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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2017)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2017 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 5 Local MayDay speaks about abuse Characteristics of Abusive Women* • Low self-esteem. • History of rushing into relationships with little identity outside of one. • View of men as a status symbol due to their job title or position, or as a means to an end financially. • Highly characteristic of an abuser is the ability to appear incred- ibly charming or sweet in public, or to appear the victim, making it difficult for others to believe the woman possible of abuse. • Use of drugs or alcohol to handle stress. • May have a personality disorder of some type, carrying with it a sense of entitlement to things they may not have earned, poor impulse control, tendencies to lie and make up stories, lack of empathy, lack of insight, self-harm or violent tendencies, etc. • Reliance on creating the relationship manipulation tactic known as FOG (Fear, Obligation, Guilt). Ways Abused Men React* • Use of drugs or alcohol to handle stress. Suicidal thoughts. De- pression. Confusion. Anger-filled or reckless behaviors. “Analysis paralysis” in the relationship when trying to escape. Typical Ways in which Women Abuse* • In-depth communication is unavailable, leaving the man feeling like he’s walking on eggshells unable to have an honest conversation. • Emotional and physical intimacy are withheld. • Finances are controlled. Personal possessions broken or tampered with. • Gossiping, slandering and sharing personal information about the man with others in order to shame and manipulate, rather than handling issues discretely. • “I love you” is used as a “magic phrase” to control and incite guilt, though that love is artifice with abusers. • Isolating, fear-creating phrases like: “If you leave me, you won’t have a relationship with your kids/grandkids,” or “If you don’t do what I want, _____ will happen.” Other isolating tactics to remove a man from his support system. • Threatening suicide or self-harm if the man wants to leave her. • Extramarital affairs, or giving the impression of them. • Excessive reading, video-game playing or TV watching in order to avoid interaction. • Put-downs, insults, and guilt trips. • Extramarital affairs. When asked, though, claims abusive relationship is going great, or just fine. • Showing up, texting or calling at work, though not welcome, to control by making her presence always felt. • Taking a hobby, work, or sport to an extreme in order to fill the void, burn through the weeks and avoid interaction. • Physical abuse such as kicking, pinching, slapping, biting, etc. *Sources: The Mayo Clinic, The Center for Disease Control, Healthyplace.com, PsychCentral.com, Shrink4men.wordpress.com. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Physical, verbal, sexual, and emotional are the main groups of abuse. According to the NCADV, one in 59 men in the U.S. is raped during his lifetime, 5.1 million men have been stalked, and one in 20 male murder vic- tims are killed by intimate partners. Martin explained that men do not often report be- ing abused due to society and the stigma of being a man that says men are not abused. “I really applaud the men that have come into our agency because it is a big step for them,” said Martin. “They are so brave. Just like women, I mean really, there is no dif- ference between men and women coming in here, about how brave they are, to step in the doors and say ‘I need some help.’” Symptoms in abuse victims include not making City CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Lohner also explained how his Sergeants are having to patrol rather than tend to other necessary du- ties. While he made it clear that he and his department are working very effi- ciently as they are, it could be better. Lohner also brought up an idea to increase funds for the PD and Fire Depart- ment but reallocating money from the sidewalk fund into a public safety fund. Kenton Hall addressed Council on behalf of the Building Department. Hall stated it seemed that permits for new homes and major remodels were on the rise and that was good news as he felt it spoke to a recovering economy. He touched on e-permit- ting and recent strides in digital archiving. Holly Kerns, City/Coun- ty Planning Director, spoke next telling Council that a couple of projects her de- partment were working on were updating the develop- ment code and updating the floodplain map lines. Both were very large projects and with the flood- plain redevelopment they eye contact and looking at the ground, and minimiz- ing excuses for bruises and injuries. Martin explained that there are many factors that keep people in abusive relationships. The abuser makes them feel that no one else will love the victim. The abuser threatens to kill them- selves. She can threaten to take the children away from him and keep them apart. She may tell him he will lose standing in the community if he leaves. An abuser may use spiritual and religious beliefs to control the victim. Low self-esteem is a main factor in a man stay- ing in the abusive relation- ship. Gas-lighting is another form of abuse where the victim is made to believe they are crazy or doing something wrong. The abuser will tell them that they did something they did not do, making them feel they are losing time, etc. Abusers can keep these victims to a schedule and handle all of the appoint- ments, making the victim feel they cannot do any- thing for themselves. Abusers will also take control of finances, making it impossible for the victim to have access to their money and no financial way out of the situation. Abusers will also hold onto legal documents such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, social security cards, and passports. Martin reviewed the boxes printed at the top of this article and said the lists, from sources like The Mayo Clinic and Psych- source.com, were indeed accurate. MayDay Inc. offers a variety of recourses to help abuse survivors. Men have all the access to help that women do. MayDay can even place men in their safe house, help with restraining orders, or get new locks on the prop- erty for security, food, and counseling. MayDay now has access to a lawyer for any domestic abuse situa- tions and men are able to get free legal help through MayDay. MayDay collaborates with the Salvation Army, the Harvest Church, the Compassion Center, Men- tal Health, Total Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Commu- nity Connections to help abuse survivors. “I think the best thing is, about male victims is, that they have every right that a woman abuse victim has,” said Martin. “There is no discrimination at all and they are welcome. We are not going to look at them and say, ‘You were abused?’ No, we will take them in and we will com- fort them and be there for them, just like our female survivors. So they don’t have to be afraid, they don’t have to be ashamed.” Those in need can call MayDay, Inc. confidential- ly at 541-523-4134 or toll free at (800)-213-4134. were also working with FEMA. She explained how the City and County were jointly utilizing her depart- ment and the benefits. The City used to employ their own planning person however since the agree- ment to share that resource with the City paying a set fee to the County, the City was now privy to full-time staff and services whereas they did not before. Michelle Owen, City Public Works Director, spoke next of some of the big project on the very near horizon. Some projects are: Street overlay and chip seal projects, plans to reline old piping in town, work done on the mountain line, and the miles and miles her department has plowed already this winter season and will continue to do as winter marches on. More include the need for a new well and the plans to update a waste- water master plan, includ- ing ideas for disposal of wastewater as the City has recently entered a new agreement with DEQ that requires this type of planning. Owen did tell Council, “You are aware of some of this. We’ve been talking about it. You’re go- ing to hear a lot more.” The final department to address council was Ad- ministration. City Manager Fred Warner, Jr. assured Council that he works for them and will handle all situations that come before him in the manner that they wish. Robin Nudd recently came to the City and is serving the role of Com- munity Development. She told council she was grateful for the opportunity and was so far enjoying getting in and working to make a difference in our community. Jeanie Dexter, the City Finance Director, advised Council that when the time for budget sessions they would be tasked with very difficult decisions, as there is going to be a shortfall in the City budget this year. A possible water rate increase is something that was noted as going to be a necessity as their were many major changes needing to happen within our water system and she expressed concern over the ambulance billing that was turned over to a third party billing service and has not produced the type of revenue expected. When all the departments had presented the discus- sion was turned over to the Council. The agenda had them talking about the water and wastewater system, however they agreed to table that as it had already been touched upon earlier in the evening and it was an issue they were familiar with and would continue to deal with regularly. They next turned to Councilor appointments. Councilor Abell asked if they need to open it up to see if more would apply since the three that had applied did so for what was at the time only one Coun- cil seat and there were now two available. After discussing they decided that they did not need to since they had three applications already and two open seats. There was then discussion about whether they should ap- point then or at the next meeting. It was advised that at the next meeting would be the more appropriate time to do that. Mayor Downing advised the applicants to be “pres- ent at the next meeting as it is likely you will be sworn in and take a seat then.” Council then discussed the goal setting meeting schedule and a budget schedule. Dexter stated that she was preparing an interim budget meeting in which the expectations, rules and guidelines would be discussed. Council agreed that their goal setting meet- ing would be set sometime after that budget meeting. Belt blitz ahead The Baker County Sheriff’s Office will be participat- ing in the Oregon Safety Belt Blitz and increasing patrol hours during this campaign. • Law enforcement agencies throughout Oregon will also be working to emphasize the importance of proper safety belt use, distracted driving and driving appropri- ate speeds during a statewide traffic enforcement “blitz” from February 2 through February 18. The enhanced enforcement is funded through USDOT’s National High- way Traffic Safety Administration. • Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause nation- wide of death for children ages one through twelve years old. Child seats may increase crash survival by 71% for infants under one year of age and by up to 59% for toddlers aged one to four. Booster seats may reduce the chance of nonfatal injury among four to eight year olds by 45% compared to safety belts used alone. • Oregon law requires children weighing under forty pounds to use a child seat with harness. Children under one year or weighing less than twenty pounds must ride in a rear-facing child seat. A child over forty pounds must use either a child seat or booster until they reach age eight or 4’ 9” tall and the adult belt fits them correctly. If you are unsure whether your child is ready to transition to an adult belt system, use the easy five-step test here: http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm • For help installing child car seats, consult the seat manufacturer’s instructions, your vehicle owner’s manual, or visit a local child seat fitting station listed at: http://www.nhtsa.gov/apps/cps/index.htm or at http://or- egonimpact.org/car-seat-resources/ • Product recalls related to your vehicle’s safety belt or your child’s safety seat is provided by the National High- way Traffic Safety Administration at http://www.nhtsa. gov/ or check with the product manufacturer. The ultimate goal of the Baker County Sheriff’s Of- fice is this campaign will help with the decline of traffic related death and injuries on Baker County Roadways. County Commissioners CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Attendance also included Baker County Planning Director Holly Kerns, Planner Eva (Ceder) Henes, Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash, Baker County Juvenile Court Supervisor Staci Erickson, Baker County Administrative Services Director Christena Cook, Baker County Fair Manager Angie Turner, Baker County Community Con- nection of Northeast Oregon Manager Mary Jo Carpen- ter, Sumpter Mayor Cary Clark, Baker County Natural Resource Advisory Committee (NRAC) Chair Doni Bruland, Eastern Oregon Mining Association (EOMA) President Ken Alexander, EOMA Mineral Policy Director Jan Alexander, EOMA Executive Director Chuck Chase, EOMA Treasurer Bobbie Danser, Forest Access For All (FAFA) President Tork Ballard, FAFA Secretary Wanda Ballard, Jefferson Mining District Coordinating Officer Art Sappington, and Don and Lori Sutherland. The meeting was called to order, followed by the Invo- cation, and the Pledge of Allegiance, both led by Harvey. With the noted additions of a County e-mail archive policy approval, and a County Fair Board inter-fund loan authorization approval, the agenda was adopted, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. There were no comments noted for Public Participation. The minutes from the Wednesday, January 18, 2017 regular session were approved, with some noted cor- rections by Nichols, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. A public hearing was held in the matter of Plan Amendment (PA)-16-002, a request by Janesville, Wisconsin-based Helge Bros, LLC, the applicant, to re- zone a roughly 9-acre parcel of land located in the area of Cracker Creek Road, north of Sumpter, from Rural Resi- dential (RR-5), to Mineral Extraction (ME). The prop- erty, owned by Janesville-based Nordon Properties, LLC, is described as Tax Lot 1600 of Township 9 South, Range 37 East, Section 20 W.M. (Willamette Meridian), Baker County, Oregon (Reference #13981). On Thursday, Janu- ary 26, 2017, the Baker County Planning Commission recommended denial of the request, by a vote of 4-2. Kerns and Henes introduced the matter to those pres- ent, including using the County’s interactive Smart Board screen to show details. Harvey asked for any testimony, and Jan provided the first, in favor of the application. She pointed out several issues, among them an error with the zoning process, and with the Planning Commission hearing on the subject (on Thursday, January 26, 2017). She said that the County’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan states that all mining claims will be zoned ME, that the aforementioned lot had been zoned as such, and that, somehow between 1983 and 1985, inexplicably, there was a zone change to RR-5. She said that the Planning Commission ignored some documents, and failed to analyze criteria. Ken provided testimony in favor, echoing Jan’s senti- ments, and he read from a letter he addressed to the Board, regarding the subject. He said that he appreciates the importance the County places on the development of its mineral resources, but, like Jan, he said that the Plan- ning Commission did not properly deliberate the zoning change, failing to address each of the criteria. Seeing no further testimony in favor, Harvey asked for any in opposition, which the Sutherlands then provided. SEE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PAGE 8