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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2001)
The INDEPENDENT, March7, 2001 Page 9 Red Cross volunteers practice disaster to prepare for real thing A group of 35 Columbia County Red Cross volunteers held a disaster response drill at Washington Grade School in Vernonia on Saturday, Febru ary 24, just a few days before the earthquake that apparently- surprised most people in north west Oregon. The volunteers set up a shelter, served meals and handled donations for dis aster victims, all over the course of a few hours. The Red Cross currently has 42 trained volunteers in Colum bia County who are ready to re spond to disasters ranging from single-family house fires to catastrophic floods. The February 24 exercise was a test of how well they can put their training into practice. “When possible, we try to create a disaster drill with con ditions as close as possible to what the volunteers will face in a real disaster,” said Emily Hastie, Disaster Outreach Spe cialist for the Oregon Trail Chapter. The volunteers started by assessing feeding needs, in a scenario about flooding that displaced 50 people from their homes. Volunteers planned and prepared a lunch for the disaster clients, set up the shelter and worked with clients who were lining up at the front door. The drill also involved students from the grade school who helped set up cots, and amateur radio operators who tested communication capabili ties. Red Cross provides free training for volunteer disaster responders and disaster pre paredness educators in Colum bia County and the other five counties in the Oregon Trail Chapter. For more information, call Hastie at 503-284-0011, ext. 273 or e-mail <hastiee@ redcross-pdx.org> Red Cross shows gains in county Satisfied with a good day’s work, Red Cross volunteers and others involved in the disaster exercise pause for a group photo. Very little earthquake damage In Columbia County Columbia County came through the February 28 earth quake relatively unscathed, with only minor damage report ed to two buildings. Elsewhere in Oregon, damage was also limited. Ironically, John Clouse, Co lumbia County Director of Emergency Management, was in Salem when the earthquake hit, at a meeting with emer gency management officials from around the state. Among the topics under discussion was an earthquake drill being planned for April 11. “This is exactly why Colum bia County needs to hold the April 11 earthquake exercise called Metroshake-01,” Clouse said. “Emergency manage ment personnel assigned to positions in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) need to become familiar with the EOC procedures so that when events like what happened Wednesday occur, we are all better prepared to protect the life and property of the citizens we serve,” Clouse continued. While no injuries were re ported in Columbia County, Clouse expressed concern over reports that many citizens were seen running out of build ings when they felt the shaking, then standing close to the building. Most people injured or killed in an earthquake are those who run in and out of buildings or stand within 30 feet of a building, according to Crouse. Emergency management of ficials suggest that when you feel an earthquake, you should immediately drop to the floor, seek cover such as under a desk, table or an interior door way and hold onto that cover so that you move with it. Also, stay as far away from windows as possible. Much of the damage that oc curs in an earthquake is from items falling off of shelves. Clouse suggests that people survey their homes for items that could fall when a small amount of shaking occurs and either move those items to a safer location or secure them with mortician’s clay. Items large enough to cause injury should be taken down and B y Jim Buxton placed on the floor. is April 30, 2001. The contest is open to everyone and entry is free. “Any poet, whether previ ously published or not, can be a w in n e r,” stated C hristina B abylon, C ontest D irector. “When people learn about our Volunteers needed to plant trees From page 1 the Boy Scouts Troop 201, Girl Scouts, 4-H Clubs, students from Vernonia High School, Washington Grade School and Pacific University, private land- owners and watershed council members have planted thou sands of trees donated by the Bureau of Land Management. It is hoped that this tradition will continue. Everyone participating in the program is covered for lia- bility under the Natural Re source Conservation Service Earth Team V olunteer P ro gram. Landowners who would like to have the ir river frontage planted, who just need some trees to plant or want to volun teer to plant, may get more in formation by calling Peyton at 503-429-2401, or Donna Hep ler, Volunteer Planting Coordi nator, at 503-429-3401. Shelter agreements are in place with 32 facilities, includ ing Vernonia High School, Cedar Ridge Sports Camp, Washington Grade School and Lincoln Grade School. Participation in the Colum bia Emergency Planning Asso ciation and Emergency Man agement Council groups is continuing project. Watershed members learn how insects indicate health of stream Wednesday’s quake is a re minder that disaster can strike ànywhere, anytime. The Amer ican Red Cross and others suggest that every home be equipped with a 72 hour sur vival kit, including food, water, medications, clothes, flash lights and batteries, cooking utensils and tools. A pamphlet entitled “Before Disaster Strikes, How Families and Individuals Can Prepare,” is available from the Oregon Trails Chapter by calling 503- 284-0011. Poetry contest open to all ages, styles, skill levels The International Library of Poetry will award $58,000 in prizes this year in the Interna tional Open Poetry Contest. All poets, particularly begin ners, are welcome to try win ning some of the 250 prizes. The deadline for the contest There are currently 42 Red Cross Responders in Columbia County, nine of them in Ver nonia. During 2000, volunteers responded to nine fires. Addi tionally, canteen service was provided to fire fighters in Rainier. Seven training courses were offered throughout the county with 51 people attending. free p o e try c o n te s t, they suddenly realize that th e ir own poetic works of art can win cash prizes, as well as gain na tion al re c o g n itio n ,” continued Babylon. To enter, send one original poem, any subject and style to The International Library of Poetry, Suite 19910, 1 Poetry P laza, O w ings M ills , MD 21117. You may also enter online at www.poetry.com The poerp should be 20 lines or less and the poet’s name and address should ap pear on the top of the page. Entries must be postmarked or sent via the Internet by April 30, 2001. The Interna tio n a l L ib ra ry of P oetry, fo u n d e d in 1982, is the largest poetry organization in the world. Jeff Adams, a biologist with the Xerces Society, presented a report on the analysis of 1999 macroinvertabrate (insect) samples taken from the Ne halem River and its tributaries, at the February meeting of the Upper Nehalem Watershed Council (UNWC). The samples, taken by vol unteers trained to follow a strict collection protocol, were sent to a laboratory in Idaho for analysis. Adams showed slides and described what one would likely find in the Nehalem. He has presented the Council with similar reports in previous years, and his presentation is improving each year. Next year, Adams plans to have lam inated field guides and CD- ROMs categorizing local in sects, to hand out to attendees. He described the collection method and assessment crite ria, and added that, whereas the use of volunteers to collect samples is generally consid ered a poor practice, the data show that volunteer collection in the Nehalem has been very consistent. The laboratory counts the number of different kinds of insects in the sample, and the number of each kind. Then the sample is ranked into three categories of stream health: “No Impairment”, “Mod erate" or “Poor". The assumption is that the more insect species and popu lation that live in a body of wa ter, the healthier it is. Following are some of the results of Macroinvertabrate populations Fishhawk Lake, upstream is Moderate; downstream, Poor. Clear Creek, Poor. Rock Creek, OK upstream; Moderate downstream. Buster Creek, Humbug, North rup, Wolf, and Oak Ranch Creek - No Impairment. Adams said that laboratories are continuing to standardize their methods, but UNWC deals with the best (most ex pensive) lab. Dale Webb raised the question of the possible skewing of results by sampling only in riffles. Adams answered that the standard is to take samples only from riffles, though the state is looking into sampling poolsand he will talk with DEQ about sampling pools. In other business, Coordina tor Maggie Peyton announced that again this year, the BLM has provided UNWC with a large number of tree seedlings for planting in riparian areas. Jay Worley with the Oregon Department of Forestry de scribed the Conservation Re covery Enhancement Program (CREP). CREP exists to help landowners offset the econom ic burden of returning stream banks to a vegetative state, and to maintain them in that state. Worley reported that more and more landowners are signing up for the program. The Upper Nehalem Water shed Council meets every fourth Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the Mist-Birkenfeld Fire Hall on Highway 202 between Mist and Birkenfeld. The public is wel come to attend.
