Painting the town: New mural going up

Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891

VOL. 130, NO. 19$1.50FRIDAY,

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

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Painting the town: New mural going up

Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chief Clatskanie artist Jeremy Furnish checks with his wife, Amanda, as they prepare to work on the new mural.

Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chief Amanda Furnish uses a brush as she adds layers of paint to the mural.

Work is underway in earnest at the site of Clatskanie’s new-est city mural that will cover the south facing wall of Clatskanie’s former hospital, located on North Nehalem St. in downtown Clats-kanie, visible from Highway 30.

In April, Columbia County artist Jeremy Furnish announced plans for the mural, inspired by the literary works of Raymond Carver — a great American short story writer and poet who was born in Clatskanie in 1938.

Furnish issued a “Call to Art-ists / Request for Design Propos-als,” asking student, emerging,

and professional artists living in the Lower Columbia Region for the mural.

Seaside resident Dylan Eck-land’s submission was selected as first place by a panel of judges. A tattoo artist who runs a private shop in Seaside, Eckland said mural art was a natural outflowing of his creative pursuits.

Eckland’s mural submission features a portrait of Raymond Carver alongside Beaver Falls and a quote from Carver’s poem ‘Where Water Comes Together With Other Water.’

The quote reads, “I’ll take all the time I please this afternoon before leaving my place alongside this river.”

At the site of the new mural on Wednesday morning, Sept. 15, Furnish said painting large images on the sides of buildings can be challenging.

“It takes a village,” he said. “It

takes people who know what they are doing, know how to work with each other. It absolutely is a team effort because something this size is a task.”

As the coordinator of the murals, Furnish said he thinks and directs in layers.

“That’s my job, is the layers and then the volunteers are about a lot of the detail,” he said. “So, we have people painting over my back layers.”

Furnish said he is hopeful the new mural will be completed in a few weeks.

“Before it gets cold and wet,” he said. “We are going to do a big push right now.”

Furnish is also looking to the

future and where he might paint another mural in the city.

“We have a few candidates,” he said. “There’s talk of one on the side of the cultural center.”

But Furnish acknowledges that mural may be a different type of project.

“The cultural center’s founda-tion board will most definitely be specific about what they want,” he said.

Another mural site Furnish said could be at the former Radio Shack store parking lot.

“Something that can be very visible from the highway and is

JEREMY C. [email protected]

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Phone: 503-397-0116Fax: [email protected] Columbia Blvd.,St. Helens, OR 97051

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The Oregon Department of Ag-riculture (ODA) reports two highly contagious diseases have been discovered in horses in Oregon.

West Nile Virus

The ODA received six confirmed reports of West Nile Virus (WNV) diagnosed in Oregon horses in the past two weeks.

One additional suspected case is under investigation. The affected horses live in multiple counties throughout the state: Umatilla, Malheur, and Klamath. None of the infected horses were recently vacci-nated against WNV, and most of the horses have never been vaccinated for WNV.

Numerous additional WNV

cases have also been reported recently in Washington, Idaho, and California near the Oregon border. Therefore, ODA advises annual vac-cination as an effective tool for pre-venting WNV infection in horses.

EVH-1 disease

On Sept. 9, Oregon State Veterinarian, Dr. Ryan Scholz, DVM, received a report that Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHV-1) was diagnosed in one horse and suspected in a second horse on a private farm in Linn County.

A third horse on the same farm tested positive for EHV-1, with a fourth and fifth horse exposed. Two of the affected horses were euthanized. A preliminary investiga-tion shows none of the five horses have been moved off the farm or in contact with other horses in the

past four weeks. As a result, Scholz placed the farm under quarantine.

EHV-1 is highly contagious, ac-cording to the ODA. While there are no known exposures linked to the Linn County farm, Scholz recom-mends that horse owners concerned about exposure monitor their horse’s temperature and contact their vet-erinarian if a fever or clinical signs develop. EHV-1 testing is generally not advised in asymptomatic horses. More information is available from Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC).

West Nile Virus and EHV-1 are both reportable diseases in Oregon. Veterinarians must report suspected cases to the Oregon State Veterinar-ian by calling 503-986-4680.

For more information about reportable equine diseases and West Nile Virus visit the Equine Disease Communication Center’s website.

‘Highly contagious’ horse diseases

Metro Creative Connection / The ChiefThe Oregon Department of Agriculture confirms new cases of West Nile Virus and EHV-1 in Oregon affecting horses.

STAFF [email protected]

Those enjoying the Clatskanie Pool will have to wait until next sum-mer for a dip in the water. The popular pool ends its summer season Friday, Sept. 17.

A $600,000 renovation project at the pool, located at 346 NE 5th

Street that began in February was completed by the middle of the sum-mer, allowing the pool to reopen in mid July for the season.

Built in 1958, the Clatskanie Pool is 90-feet long, 60-feet wide, and holds approximately 135,000 gallons of water, but over the years it has aged and significant repairs were needed.

The renovations include resurfac-ing the deck, resurfacing and repaint-ing the pool, replacing of the old tile gutter system with a stainless steel gutter system. The wading pool has been replaced with a splash pad and multiple pool piping issues including failures, potential failures and existing leaks were addressed.

The cost of renovations are funded

Clatskanie Pool ends new season

Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chief Swimmers enjoy the pool this week during an exercise class.


See POOL Page A6

columnPreparedness lesson Page A4

www.thechiefnews.com Friday, September 17, 2021A2

Columbia County’s trusted local news source

ACROSS1. Ridden or pushed around yard6. Chlorofluorocarbon9. Spiral-horned antelope13. Make a canyon, e.g.14. Much of this about noth-ing?15. Forest destroyers16. Basic belief17. Popular pickup18. Lake scum19. *Popular email service eventually bought by Micro-soft21. *CD “maker”23. FEMA’s assistance24. Musician’s time to shine25. Stephen King’s Christine, e.g.28. Plural of locus30. Mongolian monetary unit35. Wraths37. Jar covers39. Like yellow polka dot bikini?40. Desert in China and Mongolia41. Knight’s mount43. Cogito ____ sum44. Change the Constitution, e.g.46. Ready and eager47. Table mineral48. *Jennifer Aniston-in-spired haircut, with “the”50. Bank on52. Modern prefix

53. Beacon light55. Oolong, e.g.57. *____ Sese Seko, over-thrown Zairian dictator60. *African National Con-gress leader released from prison64. Like a candle?65. *1997’s “Fly” by Sugar ____67. Lowest point68. Smart ____69. Marching insect70. Opposite of digest71. *Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan’s domain72. Employer Assisted Hous-ing, acr.73. Fender bender conse-quences

DOWN1. Crystalline hydrochloride, colloquially2. Nabisco top best-seller3. Refuses to4. Bodily swelling5. Not wholesale6. Lewis of sprinting and long jumping fame7. Vaccine-approving agency, acr.8. Burger, fries and soda9. Brick-drying oven10. It’s hard to resist11. Precedes Abby12. Consume, as in drugs15. Slang for radical or cool, 2 words

20. America’s singer choices22. Last, abbr.24. Weapon in a holster25. Fidel Castro’s smoke26. Pleasant odor27. Renaissance instrument resembling a violin29. *TV hit “Sex and the ____”31. “Bee ____”32. What many TV hits have done33. Fireplace34. *_____ Protocol, climate change-related international treaty36. Hyperbolic sine38. Withered42. COVID-19 variant45. Expose the falseness49. “____ the Games Begin!”51. Pined54. Sign of a saint, pl.56. “Bad news travels fast,” e.g.57. Algeria’s neighbor58. Plow-pulling duo59. *”Where It’s At” singer60. Urban story61. Adam and Eve’s garden62. *Oscar winner “Schindler’s ____”63. A in BA64. *Gulf ____ or Bosnian ____66. American Nurses As-sociation

Solution to crossword in next week’s issue of The Chief.

STATEPOINT CROSSWORDTHEME: THE 1990s

••Crossword Puzzle••

The Oregon Legislature is to convene Monday, Sept. 20, in a special legisla-tive session to adopt new congressional and legisla-tive district maps, as the next step in the census and redistricting process, but one group is opposing the state legislature’s redistrict-ing efforts.

“We believe Oregon voters should choose their politicians. Politicians should not choose their vot-ers,” People Not Politicians (PNP) Chairman Norman Turrill said, adding that PNP seeks an independent redistricting commission.

Turrill said PNP is a diverse coalition of organi-zations, and he referred The Chief to the group’s website that lists such organiza-tions as Common Cause of Oregon, League of Woman Voters, the Oregon Farm

Bureau, and the Indepen-dent Party of Oregon as sponsors.

The current process

The special session will

begin at 8 a.m. Monday, Sept. 20. The Oregon Con-stitution directs the state legislature to reapportion legislative districts every 10 years, following the U.S. Census.

“In Oregon, we believe your vote is your voice, and every voice matters,” Gov. Kate Brown said. “This special session is an op-portunity for legislators to set aside their differences

and ensure Oregon voters have their voices heard at the ballot box. Based on my conversations with legisla-tive leaders, and the ongo-ing public testimony we are hearing from Oregonians across the state this week, I believe the Legislature is ready to begin the next step of the redistricting process.”

According to the Or-egon Supreme Court, the deadline for the Oregon Legislature to complete redistricting plans for state legislative districts and fed-eral congressional districts is Sept. 27, 2021.

Portland State Sen. Kathleen Taylor is the Or-egon Legislature’s Redis-tricting Committee Chair. Taylor’s Legislative Direc-tor Katherine Morrison told The Chief in a published interview last April, that the benefits for Oregon with an additional congressio-nal district include greater representation in the U.S.

House of Representatives.“So Oregonians’ voices

are heard proportionately in the federal legislature,” she said. “It also gives Oregon an additional vote in the electoral college, which will increase Oregon’s influence in presidential elections. As our population has grown, Oregon can ex-pect to see a greater portion of federal dollars to support our students, our infrastruc-ture and human services.”

Oregon’s currently Congressional delegation includes, Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merk-ley, and Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Cliff Bentz, Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrader.

View the PNP website at www.peoplenotpoliti-ciansoregon.com/ and fol-low the redistricting efforts at thechiefnews.com and in the Friday print editions of The Chief.

People Not Politicians seeking independent commission

Courtesy photo The special state legislative session is set to begin at 8 a.m. Monday at the Oregon Capitol Building in Salem.


Council looks at dock enforcement, timber sale

Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chief The City of Rainier is stepping up its enforcement along the city’s docks.

The City of Rainier is moving ahead with efforts to step up enforcement of issues along the city’s docks.

During the Monday night, Sept. 13 Rainier City Coun-cil meeting, Rainier Police Chief Gregg Griffith said there have been problems at the marina with abandoned and derelict vessels. Rainier

City Administrator Scott Jorgensen said there have been a variety of issues at the docks.

“People living in the boats, sleeping in the boats and not paying the required city fees,” Jorgensen said “We even had a boat that sank in the area and damaged the dock. That cost the city about $15,000 to remove.”

Jorgensen said most of the problems at the marina

have been solved by en-hanced enforcement by the police department.

“The recent boat sinking was the catalyst for staff and council wanting a change in policy, as that boat had been a problem for months,” Jorgensen said.

The council will continue the discussion with a review of dock fees and continued enforcement during its Octo-ber public meeting.

Timber sale

The council also moved ahead with a proposed 35-acre timber sale in the city’s watershed area.

“The sale will bring a net profit of just under half a million dollars,” Jorgensen said. “We have a timber fund that was set aside years ago for projects that have long term ben-efits.”

The fund currently has $1.2 million banked.

City Forester Patrick McCoy told the council that lumber prices are currently high and the area being targeted for timber harvest includes some of the best timber in the city’s water-shed. When the market is high, the best practice is to target the best wood to maximize profits, according to McCoy, who said he has

received a competitive bid from competent local con-tractors for good prices.

The city has historically harvested around 25-acres per year, which is sustain-able, McCoy said, telling the council that he wants to harvest a bigger unit every other year because it’s more efficient and cuts the city’s costs, which would result in bigger units being cut less often.


Metro Creative Connection / The ChiefThe City of Rainier is moving ahead with a new 35-acre timber sale.

www.thechiefnews.comFriday, September 17, 2021 A3


Have you been wondering how you can lend a helping hand at testing or vaccination events in Columbia County? Now is the time.

The Columbia County Public Health Department is now accepting volunteer applications for COVID-19 testing and vaccination as-sistance.

We are looking for reliable and enthusiastic individuals who would like to volunteer for clinical and non-clinical positions. We are building volunteer teams to support immunization and testing events throughout the upcom-ing months. Our teams need greeters, vaccinators, registra-tion and check-in assistants, clinical and non-clinical monitors, and supply runners.

How to volunteer

Your first step towards volunteering for this team is

to go online (https://tinyurl.com/ftrpmbxy) and fill out the Columbia County Public Health Volunteer Interest Form.

Once your completed form is received, the depart-ment’s volunteer coordinator will review your application and send a follow-up email with instructions for com-pleting the county volunteer form, volunteer agreement, and the disclosure and au-thorization for a background check.

After the Columbia County Public Health Department approves your

application, you will receive onboarding information from the Volunteer Coordinator, including instructions for the required HIPAA and Informa-tion Security trainings. Upon completion of these steps, the volunteer coordinator will work with you to sched-ule shifts, assign positions, provide position descriptions, and answer questions as they come up.

If you have any questions regarding volunteering to help at these events, please call the Public Health Volunteer Coordinator at 503-397-7247.

For those who are interested, there is a home football game Friday Sept. 24th at 7:00 pm. Clatskanie VS Knappa.

The Reunion will be held at the Clatskanie City Park on Saturday Sept. 25th from 5:00-8:00 pm.

CLATSKANIE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1981 40 YEAR REUNION

Please refer to Facebook page “Clatskanie High School Class of 1981.” For more information, text Deni (Stram) Youngblood

@ 503.308.3680 with questions.

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations declining

The Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA) COV-ID-19 Weekly Report shows decreases in daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

By the numbers

On Wednesday, Sept. 15, the OHA reported 12,997 new cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, Sept. 6 through Sunday, Sept. 12. That represents an 11% decrease from the previous week. Since the summer surge began in early July, 79% of cases have been spo-radic, without known sources.

There were 592 new COVID-19 hospitalizations, down from 1,028 last week. That marks the first drop in nine consecutive weeks of increases. While the number of new hospitalizations has decreased, this hospitaliza-tion number does not account for people who remain hospitalized from previous weeks. Over the past week, there was a slight decrease in the number of hospital-ized COVID-19 positive

patients as reported through Oregon’s Hospital Capacity Web System (HOSCAP), but the number of hospitalized patients is still high.

There were 120 reported COVID-19 related deaths, down from 171 reported the previous week. It was the first decrease in the weekly death toll after six weeks of

increases.There were 149,123 tests

for COVID-19 for the week of Sept. 5 through Sept. 11. The percentage of positive tests increased to 12%.

Caution advised

Even though cases, hospitalizations and deaths are slowing, the OHA and

Columbia County Health officials say the virus and the Delta variant are still very dangerous. The majority of current cases are among the unvaccinated, according to the health officials who continue to urge people to get vaccinated, wear a mask when in an indoor public set-ting and while among crowds

in outdoor gatherings. Officials are also carefully

monitoring COVID-19 cases among children in Oregon. The virus is not likely to be as severe among children. Vaccinations for children under 12-years-old could be available by the end of this year, according to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.

Vaccinations

Right now, COVID-19 vaccinations are free and available for anyone 12-years and older at most pharmacies and health centers.

Columbia Health Services is also offering walk-in CO-VID-19 vaccination clinics. The vaccinations are available from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. You can also call 800-244-4870 to schedule an appoint-ment for other times.

Columbia Health Services Walk-in Clinics

Mondays

Vernonia School-Based

Clinic1000 Missouri Ave.Vernonia

Tuesdays

Clatskanie School-Based Clinic471 Bel Air Dr.Behind the high school next to the football fieldClatskanie

Wednesdays

St. Helens Sacagawea1060 Eisenschmidt Laneby Eisenschmidt PoolSt. Helens

Thursdays

Rainier Health Center28168 Old Rainier Road Next to the school district officerRainier

For more informa-tion, call Columbia Health Services at 503-3974651 or the Columbia County Health Department at 503-397-7247. Follow new COVID-19 pandemic developments at thechiefnews.com.

Metro Creative Connection / The ChiefState and local health officials are reviewing encouraging details about COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths decreasing, but they caution that the pandemic is not over.


Testing, vaccination volunteers needed

Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chief Volunteer Jason Luker administers a COVID-19 vaccination during a drive-through clinic at Clatskanie City Park in June.

COLUMBIA COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTHChief Guest Article

very colorful that will con-tinue the draw to Nehalem Street,” he said.

Furnish said it’s neces-sary to paint the town.

“There are a lot of old buildings that need a coat of paint,” he said. “The curb appeal someone sees driving through town is really im-portant. The goal is to bring some outside money into the city and murals also improve the overall community’s liv-ability.”

This is the second city mural that Furnish and a team of artists and other volunteers have put up in downtown Clatskanie.

In 2020, Furnish issued a submission contest for local artists when he painted his first mural in Clatskanie, “Homeward Bound” on the

Clatskanie Hazen Hardware Building, featuring a group of Chinook salmon swim-ming upstream to spawn.

Joining Furnish at the mural site Wednesday was his wife, Amanda, who said she learns something new each time she works with the murals.

“Each time we paint I learn from other people about details, about work-ing such a large scale, about light, shadow and human interaction, and how the painting effects people com-ing by,” Amanda said.

The Furnishs thanked Integrity Electric for loaning the couple a pickup truck equipped with a lift, giving the artists opportunities to paint the higher exterior of the murals.

The costs of the murals can be from three thousand to five thousand dollars, de-pending on the size and con-tent, according to Furnish.

“It’s about $300 a day or so for the materials and that comes out of grant money or private fundraising,” he said. “By having the sup-port of local businesses, like Integrity and the people of the community, that is where the value is.”

Furnish and his wife said the “fun part” of paint-ing the city murals is to be able to work with other creative people in the com-munity. The “hard part” is organizing the effort, “and painting around the wires attached to the buildings,” both Jeremy and Amanda said.

The Furnishs also ex-pressed their gratitude to the Clatskanie Arts Com-mission for its support of the city murals.

Read more about the Clatskanie murals in a se-ries of articles at thechief-news.com.

MURALFrom Page A1



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26% Yes 74% No

Are you going to attend a local high school sporting

event this fall?Yes No

Weekly Online Poll Last Week’s ResultsAre you ready for fall

with cooler temperatures and rain?

The pandemic has shown Oregonians the critical im-portance that small business plays in both our local and national economies.

It was critical for en-trepreneurs to immediately change their business models and pivot to a new way of selling their products and

services overnight. The U.S. Small Business Administra-tion is highlighting the resil-ience of America’s entrepre-neurs and the renewal of the small business economy as they build back better from the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic.

Though beating the pan-demic is still front and center in moving our economy forward, our nation is still vulnerable to a variety of natural disasters including wildfires, hurricanes, torna-does, blizzards, and drought. History has shown that up to 25 percent of businesses that close because of disaster never reopen. All Oregon businesses should develop a workable crisis preparedness plan that takes into consider-ation what we learned over the last 18 months from the pandemic. The following are six simple business strategies a business can use for future crises.

1. Evaluate your expo-sure. Know your community and the types of disasters most likely to impact your business. Consider your facility’s proximity to flood plains, wildfire areas, riv-ers and streams, and other hazards. Of course, the CO-VID-19 pandemic should be the first exposure issue on the list.

2. Review your insur-ance coverage. Consult your insurance agent to determine whether your coverage is sufficient and what it covers. You may need separate flood insurance and determine what is or is not covered dur-ing a pandemic. Check into business interruption insur-ance, which helps you cover operating expenses if you’re forced to temporarily close.

3. Review and prepare your supply chain. Establish business relationships with alternate vendors in case your primary supplier isn’t

available. Place occasional orders with them so they’ll regard you as an active cus-tomer. Create a contact list for important business con-tractors and vendors you plan to use in an emergency. Keep this list at an offsite location. At the start of the pandemic many food suppliers tempo-rarily ceased operations and were not able fulfill their customer’s orders.

4. Create a crisis com-munications plan. At the beginning of the pandemic many business owners did not have current contact

information for their employ-ees and vendors. Establish an email/Twitter/Facebook alert system, keeping primary and secondary email ad-dresses for your employees, vendors, and customers. Provide real-time updates to your customers/clients and the community so they know you’re still in business and in the process of rebuilding following a crisis.

5. Establish a written chain of command. Let your employees know the emer-gency chain of command should your business close. Maintain a clear leave- and sick-day policy during disas-ters. Have a backup payroll service should your office be destroyed.

6. Create/implement a Business Continuity Plan.This plan should state when it will be activated; identify essential business functions, and staff to carry out these functions; determine which

employees will be considered non-essential vs. essential; and identify records and documents that must be se-cured and readily accessible to perform key functions. All of this may need to be done remotely from home.

Developing an effective and workable crisis recovery plan is critical for all small business owners.

For more information about crisis planning, and SBA’s ongoing COVID 19 relief programs, please visit www.sba.gov/disaster.

Martin Golden is the Small Business Adminis-tration’s Portland District Director and Acting Pacific Northwest Regional Adminis-trator based in Portland. He oversees all of the agency’s programs and services across the Oregon and Southwest Washington. The SBA Port-land office may be reached at 503-326-7251.

What the pandemic taught us about crisis preparednessMARTIN GOLDENChief Guest Column

Martin Golden

Developing an effective and workable crisis recov-ery plan is critical for all small business owners.

Back-to-School, Home-coming, “Friday Night Lights”... this time of year conjures up all kinds of nostalgic things at Clatskanie Middle/High School (CMHS).

COVID-19 has had an undeniable impact on our students. Yet, the kids in our community have continued to persevere through these un-precedented times. There is no easier way for this community to celebrate and recognize these students, than through co-curricular activities and events.

This fall, CMHS will be

offering middle school and high school cross country, football and volleyball. All of the student-athletes that you see on the court/field/course are on-track to graduate, at-tend all of their classes, and abide by a higher standard of code of conduct for the honor and privilege of representing this school and community.

I often think of Tom Brokaw’s quote when he refers to those kids who grew up during the Great Depres-sion and went on to fight in World War II as “the greatest generation any society has ever produced.”

That group was raised through an unprecedented

time and went on to accom-plish great things for this country, and the world. Is it possible that these students in our town at this time can go on to be counted as “one of the greatest generations?”

While the goal is lofty, the sentiment remains. I invite everyone to attend a youth/school sporting event this fall and find ways to positively in-fluence/encourage the children of our community towards greatness.

Ryan Tompkins is the Clatskanie Middle/High School Athletic Director and Dean of Students. He may be reached at 503-728-2146.

‘One of the greatest generations’RYAN TOMPKINSChief Guest Column

••VoiCes of the Community••

Letter to Sheriff Pixley

Another “disappointed” letter to Sheriff Pixley.

Please know, Sheriff, that many residents of Columbia County do not support the sentiments in your letter to Gov. Brown. None of us enjoy wearing masks. Most of us were hoping this awful virus was behind us. But now COVID-19 cases are once again raging throughout our country, our state, and our county, principally due to unvaccinated, unmasked individuals.

By encouraging Co-lumbia County residents not to follow medically recommended restrictions (especially masks), you are imposing on the health and welfare of ALL of us. You stated, “I…have the right to do what is in the best interest of our community”. Isn’t maintaining the health of our community in everyones “best interest?”

Columbia County is not an isolated entity. Our actions effect other regions. Many of us depend on the Portland area for our liveli-hoods and, more importantly, our health care. Since we DO NOT have a hospital, all our very sick patients will need to go somewhere else for care – likely Portland. This places an additional burden on their resources and an al-ready stressed health system.

Sheriff, one of your Value Statements is, “The rights of all are upheld and protected.” If true, then our right to feel safe and remain healthy should be considered. Un-fortunately, you appear to be more interested in gaining political points than abiding by the law and protecting the health of your community. How very sad for our county.

Christine EbrahimiColumbia City

Connection between masks and vaccinations

Three weeks have now passed since Sheriff Pixley posted his anti-science mani-festo on Facebook. Since then, we have seen new COVID cases in our County increase from a seven-day average of 22 per day (already scary enough) to 26 per day, for a total number of recorded cases here now over 3,000. COVID has taken 37 lives in this County already.

So the question is, does Sheriff Pixley have the sense to understand the connection between masks and vacci-nations, and public safety? If so, why doesn’t he urge everyone to wear masks and get vaccinated, rather than rail against the Governor’s earnest attempts to keep Oregonians safe? Maybe he does understand the threat but can’t find the moral cour-age to say so, instead siding with what may be the more popular anti-mask, anti-vax views here.

Sheriff Pixley was elected to lead this County by protecting and serving us, but his conduct shows that he lacks either the judgment to understand what is in our best interests, or the ethics to tell the people the truth. Either way, he is not fit to hold office.

Jeff CampbellScappoose

Join the war effort

My country is now at war. At war with the virus.

In our long history, Amer-icans have always come to-gether in common purpose to defeat our enemies and save

our country. And we have sacrificed for common good. My parents sacrificed during the last world war. Now we are all asked to sacrifice to win the war against the virus.

We have few weapons but the ones we have have proven effective. We can get vaccinated and we can wear masks when we are around others. Is wearing a mask too much of a burden for my fel-low Americans? It is a small sacrifice.

Rather than cry or whine about masking and personal liberty, let’s join the war effort. It is the most patriotic thing we can do right now.

Ray HornScappoose

Questions for “Voices of the Community”

Please explain how Sheriff Pixley can enforce the state’s mask mandate? Scenario, your in a store and an unmasked person enter. Do twenty people call 911? Probably not. The store has to call 911.

Do twenty jump the of-fender and hold him/her for the police to arrive? Proba-bly not. How long before our thin blue line can respond? How long will it take for the offender to leave and/or obtain an mask and put it on? No longer in violation of the mandate and the police have wasted their time and resources.

Another question, for all those who do not get vacci-nated because they object to the government telling them to do something for their safety. Do you wear a seat belt? Oh, that can save your life, too.

David TophamWarren

www.thechiefnews.comFriday, September 17, 2021 A5


MarketplaceJust call 503.397.0116It’s easy to place a classified ad in The Chief.

Listings are updated daily at www.thechiefnews.com

Dog and cat vaccination

clinic On Thursday, Sept. 23rd, 2021 at John-son Feed, 905 NE Van St, Clatskanie. 9:00-11:30 am & 1:00-3:30 or until we are out of vac-cines. County staff will be available for licensing. Find Pip-pinDoc on Face-book for more info.

502Help Wanted

Mechanic Columbia County, OR EOE Deadline 9/27/2021 Apply at ColumbiaCounty

OR.gov

IMMEDIATE OPENING:

The Clatskanie Chief and The St.

Helens Chronicle has an opening for a general assign-ment reporter in Columbia County. Primarily respon-sible for writing day-to-day news stories for the two weekly newspa-pers and accom-panying websites. Reports to the publisher. The suc-cessful applicant will produce con-tent featuring local businesses, gov-ernment, schools, and community events. Country Media, Inc. offers highly competitive newsroom wages and a variety of employee benefits, including group health insurance; paid holidays, va-cation and sick

leave; mileage re-imbursement; and others. Send re-sume and cover letter to [email protected].

706Estate Sales

Estate SaleFri 9/17, Sat 9/18 & Sun 9/19. Huge farm sale. Large selection of die cast farm toys, lumber, advertise-ment signs, au-tomotive adver-tising, primitive old papers, John Deere 50 hp trac-tor Model 5300 with loader, 1996 Ford F250 with navistar diesel 7.3 V8 en-gine, antiques and collectables, 2016 Ford F150 14,000 miles 4WD, farm implements, tools,

still digging. Off HWY 30 in Rainier, follow signs. 24596 Mosier Rd. 97048.

724Bicycles

EW-29 Electric adult tricycle

Used twice, like new, paid $2,000,

asking $1,000. 503-728-2741.

790Misc Wanted

Wanted cedar boughs and noble fir. Willing to pay

for branches only. Do not damage

trees. Call Cesar 360-241-6889 or

360-425-0738 Kelso.

ATTENTION LAND OWNERS!

CLATSKANIEMini Storage

Hoarder’s Paradise!20 sizes, InexpensiveRV Storage, Carports, Hand trucks, Locks, Fully-lined, Insulated, Condensation free, all units lit. On-site

Manager

503 728-2051503 369-6503Visa/MC/Amex

312Events

502Help Wanted

502Help Wanted

706Estate Sales

860Storage

29 yrs. exp.

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RODDY SHELL, JR.503.369.2496

[email protected] CCB#185602

ASPHALT PAVINGOffering Quality Asphalt Paving Services to Columbia County and surrounding areas.

Call Jim today at (503) 509-8657

Quality Workmanship At Affordable Prices

COMMERCIAL • RESIDENTIAL • INDUSTRIALDriveways • Roadways • Subdivisions • Parking Lots • City, County, State Specification Products

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an ad in The Chief. Call 503-397-0116.

buy and sell in

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ad today.

Local News Onlinethechiefnews.com

CC21-1511

Probate Department In the Matter of the Estate of MARY LUCY SANDAHL, Deceased. No. 21PB06699 NOTICE TO INTERESTED PERSONS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned has been ap-pointed personal representa-tive of this estate. All persons having claims against the

estate are required to present their claims, with vouchers attached, within four months after the date of first publi-cation of this notice to the personal representative at P.O. Box 459, Rainier, OR 97048, or the claims may be barred. All persons whose rights may be affected by the proceedings may obtain

additional information from the records of the Court, the personal representative or the attorney for the personal representative. Dated and first published September 3, 2021. Stephanie Cox, Person-al Representative. STEPHEN D. PETERSEN, L.L.C. At-torney at Law, P.O. Box 459, Rainier, OR 97048.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON FOR THE COUNTY OF COLUMBIA

CC21-1512

The City of Clatskanie is seeking a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a Grant Administrator to manage the financials and reporting requirements of

a $720,000 Community Block Development Grant to conduct the Engineering and Environmental assessment phase for a new Waste-water Treatment Plant. Submis-

sions are due at City Hall by close of business, September 30th 2021. Please go to the City’s website at www.cityofclatskanie. com for a copy of the RFQ.

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

CC21-1513

Probate Department In the Matter of the Estate of CARL LEE PELLHAM, Deceased. No. 21PB06909 NOTICE TO INTERE-SETED PERSONS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned has been appointed personal represen-tative of this estate. All per-sons having claims against

the estate are required to present their claims, with vouchers attached, within four months after the date of first publication of this notice to the personal representative at P.O. Box 459, Rainier, OR 97048, or the claims may be barred. All persons whose rights may be affected by the proceedings may obtain

additional information from the records of the Court, the personal representative or the attorney for the personal representative. Dated and first published Sept. 10, 2021. William C. Pellham, Personal Representative. STEPHEN D. PETERSEN, L.L.C., Attorney at Law, P.O. Box 459, Rainier, OR 97048.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON FOR THE COUNTY OF COLUMBIA

CC21-1502

No. 12-3343 SUMMONS To: CLAY W. BROWN You are hereby required to ap-pear and defend the order to show cause filed against you in the above-entitled action within THIRTY (30) DAYS of the date of service of this summons upon you, and, in case of your failure to do so, for want thereof, respondent will apply to the court for the relief demanded in the order to show cause. NOTICE TO THE PETITIONER: READ THESE PAPERS CARE-FULLY! You must “appear”

in this case or the other side will win automatically. To “appear” you must file with the court a legal paper called a “motion” or “answer.” The “motion” or “answer” must be given to the court clerk or administrator within THIRTY (30) DAYS of the date of first publication specified herein, along with the required filing fee. It must be in proper form and have proof of service on the respondent’s attorney or, if the respondent does not have an attorney, proof of

service upon the respondent. The date of first publication of this summons is August 13, 2021. If you have any questions, you should see an attorney immediately. If you need help in finding an attor-ney, you may call the Oregon State Bar’s Lawyer Referral Service at (503) 684-3763 or toll-free in Oregon at 1-800-452-7636. Stephen D. Peters-en, OSB #73235, Attorney for Respondent. STEPHEN D. PETERSEN, L.L.C., P.O. Box 459, Rainier, OR 97048, (503) 556-4120.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON FOR THE COUNTY OF COLUMBIA CLAY W. BROWN, Petitioner, and YVONNE D. DEITERING, Respondent.

Sept. 17-19 Marvelous Mosaic Fine ArtOwners Kory and Rachel Dollar are offering an in-side look at their stained glass mosaic, fusion, and vitrigraph art studio that primarily focuses on artists connections and empowerment through art, with a one year an-niversary celebration in Deer Island from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Look for guest artists, hot glass demonstrations, free kids projects, and art sales. The event will follow all state and city guidelines for COVID-19 mask regu-lations.Location: Marvelous Mosaic Fine Art, 64535 Columbia River Highway in Deer Island. For more information, visit https://www.pnwglassguild.org/event/open-studios-portland.

Sept. 19 Clatskanie Arts Commission Performing Arts SeriesThe Fern Hill Bluegrass Band with the Bloomer Family is scheduled at 3 p.m. at the Birkenfeld Theatre in the Clatskanie Cultural Center, 75 S. Nehalem in Clatskanie. Tickets: Adults - $10; Seniors/Students - $8; Children 12 and under - $6. Tickets available online at clatskaniearts.org or by leaving a mes-sage at 503.728.3403. For more details, contact Elsa Wooley at 503-338-9770.

Sept. 25 Class ReunionClatskanie High School Class of 1981 will cel-ebrate its 40 year reunion from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Clatskanie City Park. Fore more information, visit the Facebook page Clatskanie High School Class of 1981 or text Deni (Stram) Youngblood at 503-308-3680.

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Contact your Veteran Service Officer • 503-366-6580You may be entitled to benefits for serving your country.

Are you a veteran?

Call CAT at (503)397-3511 to find out if you qualify. Rental and energy assistance applications are available at 125 N. 17th St., St. Helens,

OR. Also available on our website at www.CAT-TEAM.org

Community Action Team

Building Bridges to Self Sufficiency

••Crossword solutions••

Solution for the Sept. 10, 2021 crossword puzzle

The Oregon State Public Interest Research Group (OS-PIRG) has released a report detailing medical debt in Oregon and how it can lead Oregonians to bankruptcy.

The report, “Unhealthy Debt: Medical costs and bankruptcies in Oregon,” states at least 60 percent of Oregon’s consumer bank-ruptcies included medical debt in 2019.

In a press conference Sept. 9, health care advocates discussed the medical debt situation and offered ways to address the problem.

OS{IRG health care ad-vocate Maribeth Guarino said the nonprofit advocacy group looked at 8,000 bankruptcy filings in 2019. The report gives insight into the burden of medical debt.

“This report shows that high health care costs are not a problem limited to a single geographic area or economic demographic,” Guarino said. “It’s everywhere and we have to do something about it.”

The report examined nearly $30 million in medical debt, Guarino added.

“Our report shows that

the average medical debt was $2,362,” Guarino said. “Over 600 people had $10,000 or more in medical debt.”

Medical costs are in-creasing. In a poll released last May by OSPIRG, 30 percent of Oregon voters reported seeing an increase in their medical costs in the last 12 months.

“We desperately need to enact policies to address healthcare skyrocketing costs,” Guarino said. “For example, we could provide a public health insurance op-tion that provides consumers a low cost health insurance choice. We can also lower prescription drug costs so that care or treatment is not cost-prohibitive.”

Caitlin Costello, a student at Portland State University, got health insurance seven years ago and broke her elbow shortly after.

“I had gone without insurance for almost eight years,” Costello said of growing up. “It really formed the way my fam-ily worked for a long time. We avoided anything that increased risk for medical bills.”

While in college, Costel-lo could not afford insurance

at first. She was able to get insurance seven years ago before her injury.

“I was still in the same mentality as before,” Costello said. “I refused an ambulance, I waited almost three hours for family to come get me.”

Costello said she knew it would be worse to pay for ‘extras’ or ‘luxuries.’ She re-fused pain medication upon arrival. During the entire process, she asked about cost and whether it was covered by insurance.

Costello said her medical bills accumulated to $20,000 with $4,000 she had to pay out of pocket.

“At the time, I was living paycheck to paycheck and desperately trying to get out of my situation,” Costello said.

Costello is in school full time now and has health insurance. She said she appreciates the school has options but even those are not readily available.

Guarino said the next step for OSPIRG members is sharing the report with every lawmaker they can.

View the report online at https://bit.ly/3C3UfaO

Report shares medical debt insights, options

Metro Creative Connection / The ChiefThe OSPIRG report shows that high health care costs are a widespread problem statewide.

HILARY [email protected]

Paul Clinton Skarra passed away peacefully in his bed, as he would have wanted, and where his Brother David found him on Aug. 17, 2021.

Paul was born the third child and son to Perry E and Rozelle “Dolly” Skarra in Browning, Montana on Sept. 19, 1944. Paul lived the majority of his life in Oregon - Portland, Lake Oswego, Clatskanie, and for the past many years, Seaside.

Paul attended and graduated from Grant High School in Portland where he was a standout athlete in three sports. Paul loved the beach, the sounds of the waves and the wind when walking on the beach or sitting enjoying a sunset with a cold beer or glass of red wine. Paul opened his homes to family and friends to enjoy this peaceful place with him. Paul had multiple chances to show his heroic triumph over adversity in

his lifetime – including his multiple wounds, seen and unseen, from his work in the army in Vietnam in the late 1960s. Paul loved a good time and traveled with family and friends to ‘hot spots’ for fun and together-ness and enjoyed taking his chances at slot machines along with a glass of wine and sharing his bounty with friends and family.

Paul remained kind, generous, sweet, a good friend to many, and an attentive brother to his family for his whole life. He found a home amongst good, long-time friends in Clatskanie and found that he was well-suited for his work at PGE, helping us-ers maximize their energy use. It was here Paul added many to his list of lifelong friends.

Paul is survived by his brothers, David (Diane) of Hammond, Oregon, Mike of Vista, California, and Stuart of Escondido,

California; sisters, Suzanne of Santa Cruz, California, and Terese of Oceanside, California; numerous nieces and nephews; and great nieces and nephews.

When Paul met you, you became a friend which results in so many friends who loved and respected him that they number too many to count.

Besides his parents, Paul was predeceased by his brother John of Portland; sister Mary of New Mexico; and niece Bridget Skarra of Oregon.

The family expresses gratitude to brother Da-vid, nephew Kyle Skarra for helping in so many ways and making final arrangements, the Kulun-kis - longtime friends from Clatskanie for their help, generosity, love and calm consideration and thanks to April – caregiver and friend.

Memorial plans are forthcoming.

Paul Clinton SkarraSept. 19, 1944 ~ Aug. 17, 2021

••obituaries••

Oregon’s unemployment rate has dropped below 5% for the first time since March 2020, when the rate was 3.6%, according to the Oregon Em-ployment Department

Oregon’s unemployment rate was below 5% in only two other periods since 1976 when comparable records began.

During 14 consecutive months in the mid-1990s when the rate dropped to as low as 4.5%; and during the 51 con-secutive months during 2016 through March 2020 when the

rate dropped to a record low of 3.3% in late 2019.

The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 5.2% in Au-gust from 5.4% in July.

In Oregon, nonfarm payroll employment grew by 7,900 in August, following monthly gains averaging 10,300 in the prior seven months. Gains in August were largest in govern-ment (+3,500 jobs); wholesale trade (+1,400); leisure and hospitality (+1,200); and pro-fessional and business services (+1,000). Only one major industry cut jobs: retail trade (-1,900 jobs).

Since the low point of April 2020, at the economic

depths of the COVID-induced recession, Oregon has recov-ered 204,700 jobs, or 72% of the jobs lost during the recession.

Leisure and hospitality added 1,200 jobs in August, following a gain of 6,100, as revised, in July. Despite these gains, it still accounts for the bulk of Oregon’s jobs not re-covered since early 2020, with 44,300 jobs left to recover to reach the prior peak month of February 2020. The industry has regained 60% of jobs lost early in the pandemic.

Employment in health care and social assistance has been relatively flat all year. This major industry recovered sub-stantial jobs in mid- through late-2020, but is still down 10,400 jobs, or 4%, since its pre-recession peak of February 2020. Over the past year, nurs-ing and residential care facili-ties has been especially weak, having lost 1,300 jobs since August 2020. Meanwhile, two component industries have ex-panded in the past 12 months: ambulatory health care ser-vices (+3,100 jobs) and social assistance (+1,100 jobs).

Unemployment rate falls below 5%

Jeremy C. Ruark / The ChiefThe Oregon Employment Department reports 2,078,379 employed last month and 98,497 unemployed.

STAFF [email protected]

through the city’s Scout Lake Funds, a special timber revenue collection set aside by the City of Clatskanie.

Clatskanie Parks and Rec-reation District Administrator Cyndi Warren said overall she has received positive com-ments about the pool improve-ments and the district was able to overcome the challenge of finding adequate lifeguards for the safe operations of the pool.

“We were able to get a few additional guards trained and hired and the swim lesson sessions we were able to offer this summer were very well attended,” Warren said. “The challenges we had were related to the COVID-19 pandemic and new construction issues.”

Warren said as the pool closes for the season it will be prepped for winter and any up-dates or projects in the building will be worked on during the winter and spring months.

“June 2022 will be our planned opening and the exact date usually coincides with the end of the school year,” Warren said. “As for adequate lifeguards, we will start the hir-ing process in February, as we have always done. The district also hopes to be able to have our own lifeguard instructor to be able to train incoming life-guards and not have to contract the training out of district.”

The Clatskanie Pool draws thousands each summer for community and family swims, swimming lessons, aerobics, senior exercising, synchronized swim team performances and other programs. The pool also offers full and part time

employment opportunities and training for student lifeguards.

Following a limited sum-mer season due to the CO-VID-19 pandemic, the pool closed in September 2020. It underwent the renovations this year, reopening in July.

“Moving forward, the district is just hopeful to be able to operate a full summer of lessons, four to five sessions, as we have done in the past,” Warren said. “It is not currently in the budget, but replacing the slide would be one element that the district will work towards.”

Warren acknowledged that the pool staff has stepped up to meet the challenges.

“The last few years have been challenging with CO-VID, the pool renovation and staffing difficulties, but our pool managers Charity and Becki, as well as our loyal and dedicated lifeguard staff, have done an amazing job of ‘rolling with the punches’ and keeping the pool operating as best as the circumstances at the time allowed for our community,” Warren said.

Clatskanie Pool Fast Facts

135 Average number of daily patrons (this does not include swim lessons)

2 Week Swim Lessons• Session 1 - 141 kids• Session 2 - 177 kids

POOLFrom Page A1

••sPorts••

Friday, Sept. 17• Football 7 p.m. at Willamina

Saturday, Sept. 18• Volleyball at OES Tournament 10 a.m.

Monday Sept. 20• Middle School Volleyball at Vernonia at 4 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 21• Volleyball vs. Willamina JV at 4 p.m. Varsity at 5:30 p.m. • Girls Soccer at Castle Rock 5 p.m.

Wednesday Sept. 22• Football vs. Warrenton 4 p.m.

• Middle School Volleyball vs. Jewell at 4 p.m.• Volleyball vs. Willamina JV at 5:15 p.m. Varsity at 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 23• Volleyball @Rainier JV at 4 p.m. Varsity at 5:30 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 24• Football vs. Knappa at 7 p.m.

Saturday Sept. 25• JV Volleyball at Warrenton cancelled• Girls Soccer vs. Tillamook at Clatskanie City Park at 4 p.m.

Clatskanie Middle/High School sports schedule

Painting the town: New mural going up

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