GP makes $25 million investment at Wauna Mill JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
Georgia-Pacific (GP) has announced a $25 million investment at the Wauna Mill in the Clatskanie area for a new Angel Soft bath tissue converting line. Wauna Mill produces millions of cases of Angel Soft bath tissue each year that are shipped to customers throughout the western United States. The Wauna Mill’s vision is to safely and responsibly provide the best value products to customers, and the new converting line will help achieve that goal, according to Wauna Mill spokesperson Kristi Ward. “The new converting line takes large rolls of bath tissue that come from our paper machine and turns those larger roles into the size rolls consumers purchase,” Ward said. “During the next year, it will be assembled at the mill before starting up sometime in 2021.” The investment will help the company improve its competitiveness in the market, Wauna Mill Vice President and mill manager Jeremy
The Wauna Mill is currently hiring to prepare for the new tissue production line.
Ness said. “I am proud of all of the Wauna team’s efforts to earn this investment and our track record of serving our customers with a quality product. In addition, I am excited for the new job opportunities this brings for the team members who staff this new line,” he said.
Clatskanie City Manager Greg Hinkelman said the mill investment is a positive economic signal for the city. “This is great news,” Hinkelman said. “It shows Corporate GP’s commitment to the Wauna Mill and its long term future. We welcome the
ZIP code area of 97016 since the pandemic began. It has the fourth highest cumulative case count by ZIP code in the county. In his weekly update to the county Board of Commissioners, Public Health Director Michael Paul said it will take a while before in-person schooling can resume. “When we’re talking about school metrics, we’re really going the wrong direction as far as meeting those metrics,” Paul said. To meet the metrics needed to reopen in-person learning, the county must sustain three weeks of reporting less than 10 cases per 100,000 people. For Columbia
County, that means reporting five or fewer cases a week to meet the mark. “The way this week looks, we are not going to be anywhere near 10 cases per 100,000,” Paul said. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported five new cases in the county on Monday, Oct. 5, pushing back Columbia County yet again. Three new cases were reported on Tuesday, and seven on Wednesday, making a midweek total case count of 15. As of Wednesday the county
Position 1
businesses and citizens, improved internet access to facilitate working from home and distance learning, and to provide the necessary public health services that will guide us successfully through the pandemic allowing us to reopen schools, businesses and other activities. My goal is to grow employment in all areas of Columbia County while maintaining livability; to achieve a balance between large industries, small business, natural resource industries and agriculture. Columbia County has an extremely high percentage of residents who must commute outside the county to their jobs, robbing us of the community involvement of active, healthy families. I am dedicated to expanding existing businesses and to bringing in new enterprises to provide the jobs we need and the tax revenue that supports our county services. I will strive to bring more family-wage jobs to our county while still being conscious of our current resources and the environment. I am dedicated to providing
Photo courtesy of from Wauna Mill
investment and the prospect of new jobs.” To prepare for the new line, the Wauna Mill is currently hiring entry level technicians. Ward said while she could not provide a specific number of people the mill is seeking for the new tissue
production, she said Wauna Mill continues to hire for several positions including electricians, however, the mill is seeking entry level technicians for the tissue converting line. “Team members who are already at the facility will bid into these new positions on the Angel Soft line,” Ward said. “However, we will need to hire and train new team members to work the vacated positions. These are union positions with United Steelworkers Local 1097 and they are shift work.” Ward said the mill is seeking people who like to work around machinery and automated equipment, including equipment basic care, and enjoy working with other people to make a quality product. “We do offer-on-the job training and there are advancement opportunities,” Ward said. “We are also seeking electricians and these could be dayshift or shift positions.” Interested parties can apply at www.kochcareers.com and select the Clatskanie location. Wauna Mill, at 92326 Taylorville Road in Clatskanie, currently employs approximately 725 team members.
COVID-19 cases soar in county MONIQUE MERRILL chronicle2@countrymedia.net
All in-person extracurricular activities at Clatskanie Middle/High School have been suspended, starting Wednesday, Oct. 7, in response to rising cases in the county, according to an email from Principal Kimberly Oblack. Only students without internet access and special education students will be allowed in the building, Oblack wrote, and that restrictions may increase if numbers continue to rise. Thirty cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the Clatskanie
See COVID-19 Page A6
Graphic courtesy of Columbia County Public Health Department
Election 2020: County Commission race STAFF REPORT chiefnews@countrymedia.net
The 2020 General Election is on Tuesday, Nov. 3. This year there are four candidates vying for two county commission seats. Incumbent Margaret Magruder in Position 1 is challenged by Brandee Dudzic and Position 3 incumbent Alex Tardif is challenged by Casey Garrett. Magruder and Tardif were elected to their first terms in 2016; Dudzic is a veteran and founder of a nonprofit that supports U.S. veterans who have been deported, Garrett currently works for the county as director of general services. The four candidates responded to the Chief’s inquiry answering the question seen below. Answers have not been edited and run in full. If elected, what will be your top three priorities? Please explain your choices.
Margaret Magruder, incumbent: Columbia County residents want good schools, public safety, good roads, support for veterans, recreational opportunities, and access to other local government services. I have made these goals a priority by budgeting conscientiously, working to attract new businesses, supporting responsible growth of new and existing businesses, and the continued development of our parks and trails. Our current overarching need is to maintain the health of our citizens and the health of the economy of Columbia County during and following the present pandemic. Federal Funding available through the CARES Act provides us with the ability to address local needs arising from the pandemic. We must utilize those funds wisely. This includes making personal protective equipment accessible for our citizens, options of financial support for
county services in the most efficient ways possible with improved technology, expanded collaboration with private and public partners, and the employment and retention of high caliber staff. It is my goal to ensure that all county residents are represented, responded to, and respected by all departments of Columbia County Government. I believe that through an open exchange of ideas, I can continue to help bring balance to the environmental, economic, and cultural concerns of county residents and of our neighbors across county lines. I look forward to continuing to work closely with my fellow citizens to promote the prosperity of the county we call home, while protecting its livability. Brandee Dudzic: My top three priorities are accountability, livability, and our youth. One of the best parts of living in a small community is the ability to know your neighbors, be involved
in your community, and participate in local government in a way that might not be possible in a larger metropolitan area. I believe that access to public meetings and our elected officials must not only be protected, but greatly expanded upon. Columbia County is wonderfully diverse, and successful leaders include everyone in their plans; that is why I am going to rotate our weekly commissioner board meetings to ensure that every single person has the chance to be heard in their own town. I also commit to making my work calendar a public document, easily accessible by anyone, anytime, so you know exactly where I am, what I am working on, and how I am fighting for you. This is transparency in action. Livability is much more than just access to utilities and infrastructure; it is about our quality of life. I care about your capacity for homeownership or ability to
See ELECTION Page A3