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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 2018)
T he C olumbia P ress 1 50 ¢ C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper 503-861-3331 January 5, 2018 Vol. 2, Issue 1 Tiny free library a hit in Warrenton neighborhood “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ― Dr. Seuss B y C inDy y ingst The Columbia Press Above: Carrie Bartoldus stands behind the neigh- borhood library she built in August. Left: Jannat Ring, 6, shows off the “Tangled” book she found while Tori Miller, 10, peers inside. Cindy Yingst The Columbia Press A child who opens a book, opens the world. And that was the mindset behind the tiny library Carrie Bartoldus built next to the sidewalk in front of her home. “I’m a Bahá’í and we love to do service projects,” Bartoldus said. “I have RA (rheumatoid arthritis) and fibromyalgia and to commit to something is real hard for me.” She spent a year thinking about it, de- signing it and looking at what others had done. “I kept on having such elaborate ideas on how I wanted it and it wasn’t happen- ing,” she said. “Finally, I said, ‘Just do it.’” That was in August and it has been in the neighborhood since. “This year is especially significant be- cause it’s the 200 anniversary of founder Bahá’u’lláh’s birth,” she said. Bahá’ís believe all religions are linked See ‘Tiny library’ on Page 5 Warrenton police stock up on anti-overdose kits The Columbia Press Warrenton Police Department became the first law enforcement agency in the county to carry Nal- oxone, a drug that can revive some- one dying of a heroin overdose. The drug counters the effects of opioids such as heroin, morphine, oxycodone and fentanyl, as well as a growing number of synthetic opioids like “Pink.” Warrenton had an overdose in April that the coun- ty medical examiner eventually linked to Pink. “It’s a very serious problem we have that’s spreading across the country and Oregon as well,” Chief Matt Workman said. Just last week, a couple was arrested on Ridge Road with a 1-year-old child and a diaper bag full of heroin, needles and drug paraphernalia. The woman tried to conceal some of the drugs by swallowing them. In that case, the Naloxone wasn’t needed, Workman said, but it points to the depth of the problem. The child was turned over to child protective services. “It’s a sad side-effect of drug ad- diction; everything else goes by the wayside,” he said. Each police vehicle in Warren- ton’s fleet now carries Naloxone overdose kits. The $95 kits in- clude two doses of Narcan-brand nasal spray, a cardio-pulmonary resuscitation breather, rubber gloves, safety masks and soap and water for decontamination. All officers and police staff members are required to take a state-approved training course. While the Oregon Health Au- thority recently changed its See ‘Overdose’ on Page 6 George Everts/for The Columbia Press The Thomas Fire burns near Oxnard, Calif. Red Cross volunteer reflects on fire trip B y D.B. L ewis The Columbia Press What do Martin Sheen, the water lady and Army veteran George Everts have in common? They all volunteered at Red Cross emergency shelters crowded with evacuees from California’s largest-ever wildfire disaster. The Thomas Fire, which started in early December, continued to burn this week after destroying nearly 300,000 acres. It started in Santa Barbara County and quickly spread east to Ventura County in just a few hours. On Christmas Day, there were 2,500 firefighters still struggling to put it out. By the time Everts, a Red Cross volunteer from Astoria, arrived for his deployment, Martin Sheen had delivered a truckload of emergency supplies and a local citizen was bringing in $125 worth of bottled water every day. Known to volunteers simply as the Water Lady, she showed up with her donation each day for 20 days. Everts completed Red Cross Everts shelter training in December 2016, and was on the list for Puerto Rico when the California fires began growing. He got an email requesting his deployment there instead See ‘Red Cross’ on Page 4