Columbus
Columbia County Spotlight
Lake Oswego Girl Scout sets an example
(LAKE OSWEGO) — Lake Oswego High School Senior Kayla Turner-Pike trusts her gut. Whether working in the athletic training room at LOHS or leading cookie sales for Girl Scouts in West Linn, Wilsonville and Lake Oswego, Turner-Pike will do whatever she can for her community. “I’ve learned a lot about trusting your instincts, trusting your gut,” she said. “Everything happens so fast. You have to know what’s going on. I...
St. Helens back to square one on site for new public safety building
Plans for a new police station are back in the hands of the St. Helens City Council. That’s the word after the council voted unanimously Thursday, May 9, to essentially drop efforts to pursue the matter with the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. With that decision, the city is effectively back to the drawing board when it comes to where a new, larger and more adequate public safety building would be constructed. ...
Dear Stranger: Starting a conversation amongst Oregon's citizenry
Promoting connections between diverse populations is the goal of Dear Stranger, formed a decade ago as a project of the nonprofit group Oregon Humanities. "Dear Stranger asks us to intentionally reflect and share about our experiences,” Lucy Solares-Steger, program coordinator at Oregon Humanities, said in a release. “While at first this can be daunting or challenging, many letter writers find that they’re able to work through these experiences by writing them out, and through this, make a really impactful connection with another person." ...
Supporting others, no matter their attitude
(MADRAS) — Lincoln Delamarter is, according to his teachers and the community around him, the kind of kid who is always ready to help. That desire to support and raise up fellow students and others in his community is a big factor in how he spends his time, making music, participating in clubs, and supporting the local Young Life group. He grew up in Madras and will graduate from Madras...
Some 12,000 Oregonians might be getting thousands of dollars in refunds due to TurboTax error
Tax day is not over for thousands of Oregonians. Intuit, a Silicon Valley company that makes the popular Turbotax software, has contacted more than 12,000 taxpayers who used it to file their state and federal returns, telling them they may have paid more than they should have because of an error in the software. The error was discovered by an Oregon Department of Revenue employee and involved directing people to...
Get the most out of your container garden
Gardening is beneficial in various ways. Some health perks associated with gardening include improved mood, increased vitamin D levels (which benefits bones and the immune system) and reduced risk of dementia. In addition, if gardening efforts include growing herbs, fruits and vegetables, it can be a cost-effective way to eat healthy. Container gardening can be an ideal way for gardeners without sufficient space or for those with mobility issues to grow everything from flowers to vegetables. Better Homes & Gardens says most plants are not...
A leader and a teacher
(CLACKAMAS) — As the founder of the Rock Creek Middle School Asian and Pacific Islander student union, Brandon Nguyen knows how to bring students together. The idea to start the affinity club at Rock Creek came suddenly to Nguyen, like a light bulb went off in his head. “It was really weird, but one night I was thinking, ‘Rock Creek doesn’t have an APISU. We have a Black student union...
Oregon board allocates nearly $14 million for addiction prevention
State officials charged with allocating $600 million from opioid settlement lawsuits decided in its latest round of funding to focus on prevention. At its May meeting, the Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Board approved a proposal by the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission to spend $13.7 million on increasing the number of professionals working to prevent addiction, an area considered crucial to addressing the drug crisis that has fueled fatal overdoses from fentanyl. ...
Subaru's affordable BRZ remains the best sports car for Northwest drivers
Way back in 2012, Subaru surprised the world with a new sports car. Instead of using the brand's signature and highly successful symmetrical all-wheel drive, the BRZ would be a traditional lightweight rear-wheel drive sports coupe. It was a gamble on an entirely new market for Subaru, and it has paid off handsomely. The Subaru BRZ was co-developed with Toyota, and essentially the same car has also been sold as a Scion and then as a Toyota. The cars are both produced in the same...
New Oregon fish and wildlife director, an agency insider, is first woman at the helm
About 50 years after the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife hired its first female field biologist, it will be led by one. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission has appointed Debbie Colbert, a biologist, oceanographer and the current deputy director of the agency, to its top leadership position following the April retirement of former director Curt Melcher, who spent a decade at the helm. The six members of the commission, including four women, voted unanimously to appoint Colbert over Kaitlin Lovell, fish and wildlife...
Our TV picks for Thursday, May 16: Young Sheldon; To Be Announced; Beat Bobby Flay
Young Sheldon KOIN 8 p.m. This two-part series finale ends the tale of Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage), a young genius in advanced mathematics and science living in a Texas town more interested in football and church. Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik reprise their roles for the finale. To Be Announced ...
Broadleaf Arbor housing in St. Helens nears full occupancy
With a current waiting list of 517, the Broadleaf Arbor housing development in St. Helens is expected to be fully occupied by the end of May. Project manager Wendy Klein told Pamplin Media Group, “We are at 90% occupied, so we’re working to get all the units occupied by the end of this month (May). We only have 28 or 29 units left to fill.” Broadleaf Arbor, located on Gable...
Portland’s CW to broadcast 11 Oregon State, Washington State home games in 2024
The CW Network will broadcast 11 Pac-12 college football games, consisting of Oregon State University and Washington State University, in the 2024 season. The Beavers and Cougars are the lone two teams remaining in the Pac-12 Conference after the 10 other teams left for other conferences, including the Big Ten, the Big 12 and the Atlantic Coast conferences. Both teams will play most of their games against teams in the Mountain West Conference for the next two seasons. Also known as KRCW, the station shares studio space in the basement of the KOIN Center in downtown Portland. KOIN 6 News is a partner of the Pamplin Media Group. Find the original story here.
Evanson: Draft Lottery loss might actually be the win Blazer fans have been waiting for
It’s my fault. I accept all blame for what appears at face value to be an unmitigated disaster. But while the Trail Blazers’ unceremonious free fall down the draft ladder as part of the NBA Draft Lottery this past weekend looks and feels like more of the same for Rip City fans expecting the worst, I’m here to tell you that it actually might be a stroke of luck. Two...
Oregon DOJ says no criminal charges warranted in bourbon scandal
The Oregon Department of Justice concluded that no criminal charges are warranted for the six former Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission employees who set aside bottles of in-demand bourbon for their personal use. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum on Monday, May 13, announced the conclusion of the investigation, which started in February 2023, in a letter to Gov. Tina Kotek. The criminal investigation has no bearing on the separate question of whether any state employee violated Oregon’s civil ethics laws. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission,...
BBB: How to spot legitimate retailers and protect your personal information
The next time you land on a checkout screen, ask this important question: Is this seller trustworthy? From groceries and clothes to concerts and gifts, online shopping has become part of our daily lives. But we want to know we’re on the right website, with secure payment methods and privacy policies that protect us. And it is possible for online shopping can be a worry-free experience — if you know what to look for. As we explore how to look for online signs of trust,...
Readers Respond: If I won the $5,000 Home and Garden Sweepstakes grand prize, I would…
Your Oregon News asked readers what they would spend the grand prize money on if they won the $5,000 jackpot from the Home and Garden Sweepstakes. Many readers said they would use the funds to landscape Backyard Habitat certification levels to attract pollinators and wildlife. All respondents said they are entering the sweeps. Here’s what our readers say the prize money would go toward in their homes and gardens: ...
Columbia County Spotlight
5K+
Posts
4M+
Views
The Columbia County Spotlight has the most circulation and reader engagement of any publication — printed or web — in Columbia County, and is the only source for consistent Scappoose and St. Helens sports coverage.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.