View as Webpage

Clatsop County offices will be closed on Thursday November 23 and Friday, November 24 to celebrate Thanksgiving. Regular business hours will resume on Monday, November 27.

Our Weekly Bulletin is taking off Thanksgiving week and returns Friday, December 1. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

Cool Temps Reminder:

Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

With the return of colder weather and winter storms, Clatsop County Public Health Department is encouraging people to make sure they have working carbon monoxide detectors in each bedroom.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, toxic gas that is produced when anything is burned. In a person’s home, gas and oil furnaces, water heaters, fireplaces, and wood burning and gas stoves can produce it.

“The only way to know if you are being exposed to carbon monoxide is by using a carbon monoxide detector,” said Public Health Director Jiancheng Huang.

How to Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

• Check heating systems, chimney flues, and gas appliances every year. Get them cleaned and serviced as needed by qualified heating/appliance contractors.
• Use caution with kerosene or gas space heaters. Use vented space heaters whenever possible, and always make sure they are cleaned and inspected. Never use a gas range or oven to heat a home.
• Use charcoal grills, hibachis, or portable camping stoves outside your home, garage, basement, tent or camper. Using them indoors or in an enclosed space can produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.
• Never run a portable generator or any gasoline-powered engine inside a basement, garage, camper or other enclosed structure, even if doors and windows are open.
• Never leave the motor running in a vehicle parked in an enclosed or partially enclosed space, such as a garage.

Read more.

Holiday Gatherings: Spread Cheer Not Viruses

With Thanksgiving kicking off the holiday season, more people will start gathering to celebrate. That also makes it an ideal time for respiratory viruses to spread.

“Our hope for this holiday season is that people stay healthy and that they spread joy, not viruses. There are a few simple steps we each can take to help make that happen,” said Public Health Director Jiancheng Huang.



• Stay home if you feel sick or have any symptoms, such as congestion, cough, fever that is greater than 100.5 degrees, sore throat, body aches, and fatigue
• Wash your hands frequently and before eating
• Get vaccinated for COVID-19 and the flu for those six months and older
• Get vaccinated for those who are RSV eligible
• Cover your cough

Make sure you wear a mask if you are around high-risk individuals, in congregate care facilities or with persons with immunocompromising conditions.

Read more.

Food Safety Tips for Safe and Delicious Holiday Meals

Clatsop County Public Health Department is reminding residents of how they can reduce the risk of food poisoning this holiday season.

“While food safety is important throughout the year, the holidays are a great time to ensure friends and family have a safe and enjoyable meal,” said Lucas Marshall, Environmental Health Supervisor.

• Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm or cold water before, during, and after preparing food and before eating.
• Cook food thoroughly. Use a food thermometer to make sure meat, chicken, turkey, seafood, and eggs have been cooked to a safe internal temperature to kill germs.
• Keep food out of the “danger zone.” Bacteria can grow rapidly in the danger zone between 40°F and 140°F. After food is prepared, keep hot food hot and cold food cold. Refrigerate or freeze perishable food like meat, chicken, turkey, seafood, eggs, cut fruit, cooked rice, and leftovers within two hours. 
• Use pasteurized eggs for dishes containing raw eggs. 

Salmonella and other harmful germs can live on the outside and inside of normal-looking eggs. Many holiday favorites contain raw eggs, including eggnog, tiramisu, hollandaise sauce and Caesar dressing. 

Make fishing part of your Thanksgiving weekend plans with friends and family. Everyone can fish, clam and crab for free in Oregon on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 24-25, 2023.

No fishing/shellfish licenses or tags (including a Combined Angling Tag, Columbia River Basin Endorsement or Two-Rod Validation) are required those two days.

Both Oregon residents and nonresidents can fish for free.

Read more.

Tips for Safe Winter Travel This Holiday Season

The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest travel times of the year, regardless of conditions. Expect delays, plan ahead, and allow extra travel time.

This year with costs increasing from inflation and fuels tax revenues trending down, the Oregon Department of Transportation is scaling back maintenance and services around the state.

These cuts will affect drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and freight haulers. Here's what you are likely to see that could affect winter driving:

• You'll notice more snow and ice build-up, more chain requirements, longer delays and fewer open roads
• You'll see more potholes and ruts on the road
• You'll spend more time waiting for roads to re-open after a crash, and fewer ODOT responders on the road

This Year it's More important Than Ever to Plan Ahead:

• Stay home during ice and snow storms if you can
• Leave early to get ahead of storms
• Carry chains and know how to use them
• Have food, water, medicine and other emergency supplies in your car
• Keep your cell phone charged
• Have a full tank of gas or a full charge on your electric vehicle
• Visit TripCheck.com for up-to-the-minute road conditions and more information on Oregon's chain law requirements

Read more.

Crews will:

• Brush chop countywide
• Perform culvert and ditch maintenance county wide
• Monitor for inclement weather affecting roads

November 7 Election Results

Unofficial election results for the November 7 election are available at ClatsopCounty.gov.

Elections

The candidate filing window is open for the May 21, 2024 Primary Election.

Positions include County Commissioner District 2, County Commissioner District 4, Sheriff and Precinct Committee Persons.

Recording Information

You can now search for a document that has been recorded in Clatsop County.

We have developed a way for you to search for a document before coming in or calling our office. 

Once you find the document you are looking for, you can request a copy without paying a research fee.  

Just go to our website under Recording Information – Records Research, click on Locate a Document.

New Recording Requirement

Effective January 1, 2024, documents being recorded in the County Clerk’s property records must have text with font sizes of at least 10-point type. 

We urge all customers to begin updating their forms and templates early to avoid recording delays or extra charges.

This change in font type is due to House Bill 2029, which amended Oregon Revised Statute 205.232.

Board of Property Tax Appeals (BoPTA)

If you disagree with your property value on the tax bill you received this fall, you may appeal to the Board of Property Tax Appeals.

Your evidence must reflect the value of the property as it existed on January 1, 2023. You may access petition forms at the Clatsop County website. 

A filing fee of $35 per account must accompany your petition with one petition per tax account. Appeals must be filed by Thursday, January 2, 2024.

We suggest you contact the Assessment and Taxation Office at 503-325-8522 prior to completing your appeal form.

The Assessment and Taxation Office can assist you in understanding the basis for your property value and, in some cases, may be able to make changes without requiring you to file an appeal.

Passports

• An appointment is required prior to coming in for new passport processing. Routine service can take 8-11 weeks or longer. Expedite service can take 5-7 weeks. 

• Please go to our webpage and schedule an appointment for passports, park passes, marriage licenses, dog licenses, and recordings with us.

If you do not have an appointment, you may be asked to wait if we are with someone who has scheduled an appointment. 

Clatsop County is a great place to work. Find out about current Clatsop County career opportunities where you can make a difference every day.

• Community Corrections Records Specialist (Part-time, Temporary). Open until filled.
• Electrical Inspector. Open until filled.
• Health Promotion Specialist II. Open until filled.

Clatsop County is committed to being transparent and providing the information you need, when you need it.

Our new subscriptions webpage has a variety of email update topics and gives you the option of signing up or unsubscribing.