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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2023
VOL. 132, NO. 28 Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891
Incident at Port Westward narrowly avoids oil spill WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
A vessel that strayed from its course while traveling upriver and collided with the Beaver Dock, causing damage to the downriver approach and infrastructure, which nearly resulted in the spill of thousands of gallons of oil into the Columbia River. The Port of Columbia County released the following information in response to the event on Nov. 13: “The morning of Nov. 12, a vessel (unaffiliated with Port Westward users) was underway, traveling upriver. The vessel navigated off course and collided with the Beaver Dock causing damage to the downriver approach and infrastructure. At this time there are no known injuries or spills. The site has been secured with booming out of precaution.” “The Port worked in close collaboration with Port Westward dock users, who responded immediately, to make all notifications per the facility Incident Response Plan. U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies have been onsite. We are currently working with an engineer to assess the extent of the damage and necessary repairs and hope to have the dock back in operation as soon as possible.” Input from the DEQ The incident, which took place on the morning of Nov. 12, saw a tugboat collide with the dock. The Chief spoke with the Communications Manager for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Lauren Wirtis, for an update on the situation. “There is a pipe that goes from Columbia Pacific Bio Refinery
(CPBR) out along that dock. It got pretty significantly damaged but fortunately did not break, and in DEQ’s and U.S. Coast Guard’s time monitoring the incident, we haven’t seen any oil on the water, which is really great news,” Wirtis said. The pipe is connected to a tank that holds 25,000 gallons of renewable diesel, according to Wirtis. The pipe transfers oil from the refinery to ships on the dock. Because the valve that connects the tank to the pipe was already closed, Wirtis said that the maximum amount of oil that could have spilled was 9,450 gallons. “Some of the valves were already closed, so it wouldn’t have been possible for more than 9,450 to spill,” Wirtis said. “And then CPBR kept closing the valves to reduce the potential to spill.” The 9,450 gallons refers to the amount that was in the pipe at the time of the collision. In order to minimize the threat of oil leaking from the pipe, CPBR sent out consultants with a “spud barge” to “pull the remaining oil out of the pipe,” according to Wirtis. Wirtis said that CPBR acted quickly to take steps to mitigate the risk of a spill. While they acted rapidly in the aftermath of the event, there was no ability to prevent the tugboat from actually hitting the dock. If the pipe had broken, it would have resulted in “thousands of gallons of oil in the river.” Preparing for emergencies Wirtis said that CPBR participates in “spill drills” in collaboration with the DEQ to best implement “spill response” plans.
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Courtesy photo from Lauren Wirtis
The damaged pipe.
Rainier Cemetery District’s newest board member WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
Monica Hackenberg is the newest member of the Rainier Cemetery District (RCD) Board of Directors and took part in her first meeting as a director for the RCD Nov. 15. Hackenberg seeks to bring balance to a board that has been split and contentious in recent months. “I’m hoping that I can be neutral. I really don’t have any friends on the board. I know people on the board. It’s always been two against two, and I only vote with my head and not with my heart,” Hackenberg said. “I’m not for one; I’m not for the other, and I am going to try to bring peace to the board if that’s possible.” Hackenberg’s route to the board is rare. A vacancy arose on the board when newly elected member and board President Judy Lepin resigned from her post in August. After seeking applications for the open position, two people applied to fill it. After conducting interviews, the board was split on who to appoint. Directors Scott Falconer and Rick Fletcher were in favor of appointing Sharon Hicks, and Directors Jim McGlone and David St. Onge voted to appoint Hackenberg.
Blotter ....................... A3 Obituaries ................. A3 News and Views ...... A4 Classified Ads ......... A5 Legals ....................... A5 Sports ........................ A6 Crossword ................ A6
Contact The Chief Phone: 503-397-0116 Fax: 503-397-4093 chiefnews@countrymedia.net 1805 Columbia Blvd., St. Helens, OR 97051
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Monica Hackenberg (center) amid board members (from left to right) Scott Falconer, Rick Fletcher, Jim McGlone, and David St. Onge at the board meeting Nov. 15.
Due to the tie, the district went to the County Commissioners to break the deadlock. “We had two people nominated, the board was a 2-2 split vote, so we approached the County Commissioners, and they told us we had to have a letter authorizing them to make the decision that had to be signed by all of the board members,” Hackenberg said. “We did that and took it back. They interviewed us, and they chose me.” Hackenberg said the commis-
sioners had said, “It’s never happened before.”
LAUREY WHITE Chief Guest Article
“We work together with the Legion post to provide the menu for the dinner,” she continued. Sherman’s students at her school, Piercing Arrow, helped serve the dinner. They also set up, cleaned, and tore down the venue. “They are well trained and hardworking and love to service and spend time together outside of school completing community events,” Sherman said. The students are required to have community service hours to graduate.” “They also help tremendously in putting up the flags that live Columbia River Highway and Cope’s Park, which is where the memorial stands. We also put out the boots which stand on and around the memorial wall,” she said. The Louis Larsen post was named after the first Clatskanie veteran to lose his life. The auxiliary post has worked with the legion for the last 50-plus years. Sherman says the auxiliary
Getting in compliance Hackenberg’s interest in the cemetery district began during the pandemic when she and her friend volunteered with the district, working on the three cemeteries near Larson Road. Her interest only grew when she started regularly attending board meetings for the district. “I started seeing things and
hearing things, and I wanted to know more, so I came to more, and I did more research, and here I am,” Hackenberg said. “They would talk about Special Districts Association of Oregon (SDAO) rules and laws, so I would go home and open my computer up and read them and study them.” Hackenberg said that her research helped her learn a lot about the issues the district was having before the board position ever became available. Hackenberg is
hoping to “clean up” some of the issues that the board has had but hasn’t addressed. Hackenberg discussed what her priorities are now, only two weeks since taking on the appointment. “We need to bring everything into compliance with the laws; it’s kind of not been that way all the time. It’s kind of this [board member] wants to this, and everyone says, ‘OK,’” Hackenberg said. “It’s OK if it’s in compliance with the law. That’s my concern, I want it to be lawful.” Examples given by Hackenberg and observed during the Nov. 15 meeting are the implementation of overtime, access to public records, and various other practices that may not fall into compliance with regulation. Hackenberg said that the participation of the public at RCD board meetings is an indication of the community’s interest in seeing improvement in the district. “These people in the audience are the taxpayers. They are who run the district. We have to do what they ask us to do or what they want to be done,” Hackenberg said. “They’re the boss, we’re the middle man, and the guys out there in the field are the workers and the money earners.”
Clatskanie remembers veterans on Memorial Day The Veterans Day dinner was successful again this year, with 76 in attendance. Held at the American Legion Post 68, it was a night of reverence awarded to the veterans. The dinner was organized by the auxiliary. Many of the statistics pertaining to our veterans are sobering. According to Don Webber, a veteran who spoke at the dinner, every day, 17 veterans commit suicide. Mental illness is also increasing, with 18% of vets experiencing depression. Other maladies they experience are alcohol misuse and post-traumatic stress disorder. Lori Sherman, who is the president of the American Legion Auxiliary, the Louis Larsen Unit, stresses the importance of events such as the dinner. “It is important to let our local service men and women know that they are appreciated, and we want to honor them for their sacrifice for our country,” Sherman said.
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Lori Sherman with Ron Mohning.
Courtesy photo from Laurey White