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Wednesday, July 10, 2013
2/21/12
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District All-Star tournaments get going for local youngsters, Page A11
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TODAY’S WEATHER Mostly sunny Highs to 77 Page A13 Lows to 52
The Chronicle
$1.00 Vol. 131, No. 28 14 Pages
www.thechronicleonline.com
Scappoose County emergency operations center soon to be a reality waiting out mascot mess BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
BY KYLE BOGGS The Chronicle
It appears Scappoose High School will be able to keep its Indian mascot. However, it’s a question that is still up in the air. The response seems to be a wait-and-see approach from those at the school. Senate Bill 215 passed both the House and Senate by large margins recently. However, prior to passage of the bill, Gov. John Kitzhaber said he was likely to veto it. Because both the House (4119) and Senate (25-5) carried the bill by more than a twothirds majority, it is fair to assume the Legislature would override a veto. If Kitzhaber chooses not to veto the bill or the veto is overridden, the bill “prohibits State Board of Education from adopting rules or imposing sanctions related to use of mascots by public schools.” Last year, the Oregon Board of Education decided to ban schools from using Native American mascots. Scappoose’s current mascot – the Indians – clearly falls under that category. SHS athletic director Robert Medley said he wants to keep the Indian mascot, as do many others in the community. One need look no farther than the upcoming Scappoose Pow Wow, which will honor the town’s Native American heritage with a mini Pow Wow on July 14. Scappoose is the only Columbia County school that would be affected by the bill. If Kitzhaber vetoes the bill and it is not overridden, schools have until 2017 to change their mascots. SHS would incur significant costs transitioning to a new mascot. Those costs include new signs, painting over existing artwork, new letterhead, business cards, uniforms for athletic teams, band uniforms, clothing for staff, sporting equipment and more, which could translate to tens of thousands of dollars in unexpected expense for a district already struggling to meet its budget. Sen. Betsy Johnson (DScappoose) voted in favor of the bill. Rep. Brad Witt (D-Clatskanie) voted against the bill. Between the House and Senate, all 24 “No” votes were cast by Democrats.
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It looks like Columbia County could soon have a new Emergency Operation Center. “It looks like we have worked through all of the roadblocks,” said Columbia County Commissioner Henry Heimuller during a July 3 meeting with the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. The county has been working on the project for several years, but it became closer to a reality than just a possibility when the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency (FEMA) came through with a grant providing a majority of the $570,000 needed to build the center. “The grant requires a 25 percent match from the county and 75 percent from FEMA. The county’s portion of that is $142,674 and FEMA’s portion is $428,022,” said Emergency Management Director Renate Garrison. “However, this grant doesn’t require that all of the match be from cash funds. We are using a combination of cash funds, in-kind staff time spent on the project, and See CENTER, Page A3
SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
Columbia County plans to build a new emergency operations center at the same site as the Lee Broadbent Training Center and 9-1-1 Operations.
Serving up fun on the Fourth SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
Contestants risked “brain freeze” and a sticky mess to compete in an old-fashioned ice cream eating contest, just one of many events held at the Fourth of July festivities in Olde Towne. For more photos see page A4.
Kitzhaber may veto Scappoose training center amendment BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
SALEM — An amendment to House Bill 2898 put forth by state Sen. Betsy Johnson (D–Scappoose) to help bring a police training center to Scappoose has come under scrutiny by Gov. John Kitzhaber. According to the governor’s office, Kitzhaber is considering vetoing the bill because of Johnson’s amendment. HB2898 was proposed by Rep. Sarah Gelser (D-Corvallis) to allow students with disabilities to earn
credit hours at a community college or public university. “It is not new news that bills get amended. That bill had a very wide relating clause and it was relating to education,” said Johnson. “I talked on the phone with Gelser so this was not a Betsy Johnson surprise to her.” Gelser’s bill, if passed, would allow students with cognitive disabili-
ties the opportunity to continue their education past high school by authorizing financial aid and college credits for student enrolled in post-high school transition programs at the community college or university level. The bill passed both John Kitzhaber the House and Senate with strong support from both sides. A third reading before the
Senate on June 5 received 28 votes in favor and two votes opposed. On July 6, the bill received 42 votes in favor and 17 votes against from the House. Only Rep. Jim Weidner (R-Yamhill) did not vote. “Because it had such a wide relating clause, I added a slight amendment that would make it easier for PCC (Portland Community College) to get their physical campus in Columbia County taken care of,” said Johnson. Although the bill garnered support from both the House See VETO, Page A6
Unemployment rates continue slow decline BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
Oregon’s unemployment rate for May was 7.8 percent, which is down just slightly from April, which was 7.9 percent. The national unemployment rate was 7.6 percent in May, up by a tenth of a percent from 7.5 percent in April. While those rates may not be changing much from month to month, the rates are notably better than the prior year’s rates. In May 2012, the national unemployment rate was 8.2 percent and Oregon’s unemployment rate was 8.8 percent. Columbia County saw virtually no change in May when compared to April. The unemployment rate for both months was 8.3 percent. That represents a significant improvement from 2012’s unemployment rate of 9.7 percent in May of 2012. Neighboring counties like Clatsop, Tillamook and Multnomah counties continue to fare better. Clatsop County came in at Please note that in the July 3 article about the St. Helens School District, we should have said District Superintendent Mark Davalos
7.0 percent for May 2013, Multnomah County saw 7.2 percent and Tillamook County came in at 7.5 percent. Unemployment benefits increase Starting this week, the amount paid to people filing for unemployment insurance benefits will increase slightly. The maximum weekly benefit amount an individual can receive will increase to $538, while the minimum amount will be $126. The change affects new unemployment insurance claims effective on or after June 30, 2013. Those with existing unemployment claims will continue to receive the same weekly amount. Under Oregon law, each year the employment department recalculates the maximum and minimum amounts paid weekly to those filing for unemployment benefits. The amounts are set as percentages of the average weekly wage earned by Oregonians. The minimum unemployment figure is 15 percent of average weekly Correction turned down a pay raise approved by the school board that would have increased his pay from $120,000 per year to $125,000 per year
wage, and the maximum amount is 64 percent. Both dollar amounts are rounded down to the nearest dollar as required by law. The new maximum and minimum payments represent a 2.7 and 3.3 percent increase respectively from benefits paid over the past year. Over the past 12 months the maximum payment has been $524, while the minimum was $122. In Columbia County, more than $7.5 million has been paid out in unemployment benefits through June. That a drop of nearly $3 million (or about 27 percent) when compared to the same period for 2012. The first six months of 2012 saw $10.49 million paid out to Columbia County residents for unemployment claims. Industry in the lead Which industry had the highest percentage of northwest Oregon employment in 2012? The answer is trade, transportation, and utilities (which includes retail trade) and government, both of which made up 18 percent of employment. (which is comparable to other school districts in this area). The PERS savings quoted as a reduction of 4.4 percent is correct.
Courtesy photo
Yuriy Zagorulko, 31, of Portland, was pronounced dead at the scene of this crash after his 2002 Nissan Xterra struck a Ford F-350 truck.
Portland man dies in Vernonia area crash
VERNONIA — One man died and three others were injured in a twovehicle crash on ScappooseVernonia Road the afternoon of July 1. A Columbia County Sheriff’s deputy medical examiner pronounced Yuriy Zagorulko, 31, of Portland, dead at the scene in what deputies are calling an alcohol-related crash. Zagorulko’s two passengers were transported to the hospital, one with serious injuries. The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash, Kennedy Ragsdale, 40, of Vernonia was also injured. The passengers in Zagorulko’s vehicle were his brother, Andrey Zagorulko, 30, and Aleksey Martynov, 35, both of Portland. All three injured individuals were taken by ambulance to Emanuel Hospital in
Portland. Investigators believe Zagorulko’s 2002 Nissan Xterra had been traveling eastbound toward Scappoose on Scappoose-Vernonia Road near milepost 3 when the vehicle went off the roadway, then back onto the roadway and into the oncoming lane, where Ragsdale was traveling westbound toward Vernonia. The two vehicles collided with the Nissan, coming to a halt in the middle of the roadway. Ragsdale’s 2006 Ford 350 truck went off the roadway and down into a gully. Deputies are investigating this crash. An Oregon State Police crash investigator is assisting with the investigation. In addition to the state police, Vernonia and Scappoose police departments also assisted in the crash investigation.