SHC 2-13-13

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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

2/21/12

St. Helens uses high-energy defense to knock off Sherwood and Wilsonville, Page A13

3:24 PM

TODAY’S WEATHER Rain Highs to 47 Page A12 Lows to 35

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The Chronicle

Leads running out in search for missing woman

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Vol. 131, No. 7 16 Pages

Murder suspect pleads guilty except for insanity BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle

BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle

ST. HELENS — As St. Helens Police enter the fourth week in a search for a missing woman who disappeared from a residential Lynn Paan-Saephan mental health facility on Jan. 22, clues as the woman’s whereabouts have run out. “We have exhausted all of the leads,” said Lt. Terry Moss. “The search and rescue operations have ceased.” The missing woman has been identified as Lynn Paan-Saephan. Because she has a recent history of mental illness and may be delusional, she is considered at risk. Police turned to the public for help in locating the missing woman and received several calls and tips, ranging from local sightings to a possible sighting at Washington Square Mall in Tigard. “We followed all of them up and they all turned out not to be her,” said Moss. “For several days, we had the assistance of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue team,” said Moss. Officers went door to door, searched McCormick Park and Godfrey Park, where Paan-Saephan was known to frequent, and initiated a community alert, calling more than 800 homes and businesses in the downtown area to alert the public to her disappearance. The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office also helped search the Columbia River. “We have no idea what happened to her,” said Moss. ­­­­ See WOMAN, Page A4

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SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle

Brent Redd appears in Columbia County Circuit Court on Feb. 12 to enter a plea of guilty except for insanity in the May 2012 murder of mental health worker Jennifer Warren.

ST. HELENS — A former Columbia Community Mental Health patient has pleaded guilty except for insanity in the murder of Jennifer Warren, killed in May of 2012. Brent K. Redd Jr., 31, waived his right to a jury trial and entered the plea when he appeared before Judge Steven Reed in Columbia County Circuit Court on Feb. 12. Redd had initially entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of murder following his arrest. “Because of the defendant’s mental disease or defect, he presents a substantial danger to others, requiring commitment to a state

mental hospital designated by the Oregon health Authority ” said Judge Reed in court, adding Redd “is not a proper subject for conditional release at this time.” Redd was arrested and charged with murder after he stabbed and killed Warren on May 20, 2012. Warren was a mental health worker at CCMH who was delivering medication to Redd’s apartment in a supervised residential facility at the corner of south 15th and Cowlitz streets. Police were called to the apartment just after 8 a.m. in response to a report of a disturbance. While in route, officers were notified a possible stabbing at the residence may have occurred. ­­­­ See GUILTY, Page A4

Paving the way to safety The Highway 30 Safety Corridor working group will be meeting on Feb. 27 to discuss proposed alternative for making the roadway safer.

SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle

Corridor safety group to review Highway 30

BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle

For more than two years, the Highway 30 Safety Corridor working group has been meeting nearly every month to discuss ways to improve safety and traffic flow along some of the most dangerous stretches of Columbia County’s main thoroughfare. In February, the group may finally have the opportunity to move forward with some of those proposed changes. “The purpose of the meeting is for the working group to take a look at some of the concepts that address the priorities of the road safety audit that was conducted between the Old

Portland and Millard roads section,” said Oregon Department of Transportation spokesperson Lou Torres. Just one of the changes proposed includes a new traffic signal at the intersection of Highway 30 and Bennett Road. But ODOT’s own studies raise concerns about placing traffic signals in rural settings, such as the Bennett Road intersection, and that rural traffic signals can actually result in an increase, rather than the intended decrease, in rear-end crashes because drivers may have to stop suddenly or unexpectedly. ODOT said in some cases, traffic signals have even been removed to reduce the occurrence of accidents. That concern was highlighted in ODOT’s review of traffic signal installed at Leland Road and Oregon

Highway 213 in Oregon City, which resulted in an increase in rear-end crashes over a six-year period and had no impact on the number of fatal crashes. Prior to installing the traffic signal, there was an average of 4.5 accidents per year. After the signal was installed, that number climbed to an average of 6 accidents per year. ODOT’s traffic study showed that more than 60 crashes occurred in a two-mile stretch between Berg Road and Millard Road along the highway. The study also showed that adverse weather, limited law enforcement patrols, animal crossings, roadway delineation and reflectivity and the location of street name signs have had negative impacts on roadway safety along the entire stretch of Highway 30 through the county.

Advocacy group says Oregon among states hardest hit by offshoring of jobs BY SHARI PHIEL The Chronicle

An Oregon fair trade advocacy coalition says new data from the U.S. Labor Department shows that Oregon lost the fourth most jobs to offshoring out of any state in the country in 2012 when measured by population. According to the analysis, Oregon lost 1,911 jobs last year. Only Arkansas, Massachusetts and Louisiana had more jobs lost. Rounding out the top five was Ohio. “The true number of jobs offshored in our state could easily be double what the labor department has certified,” said Elizabeth Swager, director of the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign. “We still, however, find the [Trade Adjustment Assistance] data useful because, besides

virtually every other figure about trade-related job loss or job creation that you’ll find out there, it’s not an estimate. It’s an actual hard count of jobs destroyed in our state.” Among the jobs counted as lost in Oregon were the 106 jobs cut by Boise, Inc., which is shuttering the last of its operations at its St. Helens facility. The job cuts were effective as of Dec. 31, 2012, although a small staff has remained at the St. Helens facility to assist with the closing. “The data clearly shows that, year after year, trade agreements have been bleeding Oregon communities of much-needed jobs. 106 mill workers in St. Helens were just laid off from Boise White Paper,” said Greg Pallesen, vice president of the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers. “Rather than stopping the outgoing flow of jobs, this new Trans-Pacific Partnership is likely to

open up an artery.” Newly compiled data released by the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign shows the Labor Department certified 1,911 Oregon jobs as destroyed by either direct offshoring or displacement by imports in 2012, which is a 34 percent increase over 2011 and brings the total number of trade-displaced jobs certified by the Labor Department in the state since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) took effect in 1994 up to 55,085. “We certainly hear politicians talk about the national deficit, which the country has been struggling with, a couple of wars, tax breaks to the rich. Not only do we have a national deficit, we have state deficits. States have been struggling tremendously, especially in rural towns,” said Pallesen. “Why are they in financial trouble? Clearly it’s because of the

Other improvements suggested include cutting back vegetation, adding rumble strips to roadway sections, adding warning signs and replacing street name signs with larger and more visible signs. The next corridor working group meeting will be on Feb. 27 from 6-8 p.m. at the Columbia River PUD offices at 64001 Columbia River Highway in Deer Island. “The group is going to be looking at… some concepts in the group and see which was one they would like to move ahead with,” said Torres. “It’s a good meeting for moving ahead and coming up with some of these alternatives they want to go with. All meetings are open to the public.

“Why are [states] in financial trouble? Clearly it’s because of the offshoring of our jobs and the failed economic and trade policies of the United States. You don’t hear politicians talking about the trade deficit.” Greg Pallesen vice president, Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers

offshoring of our jobs and the failed economic and trade policies of the United States. You don’t hear politicians talking about the trade deficit.” But Pallesen said not all of the jobs losses seen over the past few years at paper mills can be attributed to offshoring. “Over the past 15 years, one-third of our jobs lost in the pulp and paper ­­­­ See OFFSHORE, Page A4


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