COLUMBIA COUNTY FALL SPORTS PREVIEW 2016 THIS ISSUE! Calendar-A2 • Church News-A2 • Classified Ads-A7 • Legal Notices-A7 • Neighborhood News-A3 • Obituaries-A6 • Opinions-A4 • Sports-A10
Friday, September 2, 2016
The Chief
$1 Vol. 125, No. 16 42 Pages
Serving the Lower Columbia Region Since 1891
Superintendents challenge, motivate teachers
JEREMY C. RUARK / THE CHIEF
Clatskanie School Superintendent Dr. Lloyd Hartley reads the poem “The woodcuter” to challenge and motivate teachers during his welcome address. BY JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
Clatskanie School Superintendent Lloyd Hartley welcomed the district’s 38 teachers and 56 classified employees during his annual start of the new school year address on Monday, Aug. 29 at Clatskanie Middle/High School. Classes begin on Tuesday, Sept. 6, and the superintendent’s welcome is a district tradition to help ensure a smooth school year opening. As he began his address in the high school commons, Hartley
walked among the seated teachers and staff and asked what it would take for them to be ready when the students walk through the school doors for the new school year ahead. “In order for us to be prepared to work with our kids, we have to be thinking about how do we meet their needs,” he said. “We need to be mentally and physically prepared to be able to do that job. We can do our best job if we are present and authentic to ourselves and we are giving that message to our kids. It provides our kids with a safe environment to learn, a good place to be, and it increases our
JEREMY C. RUARK / THE CHIEF
“We are dealers of hope,” Rainier School Superintendent Michael Carter told teachers during his annual back to school address at Rainier Jr/SrHigh School.
overall sense of community and family.” Hartley handed out a poem and yellow ribbons during his presentation to help the teachers and staff better understand themselves and their roles. “I used the yellow ribbons to help them think about who they are on the inside and how they project themselves on the outside,” he said. “And as we give the ribbon just a little twist, it turns into a yellow strip where you can no longer tell the difference between the inside and the outside of a person.” Hartley encouraged the teachers and staff to embrace a more undi-
vided life to better serve students. During his address Hartley actively encouraged questions from the teachers and staff. “Part of my job is to remind people about why we are here and to help us refocus,” Hartley said. “It is a completely different space than me having to convince people this is the right thing to do, so what I got from them is a true willingness and a desire to continue the great work that they are doing, but again with a little bit more focus and intentionally.” Following the address, Hartley told The Chief a top challenges facing the district is communicat-
ing with parents. “Even though we have made great strides with bulk emails about information,” Hartley said, “We need to know when we send a communication is that message getting there and is there a better way to reach families so that we know that we we hit the send button with something we have created for them, they have absolutely received it.” Hartely said another key challenge would be reaching each student. “Making sure we are very inten
See TEACHERS Page A6
County commissioners approve marijuana plant operation at Rainier BY CODY MANN
cmann@countrymedia.net
CODY MANN / THE CHIEF
Raj Punjabi, testifying before the Columbia County Board of Commissioners, is the president of RAD Nursery Products LLC. The company trying to establish a marijuana growing business near Rainier schools.
The Columbia County Board of Commissioners has upheld the Columbia County Planning Commission’s approval of a marijuana growing operation planned near schools in Rainier. The approval followed a public appeal hearing held on Aug. 31 in St. Helens. The planning commission approved the application at a hearing on July 11, during which numerous opponents spoke out against the grow site. Among the concerns voiced were worries about odors, security, traffic, and community (and student) impact as well as the general appearance of placing a pot farm near a school and park. RAD Nursery Products LLC plans to use a 24,000 sq. ft. building to house an indoor marijuana farm. The building is located across the street
from Hudson Parcher Park and close to Rainier’s school sports fields. Raj Punjabi is the president of RAD Nursery Products LLC and he said he has 10 years of experience in the medical marijuana industry. Punjabi also was the original drummer of the wellknown punk rock band Green Day. Columbia County Planning Division Manager Glenn Higgins presented a staff report to the commission at the appeal hearing. Higgins said the property was originally an indoor soccer field for around 10 years, but declining activity led to a change of hands and purpose. The site became a bark dust packaging facility, which lasted around 10 years as well, according to Higgins. Higgins said there is no question that the grow operation would be within 1,000 feet from the school property. However, the 1,000-foot boundary rule set by the state applies to retail operations, not grow operations. Higgins also addressed the federal illegality
of marijuana, but added that federal authorities announced they would not interfere with marijuana laws in states that have chosen to legalize recreational or medical sales and production. Highlighting some of the steps Punjabi has taken to prepare the site, Higgins said it was arranged to have all deliveries and shipments take place indoors (no outside loading or unloading), water will be purchased and brought to the site and rain water will be collected (eliminating the need for a well or use of creek water for irrigation), odor controlling carbon filters and equipment will be installed (adding to the large fans and filtration system from the previous bark dust operation), and there will not be any form of retail operation at the site (thus, no traffic from customers). Higgins said the proposed grow operation meets the zoning criteria.
See MARIJUANA Page A8
A Way Out: Crossroads of mental health, criminal justice
SPECIAL REPORT BY CODY MANN
cmann@countrymedia.net
Crisis Intervention Training, a mobile crisis response unit and a jail diversion program are among the mental health solutions implemented to aid Columbia County law enforcement agencies as the number of mental health related calls continues to grow. Law enforcement officers face a complex, fast-paced decision making process when they make contact with a person. From the moment they arrive on a scene, they evaluate behavior and other character aspects to determine whether the situation includes a mental health aspect. With the number of mental health related calls to law enforcement increasing, many agencies are looking for a different approach. According to Chief of Police Terry Moss, St. Helens Police Department had some catching up to do in the past few years regarding the approach to calls that might be influenced by mental health issues. Lacking a local program, in the past the department sent an officer at a time to nearby agencies to attend a weeklong, 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training.
“There was some value to that, but when you understand what CIT is all about, the real value comes from training and teaching and working in your own community, rather than going off to Portland or Clackamas County,” Moss said. Discussions with the Columbia County Sheriff and other chiefs led to a CIT steering committee that devised a plan to address gaps in law enforcement service related to mental health issues, such as the need for a local CIT training program, the need for a jail diversion program and the need for a mobile crisis response unit that would collaborate with law enforcement when a call has a mental health element. Crisis Intervention Team Training Based on a national model that was designed to give first responders the tools to address a mental health crisis, local CIT training is organized by Columbia Community Mental Health, utilizing the experience of law enforcement officials from in and out of the county, criminal justice professionals such as judges and mental health agencies from other areas.
CODY MANN / THE CHIEF
Despite all the support staff and opportunities for treatment, some inmates refuse to participate, act out and find themselves facing disciplinary measures that drag them further down.
“Because mental health issues are so prevalent in our community and every other community, it becomes a big part of what we do, dealing with these issues,” Moss said. Though diagnosing mental health issues is not typical police work, more and more officers
are asked to determine whether what they are facing is a criminal activity or something driven by a deeper problem.
See MENTAL HEALTH Page A8