2016 St. Helens “Spirit of Halloweentown” Guide Inside
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Wednesday, September 28, 2016
The Chronicle
$1 Vol. 134, No.39 32 Pages
www.thechronicleonline.com
Chief Moss hits 25-year milestone in law enforcement
Citizen investigates chromium in St. Helens drinking water BY CODY MANN cmann@countrymedia.net
Courtesy photo
St. Helens resident Thomas O’Hanlon was concerned about his drinking water and decided to check it out. He found that chromiumtesting results were not available in the city’s recent water quality report and set out to change that. Chromium-6, also called hexavalent chromium, gained notoriety because of the awardwinning film Erin Brockovich, about a class-action lawsuit in which she represented California residents who claimed many health issues and cancers they suffered were due to a power company that contaminated their drinking water with chromium. Chromium-6 is known to cause health problems and cancer when inhaled. It can lead to lung cancer, liver damage, reproductive problems, and developmental problems. It has not yet been proven to cause cancer in humans when ingested, but drinking it gave lab rats and mice cancer during a twoyear study. Chromium is used in industrial metal finishing processes, textile-dyeing processes, ink manufacturing, water treatment, chemical synthesis and coal-burning power plants. According to a recent report from the nonprofit research and ad-
Police Chief Terry Moss and Mayor of St. Helens Randy Peterson at the council chambers on Sept. 21, 2016.
BY CODY MANN cmann@countrymedia.net
During a recent City Council meeting, St. Helens Police Chief Terry Moss was recognized for 25 years of police work. Moss began his career in 1989 as a reserve officer. He was hired as police officer in St. Helens in September of 1991. He worked his way up to detective and sergeant before being promoted to lieutenant in September of 2003. Along the way he also
worked in child abuse investigations, narcotics investigations and was D.A.R.E. anti-drug program officer for schools. In April 2013, he became police chief. While attending community college and working at a grocery store in Molalla, Moss befriended a police officer who helped kindle his interest in the field of law enforcement. After a ride along, Moss applied to be reserve officer. “I knew right away I wanted to do this for a living,” Moss said. His search for a full-time
position led him to St. Helens and he has served with the department ever since. “The city has been good to me,” he said. Moss has not fixed a date for retirement, but he acknowledged that it is somewhere on the horizon. “I am much closer to the end of my career than I am to the beginning,” he said. Among his goals before he steps away, Moss said he would like to see the department become accredited. “We’re working on that right now – we’re hoping to have that done in
End of the line for CEPA BY DON PATTERSON dpatterson@countrymedia.net
On July 5 the board of Columbia Emergency Planning Association voted unanimously to merge with Homeland Security Emergency Management Committee, ending the organization’s 31-year history. CEPA’s responsibilities will transfer to a working group of HSEMC. CEPA grew out of a state mandate that communities had a ‘right to know’ certain things regarding business and industry. CEPA became the first Local Emergency Planning Committee, an association of emergency responders, business and industry representatives and social services agencies, organized to provide communication and coordination during a crisis situation. It was a model other communities copied when creating their own emergency planning organizations. Residents of St. Helens had set-
tled in to watch the winter Olympics on a Saturday night in February 1980 when an emergency struck the Boise Cascade pulp mill. A ruptured line spewed 300 degree caustic chemical 200 feet in the air, injuring a guard and forcing the evacuation of nearby homes. The county opened an emergency shelter at the fairgrounds. But in the era before cell phones, communication between emergency services was haphazard, prompting Columbia County’s emergency services director at the time, John LaFrance to say, “At the time, we didn’t know what the situation was.” Former mill manager, Jim Huff, remembers the wailing sound of the escaping chemicals. “It was commonly known that the mill used raw chlorine, a deadly gas,” Huff recalled. “9-1-1 didn’t have the means to communicate with other agencies and police blocked access to the mill. Portland television stations called for residents to evacuate St. Helens.” A small group, led by Huff, met in the aftermath of the accident to create a better system of coordination during emergencies and in 1988 CEPA was formed with 25 members. By 2016 its membership grew to 248 and included representatives from law enforcement, fire and EMS services, industry, Red Cross, 9-1-1, school districts, city and county government, utilities, transportation and public health. Over the years CEPA has initiated
improvements to the community. It was instrumental in securing a DEQ grant to establish a permanent household hazardous waste disposal facility at the transfer station on Railroad Ave. CEPA worked to install a computerized call-out system countywide. The system allows agencies and businesses to put out a telephone alert to a target area or the whole county. It formed a committee to identify and document extremely hazardous substances within the county. It reviewed emergency response plans for natural disasters and acts of terrorism. One of CEPA’s goals was to facilitate communication and an exchange of ideas among local entities on emergency response preparedness. CEPA held monthly meetings to facilitate information exchange between emergency responders, government leaders and local industry. At its July meeting County Commissioner Earl Fisher said CEPA’s monthly meetings may not have a lot of urgent business, but did create helpful relationships across the county. CEPA does not receive tax money, but relies on contributions from local business entities and fundraising efforts, like donkey basketball for its approximately $68,000 annual budget. As part of HSEMC, the new committee will meet quarterly instead of monthly. Its mission remains the same: to facilitate information flow between agencies and the public.
the next few months,” Moss said. “That’ll be a big one for me.” Accreditation brings with it a degree of prestige and also may have a positive effect on insurance rates for a department. “It’s something we’ve talked about for a long time, something I’ve always wanted to do,” Moss said. “If you can leave a place in a better spot than it was when you found it, you may have done something right.”
See MOSS, Page A12
See CHROMIUM, Page A12
Person of interest sought in homicide investigation Authorities Hightower’s are asking for the aunt, Paisley public’s help in Breece, said a Golocating a person FundMe page was of interest in a established raise homicide investifunds for Hightgation. ower’s daughter Columbia Luna, and nearly County Sheriff’s $4,000 was already Office (CCSO) donated. “Jon and and the Columbia Starr just want to County Major make sure they can Crimes Team continue to meet Luna’s needs as she are seeking the continues to grow,” whereabouts of Breece said. “Luna Jesse Allen Lane, is the only joy left 28, as a person Courtesy photo of Apache Rose’s of interest in Jesse Allen Lane is a person of interest in the life.” the death of death of Apache Rose Hightower, whose body Lane was deApache Rose was found in a rural area of Columbia County scribed as a white Hightower, 24, on Sept. 20. male adult, 6 feet 1 of Portland. inch tall, weighHightower’s ing approximately 145 pounds, with body was discovered on Sept. 20 at brown hair, brown eyes and tattoos around 4:30 p.m. down an embankon his elbow, left arm, neck and right ment off of Pittsburg Road in the St. forearm. He also has a tattoo of the Helens area. A subsequent autopsy letter “B” just below the corner of his indicated she was the victim of homiright eye that was recently added. cidal violence. The last known address for Lane Jonny Bradley, Hightower’s father, was in Jackson County, Ore., but he said, “It has been a living nightmare was seen both in Portland and the St. to put it plainly, and beyond the fact Helens area in recent weeks. Lane is that it feels like we suddenly entered some alternate reality, there is now the a convicted felon who currently has a news that Jesse Allen Lane is a person warrant from the Oregon State Parole Board. of interest.” Lane should be considered armed “We know he was responsible in and dangerous. If anyone knows of our hearts and we hope that they have his whereabouts, they are encouraged the evidence to prove this,” Bradley to call law enforcement and not to said. “I don’t think they would be actake action themselves. tively pursuing him unless they did.”
NEXT WEEK!
SEMI-ANNUAL TRUCKLOAD MEAT SALE
OCT. 6TH & 7TH!
1111 Columbia Blvd centerplacemarket.com/sthelens.html f
Canned Food Sale forms
are available at register stands.
Pick up Oct. 8th & 9th