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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 2017)
as m t s i r h Merry C T he C olumbia P ress 1 50 ¢ 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