Flu concern
Gardening landscape
Page A3
Page A8
$1.50
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
thechronicleonline.com
Serving Columbia County since 1881
9-1-1 Communication system, work in progress The District decided to diversify this pathway which is in essence building two separate microwave systems tied to together and separated on the towers at different elevations in order for the smart system to find the best pathway in milliseconds switching back and forth to maintain the best path. This project cost $248,623.00. This project is complete and has proven to be highly successful in that the District and its users have not experienced any instances of signal fade or signal loss since the conclusion of the project.
JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
In Nov. 2021, The Chronicle published details of a long-term process to replace the Columbia 9-1-1 Communication District’s 20year old aging radio system. The system utilizes 12 land towers anchored in various points across Columbia County and two towers in Washington state. But over the years, the ability of the system to effectively support emergency communications between law enforcement, fire and ambulance first responders continues to deteriorate. “We have the ability to dispatch, but once they get on the road they can encounter poor or no radio coverage,” Columbia 9-1-1 Communication District Executive Director Mike Fletcher told The Chronicle in the Nov. 2021 report. “The equipment is failing and needs to be replaced. The parts that are failing aren’t made anymore, so we literally have to find replacement parts online to keep it going.” The Chronicle has reached out to Fletcher to find out what has happened with the system improvements over the past year and what’s next. The Chronicle: In a brief summary, over the past year, has the communication system gotten worse, and what has been accomplished to resolve the Columbia County radio transmission issues? Mike Fletcher: The current radio system is still getting older by the day. While we do have on occasion, some problems that present themselves, we do our best to make immediate repairs to address them. We continue to provide preventive maintenance checks with all of the 911 district owned equipment on a monthly basis. We are also making system improvements to the current system that will be 100% transferable to any new system the District chooses
Phase 2
Courtesy photo
Work continues to upgrade the Columbia 9-1-1 Communication District radio system.
to move to. A breakdown of these improvements are as follows: • The District contracts with Day Wireless to conduct monthly PMs (preventive maintenance) at each of our sites. • This is a quarterly expenditure of $15,606.39 and an annual expenditure of $62,425.00. This does not include any service callouts as exampled above or parts and materials or labor for service calls. (Microwave Backhaul) – Knowing that the microwave system is agnostic regarding what it transports and on what frequency band as well as that regardless of what new radio system is selected, the MW system
would need to be replaced as part of the overall project. Phase 1 Starting in the spring of 2019 the District embarked on a multi-phase project to upgrade this portion of our LMR system. 2019 saw the most complicated portion of the project. Clatskanie to Green Mountain. This pathway runs from the peak of Clatskanie Mountain located at 2,100’ to Green Mountain located above Kalama, Washington at 1,965’ and a pathway of 25 miles. This pathway has historically experienced many problems due to atmospheric conditions (fog, smoke, snow, freezing rain and the Columbia river reflection).
The second phase of the MW upgrades began late winter 2021. A new MW path was rebuilt between Clatskanie Mountain and Columbia Heights above Longview, Washington, and represents a 19-mile transmission. Due to all things COVID, this project is not yet complete. All new radios, routers and switches are in place and fully operational. We are waiting on the new antennas and waveguides. This investment cost the District $254,321.00. Phase 3 At its August meeting, the Board approved the third phase of this project. This portion of the upgrade project is broken down into two parts. Existing Sites: • New MW equipment and pathways between Dispatch and Green Mountain. This represents a 13-mile path. • New equipment and pathway between Clatskanie Mtn and Corey Hill (Vernonia) a 15-mile path. New Site: • The new MW equipment for the rebuild of the Meissner site to Clatskanie Mountain 16- mile pathway.
• These three new builds represent an investment of $736,545.00. Meissner Site:
At the onset of the COVID pandemic, the 911 District began the process to completely rebuild this legacy radio site. In cooperation with the Oregon Department of Forestry, the District completed all site planning and engineering work and applied for all county permits. Due to COVID restrictions, the forward progress of this project was severely hampered. Spring of 2022 saw the process regain significant forward progress. An RFP for the civil construction of this site was published and as of the week of June 6th an award was made to the successful bidder. Civil construction commences September of 2022. Another investment of $454,400.00 on top of the already $100,000 spent on the planning and engineering of this rebuild is committed to. The Chronicle: A KOIN-TV News report suggested that the 911 board would hire a technology expert to guide the next process. What specifically is the technology expert expected to determine? Fletcher: I need to meet with the Personnel Committee (made up of two Board members and the CFO and myself) to determine what the Board is seeking. This can be different things based on what “mission” they seek. Examples could be. • A person to “manage” our current system (maintenance, system oversight, point person for the user agencies etc.) • A system engineer, to help design a new system + to act as author for any future RFP to purchase / build a new system and manage / project manager of the eventual build out of a new system.
See COMMUNICATION Page A3
Dozens of victims, police search for suspect HERB SWETT chronicle1@countrymedia.net
St. Helens Police are asking for public help after receiving calls from citizens reporting numerious vehicles that have been damaged by screws lodged in tires in the St. Helens area. Witnesses have reported seeing an individual throwing screws onto the area of Highway 30 and Gable Road, according to St. Helens Police. “Our detectives are working with local businesses to identify
an accurate timeline of when these incidents started.” St. Helens Communication Officer Crystal King said. “Based on our current information, there has been an increase in tire damage from screws for approximately one month.” King said that according to the local Les Schwab Tire Center, approximately 130 vehicles have been affected in just the last few days. Robert Engelen, manager of the local Les Schwab Tire Center, said there had been a great increase in flat tire repairs in the past week, about 20 to 30 per day. Engelen
said that ordinary flats are fixed at no charge but that repair of a screwdamaged tire costs $20. Asked Friday, Sept. 16, about any trend in such incidents, Engelen told The Chronicle,“It’s just been the same. It started to slow down a bit yesterday, but now there are more.” Police had not identified any suspect by Sept. 20. King said the detectives are asking anyone who has seen someone throwing suspicious items onto a street to call Detective Gaston or Detective Smith at 503-397-1521.
Metro Creative Connection
Witnesses report seeing a suspect throwing screws onto the roadway in St. Helens.
The Big Halloween Parade in St. Helens HERB SWETT chronicle1@countrymedia.net JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
Opinion ..................... A4 Poll ............................ A4 Community Calendar A4
Obituaries ................. A5 Classified Ads ......... A6 Crossword ............... A6 Legals ....................... A7 Sports ..................... A8
Vol. 140, No. 38
The Big Halloween Parade, a key feature of this year’s Spirit of Halloweentown, begins at 6 p.m. Oct. 1 after a COVID-caused two-year pause. The parade will start at Columbia Boulevard and Milton Way and head down Columbia to First Street and will end at the riverfront. Heather Epperly, Jenn Buehler, and Betsy Stephens have organized the 2022 version. “We have a variety of entrants for the parade, they three said. The Big Halloween Parade includes Grand Marshal Carl Lewallen, a stilt walker who will lead the parade. Approximately 50 parade entrants are signed up, including detailed floats, law enforcement vehicles, the Theatre of Horror, and local businesses are also participating. History Epperly, Buehler, and Stephens stepped up as organizers after they discovered the parade was being discontinued in 2018. The three reorganized the parade and moved it from an afternoon to an early evening event to enhance public convenience and participation. The evening schedule was well received, with an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 spectators for the parade and pumpkin lighting.
The pumpkin lighting takes place at Plaza Square in the Riverfront District of St. Helens following the parade. An award ceremony is also scheduled that evening in Plaza Square. First-, second-, and third-place trophies will be handed out for most original, spookiest, and best theme as well as a judges’ choice and a parade committee choice. “We believe this year more than ever,” the organizers said in a joint statement, “this is a great opportunity for our community to enjoy some Halloween fun. We are excited to see everyone elevating their entries to a whole new level. We believe this year, the crowd will get to experience some truly remarkable entries.” The 2022 parade sponsors include The Heather Epperly Agency, Inc. featuring American Family Insurance and Rocket Mortgage, Re/Max Lea Chitwood, Molly’s Market, Sweet Relief, Paulson’s Printing, Christina’s Chest, John L Scott, Crooked Creek Brewery and Hudson Garbage. Due to the pandemic, The Big Halloween Parade was canceled for two years, in 2021, organizers conducted the Columbia Boulevard Trick-or-Treat, a partnership with
See PARADE Page A2
Courtesy photo
A crowd gathered in the Riverfront District during a previous Big Halloween Parade.