St. Helens boys win their first two matches of the season, Page A14 Project2:Layout 1
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
2/21/12
3:24 PM
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The Chronicle
$1.00 Vol. 131, No. 12 16 Pages
Scappoose City council looks to Scappoose’s future ballot measure on fluoride passes BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
SCAPPOOSE — Ballot measure 5-231, which asked voters to decide if the city should continue to add fluoride to its water system, passed with 847 votes in favor and 551 votes against. Those numbers represent a voter turnout of about 36 percent. For the City of Scappoose, that means Joe Lewis, water treatment plant supervisor, will keep doing what he has been doing since the city began adding fluoride to its drinking water in 2000. “It’s just business as usual,” said City Manager Jon Hanken. The question of whether or not the city should continue adding fluoride was raised last summer but it wasn’t until September that the decision was made to put it to the voters. By that time, it was too late to get the measure on the November 2012 election schedule. Hanken estimates the delay in getting the measure on the ballot cost the city around $3,000. Although the question has been answered for now, Hanken doesn’t believe this will be the last time the issue will come before the city council. “My guess is that at some point in time – three or five years – somewhere down the road it will come up again,” he said. ‘Most policy issues, in my opinion, have a cyclical nature to them.” See FLUORIDE, Page A7
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SCAPPOOSE — “Scappoose strives to provide the right balance of cosmopolitan and rural opportunities by offering excellent educational, cultural, entertainment, and recreational opportunities; an active and connected community that is world class and economically competitive. We are a safe and exceptional place to live, play, and work.” This is the revised vision statement proposed by the Scappoose City Council following its March 13 goal planning session. But there was more to the all-day meeting than revising the city’s vision. The council, along with City Manager Jon Hanken, looked at what lies ahead for this growing community. What will Scappoose look like in
SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
Scappoose City Manager Jon Hanken (clockwise from left), Mayor Scott Burge, Councilors Mark Reed, Larry Meares and Jason Meshell, spent the day discussing Scappoose’s future during a goal planning session on March 16. Not pictured but at the meeting are Barb Hayden and Donna Gedlich.
10 or 20 years? Will the city’s business community be thriving? Will there be significant residential growth? How
about new recreational opportunities? “What we’re doing today is looking at the goals, vision and where this
council wishes to take this community in the next decade and longer,” said Hanken. Although the meeting was open to the public, only a handful of others, including Scappoose School District Superintendent Stephen Jupe attended the meeting. “In 10 years, I would like to see a really thriving community; it’s a business community, a place to invest. It’s environmentally well controlled. It’s a place where my students want to leave to get an education and come back and raise children,” said Jupe. “That is hugely important so that we get steady, maintained growth.” Commercial real estate developer Brian Rosenthal told the council more attention needed to be given to local proposed coal export projects, specifically those using rail transportation, See COUNCIL, Page A7
Mixing things up
SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
For the staff at Houlton Bakery, it’s business as usual as they place fresh baked goods in display cases and help customers. Owner Gainor Rikor announced earlier this month she would be closing the shop on March 23.
Changes in the mix for local bakery BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
ST. HELENS — For much of the past decade, residents and visitors to St. Helens have come to Houlton Bakery on Columbia Boulevard to sit down and have a cup of coffee with a just-out-ofthe-oven Snickerdoodle, enjoy a delicious lunch, or take home a
loaf of fresh-baked bread. That will soon be changing. Owner Gainor Riker sent a notice to her customers on March 1 announcing the bakery would be closing on March 23. “Since opening the bakery in January 2004, we have endeavored to develop and evolve our products and services to keep pace with the local economy,” said Gainor. “Now we have encoun-
DEQ approves cleanup of 2010 tanker gas spill BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
DEER ISLAND — Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality has approved the cleanup of a New Year’s Eve 2010 gasoline spill site near the intersection of Chaney Road and U.S. Highway 30, about a mile south of Dear Island. At the time of the accident, DEQ investigators estimated the cleanup effort would take at least six months. The spill occurred on Dec. 31, 2010, when a Wilcox and Flegel gasoline
tanker-truck struck four cows that had escaped through a nearby fence and were crossing Highway 30. The tanker-truck then rolled onto the highway shoulder and fuel began spilling onto the ground. Originally, it was thought that 1,800 gallons of gas had spilled from the truck and seeped into the soil, although that number eventually rose to 2,200 gallons. “We maintain the standards of cleanup and regulate the overall effort. First we identify See DEQ, Page A2
tered an obstacle that will keep us from continued growth in our current location.” Recently, after the St. Helens Book Shop next to the bakery closed, Riker looked into getting a license to serve alcohol with the intention of serving dinner and offering cooking classes. Rikor said the bookstore’s closing has definitely had an impact on her business.
“Not only are there vacancies, but the building used to be a retail building and now it’s servicebased. The businesses in it provide a service, they don’t sell a product. That affects what we can do as far as our foot traffic,” she said. “We’ve been here long enough to see the different traffic flows based on who our co-tenants are.” See BAKERY, Page A3
St. Helens High students among video finalists BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
ST. HELENS — Students from building construction teacher Joe Mauck’s class at St. Helens High School have been selected as finalists in the Oregon Young Employee Safety Coalition video contest. For one of Mauck’s students, it may seem like dejá vu. Michael Norris was part of the team the created a video for last year’s
contest, which ultimately took third place. Other team members include Josiah Beggio, Keenan Reed, Shawn Vielmetti, Colton Sundell, Cody Cunningham, David Bair and Summer Fultcher. The Oregon Young Employee Safety Coalition, also known as O[yes], works to educate young workers, educators, employers, parents, and labor and trade associations through outreach, advocacy, and sharing of resources. The annual “Speak Up,
Work Safe” video contest brings the importance of safety to life through song, humor and creative storytelling – and some close calls on the job. The contest is open to all high school students in Oregon and is designed to increase awareness about safety on the job for young people. Students were asked to create a 90-second video based on the concept of speaking up about potential See VIDEO, Page A3
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