something she is doing on behalf of the city. “One of the things we hope to do is get bring more focus to what the consequences of not having a jail will be and what it will do not only to the sheriff’s office, but also to local cities and the entire judicial system,” Conn said. She adds that residents have to get past old resentments and “perceived mistakes” to move forward. “Holding the levy hostage because of personal
grudges against a particular commissioner or the sheriff will just be another case of cutting off our nose to spite our face. We are faced with the prospect of serious repercussions if we close the jail, and people need to know what can result. This affects every citizen in the county and the hope is that each of them will give some thought to how this could affect them,” she said. Sanders said those residents who think the jail isn’t already running
See JAIL, Page A4