Former teacher pleads guilty to sexual abuse of minor
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The Chief
Friday, July 12, 2019
$1 Vol. 128, No. 9 8 Pages
Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891
Racism and bullying in local schools: Working through a complex problem JULIE THOMPSON chronicle1@countrymedia.net
Kelli Nicholson/The Chief
Naomi Burton, Grandmother Leigh Kenoyer, and Jasius Gray.
The spring semester of 2019 was a rough year for area schools concerning the question of racism and bullying among their students. At the beginning of the year, the community came alive on social media, discussing their concerns on community Facebook pages in the wake of allegations from Parkrose High School that racial slurs had been hurled by St. Helens students at a local basketball game. Comment sections were littered with personal stories from schools in every area. Frustrated parents shared accounts of their children’s experiences, and former students long-since graduated shared memories of their own struggles in school. The subject is not strictly a local problem. According to stopbullying. gov, 28 percent of American students in grades 6-12 experience bullying and 30 percent of our American youth admit to bullying others. 70 percent of young people say they have witnessed bullying in their school, and 70 percent of school staff admit the same. The most common types of bullying are verbal and social, and thankfully, statistics show physical bullying happens less frequently. But only 20 to 30 percent of students who are bullied will actually say something
about it. However, The Chief spoke to two families struggling with these issues in Rainier’s Hudson Park Elementary who wanted to say something. We listened to their stories and touched base with the elementary school to see where they stand in the ongoing battle against such incidents. Students speak out Siblings Jasius Gray, a 4th grade student, and Naomi Burton, a 3rd grade student, spent the previous school year in Hudson Park after their mother raised to the rank of Chief in the United States Navy and was assigned to a new crew and ship in California. “When you get picked for Chief, you have a minimum six-week boot camp and your life is literally only two to four hours a day on your own,” the children’s grandmother, Leigh Kenoyer said. “So, it made more sense to have the kids come here for school rather than me go out there for six to eight months. I didn’t want to be down there that long.” Jasius and Naomi are of mixed race and say they have struggled with race-related bullying at the elementary school. Both claimed they had been called “the N-word” numerous
See BULLYING Page A5
Clatskanie Pool re-opens St. Helens shooter still at large, charged with
encouraging child abuse in Clackamas County
Photo: Cyndi Warren
The Clatskanie Rural Fire Protection District assisted in the re-filling of the pool. CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net
The Clatskanie Pool, which is open during the summer season, has been closed all this year in order to repair a leak, as The Chief previously reported. Scheduled to re-open on July 4 in order to offer the pool’s annual free swim, the pool had to remain closed until July 9, when it officially re-opened for the summer 2019 season, according to pool officials. Below is a conversation with the Clatskanie Park and Recreation District’s Park Operations Manager, Cyndi Warren about the pool and possible future repairs. The Chief: Were you able to open the pool in time for your free swim on July 4? Warren: No, it did not reopen. There was no free swim. We were disappointed that we weren’t able to do that this year, but we got it up and running. The Chief: Why the delay? Warren: The contractors were trying to do a 10-day job in five days for us. Then we had to get the tiles in and the pool filled. Once you get it filled with water, it takes about four days to get the temperature where you need it and get the chemicals balanced. It’s also
See POOL Page A2
Photo: SHPD
Adam Corey Fleming, 31, was seen fleeing the scene in a white 1993 Toyota Camry with Oregon license plate 427EQV. JULIE THOMPSON chronicle1@countrymedia.net
After two men were shot in St. Helens on the evening of July 2, the shooter is still at large and the St. Helens Police Department (SHPD) has reached out to the public for help locating him. According to the SHPD, officers responded to the call at approximately 10:15 p.m. to a report of gunshots fired on Cowlitz Street near Old Portland Road. A nearby 6th Street neighbor, Renee Laurin, said she made the call to 911 after her children alerted her to two men knocking at her door. “I heard, ‘Mom, the guy said call the police. He said he’s been shot.’ I threw some clothes on and came to my front door and at first, I personally thought they were trying to rob
me. I’m just being precautious, you know. I’m a single mom.” When the man told her to dial 911, Laurin said she didn’t hesitate. She said the two men were crouching low, sweating, and she could tell they were scared. Laurin handed one of the men the phone to speak to the police and got a towel to cover the wound of the gunshot victim. “I did invite them into my home. All it was was trying to be a good Samaritan. I already know 911 is on their way so I felt safe enough,” Laurin said. “I don’t smoke, but I lit up a cigarette for the poor guy and got him some water.” According to the SHPD, the officers ended up locating two gunshot victims on scene. One victim sustained a wound to his upper arm and the other sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his lower extremities.
Both were transported to a Portland area hospital and are expected to survive. A 7-year-old girl was also located inside the residence where the shooting took place, but she was found unharmed. The shooter reportedly fled the residence prior to the officer’s arrival and the SHPD had the surrounding roads shut down for most of Wednesday afternoon while the investigation continued. The suspect was identified later Wednesday evening as 31-year-old Adam Corey Fleming. He is 5’11” tall, weighs approximately 280 pounds, with hazel eyes and a balding head. Fleming was seen fleeing the scene in a white 1993 Toyota Camry station wagon with Oregon See SHOOTER Page A4