e e r
F
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Popular city parade returns
The 2017 Kiwanis Community Parade moves along Columbia Boulevard.
Originally published in The Chronicle Vol. 140 April 20, 2022 JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
“Coming Back Together 2022” is the theme of the annual St. Helens Kiwanis Community Parade to be held in June. The popular event that attracts thousands to the city has been absent for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic but returns June 18. Organizers have been spending the past weeks organizing the return of the parade that will include 26 categories. As of April 19, the participants include Columbia River Fire & Rescue, law enforcement, The Columbia County Rodeo and Fair Court, bands, sports teams, youth groups, clowns, commercial businesses, service organizations, public works, antique and custom vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles,
animals including horses and pooper scoopers, and an open class category. “Our parade is open to anyone, businesses, organizations, no matter where you live,” the St. Helens Community Parade Committee members told The Chronicle. The parade registration and staging begins at 9 a.m. at Emmert Motors, 2175 Columbia Boulevard. Participants are staged on the surrounding blocks off of Columbia Boulevard. Judging starts at 11 a.m. and the parade starts at 12 p.m. Registration packets are available at st.helenskiwanisparade@ gmail.com, or contact Lisa Lewis at 503-407-7916 or Judy Thompson at 503-3976056. Advanced registration is encouraged but may be conducted the day of the parade. Organizers ask that participants read and closely follow the parade rules. There is no registration fee. The parade begins at 2175 Columbia Boulevard across from Emmert Mo-
Chronicle photo
tors and will travel down Columbia Boulevard as it turns into 1st Street and continues past the Dockside Steak & Pasta Restaurant onto the riverfront property and will exit onto Plymouth Street. “Parades are important events for every community, but the St. Helens Kiwanis Community Parade is unique,” the committee members said. “This parade doesn’t depend on a holiday to support it. It is all about the community itself, bringing us all together, showing off what we do, what we stand for, why we live here, and what we are proud of. The parade itself offers an opportunity for people to have an idea, organization, be creative, set a goal, make something
The 2019 Kiwanis Community Parade.
from concept to completion.” According to the committee, the thrill of standing in a crowd of people and listening to the approaching sounds of a marching band, horses, sirens, engines revving and clowns stirring the children to laughter are key elements of the community parade. “You get to see fire trucks and police cars in a state of happiness, not in a hurry to an emergency where something bad has happened,” the members said. “In America, it’s part of our collective memory growing up. Parade day is a day we allow ourselves young and old to simply just enjoy what will have in our community. And its free!” Around the first of the year, the Kiwanis Com-
munity Parade Committee began looking at bringing the parade back following the pandemic. “Keep in mind a twoyear gap is like having a car in the garage that has not run for two years and now you want to get it back on the road,” the parade committee members stated. “With confidence that our parade is possible, we got serious and formed a parade committee, rallied sponsors and business support.” St. Helens Kiwanis have hosted St. Helens Community Parade for many years after the parade was faced with no one to organize and facilitate the event. The St. Helens Kiwanis stepped in and took on the responsibility for the parade. “Due to pandemic and uncertainty, it would be very difficult for another organization to step up at the last moment,” the parade committee told The Chronicle. “St. Helens Kiwanis had kept good documents involved with the parade and some Kiwanis members involved in past
Chronicle photo
parades offered their expertise, so we thought we had a good chance of bringing the parade back this year.” While the Kiwanis are the lead parade organizer, the members said they cannot conduct the event alone. “We are grateful to the sponsors, and community volunteers for pitching in,” the parade committee members said. “This year that will be more important than ever!” Specific details about the history of the Community Parade are unclear, but the committee members said the event has been called the Salmon Derby, Port of Fun, and evolved into the St. Helens Kiwanis Community Parade. The 2022 parade is said to be the 107th such event. Look for a special Chronicle print and online presentation about the 2022 St. Helens Kiwanis Community Parade in early June packed full of articles, the parade route and fun information.
A girl and her teddy bear Originally published in The Chief Vol. 130 April 22, 2022 ZOE GOTTLIEB chronicle2@countrymedia.net
A little girl and her pink teddy bear are reunited, thanks to a Rainier police officer and a good Samaritan. Four-year-old Karly Stoddard lost Nina, her stuffed companion, at T-ball practice on Friday, April 15. “I had to go to work, so I dropped her and her dad off at the playground,” Katie Stoddard, the girl’s mother, explained. “She insisted on taking her bear with her because she had 45 minutes before her practice for T-ball. Her dad and I told her to leave it in the car, but she is very determined, so she got her way.” “I guess when she went to go do her T-ball practice, she set the bear down and then was going to come back and get it afterward,” Stoddard continued. “It was gone. We’re like well, you learned your lesson. Don’t take your toys when we tell you not to. And then yesterday is when they posted about (the bear).” On Monday morning, Rainier Police Department Clerk Susan Sullivan opened her email inbox to find an unusual request waiting for her. “This pink teddy bear was found, lost and all alone in the city park on April 15, by a concerned and worried young girl,” the email read. “The lass, with fierce determination, brought the obviously wellloved toy to me, and asked us to find its owner, and thereby,
reunite this beloved toy with its distraught owner and prove to the world that good things are out there if you just try to find them.” With photos of the bear for Sullivan’s reference, the sender ended the email with a straightforward ask: “Can you put this little bear out on the PD Facebook page?” That sender was Rainier Police Officer Douglas Wheeler. Sullivan immediately honored Wheeler’s request, issuing the following post under the Rainier PD Facebook account. “A young lady found a pink bear that was lost at the city park,” according to the post. “The bear was brought to the police department where it had quite an adventuresome evening. The bear is now ready to be reunited with its family. Please call or stop by the department if this is your furry friend. 503-556-3644.” Stoddard said she first became acquainted with the Facebook post when it circulated in one of her group chats. “I’m in my son’s baseball team group texts,” Stoddard said. “One of the moms saw the post and sent it in the
Courtesy photo from Rainier PD
‘Nina’ the teddy bear posed on the roof of a Rainier Police patrol car.
group text, and that’s how I saw it.” At around 3:30 p.m., Stoddard took Karly to the police station to retrieve her furry companion. According to Stoddard, Karly’s initial reaction was, “want(ing) to know if they could find out who stole her teddy bear.” “I think it’s great. It’s beautiful. I thought it was very sweet,” Stoddard said of the Rainier Police Department’s response. “It was a kind gesture.” “Even with the police pos-
ing the bear on their car with the lights and stuff, I thought that was very funny and very cute,” she added. “I’m very thankful for our community.” According to Sullivan, the officers’ scope of responsibilities goes beyond chasing down bad guys and making arrests. “I think criminal calls are only a part of what we do. We actually do a fair amount of community policing,” she said. “If we have something that’s important to the citizens, it’s important to our departCourtesy photo from Katie Stoddard ment.” Four-year-old Karly Stoddard with her pink teddy bear.