Countywide
Stories that affect all of Columbia County rather than one community.
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Rain moves in Sunday after a bone-dry October
Portland’s airport had just 0.11 inch of rain in October through the 23rd. About an inch is forecast across Columbia County this week, Vernonia hits freezing, and Halloween looks dry.
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Mail your ballot by Tuesday, or use a drop box
Tuesday, Oct. 27, is the state’s last recommended day to mail a ballot. After that, use one of Columbia County’s six drop boxes, open 24 hours until 8 p.m. Nov.…
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How Columbia County’s five school districts scored on the 2025-26 state tests
ODE’s 2025-26 results for all five Columbia County districts: St. Helens at 30.8 percent in English and 19.9 in math; Scappoose at 51.4 and 39.6 but with 54.5 percent participation;…
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Stop throwing batteries in the trash. The county will take them free.
Columbia County accepts household, rechargeable, lithium and phone batteries at no charge at the St. Helens transfer station. Vehicle batteries are $2.70. The county says batteries in garbage trucks start…
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Duck season rules on Sauvie Island: what’s open, what’s closed, where to park
The Westside, Eastside and Oak Island units are hunter-only on reservation days from Oct. 17 through Jan. 31, and parts of the wildlife area are closed to everyone else until…
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Best coho fishing on the lower Columbia right now is our stretch
ODFW’s Oct. 17 creel count found the best coho fishing on the lower Columbia in the Warrior Rock to Longview stretch, with 69 boats and 50 coho kept. Chinook must…
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Who’s on the ballot in Columbia County? The full Nov. 3 list
Every candidate on Columbia County’s Nov. 3 ballot, from governor to the McNulty Water PUD, with what each told voters in the official pamphlets, plus the four local measures and…
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From a mushroom farm to a coin exchange: 67 new Columbia County businesses
Sixty-seven businesses registered Columbia County addresses with the state in September, up from 48 a year earlier, led by Scappoose with 21 and St. Helens with 14. Here’s the full…
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Want a piece of Columbia County? The sheriff is selling 31 properties Nov. 17
Columbia County will sell 31 county-owned properties at a sheriff’s auction Nov. 17 in St. Helens, from mineral rights to a former Clatskanie farm, with minimum bids set at what…
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Halloween in Columbia County: What’s free, what’s open, and when
Halloween falls on a dry Saturday. Here is the final weekend of Halloweentown, the free Kiwanis fair, the Houlton trick-or-treat trail, Scappoose downtown candy, the Vernonia parade, and the last…
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Fewer Columbia County residents out of work as unemployment rate hits 5.6%
Columbia County’s unemployment rate fell to 5.6% in September from 6.3% a year earlier, even as the county’s seasonally adjusted job count dipped by 130.
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Where do our property taxes go in Columbia County?
Columbia County will collect $107,322,331.38 in property taxes this year, with 46.94% going to education and about 9.54% staying in the county’s general fund, the county said in a news…