Columbia County public-works staff presented three holiday-event road-permit applications on Sept. 24 and the commission approved all three.

Mike Russell, county public-works inspector, said the Scappoose Spirit of Christmas parade is scheduled for Dec. 6 and has grown from about 25-30 floats in prior years to an anticipated 100 floats; the route uses mostly city streets with a small segment of county road and Columbia River Fire had no concerns. The board approved staffrecommendation to issue the public-road-event permit and said the indemnity agreement would be placed on a future consent calendar.

The St. Helens Spirit of Christmas parade is scheduled for Dec. 7 on established routes that include several county roads (Pittsburgh Road, Gable Road and Bachelor Flat). Russell said partner agencies raised no objections and staff recommended issuing the permit; the board approved the permit and directed that the indemnity agreement appear on the next consent agenda.

The 2025 Reindeer Run, a road-event run in St. Helens, is set for Dec. 6 with anticipated 300 participants and about 40 volunteers; the city of St. Helens police raised some concerns that organizers were addressing and the county said those issues should be resolved through the city's permit process. The board approved the Reindeer Run permit and authorized public works to issue it.

All three permits were approved by voice vote; county staff will coordinate any required indemnity agreements and city-level permits before final execution.