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SHHS Jazz Band takes State Championship

Originally published in The Chronicle Vol. 141 May 24, 2023

WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.

The St. Helens High School Jazz Band has been crowned state champions after their performance at the OMEA State Jazz Championship. Performing at the Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham on May 19, the St. Helens Jazz Band beat out Estacada High School, Molalla, and Stayton High

School to take first place. Band Director Noelle Freshner was ecstatic about the performance and the result that was earned through each of the musician’s hard work.

“There was, for sure, a nervous energy the whole time. They were well prepared and had every reason to be confident, but when you are playing in a new hall, on equipment you are not used to, and surrounded by microphones, you can get in your head and make mistakes,” Freshner said. “We were also excited to see a good size audience when we

got on stage. A perk of being the last band on before the award presentation. There is a different energy when you have a full audience versus at some festivals where you have just a couple of bands and the judges.”

With the exception of one musician, the entire Jazz Band is made up of students who are also part of the Wind Ensemble, who finished second in their state competition. The band is made up of six saxes (three altos, two tenors, and a bari), four trombones, five

trumpets, two percussionists, a piano player, and a bass player. Their set features four songs by four different composers.

According to Freshner, their set included Invitation by Bronislau Kaper (a light swing chart that moves into an Afro-Cuban style), Goodbye My Heart by Mike Smukal (a ballad featuring one of the senior alto sax soloists Sam Kent), Late in the Quarter by Mike Dana (a New Orlean’s street beat tune with lots of soloists) and Hard Right by Bret Zvacek (an up-tempo swing chart).

Freshner said that one of the strengths of their Jazz Band this year has been their bevy of soloists. Their creativity and hard work helped get the Lions to a higher note than the competition.

“This is a special group of kids with some really strong musicians and soloists. Usually, we have just a couple of strong soloists, but this year we had MANY! I am so proud of them all for their hard work leading up to this moment,” Freshner said.

“I also know they wanted so much to come out on top this year. I was happy for them that they pulled it off!”

It’s been an incredible spring for St. Helens High School’s music programs as their choir Chor Leonis and the Wind Ensemble band got second with each of their performances at state. This performance was just the cherry on top of an already delicious musical cake. For Freshner, she feels it’s the perfect goodbye for the program’s seniors.

“For this group of amazing seniors, it is a great way to go out,” Freshner said. Follow coverage of SHHS programs at thechronicleonline.com.

CCCC says goodbye to longtime member

Originally published in

The Chief Vol. 132

May 26, 2023

WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.

The Columbia County Cultural Coalition (CCCC) is saying farewell to beloved longtime board and founding member Ernie Carman.

Carman submitted a resignation letter to the CCCC board amid a battle with cancer of the esophagus and numerous taxing surgical procedures. At the recent board meeting, the CCCC members celebrated Carman and his many contributions to the community.

History

Carman has committed much of his life to public service in Clatskanie, where he has spent most of his life. In the community, Carman has dedicated his time to various causes. Carman refounded the Friends of the Clatskanie Public Library 28 years ago, was a founding member of the Clatskanie Arts Commission, a charter member of the CCCC since 2006, and served as a long-term president of the Clatskanie Senior Center, Inc., and volunteered as a member of Kiwanis.

“It’s been my whole life,” Carman said. “So, I have spent a lot of time volunteering, and I don’t regret any of it.”

Born in Nebraska, Carman and his family moved to Clatskanie when he was 3 years old. When his family came out, they purchased a property originally owned by the famous Oregon logging legend Simon Benson. Carman said he has spent nearly his whole life on Highway 30, as the thoroughfare runs through Central City, Nebraska, where he was born, all the way to Clatskanie, where he’s lived his whole life.

Carman spent almost his

entire life in Clatskanie, leaving to attend college before serving his country in the airforce during the Vietnam War. Upon returning home, Carman hoped to resume schooling but ended up staying in the community and getting involved in various public service opportunities. Carman said his love of people has always made it easy to make connections.

Carman was instrumental in the foundation of the annual Raymond Carver Writing Festival in Clatskanie each year. He said he has a passion for writing, art, and poetry, and those passions drove him to support similar efforts within the Clatskanie community. While there have been many changes in the Clatskanie, Carman said that the people make it a great

place to live.

“I love Clatskanie because, for one thing, [the people] have an inner strength to grow and to be. And if they have a problem, they figure out something to help it and make it better,” Carman said. “And, of course, I’ve been here all my life.” Carman is one of seven members on the CCCC board, and with his departure,

the board is looking for a new seventh member.

The board consists of Kannikar Petersen, Dee Vadnais, Margaret TrenchardSmith, Catherine Ridenour, Ernie Carman, and Jasmine Lillich. Each of the board members agreed that is Carman’s kind and has demonstrated a cooperative nature as a board member.

“Everybody loves Ernie. That’s the thing about Ernie,” Fellow CCCC board member Margaret Trenchard-Smith said. “You’ll never meet anyone more encouraging, or cheerful, or kind. So, he’s a real glue for the community.”

The CCCC and the Oregon Cultural Trust

The CCCC was formed in 2006 to enhance and support the local heritage, arts, and humanities of Columbia County residents. Originally founded under the county’s jurisdiction, the CCCC left the jurisdiction of the county and formed its own 501C3 in 2018. This allowed the CCCC to award additional grants to artists not affiliated with a non-profit.

The CCCC also receives funding through the Oregon Cultural Trust. The Oregon Cultural Trust was created in 2001 by the Oregon Legislature to provide public funds to support cultural work, including arts education, local history preservation projects, community theater, and library programs.

Oregon’s 45 county and tribal Cultural Coalitions are funded directly by the Trust. Dedicated volunteers, like Carman and the CCCC board, decide coalition priorities and community cultural goals and annually distribute seed grants that address the needs of each county. They receive money through donations and other avenues like the special Cultural Trust Oregon license plates.

“With local autonomy, the

coalitions involve the community in creating, sharing, documenting, celebrating, and developing their cultural identity — a critical part of preserving our state’s cultural character,” the Trust’s website says. “Each coalition receives a base grant plus additional funds based on population. Without the Cultural Trust, many rural counties would have no access to state funding for culture.”

The CCCC receives money from the Oregon Cultural Trust. The amount the CCCC receives depends on how much money the Trust gets, but it typically ranges between $10,000 and $15,000 annually. They disperse the money to various non-profits through small matching grants of up to $2,000. CCCC Board President Kannikar Peterson said they’ve practically given money to “all of the art and culture organizations in Columbia Couty.”

“If you’ve formed a nonprofit, you’ve gotten money from us,” board member Dee Vadnais said. “We’re trying to encourage cultural activity, not necessarily just be responsible for making it happen.”

Trenchard-Smith detailed just some of the projects that the CCCC has been involved with recently to support culture and the arts in Columbia County.

“In this grant cycle, we’re funding the Clatskanie Arts Commission’s “Raymond Carver Writing Festival,” the Columbia Arts Guild’s “Spring into Art” project, the C.C. Stern Type Foundry’s “Poetry on Paper” project in Clatskanie, the Main Street Alliance’s “Dia de los Muertos” and a “Scarecrows” project in St. Helens,” Trenchard-Smith said.

Find more information about the CCCC on its website at https://columbiacultural.org.

Courtesy photo from Noelle Freshner

The St. Helens High School Jazz Band.

Courtesy photo from Noelle Freshner St. Helens High School’s newest addition to the trophy case.

Will Lohre / Country Media, Inc.

Ernie Carman, center, and fellow board members, left to right, Kannikar Petersen, Jasmine Lillich, Margaret Trenchard-Smith, and Dee Vadnais.

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ISLAND

The Kiwanis Club of St. Helens Community Parade

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Registration: 9:00 – 11:00 am

Theme: “The Wisdom of Columbia County”

Judging: 11:00 am

DO NOT THROW CANDY FROM YOUR VEHICLE.

Parade Starts: 12:00 pm

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!