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Columbia County Fall Sports Schedules 2019
Big Band in the Park Concert Page A3
Out and About-A3 • Church News-A3 • Opinions-A4 • Market Place-A6 • Public Notices-A6 • Police Blotters-A7 • Sports and Outdoors-A8
Friday, August 30, 2019
The Chief
$1 Vol. 128, No. 16 8 Pages
Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891
BACK TO SCHOOL
Clatskanie School District starts new year
Lightning sparks Rainier-area tree fire
Photo: Metro Creative Outlet
CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net
On Sept. 3 and 4, Clatskanie School District (CSD) students will begin a new school year. This year, the district is focusing on the social/emotional needs of students, soliciting feedback from parents and students about the district’s facilities and building a challenging curriculum with particular focus on mathematics, according to Cathy Hurowitz, CSD superintendent. There are also other important dates, changes and other useful need-to-know bits of information for students and their families. Orientation, registration, open house and the first day of school At Clatskanie Elementary School (CES), class begins for all students on Sept. 3. At Clatskanie Middle/ High School (CMHS), school begins for 7th grade, 8th grade and all new students on Sept. 3. All other students begin on Sept. 4. Before their first day, students at CMHS had to attend registration on Aug. 20. Kindergarteners at CES attended the school’s Kinder Kamp Aug. 12–23.
“Students who attended got a head start on the routines and expectations of kindergarten. They learned songs, played and got to know their teachers,” Hurowitz said. According to Hurowitz, CES has 70 registered kindergarteners. Both schools are continuing to register new students. Open house for CES will be Sept. 10 from 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Focusing on attendance, math, social/emotional needs and the future of the facilities This year, CSD will be paying particular attention to attendance. “I want to share how important it is to come to school regularly,” Hurowitz said. “When a student misses a day of school, they miss a lot of material. College and careers begin in kindergarten.” Other focus areas will be on improving math scores and making a positive climate culture at each school. “It’s all about providing a climate
and culture where kids feel cared about and care about each other and have a sense of belonging and feel safe at school,” Tiffany O’Donnell said. In order to do that at CES, O’Donnell said teachers will contact parents and guardians before the start of school to introduce themselves and talk to them about the importance of attendance. At CMHS, there will be a new student wellness room as well as individual and group counseling offered to students in need. Finally, CSD will be soliciting opinions from parents/guardians, students and other stakeholders about what they envision for the future of the facilities. “We want to hear what you want our schools to look like in the future,” Hurowitz
See SCHOOL Page A7
Photo: CRFR
A tree on Simmons road near Rainier caught fire after it was struck by lightning, according to a report from Columbia River Fire & Rescue (CRFR) CRFR said at around 2 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29, thunder and lightning rolled across the fire district. Firefighters from CRFR Rainier Station and Oregon De-
partment of Forestry responded to the tree fire to investigate, finding it had been split by a lightning strike and was burning inside. There were numerous lightning strikes reported throughout the area. It is possible there are more of these so-called “lightning trees” with fire burning in them. If you see smoke, please call 911.
A place for people to fall: Jordan Center to be revamped JULIE THOMPSON chronicle1@countrymedia.net
Sometimes those navigating the mental health system just need a place to land with like-minded peers who understand what they’re going through and have been there themselves. They need someplace to hang out, to connect, maybe play a few games, and to socialize when their illness might otherwise tell them to isolate themselves.
With that in mind, the Jordan Center will be seeing big changes this year in an effort to expand their program and make the building more comfortable, thanks to new direction from Columbia Community Mental Health (CCMH) and community partnerships with Wauna Federal Credit Union, NAMI Oregon and donor Peggy Hammond. The Jordan Center, located at 297 S. 1st Street, first opened in 2012 and has been a resource for CCMH clients and community members seeking support and alternatives to traditional mental health services. The center is named for Nick Jordan, a long-time, well-liked client who passed away from cancer. Hammond was his mother and is credited by those involved as being a major force in helping secure needed funds, as initial funding came from a state grant and private donors. “Peggy would say that this center was the key to him having quality of life,” CCMH Public Relations and Director of Development, Hope Wirta said. According to Wirta, the Jordan Center came about after several years of planning by a Consumer Council that was organized and mentored by Linda Pritchett of CCMH. The council incorporated ideas from the recovery movement, which focused on empowering mental health clients through peer support and other clientcentered, non-traditional methods. After the center opened, the peers working there splintered off and created their own organization and board, with a plan to become a private non-profit. However, this never came to fruition. So, in 2018, after spending some years floating the rent and bills, CCMH began taking a more active role in overseeing Jordan Center activities. According to The Jordan Center’s Clinical Director, Ben Weaver, those on the Jordan Center board have now been asked to be a part of an Advisory Council, who will continue to retain input into how the center is run. CCMH Executive Director Julia Jackson said CCMH stepped
Julie Thompson/The Chief
Wauna Communications Specialist, Michael Murdoch, CCMH Executive Director Julia Jackson, CCMH PR and Director of Development, Hope Wirta, and Jordan Center Clinical Director, Ben Weaver, stand alongside Nick Jordan’s photo inside the Jordan Center.
in to take ownership of the center, to ensure it had the finances and the staffing it needed, but wants to keep the program in line with the same community investment model it has always been, run by Peer Support Specialists and volunteers. “I would say we’re just in the infancy stages and have a really exciting future ahead of how we’re going to grow this center and we’re not going to do it on our own,” Jackson said. “I think there are some exciting possibilities with some of our other key partners and players in the community that we are absolutely going to approach and involve, whether on a staffing level, financial investment level, referral level – let’s get this place popping. Let’s have this be a main hub.” Jackson envisions the program will work much in the way the St.
Helens Recreation Center is operating to provide engagement for community members, with the Jordan Center’s eyes on supporting those with mental health struggles. “This could be so much more and that’s why we really stepped in. We want to get it there, but we’re going to do it through staying true to that peer model and community investment,” Jackson said. Wauna Federal Credit Union was the first to step in to pledge some funding, though a ballpark figure for what the work will require is still being figured out. Wauna’s Communications Specialist, Michael Murdoch, said he was originally approached for the project in the spring and, though he’d heard of The Jordan Center, he didn’t know much about it – which unfortunately, seems to be the norm. “One of the core values for credit
unions worldwide is community reinvestment,” Murdoch said. “That’s a very high-level thing for Wauna, specifically in Columbia County, because this is a place we’ve been for around 52 years. So, when it comes to something like this, I said, ‘Yeah, absolutely.’ We want to be involved on any level and that’s why I’m sitting here today, because we believe in community reinvestment.” Currently, the center is predominantly run and managed by Peer Support Specialist Kim LaPlante, who spends about 20 hours a week there. She keeps the building open, makes lunch (for which about 30 people show up regularly to eat and volunteer) and coordinates activities.
See CENTER Page A2