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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2020

Flood help

The Chief

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Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891

VOL. 128, NO. 41

School Threats JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net

CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net

In response to massive flooding in Umatilla County, the Columbia County Road Maintenance crew has sent six members to volunteer to help with recovery efforts. The six members, Ryan Allen, Terry Miller, Mark Shafer, Jeremy Tull, Jeff Goodman and Kelley Lungberg, will be stationed there until Friday, Feb. 21, was helping to rebuild a road that wiped out by the flood, which will give access to a bridge, according to Mike Russell, Columbia County Public Works Department Director. Gov. Kate Brown declared a State of Emergency in the county and on Friday, Feb. 15 she toured the damaged areas to talk to those affected by the levee breach which flooded a large part of Pendleton and other parts of Umatilla County. Sen. Ron Wyden also visited the county on Saturday in a separate visit. Russell said the Columbia County Public Works Department initiated contact with Umatilla first, on Feb. 10, knowing they would need help due to flooding. From there, Russell asked for volunteers to go to Umatilla, and about 12 employees stepped up. “We actually had more employees volunteer than we had slots, so we just went by seniority,” Russell said, adding Public Works made sure at least one person in each maintenance district stayed behind to cover Columbia County. The Columbia County crew is scheduled to be stationed in Umatilla until Friday, at which point they will reassess what needs to be done. All of this is possible through the Managing Oregon Resources Efficiently Intergovernmental Agreement (MORE-IGA), an agreement that different agencies can sign onto, which allows for the agencies to bill one another for the actual cost of reimbursement. “No Columbia County money is being used for this operation. It’s all reimbursed by Umatilla County,” Russell said. The MORE-IGA allows neighboring counties the ability to respond rapidly to deploy resources if two counties agree to do so. “What it boils down to is an agreement that is sharing resources with different parties around the state,” County Commissioner Alex Tardif said. The crew being deployed to Umatilla County is very similar to the help Columbia County received in 1996 after severe flooding impacted the region, according to Russell. At that time, the Bureau of Land Management Oregon-Washington sent a crew to Columbia County to assist with dirt removal that had closed many roads because of landslides. At the end of this week, it is possible that Umatilla County will still need help. If that occurs, it is possible that Public Works will bring some of their workers back home and send different workers over, depending on family commitments and other circumstances, Russell said. “I’m really proud of our guys, they really stepped up,” Russell said. “They really wanted to do this, and represent the county, and it exemplifies what we stand for, public service, and doing what we do.”

Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chief

New security is in place at Clatskanie Middle/High School following two separate threats written on a school bathroom wall that led to two days of tensions, fear, a school lockout and lockdown. Clatskanie School District Superintendent Cathy Hurowitz said new security steps have been taken by Principal Jim Helmen to ensure student and staff safety. “We have installed additional cameras inside the building so that all public areas are covered,” she said. “Mr. Helmen has closed off the back parking lot and all students and staff will park in the front of CMHS. He is also putting restrictions on hall traffic when classes are in session.” The security follows two separate threats written on a girls bathroom wall in the school’s commons on Tuesday and gain on Wednesday Feb. 11 and 12. Helmen would not reveal the specific wording of the threats so as not to compromise the investigation, but he told The Chief that the threat was to harm students.

The Umpqua Bank volunteer crew logged over 400 volunteers hours in 2019. From left to right, Savannah Gentry, Misty Roberts, Kodie Kultala, Monica Seidl, Patricia Candela-Hagen and Mariah Lumos.

Where Passion Meets Purpose JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net

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olunteers can be the heart and spirit of a community. In Clatskanie, there are people who share such a passion of purpose. One example are the employees at Umpqua Bank, who together logged over 400 volunteer hours in 2019. Umpqua Bank employee and community volunteer Mariah Lumos participated in a community donkey baseball game to raise charity funds. “I rode a donkey and played basketball, but I didn’t really do much with the basketball because I was trying to hold on for dear life,” she said. “It was hard to stay on the donkey, but it was fun.” Lumos said the volunteering connects her wth the community. “It is important to volunteer because it helps out the community and that is all part of the culture of Umpqua Bank, our city and it makes you feel good,” Lumos said. For the last seven years, Umpqua Bank employee Misty Roberts has participated in the annual Clatskanie Kiwanis Gala as a volunteer, helping to raise funds for student scholarships. “My role was to hold auction items during the Gala,” Roberts said. “It’s always fun to get dressed up and look beautiful for a night and to see all the happiness in the room, all the work that went into the Gala and knowing that there will be kids that will have funds to continue

school because of what we do.” Savannah Gentry participated in the scholarship book sale at Clatskanie Elementary School as her volunteer project with Umpqua Bank. “I took the money from the children as they purchased the books,” she said. “The kids are really funny. They come up so many times asking how much each book costs and they only have a dollar. Helping out the kids and having them reading is important to me.” Bank teller Patricia CandelaHagen decided to dress up as an Easter Bunny as one of her volunteer projects. “I helped out at the Easter Egg hunt at the high school,” she said. “It was a very fun and exciting experience. I was able to see so many kids running around, happy. For me, helping out the kids is the best part of volunteering. That is where my heart is. Anything I can do to help them makes me happy.” Bank employee Kodie Kultala said his favorite community volunteering project is helping out at the Rainier School District. “I help out all the ladies in the school cafeteria,” he said. “I am about to work with them in the Green Eggs and Ham event in March, serving green eggs and ham to kids in kindergarten through the 12th grade.” Kultala said his connection to the schools comes from his experience as a Rainier school student. “Many of the ladies in the cafeteria were there when I was in school, so I get to help them out and just staying in the loop in my local

community.” Kultala also organized the first annual Clatskanie Job Fair. Over the years, Umpqua Bank branch manager Monica Seidl took part in several community volunteer projects. “There are many resources the community may not realize are available, physical, emotion and others, so we put on a Health Fair to get the word out and provide connections to those community resources,” she said. “It really is educating the community.” Seidl also conducts fraud prevention classes for local seniors and budget managing classes for Head Start parents. She is also the Clatskanie Chamber of Commerce President. The bank crew also participates in Random Acts of Kindness week offering treats during the event. “We always have coffee five days a week and cookies on Fridays,” she said. Seidl encourages everyone to become involved in community volunteering. “Whatever is passionate to you, find a way to get involved in your community,” she said. There are many local nonprofits and there are our schools, always looking for volunteers to help.”

Threat reaction

Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chief

A Columbia County Sheriff’s deputy provides security in the front hallway as students exit Clatskanie Middle/High School during the lockdown. See more exclusive photos of the lockdown at thechiefnews.com.

If you know someone who is making a positive difference in our community, let us know and we will share their story with our readers. Email details to jruark@countrymedia.net, or call The Chief, at 503-397-0116.

Following the discovery of the first threat by a staff member, school authorities placed the building in a lockout, a less intense security measure, because they had alerted Columba County Sheriff’s deputies who were arriving at the school within five minutes. After being notified of the second threat by a student and school staffer on Wednesday morning, Helmen immediately placed the school in a lockdown, because it was unclear at that moment how long it would take deputies to arrive and investigate. A lockout allows students and teachers to continue working in their classrooms. The lockdown orders students and staff to remain in locked classrooms in secure positions with windows shades down for protection. As the investigation continued on Wednesday, deputies and school staff searched student backpacks and other belongings that were ordered left at the school as the students were released. The search by deputies was an effort to find anything, such as weapons or evidence, that might lead to the person responsible for the threats, according to Hurowitz. “We have a few names we are looking and the two incidents occurred in the same location,” Helmen said. “It’s the same style of writing, but we are making any guesses as to why it is occurring. We are taking every precaution so that we can determine whatever support we can provide the individual that is creating this issue.”

Opinions...............A4 Obituaries............A5 Church News.......A5 Market Place........A6 Public Notices......A6 Clatskanie Grows.A6 Police Blotters.....A7 Sports...................A8

The next steps Helmen said the school portions of the threat investigation has been turned over to law enforcement. Specific details of that part of the investigation are limited, according to Ryan Murphy at the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. “We are actively investing the threats made at the Clatskanie School District,” Murphy said. “At this time we are not able to share any details.” This week, the middle/high school partnered with Columbia County’s Department of Emergency Management for staff and teacher active shooter training. Courtesy photo

Bank employee Kodie Kultala volunteers in the Rainier High School cafeteria.

Courtesy photo

Misty Roberts volunteers as a bell ringer for the Salvation Army.

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