PCC breaks ground on new training center A2 Clatskanie teams work towards playoffs A8
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2020
The Chief
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VOL. 128, NO. 38
Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891
Governor proposing affordable housing tax
Graduation Rates: Steady progress JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
Courtesy photo
The bill proposes a constitutional amendment to allow for state transfer fees for real estate transactions over $500,000, so that Oregon can continue to make significant investments in affordable housing. JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
A new plan is emerging to help ease Oregon’s affordable housing. According to a report on Oregon Public Broadcasting, Oregon Gov. Brown wants voters to amend the constitution to allow real estate transfer taxes to fund affordable housing. The taxes are assessed when property changes ownership. Voters approved Measure 79 in 2012, which created a prohibition on the use of the real estate transfer taxes. Brown’s office has filed a resolution to amend the constitution to allow use of the real estate transfer taxes. The resolution is expected to be reviewed by Oregon lawmakers during the February short session that begins next week. Charles Boyle, Brown’s press secretary, responded to The Chief’s inquiries about the Governor’s proposal. He said the Governor’s bill for a constitutional amendment on real estate transfer fees is one proposal which could help establish a dedicated funding stream to allow Oregon to make annual investments in affordable housing. Boyle repeated an earlier media statement, saying, “our office is continuing to work with legislators to find the best path forward as they bring their own ideas to the table and as we consider all options that are available to us, including various strategies and funding mechanisms to
Photo courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation
This landslide brought down huge boulders that almost crushed this car on Highway 62 near Prospect. The slide is on of the latest examples of the danger from such events in Oregon.
Local landslide danger JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
The parade of rainstorms flowing across Oregon and into Columbia County is increasing the risk of landslides, according to state officials. The statewide danger is evident in the latest photos of huge boulders that nearly crushed a car along Highway 62 near Prospect in Southern Oregon to a landslide that closed the Historic Columbia River Highway this week between Multnomah Falls and the Angel’s Rest trailhead in Northwest Oregon. According to Robert A. Houston with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI), landslides are caused by a combination of factors, including the type of geology, the slope, and usually water. “With repeating storms, the soils do not have enough time to drain and so the water builds up in the soil and leads to failure or a landslide,” Houston said. According to a DOGAMI executive summary report about
the landslide hazards in Columbia County, landslides and debris flows are common in the Oregon Coast Range due to the combination of high precipitation, steep slopes, and landslide-prone geologic units. Cutting through the northern Coast Range, the U.S. Highway 30 (Oregon State Highway 92) corridor is prone to slope instability. The study indicates that the Highway 30 corridor in Columbia and Clatsop Counties is at significant risk from landslide hazards. Landslides cover 25% of the study area, and 33% of the City of Clatskanie is covered by large, deep landslides. The large number of people and structures residing on these deposits highlights the potential danger present and shows the need for public awareness on landslide hazards. “The areas that have had landslides before (historic and prehistoric or ancient) are the areas of first concern,” Houston said. “This is because landslides tend to happen in the same places repeatedly through reactivation or the combination of factors talked about in the above question.”
People, structures and roads located below steep slopes in canyons and near the mouths of canyons may be at serious risk. Dangerous places can include: • Canyon bottoms, stream channels and areas of rock and soil accumulation at the outlets of canyons. • Bases of steep hillsides. • Road cuts or other areas where slopes of hills have been excavated or over-steepened. • Places where slides or debris flows have occurred in the past. According to DOGAMIs A Homeowners Guide to Landslides, a landslide is the downward slope movement of rock, soil or debris. Debris flow, earth flow, rock fall, mudflow, mudslide, and slump are also terms for landslide. Landslides can take human life. However, even a few inches of slope movement can disrupt septic, sewer and water lines and crack foundations severely damaging or destroying your home, according to the guide.
to help in an emergency, they are instructed to tend to their families first before assisting with the emergency, according to Jaspers. “We’re not going to be doing what the fire department does, or what search and rescue does, but we might be helping with those organizations, or with the city itself,” Jaspers said. Some tasks a CERT member would likely assist with are things like administrative tasks. Jaspers gave the example of assisting with
“CMHS Cohort grad rate for the last four years has steadily risen from 70% in 2016-17 to 84% in 2019-20,” Hurowitz said. Blue said the Rainier High School graduation rates have been climbing. The rate is 87% for 2018-19. In 2017-18 the rate was 86%. In 201617 it was 80% and in 2015-16 the graduation rate was 80% “We have made a steady increase in the graduation rate from year to year,” Blue said. The factors for students not graduating vary, according to Blue and Hurowitz. “Attendance is always the biggest concern in keeping students on track for graduation,” Blue said. “Also, meeting the needs of the individual student by not having a four year plan in place.” Hurowitz said the district’s student survey data indicates that the primary factor leading to students not being on track to graduate is the increased student mental health needs which directly impacts attendance. “A secondary factor is the increased transient nature of secondary students often with lack of family support, financial problems and limited access to resources,” she said. According to Hurowitz CMHS has developed equitable assignment to advanced courses focusing on all students having access to college credit courses and career readiness CTE programs. “The District has established monthly teacher collaboration time to review student outcomes and participation data with the intent of improving engagement for all groups of students,” she said. “Clatskanie School District has invested heavily in chronic absenteeism programs through ODE along with implementation of Trauma Informed Care, Collaborative Problem-Solving, and Restorative Justice Programs and practices for all staff focused on supporting all student needs specifically those students who are typically under-served.” Blue said Rainier students are provided tutoring after school, Saturday School for additional supports, summer school for credit retrieval, and daily attendance monitoring with truancy enforcement. “We continue to increase course offerings specifically in the Career and Technical Education (CTE)
See LANDSLIDE Page A5
See TAXES Page A7
Obituaries............A2 Police Blotters.....A3 Viewpoints...........A4 Church News.......A4 Cartoon................A4 Poll........................A4 Calendar...............A5 Market Place........A6 Public Notices......A6 Sports...................A8 Meetings...............A8
Contact The Chief Phone: 503-728-3350 Email: chiefnews@ countrymedia.net
Photo courtesy of CERT
Regional CERT team members conducting a training session.
CERT in Clatskanie CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net
In the event of an earthquake, flood, or other natural disaster, Clatskanie residents have several resources they can call upon. Some of those helpers might be first-responders, like firefighters and paramedics. Other people willing to assist during such an event might be Clatskanie residents’ neighbors, who are members of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). According to Brad Jaspers, President of the executive board of CERT in Clatskanie, CERT is a
volunteer-led team that attends trainings and assists after first-responders are called upon to help during an emergency. CERT falls under the umbrella of the City of Clatskanie’s emergency services. This means that members are covered by the city’s labor and injuries insurance policies. The CERT members also receive background checks through the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. “If the city manager thought he needed some help, he would contact our board, we would start a phone tree to get our CERT members to help out,” Jaspers said. If a CERT member is called upon
The statewide graduation rate for the class of 2018-19 is 80 percent, up 1.3 percentage points over the previous year and the highest graduation rate ever recorded in Oregon, according to data released by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). Local school officials have now reviewed the numbers and are speaking out about progress and what more must be done. The Chief spoke with Clatsksine School Superintendent Cathy Hurowitz and Rainier High School Principal Graden Blue about the graduation rates at their high schools. According to Hurowitz, the Clatskanie four-year cohort graduation rate is the percentage of students in a cohort, adjusted for transfers into and out of the school, district, or state that graduate with a standard high school diploma within four years of entering high school. A cohort is composed of students who first started high school in a given school year.
See CERT Page A5
See GRADUATION Page A7