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City of Columbia
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City of Columbia
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Between
April 15th and September 30th of any year, weeds and
grass cannot exceed 10 inches in height within the City limits. Blackberry
bushes cannot extend across property lines or into the City’s right-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 may be cited into Municipal Court,
or the City may abate the nuisance and lien the property for the costs. To
report violations, please contact City Hall.
STREET
VACATIONS
The City Council will hold public
hearings in April to receive public input on two separate street vacation
proposals. The public hearings will be
held on Thursday, April 5, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the
City Hall
The first is a proposal to vacate
"K" Street between Third and Fourth Streets, excluding the Third
Place alley. A petition to vacate that portion of "K" Street was
filed with the City Recorder and was determined to be sufficient and meet the
requirements of ORS 271.080. That
portion of "K" Street is generally described as lying between Blocks
46 and 47 in Columbia City. (See following location map.)
The second is a proposal to vacate
Eighth Street, Eighth Place, and Ninth Street between Calvin and Franklin
Streets, and all of Penn Street west of Seventh Place in Columbia City. (See
map below.)
The City Council initiated this
vacation proceeding on its own motion on March 1, 2007, in accordance with the
provisions of ORS 271.130(1).
Written
comments or objections may be filed with the City Recorder by 5:00 p.m. on
April 5, 2007, or may be submitted in writing during the public hearings on
April 5, 2007, at 7:30 p.m., at which time comments and objections will be
heard and considered.
NEW PUBLIC
WORKS SUPERINTENDENT
We are pleased to announce the promotion of Jeff Anderson to the position
of Public Works Super-intendent. Jeff has been a valuable member of the Public
Work’s team as a Utility Worker since October 2000. Micah Olson will be staying
on to continue to work with Jeff until May 10, 2007.
We are very excited to have Jeff lead the Public Works Department. He has extensive knowledge of our City and
has provided us with many years of committed service. Congratulations, Jeff!
SPRING CLEANUP
Now is the time to get rid of that
unwanted junk - old appliances, scrap metal, yard debris, old furniture,
solidified latex paint cans, etc. The annual Spring Cleanup Day will be held on
Saturday, April 28th, 2007, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the
Columbia City School. You can drop off your yard debris, trees and limbs for
free. Extra bulky waste or hard-to-dispose-of items, such as old furniture,
lawn mowers, mattresses, etc. will be accepted for a fee. The following minimum
charges apply to other items:
Car loads
of junk - $5.00
Pick-up loads of junk - $10.00
Trailer
loads of junk - $15.00
(NO
Commercial Truck Loads)
Refrigerators/freezers/air
conditioners - $10.00 Other appliances - $5.00
Car
batteries - $2.00
Car or
Pick-up Tires - $2.00
(NO tires
on Rims – NO Commercial Truck Tires)
HAZARDOUS WASTE MATERIALS MAY BE
DELIVERED
TO THE
TRANSFER STATION
BETWEEN
THE HOURS OF 8AM- NOON
Please note the site does NOT
accept the following items:
Æ No wet
garbage
Æ No burn
piles
Æ No
painted wood
Æ No lumber or construction debris
Æ No sod
Please keep the length of yard
debris (limbs) to six feet and under. Wet
garbage, lumber or construction debris, burn piles, building materials and
hazardous household waste will NOT be accepted. Seniors needing assistance may call (503) 397-4010 prior to the
day of the event.
Along with the Spring Cleanup on
Saturday, April 28th from 8 a.m. to noon the Columbia County
Transfer Station will be open to accept hazardous waste materials. The Transfer
Station is located at 1601 Railroad Avenue in St. Helens.
The County’s
HHW facility accepts the following:
§
Pool and spa chemicals
§
Pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and poisons
§
Thinners and solvents
§
Household cleaners and disinfectants
§
Art and hobby chemicals
§
Aerosol spray chemicals
§
Propane tanks and bottles
§
Fluorescent lamps and ballasts
§
PCB’s
§
Batteries
Not accepted:
Æ Radioactive materials
Æ Household trash
Æ Explosives
Æ Bio
Medical waste
For all other materials, please
contact Metro Recycling at (503) 234-3000.
BUDGET
COMMITTEE VACANCY
The City is currently accepting applications to serve on the Budget
Committee. To qualify to serve on the Committee, applicants must be registered
to vote within the City of Columbia City. The Budget Committee usually meets
infrequently during the spring, and members serve a four-year term. The Budget
Committee is responsible for reviewing the proposed annual budget, hearing
public testimony, approving the tax rate and tax levy, and approving an annual
budget. The Budget Committee may occasionally review a proposed supplemental
budget. If you are interested in
serving on the Budget Committee, please contact City Hall to obtain an
application.
THANK YOU
We'd like to extend a very special
"thank you" to:
v
v Bernie Albertine,
Gloria Chinell, Shelia Jackson, Betty Jensen and Phyllis Rowley for helping us
in March with the utility bills and newsletter.
v
v Shelly
Sandford for the generous donation to the Community Hall of a microwave and a
stovetop range.
v
v Norm Jones
for mowing Datis Park.
LIBRARY
NEWS
We are
thrilled to let you know that the United Koffee Shoppe is open again during
library hours. Both the library and the coffee shop benefit from each other.
Our circulation is higher when the coffee shop is open, and it enhances the
atmosphere of the building when people are encouraged to linger a bit
longer. So come in and visit!
We always have a cart of books we
are working on processing. If you see a book on the cart that you are
interested in, ask someone, and we may be able to prepare it for checkout for
you immediately. Books can be returned to City Hall if you can’t make it during
library hours. Since the United Koffee Shoppe is open, you can do self checkout
again if the coffee shop is open and the library isn’t.
The Novel Quilters will have
quilts completed based on March by
Geraldine Brooks at our April 18th meeting. We will also be
determining what our next book is.
We continue to get new award
winning books in each week. Here are two that have arrived recently.
The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard won the 2003 National Book Award
for Fiction. The hero of The Great Fire is Aldred Leith, who in 1947 is
a 32-year old decorated English war veteran. After traveling through China, his
next assignment is near Hiroshima. There he meets a hostile and boorish
Australian couple, the Driscolls, and their 17-year old daughter, Helen. Aldred
and Helen fall in love, earning the animosity of her parents, but they're soon
separated as Aldred must return to England and the Driscolls leave for New
Zealand. Set against the aftermath of the violence of World War II (Aldred's
best friend investigates war criminals) and the unfolding of the Cold War,
Shirley Hazzard's novel is a love story pursued across time and continents. The
Great Fire has received many glowing reviews. The San Francisco Chronicle
says, "Hazzard's moving, generous story paints love as the greatest
rescuer of all -- as apt today in our troubling, troubled world as it was 55
years ago."
The Top Gun’s Return by Kathleen Creighton won the 2004 Rita Award for
Long Contemporary Romance. Eight years ago, Jessie Bauer received news that her
husband Tristan's aircraft carrier was shot down in the Persian Gulf. Though
her world was falling apart, she knew she had to be strong for her 10-year-old
daughter, Sammi June. Out of the blue, she receives a call that Tristan has
been found in a Baghdad prison. The harsh elements have changed him both
physically and mentally. Will he be able to put the past behind him and start
living for the future? Kathleen Creighton's The
Top Gun’s Return is an emotionally packed book that offers a
well-thought-out plot with unforgettable characters.
Internet Access:
Online access is available at the library. The staff can
help with online research or guide new users.
Story
Time:
11
a.m. every Monday
Friends of
the Library Meeting
7 p.m. on
April 16th
Novel
Quilters Meeting
6:30 p.m.
on April 18th
Staffed
Library Hours:
Mondays
& Saturdays - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Wednesdays
- 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Phone: (503) 366-8020
E-mail: cclibrary@opusnet.com
Address: 205 "I" Street
FOUND ITEMS
The following items were found recently and turned in to City Hall. Do
they belong to you?
§
§
Bicycle found on Third Street
§
§
Cell phone found near Hwy 30
§
§
Ring found near “I” Street
§
§
Keys with remote found near “L” Street
If you think one of these items may be yours, please contact City Hall at
(503) 397-4010 for more information.
CAPLES HOUSE MUSEUM
The
museum occupies an entire block. Here Dr. Charles Green Caples built his home
in 1870, overlooking the broad Columbia River with a view of Mt. St. Helens.
The family lived here until 1959. Visualize the women trimming wicks on
kerosene lamps, cooking over a hot wood range, and hauling all water from
outdoors. The house contains a parlor, doctor's office, old-fashioned kitchen
and pantry, and three upstairs bedrooms, all with antique furniture. The square
cut Curtiss piano was shipped around the Horn. The medical instruments belonged
to Dr. Caples. The Indian baskets were collected by the family. See pioneer
tools in the separate Wash House and Tool Shed, and walk beneath century-old
apple trees in the family orchard. The Doll Museum in the old carriage house
features two floors of dolls, toys and clothes. A newer building, the Knapp
Social Center, is a wonderful place to hold receptions, meetings and parties.
During
the season, the museum facility will have regular hours on Friday, Saturday and
Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. They will also be open from noon to 4 p.m. on
Federal holidays. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for children over six
years old, and children under six are free.
NEW WATER
RATES
The City Council approved a water
rate increase following a public hearing in March. The rate increase will take
effect on March 26, 2007, and will be reflected on the April 26, 2007 billings.
For a residential customer within
the City limits, the new rates include a $.85 increase in the minimum monthly
charge and a $0.10 increase in the first volume charge, for an overall average
increase of 3%.
|
Residential
Customer In
Columbia City |
New Rate 3/26/07 |
|
Minimum charge - less than 500 cubic feet of
usage |
$29.35 |
|
For each additional 100 cubic
feet, but usage less than 1,000 cubic feet |
$3.50 |
The rates
for commercial, industrial and outside City water users received similar
adjustments. For detailed information about other rate classes, please contact City
Hall by calling (503) 397-4010.
A LOCAL
SHOWCASE FOR TRILLIUM
From March
through June, large-flowered trilliums bloom gracefully on the forest floor
throughout Jim Bundy Memorial Park. The trillium has a large, often white,
three-petaled flower above three broad leaves. Along with its three sepals,
it's easy to see where trillium got its name. The plants are 8 - 18 inches high
with a stem bearing a 2 - 4 inch flower.
The white flowers turn pink with age. They grow in rich wooded areas,
and trillium is often the first wildflower noticed by casual walkers as other
spring wildflowers are much less apparent.
Trillium flowers should never be
picked. In fact, it is
illegal to pick trilliums in Oregon, Washington, New York, Michigan and British
Columbia. The three leaves below the flower are the plant's only food source
and a picked trillium may die or take many years to recover. Trillium plants
take 6 years to grow from seeds to flowers.
Trillium
is one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants and mice. Trillum seeds
have a fleshy organ called an elaiosome that attracts ants. The ants take the
seeds to their nest, where they eat the elaiosomes and put the seeds in their
garbage, where they are protected until they germinate. They also get the added
bonus of growing in a medium made richer by the ant garbage.
POLICE REPORT
02/22/07 to 3/25/07
02/22/07 Premise checks conducted.
02/22/07 Welfare check in the 1500 block of
Fourth Place.
02/22/07 Follow-up investigation in the 600
block of “K” Street.
02/22/07 911 hang-up checked in the 1700 block
of Ninth Street.
02/26/07 Follow-up investigation
at City Hall.
02/26/07 Ordinance violation in
2300 block of Sixth Street.
02/26/07 Follow-up investigation
in 100 block of “E” Street.
02/26/07 Citizen assist at City
Hall.
02/26/07 Follow-up investigation
near “A” Street and Highway 30.
02/26/07 Possible lost bike near
Highway 30 and Pacific Street.
02/28/07 Follow-up investigation
in the 1500 block of Fourth Place.
02/28/07 Loose dogs reported in
300 block of “A” Street.
03/01/07 Alarm reported. Turned
out to be a residential sewer alarm in the 1600 block of Sixth Street.
03/01/07 Follow-up investigation
conducted at City Hall.
03/01/07 Citizen requested an
officer look at a trailer in the 1700 block of Ninth Street.
03/01/07 Follow-up investigation
regarding the recovery of stolen property at City Hall.
03/02/07 Citizen assisted in the
1600 block of Ninth Street.
03/02/07 Alarm reported in the
3500 block of Park Drive.
03/03/07 Premise checks conducted.
03/05/07 Citizen assisted at City
Hall.
03/06/07 Citizen assisted at City
Hall.
03/06/07 Hazard reported. Carpet
in the Highway near “L” Street.
03/06/07 Traffic complaint. Gray
Mustang passing in center lane of Highway 30.
03/07/07 Citizen assisted at City
Hall.
03/09/07 Alarm reported in the
2400 block of Seventh Street.
03/09/07 Abandoned vehicle in the
1500 block of Fourth Place.
03/09/07 Disabled vehicle near
Highway and “A” Street.
03/09/07 Suspicious vehicle
reported at the Mini Mart.
03/10/07 Vandalism reported at the
Caples House Museum.
03/10/07 Traffic complaint.
Speeding vehicle in the 1600 block of Second Place.
03/10/07 Premise checks conducted.
03/13/07 Follow-up investigation
in the 1600 block of Second Place.
03/13/07 Traffic complaint near
Fourth and “L” Streets.
03/13/07 Citizen assisted at City
Hall.
03/13/07 Citizen assisted at the
Post Office.
03/13/07 Assisted other agency at
City Hall.
03/13/07 Follow-up investigation
in the 1600 block of Fourth Street.
03/13/07 Follow-up investigation
at the Mini Mart.
03/14/07 Follow-up investigation
at the Mini Mart.
03/14/07 Citizen assisted in the
300 block of “A” Street.
03/15/07 Complaint of truck losing
wood out of back of trailer on Highway 30.
03/15/07 Dog complaint in the 2900
block of Sixth Street.
03/15/07 Citizen assisted at City
Hall.
03/15/07 Kids playing on the
railroad tracks near “E” and Highway 30.
03/16/07 Juvenile abuse reported.
03/17/07 Theft in the 200 block of
Spinnaker Way.
03/17/07 Vandalism to vehicles in
the 3400 block of Sixth Street.
03/17/07
Theft reported in the 1400 block of Second Street.
03/18/07 Premise checks conducted.
03/18/07 911 call at the Mini Mart
turned out to be kids playing on the pay phone.
03/18/07 Public assisted near
Second and “I” Streets.
03/19/07 Follow-up investigation
at City Hall.
03/19/07 Attempted to locate DUII
driver.
03/20/07 Citizen assisted at City
Hall.
03/20/07 Trespass reported at a
residence on Metlako Way.
03/20/07 Theft reported in the
1700 block of Sixth Street.
03/23/07 Citizen assisted in the
500 block of Skookum Court.
03/23/07 Disabled vehicle near
Highway 30 near Chimes Crest.
03/24/07 Traffic complaint of truck swerving all over Highway 30.
03/25/07 911 call in the 2300 block of Second Street. Phone line problem.
COLUMBIA
COUNTY MASTER GARDENER ASSOCIATION’S
11TH
ANNUAL SPRING GARDEN FAIR
Saturday, April
21, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the St. Helens High School Commons. The Columbia
County Master GardenerTM Associa-tion will offer 60 varieties of
tomato plants for $1 each and certified Master GardenerTM
volun-teers to answer gardening questions; nearly thirty local vendors will
offer garden-related items; raffle tickets will be on sale at $1 each for
dozens of prizes to be given away all day.
If you’re
interested in being a vendor at the fair, call Curt Nelson at (503) 369-1233
right away. Visit the Columbia County
Master Gardener website at
www.columbiacountymastergardeners.org.
The Oregon Donor Program has
announced its new name: Donate Life Northwest. The program is shifting its focus beyond educating the
community about the need for organ and tissue donations and more to actionable
donor designations.
In April, Donate Life Northwest
will launch a statewide donor registry in Oregon and is encouraging people to
confirm their commitment to donation by registering on www.donatelifenw.org.
Your support of registering and encouraging others to do the same will help
them achieve Donate Life America’s national aim to register 100 million people
across the country. Watch for more information regarding the donor registry in
April. To learn more about Donate Life Northwest and the ways they make
a difference, please visit their website at www.donatelifenw.org.
According to the National Audubon
Society and the Seattle Audubon Society, predation by cats is a leading threat
to birds and wildlife in urban and suburban areas. By keeping your cats
indoors, you help protect local wildlife, and you help your cat lead a longer,
healthier life.
Cat Facts:
ö Outdoor cats (both companion animals
and strays) kill millions of songbirds and small mammals per year.
ö Cats are not a natural part of
ecosystems; they compete with native predators.
ö Cats transmit disease to wildlife.
ö Even well fed cats hunt and kill
wildlife.
ö Bells do not prevent cats from
killing wildlife.
ö Interrupting an attack by a cat
usually does not allow the prey to escape and live.
ö Indoor cats live three times longer,
on average, than outdoor cats.
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