(Columbia County, Oregon) – The Columbia County Board of Commissioners is now welcoming letters of interest and resumes for appointment to the open positions of County Assessor and County Clerk, due by 5 p.m. on May 15, 2021.With the upcoming retirement of Assessor Sue Martin and the passing of Clerk Betty Huser prior to the completion of their elected terms, the County is opening the application process for these positions to all qualified, interested parties.Minimum qualifications for each position are as follows: Assessor:· Citizen of the United States· Elector under Oregon Constitution· Resident for one year preceding the next election· Qualified as a registered appraiser or is an appraiser trainee under ORS 308.015 and becomes registered appraiser within two years of taking office an…

CORRECTION – In this release, we printed that the next election to fill the County Clerk position was in November 2023. The election will actually take place in November of 2022, for a term of four years. The person appointed to fill the vacancy will serve until the beginning of January 2023. (Columbia County, Oregon) – With great sadness, the Board of Commissioners of Columbia County regrets to announce the passing of Elizabeth “Betty” Huser, who has served as Columbia County Clerk for 32 years, on Monday, April 26. Huser was born in Cumberland, Wisconsin near the Great Lakes, where her family had a cabin she loved to visit. Her family later moved to Scappoose where she graduated from Scappoose High School and began work for an insurance company in Portland. Huser served as Mayor of Scap…

Multiple outbreaks linked to rise in cases could shift Columbia County back to High Risk (Columbia County, Oregon) – Columbia County recently linked several COVID-19 cases to recent gatherings and activities in North County. If this trend continues, it could shift Columbia County back into the High Risk Category and lead to stricter capacity restrictions and gathering limits. Residents should be advised that cases are also trending up across the state. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) COVID-19 Weekly Report, released on Thursday, April 1, reported 2,456 new daily cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, March 22 through Sunday, March 28. That represents a 28% increase from the previous week. Given the rise in new cases, Columbia County Public Health would like to remind our communiti…

(Columbia County, Oregon) – The Columbia County Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance, recently adopted by the Columbia County Board of Commissioners to implement the intent of the voters as demonstrated by the passage of the “Second Amendment Preservation Ordinance” in 2018 and the “Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance” in 2020, will now move on to Validation proceedings in Columbia County Circuit Court.In passing the Ordinance, many provisions of both Measures 5-270 and 5-278 remain the same. The Ordinance amended the Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance to incorporate provisions of the Second Amendment Preservation Ordinance where it differed from the Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance. The new Ordinance’s adoption kept it consistent with County practice and corrected scrivener errors…

January 20,2021 During a storm event in 2015 a landslide occurred on Scappoose-Vernonia Hwy at MP 4.0, near Highway 47. In response to the event, crews with Columbia County’s Public Works Department temporarily stabilized the slide in order to reopen the road. Columbia County has since obtained Federal funding to repair the damaged road section. Contractors for the County will conduct the slide repair project this coming summer. Construction is anticipated to begin in July 2021 and run through September 2021. The work will include improving drainage, placing stone embankment protection, stabilizing the subgrade, installing guardrail, and repaving the roadway in the slide location. Some lane restrictions and traffic delays with flaggers are anticipated dur…

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  January 20, 2021 (Columbia County, OR) - Columbia County Public Health recently announced a new partnership with OHSU Family Medicine at Scappoose to finish vaccinating Phase 1a groups. OHSU joins Scappoose Rural Fire District and Columbia Health Services as the third local provider to receive COVID-19 vaccine to administer shots to specific Phase 1a groups.  Earlier in the month, Scappoose Rural Fire District received enough doses to vaccinate EMS staff and other first responders in Columbia County. Columbia Health Services subsequently received doses for its own staff, other local health care providers, and individuals in congregate care settings.  “The State of Oregon’s plan is to move to vaccinating educa…