SHC72419

Page 1

COLUMBIA RIVER EATS

Page A11-12

New housing opens in St. Helens Page A3

The Chronicle

Opinions A4 • Out & About A5 • Obituaries A6 • TV Guide A7 • Classified Ads A8-9 • Community Events A9 • Public Notices A9 • Blotters A10 • Sports A11

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Halloweentown star will not return to St. Helens in 2019

$1

thechronicleonline.com

Serving Columbia County since 1881

Columbia County Fair & Rodeo

Julie Thompson/The Chronicle

Kimberly J. Brown in St. Helens, 2018. JULIE THOMPSON chronicle1@countrymedia.net

While St. Helens has been ground zero for all things Halloweentown for the film’s star, Kimberly J. Brown, she will not be returning to town this year for the ‘Spirit of Halloweentown” festivities, according to her talent agency, Gemstone Talent. Gemstone did not publicly state why the star cannot attend in 2019 but expressed their continued support for the event and the St. Helens community as a whole. Brown’s manager, Diane Yslas, said the actress and her team wanted to let the people of St. Helens know about her absence after an article had been circulated suggesting the star was returning. According to Gemstone, Brown is lined up for two upcoming acting projects. The actress will take on a supporting role in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Movie Series: “Crossword Mysteries”, which is currently filming, and will star in the feature film titled “Hell, California,” currently in pre-production. Brown will make her next meet & greet appearance at Midsummer Scream in Long Beach, California over the weekend of Aug. 3 and 4. Best known to St. Helens residents as “Marnie Cromwell,” Brown last visited St. Helens in October 2018 for the 20th anniversary of the original film. The next such milestone in the film franchise will be reached in 2021, marking the 20th anniversary of the second film, “Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge.” However, this won’t be the last our pages will see of Brown. The Chronicle will catch up with Brown in an upcoming October interview as the celebration of the films begin again. Fans can keep up with Brown’s appearances and more via her social media, Youtube channel, and Etsy store. Website: www.KimberlyJBrown.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ officialkjb Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ officialkjb Twitter: https://twitter.com/officialkjb YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ Officialkjb Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Craftily Creative

Kelli Nicholson/The Chronicle

Crowds turned out in droves to attend this year’s Columbia County Fair & Rodeo, and a good time was had by all. The competition results were not immediately available by press time, and will be featured in next week’s edition of The Chronicle.

Training at SHPD JULIE THOMPSON chronicle1@countrymedia.net

Christine Menges/The Chronicle

The dirt BMX track, under construction.

BMX track: new and improved CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net

City residents who visited McCormick Park this past weekend may have noticed a few big mounds of dirt. The dirt mounds are from construction on the Phillip S. Barlow Memorial BMX Track, dedicated in 2012 to the late brother of Paul Barlow. The re-design began on July 15 and was finished on July 23, according to Paul Barlow of Barlow Bikes. Lance Maguire, owner of Dirt Trendz and director of USA BMX (of new track development), led the redesign. The biggest changes to the BMX track are that the first two lanes are longer by 30 feet, and the track no longer winds behind the big mound of dirt. Instead, the entire track will switch back and forth from start to finish so that spectators and family and friends will have the opportunity to see the entire race from one location, Barlow said. Additionally, there is now a strider track, which is better for younger riders, which has smaller jumps, Barlow said. The redesign as a whole keeps the track as a pure downhill track, “which is a big thing in the BMX world,” Maguire said. “Before, it was not.” Barlow said the idea for the

track came to be after their family purchased their bike shop, Barlow Bikes and Boards, located in St. Helens, in the fall of 2001. Barlow and his brother then contacted the American Bicycle Association (ABA) and Barlow, his brother, and his brother’s friend, Brian Bailey flew to Arizona and went through a new track operation training program in order to become certified track operators. Once they had received their certification, they started the process of building it in the spring of 2002. Funding for the project came from community volunteers, businesses and the ABA, Barlow said. This is not the first time the track has been renovated, but it is the most extensive, according to Barlow. “The track did lay dormant for a few years and was re-opened in 2011, and we did end up doing some re-working to it at that time, but not to the extent of what is being done this week,” Barlow said. The re-dedication of the track as the Phillip S. Barlow Memorial track happened in the fall of 2011, shortly after Phillip died from a heart attack, according to Barlow. The re-opening happened months before in June of 2011. Help from the project came from both regular donations as well as multiple in-kind donations, Bar-

low said. Some of those in-kind donations included eight trucks on three different days from Coffman Excavation, which delivered dirt that came from Hillsboro, according to Barlow. The total amount of dirt delivered was about 1,100 cubic yards, Barlow said. In addition, Coffman donated the front loader and roller for the week, delivering it to the track, and picking it up from the track once the project was finished. Emerald Valley BMX, a nonprofit group in Eugene, funded the labor to do the rebuild, which was $6,000 according to Maguire. “The City of St. Helens also pitched in and rented the skid steer for us, brought us a few more loads of some much-needed dirt, and provided us with the fuel needed for all of the equipment,” Barlow said. Barlow predicts that had the company had to pay for all the improvements, the dollar figure would have been between $30,000 and $35,000. During the July 17 city council work session, Sue Nelson, St. Helens Public Works Engineering Director, mentioned the improvements being made to the BMX track, as well as some of the donations the city was making. “The parks department is helping to a certain extent,” Nelson said. “We’re working with them to make sure that that is a successful project.”

The St. Helens Police Department (SHPD) is gearing up to host its first youth academy, aimed at exposing teens to the world of law enforcement while providing hands-on training opportunities. Teens ages 16-19 were eligible to register for the academy, planned for Saturday, July 27 for a nominal $50 fee. For those who couldn’t afford the registration fee, the St. Helens City Council donated scholarships to cover the cost. Also of note, all proceeds raised from the registration fees will go to support the Police Association to help fund events like Donut Day, Cocoa with a Cop and Trunk or Treat. The money raised will also support those times when SHPD officers go above and beyond for a member of their community, as previously reported in The Chronicle articles, “Cop Christmas: Officers rally to make one little boy’s day” and “Paying it forward: SHPD edition.” Until now, those moments have been funded out of the officers’ own pockets. A day in the life According to Officer Bryan Cutright, the one-day youth academy will begin with a class and conversation about various law enforcement issues as well as a brief overview of the day’s activities. “We’ll start the day at the high school where we’re going to do a fingerprint and investigations class with Officer Luedke, and then we’re going to do a little bit of defensive tactics with Sergeant Eustice,” Cutright said. The defensive tactics will cover basic law enforcement self-defense, Cutright said, like control holds, basic striking (or how they punch and kick) and handcuffing. The teens will then be given a K-9 demonstration with Deputy Cody

­­­­

See ACADEMY Page A10

Save the date

Vol. 137, No. 30

4th Annual 2019 Battle of the Brews When: Friday, August 9th Time: 3 pm 7 pm centerplacemarket.com/sthelens.html • 1111 Columbia Blvd, St Helens, OR 97051 • 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.