City of Columbia City

STAYING SAFE IN COLD WEATHER

The winter season is upon us. Exposure to cold can cause injury or serious illness such as frostbite or hypothermia. The likelihood of injury or illness depends on factors such as physical activity, clothing, wind, humidity, working and living conditions, and a person's age and state of health. Follow these tips to stay safe in cold weather:

Travel:

¨ Dress appropriately before going outdoors. The air temperature does not have to be below freezing for someone to experience cold emergencies such as hypothermia and frostbite. Wind speed can create dangerously cold conditions even when the temperature is not that low. If possible, dress in layers so you can adjust to changing conditions. Avoid overdressing or overexertion that can lead to heat illness.

¨ Traveling and winter can be a dangerous combination. Allow extra time when traveling. Monitor weather conditions carefully and adhere to travel advisories. Don't travel alone and let someone know your travel plans and estimated arrival time.

¨ If you get tired or storm intensity increases, seek shelter off the road. Use maps, seat covers and newspapers to help provide additional insulation if you are trapped in a car during a winter snowstorm.

¨ Do not leave your car unless you see a building close by where you know you can take shelter. If you need to leave the car to get help, follow the road if possible. If you walk across open country, orient your route toward distant landmarks to maintain your sense of direction.

¨ Keep a winter storm survival kit in your car. This should include blankets, high calorie non-perishable food, flashlight, ice scraper, paper towels, extra clothes, matches, a compass, maps, sand, flares, chains, gloves and first aid supplies.

At home:

¨ Keep extra batteries for radios and check battery-operated equipment before the storm arrives.

¨ Keep an extra supply of food in the house, especially food that requires no cooking.

¨ Check to make sure there is adequate home heating fuel before a storm.

¨ Keep blankets, clothing, curtains, furniture and anything that might catch fire away from portable heaters. Never use charcoal to heat the house because it gives off deadly amounts of carbon monoxide.

¨ Winterize your house - install storm shutters, doors and windows, clear rain gutters, repair leaky roofs. Keep plywood, plastic sheeting, lumber and even sandbags accessible for emergency repairs.

During a storm:

¨ Know how the public is warned (siren, radio, TV)

¨ Keep a local radio station on for emergency information and instructions.

¨ Keep in touch with the elderly and friends or neighbors with disabilities.

After a storm:

¨ Report downed power lines and broken gas lines immediately.

¨ Check on neighbors, especially those who may have special needs.

¨ Beware of overexertion and exhaustion.

¨ Check to see that no physical damage occurred to your home. Make sure the water is running.

HOME SECURITY CHECKS ARE AVAILABLE

The Columbia City Police Department offers periodic home security checks for citizens who are away from home. To receive home security checks while you're out of town, please register with the Columbia City Police Department before you leave. Forms are available at City Hall.

FLOOD RELIEF INFORMATION

It is very important that people who have experienced property damage or other losses due to the weather and slide events during the period of December 1st through December 17, 2007, register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or by going to the FEMA website at www.fema.gov.

There is a link on the Columbia County website at www.co.columbia.or.us that provides flood related information, including traffic advisories, important phone numbers, disaster recovery center hours, news releases, photos and more.

FLOOD/DISASTER SCAM RESOURCES

The following information was provided by Governor Kulongoski and Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers in an attempt to help prevent disaster scams.

Donation Scams

All charities lawfully authorized to solicit funds in Oregon are registered with the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ). The registration can be confirmed at: www.doj.state.or.us/charigroup or by calling (971) 673-1880. These groups also file annual reports with the DOJ that show how much of the charity’s total revenues are devoted to services helping the charity’s beneficiaries.

There are a number of charity “watchdogs” that can be found at: www.give.org, www.charitywatch.org and www.charitynavigator.org.

Consumer Scams

Disaster victims should avoid unlicensed contractors promising immediate, cheap home repair and tree removal. Phony clean-up crews and tree-cutting services also may begin soliciting services with an advance deposit on future work that is never performed.

Consumers are encouraged to deal with only licensed and bonded contractors and should check complaint histories and ask for references before giving any money.

You can call the Construction Contractors Board at (503) 378-4621 or visit: www.Oregon.gove/ccb. The Landscaper Contractors Board can be called at (503) 378-5909 or visit: www.lcb.info@state.or.us.

Door-to-door solicitors selling emergency products must register to conduct business in Oregon. You can verify a business registration by checking with the Secretary of State’s Corporations Division by calling (503) 86-2200 or visit: www.filinginoregon.com.

The 2007 Legislature passed Senate Bill 118 that outlaws price gouging in selling basic products and services during certain times of emergency. If you suspect, experience or observe a sale you believe would constitute price gouging or witness suspect business activity you should call the Attorney General’s Hotline at: (877) 877-9392. Hotline hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Complaints can also be filed online at: www.doj.state.or.us.

FOUND ITEMS

The following items were found recently and turned into City Hall. Do they belong to you?

Set of keys found on Fifth Street with car alarm remote
Nokia cell phone

If you think one of these items may be yours, please contact City Hall at (503) 397-4010 for more information.

LICENSE & PERMIT REMINDER

Planning to hire a contractor to help you with a project around the house? If so, please make sure the contractor has a current 2008 business license to do work within the City of Columbia City. Most City Business Licenses expire December 31^st of each year.

Also, whether you’re hiring a contractor or planning to do the work yourself, please remember that many types of projects require a permit. For building, plumbing and mechanical permit information, call City Hall at (503) 397-4010. For electrical permit information, contact Columbia County Land Development Services at (503) 397-1501.

Construction work is limited to the hours of 7:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m., although a resident may perform construction activities around their home until 8:00 p.m.

LIBRARY NEWS

Make a New Year’s Resolution to come visit our expanded library! Bookshelves are up, and we have room for more books in all areas. We now have tables for study or visiting within the library. We'd like to thank Kevin Diegel for letting us use the tables, chairs, and carpet. Our goal is to make the library an inviting place where you will want to linger.

We will be expanding our children’s section over the coming year. Early childhood literacy is a focus of our library and our Friends of the Library group. The most important thing you can do to help your child do well in school is to get them interested in reading. We can help by providing a wide variety of interesting and award-winning choices for every reading level.

We received a generous donation of audio books on CD, and will be processing them as quickly as we can. Lots of people listen to audio books while commuting or exercising - try listening to a book while you are doing housework – you’ll get a lot more done!

New at the Library…

Dreamland by Kevin Baker: In a stunning work of imagination and memory, author Kevin Baker brings to mesmerizing life a vibrant, colorful, thrilling, and dangerous New York City in the earliest years of the twentieth century. A novel breathtaking in its scope and ambition, it is the epic saga of newcomers drawn to the promise of America — gangsters and laborers, hucksters and politicians, radicals, reformers, murderers, and sideshow oddities — whose stories of love, revenge, and tragedy interweave and shine in the artificial electric dazzle of a wondrous place called Dreamland.

I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason by Susan Kandel: I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason is the debut novel in a hip, sexy, smart and, yes, cozy mystery series with a great hook. Think Sex and the City collides with Murder, She Wrote. All that writer Cece Caruso really wants to do is complete her biography of mystery legend Erle Stanley Gardner, find a vintage 1970's Ossie Clark gown to add to her collection, and fix the doorknob on her picturesque West Hollywood bungalow. Then a chance visit with a prison inmate who knew Gardner lands her right in the middle of a 40-year-old murder and another case where the blood is still warm. In fact, Cece finds the body. This brings her into irresistible contact with her inner personal sleuth and shows how crime and greed can reverberate through several generations of a single family.

Staffed Hours:

Monday & Saturday, 10 AM to 2 PM

Wednesday, 4 PM to 8 PM

Thursday, 2 PM to 6 PM

Story Time:

11 AM every Monday

Friends of the Library Meeting:

Monday, 1/21/08 7 PM

(subject to change – call first)

Novel Quilters Meeting:

Wednesday, 1/16/08 - 6:30 PM

Phone: (503) 366-8020

E-mail: cclibrary@opusnet.com

Address: 205 "I" Street

THANK YOU

We'd like to extend a big "thank you" to:

T Bernie Albertine, Judy Anderson, Jean Carulli, Gloria Chinell, Betty Jensen, Jean Lord, Vera Moeller, Phyllis Rowley and Carol Yarbrough for helping with the newsletter and utility billing in November.

T Harold and Donna Olsen for the chocolates.

T Roger Barbour for the mixed nuts.

T Jean Carulli for the fruit basket.

T Frank and Dee Lloyd for the peanut brittle.

T Sally Ann Marson for the banana cake.

T Waste Management for the treats.

T Finos Lunsford for the holiday wreath.

T Murray Smith & Associates, Inc., for the chocolates.

T Lower Columbia Engineering for the gift bag of cheeses, meats and crackers.

T Mabel Pennel for the chocolates.

T Columbia City Sports and Recreation Club for their willingness to support the Red Cross with use of their shower facilities.

T Everyone in the Community that offered help and support while the Red Cross was in the Community Hall.

Text Box: If you'd like to receive City meeting agendas and meeting minutes via e-mail, please let us know!! E-mail your request to colcity@columbia-city.org or call City Hall at (503) 397-4010.

GIRL SCOUT TROOP 2041 THANKS YOU

Girl Scout Troop 2041 would like to extend a special thank you to Columbia City residents who supported them during their Pop Can Drive & Blanket Drive in November 2007. We raised a little more than $170 and collected a trunk full of blankets and towels for the Columbia Humane Society (CHS). A portion of the money from the pop cans was used to buy and donate 60 lbs. of cat food, 22 lbs. of dog food, some cat toys and a tin of popcorn to the Columbia Humane Society. We visited CHS on December 22, 2007 to make our donations and the girls wanted to take most of the cats and dogs home with them.

We look forward to seeing you all again during our Annual Canned Food Drive in late January where we will be collecting donations of non-perishable food items to refill the shelves at the Columbia Pacific Food Bank. Your donations will be especially meaningful to the food bank in 2008 as Thanksgiving and Christmas are always a very busy time of year at the food bank and the flooding and landslides in other parts of the county has put and extra strain on the food bank. See you in January!

The girls are sitting on the blankets and towels that they collected (top) and spending time with the cats was a lot of fun for them (bottom).

"DO NOT CALL" REGISTRY INFORMATION

Oregon consumers placing their landline and cell phone numbers on the National "Do Not Call" registry will be protected by both the federal and state "no call" laws. Registration is free.

Oregon residents may register by calling toll-free at 1-888-382-1222 or online at www.donotcall.gov.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers who register their telephone numbers on the National "Do Not Call" Registry can expect a large reduction in the number of telemarketing calls to their homes.

For those telemarketers who ignore the law and "cold call" Oregon residents, consumers may file a complaint with the Attorney General's consumer protection office.

The Oregon "No Call" complaint form, in both an email and printable version, can be found at www.doj.state.or.us/finfraud/donotcall.shtmlre.

Under Oregon's No Call law, certain solicitation calls are allowed, including:

· Calls from public agencies or charitable organizations to which you belong, or to which you have previously donated or expressed interest in making a donation;

· Calls that are made in response to your request that a company call you;

· Calls that ask for your opinion or vote; and

· Calls from companies you have bought from in the past, or a "predecessor of a business enterprise" for certain financial institutions.

For more information on Oregon's "No Call" law, consumers may call the Attorney General's consumer hotline at (503) 229-5576 (Portland area only) or toll-free at 1-877-877-9392.

POLICE ACTIVITY REPORT

10/17/07 to 11/07/07

10/17/07 Animal complaint in the 3300 block of Tahoma Street.

10/17/07 Threat call investigated at the Columbia City School.

10/20/07 Vandalism reported in the 400 block of Lincoln Street.

10/23/07 Domestic dispute responded to in the 2100 block of Second Street.

10/24/07 Non-injury traffic accident in the area of Seventh and “E” Street.

10/26/07 Theft from the Mini Mart on “A” Street.

10/26/07 Follow-up investigation conducted at the Mini Mart.

10/27/07 Follow-up on minor in possession of alcohol investigation in the 1400 block of Second Street.

10/27/07 Vacation premise checks conducted.

10/27/07 Disabled vehicle checked on Highway 30 near Pacific Street.

10/27/07 Possible intoxicated driver reported near Highway 30 and Pacific Street.

10/27/07 Minor in possession of alcohol incident investigated in the 400 block of “A” Street.

10/28/07 Domestic dispute in the 1900 block of First Street.

10/28/07 Suspicious circumstances checked in the 600 block of “H” Street.

10/30/07 Public assist in the 1900 block of Second Street.

10/31/07 Vacation premise checks conducted.

11/01/07 City ordinance violation checked in the 400 block of North Star Court.

11/02/07 Vacation premise checks conducted.

11/03/07 Hazard in the roadway near Highway 30 and “E” Street.

11/03/07 Non-criminal situation reported in the Columbia City Estates.

11/03/07 Noise complaint reported in the 3000 block of Fifth Street.

11/03/07 Vacation premise checks conducted.

11/03/07 Non-criminal situation reported in the 200 block of “G” Street.

11/04/07 Vacation premise checks conducted.

11/07/07 Vacation premise checks conducted.

11/07/07 Suspicious vehicle reported on Highway 30 near “L” Street.

SEWER SMART TIPS

Sanitary sewer systems are designed to handle three types of waste products:

Þ Used water

Þ Human body waste

Þ Toilet paper

You can help prevent unwanted sewer backups and keep your sanitary sewer working properly by following these simple Dos and Don'ts!

DO:

· Collect grease in a container and dispose of it in the garbage.

· Place food scraps in the garbage for disposal with solid waste.

· Place a wastebasket in the bathroom to dispose of solid waste. Disposable diapers and personal hygiene products do not belong in the sewer system.

DON'T:

· Pour grease, fats, and oils from cooking down the drain.

· Use the sewer to dispose of food scraps.

· Use the toilet as a wastebasket for garbage and chemicals.

*City of Columbia City*
About Columbia City	Agendas	City Charter & Ordinances
City Departments	City Government	Employment Opportunities
Meeting Calendar	Meeting Minutes	Newsletters