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Family Stones rock the town

Originally published in

The Chief Vol. 132

May 19, 2023

LAUREY WHITE

Chief Guest Article

A new business has opened in town, and it is just a stone’s throw from the Clatskanie River.

The Family Stones LLC, located at 50 East Columbia River Highway, now occupies the long-shuttered Humps Restaurant, a family favorite in Clatskanie for several years.

The nearly 6,000 square foot building now is home to the first local lapidary, the brainchild of local resident John Cooke.

A lapidary is related to stone and gems and the work involved in engraving, cutting or polishing the stones. Lapidary dates to prehistoric times when humans began making tools and weapons from stone. While fashioning the stones, early man discovered that some rocks were harder than others, making them more difficult to cut. Since the very beginning of discovering the precious gemstones, they have also served as adornment, according to the American Gem Society.

Cooke said he came by his love of rock collecting organically.

“I grew up in Goble,” said Cooke. “My dad was a logger and I used to go with him to work and I started rock collecting as a kid.”

Oregon sports many semiprecious gemstones, making it a go-to destination for rock collectors, or rockhounds. Oregon’s state gemstone is a sunstone,

native only to the state. It originated from lava flows in South and Central Oregon.

Other gemstones found in Oregon are the agate, the opal, the amethyst and quartz. Gold has even been discovered. Hunting for these precious beauties, is best on the Oregon Coast but can also be found elsewhere, according to oregongeology.org website.

Cooke also owns an agate mine, the Polka Dot Agate Mine, at Ashwood, in Central Oregon. The polka dot agate is named for the agate beds that produce gorgeous orbicular polka dot patterns of varying colors.

According to Cooke, The Family Stones sees most of its business online and hosts live Facebook shows for “rough rocks” from Sunday - Thursday every week. The shows are alternated with Facebook Live “finished goods” shows.

A lot of work has gone into opening the shop. The amount of merchandise is spectacular and quite plentiful. Assembling and displaying the massive collection was a formidable job and each task had to be reviewed carefully to efficiently maximize space.

And Cooke said he has big plans for the rest of the building.

“Lately we have been rebuilding the docks, and plan to use the inviting outdoor space for kayak and paddle boarding,” he said.

The rock shop hours are Friday, Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The website is thefamilystonelapidary.com.

Budget committee

Originally published in The Chronicle Vol. 141 May 17, 2023

WILL LOHRE

Country Media, Inc.

JEREMY C. RUARK

Country Media, Inc.

The St. Helens Budget Committee has approved a $92,548,64 city budget, which is a $4,832,640 increase from the 2022-2023 budget of $87,716,000.

The St. Helens City Council will review the spending plan at its regularly scheduled public meeting June 7 meeting. Under Oregon law, a balanced budget must be approved by the city council before the start of the new fiscal year, July. 1.

The St. Helens Budget Committee approved the proposed budget at its final public meeting May 4.

The budget process has been “exceptionally challenging,” according to the proposed budget document on the city’s website. High inflation, a competitive labor market, and increasing costs for materials and supplies are all cited as reasons for the challenges.

“These conditions have increased the city’s operating costs with limited ability to increase revenues. The federal ARPA stimulus funds that helped the city through the COVID pandemic were appreciated but will be depleted in the coming year, and the city will need to adjust accordingly. A strong note of caution is warranted in the coming year

to ensure the long-term financial health of our community,” the document reads.

Budget under stress

Along with the exhaustion of federal COVID relief dollars, the city is experiencing higher costs to support cost of living adjustments (COLA) for unionized city employees, including an assumed 5% COLA for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and a 6% COLA for St. Helens Police Association (SHPA) employees, and other higher-than-anticipated inflationary increases in insurance, materials, and professional services.

“Expenses within the General Fund are budgeted at an overall increase of 10.5% over the previous year. Combining all this information essentially means that in the proposed budget for the next fiscal year, the city will operate at a 5% deficit. To alleviate that deficit, the city is using the available General Fund reserves to create a balanced budget,” the budget document states.

The city’s general fund’s ending balance is projected to be negative for the fiscal year 2025-2026. The city’s adopted financial policy strives to maintain a minimum reserve fund balance of 20% in the general fund. Based on the city’s model, and without adjustment, the city will eventually exhaust the reserve fund.

“It is imperative that the city make the necessary adjustments to align revenues

with expenditures and maintain the long-term fiscal health of our community, the budget reads. “This year’s proposed budget would see the general fund’s reserve balance end at 15%, and in 2025-2026, this number is projected to be -6%.”

“Reserve funds are the savings accounts of the government world, and they are one tool that governments use during times of economic downturn when revenues are not matching expenses,” St. Helens Communications Officer Crystal King told The Chronicle. “The City of St. Helens will still have an estimated 15% reserve fund balance at the end of next fiscal year, and the city council tasked city staff with exploring additional cost-saving measures and revenue options in the coming year. The city will have to take the necessary steps to balance service levels with available resources. This can be done in two ways for the general fund: exploring additional revenues or reducing expenses.”

King said the city council has directed city staff to come back with options to explore over the next fiscal year that include working with each city department this year to develop a budget that reduced proposed expenses.

It is important to note that the General Fund does not account for other funds such as the Enterprise Funds (water, sewer, and storm), which is what the Public Works Department operates out of, the Special

Courtesy photo from Laurey White

The rock shop is located inside the former Humps Restaurant in Clatskanie.

Courtesy photo from Laurey White

approves $92.5M budget Metro Creative Connection

The St. Helens City Council will review the proposed 92.5M budget during a public meeting June 7.