River City Speedway season update
Independence Day celebrations
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Chronicle & Chief THE COLUMBIA COUNTY
Wednesday, July 10, 2024 | Columbia County, Oregon
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Columbia County’s 109th Fair and Rodeo
KELLI NICHOLSON / COUNTRY MEDIA, INC.
The 2023 Columbia County Fair and Rodeo was full of rides, vendors, and fun. WILL LOHRE
Country Media, Inc.
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he Columbia County Fair is returning soon, and the ultrapopular Columbia County Rodeo will be held next weekend, bringing raucous action to the county for its 109th year. The theme this year is “Sew It, Grow It, Show It,” which was submitted by Daisy Smith, and selected as the winner forthis year’s theme contest. The fair will offer a host of activities, including carnival rides, 4-H livestock shows and auctions, food, drink, and, of course, the rodeo. While the fair itself begins on July 17, the rodeo will be the main attraction and will take place on July 19 and 20 at the Columbia County Fairgrounds, 58892 Saulser Road in
St. Helens. Fair Board President Peggy Howell said there are a lot of changes at this summer’s fair. The event drew around 20,000 people in 2022, according to Howell, and the event has been growing in recent years. One of the main changes this year will be in the alcohol policy. “We are going to have ‘walkaround alcohol.’ We will still have the beer gardens but no fence around it. The Elks are our vendor, with this brings more changes. We are checking bags at the gate, no open containers are allowed to come into the fairgrounds,” Howell said. “McMullen’s are sponsoring fill stations for guests to fill their water bottles. The bag check is a OLCC rule, the Elks liquor license is on the line and if they lose that, it will close the lodge.” This is a change that will allow people to buy drinks in the fair and walk about the grounds with drink in hand so people don’t have to take time away from the festivities to enjoy a beverage. Howell emphasized that no outside alcohol is permitted, and if the rules are violated, it could result in the loss of the Elks Lodge’s liquor license. Another change is that the carnival rides will not be open on Sunday, the last day of the fair. People will need to be sure that if they want to get on the rides, they don’t leave it to the last minute. The reason is that staffing for the rides is too costly to remain open that day. While it is unfortunate, See FAIR, Page A9
Celebrating Independence Day! COURTESY PHOTO FROM HENRY WEISENSEE
Check out coverage from the Clatskanie and St. Helens 4th of July celebrations on Page A9.
Police Station a work in progress JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.
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A photo of one of this year’s concerts at McCormick Park.
COURTESY PHOTO
Tourism process slows, 13 Nights goes on WILL LOHRE
Country Media, Inc.
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hough the process of hiring a new event coordinator remains unresolved, the 13 Nights concerts series will continue, and the city has announced the remaining concerts. On June 17, the City of St. Helens voted to approve a notice of intent to award Treadway Events & Entertainment LLC as the new events coordinator. The notice of intent to award began the negotiation with the selected contractor candidate and also opened a sevenday “objection period.” According to St. Helens Communications Officer Crystal King, the city received an appeal in protest of the city’s selection. “The city did receive an appeal, which has been forwarded to the city’s attorney for review and response,” King said. “A new contract cannot be awarded until there is a response to the protest. We are working expeditiously with legal counsel to address the protest.” This development marks another delay in the process of selecting a new contractor, and currently,
the city does not have an official event coordinator. The contract for the city’s previous contractor, Tina Curry of E2C Corp., expired June 30. Curry was a key catalyst for the growth of St. Helens’ tourism program and had contracted with the city in that role since 2017. Community members and councilors have credited her with making the Spirit of Halloweentown the largescale event it is today. Regarding the timeline for getting a new contractor in the door, King said the city recognizes that “tourism is one of many community development approaches utilized by cities to support business and job growth.” “We’re in a period of transition right now. While we don’t have a specific timeline for a new event contract agreement to be reached, the city remains committed to investing in local tourism,” King said. “Depending on the scale of tourism efforts, it can also generate regional, national, and international awareness about a city, which can create further economic growth. St. Helens possesses a unique set See TOURISM, Page A3
IN THIS ISSUE Police Reports .............. A3 Opinion .......................... A4 Obituaries ...................... A5 Market ............................ A6 Public Notices .............. A7 Crossword .................... A7 Games & Puzzles .......... A8 Sports .......................... A10
inal development plans for a new police station to replace the aging facility in St. Helens continue to elude the city. In 2020, the city council began reviewing a proposed $22 million police station redevelopment plan. The original design included a court, city council chambers and more, but as the costs mounted and limited resources were available, city officials decided in January 2023 to reduce the scale of the project. The project seeks to address the issue of the outdated police station that currently houses the St. Helens Police Department, at 150 S. 13th Street. The 2,200-square-foot building was constructed in 1971. The hope is that a new facility will allow for the continued expansion of the St. Helens police force as population and call volume increases, according to city planners.
JEREMY C. RUARK / COUNTRY MEDIA,INC.
The aging St. Helens Police station.
Site decision nixed Earlier this year, the city was moving toward a location decision and land use application for the new police station to be located on property Kaster Road. That changed May 9 during a special meeting when the council decided to deny the application. City Planner Jacob Graichen said the decision was based on potential shortcomings at the site. During the discussion before voting to deny the conditional use permit as part of the application, Councilors Mark Gundersen and Jessica Chilton voiced that they felt the city had mitigated the concerns relating to the property but that going through the appeal process was not worth the time or the money. “I believe the site was mitigated properly; I stand by that site,” Chilton said. “ But, I’m not willing to fight and waste our taxpayer’s money, our city’s money, to try to
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COURTESY PHOTO FROM THE CITY OF ST. HELENS
The original conceptual drawing of what the new public safety facility might look like.
prove that. I feel like the city is being held hostage by a political agenda, and I’m not willing to go down that path.” Councilor Sundeen said he felt similarly and that getting the station built in a timely manner is now the main priority. Councilor Russell Hubbard was a member of the St. Helens Planning Commission, which flagged the building of the station in a floodplain as an issue in 2023. Hubbard said that mitigation at the Kaster Road site would cost money, and he was never in favor of the site.
The motion to deny the permit during the May meeting followed months of limbo for the facility after an appeal was filed with the State Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). Next step To gain insight into what will happen next, The Chronicle & Chief reached out to St. Helens Communication Officers Crystal King. See POLICE, Page A7
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