Filed Against Two Policemen A wrongful death suit has been filed in Columbia County Circuit Court, asking damages of nearly t a half m illion dollars on behalf of the estate of Zells Kappert, Goble, who died as the result of a one-car accident in December, 1972 at the junction of Highway 47 and the Scappoose Vernonia j Highway. Named in the complaint are Steven Poetter and Ray lu m p ing, in addition to W illiam Jacob, driver of the car in which the young woman was riding at the time of the accident. Poetter, now with the St. Helens Police Department, was then a mem ber of the Vernonia Police Reserves while lu m p in g was, and is, a member of the Ver nonia Police Department The complaint, filed by Loren Kappert, a representative of Miss Kappert' s estate, alleges that the three men were neg ligent. It covers the events lead ing up to the crash, beginning at approximately 2:45 a m on Dec ember 2, 1972 when Jacob’s vehicle, in which Miss Kappert was riding, passed the police station on Bridge Street in Ver nonia It was at this time that it isalledged Poetter and Lamping believing a violation of the local noise ordinance had been vio lated, entered the Vernonia Po ; lice car and pursued the Jacob automobile Suspecting the operator of the Jacob vehicle might be under the influence of liquor, the com- ilaint continues, and after fol- owing for approximately 12 miles, the officers attempted to stop Jacob by using the flashing lights of the police car When Jacobs didn’t stop, the complaint contends, the officers chased the car on a narrow winding road, in a rainstorm, at speed ranging up to 100 miles an hour for between 3 Vi and four miles until the Jacob vehicle ran off the road and Miss Kappert suffered injuries which resulted in her death According to the complaint Jacob was negligent in attem pt ing to elude the police and in tne manner in which he operated the car Poetter and Lamping were negligent according to the com plaint, because they acted un reasonably to the suspected offense; they pursued the Jacob vehicle for more than a mile without lights; they failed to attempt to stop Jacob promptly after observing the violation of the basic rule; and that they operated the Vernonia police car on Highway 47 at speeds up to 100 miles per hour during a rain storm The complaint further con tends that the officers failed to take into consideration that there were other people in the car besides Jacob, that the ve hicle was occupied by juveniles who might be frightened by what was occurring and that they used unreasonable and excessive force in pursuing the vehicle and deprived Miss Kappert of her civil right to be secure and free from unlawful arrest and un reasonable harassment Further, the complaint states that Jacob and Poetter engaged in a race on the highway and that Lamping, by not objecting, ac quiesced to the conduct If any defendent had broken off the race, the complaint alleges, the death would not have occurred Damages in the amount of $150,000 are asked as a result of Miss Kappert s death from each defendant as well as $1,678 in medical and funeral expenses from each. Three other occupants of the Vehicle, including the driver, Jacob’s were injured in the ac cident . f Police Cadets Plan Program The Vernonia Police Cadets w ill be the hosts for law en forcement cadets from through out the area on Monday Sep tember 16. The Cadets have arranged for the M ilita ry Police to present a talk and film showing aimed at showing the possibilities of a career with the m ilita ry police law enforcement group The program w ill start at 7 p.m at the Vernonia High School gym Those interested in be- (inning a career in law en orcement (or a related field) are urged to join the Police Cadets Membership is open to young men and women 14 to 20 years All are welcome to the pro gram. L ib r a r y U n iv e r s it y o f Oregon E ugen e, Oregon Oernonia £a<jl£ VOLUME 52, NUMBER 37 MMOMOMOMMMOQMO Proclamation N O m o M m m o o M o m c H U N TIN G AND FIS H IN G DAY Because of the outstanding contributions that America's hunters and fishermen have made to conservation, recrea tion and the economy, they are deserving of special recognition Since the turn of the century, hunters and anglers have been the leaders in nearly all m ajor conservation programs. These sportsmen-conservationists are responsible for the founding of state fish and game departments in all 50 states They asked that they, themselves, be required to but licenses and that money collected be used to support state conservation agencies In the last 50 years alone, these sports men have provided $2.5 billion for conservation programs Hunters and fishermen asked for the establishment of regu lated seasons and bag lim its so that sportsmen could harvest the annual crop of game and fish without damage to the basic breeding population The result has been that there are now more deer, elk, antelope and wild turkey in the Unitea States than there were 50 years ago. Further, sportsmen's programs have benefited numerous spec les of non-game fish and w ildlife through habitat development Hunters and f i s h e r m e n unique in all America, asked that their fishing and hunting equipment be taxed and that the money be used for land ac quisition. research and habitat management tor Hsn ana wna- life for the enjoyment of all Americans Through their publications and organizations-such as the Na- t i o n a 1 W ildlife Federation, Ducks Unlimited. Izaak Walton League of America and many others-hunters and fishermen have led the nation in the battle for a better environment and the wise use of our natural re sources. Therefore, I Sherman Fisher, Mayor of the City of Vernonia, Oregon, do hereby proclaim September 28, 1974 as National Hunting and Fishing Day and that this day be an annual ob servance the fourth Saturday of each September I urge ail of our citizens to join with sportsmen- conservationists in a rededica tion tottee wise use of our natural resources and their proper man agement for the benefit of future generations Further, I urge all citizens to take part in National Hunting and Fishing Day activ ities on September 28 to learn more about conservation and outdoor skills ShermanS. Fisher Mayor of City of Vernonia Local EMT's Teach CPR On September 3, Tom Bruce, Ray Lamping and Jack Cun ningham held a class in Cardi o p u l m o n a r y resuscitation (CPR) at the Hamlet Rural Fire Department (Seaside) The de partment, composed of women as well as men, are in process of securing emergency rescue equipment. CPR is an emergency pro cedure in basic life support The classes in CPR are taught free to any group, in an effort by the Oregon Heart Association to save lives in cases of sudden death caused by heart attack The course is approximately three hours in length and upon completion of the class, those passing, are issued an iden tification card by the Oregon Heart Association Those interested in a CPR class for their club or area mav call 429 5141 VERNONIA, OREGON 97W4 — 10c P er Copy THURSDAY, SEPT. 12, 1974 Council Decides Thumbs Down On Nobile Home Placement The regular meeting of the Vernonia City Council was called to order Monday, September 3 by Mayor Sherman Fisher fol lowing a special meeting re garding outside water hookups which was continued to Sep tember 9 when the engineer is to report on the city water supply and whether there is an ad equate amount to service all outside requests. In attendance at the session were councilmen Bud Atkins. Ed M iller and Locille Tomlin with councilman Todd Bowerman absent. A l s o present was city attorney Allan Coon Following the reading and approval of the previous m i nutes, the mayor called for business from the floor Fire chief Don Webb announced that the city should receive the new fire truck on Monday, Septem ber 9. Tommy Bruce is to attend a test of the truck at Cornelius September 6. A lengthy discussion ensued over housing for the fire truck; a subject which also involved the ambulances as both the fire apparatus and ambulance units need covering in the winter. One possible answer to the dilemma was reactivating the furnace in the old city hall where both ambulances could be housed Council decided to study the cost for said reactivation and meeting the requirements of the state law. Council requested that attorney Coon see about ac quiring the railroad property from Bridge to Cougar streets, between Rose and Weed, for a new fire station. He is to submit his report the first part of October Representatives of General VHS FFA Boys Reap Awards Telephone Company reported on decided to uphold the city ordi the fire department’s request for nance denying p e r m a n e n t a new phone installation system. placement of mobile h o m e s The 12-phonc private circuit within the Vernonia city limits. would utilize their r e g u l a r Mayor Fisher had been in phones, all siren controlled, touch with Ruby E lliott regard which would ring until the circuit ing her request to postpone was broken by all phones being sewer hookup until a new home replaced on the hook The cost of was completed. Discovering that the 12 phones would be $114.60 building had not yet begun, her per month with an installation request was denied fee of $435. Council asked that Next to be heard was new quotations for less t h a n 12 business with attorney Coon phones be submitted Council submitting a resolution amend w ill reach a final decision at the ing the City Charter as follows: special September 9 meeting To amend Section 13 reducing Both H arry Coleman a n d residency requirements from six Essie Nance appeared to asked months to 30 days for qualified about drainage problems on legal voters at municipal elec their property with council re tions. questing that the engineer look To amend Section 32 thereby at both locations then submit a making ju ry tria l permissable in report. the Recorder’s Court; Council then approved the and amending Section 139 re supplementary budget including quiring all city contracts to be the federal library grant. subject to bid if said contracts Committee reports were then are likely to exceed $500. heard with Tomlin giving the Council voted to adopt the police report followed by Mayor resolution and to present it to the Fisher reading the building in voters in the November election. spector’s report and the public A voice vote of three yeas; no works report. nayes, carried the motion Next on the agenda were Council voted that the city communications with a letter recorder place the resolution on from R.E. Meyer Engineers file for public inspection representative Zen Dutson re Upon payment of the bills, the garding an eight-inch d r a i n meeting was adjourned with the problem between Knott and next regular meeting of the city Juniper. Council asked that he council scheduled for Monday, follow through to the party September 16 at 8 p.m. in the involved Vernonia City Hall. Under unfinished business the new garbage ordinance was signed by the mayor, effective immediately. After discussion c o u n c i l agreeded to follow the state regulations regarding m ilita ry leave for city personnel. Attorney Coon then reported that he had been in touch with the Department of Transporta tion regarding mobile homes vs. modular homes and they had informed him that the seal placed on all mobile homes cannot be tampered with and any attempt to remodel a mobile home to comply with building codes would be impossible, in side or outside. Council then Members of the Vernonia High School Chapter of Future F arm ers of America placed well at the 1974 Oregon State F air with three individual blue ribbons and four blue's awarded the chapter; and ten red. awar'1® (second place) for individuals with the FFA Chapter reaping two reds also. Individuals t a k i n g blue Some Oregon veterans may be awards were Jerry Rumbolz, sawhorse; Rick Rinks, saw due some back m ilita ry pay. A horse; and Chris Cameron, ma federal court recently ruled that a 6.14 percent m ilita ry pay in chine tools. crease which started January 1, Red awards went to Fred 1973. actually was retroactive to Bergerson, large implement tra ile r; Randy Ellson. large im October 1, 1972. The court held plement tra ile r; Fred Berger that the president had illegally withheld a federal pay raise son, all metal u tility tra ile r; during the last three months of Greg Brewer, portable engine 1972 hoist. Scott Ellis, metal gate; H.C. Saalfeld, Director of Vet Dale Webb, metal gun sighting gauge; Jim King, fishing poles erans Affairs in Salem said veterans who were on active and display box; Jerry Rum- Boltz. rung ladder; Rick Rinks, duty during that three-month period should make a back pay rung ladder; and Bob Brooks, claim, in the form of a short floor creeper. The chapter, as a whole, took a letter. Saalfeld said the letter should blue ribbon for wood stepladder; include the applicant’s f u l l small tractor trailer, two fishing name, social security number, poles, and their forestry display m ilita ry service number, rank, booth; and red awards for their large implement trailer and current mailing address, date separated from service, and motor stand. Vernonia placed fourth in the duty station between October 1, 1972 and January 1, 1973. State Ag. Mechanics Contest Depending on the branch in during the state fair with a team which the applicant served, the composed of Terry Buckner, who was overall eight place letter should be sent to: Arm y Finance Support Ag winner; Mike Smiley, overall ency, FINCS-A, Indianapolis, sixth place; and Scott Ellis. Ind 46249 The FFA chapter placed tenth Commanding Officer, Navy out of the 54 chapters displaying in the Oregon Banker display Finance Center, Federal Build ing. Cleveland Ohio 44199 contest. A ir Force Accounting and F in According to their leader, Donald Kabler, former teacher ance Center, AFC 3800 York St., at Vernonia High School, who Denver Colo 80205. Marine Corps Finance Center. retired this past year, only two trailers were sold at the fa ir this Examination Division. Kansas year from the enormous display. City, Mo. 64197. Commandant, U.S. C o a s t One was sold by a Gervais boy for $900 with the other, made by (iuard,G-FFA-2-71, Washington, D C. 20590 Randy Ellson, going for $650 The F a ir w ill give the can didates for State and Federal office from Northwestern Ore gon a chance to meet and talk with the approximately 300-500 handicapped people who are ex pected to attend Deputy reg istrars w ill also be available so that handicapped people can register to vote at the Fair The F air is sponsored by the Oregon Chapter of the National Rehabilitation Association. The Portland Chapter of the League of Women Voters, the Portland Federation of the Council for Exceptional Children, the Ore gon Council of Organizations Serving the Deaf, the Oregon Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, and the Portland Chapter of the Oregon Architectural Bar riers Council. The F air is the first of its kind in Portland. Candidates who w ill speak in clude Robert Knudson, R. can didate for Labor Commissioner; Victor Atiyeh, R Gubernatorial candidate; Jesse Fasold, and Vern Duncan, candidates for Su perintendent of Public Instruc tion; Les AuCoin, D for Con gress First D istrict; Whipple D for State Senate; Craig Berkman R. for State Senate and others. In short speeches, the can didates w ill answer questions submitted to them in advance. The speeches w ill be intersper sed by explanations of the State wide ballot measures, and an explanation of voters registra tion laws and procedures by a representative of the Registrar RUSS V IN E Y A R D couldn’t resist trying out the new Vernonia F ir e Engine following it ’s delivery M onday. The approxim ately 33 foot long w hite machine was built by Western State F ir e Ap paratus in Cornelius. Constructed on a Ford chassis, the vehicle is able to c a rry 1500 gallons of Elections’ office Interpreters for the deaf w ill be provided The candidates as well as various organizations of and for the handicapped w ill also have booths from which to distribute literature The Smith Memorial Center Ball Room is accessible to people in wheelchairs v i a Broadway St. entrance Columbia City Awaits Results On Testing City officials in Columbia City are still waiting for results of a complete analysis their water system following tests taken in August which showed evidence of fecal contamination of the city's water supply. Presently the city is using water from St. Helens. The city is hopeful that an October election for a sewer system program for the com munity w ill be approved so that sewer construction can begin In this way, the council hopes that the concentration of bacteria in the ground from septic tanks and drain fields w ill dissipate to the point that using the city well, located near the Columbia City civic building, would be possible Otherwise it is felt that con sideration w ill be necessary re garding location of another wa ter supply. Watermasler Due Clayton J. Gardner, State Wa- termaster, w ill be on the top floor of the Columbia County Courthouse on Wednesday Sep tember 18, from 10 a m until 3 p.m. to answer any questions pertaining to water rights. of w ater and weighs 35,640 pounds when fu lly loaded w ith w ater. I t has a loud speaker sys tem and an electronic siren, a 530 cubic inch engine which pulls 276 horsepower and cost the city $37,229. Commissioner Recall Set For Election An election to endeavor to recall the Columbia County Commissioners is now certainly with voters slated to cast their ballots Tuesday, October 1 on the matter, following the a rrival at the Columbia County Clerk’s office, of the now, state certified petitions which had been c ir culated throughout the country. Friday, September 6 county clerk Roy Nelson took the pe titions to Salem following 108 hours of work at the clerk’s office to validate signatures The petitions were certified by the state as perfected petitions and signed Monday, September 9 then returned to the clerk’s office Tuesday morning. The three Commissioners, Fred Foshaug, A.J (Jay) Ahl- born. and Jack Minkoff, now have five days in which to re sign, a move they have adamantly stated they w ill not Chamber of Commerce Changes Meet Dale C O N S T R U C T IO N continues on the new bridge being bulU ap p roxim ately a q u a rte r of a m ile past the town of M ist, replacing the one severely dam aged in the January flood. Work on the Richard Ross, anchorman for KGW TV news, w ill moderate a Candidate's F air and Voter Reg istration Drive for the Handi capped Sunday 15 from 1 to 5 p m at the Smith Memorial Center Ball Room, Portland State University Oregon Ve gans N ay Be Due Money i The Chamber ol Commerce has changed its meeting time to the second Tuesday of each month Several of the directors are also volunteer firemen so as to enable them to attend the fire men’s meetings on Monday evening the change was made Bill Crabtree, representing Brunsman's Hardware, was ap pointed to fill a vacancy on the Chamber board Work has begun to repair the Vernonia sign near Staley’s Junction as it was found the oval plywood sign had deteriated to the extent they would need to be replaced New lettering and painting of the whole sign is also planned Candidate's fair Scheduled For Handicapped Sept. 15 steel reinforced concrete structure began approxim ately four weeks ago with completion slated sometime in the near future. consider. If the Commissioners do not resign then an election must be held within 20 days or a total of 25 days in all An interesting sideline to the recall movement, which began last May of this year, is the legal description of how a recall pe tition is put into action. According to Oregon state law, 25 percent of the total votes cast for all candidates for judge of the Supreme Court for that po sition for which the greatest number of votes were cast, are needed to initiate the petition and in order to find out how many signatures were needed referral had to be made at the 1970 ballot, the last tim e voters in Columbia County voted for a Police Form Data System The Law enforcement agen cies in Columbia Counly have joined together to form an in formation sharing group Nam ed the Columbia Law Officers Data Sharing (CLODS), the group was initiated in July of this year in an effort to provide interagency information on crimes and crim inals in an effort to reduce the rising crim e rate They have combined forces and information to aid in the combat of "m obile” crime. The exchange of information and joint cooperation have re sulted in the arrest of at least 14 individuals These arrests cover crimes of narcotics, burglary, theft and auto theft Agencies belonging include the Columbia Counly Sheriffs De partment, Oregon Slate Police, St Helens Police Department, Vernonia Police Department, Rainier Police Department, Clatskanie Police Department, Scappoose Police Department and Investigators working out of the Columbia County D istrict Attorney’s Office. The next meeting of CLODS w ill be hosted by Jack Cun ningham, Chief of Police at Vernonia. judge of the Supreme Court. Therefore a total of 1648 sig natures were needed for each petition. The recall began w ith the forming of a committee who felt that the Commissioners position on CRAG was in violation of the constitution Immunization Survey Set The Bureau of the Census w ill survey a sample of households in this area the week of September 16-20 Io determine (he extent people have been immunized against selected diseases, John E Tharaldson, Director of the Bureau's Regional Office in Seattle, announced September 9. The immunization survey con ducted nationally every year, provides information on immun izalion against measles, influ enza, smallpox, polio, dipthena. whooping cough, tetanus, ru bella, and mumps This infor mation is needed for admin istration of health programs geared Io disease prevention These health questions are in addition to the usual ones asked in the monthly survey on em ployment and unemployment conducted nationwide by the Bureau for the U.S Department of Labor. Results of the monthly em ployment survey provide data on conditions in the labor force, prime indicators of the economic health ol the country. For ex ample. the Nation's unemploy ment rate was 5.3 percent in July; it was 5.2 percent in the previous two months and had held in the 5.0 and 5.2 percent range since-the beginning of the year Total employment was 86.3 m illion in July, essentially un changed from June but up by 500.000 since April Information supplied by in dividuals participating in the survey is held confidential by law and is used only lo compile statistical totals. Census Bureau interviewers who w ill visit in this area is Nancy Autio, Astoria. Ore