WATER UPDATE

The City is in the process of completing the construction of a new groundwater well at the Public Works Shop property located between Second Place and Third Street.

The preliminary design work for the final development of the well is currently underway. The final well development will include the construction of a chlorination facility, connecting the well to the distribution system, site piping, drainage facilities and telemetry. The main City Shop building will be expanded and fitted with new siding. The project will also include the construction of new retaining walls and the addition of landscaping behind the shop buildings along Third Street. We hope to complete construction by the end of July.

The majority of the funding for this project comes from a low interest loan (1%) under the Safe Drinking Water Revolving Fund loan program, and a portion of the project is funded by System Development Charge revenues. For more information about this project or other City projects, please contact City Hall by calling (503) 397-4010.

PLANNING COMMISSION ACTIVITIES

The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on January 16, 2007, to discuss an application for multiple property line adjustments and approval of access and variances to street standards. The applicant proposes to reconfigure existing lots to create three reconfigured lots of record that would be accessed from a private street with a bridge across McBride Creek and connecting to a public street in the Penn Street right-of-way. The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the City Hall.

THANK YOU

We'd like to extend a big "thank you" to:

· · The Columbia River PUD for helping us hang our holiday lights and banners.

· · The anonymous person that left the poinsettia at City Hall.

· · Debra Popham for sending us homemade fudge.

· · Don and Polly Brown for sending us coffee from Hawaii.

· · Mike Reedy for the homemade fudge.

· · Jimmy & Rumiko Zaha for the chocolates & cookies.

· · Joyce Premsingh for the chocolates.

· · Barbara Jones for the holiday swag.

· · Murray Smith & Associates, Inc., for the chocolates.

· · Mabel Pennel for the chocolates.

· · Lower Columbia Engineering for the gift bag of cheeses, meats, crackers and mints.

HOME SECURITY CHECKS ARE AVAILABLEThe Columbia City Police Department offers periodic home security checks for citizens who are away from home. To receive home security checks while you're out of town, please register with the Columbia City Police Department before you leave. Forms are available at City Hall.

WHAT'S HAPPENING @ YOUR LIBRARY

We completed inventory at the library, a job that takes months when you have to scan each of the 5700 books and can only spend an hour every week or so! The great news is that only 27 books are missing, compared to 70 when we were still in the school library! The number of people using the library has doubled, and our checkouts have been higher month-to-month since we moved.

Most of you that are in the library frequently know that we have a cart of books that we are working to get into the library. If you happen to see something on the cart that interests you, let us know, and we can usually process it for you in just a few minutes. They all have to get done eventually, we’d be happy to do what you want first!

If the library isn’t open when you want to return your books, you can take them to City Hall. Remember, we don’t charge fines unless you lose the book. For those of you who haven’t used the library yet, there is no fee to check out books. So check us out!

Here are some recent acquisitions by the library:

Take the Bait by S.W. Hubbard. The remote village of Trout Run lies inside New York State's vast Adirondack Park, a tiny community cloistered within deep forests and rugged mountains. You can drive for miles without seeing another soul -- so when high school senior Janelle Harvey vanishes while walking home along a lonely forest road, only the trees are mute witnesses to her disappearance.

Police Chief Frank Bennett is new to Trout Run, and he's determined not to make another mistake in judgment like the one that cost him his previous job. But no one -- family, friends, or clergy -- seems willing to tell all they know about Janelle. Yet as the search goes on, Frank determinedly peels back the layers of mystery...only to find that even in a town where everyone knows your name, there are some secrets no one wants shared.

Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger. The classic, best-selling story of life in the football-driven town of Odessa, Texas, with a new afterword that looks at the players and the town ten years later.

Return once again to the timeless account of the Permian Panthers of Odessa--the winningest high-school football team in Texas history. Odessa is not known to be a town big on dreams, but the Panthers help keep the hopes and dreams of this small, dusty town going. Socially and racially divided, its fragile economy follows the treacherous boom-bust path of the oil business. In bad times, the unemployment rate barrels out of control; in good times, its murder rate skyrockets. But every Friday night from September to December, when the Permian High School Panthers play football, this West Texas town becomes a place where dreams can come true. With frankness and compassion, H.G. Bissinger chronicles a season in the life of Odessa and shows how single-minded devotion to the team shapes the community and inspires--and sometimes shatters--the teenagers who wear the Panthers' uniforms.

Internet Access:

Online access available at the library. The staff can help with online research or guide new users.

Friends of the Library Meeting: 1/15/07- 7 PM

Novel Quilters Meeting: 1/17/07 - 6:30 PM

Storytime: Mondays 11 AM

Staffed Library Hours:

Mondays & Saturdays,

10 AM to 2 PM

Wednesdays

4 PM to 8 PM

CLOSED Monday, January 1^st

Phone: (503) 366-8020

E-mail: cclibrary@opusnet.com

Address: 205 "I" Street

THE SOUNDS OF THE GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRAOn Monday, January 15, 2007, 7:30 p.m. at the St. Helens High School Olmscheid Auditorium the St. Helens Band Patrons present The Sounds of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Top Northwest Musicians gather to bring you a night of great music. A special program to benefit the Tom Brumbaugh Scholarship. $8-Adult / $5-Student/Senior. You can purchase tickets in advance at: Richardson’s Furniture, Mr. Joe’s Coffee Café & The St. Helens Book Shop. Tickets available at the door.

PARK UPDATE

Harvard Park: Some things just take time! The City recently completed a landscaping project in Harvard Park. The majority of the park was landscaped according to a landscaping plan prepared in 1998 by Shirley Sacha of Landscape Design. As the landscaping matures, it will create a natural barrier around the perimeter of the playground area. A few shade trees were also planted near the playground. A drinking fountain, picnic tables, benches, trash containers and a porta-potty will also be added to the park during the next few months.

Bike Path: The north end of the bike path along the west side of Highway 30 has been extended. It now runs west along the top of the bank of McBride Creek, and it connects into Mattie Street in two places - one near Fifth Street and the other near Park Drive.

SEWER SMART TIPS

Sanitary sewer systems are designed to handle three types of waste products:

Þ Þ Used water

Þ Þ Human body waste

Þ Þ Toilet paper

You can help prevent unwanted sewer backups and keep your sanitary sewer working properly by following these simple Dos and Don'ts!

DO:

Collect grease in a container and dispose of it in the garbage.
Place food scraps in the garbage for disposal with solid waste.
Place a wastebasket in the bathroom to dispose of solid waste. (Disposable diapers and personal hygiene products do not belong in the sewer system.

DON'T:

Pour grease, fats, and oils from cooking down the drain.
Use the sewer to dispose of food scraps.
Use the toilet as a wastebasket for garbage and chemicals.

POLICE ACTIVITY REPORT10/15/06 – 12/01/06

10/15/06 Loose dog reported at the Columbia City School.

10/15/06 Missing adult reported in the 300 block of “A” Street.

10/16/06 Citizen assisted at City Hall.

10/17/06 Citizen assisted in the 3600 block of Tahoma Street.

10/17/06 Theft of gas from a vehicle in the 1600 block of Third Street.

10/17/06 Traffic complaint. Juvenile riding a 4-wheeler at high speed and running stop signs in the 1700 block of Seventh Street.

10/17/06 Vehicle blocking traffic in the area of “I” and Second Streets.

10/18/06 Welfare check on a juvenile at a residence in the 400 block of Skookum Court.

10/19/06 Premise security checks conducted.

10/20/06 Parking complaint in the area of “E” Street and The Stand.

10/20/06 Suspicious person checked in the area of Second and “G” Streets.

10/21/06 Premise security checks conducted.

10/21/06 Animal complaint. Dog howling in the 400 block of “D” Street.

10/26/06 Motorist assisted in the area of Highway 30 and “I” Street.

10/26/06 Disabled vehicle in the area of Highway 30 and Chimes Crest.

10/26/06 Suspicious persons in the 1500 block of Fourth Place.

10/28/06 Vacation premise security checks conducted.

10/28/06 Restraining order violation reported.

10/28/06 Suspicious vehicle checked.

10/29/06 Report of a dog left in a vehicle for a long period of time on Pacific Street.

10/30/06 Citizen assisted by telephone.

10/30/06 Animal complaint on “J” Street.

10/30/06 Citizen assisted at the Mini Mart.

10/30/06 Portland Police Bureau assisted at City Hall.

10/30/06 Burglary reported in the 2000 block of Sixth Street. Suspect identified.

10/31/06 Animal complaint in the area of Tahoma and Fifth Streets.

10/31/06 Traffic complaint in the area of Second and “K” Streets.

10/31/06 Loose dog reported in the 400 block of Skookum Court.

10/31/06 Welfare check done in the 400 block of Skookum Court.

10/31/06 Vacation premise security checks conducted.

11/03/06 Small child with backpack reported along Highway 30 near Chimes Crest.

11/03/06 Missing juvenile reported in the 2000 block of Sixth Street.

11/03/06 Open door checked in the 1400 block of Second Street.

11/03/06 Vacation premise security checks conducted.

11/04/06 Truck dumping material at Stimson Lumber reported as suspicious. Checked okay.

11/04/06 Motorist assisted in the area of Highway 30 and “I” Street.

11/04/06 Vacation premise security checks conducted.

11/06/06 911 call checked in the 2100 block of Second Street.

11/06/06 Missing adult reported in the 300 block of “A” Street.

11/08/06 Prowler reported in the 400 block of Weown Court.

11/08/06 Citizen assisted at City Hall.

11/08/06 Burglary reported in the 2000 block of Sixth Street. Suspect identified.

11/09/06 Suspicious vehicle reported in the 3300 block of Fifth Street.

11/10/06 Audible alarm in the 1200 block of Second Street.

11/10/06 Domestic dispute reported in the 300 block of Tahoma Court.

11/10/06 Vacation premise security checks conducted.

11/11/06 Citizen assisted at City Hall.

11/14/06 Theft of a cell phone reported by a citizen at City Hall.

11/15/06 Loose dog reported in the 200 block of “L” Street.

11/16/06 Stop sign and street sign down near Highway 30 and Chimes Crest.

11/16/06 Vacation premise security checks conducted.

11/17/06 Vehicle reportedly weaving all over the road near Highway 30 and “L” Street.

11/18/06 Domestic dispute reported in the 3500 block of Park Drive.

11/18/06 Traffic hazard reported near Highway 30 and Chimes Crest.

11/18/06 Domestic dispute reported in the 1600 block of Sixth Street.

11/20/06 Loose dog reported near the Sports and Recreation Club on “A” Street.

11/20/06 Nuisance call near Sixth and “E” Streets.

11/20/06 Citizen assisted in the 2100 block of The Strand.

11/21/06 Theft of diesel fuel reported from Stimson Lumber.

11/25/06 Agency assisted at City Hall.

11/25/06 Erratic driver reported on Highway 30 near “A” Street.

11/25/06 Intoxicated person reported near Fifth Street and Skookum Court. Subject located and checked out to be okay.

11/25/06 Suspicious activity reported at a vacant house in the 3400 block of Park Drive. People reported to be inside the house. Checked and found it was the owners.

11/25/06 Agency assisted in the 2000 block of Third Street.

11/27/06 Agency assisted at City Hall.

11/27/06 Citizen assisted at City Hall.

11/27/06 Loose dog reported near Sixth and “C” Streets.

11/27/06 Resident of the 1500 block of Fourth Street reported identity theft.

11/29/06 Premise security checks completed.

12/01/06 Suspicious vehicle checked near Mattie and Tahoma Streets.