APRIL 2001 NEWSLETTER

SPRING CLEAN-UP DAY

Columbia City will be hosting a community Spring Clean-Up Day on Saturday, April 21, 2001, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It's time to get rid of all that junk! Yard clippings, tree limbs, appliances, tires, scrap metal, batteries, old furniture, and more!

Location: Columbia City Grade School parking lot

Date: Saturday, April 21, 2001

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Minimum charges:

• Yard debris - no charge
• Car loads - $5 each
• Pickup loads - $10 each
• Tires (car and pickup - no rims) - $2 each
• Refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners - $15 each
• Other appliances - $5 each
• Batteries - $2 each
• Drop & swap (exchange usable furniture) - $3 each

Seniors and the disabled may call

RSVP at (503) 397-5655

to request assistance.

This event has been organized in partnership with the Chamber Beautification and Tourism Committee in celebration of Earth Day. We'd like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the following volunteer groups and sponsors who have made this event possible:

St. Helens Kiwanis Club

Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)

SOLV

Waste Management

Hudson Garbage Service

Beaver Bark Inc.

Columbia County

Columbia City Grade School

Les Schwab Tire Center

Stan's Refrigeration & Appliance Service

RIVERSIDE CLEANUP

Please join us for our second annual "Down By The Riverside" project in Columbia City! We are looking for volunteers to assist us with this project in Pixie Park on Saturday, May 19, 2001, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Volunteers will be removing blackberry bushes and debris, repainting the sign, and sprucing up the park as needed. If you are interested in participating in this project, please contact City Hall to sign up!

BUDGET COMMITTEE VACANCY

We currently have a vacancy on the Budget Committee. If you are interested in serving on this committee, please fill out an Application to Serve at City Hall. The Budget Committee is scheduled to meet on April 25, 2001, at 7:30 p.m. At this time, the Committee will receive the budget message and receive public comment on the budget. A copy of the budget document may be inspected or obtained on or after April 24, 2001 at City Hall.

CITY WEB SITE IS KEPT CURRENT

Interested in keeping up with City activities? Check out our Web site at www.columbia-center.org/colcity. We update our site on a regular basis. City agendas, meeting minutes, public notices and other similar items are posted to the site as soon as they become available. Upcoming events are also highlighted on the site, along with Council, Committee and department activities. Please visit our site and let us know how we can improve it to better serve you.

RECENT COMPUTER PROBLEMS

We've experienced some computer problems recently. These problems resulted in the complete loss of our e-mail address book. We lost several group e-mail lists for various items, such as agendas and minutes. If you were on one of these group e-mail lists and would like to continue to participate, please e-mail us at columbiacity@columbia-center.org with your e-mail address as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience!

CITY COUNCIL NEWS

The Council will hold a public hearing on April 5, 2001, at 7:30 p.m., to obtain citizen input on the proposed Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan. The Five-Year Plan outlines the City’s park, street, water, sewer and general capital needs for the next five-year period. A copy of the Plan is available for public inspection at the City Hall.

The Council will hold a public hearing on May 3, 2001, at 7:30 p.m., to gather public testimony relating to an update to the City of Columbia City Systems Development Charge (SDC) for Sanitary Sewer. The purpose of the update is to incorporate new Sewer SDCs, adopted by the City of St. Helens and applicable to development within Columbia City, into Columbia City’s Sewer SDC rate structure. Information about the proposed Sewer SDC update is available for public inspection at the City Hall.

PLANNING COMMISSION NEWS

A variance to street standards and a partition request were approved at the February meeting. The approval of the partition allows three building sites to be developed on property located at "M" and Second Streets. Approval of the variance allows three new houses plus three existing houses to have access from an extension of "M" Street within a 20-foot right-of-way.

A preliminary plat for a 41-lot subdivision was reviewed and approved during the March meeting. The subject property is located north of "A" Street, east of Sixth Street, south of Pacific Street, and west of Highway 30. The applicant has twelve months to submit the final plat to the City for approval.

In April, the Planning Commission will hold a joint meeting with the Citizen Advisory Committee to review the recently completed Buildable Lands Inventory and Land Needs Analysis. The City's land use consultants from the firm Cogan Owens Cogan will present growth alternatives for consideration by those present during the meeting. The City's draft Vision Statement and Guiding Principles will also be reviewed and discussed. This public meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on April 10th in the basement of the Foursquare Church located at 1955 Second Street. This work is being completed with the assistance of a Technical Assistance Grant from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development.

NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY

April 1 – 7: National Library Week will be celebrated.

April 2: Fran Clason, guest storyteller – 7 p.m.

April 7: Used Book Sale – 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Columbia Center in St. Helens

April 14: Quilter’s Delight – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

April 19: Friends of the library meeting – 7 p.m.

Online genealogical research using the Library internet services can be arranged by calling (503) 366-7588.

FIFTH AND "J" STREETS IMPROVEMENTS

The City is currently soliciting bids to construct approximately 300 linear feet of street improvements, including miscellaneous storm drainage improvements, and associated traffic control and erosion control measures, on a portion of Fifth and "J" Streets. The project will result in the realignment of the 90-degree curve at Fifth and "J" Streets, and several feet of fill will be added to reduce the slope of the street in the curve. We expect construction of the project to be completed during the month of May. This construction project is partially funded from a grant under the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Special City Allotment Program. The Technical Assistance Program of the Oregon Traffic Safety Section, ODOT-Oregon State University, paid for the design engineering for this project.

KEEP THOSE WEEDS CUT!

Between May 15 and September 30 of any year, weeds and grass cannot exceed 10 inches in height within the City limits. Additionally, blackberry bushes cannot extend across property lines or into the City’s rights-of-way, including streets, alleys and sidewalks. Property owners or other persons in charge of the property must keep weeds, grass and other noxious growth, such as poison oak, cut and maintained to prevent them from becoming unsightly and a fire hazard, and to prevent them from maturing and going to seed. Violators can be cited into Municipal Court. Additionally, the City may abate the nuisance and lien the property for the costs.

To report violations, please contact City Hall at (503) 397-4010 with the address of the property.

DOG DOO-NOTS!

Outside of your own property, City ordinances require that you immediately pick up after your dog, and keep your dog on a leash at all times. Please be respectful of others by cleaning up after your dog and maintaining control of your pet at all times. Violators can be issued a citation to appear in Municipal Court. You can report violators by calling (503) 397-4010.

BICYCLE REGISTRATION

The Columbia City Police Department is instituting a bicycle registration program. Bicycle owners are encouraged to bring their bikes to City Hall where the serial number, make, model and description will be recorded. If the bike is stolen or recovered, the Police Department will have the information necessary to either return the bike or file a report for the lost bike.

WATER SYSTEM UPDATE

The City has completed the drilling of a production well at Ninth and "K" Streets. Flow test results show the well produces approximately 215 gallons of water per minute. We are currently in the process of soliciting quotes to complete the drawdown testing for the new well. This testing will provide our engineers with the information they need to properly size and place the well pump. It will also accurately measure the well’s production capabilities. The well is expected to be permanently on-line this fall.

The City is also in the process of completing a Water Reservoir Siting Analysis and Water Rate Study Report. A combination of grant and loan funds from the Oregon Economic and Community Development Project will pay for this project. Once the siting analysis is complete, the City will move forward with acquiring property for the construction of a 1-million gallon water reservoir. The future reservoir site may also serve as the site for a second production well. The Council will also consider water rate adjustments as recommended by the rate study.

Last August, the City hired a leak detection company to check for leaks in the City’s water system. The company found several large leaks in the area of Tahoma Street. The City’s total water usage has dropped by nearly 30 percent since the repairs were made. The City’s water users continue to use nearly 30 percent less water today than they did during the same period last year. We are striving to provide our citizens with an adequate supply of water, and want to avoid instituting mandatory conservation measures.

A BIT OF HISTORY

COLUMBIA CITY………FOUNDING FATHERS

The earliest known wagon train to leave for Oregon Country from St. Joseph, Missouri was that of Cornelius Gilliam. It’s interesting that after outfitting in St. Joseph, Gilliam led his Oregon-bound party a few miles North to Caples Landing where they crossed the Missouri River. On that wagon train was someone else named Caples, someone who would soon be the founding father of Columbia City, Joseph Caples. Having lost his wife Mary, perhaps in the Scarlet Fever epidemic that ravaged so many midwest towns in the early 1840’s, his wagon carried all his belongings, his 12-year-old son Charles, Hezekiah who was 10 and daughter Johanna. Unbeknownst to them, son Charles’ wife to be, Lucinda McBride and her family, shared another "Prairie Schooner" on Gilliam’s train.

Joseph Caples settled initially in Salem, Oregon and then went on to Portland in the spring of 1845. There was only a lone cabin there at the time. The family went further down river in 1846 and filed a claim on 320 acres of land where Columbia City is now situated. It is said that Joseph saw an enormous eagle feasting on a salmon on the beach at what we now call Pixie Park and took it as a "sign" that this was where he and his family were meant to settle. He and his sons built a log cabin on the riverbank and began cutting and selling wood to the passing riverboats. The Indian name for the spot where Columbia City now stands was Kumahi. The Caples family shared the land for many years with a tribe of Yamhill Indians who summered nearby.

In 1848 when Charles Caples was almost 17, he went to the gold fields of California. Upon his return to Oregon, he enrolled in Tualatin Academy, now Pacific University, and in 1853, he also took up 320 acres of land near his father’s claim and began clearing it. He married Lucinda McBride, the daughter of Dr. James and Mahala Miller McBride of Yamhill County in 1855. It’s said that the McBride family arrived in Oregon with only an Indian pony, two wagons and five yoke of oxen. There were no cows for milk, no furniture, no tableware except tin plates and cups from the journey. James McBride swapped two yoke of oxen and one wagon for a piece of land. (Someone else had already claimed the land he had selected, and he had to buy it from the "owner.") There were tears among the children as the new owner drove off with the faithful oxen that had brought them to the new land. Besides being a doctor, Dr. James McBride was a well-known "Circuit Riding Oregon Preacher."

After his marriage, Charles Caples took up the study of medicine in Portland under the direction of an experienced physician, passed the examination before the Board of Physicians and was granted a degree of Doctor of Medicine. He was the first doctor in Columbia County and his wife Lucinda, along with bearing five children of her own, acted as his mid-wife.

Dr. Charles and his brother Hezekiah built the Caples House at 1915 First Street in 1870. It served as the Caples family home and the Doctor’s office until shortly before 1906 when Dr. Charles Green Caples died. Originally, after the bears decimated the prune trees, there was an orchard of 50 apple and pear trees, of which 17 remain standing today. At over 130 years old, they are venerable old soldiers.

The Caples family lived in the house continually until 1959 when the last surviving member, Del Caples Houghton left it to the Mt. St. Helens Chapter of the Oregon State Society Daughters of the American Revolution. They refurbished and restored the house, and it was opened to the public as a museum in 1970. At that time the Knapp Social Center was built as well to serve as a meeting place and community center.

Do you live in a Columbia City historical home? If so, I’d love to hear from you.

Shari Ouillette, Caretaker, The Caples House Museum and Knapp Social Center, 1915 First Street, Columbia City, OR 97018. Telephone: (503) 397-5390.

THANK YOU!

Bernadette Albertine, Alice Barchus, Dorothy Greyell, Dolores Heinz, Phyllis Moss, Jane Munson, and Amy West helped with the December newsletter and utility billings.

Carla McClard provided a cake to City staff as a thank you for help with a water problem.

The following volunteers delivered door hangers regarding the Visioning Workshop to every household within the City: Jim Bundy, Marion Calnon, Donald Cass, Chris Ebrahimi, Larry and Kathy Fellows, Barbara Jones, Arlen and Phyllis Olson, Norm Riley, Buddy and Leahnette Rivers, and Ziggy Ziglinski.

POLICE LOG

(January 23 through March 14, 2001)

01/23 Garbage complaint. Residence accumulating a large amount of garbage in yard. Warning given.

01/23 Citizen assist. Motorist broken down on Highway 30.

01/26 Suspicious vehicle. A brown car at the racquetball club. Vehicle gone on arrival.

01/26 Criminal mischief. Citizen’s vehicle had the driver's side window scratched while parked at City Hall.

02/02 Parking complaint. Citizen reports semi-truck parked illegally in the area of Third and "I" Streets.

02/05 Juvenile problem handled by officer.

02/07 Criminal mischief in the 3000 block of Sixth Street.

02/14 Citizen assist at a residence in the 1600 block of Second Street.

02/15 Criminal mischief in the 1900 block of Second Street. Some damage was done to a fence.

02/16 Attempt to locate speeding driver. Unable to locate.

02/16 Debris removed from Highway 30 near Chime Crest.

02/19 Citizen assist. Vehicle having problems.

02/19 Suspicious vehicle in area of "A" Street and Highway 30. Checked okay.

02/20 Vehicle impounded from the lot of CJ's Grocery.

02/20 Citizen complaint. Skateboarders in the 600 block of Franklin Street.

02/20 Motorist assist on "E" Street near Highway 30.

02/20 Found property at the end of bike path

02/23 Report of possible DUII. Unable to locate.

02/23 Agency assist in the 1500 block of Third Street.

02/23 Motorist assist. Highway 30 near the scales.

02/23 Motorist assist. Highway 30 near the trestle.

02/22 Animal complaint. Loose dog. Unable to locate.

02/21 Suspicious vehicle. 1600 block of Eighth Street. Turned out to be the paper man.

02/21 Harassment. Unknown circumstances.

02/28 Found property. Bike found in the bushes near 2000 block of Third Street.

02/28 DUII arrest.

03/01 Motorist assist. Highway 30 near "L" Street.

03/01 Attempt to locate. Unable to locate two children reported missing.

03/01 Motorist assist. Large truck having problems.

03/02 Suspicious person at CJ's Grocery.

03/02 Parking complaint. Red truck parked the wrong way on the road and blocking access.

03/03 Traffic hazard. Large piece of bark in the roadway on Highway 30 near "K" Street. Removed by the officer.

03/05 Dog at large. Loose dog near Second and "J" Streets.

03/05 Dog at large. Dog transported from City Hall to the dog pound.

03/06 Hit and run. Highway 30 and Pacific Street.

03/07 Noise complaint. Turned out to be a church function.

03/08 Criminal mischief or possible hit and run. Officer checked on broken railroad crossing arm. Found damage to crossing arm at Highway 30 and "E" Street.

03/08 Citizen assist. Assisted railroad employee.

03/08 Follow-up on dog complaint.

03/09 Noise complaint. Motocross bike disturbing neighborhood. Bike rider advised of problem.

03/09 Suspicious vehicle. Reported in the 1600 block of Seventh Street. Vehicle found to have flat tire.

03/12 Animal complaint. Warning given for an animal problem in the 1600 block of Fourth Street.

03/13 Harassment. Someone leaving threatening phone calls at residence on Third Street.

03/13 Motorist assist. Vehicle with flat tire at Highway 30 and "L" Street.

03/13 Noise complaint. Live band playing in the 2000 block of Third Street. Report filed, but if problem continues, City ordinance may be enforced to regulate the noise.

03/14 Unwanted person in 1600 block of Fourth Street. Civil problem and not criminal.

03/14 Another unwanted call in the 1600 block of Fourth Street.

03/14 Telephonic harassment call handled on Third Street.

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