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Columbia County July 4th celebration
The Chronicle
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Wednesday, July 10, 2019
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Serving Columbia County since 1881
St. Helens shooter still at large, charged with encouraging child abuse in Clackamas County
Christine Menges/The Chronicle
Layla Long, Jennifer Wentworth and Cecily Wentworth swim and play in the Eisenschmidt pool on June 27.
Pool turns 80 CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net
Locals know the community pool as Eisenschmidt Pool, but they may not know its long history. The pool gets its name from Herb Eisenschmidt, who was the first manager of the pool according to his daughter-in-law, Christine Eisenschmidt, who still lives in the area. Built in 1939, as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the pool was developed as a life-saving measure for residents of St. Helens, Christine said. It will be turning 80 this year, and Anne Scholz, pool manager, is planning two different celebration days-one on July 18, from 7 to 9 p.m., the other on the pool’s birthday, August 29, also from 7 to 9 p.m. Scholz said that everyone who attends the barbecue will get a free hot dog, and free access to the pool for those two hours. Herb Eisenschmidt died in 1996 at the age of 89, but information about the pool lives on in various sources. One of those sources is Christine, who, along with being Herb’s daughter-in-law once chaired a committee that established long-term financing of the pool. Another source is a box of old photographs and documents about the pool that sits in Scholz’s office. Among the photographs and documents contained in the box rests a 1961 master’s thesis entitled “A History of the School Comprising School District 502C” by Marguerite Egelston, which includes history about the pool. Egelston’s thesis states that by end of the summer of 1936, three St. Helens residents had already drowned in the river that year. Townspeople were getting serious about building a swimming pool, and their plans were realized when, on August 29, 1939, the pool was officially built and opened after a year and a half of construction. Almost 80 years later, pool staff believe it is still in very good shape. “It’s a fabulous pool,” Scholz said. “We’re proud of it, and we’re
proud that we’ve kept it going. Before I was hired they were talking about demolishing it and rebuilding it, and that was never necessary, and we’ve kept it going.” Scholz, who will have been the manager of the pool for 17 years this September, has seen the pool go through many changes. Some of the physical changes have been tiling the shell, installing two climbing walls, and getting a small and big slide. The pool has also had many of the original valves replaced that weren’t working anymore. But other than adding a covering in the 1970s to make the pool an indoor pool, Scholz said the general structure of the pool has not changed much since 1939. The operation of the pool has changed a lot in the last 80 years, however. One change, which happened just last year, was the changing of the name of the district that funds the pool from the “Greater St. Helens Parks and Recreation District” to the “St. Helens Aquatic District.” The former name has no relation at all with the Parks and Recreation District that the city is trying to establish, although Eisenschmidt Pool does have a partnership with the St. Helens Recreation Center. The name change, which happened in 2018, was enacted to limit confusion. But the district itself was formed in 1993 in order to raise money for the pool, according to Scholz. Overcoming financial difficulties has been a theme in the pool’s history. When it was first established, according to Christine, it was overseen by St. Helens School District and was free. “They never charged anything because it was built to save lives, to prevent drowning in the river,” Christine said. Over time, Christine said, the pool started charging small fees, starting at 25 cents in the 1950s, then three dollars in the 1980s, and eventually its current general admission price, which is four dollars for children under 18, and five dollars for adults. But even with an added small fee, the pool could not continue to operate with the school district due to severe budget cuts in the 1980s, according to Christine. During one of the school board meetings that discussed budget cuts, a group got together, appointed Christine the chair, and called itself the Eisenschmidt Pool Patron’s Committee, Christine said. The committee dedicated itself to finding ways to finance the pool. “We did a lot of research, and
Vol. 137, No. 28
See POOL Page A11
Photo: SHPD
Adam Corey Fleming, 31, was seen fleeing the scene in a white 1993 Toyota Camry with Oregon license plate 427EQV. JULIE THOMPSON chronicle1@countrymedia.net
After two men were shot in St. Helens on the evening of July 2, the shooter is still at large and the St. Helens Police Department (SHPD) has reached out to the public for help locating him. According to the SHPD, officers responded to the call at approximately 10:15 p.m. to a report of gunshots fired on Cowlitz Street near Old Portland Road. A nearby 6th Street neighbor, Renee Laurin, said she made the call to 911 after her children alerted her to two men knocking at her door. “I heard, ‘Mom, the guy said call the police. He said he’s been shot.’ I threw some clothes on
and came to my front door and at first, I personally thought they were trying to rob me. I’m just being precautious, you know. I’m a single mom.” When the man told her to dial 911, Laurin said she didn’t hesitate. She said the two men were crouching low, sweating, and she could tell they were scared. Laurin handed one of the men the phone to speak to the police and got a towel to cover the wound of the gunshot victim. “I did invite them into my home. All it was was trying to be a good Samaritan. I already know 911 is on their way so I felt safe enough,” Laurin said. “I don’t smoke, but I lit up a cigarette for the poor guy and got him some water.” According to the SHPD, the
officers ended up locating two gunshot victims on scene. One victim sustained a wound to his upper arm and the other sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his lower extremities. Both were transported to a Portland area hospital and are expected to survive. A 7-year-old girl was also located inside the residence where the shooting took place, but she was found unharmed. The shooter reportedly fled the residence prior to the officer’s arrival and the SHPD had the surrounding roads shut down for most of Wednesday afternoon while the investigation continued.
See SHOOTER Page A12
City gears up for grant re-application
Photo: City of St. Helens
A rendition of the proposed waterfront. CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net
The city of St. Helens is set to re-apply for the BUILD Transportation Discretionary Grant on July 15, in hopes of receiving $11.1 million to continue its Waterfront Redevelopment Project, according to John Walsh, City Administrator. The funds would help the city establish a public waterfront boardwalk, which the city
is calling a “riverwalk,” and create transportation connections onto the Veneer property, according to the city’s website. Walsh said the funds will also include street landscaping. As The Chronicle previously reported, the city’s application was rejected in December of last year. The BUILD grant, which stands for Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, would finance most of the $12.6 million total project cost, according to Walsh.
That total cost and grant request is slightly less than what the city requested for the same grant in July of last year. When the city first applied for the BUILD grant, the request was for nearly $15 million, and the total estimated project cost was $18 million, according to the 2018 grant application available online.
Wednesday BEER Night BBQ & WINE 3 pm - 7 pm
Sampling
centerplacemarket.com/sthelens.html • 1111 Columbia Blvd, St Helens, OR 97051 • 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
See WATERFRONT Page A6
FRIDAY, JULY 12 3:30-6:30 PM