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Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Matt Morgan is picked to take over as the athletic director at St. Helens High School, page A13 2/21/12
3:24 PM
Rain Likely Page A15
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The Chronicle
TODAY’S WEATHER Highs to 68 Lows to 54
$1.00 Vol. 132, No. 26 16 Pages
www.thechronicleonline.com
Shooting suspect dead of apparent suicide BY AMANDA FRINK amandaf@thechronicleonline.com
COLUMBIA COUNTY — A suspect sought by law enforcement for shooting and injuring a Rainier police officer Monday afternoon was found deceased that evening near the vehicle he abandoned outside Clatskanie. On June 23 at approximately 12:30 p.m., a Rainier police officer, accompanied by a reserve officer, stopped a passenger car on Highway 30 near Veteran’s Way in Rainier to investigate reported driving complaints. According to Columbia River Fire & Rescue Chief Jay Tappan, the vehicle was described as a red Kia being driven “erratically and aggressively” from the Portland area along Highway 30. Law enforcement spotted the vehicle as the suspect passed through Rainier. Rainier police officer Russ George and a reserve officer made a traffic stop See SHOOTING Page A2
Police chase in Scappoose ends with man’s arrest A suicidal man led police through a chase June 22 that ended in the man’s arrest, but no one seriously injured. The incident started on Sunday afternoon, when Scappoose police responded to a call that a man in a car parked at St. Helens Credit Union in Scappoose was suicidal. Family members said he had made several threats to hurt himself. As an officer approached the man sitting in the driver’s seat of a Ford SUV, the man began to pull away. Another Scappoose officer tried to stop the driver as the man turned southbound on Highway 30. He refused to yield to emergency vehicles with lights on. Oregon State Police deployed spike strips near See CHASE, Page A2
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AMANDA FRINK / The Chronicle
Law enforcement officers from various agencies provided assistance in the search for a suspect from Monday’s officer-involved shooting in Rainier.
$7 million in transportation funding Kennel permit likely for Rainier, Port Westward
ST. HELENS — Pending official approval this summer, two projects in Columbia County are on their way to receiving a significant chunk of state funding available for transportationrelated improvements. Last week, Columbia County Commissioner Tony Hyde reported that the City of Rainier and the Port of St. Helens are being considered for funding from Connect Oregon V, a program that provides loans and grants for transportation projects that promote economic development in any of the state’s five regions. Columbia County is included in region 1, along with Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington and Hood River
counties. Hyde, who serves on the ConnectOregon V region 1 review committee and attended the final review committee, reported, “We did sit there for 11.5 hours and I’m happy to say Columbia County fared very well. We came out of that with the recommendation going to Oregon Transit Commission for Columbia County to be funded in the tune of $6.9 million. Two million each for dock improvements in Port Westward, and $2.9 million funding for the Rainier ‘A’ Street improvements.” The legislature approved nearly $42 million in funds for the ConnectOregon program, which is required to
allocate at least 10 percent He stated that improveof the funds to each of the ments to the Port Westward five regions. Two projects docks have been in the in Columbia County alone planning stages for a while were able to potentially seso that the area can compete cure $6.9 million in program with Portland for traffic funds. coming from industrial sites. Hyde noted that there “These two docks are not is a “long list of filters it oil centric,” he said. “These must go through” before the two docks are there, being allocation is official, but he developed, so that we can plans to weigh in during the really work on that 1,800 Oregon Transit Commisacres of industrial site that’s sion deliberations that will now available to us.” determine whether the funds According to Pat Trapp, are approved or not. executive director for the Countering what a recent Port of St. Helens, the $4 Oregonian article reported, million in funds would alHyde said, “There is an low the port to operate two assumption that all these berths out of one dock. He projects are tied to oil and said a potential fund match the oil traffic that we have in is considered in the fundthis county, and it could not be further from the truth.” See FUNDING, Page A3
granted BY AMANDA FRINK amandaf@thechronicleonline.com
ST. HELENS — Todd and Liana Viken, owners of HugA-Bubba’s Doggy Daycare and Grooming, returned to the Columbia County Courthouse June 18 for the Board of County Commissioners’ deliberations to determine whether to allow an outdoor kennel facility on their Scappoose property. The Vikens submitted an application for a conditional use permit in which they proposed to build a 4,000 square See KENNEL, Page A3
Tent caterpillars stripping trees near Rainier BY DON PATTERSON dpatterson@countrymedia.net
“It’s the worst I’ve seen in 20 years,” is how a Rainier area landowner described the tent caterpillar infestation defoliating trees along the Columbia River in the northern reaches of Columbia County. About 13,000 acres of forestland is included in the outbreak. The area most affected stretches from Scappoose to north of Rainier and west to Clatskanie. Some hardwood trees like red alders have been nearly stripped as the larvae feed. The damage is being caused by an outbreak of western tent caterpillars, a moth native to the Pacific Northwest according to Rob Flowers of the Oregon Dept. of Forestry. The outbreaks are common said Flowers. The caterpillars prefer red alders, cottonwoods, willows and fruit trees, however, they will sometimes attack other broadleaf trees or shrubs. The damage can be quite substantial, with some trees nearly stripped bare. The trees don’t usually suffer permanent damage. The larvae emerge in late spring near budbreak, feeding as a colony and constructing silken tents within their host plants. Larvae usually mature in 30 to 40 days and abandon the tents to construct silken cocoons. Adult moths emerge in July and August. Flowers said Columbia County residents
should be prepared to see large numbers of moths emerging in the coming weeks. The moths are strongly attracted to light. Western tent caterpillars are one of the most common pests of hardwoods in Oregon, but do not pose a health risk to humans, pets or livestock. If no control measures are enacted, the population collapses in two to three years from the combined effects of parasites and disease according to ODF. “Control by insecticide is not warranted,” said a notice supplied by the agency. ODF recommends pruning off and destroying tents as soon as the infestation is apparent. High-pressure sprays can also remove the larvae. ODF warns against burning the tents, citing the risk of substantial tree damage.
Catepillars balled up in their ‘tent’ in a tree near Rainier. The map shows the areas of infestation, the heaviest hit is around Rainier.
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SEAFOOD TENT SALE!