Some not happy with newest city councilor

A 4-2 vote splits the city council as it adds Steve ClarkBy Joe WilsonMolalla Pioneer
Molalla has a new city councilor, but not all the other councilors and the city administration are thrilled about some of his alleged behavior prior to getting the new position.
City Councilor Danna Jacober and Interim City Manager Mike Clarke are upset [...]

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Welcome to fire season

Molalla firefighters Denise Everhart and Matt Zacher were among the firefighters from five different departments who spent hours battling a wild land blaze near Salo Road on Tuesday afternoon. Everhart said the blaze signaled the beginning of this year’s fire season. For a complete story about the upcoming fire season, see the Saturday, June 30 [...]

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Macksburg gravel mine struck down

Proposed mine’s neighbors happy about the outcomeBy Abby SewellMolalla PioneerA proposed gravel mine on Macksburg Road may have been struck down for good on Wednesday, when the Clackamas County Board of County Commissioners voted to deny the mining application by Westside Rock.
Commissioners Lynn Peterson and Martha Schrader voted against the application, with Commissioner Bill Kennemer [...]

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MCC answers questions, some still not satisfied

Forum addresses concerns about company’s actions
By Abby SewellMolalla PioneerChange is never easy, Molalla Communications Company representatives told a gathering of about 30 cooperative members who turned out for a public forum on Wednesday to express their concerns about the management of the telecommunications company.
But it’s a point of contention in the Molalla community whether the [...]

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Boy critically injured at Molalla-area campground

Tigard boy in critical condition after branch plummets 50 feet onto tent where he was sleeping
By Danielle PetersonFor the Pioneer
A 5-year-old Tigard boy was critically injured Thursday night when a tree limb fell on the tent that he was sleeping in at a rural Molalla campground.
Around 10:52 p.m., a several hundred pound cottonwood limb snapped [...]

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Recall petition declared invalid

The petitions calling for the recall of city councilor Deb Leighton and Mary Jo Mackey were declared invalid by Molalla city attorney Jack Hammond today.
The petitions, which were filed on June 14 by Molalla resident Michelle Helmig and approved by City Recorder Melanie Maben were incomplete, Hammond said. A contribution and expenditure report and a [...]

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Basketball players face charges in Deschutes County

By Abby SewellMolalla Pioneer
The five Molalla High School varsity basketball players facing trial on sex abuse charges in Clatsop County are now facing charges in Deschutes County as well.
On Thursday, a grand jury indicted Cody Anderson, 16; John Berokoff, 18; Joshua Haqq, 17; and Onisefor Kutsev, 17; and Vlasy Kutsev, 16; on three counts each [...]

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Councilors say recall attempt is payback

Council recall petition cites discrimination, misuse of funds and harassmentBy Joe WilsonMolalla PioneerIt’s all about getting even. That’s what Deb Leighton and Mary Jo Mackie, two Molalla city councilors facing a recall attempt, are saying about the reasons behind the effort.
Dave Helmig, the husband of Molalla resident Michelle Helmig, the recall’s chief petitioner, was fired [...]

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Molalla woman loses everything with theft of trailer

By Abby SewellMolalla Pioneer
A Molalla woman told police that she lost everything she owned when a trailer containing all her possessions was stolen from the Mathias Road house where she was staying with a friend.
Dana Pierce, 40, had packed all of her possessions into a white six-by-12 foot Wells Cargo trailer and was ready to [...]

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Further details in Colton horse neglect case

By Abby SewellMolalla Pioneer
The investigation of an animal abuse case in Colton began in March when neighbors of April Punley called the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office to report seeing the four horses living on Punley’s property had escaped on multiple occasions and were in poor condition.
“The complaint was mainly from neighbors that the horses had [...]

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Broken and healed again

Liz Liechty in a tale of being toughBy Tim LaneMolalla Pioneer
In high school Elizabeth Liechty’s shoulder could be a bother sometimes. It had a tendency to pop out of its socket, making the painful process of pushing it back in a necessity for those around her.“I just remember that dang shoulder,” Liechty’s high school basketball [...]

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Colton woman arrested, horses seized in neglect case

By Abby Sewell

Molalla Pioneer

A Colton woman was arrested for animal abuse and three malnourished horses seized by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office this afternoon from a 103-acre property on Benzinger Road. A fourth horse was found dead on the property.

There was no water, phone or power at the home where April Punley, 47, [...]

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City celebrates completion of Four Corners Industrial Park

By Abby SewellMolalla Pioneer
City of Molalla and Clackamas County officials, business leaders and community members gathered this morning to dedicate the Four Corners Industrial Park and welcome its new tenants, NW Polymers and Cencast, Inc.
“This is just the beginning for Molalla,” county commissioner Martha Schrader told the assembled crowd before grabbing an outsized pair of [...]

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City Council approves new city manager contract

By Joe WilsonMolalla Pioneer
During a special meeting last night, the Molalla City Council unanimously approved an $89,000 employment contract with new city manager John Atkins, Jr. His first day on the job will be July 1.
Their unanimous decision was a departure from the May 23 meeting when the council was split 4-2 as they chose [...]

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Driver from Thursday night crash on Molalla Forest Road dies

25-year-old Brady Ralph Diamond of Oregon City, the driver of a car that veered off South Molalla Forest Road and landed treetops overhanging the Molalla River last Thursday night, died today.
Diamond and his passenger, Michael Steven Richardson, 28, of Colton, were both pinned in the vehicle and Diamond was unconscious when emergency personnel from the [...]

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