St. Helens, Clatskanie, & Rainier Graduation special B section
SHHS, CMHS softball season wrap up PAGE A10
Chronicle & Chief THE COLUMBIA COUNTY
Wednesday, June 5, 2024 | Columbia County, Oregon
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Housing project receives much needed funding WILL LOHRE
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The picture of Cutcher in the CMHS Hall of Fame.
Ken Cutcher, a piece of the Northwest WILL LOHRE
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f you look at the wall in the Clatskanie Middle/High School (CMHS) cafeteria, you’ll see the school’s track and field records displayed. One name holds two of the boys records, two of the longest-standing records in school history. Ken Cutcher set the school record for shot put and discus in 1971. He is also a member of the CMHS Hall of Fame. Cutcher also played football and, after graduating from CMHS, attended Linfield College, where he won Lower Columbia Sportsman of the Year. After Linfield, he became a commercial fisherman, working in Alaska, Seattle, and Astoria. Cutcher was inducted into the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020. He was an inspiration to his family, even to those who have never met him. Christy Faucher is Cutcher’s niece, and though she grew up in New York, her mother and her two uncles went to CMHS. Sadly, Faucher never got to meet him because he disappeared at sea. Cutcher went missing after going out crabbing in 1984. “One day, they went out crabbing on a day in January and never came back. And there’s a lot of mystery around it, too, because they never found any parts of the boat,” Faucher said. “The Coast Guard flew over several times, and then my grandfather got a plane to fly over. But it’s interesting because he wrote my grandma a poem, and the very first line is, ‘The ocean brought me peace.’” Cutcher became someone Faucher got to know through letters, stories, and poems. As it turned out, Cutcher was not just a noteworthy athlete but a logger and a man with a passion for writing and poetry. Faucher always had a passion for writing and felt a connection to her uncle through the written pieces he left behind. “He seemed like a force. Larger than life. Hearing about him throughout the years, everything he accomplished, and the focus he had was really inspirational,” Faucher said. “Another interesting aspect to his story was he was off doing things.” Faucher said her mother used to say he was like “the wind.” In Cutcher’s Hall of Fame entry on the Linfield website, a teammate said on the field, “nobody messed with Ken,” while another told of his off-the-field personality as “a gentle giant and loyal friend.” In 2015, Faucher visited her grandmother, who lived in Clatskanie and went to the mouth of the Columbia River to see the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It was a powerful moment, and not just because of the scenery. “I went out there to the mouth See CUTCHER, Page A6
he need for affordable housing has been a hot-button topic in recent months and years, and Columbia County Habitat for Humanity is aiming to meet some of the demand with a 10-home project for lowincome families in Scappoose. The project has been made possible through various partnerships and funding sources. On May 29, U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici and others traveled to Scappoose for a ceremony to present $280,000 of Community Project Funding to Columbia County Habitat for Humanity Director Jennifer Anderson. The event celebrated funding from federal, state, and local sources. Anderson said Business Oregon has contributed $144,000 to assist in the project, and the City of Scappoose has directed American Rescue Plan funds to replace waterlines on the property. The city has also donated engineering services, and the project is also being overseen by Lower Columbia Engineering. Anderson explained how big of a step it is to secure the funds and start on the project. “It’s a huge step for us. We’ve built ten homes in St. Helens and two homes in Rainier. We’re building one home in Vernonia, and we have another home in St. Helens to build,” Anderson said. “When we’re done with the home in St. Helens, we’ll have built 14 homes in our 25-year existence and this is ten on top of that!” The project, located at 33741 SE Oak St., will aim to deliver ten townhomes for low-income families. The event was also attended by Scapoose Mayor Joe Backus, Columbia County Commissioner Kellie Jo Smith, and
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Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, with the community members and partners, gathered for the check presentation ceremony in Scappoose on May 29.
members, beneficiaries, and supporters of Habitat for Humanity. Anderson said the next year will focus on putting infrastructure in place to support the project. The project will be built in phases as the property is developed to meet the eventual capacity. Speaking to a gathered group, Bonamici said that she is doing anything she can to help with affordable housing and the underlying infrastructure for housing. Bonamici said projects like these take teamwork to accomplish. “It does take everybody working together,” Bonamici said. “It’s not just going to be the federal government, or state government, or local government, or the nonprofits alone; it’s going to take everybody working together. So I’m really excited to be able to help with this project.” Backus said he is excited by the collaboration that “made this project work.” Backus grew up in the area,
and he’s excited to see the property used to “allow homeowners the actual power of owning their own home.” One of the powerful moments of the event was hearing from some of the homeowners who had seen Habitat for Humanity’s life-changing work firsthand. St. Helens resident Debbie Ritthaler moved into the first home Habitat for Humanity built in Columbia County in 2001. Ritthaler spoke about what it meant to become a homeowner. “As a single mom of four boys, it changed our lives forever. My children had a home. I lived in an upstairs apartment with four boys, and suddenly we had a home,” Ritthaler said. Ritthaler described the possibilities that opened up through home ownership and said that it changed her children’s lives. Ritthaler has since moved out of the home, but one of her sons now lives there. Her story demonstrated the generational impact
of the program. “I would not have been able to buy a house. There’s no way I would have been able to afford it, especially the house prices now. There’s no way,” Ritthaler shared. Bonamici thanked the homeowners for sharing their experiences, and said that the stories she hears on the ground help her inform policies and decisions back in Washington. Speaking to Bonamici after the check presentation, she emphasized why she picked this project to champion in D.C. “This project I selected for Community Project Funding because the lack of affordable housing and the need for affordable housing is something I hear about everywhere I go in Northwest Oregon,” Bonamici said. “To be able to get this funding for the infrastructure means it’s right at the front end, and we can see the project move forward more rapidly because of the funding.”
The Lodge brings the world to Scappoose WILL LOHRE
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cappoose has been a buzz following the opening of the city’s first food cart pod, which opened for business in May. Though pod co-owner Nick Hurliman said they are still in the midst of a “soft open,” The Lodge’s bar and carts have been crowded with customers since it opened its doors. “You see the reception; it’s been pretty busy so far. One of our carts told us they have four carts around the Portland metro area, in different pods, and they had their best single day in Scappoose,” Hurliman said. Located at the end of SW Old Portland Road near Highway 30, the pod is adjacent to the “Welcome to Scappoose” totem pole. Hurliman and his longtime friends and business partners, Jeff Schultz and Matt McHugh, own the Big Food Cart and Brew food cart pod in St. Helens and started The Lodge to bring a diverse range of food and a community hang-out spot to Scappoose. The cart pod has ten carts with space for one more, and the centerpiece of the property is “The Lodge” itself, a 2,100 square-foot bar that has TVs for live sports and a full bar including 23 drinks on tap. Not just beer, but cold brew coffee and root beer for the kids. For rainy days, a covered outdoor space offers shelter, and a more open area provides space for activities on sunny days. Hurliman is the founder and owner of the Hawaiian Plate food cart in St. Helens. Though he doesn’t have a cart in Scappoose, he’s focusing on the property management and bar components. The pod’s ten carts represent a variety of cuisines; for The Lodge’s owners, that was an intentional choice. Hurliman, Schultz, and McHugh visited pods to get ideas and distribute applications to cast a wide net. The carts that have made it
IN THIS ISSUE Police Reports .............. A3 Opinion .......................... A4 Obituaries ...................... A5 Market ............................ A6 Public Notices ..............A7-9 Crossword .................... A10 Sports .......................... A10
into the pod have been vetted by the owners, not just for the type of food but for the quality as well. “We tested all of them pretty much along the process to make sure we were getting quality too. We knew the excitement would wear off, but if we selected vendors who were going to be staples in the community,” Hurliman said. The cart owners come from a variety of backgrounds. Hurliman said there are carts from Columbia County just starting out and some from around the general metro area with more experience. “We mixed it. You’ll probably see some of the carts working out the kinks, especially the ones who are new to this with their first cart; the other ones, once they get going, they know what they’re doing,” Hurliman said. The cart options are:
• Bobabalistic - Boba tea, desserts, snacks • Delicias Restaurant - Salvadoran and Mexican food • Dely’s Kusina - Filipino cuisine • Esan Thai - Thai cuisine • Glazed and Confused - donuts • Lucky Teriyaki - sushi and ramen • MZ Philly - Philly cheesesteaks, American food • Pig Cow Spud - American food • Taj Indian Tadka House - Indian cuisine • Turkish Agha - Middle Eastern food Hurliman said he’s really enjoyed trying out all of the different carts and the variety in their menu. One of his favorites is a call back to when he was living in Portland, and he used to go to Esan Thai’s brick-andmortar location with his wife. While the food is obviously a priority, Hurliman and his partners are also hoping to make the pod a hub in the community. The Lodge showed some of Scappoose High
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The new sign at The Lodge has gone up.
School’s playoff games in softball and baseball, including the state championship. That’s just the beginning though. The cart pod will host its grand opening June 22. Hurliman said there will be live music, vendors, and raffles. “We’re going to focus a lot on community activities after the grand opening. We’re going to do trivia nights, cribbage tournaments, cornhole tournaments, open mic nights, some of that stuff that is a reason for the community to get out,” Hurliman said. “We want to be that extended
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living room for the community.” Community Reception The reception from the community has been enthusiastic. Checking out the cart pod at lunchtime on a Friday, the pod was a bustling hub of activity. The Chronicle & Chief spoke with Ashley Locken, a Scappoose resident visiting the pod for her second time. On her first visit, Locken said she See THE LODGE, Page A5
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