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Wednesday, August 14, 2013
2/21/12
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St. Helens hopes to have a new tradition on its hands, Page A13
The Chronicle
TODAY’S WEATHER Mostly sunny Highs to 81 Page A12 Lows to 56
$1.00 Vol. 131, No. 33 14 Pages
www.thechronicleonline.com
Officers cleared in shooting BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
Three law enforcement officers involved in a July 20 shooting in St. Helens have been cleared for return to active duty by the Columbia County District Attorney’s Office. The officers and deputies involved in the shooting were identified as St. Helens Police Sgt. Rick Graham, St. Helens Police Officer Stephanie LaVallee, Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Haas and Columbia County Reserve Deputy Tyler Miller. “Martinez attempted to injure at least two of the officers,” said District Attorney Steve Atchison. “Oregon statute allows for self defense in that situation, for police officers or for anyone.” At just after 2 a.m. on July 20, St. Helens Police received a report of a despondent man – later identified a Rogelio Rodriguez Martinez – armed with a long knife in the 2700 block of Sykes Road, which was the same block as Martinez’s last known address. When the officers arrived at the scene, they were reportedly confronted and threatened by Rodriguez. Deputies from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office were then called in to assist. Despite the presence of the officers, Martinez continued walking down towards the Best Western Inn on Columbia River Highway, which was filled with visitors from the Columbia County Fair and Rodeo. The officers attempted to communicate with Martinez several times to begin negotiations but Martinez remained unresponsive. As the officers attempted to calm Martinez and get him to surrender the knife he was carrying, he advanced on one of the officers. That officer retreated in an effort to put some space between himself and the suspect and to provide the other officers with an opportunity to use a Taser on the suspect. “The shooting was reasonable under the circumstances when less lethal measures failed,” added Atchison. Graham, 48, has served the City of St. Helens since August 1990; LaVallee, 35, has served the City of St. Helens since November 2009; Haas, 32, has served with the Sheriff’s Office since September 2010; and Miller, 29, is a reserve volunteer deputy who has served with the Sheriff’s Office since November 2011.
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SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
Firefighters form a line across the burned area to look for smoke or materials still burning.
Local firefighters take advantage of training opportunity BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
With wildfires continuing to blaze a path of destruction through southern Oregon, the importance having local firefighters trained and ready to respond to grass and wildland fires has perhaps never been more important. Firefighters from several agencies in Columbia County recently had the opportunity to get some hands-on training fighting wildfires. Crews from the Scappoose Fire District were joined by Columbia River Fire & Rescue, Sauvie Island Fire Department, Portland Fire and the Oregon Department of Forestry for a controlled burn on JP West Road on Aug. 10. The burn site was about 1 ½ miles up from Veterans Park. A local resident donated the use of their property, which was covered with high grass and blackberry bushes. The original plan was to burn five acres in five segmented burns throughout the weekend, using drip torches filled with a mixture of diesel and gasoline and fusees (a type of flare or friction match used to ignite the fuel source). Scappoose Fire Division Chief Jeff Pricher oversees training for the agency and organized the See FIREFIGHTERS, Page A4
SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
A crewmember uses a drip torch filled with gasoline and diesel fuel to start the controlled burn.
Water rates, usage on city’s radar BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
SCAPPOOSE — Over the past 10 weeks, Scappoose has seen barely 1 ½ inches of rain. So it should come as little surprise then that city officials are keeping a close eye on water usage and may have to eventually ask residents to curtail their watering activities. The city’s water conservation plan requires voluntary water use reductions when there are projected supply limitations. In a report submitted to the city council, water superintendent Joe Lewis said, “We have reduced the rate of water use from our creeks from 450 (gallons per minute) to 380 (gallons per minute) and may need to further reduce it depending on the creek flows.” The city has 380 gallons per minute available from surface sources, 400 gallons per minute from the Miller Road plant, and 200 gallons per minute from the Dutch Canyon well. The total capacity from all sources is 980 gallons per minute, which is equal to a daily supply of 1,411,200 gallons. When temperatures climbed above 90 degrees recently, water usage in the city also peaked. Since the middle of July, the city saw daily water consumption
Flood insurance rate increases to affect local homeowners BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle
Courtesy photo
rates top more than 1 million gallons of water a day. Under the city’s water conservation plan, the council can call for mandatory water use reductions if consumption reaches 85 percent of capacity for three consecutive days; or 90 percent for two consecutive days. Although city officials
haven’t called for official water conservation measures, City Manager Jon Hanken said it doesn’t hurt to be water wise. Water conservation isn’t the only H20 related topic on the minds of city officials. The city council is once See WATER, Page A4
A new law enacted in 2012 requiring government insurance premiums for property owners in flood-prone areas to be set at higher levels could mean substantially higher bills for local homeowners. Nationwide, the new law will affect more than 5.5 million property owners. Among those property owners will be those who live in flood prone areas like Vernonia, which saw significant flooding and damage during 2007. “Our ratepayers, which are in the 100-year floodplain, typically pay $350 a year for flood insurance. If you have a mortgage, it is going to be mandated by the bank and that rate is going to go up from $350 a year to $4,700 a year,” said Columbia County Commissioner Tony Hyde. “That is not a small increase. That is a tipping point for an awful lot of families.” The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 is working to phase out many of the nation’s subsidized flood
insurance policies. Vacation homes in areas defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as having at least a 1 percent chance of flooding in any given year are already feeling the impact of the new law. Those properties began seeing a 25 percent increase in flood insurance rates beginning Jan. 1. It won’t be long though before other property owners begin to feel the pinch. Starting Oct. 1, properties with repeated or severe flooding and businesses sited in flood zones will see the same kind of increases. “Homeowners aren’t going to have a choice,” said Hyde, “and it’s tantamount to a $400 a month increase in their mortgage payment.” The increases are scheduled to continue until the flood insurance rates are high enough to cover the property’s flood risk. There is some relief for homeowners. Primary residence policyholders will continue to receive subsidized rates unless (or until) the property is sold, the See FLOOD, Page A3