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FRIDAY, JULY 2, 2021
VOL. 130, NO. 8 Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891
Oregon, Columbia County reopens JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net AURORA BIGGERS chronicle2@countrymedia.net
As Gov. Kate Brown’s executive order reopening the state’s economy took effect Wednesday, June 30, most businesses and public offices began to return to normalcy. “We are encouraging people to carefully reengage,” Clatskanie Chamber of Commerce Director Monica Seidl said. “We are hopeful for businesses to get back to work and be able to hire employees.” Seidl said the chamber is asking customers to be patient with businesses that are short staffed and doing what they can to navigate that situation.
We are encouraging people to carefully reengage. ~ Monica Seidl, Clatskanie Chamber of Commerce
“It has been a long year and a half, but I think this is a step in the right direction,” she said of the reopening. “Those who wanted to be vaccinated are, and those who have not been vaccinated have been given the opportunity. We all have different belief systems and need to respect everyone’s freedom. It is after-all our Independence Week. We should
Metro Creative Connection / The Chief
As Oregon emerges from the pandemic, businesses and government officials contacted by The Chief expressed cautious optimism.
all be celebrating our country and the right we have to be free.” At Bundy’s Cafe and Drive-In along Highway 30, the owner’s son, Tom Howe said, “I’m not sure about that yet” - when asked if they were changing policies. Howe said Bundy’s employees
were still wearing masks while on duty as of Wednesday afternoon, June 30. The Chief reached out to Clatskanie city officials for comments about the reopening, but had not received responses by press time.
Rainier already moving ahead In Rainier, City Administrator Scott Jorgensen said the Rainier City Hall reopened to the public several weeks ago, on March 1. “That was due to the county’s risk level being lowered at that
point from Extreme to High,” Jorgensen said. “Also, the city had received COVID-related grant funding to pay for a touchless entry system and safety and security enhancements to limit any potential exposure for employees and the public. Those improvements were completed in late February, so we felt it was appropriate to reopen and that it could be done safely at that time.” Jorgensen said the city council meetings were held via Zoom for a few months, but the city resumed traditional in-person meetings around in late spring, with social distancing and masks being worn by all. “It’s always been the city’s policy to adhere to the public health guidelines put forth by state regulators,” he said. “The widespread distribution of the vaccine and the wearing of masks gave those regulators enough confidence to move forward with lifting restrictions. Jorgensen said city employees are welcome to continue wearing face coverings if they wish, but the city has not imposed any restrictions beyond what state officials implemented. If the state is no longer requiring masks to be worn, Jorgensen said the city will not be requiring its employees to do so. “The public has endured much discomfort and inconvenience over the last year for the sake of limiting the spread of the virus,” he said. “Business owners have been strained by capacity limits See REOPEN Page A5
New city mural planned AURORA BIGGERS chronicle2@countrymedia.net
Courtesy photo from the Port of Columbia County
The NEXT Renewable Fuels biofuels plant will utilize this dock at Port Westward in Clatskanie.
What’s next for NEXT? JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
The Port of Columbia County has scheduled two community open houses to provide an update concerning development of a $1.6 billion renewable diesel production facility at Port Westward. The open house from 6 to 8 p.m. July 8, will be conducted at the Clatskanie Cultural Center, 75 S. Nehalem Street in Clatskanie and a second meeting will be held July 14 in St. Helens to update the progress of the NEXT Renewable Fuels bio-refinery project. Port Executive Director Doug Hayes told The Chief in an earlier published interview, that when complete, the NEXT Re-
Obituaries ................. A3 Clatskanie Grows .... A4 Classified Ads ......... A5 Crossword ................ A6 July 4th Events ..... A7-8
newable facility will have capacity to produce approximately 50,000 barrels a day of renewable diesel fuel. “Renewable diesel is different than other biofuels because it is a fully replaceable product to current diesel fuel and based on initial production, the net emissions savings will be equal to removing 1 million vehicles from the road,” Hayes said. “The facility will position Oregon — and Port Westward — as a leader in advanced biofuels production.” Hayes said more than 800 jobs will be created during the construction phase and more than 200 full time, highly paid and skilled jobs will be created once the facility is operating. NEXT had been navigating through the permitting process, working toward 2022, for the construction of the facility that was targeted to open in 2024. NEXT Renewable Fuels, Inc. Executive Chairman Chris Efrid said the project is on track and moving forward after some delays
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In April, Columbia County artist Jeremy Furnish announced plans for a new mural in Clatskanie, inspired by the literary works of Raymond Carver — a great American short story writer and poet who was born in Clatskanie in 1938. The design is now complete, and Furnish said the mural will be finished by the end of the summer. The mural is set to cover the south facing wall of Clatskanie’s former hospital, located on North Nehalem St. in downtown Clatskanie, visible from Highway 30. In 2020, Furnish issued a submission contest for local artists when he painted his first mural in Clatskanie, “Homeward Bound,” on the Clatskanie Hazen Hardware Building, featuring a group of Chinook salmon swimming upstream to spawn. The submission winner, Mark Kenny, is a Seaside resident, and said his design represents “community and the purpose of continuing on one’s offspring.” This year, Furnish issued a “Call to Artists / Request for Design Proposals,” asking student, emerging, and professional artists living in the Lower Columbia Region for his second mural—a design submissions inspired by the literary works of Carver. “Understanding that I’m not the only one who strives for creative freedom,” Furnish said, “I wanted to share opportunities with the creative folks of the community.” The deadline for the current submissions was May 16, and Furnish said a blind panel (the judges were not given the names or extraneous information about the artists who submitted designs) of five judges selected the submission winners. Seaside resident Dylan Eckland’s submission was selected as first place by the judges, Furnish said, and will
Courtesy photo
Mural submission winner Dylan Eckland based his concept on Raymond Carver’s naturalistic poetry and the natural setting of Clatskanie near Beaver Falls. This conceptual photo shows how the mural will look on the side of the building on Nehalem Street.
be the concept used for the mural. A tattoo artist who runs a private shop in Seaside, Eckland said mural art was a natural outflowing of his creative pursuits. “I grew up doing a lot of art in my free time, and I actually never went to college for art, just my normal high school art classes,” Eckland explained. While in college, Eckland continued his artistic interests on the side but later decided to go back to school to become a tattoo artist. “Personally, I’m thrilled with the level of community support, the efforts and quality of the submissions that we received, and the time and dedication of the jury to make the difficult decisions.” Eckland’s mural submission features a portrait of Raymond Carver alongside Beaver Falls and a quote from Carver’s poem Where Water Comes Together With Other Water: “I’ll take all the time I please this afternoon before leaving my place
alongside this river.” “I didn’t want to use anything too dark,” Eckland explained. “I wanted to use something that had nature in it, since we have a lot of nature out here, as we do in the northwest. [The quote] seemed very fitting, and the poem just kind of stood out to me.” As the first place winner, Eckland will receive a cash prize of $1,500, which he plans to use with his family to pay the mortgage on their home. The second and third places, Audrey Christo and Mark Kenny, will receive honorarium cash prizes of $300 and $200, respectively. “[Winning] means a lot, I do tattoos every day, but this is my first public art thing. I’ve never had any of my art slung across the side of the building where people are going to walk past it every day, so it means a lot,” Eckland said of his win.
Phone: 503-397-0116 Fax: 503-397-4093 chiefnews@countrymedia.net 1805 Columbia Blvd., St. Helens, OR 97051
ColumbiaCountyOR.Gov/Vaccine | 503-397-7247
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