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Wednesday, March 22, 2023
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If I Were Mayor winners announced JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.
The St. Helens City Council has announced the winners of the 2023 If I Were Mayor Student Contest. The If I Were Mayor Student Contest is an annual contest held in partnership with the Oregon Mayors Association (OMA). The city was pleased to receive a record number of entries this year. There were 12 poster submittals for grades 4-5, two essay submittals for grades 6-8, and 23 digital presentations for grades 9-12, representing a total of 42 student participants. In the 4th to 5th grade poster category, Japhy McMartin (5th grade) won first place and Kali Ann Dovel (4th grade) took second place. In the 6th to 8th grade essay category, Brooke Van Arsdall (7th grade) won first place and Luke De Roia (7th grade) took second place. In the 9th to 12th grade digital presentation category, Montan Reading (12th grade) won first
place and Cinobia Arceneaux (12th grade) won second place. First place winners received $150 cash and second place winners received $50 cash. All participants are invited to a lunch with Mayor Rick Scholl and other city staff to talk about their ideas and to learn more about how local government works. First place winning entries from the St. Helens contest will be sent to the state competition for a chance to win a prize worth $500. Students addressed a number of issues in their submissions, including creating safe bicycle lanes and a pedestrian bridge over the highway, cleaning the Columbia River, promoting recycling, supporting houseless individuals, combating the rising cost of living through job creation, and increasing substance abuse and addiction services. The If I Were Mayor student contest is an annual contest held in partnership with the Oregon Mayors Association (OMA) as a way to encourage engagement by local youth with the city.
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2023 If I Were Mayor Student Contest participants and winners from left to right, Kali Ann Dovel, Japhy McMartin, St. Helens Mayor Rick Scholl, Lilly De Roia, and Luke De Roia.
Mass casualty impact, recovery preparedness WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
In 2023, there have already been 9,169 total gun violence deaths in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive. According to the source, there have already been 117 mass shootings and 11 mass murders committed with firearms this year. A mass shooting is characterized as having “a minimum of four victims shot, either injured or killed, not including any shooter who may also have been killed or injured in the incident,” according to the Gun Violence Archive. A mass murder is classified as an incident where four or more people are killed. The Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) has launched a 9-part Mass Casualty Impact and Recovery virtual seminar series. The program is the result of federal, state, and private sector partnerships aimed at raising awareness and increasing knowledge for companies and organizations about the impact and recovery of an active shooter or other mass casualty events. To understand how Columbia County’s preparedness for an active shooter scenario, the Chronicle contacted the Columbia County Emergency Management team, St. Helens city officials, and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. (CCSO). “The county’s active shooter preparedness has several facets,”
Jeremy C. Ruark / Country Media, Inc.
Law enforcement agencies conduct active shooter training, such as this one, to be prepared for such events.
Columbia County Public Information Officer Mark Pacheco said. “The county requires that its employees complete Active Shooter Training every two years. The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office staff will provide the county’s training sessions this year.” In October of 2022, the St. Helens Police Department sent one of its officers to a 40-hour active shooter response training program, Communications Officer for St.
Helens Crytal King said. “The program is nationally recognized by the FBI and the curriculum is the adopted standard of several states and major cities across the United States,” King said. “The training our St. Helens officer received will now be used to train our other officers in the curriculum standards.” Last year, the CCSO hosted a nationally accredited “Train the Trainer” course for active shooter
response. Several agencies in Columbia County, as well as others from across the country, attended this class. Since then, CCSO trainers have taught classes throughout Columbia County, including at the City of St. Helens and the St. Helens School District, according to Pacheco. In addition to training, the Columbia County Emergency Management Department has also instated an Incident Preparedness
Plan (IPP) to better define the county’s responses during all hazards, according to Pacheco. A Reunification Plan, which could be necessary after a mass shooting event, will be included in the upcoming Mass Care Plan per the IPP. While prevention and preparedness are critical to handling active shooter and mass shooting incidents, collaboration across agencies is vital to best handle these incidents. On the county level, CCSO is working with several local fire districts on response planning for active shooter situations. In addition, CCSO is partnering with city and county agencies to provide Active Shooter Preparedness Training. “The EM Department has monthly meetings with county commissioners, local city management, CCSO, Fire Districts, and 9-1-1 Communications to maintain the close working relationships critical to emergency response,” Pacheco said. For St. Helens, the St. Helens Police Department, the City of St. Helens, and the St. Helens City Council are working to ensure the safety of the city and are collaborating with other agencies and community partners. “After 9/11, national response protocols were developed at the federal level using a universal Incident Command System (ICS). This standardized response system is now used by all agencies across the
See SHOOTINGS Page A10
Man sexually abuses 8-year-old girl, shoots father, sentenced WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
A Clackamas man convicted of 20 criminal counts, included Attempted Murder and Sexual Abuse, has been sentenced to 46 years in prison.
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Vol. 141, No. 13
Adam Fleming was convicted Dec. 8, 2022, of two counts of Attempted Murder, two counts of Tampering with a Witness, Sodomy in the First Degree, and Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, among other criminal charges. “We are comforted by the fact that Mr. Fleming is somewhere where he can no longer victimize anyone, and this couldn’t have happened without the bravery of his 8-year-old victim and her family,” Columbia County Chief Deputy District Attorney Kristen Hoffmeyer said following the sentencing March 17 by Columbia Country Circuit Court Judge Michael Clark. The trial was handled by Hoffmeyer and Deputy District Attorney Mihnea Moga. According to court records, on July 2, 2019, Fleming was confronted by his friend and roommate about sexual abuse perpetrated by Fleming against his 8-year-old daughter. Upon confrontation, Fleming pulled out a pistol and shot the girl’s father three times. Fleming also shot a second roommate in the shoulder as the roommate attempted to escape. Fleming fled the scene. Upon regaining consciousness, the father asked his daughter to call 911. Eight days later, Fleming was apprehended with the help of the U.S. Marshals
firearm. “The professionalism and diligence of the St. Helens Police Department resulted in this outcome that will protect the community from Mr. Fleming for 46 years,” District Attorney Auxier said. Recounting the dark events of July 2
Adam Fleming
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Service in a homeless camp in Sacramento, California. Fleming was indicted July 30, 2019 on seven counts of Attempted Aggravated Murder with a Firearm, three counts of Attempted Murder with a Firearm, one count of Assault in the first degree with a firearm, one count of Attempted Assault in the first degree with a firearm, one count of Assault in the second degree with a firearm, three counts of Unlawful Use of a Weapon with a Firearm, one count of Sodomy in the first degree, one count of Sexual Abuse in the first degree, and three counts of Tampering with a Witness with a
In the Chronicle’s original reporting of this event in August 2019, we spoke with a family member of the girl’s father, who was shot three times in both legs and the stomach on the night of the shooting. The Chronicle has agreed to leave out the family member’s name to protect his identity and that of the victims. He said the incident began when the little girl approached her father’s roommate with allegations of sexual abuse from Fleming. The family member said both the father and the roommate, who was ultimately shot in the arm that night, confronted Fleming about the allegations to discuss what had happened and what was said. “[The girl’s father] said [Fleming] got really calm, let them get what they had to say off their chest towards him, pulled out a gun, pointed it at them and said, ‘Okay,
well now I’m going to have to kill you all,’” the family member said. According to the family member, Fleming then said, “Sorry, I love you,” and shot the roommate in the arm. The girl’s father tried to attack Fleming to buy time to reach his own firearm, which resulted in his first gunshot wound to one of his legs, the family member said. The father got up and went for his shotgun to defend himself and was shot two more times on the stairs. “[The father] said in the moment he pointed the gun, [Fleming’s] face completely changed from what it would normally be to something he’d never seen before,” the family member said. “A part of him that just shut off all human emotion.” Fleming left the residence after shooting the father for a third time. “[The father] said he remembered seeing the barrel of the gun, assuming it was aimed at his head, and thought that was it for him but he was trying to stick around for his daughter to make sure she was okay. He kept trying to talk to himself, so he knew he was still conscious for her.” The family member said both of
See FLEMING Page A2