Tcc 8 12 16

Page 1

A1

Seven suspects arrested

Police services

in stolen car caper Page A7

decision looms Page A3

Calendar-A2 • Church News-A2 • Classified Ads-A9 • Legal Notices-A9 • Neighborhood News-A3 • Obituaries-A7 • Opinions-A4

The Chief

Friday, August 12, 2016

$1 Vol. 125, No. 13 10 Pages

Serving the Lower Columbia Region Since 1891

Kindergarten Camp helps local children transition BY JEREMY C. RUARK

JEREMY C. RUARK / THE CHIEF

jruark@countrymedia.net

This summer marks the second year for the one week Clatskanie School District Kindergarten Camp held from 8 a.m. to noon Aug. 8 -12 at Clatskanie Elementary School. This summer’s camp includes 45 children. “This camp is to help transition kids to elementary school before the school year starts,” Clatskanie Elementary School Principal Brad Thorud. “And to get them used to routines, expectations and practices allowing us to focus on them when there are no other students in the building.” Thorud said a successful transition to school and to kindergarten sets them up for success for the rest of their schooling. “It is just an extra dose with hands-on focusing on them to build those routines and expectations and to start doing some school work and asses them to be able to start the school year confident and ready to take on the challenges of kindergarten.” Thorud said the routines include engaging the children in activities to accomplish the goal of teaching the routines, expectations and practices. “That’s why we bring them into the library everyday to get used to checking out books,” he said. “We take them to physical education to show them how to be safe, respectful and responsible. So we just do a handful of activities that they would be doing throughout the school day.”

Sarah Mollenhour, left, and Breanna Lane enjoy time at the Clatskanie Elementary School library during the Clatskanie School District Kindergarten Camp.

JEREMY C. RUARK / THE CHIEF

Clatskanie Elementary School Principal Brad Thorud, far left, has children raise their hands during a question and answer period at the Clatskanie School District Kindergarten Camp.

Sarah Mollenhour’s daughter Sarah is among the 45 children taking part in the camp. “My daughter is very shy, “Mollenhour said. “ So I think this gets her out there and kind of shows her around before all the older kids get there. I think the camp is excellent. It is one of the best things they could have done.”

Text-to-9-1-1 set to launch in Columbia County and if it really continues to work as we’ve tested, the state may offer this statewide as an interim solution,” Columbia 911 Director Steve Watson said. It is interim because currently the program is web-based, but the objective is to integrate the service into the telephone systems dispatch centers use for voice calls. “They will have a phone system, eventually,” Watson said, “that will allow voice, and data, and photos, and text, to come through one device.” The pilot project, though critical, is merely the first push by 911 centers across the nation to incorporate new technologies into the way they receive information. In the future concerned citizens will be able to send photos, videos, audio and other data directly to dispatch centers. That technology, however, is in its nascent stages. Clatskanie Mayor Diane Pohl agrees with the Text-to-9-1-1 project, but she said she has hesitations concerning other data being sent to dispatch. “The texting I would agree with,” Pohl said. “But when you go onto the photos and videos, my concern is that will jam 911 operators a lot. There may be a time when you’re in a difficult situation but you can’t talk on the phone but you can quietly text. So for emergency purposes and for the hearing impaired, I certainly think it’s a step forward in the ability to contact emergency services… I know how important it is to get that information as quickly as you can so you can react as quickly as you can.” 911 text services have been advocated for by the deaf and hearing impaired. Until now, they have had to rely on Paleolithic technologies, such as teletypewriters (TTY), to communicate with the police. Now,

BY CODY MANN

cmann@countrymedia.net

It is easy and trendy to lament the amount of time many of us, especially younger people, spend with their heads lowered to their phones, but the new text to 911 program launching Aug. 23 will be utilizing this technology to provide a new mode through which Columbia 911 will be able to serve the county’s citizens. Columbia 911, along with six other dispatch centers in the Portland metro area, will be the first in the state to incorporate the service into their operations. “If it’s successful and if it really does work the way we intend,

­­­­

See TEXT 911 Page A6

Thorud said the camp is funded through a $ 5,000 state grant at no costs to parents and also includes free breakfast and lunch for the students. Parent Katie Forden said she is pleased with how the camp helps her child. “I love it,” she said. “It’s good for the kids to come in with a great group of teachers that have gathered

to help them and to get the kids comfortable, especially those that are jumping in from the smaller schools,” she said. “It’s good for them to get used to the classrooms, the teachers and all the rest of the students.” The Clatskanie School District will mail out notifications to parents the week of Aug. 15 about the day and time for the regular kindergar-

ten through third grade class start times. For additional information about helping your child make the transition to the new school year, contact the Clatskanie School District at 503-728-0587 or your local school district office and follow events at Clatskaine Schools at thechiefnews. com.

Police chase ends in 2 crashes, 1 arrest PHOTO COURTESY OF RYDER ZEA

This vehicle was struck during a high speed police chase while it was parked at the Clatskanie Safeway Shopping Center. The chase ended just west of Rainier when the pickup truck involved crashed into a ditch.

BY JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net

Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office officials say the driver of the pickup involved in a high speed chase into Columbia County and through Clatskanie is a 15-year-old runaway from Pendleton. The chase began Wednesday night Aug. 10 at milepost 92 in the John Day area when the driver failed to stop for a Clatsop County Sheriff’s patrol unit. “It was a suspected DUII driver,” Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Dean Schroeder said. “Sgt. Jason Hoover attempted to stop the pickup on Highway 30 at milepost 92 in the John Day area, but the driver failed to yield.” Schroeder said the chase continued east on Highway 30 into Columbia County. “We had at least two of our patrol units following the pickup into Columbia County and following protocol we were asking for assistance from area law enforcement,” he said. Another police unit responded from Rainier in an effort to lay down spike strips to stop the

pickup. Schroeder said the spike strips were laid down across the highway just west of Clatskanie and the pickup truck drove over the spikes but failed to stop, Moments later the pickup truck sped into Clatskanie veering off the highway into the Safeway Shopping Center’s parking lot. Schroeder said the pickup smashed though buses on the side of the parking lot and into a parked

SUV before driving back onto Highway 30 and through Clatskanie. Clatskanie resident Samantha Hackenberg was driving into the Safeway parking lot when she saw the police cars and the red pickup speeding her way. “I saw a police car chasing the truck and the truck went flying into ­­­­

See CHASE Page A6

JEREMY C. RUARK / THE CHIEF

This red pickup crashed into the ditch near the Lewis and Clark Bridge just west of Rainier. Police said the pickup was involved in a high speed chase that began in Clatsop County.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.