Vernonia's voice., September 11, 2012, Page 9, Image 9

community
Mist-Birkenfeld Reservoir continued from front page
wetland mitigation feature that is being constructed as
part of the project. A natural stream bed runs through
the site and is being removed due to construction of
the reservoir. A new 1.2 acre wetland is required to
be constructed to mitigate for the loss of the stream
bed area. The UNWC has been on site almost from
the beginning, offering recommendations on the
excavation of the new wetland. “We’re going to make
sure it gets properly planted, we’ll maintain it and see
it through until it is free to grow,” says UNWC Director
Maggie Peyton.
Property owner Fleming originally wanted to
build his pond to provide water for cattle and to help
keep the cattle out of the Nehalem River, stopping the
damage they cause to the watershed. Fleming was
unable to acquire the permits needed for his project
until a partnership with the Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD was
established. “The addition of water committed to an
emergency supply opened some doors,” says Chief
Crawford.
Meet Your Police: Brent Thompson
september11
2012
The property remains in Flemings’ control and
Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD will have a perpetual easement
to access the water. “Everybody wins,” adds Crawford.
One of the reasons Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD
needs this reservoir, and why NW Natural is involved
in providing funding, is because of a requirement to
provide fire suppression to natural gas wells in the
area. “The amount of water that we need was specified
by Wild Well Control for NW Natural,” says Chief
Crawford. “We need 1 million to 1.5 million gallons
of water able to be delivered to any of
the well sites within about sixty hours.”
According to Crawford, a 4 million gallon
pond, naturally filled during winter, should
provide the needed amount throughout the
summer.
In addition to providing the required
ability to fight a well fire, the reservoir also
obviously improves the Mist-Birkenfeld
RFPD’s ability to provide service to all
of their area. “Because the water is here
and because it is readily available, we can
actually deliver a lot more water to a scene
quickly,” says Chief Crawford. “Our fire
rating should go down and our ability to
fight fire should go up.”
Chief Crawford says that in addition to
the new reservoir, he is also working out
the final details to organize a mobile water
supply group that could serve Clatsop and
Columbia Counties and possibly beyond.
According to Crawford, participating
fire districts would calculate the amount
of water that might be needed to fight a
structure fire at any address in their service
area, and then water tenders would be
automatically dispatched from the closest
available resources.
continued from page 8
then moved in with Mike and Kathi
Fetch, who he knew through school in
Vernonia. He lived with them through
his senior year and considers them
his “family.” “Mike and Kathi have
done a lot for me,” says Thompson.
“They’re who I call Mom and Dad--
that’s where I spend holidays.”
Thompson says he believes
he has learned a lot already during the
short time he has been working in Ver-
nonia. “Some of the incidents have
been pretty serious,” says Thompson.
“For the size of our agency we have a
lot more going on then I think people
realize. I have done everything from
writing traffic citations to a major
death and a lot in between. We can
9
stay pretty busy and it’s not just ra-
dio calls coming in—it’s self-initiated
stuff, which we’ve been able to do
more of since we’re back to full staff-
ing. Before it was more reactive, now
it’s more proactive. I’ve had a wide
range of experience so far, which I feel
pretty fortunate about.”
Thompson says he is not sure
about his long term plans. “Right now
I’m just trying to get my feet under-
neath me and learn the job I’m doing
now before I think about really long
term goals,” says Thompson. “I feel
like I owe this department and Chief
Conner for giving me an opportunity.”
Enhanced Marine
Patrols Pay Off on
Labor Day Weekend
The Columbia County Sheriff’s
Office committed extra manpower and boats
to the Columbia River over the Labor Day
Weekend. The extra resources helped ease
the burden on marine deputies as the weather
favored a large turnout on the water.
Deputies put three boats on the
river during peak hours and logged 152
man hours and 86 boat hours over the three-
day weekend. Deputies responded to three
Boating Under the Influence of Intoxicant
calls. One culminated in the drowning death
of a SeaDoo operator adjacent to Collins
Beach on Sauvie Island, while the other two
resulted in BUII arrests.
Where Do You Read the Voice?
DeAnna Pearl took a vacation to southern Oregon this summer and of course,
she took along her copy of Vernonia’s Voice. Here is DeAnna, relaxing and
reading at the Hog Creek Boat Landing on the Rogue River.