Klog

Friday:
There’s a Youth Cheer Camp for kids in grades 1-6 on Friday in Rainier, running from 9 am to 1 pm at the Hudson Park Elementary School Gym. It’s planned that the participants will perform at Friday night’s game between Rainer High School and Carson Graham BC.

Cowboy comedian Kip Attaway is booked to perform Friday and Saturday night at the Toutle River RV Resort, just north of Castle Rock. Attaway is billed as “a cross between Willie Nelson and Adam Sandler;” curtain is 8 pm each night. Call 274-8373 for ticket information.

Saturday:
The third annual Hilander Iron Horse Motorcycle Festival runs from noon to 9 pm on Saturday in downtown Kelso. This is a family-friendly event, also featuring a poker run for the motorcycle enthusiasts. The Iron Horse Festival kicks off the annual Kelso Highlander Festival; admission is free.

They’re wrapping up the “Castle Rock Rocks” Talent Show this weekend at the Toutle River RV Resort. Those who show a purchase receipt from the town of Castle Rock will receive special recognition and “VIP seating” at the event. Call 274-8373 for more details.

Kalama’s Weekend Market continues on Saturday and Sunday, and runs through August. Hours in downtown Kalama are 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday, with all kinds of fresh food, crafts, collectables and other wares available for purchase.

The Cowlitz Community Farmer’s Market continues on Saturday, with fresh produce, honey, plants and home-made crafts for sale in the 7th Avenue parking lot across from the Expo Center.

The Rainier Marina Market continues on Saturday in downtown Rainier, and will run through December 19th. They’ll have produce, herbs, plants, hand-crafted garden furniture, clothing, soaps, jewelry and other specialty items for sale. The Rainier Marina Market is located at 115 East A in Rainier, next to the Bank of America.

Sunday:
The Kelso Bridge Market is taking the Labor Day weekend off. They’ll return next Sunday, the 12th.

Israel Elijah Buchholz, 31, of Kelso is under arrest on charges of felony eluding, driving while suspended, obstructing an officer and resisting arrest, after a short car chase that took place yesterday morning. Shortly before 10 am yesterday, Kelso Police reported that a car made a moving violation at 4th and Allen, and the driver refused to stop. The officer followed the driver to the freeway on-ramp, where an attempt at a felony stop was unsuccessful. The suspect went south on the freeway, followed by Sheriff’s Deputies. At milepost 32 on the freeway, the driver stopped and reportedly tried to run, heading across the railroad tracks. Deputies and Kalama Police pursued on foot, eventually deploying a Taser to taken Buchholz into custody. Buchholz was taken to St. John Medical Center to get treatment for his Taser exposure, then he was booked into the County Jail on bail of $50,000.

The Washington Department of Health is fining the owner of the water system that serves the Columbia Crest Estates housing development near Kalama more than $21,000, saying that he’s not properly maintaining the system, and isn’t addressing ongoing problems with arsenic. DOH officials say that the 22 customers of the system have been under a “boil water” advisory since June 2nd, because owner Dan Class hasn’t monitored water quality, and doesn’t have a certified operator to run the system. A penalty of $21,060 was levied after repeated efforts to get Class to address the multiple system problems. During a July inspection by the Office of Drinking Water, they claim to have found numerous issues regarding sanitation, including mold, algae and rodent infestations in buildings that house pumps, wells and storage tanks. They also say significant leaks pose a contamination hazard. Health Department officials say that Class has failed to comply with a number of orders, and they say that he’s been “given every chance” to meet the state’s requirements. Class has 28 days to appeal the fine.

Members of the Longview Education Association have a new contract to go along with the new school year. Union officials report that their membership “resoundingly” voted to support the new contract, which includes greater financial penalties for the district when classrooms are overloaded. LEA President Dennis Weber says that a third of the district’s teachers worked in overcrowded classrooms last year; under this news agreement, teachers will be paid for classroom supplies, extra hours for paid teacher’s aides, workshop expenses and cash. The new contract also established a joint committee to study the issue of overcrowding and special education students. The teachers rejected a district offer to pay for two more days of workshops, opting instead for the overcrowding provisions. The new contract also recognizes the state’s cancellation of a promised COLA raise, while also providing more than $760 per month per teacher for health insurance.

It’s being reported that negotiators for Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging and local 153 of the AWPPW will meet again today. This follows a question-and-answer session that was held on Monday. Union members have been working under the old contract that expired on May 31st, and continue to work under that contract, even after serving a strike notice. The Daily News also reports that the union has presented a counter-offer to the contract that was soundly rejected by the rank-and-file last week. It’s reported that the main sticking points deal with health care benefits and pension plans.

Georgia Pacific has paid a fine of $4,800, a penalty levied by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for an incident that happened back in May. On the 10th of that month, the mill at Wauna discharged 20,000 gallons of acidic wastewater into Crawford Creek, posing a possible threat to fish. Crawford Creek also empties into the Columbia River. It’s noted that the company admits the violation, and has already paid the fine.

Weyerhaeuser is announcing the closure of an engineered wood products plant in Millersburg, Oregon, just outside of Albany. Company officials blame the continuing drag in the housing market for the closure, which will involve about 70 jobs. The plant, which has been open since 2000, is expected to run through October 30th, and Weyco says that they do no expect to re-open the facility. Employees will receive severance packages and other benefits because of the involuntary closure. The closure does not affect other Weyerhaeuser facilities in the Albany area; their regional offices will remain open, and the plywood mill in Sweet Home will continue to operate.

With the recent heavy rains, Longview Timberlands LLC is re-opening most of its holdings to public access. President Blake Rowe says that the recent rainfall and cool weather has reduced the fire danger in most of the company’s timberlands. Rowe says that Longview Timberlands property in Washington and Oregon will re-open to walk-in recreation, except in Chelan County. He says that fire danger remains high in that area, so that area will remain closed. Full details are available on the Longview Timberlands LLC website.

The Kalama Library is closed for the next few days, as they work to dry out the building after a water leak on Tuesday. City of Kalama officials report that they’re having work done on the City Hall/Library building, including the replacement of the roof and sheetmetal siding on the upper part of the building. During Tuesday’s rain storm, the wind blew off a temporary cover, allowing water to get into the Library. A water restoration company has been brought in to dry things out, but that will take several days to complete. Because of the equipment needed and the noise involved, it’s felt that it will be in the best interest of library users and employees to close the facility until the work is finished. They’re expected to re-open next Tuesday. Call the City of Kalama at 673-4561 for more information.

A Longview City Council workshop that had been scheduled for tonight has now been cancelled. The Council had been scheduled for National Incident Command Management training at 6 pm, but that has since been cancelled, and will be re-scheduled for a future date.