University of Oregon fans are waiting to hear what the Ducks will do for a head football coach now that Chip Kelly has decided to leave for the NFL Philadelphia Eagles.

Kelly told Oregon players the news Wednesday morning, after agreeing to terms with the Eagles.

He will be the Eagles' 21st head coach in franchise history.

Kelly met with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, team President Don Smolenski and General Manager Howie Roseman in early January after the Ducks dismantled Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. They met for almost nine hours in Arizona, with both sides engaging in a wide ranging, enthusiastic discussion of everything from football philosophy to management and organizational values and ideas. The conversations continued until Kelly decided he wanted to remain at Oregon, according to the Eagles organization.

Still, Eagles staff said Kelly continued to evaluate the opportunity to work for the Eagles in the NFL.

“Chip Kelly will be an outstanding head coach for the Eagles,” Lurie said Wednesday. “He has a brilliant football mind. He motivates his team with his actions as well as his words. He will be a great leader for us and will bring a fresh energetic approach to our team.”

Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said last week that the Ducks were "ecstatic" that Kelly was going to stay at the U of O after interviews with the Eagles, the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills.

Mullens said he had a plan for securing Kelly's successor and confirmed that offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich was to have been a candidate for promotion.

Kelly, 49, was 46-7 in four seasons as Oregon coach. He led the Ducks to BCS bowl games in each of the past four seasons.

Eagles forward Megan Dailey hits seven 3-pointers during the teams 50-47 win over Barlow

The Centennial girls basketball team found the hot hand Friday night, and Megan Dailey delivered a 50-47 win over Barlow.

Dailey opened the second half by swishing three straight shots from beyond the arc, so it was no surprise when the ball found her in the corner of the court with the game tied and less than a minute to play.

Dailey didn’t hesitate.

She launched her critical shot from in front of the Centennial bench, and the Eagle parents were off their seats celebrating before the ball ripped through the net for the winning points. The 3-pointer, her seventh of the night, put Centennial in front 48-45 with 0:48 on the clock.

Barlow answered with a quick two at the other end, but a pair of free throws by Chelsey Miller moved the lead back to three with less than five seconds to play.

The Bruins connected on two long passes to get the ball downcourt for an attempt at a tying 3, but the off-balance shot flew well off target.

Look for expanded game coverage in the Tuesday, Jan. 22, print edition.

View a photo gallery from the game at …

http://daveball.exposuremanager.com/g/jan18_cnt-bar_girls_hoops

Mark Helfrich has officially come out of Chip Kelly's shadow.

Helfrich has made the leap from offensive coordinator to head coach of the Oregon Ducks, who went to four consecutive BCS bowl games under his predecessor, Kelly, recently named head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said Sunday that Helfrich will have a five-year, $9 million contract.

"The opportunity of a lifetime," Helfrich said, of his new role. "It's an unbelievable honor to be around our players each and every day. ... I had an unbelievable meeting with those guys last night."

Helfrich said of his plan for the Ducks: "We will attack in all phases. We'll embrace innovation and strive our best to win each and every day.

"We're going to try to score. We're going to try to win. More importantly, we're going to try to prepare."

Helfrich said he expected the program to be about 99.2 percent similar to how it was under Kelly and "not going to be too much noticeably different."

Asked about the differences between himself and Kelly, Helfrich quipped, "I won't wear a visor. I'll eat more vegetables."

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota said the players are "all very excited. The meeting last night was awesome."

Another star of the Oregon offense, De'Anthony Thomas, said "I feel like our team has a great vibe. We're ready to go. Our team is excited to step up for Coach Helfrich."

Defensive back Brian Jackson noted that the players gave Helfrich a standing ovation in the Saturday night meeting, adding that Helfrich was the players' choice to be the new head caoch. "We'll be ready to perform," he said. "He knows the process."

Mariota agreed with Jackson's assessment and said he doesn't expect much change in the Ducks under Helfrich. "I'm looking forward to it," Mariota said, of spring practices.

Helfrich came to Oregon four years ago, when he succeeded Kelly as coordinator when Kelly replaced outgoing head coach Mike Bellotti. On Saturday, the Ducks gave Helfrich their head coaching position, and reportedly were set to move receivers coach Scott Frost up to the coordinator role.

Helfrich's team will have a relatively easy schedule in 2013. The Ducks will open Aug. 31 at home against Nicholls State, which lost to Oregon State 77-3 last season. Oregon's other non-conference games are Sept. 7 at Nevada and Sept. 14 at home against Tennessee. Oregon beat Nevada 69-20 in 2011 and won at Tennessee 48-13 in 2010. Oregon's Pac-12 slate has a Nov. 7 road game with Stanford and a Nov. 23 away game with Arizona, but the Ducks don't play USC or Arizona State and get UCLA and OSU in Eugene.

Helfrich, 39, was born in Medford and played quarterback for Southern Oregon. He is described as "affable" in his official university biography. He was an NAIA scholar-athlete who earned a biology degree and led the nation in total offense as a sophomore. His first major college coaching job was as a graduate assistant at Oregon in 1997. He went on to coach QBs at Boise State, Arizona and Colorado, where he also served as coordinator, before coming back to the U of O.

Frost also has been on the Oregon staff since 2009. The 38-year-old Nebraska native starred for the Cornhuskers in 1996-97, playing quarterback as they posted a combined record of 24-2 and won a national championship. In his two seasons at Nebraska, after his transfer from Stanford, Frost passed for 2,677 yards and 18 touchdowns, with seven interceptions, and ran for 1,533 yards and 28 TDs. He went on to play six seasons in the NFL as a defensive back, then coached at Nebraska, Kansas State and Northern Iowa before getting the call from the Ducks.

The Ducks' search took about three days. Mullens held a press conference Wednesday afternoon, after Kelly told him that morning of his decision to leave for the NFL. "We had multiple internal candidates," Mullens said, adding that he followed a state law requiring the Ducks to interview at least one qualified minority candidate. The Ducks, he added, had done a lot of ground work already, anticipating that Kelly would have the chance to jump to the pros, as he did the year before, when he turned down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"We talked to an awful lot of people and conducted five in-person interviews," Mullens said. "Everything kept pointing back to Mark Helfrich. He exemplifies everything we want. The continuity is a bonus."

Mullens said Oregon's "last in-person interview was conducted on Friday and the decision process started on Friday night, when we really were getting after it."

A Gresham man is dead after being accidentally shot by a very close friend, according to police.

Gresham police and paramedics responded to a 9-1-1 call made just after midnight Saturday, Jan. 19, from the 1600 block of Southwest Orchard Avenue, said Detective John Rasmussen. The caller reported a man inside was accidentally shot.

Inside, police contacted Jeffrey Dennehy, 23, of Gresham and transported him to Oregon Health & Science University, where he died at 3:30 a.m.

The investigation is ongoing and those involved are cooperating with police. Rasmussen said the victim was accidentally shot by one of his very close friends when the friend's gun discharged unexpectedly. Police are not yet releasing the friend's name, but he is fully cooperating with police, Rasmussen said.

A 20-year-old Gresham woman is dead and four others remain hospitalized following a traffic accident involving a drunken driver early Sunday morning in Portland's Old Town area.

Rebecca Lynn Bray was pronounced dead at the scene, while 21-year-old Brandi Lucille Butner, of Fairview, was transported to a Portland hospital and is expected to survive, Sgt. Pete Simpson said.

Just hours before the accident, Butner posted on Facebook that she was going to downtown Portland to celebrate her 21st birthday with Bray.

“Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes! Headed downtown with my girl :),” Butner wrote.

The three other people hospitalized were passengers in a truck driven by a Cornelius man who is now in jail on allegations of driving under the influence of intoxicants, Simpson said.

Brent Allan Warstler, 42, is being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center on allegations of first-degree manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, third-degree assault, reckless driving and driving under the influence of intoxicants. His bail is $760,000.

The accident happened at 2:34 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, when Warstler, who was driving southbound on Northwest Fifth Avenue, reportedly ran a red light at Everett Street.

His 2012 Dodge Ram pick-up collided with an eastbound taxi cab, driven by 41-year-old Angel Custovio Olvera, of Tigard. The crash caused Warstler's pickup to veer left onto the sidewalk, where he struck two pedestrians, Butner and Bray, on the southeast corner of Fifth and Everett.

The taxi cab driver and his passengers were not injured and remained at the scene.

The site of the crash is one block outside of the Entertainment District where streets are blocked off on weekends to increase safety.

Warstler was transported to a hospital for minor injuries, as were three of his passengers. After being treated for his injuires, police arrested Warstler.

He'll be arraigned in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Tuesday, Jan. 22.

The Oregon Department of Revenue's tax processing session will get a later start than usual this year because of the late tax law changes made by Congress to resolve the “fiscal cliff” crisis. Oregon will begin processing electronically filed returns on Jan. 30 instead of the original date, Jan. 22, to coincide with when the Internal Revenue Service opens its electronic filing system.

Theater presents ‘Bye Bye Birdie’

Corbett Children’s Theater will present the comedic musical “Bye Bye Birdie” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, and Friday, Jan. 25; at 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26; and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27.

Performances take place in Corbett schools’ multi-purpose building, 35800 E. Historic Columbia River Highway.

Tickets are $11 for adults, $9 for students and seniors, with $2 off for matinees.

For more information, call 503-261-4266 or visit corbettchildrenstheater.com.

“Bye Bye Birdie” tells the story of a rock ‘n’ roll singer about to be inducted into the Army. Before he’s inducted, Conrad Birdie descends on Sweet Apple, Ohio, to plant one last kiss on a lucky fan, Kim MacAfee, before a national TV audience. However, she’s pledged to a high school sweetheart, so chaos is bound to ensue.

A play preview will run in the Tuesday, Jan. 22, issue of The Outlook.

Subs for Sandy survivors

A group of sudents in the Gresham High School International Baccalaureate (IB) History Americas program are holding a benefit for those affected by Hurricane Sandy Monday, Jan. 21, through Sunday, Jan. 27, at Jazzy Bagels.

The fundraiser will coincide with the Adventures in Jazz series in downtown Gresham cafes and restaurants Saturday, Jan. 26, with all proceeds from the specialty $5 “Jersey Sub” at Jazzy Bagels going to the American Red Cross’ efforts on the East Coast.

All students in the IB history program were assigned to create humanitarian benefits in groups. The Jazzy Bagels benefit is an effort by five students, Cole Lindhorst, Daniel Eckhardt, Hugo Martinez, Ryan Heath and Jacob Sailing; Jazzy Bagels Owner Kevin Conord; and Jerry Letendre of Thumann’s, New Jersey-based delicatessen products. Franz Bakery also donated to the benefit.

Provide input on future principals

The Reynolds School District seeks community input on what skills and traits students, staff, parents and community members seek in principals for the 2013-14 school year.

Principal positions will open up at Alder, Fairview, Margaret Scott and Troutdale elementary and Reynolds High schools.

An online survey will be available through Friday, Jan. 25, in English, Spanish and Russian.

To fill out the survey, visit reynolds.k12.or.us/district/input-wanted-principal-openings.

Applications for the principal positions are available at reynolds.cloud.talentedk12.com/hire/index.aspx.

Activist to speak Jan. 22 at Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood Community College Associated Student Government will host Kasha “Hug Dealer” Kilson-Anderson, a community activist, volunteer, poet, writer and DJ 3-5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22, for an event called “Living the Dream,” in the student union.

Kilson-Anderson will speak about knowing who MLK Jr. is but moving beyond with better understanding and involvement of what can be done today.

The event will kick off Black History Month events, including a Freedom Riders exhibit by Roosevelt High Shool students. Additional Black History Month events are in the works for February.

ODOT closes 138th Avenue for three days

The Oregon Department of Transportation will close Northeast 138th Avenue at the railroad crossing north of Sandy Boulevard for three days beginning Sunday, Jan. 20.

Union Pacific crews will repair the crossing pavement and make track improvements as part of ODOT’s safety improvement project on Sandy Boulevard between 122nd and 141st avenues in the Argay neighborhood.

The closure will begin at 7 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, and end by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22, with a signed detour available. Sandy Boulevard will remain open during the closure.

For more information, visit tripcheck.com or call 1-800-977-6368.

Help those in need through United Way

Nearly 15 percent of Oregonians live below the poverty level, According to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Northwest Natural, Oregon Food Bank and United Way of the Columbia-Willamette have launched the “Help with the Basics” campaign, encouraging Portland area residents to give $30 to help those less fortunate afford food, housing and heat this winter.

When you donate $30, $10 will go to Oregon Food Bank, $10 to United Way’s Community Relief Fund to assist with housing and $10 to the NW Natural’s Gas Assistance Program.

In turn, NW Natural is making a $10,000 matching donation from its shareholders’ Corporate Philanthropy Fund.

Donations can be made now through March 30 at unitedway-pdx.org/basics, or by mailing a check to: Help With the Basics,

United Way, 619 S.W. 11th Ave. Suite 300, Portland, 97205.

Christine Sinclair and Alex Morgan head the list of seven players allocated to the inaugural Portland Thorns FC women's pro soccer team Friday.

Portland resident and former UP star Megan Rapinoe wound up with the Seattle Reign, along with U.S. goalie Hope Solo and others. Rapinoe, however, has signed with Lyon Feminine, a team in France that is seeking its third consecutive UEFA Champions League title. She is expected to miss the early part of the new National Women's Soccer League's season.

U.S. star Abby Wambach, who also lives in Portland, will play for the Western New York Flash.

Also allocated to the Thorns were U.S. midfielder Tobin Heath and defender Rachel Buehler, Canadian goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc and Mexico's Luz Saucedo and Marlene Sandoval, both defenders.

“We couldn’t be more excited. We have a great foundation to build on," Thorns coach Cindy Parlow Cone said. "These seven players bring so much to Thorns FC. We are going to be a competitive and exciting team.

"Is it time to hand the hardware over? No. But it’s a great foundation for us to build a championship team around.”

The NWSL chose locales for 55 players whose salaries will be paid by their national governing bodies. Each of the eight teams wound up with three U.S. players, two players from Canada and two from Mexico, with the exception of the Western New York Flash, who got two players from each country.

Sinclair, from the University of Portland, has starred internationally for Canada over the years and recently was named her country's top female athlete of 2012, when she led the Canadians to a bronze medal at the London Olympics.

Morgan has been a standout forward, as well, and a key contributor to the Olympic champion U.S. women's national team. Morgan, 23, was voted U.S. female soccer player of the year for 2012. She led all U.S. scorers with 28 goals and a team-high 21 assists.

Sinclair ranks third all-time internationally with 143 goals in 190 appearances for Canada. She trails Mia Hamm (158) and Abby Wambach (152).

Buehler, 27, has earned 98 caps with the U.S. national team, playing in 50 of the 52 matches over the past two years. She had one goal and a career-high four assists in 31 games last year.

Heath has 60 U.S. caps and started four of the squad's six Olympic games.

LeBlanc, 32, has made 103 appearances in goal for Canada.

Sandoval is 28, and Saucedo is 27. Sandoval was a backup for Mexico in the 2011 Women's World Cup, while Saucedo started in two of three matches.

The Thorns, whose home games are set for Jeld-Wen Field, will stock the rest of their roster soon.

“We have the draft coming up next week, and we’ll be looking to get top college players," Parlow Cone said. "We’ll be looking to sign free agents around this core group. We’ll be a very pressure-oriented group with high intensity, and I’ll look for players who fit into that style that I want to play.

“I’m hoping that we’re a very dynamic and productive team. We have great attacking players, and we want to play a possession style. We’re going to be a dynamic team offensively, and I think the Portland fans are really going to enjoy watching these young women play.”

If this were a time of plenty, we would strongly advocate that the city of Fairview maintain its support of the Chili on the Green, a popular event for this East County community. But we understand the City Council's hesitation at providing financial support during a time of a financial hardship.

While the council has not officially voted to sever funding for Chili on the Green, it was less than enthusiastic about spending the money. The idea has been suggested that the city of Fairview pull the plug on chili in favor of replacing it with National Night Out, which are small events that connect neighbors with neighbors and with fire and police officials.

We are not convinced such a move would be in Fairview's best interest. Here's why.

While there's nothing wrong with National Night Out events, they are — at their very nature — beneficial only for individual neighborhoods. Think of National Night Out as block parties.

What this won't do is pull people from Gresham, Troutdale, Wood Village or Northeast Portland to a community event in Fairview. National Night Outs don't provide your community with a marketing opportunity to invite visitors who bring expendable income and who potentially patronize your small businesses.

While we understand why the City Council would want to resist spending public resources on Chili on the Green, we think it's important for all of Fairview to ask if this event is worth saving, even if it means others take over its planning and operation.

Perhaps the West Columbia Gorge Chamber of Commerce, or a local service organization, or even a group of volunteer residents, would be interested in taking on this event as a public service opportunity.

It works in other communities. In Sandy, for example, the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce earns a significant amount of its operating income from its Music, Fair and Feast, which coincides with the Sandy Mountain Festival, operated entirely by a group of dedicated community volunteers. In both cases, these events are independent of the local government.

It's worth exploring if the Fairview community is dedicated enough to chili that it's willing to take this festival off the shoulders of the local government.

Perhaps, too, Fairview is at a crossroads, where it needs to ask if Fairview has the emotional attachment to “chili” that will allow for long-term support of a community event. Perhaps Fairview should consider other themes, such as the area's long agricultural history with berry fields, or the importance of railroads to the early years of development in East County.

No matter what, it would be a shame to let Fairview fall off the radar in terms of an entertaining visitor opportunity.

Hamilton College

Kathleen A. Conners of Gresham has been named to the dean’s list at Hamilton College for the 2012 fall semester.

A senior majoring in classical studies and theater, Conners is a graduate of St. Mary’s Academy. She is the daughter of Susan Jossi and William Conners.

To be named to the dean’s list, she carried a course load of four or more graded credits with a GPA above 3.5.

Air Force Reserve

PAOLA — Lt. Col. Brett R. Paola has assumed command of the 302nd Fighter Squadron in the 477th Fighter Group in Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

Brett has served in the military for 18 years. He is the son of Maria Paola of Damascus.

Lewis-Lapp

Amanda Lewis and Nick Lapp are engaged to be married May 18, 2013, at First Presbyterian Church in Portland.

The bride-to-be is the daughter of Donald and Nancy Lewis of Gresham. Amanda is a 2007 Gresham High School graduate and a 2011 Oregon State University graduate. She is a financial specialist and a volleyball coach at Pendleton High School.

The groom-to-be is the son of Michael and Kristin Lapp of Pendleton. He graduated in 2007 from Pendleton High School and in 2011 from OSU. Nick is an IT operations specialist.

For the first time in its 28 year history, the “Keep the Dream Alive” celebration held every year on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is coming to the east side.

The tribute is from 11a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21, at the New Beginnings Conference Center, 3300 N.E. 172nd Avenue just off Sandy Boulevard in Gresham. The event includes civic and social speakers, performances, awards, art and food.

The Wallace Medical Concern — a volunteer organization that provides neighborhood-based health services for the uninsured — also is honoring Dr. King's memory with a community health fair, complete with free screenings, workshops, information and resources. from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at its Gresham location in the Rockwood Building, 124 N.E. 181St Ave.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Prosecutors have reached a plea deal with a Corbett man accused in a hit-and-run that killed a motorcyclist in Southeast Portland last summer.

Officials confirm that 42-year-old Brian Leymaster is expected to go before a Multnomah County judge Friday afternoon for a change of plea hearing.

Leymaster is charged with second-degree manslaughter, failure to perform the duties of a driver, reckless driving, recklessly endangering another person, DUII and second-degree criminal mischief.

The crash occurred Aug. 25, 2012, at about 7:45 p.m. According to Lt. Derrick Peterson, a spokesman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, 60-year-old Gar Riggs of Sandy was riding a 1999 Yamaha motorcycle in the 39100 block of Southeast Gordon Creek Road when Leymaster’s Dodge Ram pickup truck crashed into Riggs head-on.

Investigators believe Leymaster was intoxicated when he crossed into oncoming traffic and hit Riggs. His blood-alcohol level has not been released.

According to the Outlook Online newspaper, Leymaster reportedly left the scene, but was arrested the following day.

Gordon Creek Road was shut down for about five hours while investigators conducted a crash reconstruction of the scene.

Family members have said Riggs had a passion for motorcycles.

“He loved it,” said Jason Frazier, Riggs’ nephew. “He loved riding motorcycles.”

The change of plea hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday.

Dave Dahl of Dave’s Killer Bread spoke to nearly 750 students and staff members at Clear Creek Middle School on Friday, Jan. 11, telling his life story and underscoring the importance of good decisions.

“Usually I’m talking to people quite a bit older than you, so I’m a little scared,” Dahl joked. “It’s really an honor to be here sharing with you young folks.”

Dahl was a meth addict and convicted felon who spent 15 years in prison for drug crimes, armed robbery, assault and other convictions before he was released from Snake River Correctional Institute in Ontario in 2004. When his brother Glenn gave him a second chance, Dahl was able to return to his family’s bread business, NatureBake, and co-found his now popular Dave’s Killer Bread line out of Milwaukie.

He shared his story openly with students, showing them a video that chronicled his journey from prison inmate to bread company president. He landed on the name “killer” because in his day, it was slang for something awesome and amazing.

“A lot of people will say, ‘Dave, you’re so successful,’” Dahl said. “Success is not about money. I wouldn’t have been successful if I hadn’t learned the lessons I learned way before I had money. The lesson of humility taught me I was OK as myself.

“Success is not about my car,” Dahl said. “It’s about being able to give back and hoping I can maybe inspire at least one of you to do what I’ve done. It’s about spending time with my daughters and granddaughter.”

In prison, at age 38, Dahl learned the value of education and said his life totally changed. After battling depression for years, he asked for help and got the medication he needed.

“I went to school to learn computers, got out and made some bread, and the rest is history,” Dahl said. “It’s about really learning to accept yourself and working really hard to be what you want to be.”

Students, who were bursting with questions for Dahl — from what prison was like (it “sucked”) to what Dahl’s favorite bread was (Franz white bread, he joked) — were excited about the assembly.

“He was really able to turn his life around,” said Drue Woods, an eighth-grader. “If someone is in a deep hole, they can get out.”

For Ivan Perez, also an eighth-grader, hearing Dahl’s story reminded him of his mother’s struggles in prison. He said he was glad Dave’s Killer Bread offered employment opportunities to formerly incarcerated people — 30 percent of the Dave’s Killer Bread staff are former inmates.

“He was a very big inspiration,” said Kelley Bastin, another eighth-grader. “He sounds like a good guy, and he gives me a push on to succeed.”

Shellie Valpiani, a seventh-grader, said she had looked forward to the assembly for days and thought Dave’s Killer Bread was delicious.

“It’s inspiration through all this, he came out and succeeded,” said Korbin Williams, a seventh-grader.

The presentation was organized by Kris Voss-Rothmeier, a Clear Creek social studies teacher, as a positive behavior program designed to inspire students, help them overcome peer pressure and accept if they need help.

Owners hope to complete project by spring 2014

Despite the obstacles and fleeting hope, Geoff Thompson is finally taking the initial steps toward restoring the View Point Inn, a historic building in Corbett that was ravaged by fire in July 2011.

“In life we all lose faith and hope at times, but I never gave up faith,” said Thompson, who’s owned the inn since 2004. “You don’t give up on a property like this. You don’t give up on a dream like this. And that’s why people like me succeed in the end, because we never give up.”

At the inn, which overlooks the Columbia River Gorge, engineers and architects are crawling into every nook and cranny in order to evaluate the extent of the damage and the cost of the restoration, Thompson said.

Money from an insurance settlement will fund the project, which, Thompson said, will be complete in spring 2014.

He added that the structure will need a new roof, and there is significant interior damage. Reconstructing the building’s shell should be complete by Labor Day, and then the focus will move to the interior next winter.

For more than a year, though, Thompson wasn’t sure if he’d reach this point.

He said he relentlessly battled with insurance and mortgage companies before receiving a check for an undisclosed amount on Nov. 26.

“Insurance companies have two departments,” Thompson said. “One department is the department that takes your money. And the other department is the department that denies your claim. So maneuvering through those departments can be difficult at times.

“Every day ... we beat down the insurance companies and mortgage companies, and finally a check was released.”

While Thompson refused to release the settlement amount, he said it would be enough to cover the estimated $1.6 million rebuilding cost.

“It’s guaranteed I’ll be able to complete it,” he said. “What’s salvageable is salvageable, and we’re going to save every drop that we possibly can. Everything that’s original, everything that we can save, we’re going to. We’re going to rebuild it to exactly like it was when it was built in 1924.”

Thompson said his patience and hope were fading while trying to reach a settlement, but having the funds to start construction was significant for the owner.

“If you were giving birth to a child and you were in the delivery room and you were holding your child coming out of your partner’s body — this is everything to me,” Thompson said. “I’ve done many things in my life. I’ve had many successes, many accomplishments, many failures. Rebuilding the inn is everything to me. The land and the inn are in my heart and soul.”

The View Point Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was featured in the movie “Twilight.”

“To rebuild this inn for my community, for my integrity, my dramatically slandered character, to be able to right a wrong and leave this inn rebuilt for generations to come is a dream come true,” Thompson said.

Councilors talk about replacing chili with National Night Out

While no decisions were made, Fairview councilors on Wednesday discussed the fate of the town's Chili on the Green Festival.

The discussion came during a council work session prior to the council meeting.

Members of the council expressed concern about stretching the city's thin budget to accommodate the festival and even suggested the idea of replacing it with National Night Out, a cheaper event last held in 2011.

“We're going to see what would work best for us in our financial climate,” Councilor Tamie Arnold said.

Fairview Mayor Mike Weatherby appointed Arnold and council president Lisa Barton Mullins to examine the options and report their findings during the next city council meeting on Feb. 6.

The festival, sanctioned by the International Chili Society as a district-level cook-off, has been held by the city in September for six years and offers family friendly entertainment, musical guests, arts and crafts vendors and more.

Weatherby, however, was not optimistic that the event would continue this year.

He said it would likely take a person, group or organization to provide the funds needed to allow the city to continue holding the festival.

He added that the last time that was attempted, it was a “disaster.”

The festival was canceled in 2011 when the city was faced with similar financial limits. And this year, councilors opposed to the festival cite 2010 — when the festival cost $20,000 — as a reason to cancel it again.

“When the budget is so tight, I don't know why we would budget $20,000 for a party,” councilor Steve Prom said during the work session.

But other councilors believe events like the chili festival are important for Fairview.

“Community events are pivotal and vital for community members," Arnold said. “We need community events.”

One councilor also added that the chili festival was the only community event where local businesses could advertise.

The most foreseeable alternative discussed during Wednesday's work session was bringing back National Night Out, a neighborhood crime and drug prevention event.

The council was concerned that National Night Out, a two-hour event, didn't offer the same amount of family friendly entertainment as the all-day chili festival.

But they talked about taking some of the features from the chili festival, such as an inflatable bouncing house and rock climbing wall, and incorporating those into Nation Night Out.

“Even if we couldn't put on the chili festival, it would be a great addition to National Night Out,” Barton Mullins said.

During the meeting, Weatherby stressed the importance of making a decision quickly since the chili festival is held in September while Nation Night Out takes place in August.

Rachel Edie leads Open Door with 23 points.

TROUTDALE — A hot start to the second half helped the Open Door girls basketball game put away Friday night’s 60-49 win over Portland Waldorf.

The Huskies took an eight-point lead into halftime, but that margin would grow before the teams came back to the court. Waldorf coach Terry Smith-Harris was hit with a technical foul on his way to the locker room, and Open Door’s Rachel Edie sank a free throw.

Open Door hit three of its first four shots in the second half, building a 40-24 lead after Amanda Powers came off the bench and converted a follow-up shot under the basket. Emily Sunderland hit a 3-pointer, and Edie scored on a fastbreak earlier in the scoring spree.

The Huskies would maintain a double-digit margin into the game’s final minute.

Open Door (5-5) moved into a tie with Waldorf for fourth place in the Valley 10 with a jumble of four teams battling for the league’s last two playoffs spots heading into the final weeks of the regular season.

Look for extended game coverage in the Tuesday, Jan. 22, print edition.

View a photo gallery from the meet at …

http://daveball.exposuremanager.com/g/jan18_waldorf-open_door_girls_hoops

The Reynolds girls swim team put a scare into St. Mary’s before falling 92-78 in a Mount Hood Conference dual Thursday afternoon.

The Raiders found themselves within four points midway through the meet after Christy Hartenstein and Emily Barnett combined for a 1-2 finish in the 500-yard freestyle. Hartenstein won the race going away, lapping the entire field just over the halfway mark, while Barnett gradually worked her way from last place up to second. She passed St. Mary’s lead swimmer on her final stroke in the 10-lap race, touching in .05 hundredths ahead.

Reynolds added another 1-2 finish by Abby Maricle and Adrienne Herzog in the backstroke to slice the margin to two points with two races remaining.

The meet came down to the final event with Reynolds needing a rare sweep in the 400 freestyle relay to pull off the win.

The Raiders led the way through the first three laps before Rory Kearns put St. Mary’s into first place on the anchor leg to secure the Blues’ victory.

Look for expanded meet coverage in the Tuesday, Jan. 22, print edition.

View a photo gallery from the meet at …

http://daveball.exposuremanager.com/g/jan17sma-rey_swimming