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The Chronicle
$1.00 Vol. 131, No. 35 18 Pages
www.thechronicleonline.com
Wyden confident Oregon will fix O&C question BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
When funding from the now defunct Oregon & California Railroad – provided through the federal Secure Rural Schools Act – ran out in 2012 it left many counties, including Ron Wyden Columbia County, with budget shortfalls. Although a one-year extension was granted and provided a little over $100 million to be divided among 33 counties, it was far from a permanent solution. But Sen. Ron Wyden (DOre.) says he is confident that he and his fellow legislators will “get this fixed.” In an interview with the editorial board of the Salem Statesman Journal, Wyden – who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee – said failing to pass the legislation would be unacceptable. “The current projections by the Bureau of Land Management would be catastrophic. The current (timber) harvest levels are inadequate, and they would get worse,” Wyden said. The Oregon senator has put forth a legislative framework he claims can be passed by Congress and signed by the president that will increase timber jobs, protect the natural resources that Oregonians depend upon and provide an opportunity for rural communities to fund local services. “This legislation will build bipartisan consensus by working within the framework of existing federal laws.” Wyden added. The O&C lands consist of See RAIL, Page A4
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Council approves rail resolution BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
Like Scappoose and Rainier, St. Helens has joined the list of Columbia County communities expressing concerns about the potential impact to its citizens from increased rail traffic. On Aug. 21, the St. Helens City Council approved a resolution urging “federal agencies reviewing proposals
to increase rail activity through the City of St. Helens to consider the environmental, social and economic impacts to the St. Helens community.” The resolution also asks that any review consider increased traffic congestion; the impacts of transporting hazardous materials; public safety response delays, impacts to property values and local business and commerce; and public health, safety and the
general community welfare. “Further, should mitigation be determined appropriate, the city requests full federal support to offset and minimize local impacts,” reads the resolution. During a council work session earlier that same day, language in the resolution was changed to make remove specific unit-train references and to broaden the scope of the resolution. Following those changes, Patrick Trapp,
executive director for the Port of St. Helens, urged the council to seek more feedback before issuing an approval. “Given that it’s broad and you have a larger scope associated with this, I would certainly recommend that you share with all those local users of the rail that could be affected, so they have the opportunity to, at least, share whether See COUNCIL, Page A4
Planes, trains and automobiles
SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
The Third annual Wings and Wheels event was held at Scappoose Industrial Airpark on Aug. 24. The event is sponsored by the South Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and always features a varied selection of muscle, classic, sporty and unique cars, motorcycles and planes – and a model train display. Find more photos of the Wings and Wheels on page A10.
Playing it SAFE
Women’s Resource Center gets a new name BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
Amy and Troy McNeil will officially open Yo Mamas Frozen Yogurt in Scappoose at the beginning of next month. A grand opening celebration is planned for Sept. 21.
Scappoose shop serves up tasty treats BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
SCAPPOOSE — In just a few short days, area residents will have a new and tasty place to stop by for a frozen yogurt treat. Yo Mamas, which is short for Yogurt Moms, at 51505 Columbia River Hwy. (in the Fred Meyer shopping center) will officially open in September. The shop is owned by Scappoose residents Amy and Troy McNeil, who both have full time jobs in education. Opening Yo Mamas Frozen Yogurt has been a long time in the planning for the McNeils. “Back in high school I worked at Dairy Queen. But I always preferred frozen yogurt over ice cream and would get the Breezes instead of the Blizzards,” said Amy McNeil. “Then two years ago on spring break, my husband and I went to Las Vegas for my birthday
and in one of the hotels they had this self-serve frozen yogurt bar.” Although a frequent visitor to other yogurt shops, like TCBY, Amy says it was the first time she had seen such an arrangement. “They had all of these machines and you would fill your cup and get your toppings. This would be perfect in Scappoose,” she said. After coming home, Amy spotted the space she wanted but it was already taken. When that spot opened up two years later, she and her husband decided the time was right to move forward with their plans. Yo Mamas will feature several flavors of YoCream yogurt to choose from; along with a dry toppings bar with such goodies as nuts, candies, dried fruits, granola or chocolate chips; a cold toppings bar with See TREATS, Page A4
ST. HELENS — The Columbia County Women’s Resource Center is getting a new name. The center recently decided a change was in order to better reflect the organization’s mission to provide services and support to survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse and assault and stalking and is now known as SAFE – Support Advocacy Freedom Empowerment of Columbia County. The center is celebrat See SAFE, Page A4
SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
Staff members from the Columbia County Women’s Resource Center display the new banner and name for the organization “Support Advocacy Freedom Empowerment” or SAFE.
Columbia River PUD approves rate increase DEER ISLAND — Columbia River People’s Utility District board of directors approved a 4.6 percent overall rate increase at its Aug. 20 public meeting. The increase will appear on customer bills beginning Oct. 1, 2013. “Careful planning and the use of our rate stabilization fund allowed us to limit the impact on our customers and keep the rate increase as small as possible,” said PUD Board President Richard Simpson. “We expect these new rates to be in effect until September 2015.” After the increase, PUD residential rates will still be about 25 percent lower than the average rates across Oregon and about 40 percent lower than average rates nationwide. The rate increase is slightly higher than what PUD officials had anticipated, which is due to the size of a wholesale power cost increase recently announced by Bonneville Power Administration. BPA recently notified the PUD that its power costs will rise by 7.8 percent beginning Oct. 1. While this increase is smaller than the 9.1 percent
average for public utilities in the region, it is higher than the 6.5 percent that the PUD had anticipated and used in its forecasts. With this increase, the PUD’s power costs have risen by 24 percent in the past four years. The PUD plans to draw approximately $2.5 million from its rate stabilization fund during 2013 and 2014 to minimize the rate increase for customers while continuing to fund system improvement projects through cash. The monthly customer charge will remain unchanged. This charge covers fixed costs such as meter reading, billing and postage, collections, record-keeping, and a portion of the maintenance and operation of the distribution system necessary to serve customers. These fixed monthly customer charges are also referred to as “readiness to serve” charges because they cover the PUD’s costs to have electricity readily available for the customer, whether it is used or not. The customer charge is $8 for residen See PUD, Page A4