Longview Daily News from Longview, Washington • 4

THE DAILY NEWS LONGVIEW WASH Oregon News BRIEFS SCAPPOOSE Johnson makes mcoetested bid for Oregon State House ORA2 SATURDAY MARCH IT 2000 By Niis Berg THE DAILY NEWS 0j! hi WL4i tally ill daughter for several years An older woman asked what would happen to her ill child when she and her husband die Johnson said She said take on those challenges when she goes to the state House in Salem The candidate has emphasized the importance of Senate and House redistricting based on results from the current national Census that will occur in the next legislative session which begins in January She said western Oregon demographics have changed significantly Other issues address are transportation and economic development continuing problems involving school finance and reform the environment land use and tax policy Johnson said she wants to see the business discussed in a climate of bipartisanship In that vein she related a story about her father Sam Johnson who served as state representative from Redmond for 14 years She said he was once told never sure what party you are but you work like hell for the district and you do right for As a youngster Johnson helped her father with his political campaigns He died during a term as mayor of Redmond She is vice president of an endowment organization named for him the SS Johnson Foundation Democrat Betsy Johnson is running for the Oregon State House as though she were facing stiff competition But she even have an opponent in the May primary or the general election In fact the 49-year-old Scappoose woman emerged as the only candidate from either political party to run for state representative from District 1 to replace Democrat Jackie Taylor of Astoria when the filing deadline ended at 5 pm Tuesday Johnson said early Friday that she feels her responsibility to get to know as many people as possible and learn what issues concern them Her Thursday and Friday schedules were crowded with appointments in Astoria where she met with government officials advocates for the mentally ill and a travel business owner among others She also planned to squeeze in time for lunch with Taylor who run for re-election because of the new term limits law Johnson chairs the Port of St Helens board has managed the aeronautics division for the Oregon Department of Transportation and started Transwestem Helicopters now Transwestem Aviation in Scappoose She earned a law degree from Lewis and Clark College in Portland and is from a Nils Berg The Daily News A lack of challengers is likely to give Betsy Johnson the title of state representative from Oregon's 1 st House District long-standing political family from Redmond in Central Oregon The lone candidate has flown in precision formation helicopter competitions but right now getting to know her Ford Explorer better as she travels at least two days a week in Rainier Clatskanie and Astoria Johnson said she wants to familiarize herself with local issues in a part of the district she know as well The first legislative district COLUMBIA COUNTY for vendors who wish to sell their items at the bazaar Local artists craftspeople and anyone with special crafting talent are invited to showcase their products For applications or details of for anyone who would like to volunteer please call Kristin Renzema at (503)397-9020 Columbia County Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit Christian Housing organization that builds affordable housing in partnership with low-income families It is financed through private donations and utilizes volunteer labor For details on how to volunteer or apply for a house call the Columbia County Habitat for Humanity office at (503) 366-4594 Donations may be mailed to PO Box 921 St Helens OR 97051 ST HELENS My Fair Lady court princesses selected The My Fair Lady court for the pageant held on senior citizen day at the Columbia County fair this summer has been selected The princesses are Cozy Tateman of Vemonia Annie Nelson of St Helens Eleanor Abraham of Rainier and Betty Flora of Clatskanie like to congratulate the Retired Senior Volunteer Program director Nancy Harwood said make a beautiful RSVP the St Helens Rural Fire District and the Columbia River PUD will do their best to make this a special time she said The My Fair Lady pageant spotlights a nominated to represent each of the senior centers The number of hours a candidate volunteers is a factor in the nomination process In addition the nominees answer questions about their lives and offer a brief background biography Their photographs and the information will be printed in the county fair brochure We want your news To submit information for this column mail it to Region Briefs PO Box 189 Longview WA 98632 e-mail to frontdoortdncom fax to (360) 577-2538 attention Region Briefs or drop the information off at the newsroom counter in The Daily News building CLATSKANIE Head Start building gets $600K head start A $600000 grant from the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department has been awarded to the city of Clatskanie to help build a new 5 150-square-foot Head Start building The Clatskanie School District 6J donated half an acre of land for the building to be located at the back entrance to Clatskanie High School across the road from the softball field Columbia-Pacific Head Start is a family-focused early childhood development program that serves low- and moderate-income residents in the Clatskanie area The Head Start program must move because the Florence Tagg school in Westport where the program is located is up for sale Eighteen children are in the program The new building will be handicapped accessible and will accommodate 36 children and 30 staff members and parents The building also will have space for adult training programs The grant money is from the Oregon Community Development Block Grant program which provides grant money from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Oregon receives between $12 and $15 million annually in grant money that is administered by the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department The department is a state agency that invests federal lottery and other funds to help communities and improve economic opportunities for Oregonians COLUMBIA COUNTY 'Mother's Day Spring Bazaari scheduled for May 6 Columbia County Habitat for Humanity and the Warren Grange are putting together a Day Spring to be held May 6 at the Warren Grange The event will include and arts and crafts show with items for sale and a quilt raffle Attendees also will learn more about Columbia County Habitat for Humanity All proceeds from concession sales and booth rentals will be donated to Columbia County Habitat for Humanity Applications are being accepted Six in running for county commissioner includes parts of Columbia and Clatsop counties Johnson said grateful to the Clatsop advocates for the mentally ill who candidly shared some of their stories with her was she said hear how difficult it is to access the mental health She said she heard about medication that costs $4000 monthly and listened to a mother who said she allowed to see her men nessman and City Council member who ran unsuccessfully last year for Port of St Helens commissioner Susan Easley a member of the St Helens School Board Carole Smith of Warren a former Columbia County commis- sioner who lost her Position 3 seat to Hyde four years ago Joe Corsiglia of St Helens a City Council member and field operations representative for Portland General Electric Co who ran unsuccessfully as an independent against Peterson four years ago PUMP THE DAILY NEWS Voters in Columbia County who cast ballots in the May 16 primary will trim the list of candidates running for Commissioner Jack seat from six to two They have trouble identifying most of the candidates since each has run for public office in the past When the filing period ended this week four Democrats and two Republicans had signed up to run for Commissioner Position 1 Peterson a St Helens Democrat Price hikes come at a worse time for gas tax backers The two Republicans are: Scott Burge a Scappoose City Council member And Colleen DeShazer of Scappoose a Port of St Helens commissioner who has been involved in land-use issues and ran for county commissioner in 1998 Uncontested candidates who filed for office this week are: Philip Dewey for county surveyor Rod McLean for Justice of Peace in the VemoniaClatskanie area Paulette Kuiper-Hall for county treasurer and Phil Derby for county sheriff are going to make any gas tax hike a hard sell have no reason to assume that they are anywhere but deep in the Hibbitts said of the gas tax proponents This week supporters began airing 30-second TV commercials telling viewers that the gas tax package will generate money to help make highways safer and less crowded McCormick said leaders of the campaign planning to address the gas price increases directly in future advertising People already understand that the money generated by the price increases is going to oil companies and petroleum producing countries he said mi! Mill A 14 ITHEATREI March 10-16 CALENDAR who served as a commissioner for 12 years seek re-election Two people Shawna Sykes a Democrat employed as executive director of the St Helens Chamber of Commerce and incumbent Commissioner Anthony Hyde a Republican from Vemonia filed for election to Commissioner Position 3 The commissioner jobs pay about $60000 a year The four Democrats in the Position 1 race are: Mike Avent of Rainier a busi AT THE dismay as retail gasoline prices have climbed by about 5 cents a gallon per week for the past month The statewide average price for a gallon of regular gas is up to about $165 this week giving Oregon the fourth-highest gas prices in the country according to the American Automobile Club Only motorists in Hawaii Connecticut and Nevada pay more looks like we will see $2-a-gal-lon gasoline in the not-to-distant Auto Club spokesman Anne said Friday not going to see any relief for The gas tax package which was approved by the 1999 Legislature but then placed on the May ballot by a referendum campaign would increase the gas tax by 5 cents a gallon to 29 cents to raise money for road expansion and repairs It also would boost car registra LONGVIEW IV WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM? (R) Sal Sun (330 5 451800 TRIANGLE 4 THE CIDER HOUSE RULES(PG-13) SjU Sul (Z005001 800 sir HANGING UP (PQ-13) SalSSun 740 9 30sm THE TIGGER MOVIE (G) Sal Sw (2 4 15) 6 OOsrn WONOER BOYS (R) Sal Sin 1300 5 X) 7 45 DIG DROWNING MONA (PG-1 3) I Sin 4 50) 700 15 Die mm MISSION TO MARS (PG) Sal Sun (1 55 430) 700 9X DIG MY DOG SKIP (PG) Sat i Sin 100315 5 35)7 45 9 50 010 REINDEER GAMES (R) Sal Sun (220 4 45) 7 15 9 35 DIG THE WHOLE NINE YARDS (R) Sal Sun (3 10 5 20) 7 9 45 0IG SNOW DAY (PQ) Sal (Sun (1 30 330 5 X) 7 40 DIG PITCH BLACK (R) Sal Sin 9 40 DIG Voters to decide fate of nickel-a-gallon gas tax on May 16 ballot THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SALEM Ore The steep at-the-pump increases that have made gasoline prices among the highest in the nation have come at a worse time for supporters of a nickel-a-gallon gas tax increase on the May 16 ballot bad enough to have AAA and Bill Sizemore opposing us now we have OPEC and Saddam Hussein joining says Pat McCormick spokesman for trucking companies business and labor groups and others trying to promote the gas tax McCormick and other gas tax supporters have watched with niimiHmiiiHHiT Shown avKelso La c-J A4mllor14 FaeMIe Kh 414-1451 The Calendar provides information on community meetings for the next day It is the responsibility of members to provide updates and cancellations Forms are available at the newsroom counter 770 11th Ave Longview Deadline is one week before publication Send notices to: Calendar editor The Daily News PO Box 189 Longview 98632 communitynemtdncom or fax (360) 577-2538 Information 577-2515 inure HHirniiimin Sunday CLUBS Castle Rock Eagles Aerie 556: 12:30 pm bingo Eagles Lodge 224 Huntington 274-9723 RECOVERY ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (423-2520): Castle Rock Survivors: 7 pm open meeting Big Book study 12x12 study St Mathew's Church Pioneer Ave Castle Rode nonsmoking Cathlamet Group: 6 pm open meeting PUD building downstairs in back Grupo Serenidad: 5 pm open meeting 4603 Patific Hwy Seaview nonsmoking Peninsula Group: noon open meeting 4603 Pacific Hwy Seaview tion fees and repeal the weight-mile tax truckers now pay and replace it with a new diesel tax Supporters already were fighting an uphill battle to sell the gas tax hike to voters in the face of arguments by AAA and other opponents that the gas tax package would represent a tax shift from truckers to motorists Roger Graybeal president of the Oregon-Idaho chapter of AAA said while the price increases are unfortunate they give the opposition more ammunition to fight the nick-el-a-gallon increase the ever-increasing price of gas it certainly becomes far more difficult to accept a tax increase that is shamefully Graybeal said Friday Portland pollster Tim Hibbitts said little doubt that the gas price increases MARCHJ22SZ130PM fyij KELSO THEATER jrC si ASHES 1st Tin Fri March 10 Fri 6 00 Sal 5 00 7 45 Sun 5 00 7 45 Mon 6 30 Tues 6 30 Wed 6 1 5 Thura 6 30 Spike Classic of Animation Start Fri March 10th Attraction $5 Adm Fri 9 00 10 45 Sat 10 30 Wed 9 00 21 over only WCW Wrestling UNCENSORED Sun March 19 SS Doors Open 3 30 All Ages Welcome jt-TmrrrtxprmiT etotesho tlm 1150 Rated PG Friday: 7:00 10:00 Saturday: (4:00) 7:00 10:00 Sunday (4:00) 7:00 Mon-Thurs 7:00 In () are $4 OOSeat fit DOLBY DIGITAL Exit 49 Castle Rock For show Information 274-8000 I.