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Wednesday, October 13, 2021
thechronicleonline.com
Serving Columbia County since 1881
ODOT prepares for winter snow or de-icer applicators, and materials like sand and de-icer. We don’t use salt in Columbia County. This budget covers winter maintenance for all state highways in Columbia County such as US Highway 30, OR Highway 47, and OR Highway 202 about 250 lane miles.
JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
Weather forecasters are carefully watching computer models to see what we might expect for fall and winter. There are strong signals that Columbia County could see snow and colder temperatures similar to last February’s snowstorm. How soon Old Man Winter blows into the region is still questionable. Last February, drivers and pedestrians were challenged by several inches of snow in St. Helens, Scappoose, and across the county. The harsh weather also kept public works crews busy clearing roads. Those crews include the Oregon Department of Transportation maintenance team based at Clatskanie which serves the entire county. The Chronicle checked in with the ODOT Communications Representative Lou Torres to see what fall and winter conditions the agency is currently preparing for. The Chronicle: Given the early models, what is the preliminary winter forecast and conditions that ODOT is preparing for? Lou Torres: The National Weather Service through the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is indicating the possibility of a La Nina winter. This would typically mean that we can expect a wetter and somewhat colder winter. The Chronicle: In Columbia County, what are the specific areas of concern when we have ice and snow events?
The Chronicle: How many ODOT maintenance/road workers are provided during winter in Columbia County and what is the range of their work? Torres: There are 12 employees at the Clatskanie maintenance shop. Clatskanie Maintenance is the crew that takes care of Columbia County highways located 2 miles east of the city of Clatskanie at the top of the hill. Those 12 employees breakdown like this:
Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chronicle
Columbia County was blanketed last February with several inches of snow challenging drivers on the steeper roadways.
Torres: We tend to get a lot of freezing fog on US Highway 30 along the Columbia River each year, so consequently we use a lot of magnesium chloride de-icer all winter long. This can be tricky since we can go from 32 degrees and raining, to a clear off where temperatures can plummet to 28 degrees in an hour and the moisture on the highway will freeze. Since we can’t apply de-icer in the rain because the rain dilutes or washes the de-icer off the highway, we can have a real bad time with ice. My crews will be running around try-
ing to get de-icer down as quickly as possible in these scenarios. This happens frequently and we do get crashes at these times. When a forecast is for a few clear cold days in a row with no precipitation, we will pre-treat the road with de-icer and this will last for up to four days. The higher elevation areas near Rainier are always problematic for snow, especially when trucks try to go up Rainier hill and get stuck, generally because they don’t chain up, and the highway will close frequently at this spot, especially westbound. The Chronicle: What is the
annual budget ODOT pencils in for the winter maintenance in Columbia County and specifically, what does that pay for? Torres: The budget fluctuates between $200,000 to $500,000 per year depending on the severity of the winter. A worst case scenario involving big emergencies like flooding and landslides we can be in the millions, but those are generally reimbursable costs. The normal budget pays for employee wages involving a day and night shift with overtime as necessary; equipment costs such as dump trucks with snow plows and sanders
• 1 Transportation Maintenance Manager (TMM) • 1 Transportation Maintenance Coordinator (TMC: an assistant manager) • 10 Transportation Maintenance Specialist 2s (TMS2s). These employees monitor weather and watch for storms, lowering temperatures, high precipitation rates and take appropriate action. Actions include de-icer application, plowing snow, sanding curves, hills, and bridges; as well as cleaning drainage grates, keeping culver inlets and outlets open, responding to incidents like car crashes, animal strikes, rocks and mud and trees in the roadway. See ODOT Page A9
CCSO looks to the sky with new tool STAFF REPORT chroniclenews@countrymedia.net
Courtesy photo from St. Helens Police
St. Helens Police K-9 Ryder will retire in the summer of 2022.
St. Helens K-9 Ryder to retire ZOE GOTTLIEB chronicle2@countrymedia.net
St. Helens Police K-9 Officer Ryder is set to retire in the summer of next year, closing out a career tracking down suspects with
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charges ranging from felony warrants to robbery and assault. Ryder’s tracking history In a police chase, in early August, where a suspect bolted from his vehicle, jumped a fence and attempted to run from officers on Rigdon Road, Ryder was able to track down the suspect leading to his arrest. Another case unfolded on Tuesday afternoon, July 13, as St. Helens Police officers responded to the report of an assault and robbery occurring on Macarthur Street. Though police were unable to locate the suspects at the time of the call, later that day officers were dispatched to Maple Street where the robbery suspects were reportedly spotted. St. Helens K-9 Handler Sgt. Jon Eggers deployed K-9 Ryder, and the team successfully tracked the suspects to a wooded area where they were hiding, according to a release from St. Helens Police. See RYDER Page A8
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) will be using a new tool to enhance its services of available field options by launching a new program called Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Commonly referred to as a drone, the program will be in effect in the coming weeks, according to a release from the CCSO. The drones will be operated by trained deputies in situations where other means or resources are not available, or are less effective. The drones will eventually used by search and rescue teams as well. “As technologies evolve and become more commonplace, we evaluate what is or is not appropriate for use in our community,” Sheriff Brian Pixley said. “We believe drones are a great tool in the field, whether for enforcement, search and rescue, or other authorized purposes.” A drone provides the operator a remote, wide, birds-eye view of a scene, a perspective previously not generally available to deputies. It allows first responders to make more informed decisions at a scene while reducing risk. For instance, instead of sending deputies into a dangerous situation, a drone can be flown in, the area can be evaluated, and further decisions made without directly exposing deputies to that danger, according to the CCSO. “While we are excited to launch the program, we also want to acknowledge privacy concerns from the public about use of drones by law enforcement,” Pixley said. “Oregon law is specific about circumstances in which we may or may not use a drone. We need a legitimate reason to launch a drone in use of a criminal investigation.” Pixley said deputies can launch a drone where a warrant has authorized its use, for search and rescue activities, for crimes involving exigent circumstances, for training, and a few additional circumstances. Flying a drone for law enforcement purposes to simply look for criminal actions is prohibited by law. “We take citizen privacy very seriously and have made that part of our drone policy,” Pixley said. Oregon law is only part of the equation. The Federal Aviation
Courtesy photo from CCSO
The drones will be operated by trained deputies in situations where other means or resources are not available, or are less effective.
Courtesy photo from CCSO
Deputies can use a drone where a warrant has authorized its use, for search and rescue activities, for crimes involving exigent circumstances, and for training.
Administration (FAA) has authority over US airspace and associated regulations. CCSO drone operators will be licensed FAA remote pilots. “This licensing is the same kind a commercial drone operator would acquire through the FAA,”
Pixley said. “While the FAA has provisions for licensing exceptions for government aircraft operators, we are not currently pursuing those exceptions. Instead, we’ll use follow the same licensing approach the general public uses.”