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‘Simple’ assignment gains world attention

Originally published in The Chronicle Vol. 141

May 31, 2023

JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.

What a local teacher has done is gaining worldwide attention.

St. Helens Middle School Band Director Travis Freshner has composed music for the school students called, “Tantrum.”

The music has been performed by schools in Oregon and southwest Washington and is gaining worldwide attention. Kjos Music, one of the world’s leading publishers of band music, has decided to publish “Tantrum” worldwide.

“In addition, J.W. Pepper, the distributor who everyone buys almost all of their band music from, has selected it to be part of their “Editor’s Choice” collection, which is used to signify what they see as being the best of new pieces to come out this year from any publisher,” Lisa Scholl of the St. Helens Band Patrons said. “St. Helens Middle School Band is printed at the top of every page.”

The Chronicle has reached out to Travis Freshner to gain insight into this music project.

The Chronicle: Why did you compose Tantrum and what does it mean to you

and to your students?

Travis Freshner: Tantrum began as a simple extension of a project I was doing with my classes. I often do simple creativity and composition assignments with my students, just to introduce them to the idea of creating something musical of their own. Then I decided that if I was going to ask them to try something new, it was only fair for me to try something new, too. So, while they were given a smaller and simpler project, I gave myself the challenge of writing something on a larger scale for them, which eventually turned into Tantrum.

The piece was inspired by my observations as a young father; not just of my own son’s behavior, but also by the behaviors I saw from other kids when dealing with the hardships and frustrations of toddlerhood. Throughout the piece, I tried to capture the different stages or phases of a fullblown meltdown tantrum.

The Chronicle: What do you hope the students take away from this music and from their experience in your class?

Freshner: One of my goals has always been to show kids that they are capable of so much more than they realize, whether it be in

music or in life. Our society often sets the bar so low and I am here to show them that it doesn’t have to be that way. With high-quality instruction in well-structured learning environments, there is no limit to what they can accomplish.

The Chronicle: Briefly,

what is your teaching background?

Freshner: This is my 15th year of teaching and my 5th year here at St. Helens Middle School. I have taught band at the elementary, middle, and high school levels as well as community college,

where I also taught music composition and trumpet. I also work as a music arranger, where I have written music for groups all across the country as well as for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The New York Philharmonic, and the World Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Travis is married to Noelle Freshner, who is the Band, Leadership and Activities Director at St. Helens High School.

Who We Are is a frequent feature in The Chronicle, highlighting those in our community who are making a positive difference.

Clatskanie Farmers Market returns for 10th year

Originally published in The Chief Vol. 132 June 2, 2023

WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.

The Clatskanie Farmers Market is returning for its 10th year this summer, and the people of Clatskanie and those transiting Highway 30 will have something to look forward to each Saturday through September.

The 2023 Saturday Farmers Markets begin June 3 and are conducted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Clatskanie’s Cope’s Park

The market was first established in 2014 in the community.

Executive Director Jasmine Lillich and her partner and Clatskanie Farmers Market Board President Brandon Schilling said they are excited about the continued growth of the market.

The Farmers Market became a nonprofit 501(c) (3) in 2015 and received a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant in 2017. That grant has laid the groundwork for the farmers market as an established force with financial credibility.

Lillich and Schilling moved back to Clatskanie in March 2020 and took on leadership roles for the Clatskanie Farmers Market from the original founders. Their goal was to expand the number of vendors in the market and get more customers.

“So [the founders] decided to take a step back and step down from the board, and we assembled a whole new board with new energy, and some still founding members on that board, but we kind of reinvigorated and had a new vision for the farmers market,” Lillich said.

“One: attract more vendors. Which is a desire; you want to go and find a lot of vendors when you go to a market,

right? So that was a big goal. And two: attract more customers.”

Growth during COVID

Lillich said they have had great success in achieving those goals. Lillich and Schilling took on their roles for the market in November of 2020 after their first year as vendors. During COVID, Lillich said they didn’t see a big impact in participation in the market from customers or vendors.

The Clatskanie Farmers Market is part of the North Coast Food Trail, which is a tourism resource and guide to food-related businesses throughout the North Coast. Lillich said many of the Food Trail’s businesses grew rather than shrunk during the pandemic.

“For me, it’s been really amazing to sound the call to local producers and see all the amazing personalities come out of the woodwork who didn’t have a platform that they really could depend on or have the time to engage with,” Schilling said. “Now that there’s sort of this

critical mass building, I think people are feeling a lot more comfortable to come out and incorporate their businesses and livelihood in a more communal fashion.”

The Famers Market saw an increase in new vendors and more excitement around local food and local goods due to supply chain disruption during COVID. They also saw an influx of customers. Lillich and Schilling are thankful for the infrastructure the market’s founders Darro Breshears-Routon, Steve Routon, Lynn Green, Sonia Storm-Reagan, Wanda Derby, Becky White, Kris Lillich, and Tracy Prescott-MacGregor laid.

“The last three years, I’ve just been so grateful to step into an organization that has been so well established. And be able to learn how a non-profit works, how it functions,” Lillich said. “I’ve written probably $140,000 worth of grants for the farmers market in the last two years. But that was all because of the founders.”

For opening day, the Farmers Market will have 26 vendors, up from 13 vendors

on opening day last year. Lillich said they already have 42 vendors signed up to vend on different days throughout the season. Last year there were 446 customers on opening day, so she’s hoping for about 700 at the opening weekend this year. The vendors offer fresh produce and pantry staples, art and crafts, body products, plants & starts, and food and drink options.

Lillich and Schilling have enacted a variety of strategies to help get more participation and customers to the market. The Clatskanie Farmers Market has started throwing festival days where certain products are the focus for vendors.

“That has been part of our strategy is to have these themed festivals. And that’s a strategy for food hubs, too, is to really push when something comes in to harvest. Like apples, or garlic, or honey, to have a day around that to really push those sales because there’s an abundance of that certain product at that time,” Lillich said. “Customers love it; vendors love it because they can get rid of this surplus that otherwise needs

to be canned or preserved in some way if they don’t sell it all fresh.”

This year, there will be four festival days. The Spout Festival June 10 is directed at engaging kids. July 29 is the Pollination Celebration. August 19 is the Garlic Festival, which Lillich said is one of the most popular days, and drew over 800 customers last year. September 30 is the Harvest Festival, the season’s final festival day.

Lillich and Schilling have also enhanced the live music component of the Farmers Market. Through $2,000 grants from the Columbia County Cultural Coalition, the Farmers Market has been able to pay the musicians at the market and attract bigger bands to the market.

Supporting those in need

Keeping the Farmers Market accessible to customers and vendors is important, according to Lillich, who added that they have some of the lowest vendor fees in the state of Oregon, and she doesn’t want to raise the fees as a way to help vendors who may be experiencing economic hardship.

On the flip side of that, the market also accepts food assistance currencies. Customers can use their EBT SNAP card at the market and can also use EBT cash. Customers using EBT SNAP are eligible to receive up to $20 of “double up food bucks tokens.” This means that those using their EBT card for $20 will get a free $20 cash match for free produce.

Selected vendors also provide food assistance through the Farm Direct Nutrition Program, which is for people eligible for the Women Infants and Children program and senior citizens.

The Clatskanie Farmers Market also has a program to engage children where kids

from ages 3-12 get a free “power of produce token,” which is a $2 produce token that kids can use to buy produce from farmers directly. The money to fund that program comes from the local Kiwanis Club.

Lillich and Schilling thanked the City of Clatskanie and Clatskanie’s Parks and Rec department for their support of the market and for getting it to the point it is today. Parks and Rec allows the market to use the park facilities for free. The city has allowed the market to have one business license that allows all the vendors to sell.

A message to the community Lillich and Schilling said they couldn’t express enough gratitude to the community for making all of this possible. They said that without the community, the Clatskanie Farmers Market would not be a reality.

“The reason why the system works is because Clatskanie and Columbia County show up. And if they ever stop showing up, this won’t work,” Lillich said. “Direct-to-farmer sales matter significantly. There are no middlemen. There’s no extra transportation. We help with the producer’s marketing. It’s a system that really benefits our local farmers, and because we have such a broken food system in our country and really in our world, we need to buy direct from our farmers as much as we can.”

Lillich hopes in the coming years the Clatskanie Farmers Market will be acting as a support service for beginning and established farmers.

Find more information about the Clatskanie Farmers Market at https://www. clatskaniefarmersmarket. com.

Courtesy photo

Travis Freshner conducting/directing the St. Helens Middle School music program students.

Courtesy photo from Jasmine Lillich

Nearly 450 people attended the opening day of the Clatskanie Farmers Market in 2022.

M-Th. Apply in person only. 33550 SE Santosh St. Scappoose, OR 97056. Sexton

The Rainier Cemetery District is accepting applications for a SextonMaintenance and Facilities Manager.

General Position Summary: The Sexton will oversee the scheduling of maintenance of the twelve cemeteries in the district, all equipment, and facilities within the district, this will

include outside contract servicing when necessary. This position will also include mowing, trimming, minor equipment, and facility repairs as needed. The Sexton will work closely with the Office Manager to keep all burials and state mandated documents filled out and up to date. The Sexton will be responsible for directing at least one other maintenance person and volunteers when available. Pay range: $48,000 to $60,000 annually, dependent upon experience. For the

complete job description and an application, please visit the District’s website: rainier cemeterydistrict. com, under Employment Opportunities. Applications must be received by 5:00pm on Sunday, June 18th, by email: office@rainiercemetery district.com or to the PO Box 307, Clatskanie OR 97016.

702

Garage Sales

Garage Sale June 9th and 10th from 9 to 4. 520 Lincoln Street, Columbia City.

Garage Sale Sat June 10th 9am- 5pm 503860-7263. On the corner of 444 S. 15th and old Portland Rd. Crab rings, duck decoys, lawn chair, mag rack, retro tv, vintage dolls, cars and toys.

706

Estate Sales

Estate Sale by EDM Estate Sales June 9, 10, 11 in Vernonia on Keasey Rd, follow signs. Fri & Sat 104, Sun 10-3. This is a 40-acre property with a lot of good-

ies. We have a tractor, generator, pressure washers, jewelry, watches, rocks, and RV, old Signage, musical instruments, vinyl, antiques, vintage collectables, furniture, a lot of tools, clothes, computers, new in box items, art, purses, glassware, sports

NEW TO THE CHRONICLE

NEW TO THE CHRONICLE

Online Insert Flipp Interactive

Online Insert Flipp Interactive

Exclusive Deals from Fred Myer and more! go to thechronicleonline.com/inserts

Exclusive Deals from Fred Myer and more! go to thechronicleonline.com/inserts

The Kiwanis Club of St. Helens Community Parade

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Theme: “The Wisdom of Columbia County”

Registration: 9:00 – 11:00 am Judging: 11:00 am Parade Starts: 12:00 pm

DO NOT THROW CANDY FROM YOUR VEHICLE.

If you plan on distributing candy during the parade, please have someone walk along beside your vehicle and either hand them out or toss them gently under-handed. Kids will chase candy even crossing in front of vehicles, direct your gentle toss of candy away from parade vehicles.

RULES APPLICABLE TO ALL MOUNTED ANIMAL ENTRIES

1. No stallions allowed in the parade.

2. Each entry, either single or group, is required to provide their own “pooper scooper” to follow each horse entry in the parade. The “pooper scoopers” are encouraged to register as parade entrant and become eligible for an award in their own categor y.

3. Any rider who is experiencing difficulty in controlling their horse is required to immediately dismount until the issue is resolved between horse and rider. If safety and control are reestablished, the rider is permitted to remount and continue in the parade. If not, the rider is required to remove the horse from the parade.

4. A handler is required to walk along horseback riders under the age of 13. There may be a ratio of one handler per three entries and no more.

5. Any parade official or those acting under instruction of the parade committee may evict/ eliminate a rider from the parade at any time if any of the above rules are not followed. The rider must dismount and walk the animal in a controlled manner or must leave the parade route.

Special Events Liability Checklist for Parade Event

1). Parade Marching Bands and Walking Groups need to have water, provide assistance to their members.

2). All parade group entries need to have basic first aid kits accessible.

3). Parade Standards to be enforced are:

• No Firearms, No Smoking, No Alcohol

• No Water Balloons or Sprayed Water on Community Watching the Parade

• No Exposed Wheels on Float Trailers

4). Unregistered Parade entries and unable to comply with parade rule will be removed.

5). In the event of any high risk motorized demonstration that participants may want to exhibit, that will require permission, signed waivers of liability.

NOTE: Your signature on Registration will confirm you have read and will comply will Rules and Liability Checklist. Be Safe! Have Fun! Thank You for Participating!

Embrace a Welcoming Atmosphere

After a long wait, we are thrilled to announce that Community Meals is once again opening its doors for indoor dining! Join us at First Lutheran Evangelical Church every Tuesday! Doors open at 5 PM and food is served from 5:30 PM to 6 PM. As we reopen our doors for indoor dining, we invite you to step into a space filled with compassion, understanding, and acceptance. Our Community Meals event is open to everyone, regardless of age, background, or circumstances. Together, we can make a difference, one meal at a time.

B S C R I B E T O D A Y

For Kiwanis Use Only

Assigned Entry Number Award