Former SHHS teacher sentenced to over 4 years in prison for sex abuse Page A7
A peek at River City Singers’ upcoming season Page A2
Obituaries-A2 • Out and About-A2 • Church News-A3 • Opinions-A4 • Market Place-A5 • Public Notices-A5-6 • Police Blotters-A6
Friday, August 23, 2019
The Chief
$1 Vol. 128, No. 15 8 Pages
Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891
Water restored to Rainier after main break
RJSHS steps back to school JULIE THOMPSON chronicle1@countrymedia.net Photo: City of Rainier
Crews work to fix a broken water main in Rainier on August 18. CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net
City residents of Rainier can now safely drink their water after a 48-hour water boil advisory was lifted at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, August 20. City residents in Rainier lost all water access when a contractor working on the A Street project accidentally broke a water main at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, August 18 according to a notice sent out by the city. The same notice said the break caused a six-hour outage, and water was restored later in the day on Sunday. However, city residents were still advised to boil their water before drinking or washing fruits and vegetables until 9 a.m. on Tuesday, August 20. Sue Lawrence, Public Works Director for the City of Rainier said shutting off the water was necessary in order to maintain the water level at the city’s reservoirs while the water main was being fixed. The boil advisory is a standard procedure whenever water is shut off, Lawrence explained. “Any time you depressurize your system, you’re required to do a boil notice until you have a negative sample back,” Lawrence said, meaning the water shows no harmful substances. Lawrence said the water main has been fixed and water was restored by around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday to all but a few houses that are located at a higher elevation. “Pretty much 99 percent of the people are back on,” Lawrence said. The boil advisory included a warning that residents may see rust in their tap water, as well as lower pressure. “Running water for a few minutes should flush water lines,” the notice stated.
The Rainier Junior Senior High School (RJSHS) is preparing for a new school year and has released some information on important dates to be aware of, new staffing and programs, and additional “need to know” tidbits for the upcoming 2019/2020 school year. A new focus on social/emotional learning and career readiness First, the school will be expanding their advisory period from one day a week to four days a week wherein students will focus on college, career readiness, and character development through the use of a curriculum called “Naviance.” “They didn’t have one at all when I first came to this school, and I saw a need for social and emotional learning,” Vice Principal Kim Oblack said. “It was tough to get the staff to buy into it, but I told them it was really important. There’s a lot of funding coming down from the state for college readiness right now, and it’s absolutely amazing for the kids.” According to the website, Naviance.com, the curriculum is a comprehensive college and career readiness solution that helps districts and schools align student strengths and interests to postsecondary goals, improving student outcomes and con-
necting learning to life. Oblack said the school landed on the program after she began asking her peers around the state what they were using and were happy with. She said Naviance was mentioned over and over, and it seemed to be the best. “The curriculum does
a series of interest and skill assessments to best fit the career of the student,” officials said via letter to parents and guardians. “Careers specify programs of study within high school to prepare students for their list of possible career choices. It gives acces to college information and links them directly to pre-planning for post-secondary outcomes.” According to Oblack, the students
will be able to use their own personal devices and can access this curriculum for 30 minutes a day during their advisory period. The students will go through a series of assessments to determine their personal skills and interests, which will then help guide them towards a career path. Oblack said the program goes even further, in that it connects to the majority of colleges and universities across the United States. Students won’t have to look up the colleges they’re interested in individually – the program will provide them with information on tuition, how to apply, and the best ways to find scholarships for each institution. “The cool thing is it’s also a resume builder, and they’ll have access to it for up to six years after they graduate, so they can take it with them,” Oblack said. “We’ve spent so much time on academics. We’re trying to develop the whole child.” An eye on attendance and accountability There are also a few key components to Academic Achievement
the school is encouraging parents to share with their students. The first is accountability and effort. “Students need to learn to be accountable for their own learning,” officials said. “Ask them questions about school. Encourage them to ask for help when they need it. Please remind them about homework and the importance of not falling behind. Students should be reading at least 20 minutes per day to improve their literacy comprehension.” The school recommends parents follow their student’s grades on ParentVue, available on the school’s website. If parents or guardians do not have a password to get started there, they can contact the RJSHS secretaries. The school also wants to stress the importance of attendance. Oblack said the school recently received a grant for $9,000 specifically to improve their attendance. She said there is a “big chunk of money” coming down to all the districts in Oregon via the Student Success Act. “A huge part of receiving that funding is showing that you’re working on improving attendance, because it’s a problem in the entire state. I’m rolling out a huge campaign for family awareness with vinyl signage and yard signs,” Oblack said. “Kids will get lessons from their
See SCHOOL Page A6
Local Grocery Outlet campaign donates to food banks
Cody Mann/The Chief
Grocery Outlet Bargain Market in Rainier has just recently completed its second Independence from Hunger Campaign, donating proceeds to HOPE of Rainier, an affiliate of the Columbia Pacific Food Bank. CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net
Grocery Outlet Bargain Market has recently completed its ninth annual Independence from Hunger Food Drive Campaign, raising over $2 million for families in need the chain’s more than 300 locations across Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Washington, according to a press release from the company. All Grocery Outlets identified local food agencies in their respective locations to partner with, which would accept their monetary and food-item donations, a press release stated. The campaign included the local Grocery Outlet in Rainier, as well as the Grocery Outlet in Scappoose. Rainier
Grocery Outlet donated its items to HOPE of Rainier, an affiliate of the Columbia Pacific Food Bank. Scappoose Grocery Outlet donated its items directly to the Columbia Pacific Food Bank. The campaign took place from June 26 through July 31. To contribute to the campaign, Grocery Outlet customers, employees and Independent Owner-Operators were given three options: purchase a pre-made food bag filled with nonperishable items; donate money in-store or online; or “Give $5, Get $5” at the register, where customers could donate at least $5 and then receive a $5 coupon. According to Kyle Noble, Senior Manager of Regional Marketing and Communications at Grocery Outlet, Inc., Rainier Grocery Outlet raised over $1,800
in cash and food combined, which includes 185 pre-made bags purchased by customers, donated back to the Independence from Hunger campaign. This is the second year the Rainier store has participated in the campaign, and Noble said he thought it was a success. “The Rainier, Oregon location is relatively new and just opened last year. This year, they more than doubled the donations resulting from their efforts towards IFH,” Noble said. The main donations collected from the Rainier Grocery Outlet were specifically targeted to HOPE of Rainier’s needs. Rainier Grocery Outlet Independent OwnerOperator Taylor Elliott contacted representatives at HOPE of Rainier to find out what items they were
lacking. Those items included dried pasta, rice, noodles and soups, according to Elliott. Noble said the Rainier Grocery Outlet has been partnered with HOPE of Rainier since its grand opening last year and gives regular donations to the food bank on a weekly basis. However, Noble said the summer campaign was also helpful for the food bank. “Independence from Hunger Food Drive is a unique opportunity to focus on providing food staples that are in high demand along with providing cash donations,” Noble said. The press release also stated no administration or collateral fees are deducted from monetary donations, meaning all benefitting organizations, such as HOPE of Rainier, receive 100 percent of the proceeds.