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Text Box: KOHI Local News At the Wednesday January 14th Columbia County Commissioner Meeting, Commissioners Kellie Jo Smith And Margaret Magruder voted to censure fellow Commissioner Casey Garret. According to legal clarity .org: When county commissioners censure another commissioner, it signifies a formal and public statement of severe disapproval of that commissioner by the governing body. This action is a way to address conduct that may detrimentally affect the integrity of the judiciary or undermine public confidence in the administration of justice. The censure may require the commissioner to appear before the commission and follow a specified corrective course of action. It is the most severe disciplinary action the commission can issue, reflecting the commission's commitment to maintaining the integrity of the commission. KOHI will replay the Meeting Wednesday at 7P and again Sunday morning at 10A. ————————————————————————————————— The St. Helens 5.0-million-gallon reservoir project aims to construct a new water storage reservoir to address critical infrastructure needs within the City’s aging water system. The new reservoir will enhance operational storage capacity, address fire capacity needs, and improve resilience to seismic events, while meeting both current and future water storage demands. ----------------------------------------------------------- City offices will be closed on Monday, January 19, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This includes St. Helens City Hall, the St. Helens Public Library, the St. Helens Police Department lobby, the Recreation Program, and St. Helens City Shops. ------------------------------------------------------------- St. Helens, Ore. – On December 22, 2025, Arcadia Paper Mills, LLC, and the City of St. Helens completed the purchase/sale of the former Boise paper mill located at 1300 Kaster Road in St. Helens. The purchase of the mill and property by Arcadia Paper Mills, LLC, is the first step in a major investment by the company to activate the industrial property and return local manufacturing jobs to St. Helens. Arcadia Paper Mills, LLC, is a company based in St. Helens, Oregon. Arcadia will manufacture paper towel and napkin at the paper mill in St. Helens with a team of local employees. Arcadia has already hired 15 employees from the local community to repair and commission the mill infrastructure. The City of St. Helens began working with Arcadia Paper Mills, LLC, in April 2024 to sell the mill site. Arcadia Paper Mills, LLC, was formed by a group of investors and industry experts to acquire and restart the papermill located in St. Helens. Craig Allen, a former mill manager responsible for tissue operations at the mill in the 1990s, worked with investors and former employees to complete the due-diligence work and assemble a team to commission and restart the paper mill. Arcadia would like to extend special thanks to Ron Houghtelling who helped identify this opportunity for the Arcadia group. Ron Houghtelling is a longtime resident of St. Helens with several family members that have worked at the mill over generations. The St. Helens Industrial Business Park where the mill is located is part of the City’s ongoing Waterfront Redevelopment Project efforts. “Arcadia Paper Mills’ investment will bring family-wage manufacturing jobs back to St. Helens,” said St. Helens City Administrator John Walsh. “It reflects the progress we’re making to reactivate the industrial waterfront and grow our local economy.” The Industrial Park is a 205-acre industrial property that the City of St. Helens acquired from Boise White Paper Mill in 2015. In January 2020, the St. Helens City Council adopted an Industrial Business Park Parcelization Framework and Funding Plan for the property. The framework and funding plan are intended to guide the City’s efforts to spur industrial redevelopment on the property, restore local family-wage jobs to St. Helens, restore underutilized properties to the tax rolls, and increase the City’s utility revenues. In addition to the sale of the mill parcel to Arcadia Paper Mills, LLC, the City of St. Helens is currently working to increase power capabilities at the business park to support future business investment on the site. ————————————————————————————————— Deer Island, OR – December 23, 2025 — The Columbia River People's Utility District Board of Directors adopted a $49.6 million Operating and Capital Budget during their December meeting. This represents a 3.3% increase over the 2025 Budget. The new budget was adopted with a 7.6% overall rate increase taking effect on April 1, 2026. The increase is being implemented because costs from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) increased on October 1, 2025. The PUD's wholesale power costs will go up by 8.9% and transmission costs will go up by 19.5% due to this increase. Power costs from BPA constitute roughly half of the PUD's budget. CRPUD purchases all the power it distributes from BPA, its wholesale power provider. BPA markets power produced by 31 dams on the Columbia River and sells it to 131 public power providers, like CRPUD. Increased demand for electricity and state carbonization laws have forced BPA to purchase more power on the market, which can be significantly more expensive than hydropower. "When BPA increases its rates, we must offset those increases by raising our rates to pay the difference," said PUD General Manager Michael Sykes. The PUD instituted a 7.5% rate increase in April of 2025 as well, choosing to split the increase over two years rather than implement a 15% increase to CRPUD customers all at once. —————————————————————————————————- Columbia County Warming Center will operate only as a Severe Weather Center through February 28, 2026. CAT staff will continue to work with all unsheltered individuals in order to help them explore housing and shelter options. CAT staff will monitor weather conditions using the National Weather Service. Days and Hours of Operation will be updated on the Columbia County Warming Center Facebook page. The Severe Weather Shelter will open as needed when any of the following conditions are expected to persist for four (4) hours or more, between the hours of 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. -Forecasted temperature of 25° F or below. -Forecasted snow accumulation of 1.0 inch or more. -Forecasted temperature at or below 32° F (0° C) with rain of -1.0 inch or more overnight. During severe weather events, the shelter will operate as following: Open - 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. Check In - 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Location – 1775 St. Helens St., St. Helens OR. Phone – 503-369-4889. When severe weather thresholds are not met - but when overnight temperatures are forecasted at 32 degrees or below for roughly four (4) hours or longer - CAT will work in conjunction with other service providers to conduct additional focused outreach. The goal will be to identify vulnerable houseless individuals, triage the situation, and distribute cold weather gear as needed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now is the time to join the Columbia County Transit Advisory Committee. Go to CCRiderbus on Facebook for more information or listen to Rider Talk on KOHI Mom-Fri from 3p-4p ———————————————————————————————— It’s currently not clear if anyone will benefit from a recent $81,000 grant offered by USDA to CET. The CET board of directors has voted to disband the Columbia Economic Team. The Columbia County Small Business Development Center is also gone in light of the news the IRS is owed back taxes and staff are currently looking for new jobs’ —————————————————————————————— The Oregon Employment Department released monthly employment and unemployment data for November 2025 in Columbia County, after a significant delay due to the federal government shutdown. Grant County was the highest unemployment County at 7.9%, Followed by Klamath at 7.5%Curry at 6,9%, Dpuglas at 6.5% then Columbia at 6.1% unemployed in November, up from 5.9% in September, and above the rate of 4.7% in November 2024. The October unemployment rate is not available since the underlying data was not collected due to the federal government shutdown that month. The statewide unemployment rate was 5.2% in November, and the national rate was 4.6%. Seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment increased by 70 in November to 12,340 jobs. Seasonally adjusted figures compare expected changes with actual changes. A loss of 90 jobs was expected for the month, and the county’s payroll employment decreased by 20. Private sector employment decreased by 50, and government employment increased by 30. Leisure and hospitality lost 30 jobs. Local government added 30 jobs. November’s total nonfarm employment was up from the previous year by 210 jobs, an increase of 1.7%. Some broad sectors gained jobs over the past year. The largest gain occurred in private education and health services, which added 150 jobs. Retail trade was down 60 jobs over the year. Local education was up 100 jobs over the year. The Oregon Employment Department plans to release the December county and metropolitan area unemployment rates and employment survey data on Tuesday, Jan. 27, and the statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data for December on Thursday, Jan. 22.