T he C olumbia P ress
1
50 ¢
C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper
503-861-3331
November 24, 2017
Vol. 1, Issue 47
Building a citizen team of first-responders Prolific car prowlers
hit 100 cars or more
Residents dive into
three-day training
that could save you
The Columbia Press
B y D.B. L ewis
The Columbia Press
Everyone benefits when
neighbors help each other
in times of need. We benefit
even more when fellow citi-
zens are specially trained for
major area emergencies.
A dozen citizen volunteers
from around the county met
for three days last weekend
at Warrenton’s Camp Kiwan-
ilong to get basic Community
Emergency Response Team
training (CERT).
CERT members will assist
when paid emergency re-
sponders are overwhelmed by
the sheer scope of a natural
disaster.
With boot-camp intensity,
trainees were led through in-
Above: Students
practice putting out
fires with a heavy-duty
extinguisher.
Right: CERT instruc-
tors demonstrate how
to methodicallly assess
the severely injured
after a major disaster.
See ‘CERT’ on Page 5
D.B. Lewis
The Columbia Press
More than 100 vehicles have been burglarized in
Warrenton, Hammond and the Smith Lake area
during the past month.
Nearly all of them have been vehicles left unlocked
at night and, in most cases, items taken were small,
and easy to carry and sell on the street.
“We arrested somebody on an unrelated case and,
during that arrest, recovered a sizeable amount of
property that we’ve been able to link up with sev-
eral of the cases,” Police Chief Matt Workman said.
“We’re still gathering information and don’t believe
this is the only suspect.”
The man arrested was picked up on an outstanding
warrant for a probation violation. He has not been
arrested for the car prowls. But he did have many
items in his possession that appeared to come from
the burglaries, Workman said.
Warrenton typically has one to three cases per
month of unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle,
commonly known as a vehicle prowl or burglary.
“It’s a crime of opportunity, but we’re having five,
six, seven a night, up to 15 a night,” he said. “There’s
a concentrated effort.”
Among the items taken were sunglasses, spare
See ‘Prowls’ on Page 8
Warrenton Fire Department wins large grant for new water tender
The Columbia Press
Warrenton Fire Department
has been awarded a $350,000
grant to purchase a new water
tender.
“The current vehicle is more
than 37 years old and has ended
its service lifespan,” volunteer
firefighter Lenard Hansen said.
“Repair parts were hard to find
and the steel tank was rusted.
The tender also was very hard to
drive and operate.”
Hansen, 65, who retired as fire
chief for the city of Astoria only to
volunteer for the city of Warren-
ton, wrote the grant for Warren-
ton Fire Department.
“After three years of applying
for the grant, the department was
finally notified that it was suc-
cessful,” he said.
In 2001, Congress set aside
money to help fire agencies
across the country purchase new
equipment. The Assistance to
Firefighters Grants program is
managed by the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency.
Warrenton received one other
grant from the program in years
past. Acquiring a new vehicle is
the most competitive of all the
grant requests, Hansen said.
Warrenton Fire Department
must provide a 5 percent match,
or $16,667. Warrenton City Com-
mission approved the match re-
quest last week.
“A volunteer wrote this grant,”
Mayor Henry Balensifer said.
“We have a great fire department
and great volunteers.”
To apply for the grant, a com-
mittee composed of Hansen, Fire
Chief Tim Demers, Capt. John
Shepherd and firefighter Scott
Watson determined the tender was
the department’s greatest need.
See ‘Fire Grant’ on Page 4
Courtesy Lenard Hansen
Warrenton Fire Department expects to have a new wa-
ter tender similiar to Vernonia’s by next summer.