The Chronicle
Scappoose wraps up third straight Cowapa League title, Page B1 Wednesday October 24, 2012
Candidates prep for elections BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
In our continuing coverage of local elections, we look at county commissioner candidates Wayne Mayo, who is running for PosiWayne Mayo tion No. 1, and current commissioner Tony Hyde, who is running for Position No. 3. Tony Hyde We asked each candidate four questions about the county’s economy, budget and their positions on the proposed coal export projects. For the full answers to all four questions and the candidate bios, go online to TheChronicleOnline.com. Q: If Columbia County experiences a shortfall for the next fiscal year's budget, what cuts or changes would you propose to balance the budget? Mayo: There’s no “if” about it. The shortfall is here. The reason? Diminishing property tax receipts, timber receipts, and a budget-busting 45 percent increase in PERS retirement liability starting in 10 weeks. I disagree with short-term solutions like last year’s decision to move $200,000 from county parks to the general fund. This left a gap-
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TODAY’S WEATHER Highs to 48 Lows to 39
75¢ Vol. 130, No. 42 18 Pages
100 jobs lost “with closing of Boise plant
SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
Boise Inc. announced on Oct. 16 it would shut down operations on its one remaining machine come Dec. 31.
BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
ST. HELENS — Last week’s announcement that Boise Inc. will permanently shut down its one remaining paper machine at the company’s St. Helens paper mill came as little surprise to some, a shock to others. But the impacts of the closing will be felt throughout the community. Shutting down the H2 machine will result in the loss of an estimated 105 jobs. Production on the machine will end Dec. 31. “This is a difficult but necessary decision to focus our efforts and resources on the products and machines elsewhere in our system that drive the financial performance and cash flow of our paper operations,” said Alexander Toeldte, president and chief executive officer of Boise Inc., in a statement. The closing of the plant comes nearly four years after the company laid off 300 mill workers in November of 2008, citing rising costs for wood fiber, energy and chemicals in its production as contributing factors. Boise shut down paper machines 1 and 4 at that time. “This is not good news by any stretch,” said Columbia County Commissioner Tony Hyde. The commissioners met with Boise executives on
Despite the dedication and hard work of our employees, we have concluded the machine cannot compete in the marketplace over the long-term. We thank all of our employees, customers, suppliers, and the community who have supported this operation over so many years.” Alexander Toeldte President and CEO, Boise Inc.
Oct. 16, the same day the announcement was made. “It seems that their perspective is that they are changing their product line. They have decided they are no longer going to be in the paper business. They’re going to put all their focus on cardboard.” Hyde said the value of the property, with its access to rail and a deep-water port, is not lost on Boise. “They have already committed to purposing that property as soon as possible. There is some ray of hope on the horizon,” Hyde said. Cascade Tissue Group will continue to operate a paper-making machine at Boise's St. Helens mill. “Despite the dedication and hard work of our employees, we have concluded the machine cannot compete in the marketplace over the
long-term. We thank all of our employees, customers, suppliers, and the community who have supported this operation over so many years. We will work closely with our customers and suppliers to ensure a smooth transition," Toeldte said. Eligible salaried employees will be offered severance packages and outplacement assistance. Negotiations will be scheduled with the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Union (AWPPW) Local 1 to determine the effect for union employees. “We are going to be meeting with Boise, with their human resources department, to set up some orientation sessions. We’re ready to do that as soon as possible,” said Karin Miller, county manager for MTC
Works. “At that time, we will survey the employees and see what they would like. Are they interested in training funds, do they just want help with applications and resumes or getting registered in iMatch? Then we will design some services around those surveys.” Miller also said the agency will begin to look for funding to provide those services. “We’re going to be looking at going to the state and to the federal government for training dollars if there’s enough interest,” she said. In third quarter 2012, Boise recognized approximately $31 million of pretax costs related to ceasing operations at the mill. This includes approximately $7 million of employee-related and other costs, most of which it expects to pay in early 2013; approximately $10 million of cash costs for future site remediation, which the company expects to pay out over a longer term; and approximately $14 million in non-cash charges related primarily to the impairment of property, plant, and equipment. For many in the county, this latest closure only highlights the need to bring in new businesses and new jobs to Columbia County. “We’re always talking to people interested in moving out here to CoSee BOISE, Page A3
See ELECTION, Page A2
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Tax roll has few surprises BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
Property tax bills have begun appearing in homeowners’ mailboxes. This year’s tax roll saw an increase of just over $1 million. The total tax to be collected this year is $55.98 million as compared to $54.91 million for the 2011-12 tax year. The list of Columbia County’s top taxpayers saw few changes. While the majority of those on the county’s top 20 taxpayers list were also on last year’s top 20 list, there were a few changes. The top 20 taxpayers represent about $8.51 million. That’s up by about 2.5 percent from last year’s $8.28 million.
These 20 taxpayers also represent a total assessed value of $861 million. That’s compared to $927 million in real market values. Not on the list this year is Brix Maritime Company, Enerfin Resources, and the Qwest Corporation. These three companies represented about $360,000 in taxes. Three companies added to the top 20 list this year were Bascom Pacific, CenturyLink and Northwest Aggregates, representing about $477,000 in taxes. The county’s top five taxpayers are: Northwest Natural ($1.9 million); U.S. Gypsum ($1.26 million); Portland General Electric ($1.08 million); Armstrong World Industries ($521,000) and Longview Timberlands ($503,000).
Noticeably absent from that list of the top five is Boise White Paper, which recently announced it was closing its H2 mill and reducing more than 100 jobs come Dec. 31. Boise was in eighth place last year with $299,000 in taxes and in ninth place this year with $302,000 in taxes.
Head-on crash injures four
Courtesy photo
A head-on crash between a 1995 Ford F150 truck and a 1990 Mazda Protegé resulted in four people being injured.
Oregon State Police is continuing its investigation into a two-vehicle, head-on crash along U.S Highway 30 near Rainier on Oct. 20. The crash resulted in critical injuries to one person and injuries to four others, including two children. Around 10:30 p.m., a 1995 Ford F150 pickup driven by Nathan Edward Reeves, 37, of St. Helens, was southbound on Highway 30 near milepost 44 when he apparently attempted to pass another vehicle and collided head-on with a northbound 1990 Mazda Protegé driven by Jacquelyn Bouchard, 25, from Longview. Reeves, who was not using safety restraints, was transported to Oregon Health & Science University, where he is listed in critical condition. Bouchard and three of her four passengers were injured and transported to area hospitals. The injured three passengers are identified as right front passen-
ger Andrew B. Perry, 29, from Longview; Monica B. Perry, 7; and, Aahlyah Marie Perry, 6. Their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. The fourth passenger, a 2-year old girl in a child safety seat, was not injured. The two adults and two children were using safety restraints or in a child booster seat. The three children were in the rear seating positions. OSP troopers from the St. Helens and Astoria offices are continuing the investigation. Alcohol is being investigated as a contributing factor on the part of driver Reeves. OSP was assisted at the scene by local fire personnel and officers from Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Rainier Police Department, Clatskanie Police Department, and Oregon Department of Transportation. Highway 30 was closed at the crash scene until 2 a.m.
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