14
community
october19
2017
Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event
Free event at Columbia
County Transfer Station
offers residents chance to
bring toxic, harmful items
for proper disposal.
Columbia County is giving resi-
dents a chance to rid their homes of toxic
items and protect the environment. On
Saturday, October 28, from 8:00 am to
noon, the County will host a free house-
hold hazardous waste collection event at
the Columbia County Transfer Station
at 1601 Railroad Avenue in St. Helens.
Many items used around the
home, including cleaning, gardening
and automotive products are considered
hazardous to people and wildlife. Toxins
in these products can present potential
safety and health hazards when discard-
ed into the environment.
“Bringing household hazard-
ous waste to the event is the safe and
responsible way for people to get rid
of items that can’t be placed in garbage
containers or recycling bins,” said Kath-
leen Boutin-Pasterz, the County’s Solid
Waste Program Coordinator.
Below is a list of items that can
be brought to the October 28 event. Items
must be in containers of less than five
gallons and should be secured safely
during transport. Trained household
hazardous waste technicians will unload
materials from vehicles.
• art and hobby chemicals
• ammunition
• antifreeze
• automotive batteries
• batteries - car, rechargeable, button -no
alkaline batteries
• cleaners and detergents
• cooking oil
• compressed gas cylinders
• fireworks and flares
• fluorescent tubes
• gas / diesel / fuels / antifreeze / motor
oil
• herbicides and pesticides
• lawn and garden chemicals
• light ballasts - please remove from
light fixture
• Medical Sharps (in sealed, puncture-
proof container)
• mercury - any items containing mer-
cury
• used motor oil
• paint and paint products
• propane cylinders
• pool and spa chemicals
• poisons
• solvents and thinners
Residents should note that Med-
ical Sharps are always accepted at the
Transfer Station’s scale house during
open hours for no cost. Sharps must be
brought in a sealed, puncture-proof ap-
proved container (available at pharma-
cies and the scale house). Additionally,
although automotive batteries, antifreeze
and fluorescent tubes will be accepted at
no cost during this collection event, a fee
is charged when brought to the Transfer
Station at other times.
Expired, unused or unwanted
prescription drugs can be brought to the
St. Helens Police Department at 150 S
13th St. Monday through Friday from 10
am - noon or 1 -5 pm and deposited in
the MedReturn collection box.
Keeping the environment clean
and protecting fish and wildlife habitat
as well as water quality is one of Colum-
bia County’s goals. To assist in reaching
that goal, the County began collecting
household hazardous waste at free events
in 2006. Since then, more than 750,660
pounds of toxic items have been kept out
of the landfill and has been properly dis-
posed. Of that number, 30,083 pounds,
or about four percent was recycled.
For
more
information,
email Kathy Boutin-Pasterz at Kathleen.
Boutin-Pasterz@co.columbia.or.us or
call her at (503) 397-7259.
About Columbia County Solid Waste
Program
Columbia County plans, organizes and
directs recycling, reuse, waste reduction
and household hazardous waste man-
agement throughout its 657 square-mile
area. The County operates the transfer
station in St. Helens and administers the
solid waste collection franchises within
the unincorporated area of the County.
The War of the Worlds Presented by Clatskanie Arts Commission
The most notorious radio show in history, “The
War of the Worlds,” will be performed on Saturday,
October 28, at the Birkenfeld Theatre in Clatskanie,
presented by Stageworks Northwest Theatre and spon-
sored by the Clatskanie Arts Commission.
Director Leslie Slape of Rainier says the show
will be performed in classic 1938 radio style, including
live sound effects.
Written by Howard Koch (“Casablanca”), the
program was originally broadcast on Orson Welles’
radio show, “The Mercury Theatre on the Air.” The
Martian invasion was presented in such a realistic style
that many listeners — who were already tense about
the prospect of war in Europe — thought it was real.
The original performance is known as “the night that
panicked America.”
This performance at Clatskanie’s Birkenfeld
Theatre, 75 S. Nehalem, will be Stageworks North-
west’s first production in Clatskanie. The hour-long
play begins at 1:00 pm Saturday, October 28. Tickets
are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors 60+/students, and
$10 children. Buy online at www.clatskaniearts.org or
by calling Elsa at (503) 728-3403.
The show will also be performed at Stage-
works’ home theater in Longview. For more informa-
tion about the Longview shows and the organization,
go to www.stageworksnorthwest.org
This performance is part of the Clatskanie
Arts Commission’s 29th Performing Arts Series which
also includes: Lisa Tyack Trio, Sunday, November 5 at
3:00 pm; Tingstad & Rumbel Holiday show, Saturday,
December 2 at 7:30 pm; Missoula Children’s Theatre,
The Wiz of the West, March 2 and 3; classical pianist
Steven Vanhauwaert, Saturday, April 7 at 7:30 pm; Or-
Readers Lend Their Voices...
Tract Optional Tax and landowners with
more than 10 acres need to sign into the
program and is not reversible for obvi-
ous reasons. Representatives from the
ODF and ODR were present for all the
meetings in Salem. This was to be rev-
enue neutral and our number established
the rate per thousand to be paid annually.
At the conclusion the ODR statistician
compared the department’s rate with
ours and we adjusted the rate slightly up-
wards. This rate is effected by the regu-
egon Symphonic Band, Sunday, April 22, 3:00 pm.
For more information about these performanc-
es or the Clatskanie Arts Commission, visit www.clats-
kaniearts.org or Facebook page.
continued from page 4
lar allowable tax increases in the state of
Oregon.
I find his explanation of
“Hormone
Mimicking”
unproven
and unscientific.
His inflammatory
and incorrect statement about cor-
porations, “...yet you have your big-
gest land owners (corporations)
not paying taxes,” is simply not true.
Even if they didn’t harvest any wood,
they would be subject to the Oregon For-
estland Tax.
Paul Nys
Rainier
To the Editor,
The Public Health Foundation
of Columbia County is encouraging Co-
lumbia County residents to commit or
recommit to healthy, tobacco-free lives
by participating in the American Cancer
Society Great American Smokeout on
November 16, 2017.
Vernonia
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RV Storage $149
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Tobacco use is the single largest
preventable cause of disease and prema-
ture death in the United States. About
half of all Americans who keep smok-
ing will die because of the habit. Each
year more that 480,000 people in the
United States die from illness related
to tobacco use. This means smoking
causes about 1 out of 5 deaths in the
U.S. annually. Yet, because tobacco is
one of the strongest addictions one can
have, about 40 million American adults
still smoke. Doctors and public health
officials used to encourage smokers to
quit cold turkey on a single day. To-
day, the evidence shows that quitting
is a process. It starts with a plan, often
takes time and requires a lot of support.
In 2014, 6,500 Columbia Coun-
ty adults regularly smoked cigarettes.
Tobacco-related illnesses cost Colum-
bia County residents $19.3 million in
medical care and $15.5 million in pro-
ductivity losses due to premature deaths.
The Public Health Foundation
is partnering with the American Cancer
Society, which is available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week to provide support
as people make their plan to quit. More
information is available at cancer.org/
smokeout or by calling 1-800-227-2345.
Claire Catt
St. Helens