A1
Scappoose wins its second straight Cowapa League championship, Page A13 Project2:Layout 1
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
2/21/12
3:24 PM
TODAY’S WEATHER Rain likely Highs to 62 Page A12 Lows to 47
Page 1
The Chronicle “
$1.00 Vol. 131, No. 20 16 Pages
www.thechronicleonline.com
St. Helens man charged with attempted murder, kidnapping SCAPPOOSE — A resident called 9-1-1 late Sunday night on May 12 to report a disturbance where a man was seen running his vehicle into a female. Micah Bills This occurred on Wikstrom Road near Highway 30 in the Scappoose area. The male was seen leaving the scene in a vehicle, leaving behind an injured female. After further investigation, Micah Leroy Bills, 32, a registered sex offender, was arrested and is being held in the Columbia County Jail on $54,000 bail. Bills was charged with attempted murder; two counts of first-degree kidnapping; fourth-degree assault; three counts of first-degree attempted assault; first-degree attempted rape; coercion; menacing; four counts of unlawful use of a weapon; and delivery and possession of cocaine. The adult female victim, who has not been identified, was transported to a Portlandarea hospital. Specific details about her injuries will not be released but appear to nonlife-threatening. Preliminary information indicates the victim, who is younger than Bills, met the suspect early Sunday evening while fishing in the Scappoose Dike area. It is not believed that they knew each other prior to that time. Deputies are continuing their investigation. Bills’ sex offender status comes from a 2007 felony conviction for first-degree attemped sex abuse.
INSIDE Classified Ads . . . A10-11 Legal Notices . . . . A11-12 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . A7 Opinions . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Out & About . . . . . . . . A8 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . A13-16 TV Guide . . . . . . . . . . . A9 Weather . . . . . . . . . . . A12
Kinder Morgan derails plans for Port Westward Announcement to have little impact on Port, Ambre Energy
BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
Kinder Morgan officials announced on May 8 at both the Port of St. Helens board and Columbia County Commissioners meetings that the company has abandoned its plans to build a rail-based coal export terminal at Port Westward. “We made a determination this week that it’s not going to work and we’re not going to pursue the project,” said Kinder Morgan Public Affairs Director Allen Fore during the commissioners’ meeting.
This is not about the commodity, its about the siting.” Allen Fore Kinder Morgan Public Affairs Director
Fore said the company did a substantial amount of preliminary work before coming to that decision. “We’ve been – for the past 15 months – pursuing a due diligence process for a site for a potential coal export terminal at Port Westward Industrial Park. This due diligence
process is something Kinder Morgan does all the time,” he said. “We take great pains to make sure that you meet the first step in making sure a project has the potential for success. On this project we have not filed for a single permit. We have not got to this step yet.”
While the project hasn’t been without its detractors, there are many in the county who were in favor if the project, and were especially supportive of the jobs Kinder Morgan would have brought with it. “Is it disappointing? Sure, because there was a real opportunity here for some significant investment in the county, significant tax revenue and some high paying, living wage jobs. But there are starts and stops all the time with big projects, said Patrick Trapp, executive director for the Port. “But it has put St. Helens on the map See COAL, Page A3
Technical programs at the forefront for SHHS
Courtesy photos
ABOVE: Brandan Hicks (left), Zach Davis and Tryus Perkins check out materials recently donated to St. Helens High School. RIGHT: Students from the St. Helens High School automotive skills programs compete against other students for one of 10 spots at the national competition.
ST. HELENS — Automotive, manufacturing and welding programs at St. Helens High School have taken center stage recently. All three programs – two of which benefit high school students, while another is geared toward Portland Community College students – have been the recipients of some good news.
Automotive For the 12th consecutive year, SHHS student technicians from the advanced Automotive Technology program – Mike’s Automotive – have proven themselves to be among the best of the best by qualifying for the prestigious Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition. This contest, sponsored jointly by
Ford Motor Company and the American Automobile Association, encourages excellence in the field of automotive service. A team of 20 junior and senior students from St. Helens recently competed against other student technicians from across the state in a challenging, computer-
based test of their automotive knowledge. They took one of only 10 statewide spots moving on to the next level of competition. Their success comes on the heels of last year’s Oregon State Champions Keagan Mays and Bryce Clarke. Mays and Clarke, along with instructor Mike
Herdrich, traveled at Ford and AAA’s expense to Ford Motor Company’s World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., to represent Oregon in the national troubleshooting contest. On May 9 and 10, Karl Reiniger and Cody Brooke See SCHOOL, Page A4
Sheriff’s Office releases early details of officer-involved shooting MORE ONLINE
BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
A press conference held by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office on May 8 provided preliminary details surrounding the fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred in Warren Josiah M. Fischer on May 3. But it also left many questions unanswered. A full investigation into the shooting – in which nine shots were fired following a pursuit that reached speeds in excess of 100 mph – is being conducted by the Columbia County Major Crimes team in accordance with the county’s deadly physical force plan.
To view the video of the entire press conference at thechronicleonline.com
“Anytime law enforcement uses deadly force in the course of its duties, the people have a right to know as soon as possible what happened in general to bring us to the point where we are today–where one of our citizens is dead after a confrontation with law enforcement officers in our county,” said Sheriff Jeff Dickerson. Undersheriff Andy Moyer – reading from a prepared statement – said OSP troopers Justin Oxenrider shot and killed Josiah M. Fischer, 27, of St. Helens, after Fischer reportedly led Oxenrider and fellow OSP Trooper Robin May on a pursuit down Highway 30 before ultimately coming to its fatal end near Hazen and Stone roads.
Courtesy photo
OSP Trooper Justin Oxenrider used his patrol car to push a suspect vehicle into a ditch following a high-speed pursuit.
“The investigation is not complete, but the information that is being released are factual events,” said Moyer. According to the Sheriff’s Office’s investigation, Oxenrider initially attempted to stop the driver of a black sedan, later identified as Fischer, after
clocking the car going 78 mph in a 55 mph speed zone in the area of Highway 30 and Wikstrom Road. “Trooper Oxenrider notified his dispatch that he was in pursuit of
See SHOOTING, Page A3
Port commissioner candidate ready for race BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
Ballots for the upcoming May 21 elections have already been mailed out and most voters should have them in hand by now. One of the most talked about races this election cycle is the bid for port commissioner at the Port of St. Helens. Last week, The Chronicle introduced our readers to the two candidates for Port of St. Helens commissioner position no. 4, Terry Luttrell and Michael Clarke. Although current Port Commissioner Chris Iverson is running unopposed for commissioner position no. 5, we asked him to provide the same information and
answer the same questions as the other candidates.
Chris Iverson I am a lifelong resident of Columbia County. I have been married 25 years this July and have two children. I have worked at and owned a small insurance agency for 20 years Chris Iverson [Insurance Services Northwest] in St Helens. I am a past city councilman for the City of St. Helens and I have served on the boards of the Colum-
bia Center, and the Columbia Community Mental Health board. I am a past president of the local Rotary Club and I also serve on the oral review board for the St Helens Police Department. I attend Grace Baptist Church.
Q: What will your number one priority be as a Port Commissioner? A: My number one priority is jobs. Q: What will you do to bring jobs to Columbia County? A: I have participated actively in enticing business to come to our county. I have helped provide staff the necessary tools it needs to attract new business. I work with my fellow commission-
ers to get good, family wage jobs in Columbia County.
Q: Do you support or oppose the coal export terminal projects? Why? A: There are two coal projects looking at Port Westward. I voted to support the Ambre (barge) project and I also voted to allow Kinder Morgan (the rail project) to do its due diligence to see if it was a fit for Columbia County. The reason I voted for these was to get jobs in Columbia County. If these projects go it would mean 80 to 240 jobs. The average wage would be about $80,000 per year. It would also mean approximately $3.5 to $4.5 million in tax revenue to our county.
I have visited two coal exporting facilities; one in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the other in New Port News, Virginia. I found no evidence of coal dust, people with respiratory problems or any of the other evils the opponents keep talking about. I stopped at houses along the railroad tracks and spoke to people that had lived next to the tracks for years and they said they had no issues with coal dust. I spoke to business owners whose businesses were next door to the coal exporting facility and they also said they had no issues with the coal. I am not excited about waiting for trains but I am willing to sacrifice a little of my time to bring much needed jobs to this county.