The Columbia press., December 22, 2017, Image 1

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C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper
503-861-3331
Smooth roads
ahead for transit
agency, riders
Fort Clatsop
after Christmas
The Columbia Press
Fresh funding means
lots of improvements
The winter of 1805 wasn’t kind to Clatsop
County’s most famous early tourists.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition suffered
through unceasing rain with just a handful
of blue-sky days.
Fort Clatsop, a replica of the fort the ex-
plorers built, is offering several programs
about what it was like for expedition mem-
bers in the days and months after they ar-
rived.
The park is closed Christmas day; so the
programs begin Dec. 26 and run through
New Year’s Day.
Above: Costumed
“This is the time of year the Corps of Dis-
rangers demonstrate
flintlock muzzle load- covery members were settling in for their
ing and firing.
winter at Fort Clatsop and a great time to
visit the park,” Ranger Sally Freeman said.
Left: Visitors listen to
The group spent three weeks building
a presentation on win- the fort and it served as their headquarters
ter conditions for the
from Dec. 8, 1805, until March 23, 1806,
Corps of Discovery.
when they returned east to St. Louis.
B y C Indy y Ingst
The Columbia Press
Tired of waiting at the bus stop wonder-
ing when the No. 10 will get there?
There’s an app for that. At least there will
be soon.
How about digging in your purse for the
proper fare?
There’s a technological solution coming
for that as well.
Sunset Empire Transportation District
will have a busy 2018 as it makes improve-
ments and changes to the bus system, many
of them prompted by new legislation.
Oregon lawmakers passed a transporta-
tion package earlier this year that includes
an employee payroll tax for transit, which
begins in July. One 1oth of 1 percent of ev-
ery dollar workers earn will be earmarked
for public transit and the money will be
fairly and equitably split between the big
cities and rural areas.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever had a stable
source of funding for public transit,” said
Jeff Hazen, Sunset Empire’s
executive director. “It is a
game-changer for every
transportation agency in the
state.”
The district completed a
20-year plan in September
2016. Instead of putting it on
Hazen
the shelf or in a filing cabi-
net, Hazen has kept that on his
desk to remind him of the vision and goals
necessary to get anything done in his ru-
See ‘Transit’ on Page 7
Vol. 1, Issue 51
December 22, 2017
See ‘Fort Clatsop’ on Page 6
High school wins large grant for technical skills training
B y C indy y ingst
The Columbia Press
Warrenton High School will con-
struct a large shop building to teach
students work skills so they can eas-
ily find a job after graduation.
And the district will do it quickly so
the career training classes can begin
next year.
The 120- by 60-foot building will
house a machine lab, auto shop,
welding area and, eventually, a place
to learn wood-based construction
trades, such as home-building.
“That’s the big vision,” Superin-
tendent Mark Jeffery told the school
board. “We hope to have it ready
by Sept. 1, but it’s more likely to be
ready by mid-October. We have to
have the permits pulled by June.”
The career training building, a goal
of the district for several years, will
become reality thanks to a $436,286
grant the high school won this
month.
The career readiness grant comes
from a joint venture of the Bureau of
Labor and Industries and the Ore-
gon Department of Education. War-
renton was one of 100 schools in the
state to get one and one of only 10 to
get grants above $400,000.
“We’re super excited and we re-
ally think we have something that
will meet a need,” said Vice Prin-
cipal Josh Jannusch, who wrote
the successful grant proposal. “The
money will cover the building and
the instructor.”
Jannusch has written some small-
er grant proposals, including three
grants from Verizon for $30,000
total to develop the school’s under-
water robotics program.
“Our state’s ability to attract and
retain good jobs in fundamental-
See ‘High school’ on Page 5