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Friday, October 7, 2016
The Chief
$1 Vol. 125, No. 21 8 Pages
Serving the Lower Columbia Region Since 1891
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Council disbands police department, contracts with sheriff’s office contracting with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office for city law enforcement. Following the presentation, Hinkelman recommended the council approved the contracting out contract. Councilor David True voted against the contract plan. “We didn’t explore any other options,” True said following the council meeting. “I just think we didn’t do our due diligence as a city council.” True said the contract is a good option, but the council needed to look at retaining the Clatskanie Police Department and funding it in-house with a reduced force. “We will be using city tax money to fund what has even been called a North County Substation and its going to include coverage outside our normal
BY JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
The Clatskanie City Council voted to disband its city police department in favor of contracting law enforcement services with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. The official vote came Wednesday night, Oct. 5, during the regular Clatskanie City Council meeting. The action followed several months of public discussion and public hearings about the cost of operating the city police department. During the Oct. 5 meeting in which about 25 people attended, Clatskanie City Manager Greg Hinkelman presented a power point slide show detailing the advantages and cost savings of
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DAWNDI MCQUIDDY / THE CHIEF
Members of the Clatskanie Rural Fire Protection District used the old City Hall to conduct roof top firefighter training on Friday, Sept. 30. See video of the training at thechiefnews.com. The old city hall building on Nehalem Street is scheduled to be demolished and a parking lot designed to serve the Clatskanie Cultural Center will be constructed in its place. Follow the project online at thechiefnews.com and in the Friday editions of The Chief.
COURTESY PHOTO
Clatskanie City Manager Greg Hinkelman, far left, presents his report and recommendations to the Clatskanie City Council to disband the city police department in favor of contracting law enforcement services with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
Plans reveled for sinkhole fix BY JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
JEREMY C. RUARK / THE CHIEF
The Columbia Soil and Water Conservation District, in partnership with the City of Rainier, and state and federal permitting agencies, have unveiled a solution for repairing the sinkhole west of Highway 30 along Fox Creek. The sinkhole occurred following flooding last December. Columbia Soil and Water Conservation District Executive Director Kari Hollander said the flooding added to the ground and culvert collapse issue. “The culvert failed,” she said. “It’s nothing but rust and because water is cutting into the soil and the weight of the soil above the culvert finally gave way. The added water flow set up what was happening.” Hollander said another sinkhole is emerging at the site, increasing the concern. “There is another sinkhole that has started at the end of the block,” she said. “That sinkhole opening has increased about 300 percent since February. We believe it is developing
The City of Rainier and The Columbia Soil and Water Conservation District have partnered to move ahead with plans to fix this sinkhole west of Highway 30.
underground right now.” The repair project calls for removing the existing failing culvert from C Street to where the sinkhole is and continuing past the hole until a good connection point to the existing culvert can be found. Hollander said approximately 15 to 20 feet of material below ground will be taken out and a new culvert will be put into its place. Hollander calls the process a temporary long-term fix. “We are protecting the property by doing this project,” she said. “The future project would open up the culvert creating a flood plain so that the creek can be free flowing like it used to be.” The short-term repair work was expected to begin this month and is expected to take about 30 days to complete. Hollander said the cost of the shortterm repair isn’t clear yet. “It could be from $150,000 to $650,000 depending on the surprises we find,” she said. “It may be less. We need to account for a lot of unknowns, such as more or less fill. We may need to go deeper beneath ground. We just don’t know, so we need to make sure there are no surprises and that we have
the funds to handle the surprises.” Hollander said to develop a longterm fix for the sinkhole, a feasibility study will be conducted this winter to determine the scope of the project needed and the estimated cost of the repair. Hollander said the district has reached an agreement with The City of Rainier and affected property owners to fund the short-term repair. The bulk of the money will come from a federal emergency watershed protection fund through the Natural Resources Conservation Services. The City of Rainer has agreed to pay 25 percent of the cost. Four affected private property owners have also agreed to help pay a share of the cost at about $20,000 each. Some of the money has already been paid out to stabilize the area. Hollander gave the Rainier City Council an update of the sinkhole fix project during the council’s regular public meeting on Monday night, Oct. 3. See video of the Rainier sinkhole and follow developments of this story online at thechiefnews.com and in the Friday issues of The Chief.
Clatskanie artist connects dream with golf course knew he had the opportunity to add some touches of flair to Wildwood’s aesthetic. “What great family to work with,” Furnish said. “They really know how to treat an artist.” Working across many artistic platforms, Furnish has numerous portfolios to show prospective clients. “It gives you an opportunity to design without any constraint,” he said. “You don’t have to rely on anybody to fulfill your vision.” He said sometimes the process might take a piece of artwork across platforms, finding the desired result in a whole other medium. The first major project Furnish took on at Wildwood was a set of decorative panels that opened the view of the course from the clubhouse while creating a
BY CODY MANN
cmann@countrymedia.net
If anything could improve on the natural beauty of Wildwood Golf Course, it is the artistic touch of Clatskanie artist Jeremy Furnish. Furnish has completed a number of artworks in Columbia County in past years, most notably his glass lighting work in the Clatskanie Cultural Center. He recently created a metal and glass “Learning Tree” as part of a benefit drive for schools in Clatskanie as well. Furnish was helping a friend at Wildwood, located outside of Scappose, working as a laborer, moving rocks and other such tasks when course owner Bill O’Meara discovered Furnish was valuable as an artist. After a look at Furnish’s portfolio, O’Meara
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PHOTOS BY CODY MANN / THE CHIEF
Clatskanie artist Jeremy Furnish has conceived these art pieces for the Wildwood Golf Course.