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Scappoose’s Smith, Revis get another chance to play for own coaches, Page C1 Project2:Layout 1
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
2/21/12
3:24 PM
TODAY’S WEATHER Mostly sunny Highs to 78 Page C7 Lows to 51
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The Chronicle
$1.00 Vol. 131, No. 23 18 Pages
www.thechronicleonline.com
MTC pulling out of Columbia County BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
ST. HELENS — The folks who have been responsible for helping laid off employees retrain and fnd new jobs may soon find their own jobs at risk. Management & Training Corporation (MTC) has announced it will not renew its contracts with The Oregon Consortium and Oregon Workforce Alliance (TOCOWA) and the State of Oregon Department of Human Services to provide employment and skills development training to Oregon workers and job seekers in Clatsop, Columbia, and Tillamook counties. MTC Works’ current contract expires on June 30. “MTC is pulling out of the operation here in Columbia County. They are the only private contractor that provides these services in the state. Everybody else is done by nonprofits,” said Columbia County Commissioner Henry Heimuller. “And MTC has been providing services to Columbia, Clatsop and Tillamook counties for over 30 years.” The company, which is based in Centerville, Utah, is the largest provider of Job Corps services in the U.S. “This particular operation here in Columbia County is the only one of these operations they have in the entire country. They absorbed it when they got the contracts from General Electric over 30 years ago. It just isn’t in their wheelhouse,” said Heimuller. “This was a very difficult decision,” said MTC President Scott Marquardt. “Over the past several years, cuts in funding have considerably reduced the size of our MTC Works contracts. After much deliberation, we notified our employees and our customers of our decision.” MTC has recommended to the county commissioners, TOCOWA, and the State of Oregon that the new operator hire all of the current MTC employees to ensure that services are not interrupted and that the state capitalizes on the See MTC, Page A4
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District Attorney finds OSP fatal shooting was justified BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
The OSP trooper involved in the May 3 fatal shooting of a St. Helens man has been cleared for return to active duty. According to Columbia County District Attorney Steve Atchison, Trooper Justin Oxenrider’s use of deadly force was justified under Oregon law. “The autopsy confirmed that everything happened as it was reported,” said Atchison. Oxenrider and Senior Trooper Robin May were involved in a short,
high-speed pursuit along U.S. Highway 30 after Oxenrider attempted to stop a black sedan he witnessed speeding. The driver of that car was later identified as Josiah M. Justin Oxenrider Fischer, 27, of St. Helens. After pursuing the car from Highway 30, up Bennett Road, on to Bachelor Flat Road, and then on to Hazen Road, Oxenrider performed a Tactical
Vehicle Intercept, commonly known as a PIT maneuver, hitting Fischer’s car and causing it to crash into a ditch at Stone and Hazen roads. Oxenrider said he did not know who the driver of the car was at the time of the pursuit. “The best we can tell, [Fischer] had the gun in his right hand, sitting behind the wheel and was turning to his left. Trooper Oxenrider could see the gun moving towards him, being motioned towards him,” said Atchison. In addition, the DA said the autopsy report showed the bullets entered Fischer’s body from left to
right and that one bullet hit his right arm, supporting the trooper’s claim that Fischer has his arm raised and was bringing a gun up. In his interview, Oxenrider said he came around the back of Fischer’s car saw Fischer sitting in the vehicle with a gun in his hand and the driver’s side door partially open. Oxenrider said he told Fischer to drop the gun, that he could see the gun continually moving and then fired at Fischer. Oxenrider said he then told Fischer to “Drop the gun or I’ll shoot you again.” Several witnesses confirmed See OFFICER, Page A4
Scappoose High School 2013 Graduation Scappoose High School graduating seniors Lindsy Waitkus and AsheLae Johnson are all smiles as they pose with their new diplomas. For all of this year’s graduating class, look for the special section inside.
New pizzeria offering exciting new options BY KYLE BOGGS The Chronicle
Dough bobs up and down in the air behind the counter with its rack of order-by-the slice pizzas, Elton John pumps through the speakers into the vast seating area, and a couple of employees are quick with a greeting at the newly-opened St. Helens Pizza and Pub. Co-owners Roni Bartlett and Dave Wuollet opened the doors to their new venture – conveniently located directly across the street from their other restaurant –
with a soft opening on May 16. Bartlett and Wuollet are familiar names to restaurant-goers in the area: They have owned and operated Klondike Restaurant and Bar for six years. The duo will still pop in a few times a day to check in on operations at the Klondike, but as Bartlett described it, that restaurant is a well-oiled machine. That enables them to spend the lion’s share of their time developing a unique identity for the pizzeria. “The concept is different See PIZZA, Page A4
Photo by Kyle Boggs
Pizza lovers can get their fix by the slice or the whole pie at St. Helens Pizza and Pub.
DEQ releases draft permits for Morrow Pacific project The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has released for public notice three draft permits for Ambre Energy’s Morrow Pacific project. The permits trigger a 40-day public comment period and three concurrent public hearings, which will be held on July 9 in Hermiston and Portland. The Morrow Pacific Project could bring nearly 9 million tons of coal each year from Ambre’s mines in Montana and Wyoming to Port Morrow in Boardman. There the company would store the coal in covered buildings before transferring it to barges using an enclosed conveyor
system. Those barges would then bring the coal down the Columbia River to Port Westward in Clatskanie, where it would be off-loaded to ocean-going ships likely headed to Asian markets. The three draft permits released are the Standard Air Contaminant Discharge Permit (Air Permit), Industrial Wastewater Permit (WPCF) and Stormwater Construction Discharge Permit (1200-C). “We are pleased that the permitting process is moving forward,” said Clark Moseley, president and CEO for the Mor See PERMITS, Page A4
Days, teachers added back to St. Helens school budget BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
After months of debate – and several hours-long public hearings – the St. Helens School District budget committee has reached a consensus on the district’s 2013-14 fiscal year budget. Included in that budget is the add back of two teachers, one for each K-6 school, and four days added back to the school calendar after eight days were cut during the
2012-13 budget cycle. “Our 2013-14 funding shortfall presented was $1.25 million. To balance the recommended budget, we proposed three reductions. Those three areas were days reduced, reduce reserves and reduce beginning fund balance,” said District Superintendent Mark Davalos, recounting the process so far. “When it comes to the second year [of the biennial budget], it relies on posi See BUDGET, Page A4