Did You Know...

12-20-07 The last two weeks have been filled with physical, emotional, and mental highs and lows for all of us in the Upper Nehalem Valley. The Flood of 2007 has come and gone leaving in its wake massive destruction, tattered lives, and yet an enormous pride watching emergency responders, friends, family, neighbors, and even strangers pull together to try and help each other through this tremendous disaster. Over my three and a half years in Vernonia I have heard many accounts of the 1996 Flood and numerous people tell me, "You should have been here in '96 Chief!" Well I was here in 2007 and I was amazed at the community response. Early in the morning of December 3rd Chief Paul Epler and I were busy preparing for the impending "wind storm" that was supposed to knock power out like last December. I have to admit there were some strong gusts blowing the 11 inches of rain around but I don't remember any mention of impending floods. I kept driving around checking the low lying areas and soon realized that the water was rising right in front of me. Chief Epler and I opened up the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at the fire station with the Chief as the Incident Commander. I also assigned Sgt. Kay to assist him while I stayed in the field. Chief Epler and Sgt. Kay did a very good job managing the early stages of this disaster. As the water continued to rise right in front of my eyes I went out Timber Rd to check a possible slide. I drove through several flooded areas and checked on several people who were trying to evacuate friends and neighbors. After driving into 3ft of flowing flood waters that ripped the license plate off my rig, I turned back to town. In a matter of an hour or so the water burst from the river/creek banks and started consuming the town. Officers Walters, Dalrymple, Conner, and myself worked feverously block off flooded streets and tell people they should evacuate. I soon realized the town was going to be bisected so I put officers and vehicle on both the east and the west side of the city to respond to calls and assist citizens. As I waded through waist deep water checking residences I wondered if this flood was worse than '96 but soon realized it didn't even matter, this was the 2007 Flood and we needed to focus on the task at hand as well as the future of our little town. The future will hopefully be bright. Through the recovery phase we have received massive amounts of help from numerous police agencies to make sure we had 24hr coverage. The fire department has also received help from numerous departments to ensure adequate fire protection for the district. The State Fire Marshall's Office sent in an Overhead Team to help manage the recovery phase and everyone from ODOT to the National Guard to the Department of Corrections and everyone in between has come to our town to help us recover. To everyone I want to say thank you and would like them to know if they are ever in need, we will be there for them! Unfortunately, with the pain and sorrow of the disaster comes the inevitable swarm of people who want to profit from the pain of others. We continue to receive reports of scammers, theives, and con-artists trying to prey on the misfortune of others. Don't be victimized twice during this event. Use common sense and never give your personal information to anyone over the phone, even if they are claiming to be "helping" Vernonia Flood Victims. There are still plenty of volunteers helping to haul flood debris away, don't be pressured to pay anyone for this service. Ask for the credentials of anyone wanting to inspect or be in your residence. Register with Victim's Assistance at the Vernonia Community Learning Center to help with your needs or if you have items to donate. Any monitary donations should go through the accounts set up at the Wauna Federal Credit Union and the US Banks. If you feel you have been contacted by a scammer or if you are the victim of any type of crime be sure to report it to the police. We need to know what type of activity is occurring. I close by again saying thank you to everyone who has been and continues to be so generous to the citizens of the Upper Nehalem Valley. Though too numerous to mention, you all know who you are and your generosity will pay you dividends in the future.