Remember to set your clocks Scappoose puts on dominant display at back 1 hour Saturday night Cowapa League championship meet, Page A13 for Daylight Savings Time
Wednesday October 31, 2012
TODAY’S WEATHER
The Chronicle
Kinder Morgan subject of EPA, DEQ fines BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
Kinder Morgan, the company looking to bring one of two proposed coal export terminals to Port Westward in Clatskanie, has been racking up fines lately from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. According to a recent statement issued by the DEQ, SFPP, L.P., a Kinder Morgan subsidiary operating in Eugene, was issued penalties totaling $1,500 “for permit violations at a bulk petroleum storage facility located on 1765 Prairie Rd. in Eugene.” DEQ said the Kinder Morgan subsidiary exceeded their permitted discharge limit for oil and grease and failed to perform required monitoring. “SFPP is required to test their process wastewater after treatment from an activated carbon treatment system that discharges to a ditch, which ultimately flows to Flat Creek twice a month,” said the statement. On Jan. 13, 2012, wastewater samples collected by SFFP and tested for oil and grease showed the samples contained more oil and grease than allowed. The company was determined to be in violation of both daily and monthly standards. It was for these violations that DEQ assessed a penalty of $1,500. Subsequent testing on Jan. 19 found no oil or grease in the wastewater discharge. However, in June 2012, SFPP failed to monitor for oil and grease. In addition, SFPP is required to sample, on a quarterly basis for oxygenated fuel additives. SFPP discharged process wastewater in April and June, yet
Rain PAGE A15
Highs to 58 Lows to 48
75¢ Vol. 130, No. 43 16 Pages
DA releases investigation records BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
Records recently released by the Columbia County District Attorney’s Office regarding the investigation conducted by Oregon State Police and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office into a car accident involving then-deputy and current sheriff’s office candidate Dave Fuller do little to provide conclusive evidence. The investigations came as result of Fuller’s single-car accident that occurred in the early morning
Getting
hours of April 1 on U.S. Highway 30 just south of Jack Falls Road near Prescott Beach. Fuller, and about 40-45 others, had been on a casino bus trip that left Clatskansie around 4:30 p.m. on March Jeff Dickerson 31, stopped in Longview – where Fuller and several others boarded – then proceeded to the
Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, Wash. The bus returned to Longview around 1 a.m. While driving home, Fuller says he crashed his Subaru into a ditch after striking a deer, causing less than $1,000 in Dave Fuller damages to the vehicle. However, the crash didn’t come to light until the following month.
“When we learned of the allegations, we turned the criminal investigation over to the state police, and then conducted our own internal investigation. It was not our decision to release the content of this investigation, as we had deferred this decision to county legal counsel,” said Sheriff Jeff Dickerson. “Now that it has been released, I believe it clearly shows we were right in conducting the investigation, that it was not politically motivated, and that the information speaks for itself.” See SHERIFF, Page A4
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SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
Olde Towne was filled with goblins, ghosts and creatures of all kinds for the annual Lil’ Spooks parade. Dockside Steak & Pasta ownerTiffany Smith (center) officially gets the parade under way as “lead witch” for the event. Close to 500 children, parents and guardians participated in this year’s parade. Children were encouraged to go trick-ortreating at local businessess following the parade.
A SLIDESHOW OF PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT CAN BE SEEN ONLINE AT WWW.THECHRONICLEONLINE.COM
St. Helens This Olde Towne
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SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
Sandra and Roger Campbell are proud of the authentic New York hot dog cart, which was the start of their new business.
New shop is top dog in Olde Towne BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
ST. HELENS – For shoppers, workers or anyone else in the St. Helens Olde Towne area looking for a place to grab a quick bite to eat, a cup of coffee or an authentic New York hot dog, there will soon be a new shop open that fits the bill. Good Things, run by Sandra and Roger Campbell, will open on Nov. 2 and will offer all that and more. The Campbells are better known for their hot dog stand, River Street Hot Dogs, which has a been a popular draw at
events like 13 Nights on the River. Earlier this year, the Campbells began setting up their stand in a parking lot along First Street in St. Helens. The move gave them more regular hours to be open and increased visibility. It proved to be the right decision. The River Street Hot Dogs stand became so successful that the Campbells decided to move indoors so they could be open year round. The couples’ fondness for the hot dog cart is apparent. “This is our baby and what started it all. She came from New York City and is See GOOD THINGS, Page A4
Many voters are getting their ballots in early BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
In less than a week, the 2012 elections will be over and regardless of the outcome, Oregon voters will have weighed in on a number of issues. Along with the hotly contested races for county commissioner and sheriff, there are city council races in Rainier, St. Helens and Scappoose, director positions at Columbia River PUD, Clatskanie PUD and McNulty Water PUD and ballot measures in St. Helens and Prescott. And in addition to the presidential race, votes will be cast for Congress, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state senator and representative, and on measures that include marijuana, gillnetting on the Columbia River, inheritance taxes and a new casino. Although many voters have already mailed in or dropped off their ballots, just how many voters will ultimately cast their votes remains to be seen. During the last presidential race, nearly 25,000 ballots – about 86 percent – were cast
out of approximately 29,000 eligible voters. Turnout dropped to 74 percent during the November 2010 elections with just over 20,000 votes cast. Since then, voter turnout has continued to decline. The May 2011 special election had a voter turnout of 47 percent, the November 2011 special primary election turnout was 44 percent and the May 2012 primary election had only 37 percent of voters cast ballots. But things may be different this time. According to Columbia County Elections Clerk Pam Benham, about 25 percent of the 29,000 eligible voters have already cast their ballots. Of those ballots already cast, about 60 percent were mailed, 35 percent were dropped off at one of the county’s six drop boxes and the rest were brought to the elections office counter. “They’re coming in earlier and earlier,” said Benham. Rural Organizing Project mailed out non-partisan voter pamphlets and has had volunteers hitting the phone banks across the state to remind voters to get their ballots in. “We are seeing a mixed bag. For example, in Baker See BALLOTS, Page A4
We goofed! In our Oct. 17 special Halloween section, we inadvertently included show times for the St. Helens Haunted Tours for the week of Oct. 28–31. There were no shows on these dates. We apologize for the oversight and for any inconvenience this may have caused.