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Wednesday, February 1, 2023
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Police seek public help in solving Walmart theft cases JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.
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t. Helens Police are hopeful photos and Facebook entries will help lead to suspects involved in two separate theft cases at the St. Helens Walmart, 2295 Gable Road. Both cases occurred in December and both involved suspects filling carts full of merchandise and leaving with the items without paying, according to police. In both cases, the suspects were seen on video and photo surveillance at the store site. In the most recent case, Dec. 21, the surveillance images show two women unloading the items taken from the store and placing them in a vehicle in the store parking lot. The theft occurred at approximately 9:41 p.m. Store employees reported that two women pushed two carts full of stolen merchandise out of the store. They loaded the stolen merchandise, including a television, into a waiting vehicle and fled the scene toward Highway
30. The vehicle is described as a new blue Toyota SUV with no plates. It was being driven by a third suspect. The first theft took place on Monday, Dec. 12, at approximately 10:55 p.m. at the St. Helens Walmart. According to St. Helens Police, two male and two female suspects left the store with three shopping carts filled with stolen merchandise. One of the male suspects was seen on security footage pushing an employee out of his way when the suspects were confronted by staff as they left the store. The suspects fled the scene prior to police arrival in a blue Chevy Suburban towing a trailer. An area check was conducted, but police were unable to locate the vehicle. Both Walmart theft cases are still active and have yet to be solved, according to St. Helens Communication Officer Crystal King.
Courtesy photo from St. Helens Police
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This photo shows the two theft suspects loading merchandise into their vehicle outside the St. Helens Walmart Dec. 21.
Governor presents $130M homelessness plan Coordinate emergency response
STAFF REPORT Country Media, Inc.
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regon Gov. Tina Kotek has announced details of her urgent request to state lawmakers to invest $130 million toward reducing the number of unsheltered Oregonians in 2023.
Bold ideas, concrete solutions, disciplined follow through. That’s how we can deliver results, this year, and in the years to follow. ~ Tina Kotek, Oregon Governor
There are approximately 18,000 Oregonians experiencing homelessness in Oregon, and approximately 11,000 of those households are unsheltered, according to a release from Kotek’s office. The governor’s investment request has been paired with a statewide emergency order declaring a Homelessness State of Emergency, signed Jan. 10, during Kotek’s first full day in office. The spending plan The spending package will aim to provide immediate relief to at least 1,200 unsheltered Oregonians, prevent nearly 9,000 households from becoming homeless, expand the state’s shelter capacity
The spending package is designed to provide immediate relief to at least 1,200 unsheltered Oregonians.
by 600 new beds, increase sanitation services, and ensure a coordinated, equitable response to the homelessness emergency. The package will invest in both statewide strategies as well as focused investments to reduce unsheltered homelessness in emergency areas. Kotek said she has had preliminary conversations with legislative leaders and looks forward to working with them to finalize the package. The Governor’s initial proposal includes the following elements: Prevent vulnerable households from becoming homeless $33.6 million to prevent 8,750
households from becoming homeless by funding rent assistance and other eviction prevention services. Add shelter beds and housing navigators $23.8 million to add 600 lowbarrier shelter beds statewide and hire more housing navigators to ensure unsheltered Oregonians can get connected to the shelter and services they need. Rehouse unsheltered households $54.4 million to rehouse at least 1,200 unsheltered households by funding prepaid rental assistance, block leasing at least 600 vacant homes, landlord guarantees
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and incentives, and other re-housing services. Support Oregon tribes $5 million to support emergency response directly to the nine sovereign tribes in the State of Oregon. Ensure equitable outcomes $5 million to increase capacity for culturally responsive organizations to support equitable outcomes of the homelessness state of emergency. Support local sanitation services $2 million to support local communities for sanitation services.
$1.8 million to support the emergency response being coordinated by the Office of Emergency Management and Oregon Housing and Community Services. Kotek said these urgent investments will address the homelessness emergency facing communities across Oregon today, but it is only one piece of the larger strategy required to address this humanitarian crisis. The Governor’s recommended budget builds on these targeted investments to ensure that the state is reducing homelessness and providing resources to address this issue in every corner of Oregon, according to the release. Oregon must simultaneously address its lack of affordable housing, according to Kotek. That will take local, state, federal, nonprofit, and private sectors working together to make progress towards an ambitious statewide housing production target of 36,000 homes per year—an 80 percent increase over recent construction trends, the release states. “I am urging the legislature to take up this investment package as quickly as possible,” Kotek said. “Unsheltered Oregonians need relief now, and our local communities need the support to provide that relief. This is only the first step. Together, we can act with the urgency people across our state are demanding. Bold ideas, concrete solutions, disciplined follow through. That’s how we can deliver results, this year, and in the years to follow.” Follow this developing story at thechronicleonline.com and in the Wednesday print editions of The Chronicle.
Officials issue skin cream product warning Opinion ..................... A4 Poll ............................ A4 Community Calendar A4
Obituaries ................. A5 Classified Ads ......... A6 Crossword ............... A6 Legals ....................... A7 Sports ..................... A10
Vol. 141, No. 5
STAFF REPORT Country Media, Inc.
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igh levels of lead have been found in two tubes of a skin cream known as Diep Bao that’s advertised as treatment for eczema in young children. State and local health officials are warning parents to avoid using the product while its safety is investigated. Two Portland-area children were recently found to have elevated blood lead levels. The children, one in Washington County and one in Multnomah County, are both younger than a year old. The investigations During investigations by state and local lead experts, parents of the children pointed to Diep Bao as the product they recently used on their babies’ faces to treat eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, a condition common in young
children that causes dry, itchy and inflamed skin. Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA) Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Coordinator Ryan Barker said laboratory tests on samples of the product provided by the families showed the product in the Washington County case contained 9,670 parts per million (ppm) lead, while the Multnomah County sample contained 7,370 ppm lead. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been alerted and is investigating. Only the two tubes of the cream have been tested so far, so whether lead is present in other tubes of Diep Bao is still being investigated. Diep Bao is promoted primarily by online retailers in Singapore and Vietnam, with one seller advertising it as “a cream that supports skin problems such as eczema, heat rash, rash, redness, dry chapped skin, skin care, skin cooling, skin healing.” Health investigators say the product is manufactured in Vietnam.
OHA, Washington County Public Health and the Multnomah County Health Department are jointly investigating the cases. They are asking families who have the product to avoid using it while its safety is investigated. What parents can do Parents can help the investigation by providing tubes of Diep Bao in their possession to investigators so the product can be tested. They also are asking parents to learn about the risks of exposure to other lead-tainted products and make sure children’s blood levels are tested if they have been exposed to them. “We are concerned this product caused or significantly contributed to the elevated blood lead levels in these children,” Barker said. “Any product containing high lead levels should be considered extremely
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Courtesy photo from the OHA
State and local health officials are warning parents to avoid using the product while its safety is investigated.