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The Chief
Friday, June 10, 2016
$1 Vol. 125, No. 4 12 Pages
Serving the Lower Columbia Region Since 1891
Council acts on property purchase, delays police decision CODY MANN/The Chief
The City of Clatskanie is seeking a federal grant to tear down the The Northwoods Inn and restore the property to wetlands following a series of damaging floods.
CODY MANN/The Chief
Mayor Diane Pohl presented City Councilor Steve Constans with a statue of an eagle to thank him for his close attention to details.
Constans retires from Clatskanie City Council
BY JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
The Clatskanie City Council is moving forward with a plan to purchase the Northwoods Inn property at 945 E. Columbia River Highway. At its Wednesday, June 8 meeting, the council adopted a resolution seeking a $1.5 million Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant to conduct the work. “Once the purchase happens, the building will be torn down and the property returned to wetlands,” Clatskanie City Manager Greg Hinkelman said. As a result of December 2015 flood damage, the council last
month declared the Northwoods property a Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) property. Hinkelman said over the years floods have repeatedly damaged the Northwoods property. The SRL property designation would allow owner Sach Patel to sell his property to FEMA, dollar for dollar, and then FEMA would demolish the building and remove the debris. FEMA would then turn the property over to the City of Clatskanie. Hinkelman said while the deal is good for Patel, it isn’t favorable for Clatskanie. “It’s a bad deal for the city because we normally get property taxes, water, sewer and business license fees of about $9,600 from the property,” he said.
Demolition of the Northwoods Inn is pending FEMA’s acceptance of the city’s grant application. “I will run the business until they say it is time to go forward with demolition,” Patel told the council at its May meeting. Police Services Hinkelman also told the city council that a proposal to contract city police services with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office is still in the works and more time is needed to work out the details of the proposal. “We are still working out the details to make sure we do it right,” Hinkelman told The Chief prior to the council session Wednesday evening. “I hope to make my report to the council
All the way to his final meeting, Steve Constans put his eagle eye to work for the City of Clatskanie. After nearly 16 years of service, Constans stepped down on at the June 8 meeting of the city council. Mayor Diane Pohl presented Constans with a statue of an eagle as a nod to his sharp eye for details, known for his close scrutiny of certain subjects that come before the council. “One of my particular interests was doing my part to make sure the city was fiscally responsible,” Constans said, noting that it was not a singular effort and saying his fellow councilors were all on the same page with respect to being financially conservative. Constans provided the council with considerable insight regarding the approach to legal marijuana as well, doing research on the regulations and state policies, which he shared at council meetings. “Different people have brought different things to the party,” he said of his diverse group of collogues. “It’s been a good blend of personalities and interests that
sometime in July. It will then be up to the council to decide if they want to accept the contract.” Discussions about contracting the police services out began last year when Hinkelman alerted the city budget committee to a financial challenge. “I told the budget committee last year that we were a disaster away from having big problems,” he said. “And now we have reached that point.” Hinkelman said the city’s financial dilemma comes from decreasing revenues and increasing costs for services. “Last year we had a contingency fund of only $9,600,” he said. “Typically, you want a 10
See CITY COUNCIL Page A5
See CONSTANS Page A9
Local districts to check school water Local instructor nominated BY JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
Concerns about the safety of the drinking water in Portland public schools have spread to Columbia County and triggered testing at local schools. “Because of the situation in Portland Public Schools, we have reviewed our process and will be completing these tests in a timely manner,” Clatskaine School Su-
perintendent Lloyd Hartley said. “Our maintenance supervisor is working with the city to provide for these tests, hopefully within the month.” The Portland schools drinking water crisis unfolded in April following reports in media outlets of lead levels exceeding federal safety standards. According to the World Health Organization, too much lead can damage various systems of the body including the nervous and reproductive systems, the kidneys and it can cause high blood pressure and anemia. The lead can be found in lead piping. The Portland public schools get water from the city of Portland through the Bull Run watershed. Several of the Portland schools turned off the fountains and began providing bottle water to the students pending further testing. Hartley said while the Clatskanie district conducts the tests, the schools drinking fountains would not be shut off but that the district would answer any student’s concerns about drinking the water. “Currently our drinking fountains are open and if a student wanted a bottle of water, we would give that to them,” he said. “If they have any questions they are welcomed to come in and talk with me.” Hartley said the district has every reason to believe the drinking water at the schools is safe because it comes from the city.
“We will share the results of the tests once they are available,” he said. Rainer School District Superintendent Michael Carter and his maintenance staff met on June 6 to review the drinking water issue and increasing public interest. “We knew this was going to be an issue,” Cater said. According to Carter, the Rainer District operates a 480foot well for its school water and checks the system daily. “We are in good shape,” he said. “Look at our water ratings from the state and [you will see that] they are outstanding.”
See WATER Page A9
Oregon Teacher of the Year BY JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
“I was very much surprised and excited,” Clatskanie High School teacher Jeff Skirvin said after learning he has been nominated as 2017 Oregon Teacher of the Year. “It means to me that, hopefully, I’m doing a good job. It means a lot. “You should work very hard at everything you do. It’s nice to have someone recognize that.” Skirvin is one of 300 teachers across the state nominated for the prestigious award. Skirvin believes a parent made the anonymous online nomination through the Oregon
See SKIRVIN Page A9
Courtesy photo
Clatskanie High School forestry teacher Jeff Skirvin has been nominated as Oregon Teacher of the Year.
Global to resume ethanol shipments According to Luckett, the ethanol will arrive via rail tank car. No ethanol will be manufactured at the Port Westward plant, at least not immediately. “We’re in the process of trying to develop that business,” Luckett said. Initial quantities will be low, he said.
BY DON PATTERSON
dpatterson@countrymedia.net
Courtesy photo
Clatskanie, Rainier and St. Helens school districts are testing for lead in the schools drinking water systems.
Global Partners may soon begin shipping ethanol from its facility at Port Westward. On June 8, spokesman for the company, Dan Luckett, told the Port of St. Helens staff and commissioners the transloading company hoped to begin loading ethanol from rail cars onto ocean going barges later this month.
See ETHANOL Page A9