10th Annual
10th Annual 2021 Columbia County
Business
Guide
2021 Columbia County Business Guide Catch up with what your local businesses have been up to and what they’re planning this year
INSIDE FREE
Published by The Chronicle & The Chief
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FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2021
VOL. 130, NO. 7 Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891
Reopening Oregon
Port Westward expansion JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
The Columbia County Board of Commissioners has scheduled July 14 to deliberate a plan to rezone Port Westward. According to the public record notification of the deliberations, the commissioners will conduct the session beginning at 10 a.m. in a virtually public meeting at the Columbia County Courthouse, 230 Strand Street in St. Helens. During the meeting the commissioners plan to deliberate on the issue of remand from the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals on Ordinance No. 2018-1 in the matter of an application by the Port of St. Helens for a comprehensive plan amendment, zone change and goal exception to reclassify 837 acres of agricultural resource to resource industrial and change the zoning from primary agriculture to rural agriculture - planned development for the expansion of Port Westward. The commissioners are expected to limit deliberations to only the issue on remand: whether the proposed uses are compatible with other adjacent uses or will be so rendered through measures designed to reduce adverse impacts. Port Westward has direct access to the 43-foot navigation channel in the Columbia River near Clatskanie. The 837-acre expansion area will address the need, both at the local and state level, for industrial land, according to county officials. While the expansion is seen by county officials as a key economic driver for Columbia County, it has triggered concerns from some property owners and others over environmental issues. The Port Westward Rezone record along with other upcoming and past hearings can be found on-line at www.columbiacountyor.gov/departments/BoardofCommissionersOffice/ Hearings. Public access to the deliberations Website: global.gotomeeting.com/ join357054141 Phone: 1-866-899-4679 Access Code: 357-054-141 Follow developments at thechiefnews.com and in the Friday print editions of The Chief.
JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net AURORA BIGGERS chronicle2@countrymedia.net
$100,000, the committee, in tandem, with Skatelite—a PNW based skate ramp surface manufacturer—replaced the skatepark’s cover and ramps. The city paid for the new cover and the materials of the new ramps, but Skatelite covered the installation for the city, said Clatskanie City Manager Greg Hinkelman. When CIB and Quad Media were looking for a skatepark to film in, they had some specific gets on their list, Trample said. “We wanted something that is going to challenge the skaters but give them the opportunity to show what is possible on quad skates,” she said. Clatskanie Skatepark fit the bill. “It’s challenging but still safe,” Trample said of the skatepark. “And there are good opportunities for bigger tricks.”
Public restrictions, business limitations, mandatory face coverings and social distancing were still part of everyday life in Columbia County this week under Oregon’s COVID-19 pandemic health and safety requirements. Columbia County remained at High Risk due to the number of COVID-19 cases and the low vaccination rate. Governor Kate Brown, Tuesday, announced updates to county risk levels under the state’s public health framework to reduce transmission and protect Oregonians from COVID-19. A complete list of counties and their associated risk levels is available with this story at thechiefnews.com. As of June 22, fewer than 45,000 more Oregonians needed to receive a first dose to achieve a 70% statewide adult vaccination rate Brown had established earlier to reopen the state’s economy and lift restrictions. “Vaccines are the best way for Oregonians to protect themselves, their families, and communities against COVID-19,” Brown said. “It’s because so many Oregonians have stepped up to get vaccinated that we will soon be able to lift health and safety restrictions. Oregon did met its goal of reaching 70% vaccinated by Monday, June 21, but the state could be fully reopened by July 1, according to the Oregon Health Authority, reported by the Oregonian. In early June, Gov. Brown told Oregonians that achievement of a 70% vaccination rate would lift nearly all COVID-19 restrictions across the state, just in time for her COVID-19 emergency order to expire on June 28. Brown also announced that because Oregon is close to achieving a 70% vaccination rate in the coming days, no further county risk level
Aurora Biggers / The Chief
Portland Rose City Rollers skater Gal of Fray (Rochelle Jubert) practices her line as a competitor in Quad Pro Quo, a new TV show from Quad Media and CIB Crew. See more photos with this story at thechiefnews.com.
Quad Pro Quo wraps filming in Clatskanie AURORA BIGGERS chronicle2@countrymedia.net
A collaboration between Quad Media and CIB Crew, a new TV show shot its pilot episode at the Clatskanie Skatepark this month. Dubbed with the working title “Quad Pro Quo,” the show’s concept is something that would be familiar to fans of competition shows like Ink Master, Blown Away, and The Great British Bake Off—but put it on quad skates. Roller derby, a roller skating contact sport played between two teams, utilizes quad skates (four wheeled skates), but the skates are used in a variety of skating sports. “There’s not a lot of crossover,” Quad Media Producer and Director Benjamin Doyle said of roller derby skaters and ramp/ bowl skaters, but “Quad Pro Quo” is trying to bridge that gap. The TV show, Doyle said, aims
to increase the exposure of all forms of quad skating by taking prominent skaters from across the country and judging their trick and line skating abilities. The reason they chose Clatskanie? “What we really like about Clatskanie [Skatepark] is it’s covered, so we don’t have to worry if it’s rainy or crappy weather, we can still shoot,” Doyle explained. Doyle also lives in Portland, and the show’s host Samara Buscovick— the illustrious derby champion Lady Trample—does as well, for the time being. The park is also one of the newer and more modern skateparks in the Portland area, according to Doyle. “It’s just kind of a beautiful, interesting, weird park,” he said. Originally built in the mid-1990s, the skatepark was remodeled in 2018, completed in 2019, by the Clatskanie Skatepark Committee. Costing shy of
See SKATEPARK Page A3
See COVID-19 Page A3
Record breaking hot weather across region JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
Columbia County and much of Oregon will see, and feel, what could be record breaking hot weather through this week. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued an Excessive Heat Warning from 10 a.m. Saturday to 11 p.m. Monday. The NWS is describing the current heat wave as a rare event. “It is an expansion of the heat wave that is occurring in the southwest United States,” Meteorologist Miles Hiva said. “There will be a transition Friday with Saturday, Sunday and Monday seeing the hottest temperatures.” Temperatures during the day are expected to reach into the low 100s across Columbia County and in the Portland-Vancouver area, and cool into the 60s and 70s at night. Hiva said Oregon’s Coast is
Obituaries ................. A3 Crossword ............... A3 Viewpoints ................ A4 Community Events A4 Classified Ads ......... A5 Legals ....................... A5
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likely to be one spot providing relief. “Day time temperatures will likely be in the 70s and 80s through the weekend,” he said. “The cooler coast weather is because of the proximity to the ocean and the marine layer stretching along the coastline.” To avoid heat stroke and heat exhaustion, medical providers are urging the elderly, anyone with underlying medical conditions, and small children to limit their time outdoors and for people working outside during the heat waves to stay hydrated. Wildfire danger Columbia County fire agencies have been bracing for the extreme heat and the wildfire danger. The long term forecast is trending towards dry, warm, and potential windy days through August, according to Columbia River Fire & Rescue Chief of Operations Eric Smythe, who said record heavy rains have not significantly dampened the wildfire danger. “Weather patterns can change and often do throughout the summer months, short periods of cooler or even wet weather will not lessen the potential for fires from June through the beginning of the fall rains,” Smythe said. Columbia County often benefits from short coastal winds and higher
Metro Creative Connect / The Chief
Weekend temperatures are expected to reach the low 100s in Columbia County.
humidity thanks to the county’s proximity to the Oregon Coast. “This often leads folks to believe we have less potential for fires, often during summer months the morning mist or wet conditions are dried by afternoon winds and increase potential for larger fires,” he said, adding that Columbia County is not immune to large and destructive fires.
Stay vigilant “We ask all citizens of Columbia County to be diligent and attentive during these dry conditions,” Smythe said. “Fires that burned throughout Oregon last season should serve as a reminder of the potential rapid fire spread during the summer months.”
Smythe said human behavior is a key factor in this summer’s wildfire season. “Human activity is the number one cause of escape fires in our county.,” he said. “Lightning and vehicles are the remaining most common causes for fires during the summer months in Columbia County.” Symthe urges the public to limit fire potential by keeping their yards clear of dead or dying plant debris, wood products, and other combustibles that can increase the size and speed with which a fire may grow. Scappoose Rural Fire Protection District Chief Jeff Pricher said simple precautionary steps, such as cleaning out gutters, removing combustibles away from the base of your house are important. “Overall, we need folks to be careful during the summer months with fire or anything that can cause a fire,” Pricher said.” What will really help us is the vigilance that our county exhibits with fire. If you see something, say something. It is easier for us to catch a small fire and keep it small than go after a large fire with limited resources. Being ready to leave if asked is another big one.”
Phone: 503-397-0116 Fax: 503-397-4093 chiefnews@countrymedia.net 1805 Columbia Blvd., St. Helens, OR 97051
ColumbiaCountyOR.Gov/Vaccine | 503-397-7247
See HEAT Page A4