Salute to the
U.S. Coast Guard Published by Country Media, Inc.
The Chief
Salute to the U.S. Coast Guard
Sand Island Sandcastles Page A8
INSIDE
The Chronicle
$1.50
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
thechronicleonline.com
Serving Columbia County since 1881
Three dead in Scappoose house fire WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
T
hree people have died in a house fire in the 26000 block of NW St. Helens Road in Scappoose, according to Scappoose Fire. At approximately 3:30 a.m. Aug., 6, Scappoose Fire responded to a residential fire in an unincorporated part of Scappoose. Cade Greenup is a Division Chief with Scappoose Fire, and was the Incident Commander at the scene of the fire.
They found a very large working fire. ~ Cade Greenup, Scappoose Fire
“For a residential fire, our initial response, as usual, out of the first main station is an engine and a water tender, and then it follows up as other folks come into the station with more units,” Greenup said. “Obviously, when they got to the scene, they found a very large
working fire.” As firefighters arrived at the scene, they found the residence 75% involved. As the firefighters began the fire attack, they were alerted that victims were still in a back bedroom. “There was a family that lived in the house, and then the grandparents lived in a trailer that was also on site. They’re the ones that initially called 911,” Greenup said. “I think the grandfather was out trying to gain access to the structure, to try to get the family members out, when the first arriving engine pulled up.” Unable to enter the structure through normal entry points, firefighters broke a window in the bedroom and removed two people and a pet. While they were able to get two of the victims out of the house, one could not be retrieved from the building. Life-saving measures for the two victims were attempted by medics from Columbia River Fire & Rescue (CRFR) and American Medical Response (AMR) but to no avail. The family dog and three victims all perished, but the identities of the victims have not been released at this time. The cause of the fire is still
Courtesy photo from Scappoose Fire
Investigators on site were still searching for the cause of the deadly fire at press time.
under investigation, with investigators paying visits to the site through the early part of the week. Investigators are yet to determine the area of the house where the fire started. The fire is under investigation by members from the Columbia
County Fire Investigation Team, Oregon State Police, and Oregon State Fire Marshal’s office. Responding agencies included CRFR responded with a Battalion Chief, medic, and engine. Portland Fire & Rescue responded with a Battalion Chief, engine, and water
tender. Oregon Department of Forestry responded with a Chief Officer and engine. AMR, Columbia 911 Communications District (CCOM), Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office aided in the response.
Family of Sarah Zuber awaiting answers WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
I
n the ongoing saga that has been the investigation of the death of Sarah Zuber, her family and their team anxiously await the findings of the reopened investigation into her suspicious death. On March 13, 2019, Sarah Zuber’s body was found by her sister Katie Zuber, on the side of Neer City Road in Rainier, less than 400 feet from her home. After an investigation by a major crimes team, Oregon State Medical Examiner Rebecca Millius ruled that the death was accidental and caused by “combined deterious effects of acute ethanol (beverage alcohol) intoxication and hypothermia due to exposure.” From the moment that the conclusion was delivered, the Zuber family has had serious concerns about the investigation that was undertaken. The Justice For Sarah Zuber Facebook page, a page created to bring awareness to the ongoing plight of the family, now has more than 2,000 followers. Former Columbia County District Attorney Jeff Auxier stated to the Chronicle in early February that he believed the original outcome of the case was correct. Still, because of rising public interest in the case,
the investigation was reopened and turned over to the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ). In a letter issued to Columbia County media outlets in October of 2022, Rebecca Zuber outlined that the family had reservations about the findings of the investigation and how the investigation was handled. “From the beginning, Sarah’s suspicious death investigation was handled incompetently,” the letter read. “Because no trained special investigative crime team is available in Columbia County, Sarah’s case suffered a plethora of mishaps, missed opportunities, miscommunication, half-completed interviews and lost evidence.” Under review Zuber family spokesperson Jennifer Massey and Zuber family attorney Erica Tatoian spoke with the Chronicle to provide an update on where the case currently stands since it has been turned over to the DOJ and Assistant Attorney General Kurt Miller (AAG). Currently, the family and its team are waiting for a report from the AAG. “In light of DA Auxier’s resignation, I reached out to make sure it was still on [the AAG]’s radar, that nothing is going to change because of that; it was confirmed
Will Lohre / Country Media, Inc.
Community members gather beneath a rainbow at Rainier City Park during the candlelight vigil for Sarah Zuber, March 13.
that we are still going to get a report at some point,” Tatoian said. “They’re basically looking at what Columbia County did or didn’t do. And they’re going to see if there needs to be new levels of inquiry made, if there needs to be further
investigation, or maybe they’ll say things were done correctly or good enough.” The Zuber’s representatives say that some of the new information the AAG is reviewing comes from the Justice for Sarah Zuber team.
Representatives for the Zubers met with special agents, and the input they gave to the agents challenged the conclusion that Sarah Zuber’s
See ZUBER Page A5
County Fair plant sale raises record funds WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
T
he 2023 Columbia County Fair and Rodeo has come and gone, but the proceeds from its annual plant sale will help support the fair and fairgrounds for months to come. The annual plant sale features a beautiful variety of flowers and plants
News and Views ...... A4 Poll ............................ A4 Obituaries ................. A5 Classified Ads ......... A6 Legals ....................... A7 Sandcastles ........... A8 Crossword ............... A8
Vol. 141, No. 33
grown by Means Nursery in Scappoose, and the proceeds go directly back into supporting the fair and its programs. Plant sale at the fair
Debbie Ritthaler helps facilitate the plant sale, and this year, the plant sale raised $60,805. The plant sale was originally started in 2008, and Ritthaler said that this year was the most money the sale has ever raised. Ritthaler explained how and why Means Nursery began the sale. “To help the youth and different programs in the fairgrounds,” Ritthaler said. “Gina and Jim Means had kids in the 4-H program, and so they wanted to find a way to help the fair and different programs at the fair, and so they came up with this idea, they’re the ones who own Means Nursery.” Means Nursery supplies all of the flowers and plants for sale and specially grows and prices each of the items. Putting on the sale takes a lot of time and effort, and the sale has only expanded over the years. “It is priced, sometimes half or even less what they charge in retail, and they bring it out, help us set it up, and sometimes even restock stuff for us,” Ritthaler said. “We have to get so many volunteers; now it’s turned into a two-week sale; it used to be a
Courtesy photo from Debbie Ritthaler
The plant sale at the Columbia County Fair raised more than $60,000 this year.
five-day sale. But when COVID hit, there was no fair in 2020, so we just did the plant sale, and it started this whole thing where we have the plant sale the week before, and then we continue it the week of fair.” Ritthaler said that putting on the sale takes a lot of teamwork. Ritthaler works part-time at Means Nursery, but she said that when the plants arrive for sale, she doesn’t know what inventory she’ll have until the plants are rolling up on the truck. This year there were four semitrucks and two box trucks full of plants on donation day. Over the full
two weeks, Ritthaler said there are about 40 volunteers between the fair and plant sale staff. To help unload the plants, Ritthaler said there were about 20 people there to help unload and set up. When the sale starts, people flock to the sale to get their favorite items. The most popular item is usually the hanging baskets, which come at a major discount from the retail price. “The first day of the sale, everyone and their mother comes out, and their grandmother and their grandfather; it’s crazy,” Ritthaler said. “Up until this year, the hanging baskets
have always been $10, and that’s always been the big draw. This is the first year that they’ve had to raise the prices on the hanging baskets, but you know what? It didn’t slow them down one bit. We still sold every hanging basket we had out there, and we had hundreds!” Ritthaler said that during the pandemic, the plant sale “exploded” in popularity. Ritthaler said that a lot of people found a passion for gardening as they were stuck at home, and the
See FUNDRAISER Page A3