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Citizens speak up at Merkley town hall

Originally published in The Chronicle Vol. 141

July 19, 2023

WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.

Sen. Jeff Merkley held a town hall at Lewis and Clark Elementary School in St. Helens to connect with Columbia County residents to take their questions and hear their concerns.

Merkley opened the meeting by inviting people to express their feelings and ask questions but requested that attendees listen to opposing perspectives and be civil during the discourse. The event was held Saturday, July 15.

Merkley holds town halls in every county in Oregon, and the event at Lewis and Clark Elementary was his 539th town hall. Merkley said that the benefit of the town halls is to better understand the issues different communities in the state face.

“If I didn’t do all these town halls in very remote parts of the state, I wouldn’t get to talk to a lot of the smaller community newspapers. And I certainly wouldn’t hear firsthand about how the issues differ in different parts of the state,” Merkley said. “We have different economies, different cultures, different wildlife, you know. So it is valuable to hear directly from constituents to hear what they wrestle with.”

Merkley’s town hall drew about 40 members to the audience in the school gym at Lewis and Clark Elementary and fielded questions on a variety of topics, including

the cost of pharmaceuticals, railway safety, diverting water from the Columbia River to California, the Supreme Court, climate change, plastics, and other more local issues.

When discussing diverting of water to California from the Columbia River, Merkley stated that there are no concrete plans to enact the plan and said it would happen “Over my dead body.”

In response to a question from a retired pharmacist about the rising costs of pharmaceuticals, Merkley referenced his End Price Gouging for Medications Act bill, which would ensure that the maximum price the United States pays would be the same price as other developed countries like Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden.

“Whatever the lowest price is they charge those countries; we get the same price. I think that’s going to help us with that. It would make a huge huge difference,” Merkley said.

In response to a comment about support for railway workers and avoidance of railway disasters, Merkley voiced his backing for improving safety for railways and support for increasing relief for rail workers’ benefits and worker’s compensation.

Regarding the Supreme Court, Merkley said that the politicized nature of the court needs to be changed. Merkley said that he wants to find a way to change the way the Supreme Court is

staffed. A potential solution he offered would be instituting an 18-year service term on the court for justices before they step back into a “senior status” classification, where they would then serve in a capacity supporting circuit courts. This would be an alternative to adding more seats to the court.

Merkley also said that there needs to be more accountability within the Supreme Court in light of the increasing issues of conflict of interest between justices and political parties.

When asked about climate change, Merkley said that snowpack is decreasing, and the result of diminishing glacier runoff is less water but also increased fire risk, among other consequences. Merkley also said that the increased numbers of climate chaos incidents are a result of increasing carbon levels.

“The test of humanity is whether we can stop going up. Right now, we’re actually going up faster than we did ten years ago. And ten years ago, we were going faster to the top than we did twenty years ago,” Merkley said.

Merkley said that despite all the discourse surrounding global warming and climate chaos, the planet is actually doing worse. Merkley said he is trying to hold the Biden administration accountable for all the fossil fuel-based projects they have been involved with.

One of the final issues Merkley spoke about for some length was the issue of plastics and microplastics. When asked whether the government was considering higher tariff rates for import-

ers using plastic packaging, Merkley said that was an option he considered but would look into. According to Merkley, the issue of plastics is a high-priority concern.

Merkley said that United States citizens consume about a credit card’s worth of plastic every week through drinking water, eating food, and breathing air. Merkley said that Congress is working on solutions to put safety regulations in place to limit the environmental impact of plastics.

Interview with Merkley

Prior to the town hall, The Chronicle had an opportunity to sit down with Merkley for an interview to catch up on what the senator has been working on this year and to touch base on some of the ongoing community issues our paper has been tracking.

Merkley said that the federal government is working to decrease the threat of wildfires present through

treating at-risk areas through prescribed burns and maintaining forests surrounding areas. Merkley said there are federal grants available to communities in need.

Regarding economic support for small towns, Merkley said that one of the big pieces of revitalizing cities is making American Rescue Plan Act funds available. The St. Helens Waterfront Redevelopment Project is a project that was developed using these funds. Merkley said they are seeking additional funding this year to help disburse more funds to towns in need.

“We have things like the St. Helens waterfront project, trying to get funding to help St. Helens rebuild their waterfront that becomes an integral part of the town, and makes the whole economy work a little bit better,” Merkley said.

When asked about inflation and its impact on smaller communities, Merkley discussed the difficult task the Federal Reserve

faces in raising interest rates to tame inflation. The raised interest rates affect families as they try to secure car loans or purchase homes.

Two areas Merkley focused on were prescription drugs and housing.

Merkley referenced his End Price Gouging for Medications Act as a way to fight the increasing price of prescription drugs. Regarding housing, Merkley has a variety of solutions in mind.

“There’s a whole bunch of things I’m doing to lower the cost there. It includes things like using expended tax credits to do affordable housing, rent vouchers, veterans vouchers,” Merkley said. “One of the things that I’m proposing that hasn’t been proposed before is banning hedge funds from buying houses.”

Merkley said there are hedge funds that, in some markets, are purchasing 40 percent of houses for sale. This diverts equity from everyday people to some of the most wealthy Americans.

4-H fun at the County Fair and Rodeo

Originally published in

The Chief Vol. 132 July 21, 2023

WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.

The Columbia County Fair is back in full swing, and the ultra-popular Columbia County Rodeo will return this weekend, bringing unbridled action to the county for its 108th year.

The theme this year is “Spurring Up Summer Fun,” and the fair will offer a host of activities, including carnival rides, 4-H livestock shows and auctions, food, drink, and of course, the rodeo.

One of the staples of the fair each year is the Columbia County Youth Livestock Auction. It provides an opportunity for people to purchase livestock that is raised by Columbia County 4-H Livestock Club members and get high-quality meats while supporting youth and their agriculture projects.

“This is a huge fundraiser for our youth, we hope you’ll take the time to go over and purchase an animal or simply watch the process. These youth have done a great job raising and caring for these animals, and they will be the first to tell you, they are very proud of what they do,” the fair website states.

Benefits of 4-H

Four industrious youths from Clatskanie are participating in the 4-H Livestock Club and hope to sell their swine at the auction on Saturday.

James Kujala (12), Rhiley White (12), Gavin (14) and Logan Larson (12) have all taken on the task of raising pigs this year and are ready to reap the rewards of months of hard work. While the goal of raising livestock is always to sell it, it can be hard to say goodbye to the animals the youths have raised.

“This is my first year, but my father did 4-H for many years, and my grandma also had some involvement in 4-H. My pig Webby, she was the runt of the litter, so she missed

weight by a little bit, so I need to find people to sell her to,” Kujala said. “I’m going to be a little upset that Webby is gone. It’s going to be a mix [of emotions]. I’m going to be a little bit happy about the money and excited to do it next year.”

Gavin Larson has been involved with the Clatskanie 4-H Livestock Club auction for the last two years, and this year will be his third year raising chickens and his first year raising a pig. Last year, Gavin raised Grand Champion market chickens, the highest possible placement. Raising pigs has been a bit different.

“It’s been much more eventful than my previous years just doing chickens. It’s definitely been a lot more work than chickens; chickens are just a breeze,” Gavin Larson said. “I like doing pigs. Again, they’re difficult, but not so difficult that they’re overwhelming.”

Gavin got his pig when it was just eight weeks old, and it was born in January of 2023. Since taking charge of the pig, Gavin has needed to feed the pig each morning, ensure they have water, and clean out their pens when they get dirty.

“It’s a pretty simple process out loud, but it’s eventful

sometimes,” Gavin Larson said.

With more than 6 million members, 4-H is the largest out-of-school youth program in the United States, according to Oregon State University Extension Association website. 4-H empowers young people to find what sparks their curiosity, learn skills and leadership, and impact their communities. 4-H is over 100 years old and began as a way for new agricultural developments to be shared with young people in rural communities.

For Rhiley White, this is his second year raising a pig for the 4-H auction, and he’s really appreciated the opportunities that the 4-H program has afforded him. White says that people have some misconceptions about 4-H.

“I’m glad that you guys are getting an inside view of it to see that it’s not all really hard work; it’s really, really cool,” White said. “There’s actually a lot of fun things you can do. [People] don’t know about the 4-H meetings that you go to to learn all the information. Those can get really fun; I mean, our 4-H group plays little games every month, so we can get to know each other. So it’s some hard work, but mostly really fun.” White said this year he

went in with a new respect for raising pigs after his first year. One of the highlights for him this year was getting to see the different personalities of the pigs as they raised them. As to the money, though White is only 12, he said that he’s thinking about putting some of the money toward a car in the future and the other funds towards college.

White said that the process of raising the pig isn’t about just getting it ready to show; it’s about building a bond with the animal and giving it the proper attention and care.

Meetings start in August and continue through the livestock auction at the County Fair, according to White. In addition to raising livestock, being part of 4-H presents other opportunities for members. This year, Kujala has prepared some static exhibits for the fair. Static exhibits are projects that you create for 4-H, and they can receive recognition for their projects.

“I really enjoyed making three static exhibits. I made some digital art, a poster, and a photo of the Grand Canyon,” Kujala said. “[They’re] like projects that you show the 4-H, and they can be in certain topics like computer programming, woodworks, or photographs and digital

art. After you do it, you get ribbons for each. Blue’s the highest ribbon besides Reserve Champion or Grand Champion.”

Kujala said that all three of his projects received blue ribbons and that the static exhibits will be displayed at the state competition. When asked what that competition will look like, Kujala said that he’s not sure, but he’s excited to be a part of it.

“I have no idea what it looks like because it’s my first year, and I’ve never made anything to state before, so it’s going to be fun,” Kujala said.

Each of the kids expressed excitement about the fair this year and talked about the fun that comes along with it, from the concession stands to getting to see all of their friends around the fairgrounds.

The Columbia County Fair

The Columbia County Fair will be at the Columbia County Fairgrounds located at 58892 Saulser Road in St. Helens.

Daily tickets for the fair at the gate are:

Youth $ 7 Adults: $ 13 Seniors /Vets: $ 7

For those interested in going to the fair on multiple days, there are season passes available for:

Youth: $ 25 Adults: $ 50

Seniors /Vets: $ 25

For those interested in partaking in the thrill rides at the carnival, the price for “ride bracelets” is $40 at the gate. Parking will not be free for the fair, and people should expect to pay $5 to park at the fairgrounds.

The hours for each day are:

Friday, July 21: 10 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Saturday, July 22: 10 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Sunday, July 23: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This year’s fair and rodeo will have some new features, chiefly that attendees can pay for V.I.P. seating at the rodeo and $20 V.I.P. parking for more convenient proximity. Attendees can pay $35 to reserve seating at the rodeo, separate from the general admission area. The purchase price for V.I.P. seating also includes entry to the fair.

Will Lohre / Country Media, Inc.

Senator Jeff Merkley addresses attendees of his 539th town hall meeting.

Will Lohre / Country Media, Inc.

Front, left to right, James Kujala, Logan Larson, and Rhiley White. Behind, Gavin Larson.

Will Lohre / Country Media, Inc. Rhiley White and his pig at the Columbia County Fair.

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