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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2016)
community july21 2016 3 Columbia County Sheriff’s Newsletter help us verify criminal activity, the more High Profile Arrests Deputies have made a num- we will be able to accomplish. ber of high profile arrests already this City of Clatskanie and Sheriff’s Office summer. On June 25, CCSO Deputies arrested Kodiack Stone, 26, of Beaver- Discuss Contract Service The Sheriff’s Office and the ton on attempted murder charges after City of Clatskanie are still in discussions an investigation into reported gunfire regarding the possibility of the City con- on Highway 47 outside of Vernonia on tracting police services to the Sheriff’s June 23. Soon after, a 79-year-old Clats- Office. The City is looking for a way kanie man was behind bars and charged to maximize scarce public safety dollars with two counts of Sodomy First De- through partnering with the Sheriff and gree, seven counts of Sexual Abuse First leveraging economies of scale. We are Degree and one count of Attempted pleased to offer our assistance to the City Sexual Abuse First Degree after indict- in whatever way makes the most sense to ments on those charges by the Columbia the mayor and city council. We believe County grand jury. Two victims testified this partnership can provide opportuni- before the grand jury on Thursday, June ties for the City to maintain an adequate 23. policing presence, even with reductions in their budget, while at the same time Newest Deputy Our newest Enforcement Dep- expanding the Sheriff’s Office presence in North County. While talks continue uty graduated from the Public Safety with the City, it is not expected that ser- Academy in Salem on Friday, July 15. vices could begin before fall. The City Michelle Vandenburg began work as needs time to work out the contract and a Corrections Deputy with us in 2014, budget issues with the County, and once and was reassigned to the Patrol Unit that is settled, the County will need a when an opening was created with the few weeks to make the transition be- addition of a fifth patrol position in our fore operations can begin full scale. In new budget. Adding another deputy in- the meantime, the Sheriff’s Office has creases by another 25 percent our abil- an augmentation agreement to respond ity to cover the 688 square miles of our to calls inside the City as our staffing is County! Jail Levy Renewal Discussions capable of responding. During the July The Sheriff and Board of Coun- 4 holiday, CCSO deputies and reserves Columbia County Sheriff’s Office ty Commissioners have begun discus- added extra staffing for the City’s Heri- 901 Port Ave. sions on a path forward for renewing the tage Days celebration. St. Helens, OR 97051 jail levy for another four years. After re- Phone: (503) 366-4611 viewing budget numbers and including Fax: (503) 366-4644 projections for continued US Marshal bed rentals, it appears no increase in the rate will be needed. In fact, it appears that if the rate stays the same at $0.58 per thousand dollars in assessed value, and as long as US Marshal use of the fa- cility continues to drive the overall cost Jamboree Weekend to taxpayers down, we will be able to Friday, August 5 - Freedom Street Band - 9 pm keep the jail in business for the next four Saturday, August 6 - The Basinbillies - 9 pm years. Karaoke This is good news for county Every 2nd & Last Friday taxpayers and especially good news, Taco Tuesday considering that in 2018, the County from opening until 9pm will have paid off the cost of building the new jail and will be able to reduce 3 hardshell or 1 softshell $4.25 the tax burden by $0.38 per thousand Ladies’ Night once the building is paid off. every Thursday 6pm-close Two Canine Teams Now Working for Sheriff’s Office With the addition of another canine deputy donated to Columbia County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), we are now glad to have two canine teams working to keep our county safer! A narcotics detection dog and his handler have been added to the Sheriff’s Office canine teams. The new canine unit will be assigned to the jail and the newly revitalized Columbia Enforcement Narcotics Team (CENT). The newest addition is a German shepherd donated to the Sheriff’s Office by the Clatskanie Foundation. “Odin” was previously assigned to duties with the Clatskanie Police Department, but will now ply his trade helping keep drugs out of the jail and assisting the CENT team with criminal cases. Odin and his handler Jacob An- derson give the Sheriff’s Office a 1-2 punch in taking a bite out of crime in Columbia County. Our tracking Canine “Lars” with his handler Deputy Ryan Dews has already made a big impres- sion with a high rate of captures in his first six months of work. Odin will bring additional detection capabilities with his training in narcotics detection. Cedar Side Inn Posse Being Reconstituted The Sheriff’s Posse is being re- constituted, and is inviting interested individuals 21 and older who love be- ing around horses to consider joining the Posse. Questions can be emailed direct- ly to CCMS.Posse@gmail.com CENT Team Reinvigorated Under Sheriff’s Office The St. Helens Police Depart- ment had for many years been the host agency for the Columbia Enforcement Narcotics Team (CENT). Budget cuts in recent years forced many agencies to withdraw from the team, and the team became inactive. Now, with renewed interest in developing the team, the Sheriff’s Office is taking a leadership role in re-establishing CENT as a nar- cotics investigative unit with a focus on street crimes investigations. To reach the CENT team, call (503) 397-1167. If there is no answer, leave a message. Anonymous tips are also welcomed, but the more informa- tion we can get from callers that will • Free Pool • Free WiFi • Specialty Pizzas iheck our Facebook page for daily specials and upcoming events 756 Bridge Street, Vernonia 503-429-5841 FULL SPORTS PACKAGE! Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-7 LIVE MUSIC • Specialty hamburgers • 8 Draft beers & mixed drinks • 5 Craft beers on tap • Pool tables & satelite TV • Free Wi-fi • Beer & Kegs to go Sun - Thurs 11 AM - Midnight • 733 Bridge St, Vernonia Jamboree Weekend Fri & Sat, Aug. 5-6 Triple Edge Band “BIKER FRIENDLY” Fri - Sat 11 AM - 2:30 AM • 503-429-9999 Publisher and Managing Editor Scott Laird 503-367-0098 scott@vernoniasvoice.com Contributors Chip Bubl Tobie Finzel Karen Kain Dr. Carol McIntyre Karen Miller Aaron Miller Leanne Murray P.J. O’Leary Shannon Romtvedt Robert Schattschneider Photography Karen Kain Scott Laird Want to advertise? Have an article? Contact: scott@vernoniasvoice.com One year subscriptions (24 issues) $35 Vernonia’s Voice is published on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month. Vernonia’s Voice, LLC PO Box 55 Vernonia, OR 97064 503-367-0098 www.VernoniasVoice.com
