Pastor finds dynamite before Christmas party

Kelso: The pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Kelso made an unwanted find as she was preparing for a Christmas party: a stick of dynamite. A bomb squad from Portland disposed of it and cleared the church by 6:02 p.m. Wednesday — just two minutes after the party was to begin.Pastor Hanna Peterson said it`s not entirely clear where the dynamite came from. It may have been among old items donated for a garage sale by church members. It was apparently set on bookcase in May during the sorting and forgotten about until Peterson found it.

She said it took a couple of calls before emergency crews realized she was talking about dynamite — and not a bottle of nitroglycerin pills. Bureau Report