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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

2/21/12

BASEBALL: St. Helens breaks skid with walk-off win

3:24 PM

TODAY’S WEATHER Mostly sunny Highs to 63 Page B3 Lows to 40

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The Chronicle

$1.00 Vol. 132, No. 19 2 Sections 20 Pages

www.thechronicleonline.com

Railroad briefing looks at potential derailing

Planner: Recovery house can stay

SCAPPOOSE — After a city council meeting last month raised questions about recovery home coming to town, Scappoose residents again filled the council chambers Monday night to get answers, though the answers they were given may not have been what they were anticipating. The house in question, a twostory home on Maria Lane in Columbia River View Estates,

“Under provisions of the federal Fair Housing Act, this population is classified as disabled and is entitled to legal protections,” Varricchione said of the individuals who would be residing at the home. “Specifically, the Fair Housing Act was put in place to ensure that disabled populations are not discriminated against in the pursuit of housing. Some obligations are placed on local governments, other obligations

Heading to State!

BY AMANDA FRINK amandaf@thechronicleonline.com

LINNTON — Just a day before a CSX freight train carrying crude oil derailed and caught fire on April 30 in Lynchburg, Va., Gov. John Kitzhaber’s office called for a legislative briefing in Linnton to educate local government officials, legislators and congressional staff about the plans for remediation if a crude oil train were to derail along the Columbia River. The briefing hosted presentations by representatives from Union Pacific, BNSF and Genesee & Wyoming railroad companies and federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Coast Guard, Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Rail Division, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and Office of the Governor. The meeting was protested by some residents and the public interest group Columbia Riverkeeper, which opposes the use of local rail lines to ship tank cars of crude oil from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota through the Columbia River Gorge to the Columbia Pacific Biorefinery at Port Westward near Clatskanie. Jasmine Zimmer-Stucky, community organizer for Columbia Riverkeeper, said, “The rally was a strong showing of community opposition for oil trains. Over 60 Portland and Columbia County residents came together to make regional opposition to oil-byrail visible to elected officials and agencies attending the briefing.” Opposition to crude oil transport seems to have increased since March, when the refinery’s logistics company, Global Partners, was issued $117,000 in fines for increasing its shipments beyond the

is being rented to Iron Tribe, an organization contracted by DHS to manage a house in which individuals recovering from alcohol or substance abuse could be reunited with their children. As requested by the council, Scappoose City Planner Brian Varricchione offered a follow-up report with his findings as to whether the city has any role in approving or denying the proposed facility.

Photo by Ruth McCabe

The Crusaders’ Kayleigh Horecky looks for room to run during a 26-24 win over North Clackamas. See story on page B2..

Bomb threat empties courthouse BY DON PATTERSON dpatterson@countrymedia.net

A call-in bomb threat emptied the county courthouse May 1, disrupting courts and surrounding businesses. No bomb was found. About 2:00 p.m. on Thursday a courthouse employee received a phone call telling her pipe bombs were in the building and were set to go off today. County Commissioner Earl Fisher said they contacted city police who called in squads to search both the new and historic courthouse buildings. According to Fisher, courthouse

employees quickly evacuated the building. “I was real pleased with our people. They followed our plan,” At least one court was in session when the evacuation order came, according to Fisher. Police cordoned off the area around the courthouse, prohibiting people from entering or approaching the buildings. Some area businesses were also evacuated. Two squads of officers, made up of police departments from several local jurisdictions searched for about an hour, but found nothing suspicious. Sgt. Phillip Edwards of the St. Helens Police Dept. was incident commander.

Edwards said ten officers participated in the sweep while an additional three officers helping with traffic control. They performed what Edwards called an “eyes only” or visual check. “If they see something suspicious, they come back here,” Edwards said. Because the report was non-specific, meaning they have no information as to the nature of the device, use of phones and radios were prohibited during the search. An “all clear” was given at 3:22 p.m. Police Chief Terry Moss said investigators have not yet identified suspects, but the investigation is ongoing.

See RAIL, Page A2

INSIDE Classified Ads . . . . . B4 -5 Legal Notices . . . . . . B5-6 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Opinions . . . . . . . . . . A4-5 Out & About . . . . . . . . A7 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . A9 Sports . . . . . . . . B1,2,3,7,8 TV Guide . . . . . . . . . . . A8 Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . B3

DON PATTERSON / The Chronicle

County employees evacuated from the courthouse await the “all clear” to return. County Commissioner Earl Fisher said he was happy with the way employees handled the evacuation.

CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE

POSITION 3

inat ion! VOTE Agai nst Age Di sc ri m

are placed on landlords and the like. In particular, the actions that are imposed on the city and other cities is to make sure that city’s rules do not have a discriminatory effect and the city must provide reasonable accommodations if requested by the organization in order to ensure that disabilities ­­­­

See RECOVERY, Page A10

Developer to appeal rock removal decision ST. HELENS — On May 13, Project Delivery Group and S. St. Helens LLC plan to appeal an administrative decision that denied issuance of a sensitive lands permit for a project that would entail removing a bluff between North 10th and 12th streets in St. Helens. The project consists of removing 500,000 cubic yards of rock from the 5.3-acre site in order to facilitate development in the area. The applicants’ first sensitive lands permit request was denied in July 2013. Back then, Project Delivery Group said of the project, “Most of the site is rock outcrop approximately 40 feet above the adjacent streets and properties. To develop the site, the developer will remove the rock below finish grade and fill the site with appropriate material for home construction, lawns and trees.” Rock removal would be achieved by blasting the rock and then hauling it out in large trucks. The developer would also have to bring in about 200,000 cubic yards of fill for grading. Concerns surrounding the proposed project include noise, increased traffic on residential streets, and potential impacts on nearby wetlands. The Planning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. at city hall, 265 Strand Street in St. Helens.

Multiple Accidents on Hwy 30

A rash of serious traffic accidents plagued Highway 30 over the last week. At least three collisions have sent people to the hospital, some with serious injuries A collision between a passenger car and a tow truck sent one person to the hospital with serious injuries on May 3. About noon on Saturday a BMW sedan driven by Riley Holcomb 22, of Columbia City was headed northbound on Highway 30 in Columbia City when it drifted over the center lane and hit a tow truck driven by Richard Joseph Lager Jr. 43, of Deer Island. Holcomb was pinned in his vehicle and had to be extricated by emergency personnel from Columbia River Fire and Rescue. Lifeflight took him to OHSU in Portland with serious, but not life-threatening injuries. According to Columbia City Police Chief Michael McGlothlin, See WRECKS, Page A11

Agnes Petersen WRITE-IN for experience and qualifications

Agi has practiced law in Columbia County since 1960.


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