Columbia Arts Guild’s Spring into Art Show
St. Helens High School’s State Champ
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Chronicle & Chief THE COLUMBIA COUNTY
Wednesday, March 27, 2024 | Columbia County, Oregon
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Modernizing Oregon’s stalking laws WILL LOHRE
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he Oregon House and Senate have passed a bill that seeks to modernize Oregon’s stalking laws and offer victims protection from technology not previously accounted for when the state’s stalking laws were first written. House Bill 4156 currently awaits Governor Tina Kotek’s signature and will take effect July 1, 2024. While the bill was a topic of discussion in Salem, the motivation to modernize the law comes in part due to the work of local St. Helens Police Detective Sergeant Matt Smith. Smith said his involvement with the bill started with a local case. “It started with a case here in St. Helens involving a victim who called in to report that she believed she was being tracked somehow, that she was being stalked by her ex-boyfriend. He was showing up at locations where he conceivably could not have known where she was unless he was somehow tracking her,” Smith said. An inspection at a local auto shop revealed that there were, in fact, four hidden GPS trackers on her car. Smith said what made the case “tricky” was that despite the fact they suspected she was being tracked, under Oregon law, there was nothing that defined the activity as stalking.
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Detective Matt Smith.
“What I noticed when I pulled up the stalking statute, which I’ve used over my 20-year career many times, by the definitions of this bill, that’s not stalking,” Smith said. “It seems like it’s common sense, but this stalking statute was written over 25 years ago.”
Smith said that Representative Kevin Mannix, who originally wrote the stalking bill, was on board with updating the bill because, as Mannix put it, “I wrote this bill in the age of fax machines, not in the age of the smart phone.” Representative Susan McLain was also an
early supporter of the bill. Smith found another need to modernize the stalking laws when he heard the experience of Amber Rosenberry, a friend he went to school with. Rosenberry is 2024’s International Ms. Oregon, but she underwent a harrowing stalking experience. “It’s not something I would have been aware of if it hadn’t happened to me. I experienced extreme stalking behavior,” Rosenberry said. “It was very hard to be hearing from the folks I was turning to for help that there was nothing there could do, to hear that until I was assaulted or killed, there was very little that they could do.” Smith and Rosenberry met at a Starbucks to discuss issues with stalking statutes and decided that the problem was the law. Smith said that the issue was that the law “didn’t capture all the conduct that’s going on with women across the state.” In Smith’s St. Helens stalking case, Smith said the harassment escalated after the discovery of the GPS trackers on the victim’s car. The stalker obtained explicit images of the victim and threatened Smith to release them if the investigation was not ceased. Again, Smith said that under the old law, this type of behavior is not technically stalking. “One of the things that I felt was really problematic is we’re having to do some really creative interpre-
tations of state law for something that should already be a crime,” Smith said. “Amber was someone who keyed me in on this, too; she said it’s not just stalking victims. If you have vulnerable women who are engaging in high-risk lifestyles, like, for instance, they’re trying to escape prostitution; they’re trying to escape human trafficking, the people who are trying to induce them into that lifestyle and threaten them are using a lot of the same actions.” Getting accountability Messaging, threats, and the release of nude images are just some examples of things that were not covered in the previous stalking law. The new stalking bill redefines “contact” to include electronic communications and contact. It also expands the definition of stalking to include acts like the unlawful application of GPS to cars. “We were trying to figure out all these ways that suspects terrorize and track their victims, which were not covered under the original bill,” Smith said. “As you see with the final result, that’s the reason why certain sections are included: to bring the bill up to reflect how modern suspects are committing modern crimes.” Rosenberry said that the lack See STALKING, Page A6
Construction could impact 13 Nights WILL LOHRE
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he 13 Nights on the River concert series may be hosted elsewhere in St. Helens this year, as multiple construction projects downtown give rise to parking, safety, and construction impact concerns. Mayor Rick Scholl raised the issue during the council work session on March 20 in discussion with the city’s contracted event coordinator, Tina Curry of E2C Corp. Scholl said that due to multiple city and county construction projects, it may not be viable to hold 13 Nights downtown. Curry said that the plaza would not be being used and that it would be her “choice” of venue. One proposed alternative option by the city is McCormick Park. Curry said there are operational issues with McCormick Park, including permitting, fencing, lack of power, vendor control, security, limited parking, stage location, and lack of space for dancing. Curry said there could be problems with syntax in the contract and that concerts in McCormick
Park haven’t been “well attended.” Curry also mentioned concern about not holding 13 Nights downtown because the number of people who walk to the event outnumbers the number who drive. “The walkers far exceed the drivers. We only know that because we keep track of the cars that park down here when we have free parking,” Curry said. “Probably 70 percent walk.” During public comment, multiple citizens spoke in opposition to moving the event out of downtown because of the money the series generates for businesses. During the discussion, Councilor Jessica Chilton emphasized that the council wants to explore options to keep the event downtown with the business owners in mind. After hearing Curry’s explanation of how the event could be held in the plaza, Councilor Mark Gundersen said he thought the idea was “workable.” Councilor Russ Hubbard said the safety of the community is important and refuted the notion that
See CONSTRUCTION, Page A7
COURTESY PHOTO FROM ARIC RASCHDORF
Dance band Hit Machine playing in 2023.
Kindergartners receive first books WILL LOHRE
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Kids showing off their new books at Lewis and Clark Elementary.
IN THIS ISSUE Police Reports .............. A3 Opinion .......................... A4 Obituaries ...................... A5 Market ............................ A6 Public Notices .............. A7 Games & Puzzles .......... A8 Crossword .................... A9 Sports .......................... A10
indergartners around the area are receiving their “first” books, courtesy of St. Helens Noon Kiwanis Club. On March 13 and 14, Kiwanis members Bill and Claudia Eagle, Hayley Starkey, along with the St. Helens High School Key Club President Kaitlyn McKinney gave books to all kindergarten kids at McBride and Lewis and Clark elementary schools. Claudia Eagle began the program more than 15 years ago, and she and her husband, Bill, say that helping children is the number one priority for Kiwanis. “I remember the first time we did it. I gave this book to [a girl] and she says, ‘I can take it home?
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I don’t have to bring it back?’ and [she got] this big grin on her face,” Claudia Eagle said. Getting their first book was a similar experience for kids at Lewis and Clark Elementary. As the kids picked up their books, it was hard for them to contain their excitement. Bill Eagle emphasized that early reading is important, and that’s why Kiwanis got involved with helping establish the Dolly Parton Imagination Library for the entire county. “We still have children in our own community that don’t have books of their very own, that don’t read books, that there aren’t any books in their home,” Bill Eagle said. “People don’t realize the importance of books and early reading for literacy.” Claudia Eagle started the pro-
gram when she was teaching and was shocked to see students without books of their very own. Claudia began the program with her own resources because the Kiwanis Club didn’t have the budget to purchase books for the kids. After two years of Claudia trying, on her own, to raise money, the club decided to budget for books and pay for the entire project. This year, a welcome change was that many of the books were donated by the St. Helens High School Key Club. Bill Eagle said he was delighted with their contribution, and Claudia said it was a big relief. The books were collected books through a class competition last year. McKinney said that a lot of See KINDERGARTNERS, Page A10
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