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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2017)
Wednesday, November 8, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Lawsuit: Blood, urine samples Eyeing misplaced in sex assault case expansion, OSU- BEND (AP) — A lawsuit sexual assault. An officer met alleges Deschutes County with the plaintiff and her hus- prosecutors couldn’t file band and suggested she go to Cascades to charges in an alleged rape St. Charles Bend for a sexual because either the hospital or assault examination, accord- buy landfill the Bend Police Department ing to the lawsuit. lost blood and urine samples Another officer picked up that would have been evi- some of these samples that for $1 dence of a crime. night, according to the lawsuit, The lawsuit filed this week asks for more than $1.6 mil- lion in damages against St. Charles Bend and the police and comes on the heels of another $6 million lawsuit against the alleged assail- ant — who was not charged in the case — and the orga- nizers and venue of a party where the woman says the assault unfolded, The Bulletin reported Wednesday. The plaintiff was at a 2015 Halloween party with her hus- band and some friends when someone slipped an uniden- tified date-rape drug into her drink, according to the lawsuit. She then became separated from her husband for about 30 minutes and was sexually assaulted by a man who had been hired to help with event security, the court papers say. The alleged attacker later told police that he had sex with the plaintiff, but it was consensual and she did not seem overly intoxicated, according to the suit. On November 1, 2015, the plaintiff contacted Bend Police to report the alleged but the police department later told the plaintiff it never took possession of the samples. The samples were never sent to a crime labora- tory for testing. Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel decided not to file any criminal charges against her alleged assailant in part because he had no way to prove she was incapaci- tated and therefore unable to consent. Hummel did not immedi- ately return a voicemail left Wednesday by The Associated Press. St. Charles employees took blood and urine samples and told the plaintiff some of these samples would be tested by the medical center to help with her care and oth- ers would be used by police as evidence in the sexual assault investigation, according to the lawsuit. Bend City Attorney Mary Winters says the case will be handled by the city’s insur- ance company. A spokeswoman for St. Charles Bend declined to comment to The Bulletin. attention Health practitioners Trainers, Yoga Teachers, Reiki Masters and more: Consider the Nugget’s Classes & Training classifi eds to let readers know about your sessions. Just $2 per line the fi rst week , $1.50 per line on repeat weeks. And it goes online at no extra charge! Placement deadline is Monday before noon at 541-549-9941 or nuggetnews.com. BEND (AP) — Oregon State University-Cascades plans to buy an old landfill in Bend for $1. The Bulletin newspaper reports that the Deschutes County Commission approved the agreement Monday with a 2-1 vote. Oregon State University President Ed Ray is expected to sign the agreement later this week, finalizing it. The 72-acre landfill prop- erty sits next to the univer- sity’s 10-acre campus and an old pumice mine it owns. The university hopes to expand by building in the former mine and on the old landfill. 21 Horse rescue organization plans shutdown BEND (AP) — A horse rescue organization in Central Oregon is on the verge of shutting down after being plagued by infighting, bookkeeping problems, and a state probe. Equine Outreach Inc., which currently cares for about 65 horses, has stopped taking in new animals, and the board has recently voted to begin the process of dis- solving the organization, The Bulletin reported on Wednesday. The organization has taken in horses that are either surrendered by owners who are unable to care for them or are seized by law-enforce- ment agencies in neglect cases. About a year ago, the entire board resigned over disagreements with the organization’s founders about bookkeeping prac- tices. Gary Everett and Joan Steelhammer, the husband-and-wife founders, own the property outside Bend where the horses are housed. The new board has since diminished their role in the organization. The state Department of Justice recently closed an investigation into the orga- nization that found it failed to adequately track its funds. While department officials said the organizations vio- lated state law, charges were not filed. Bill Inman, president of the board, said the sloppy accounting spurred the res- ignations and the investiga- tion, and it also hindered the organization’s ability to raise money. He said they expect a spending deficit this year, and they’re looking at other options to house the horses. Steelhammer and Inman both said the welfare of the horses cared for by the orga- nization is the priority. n i g n i s i t r e v Ad ! s k r o W t e g T h e Nug I lofe Th e Nugget. Th e staff is fery friendly and helpful. I’fe had a business in Salem for 30 years. As soon as I mofed to Sisters, I started adfertising with Th e Nugget. It has really helped get my business off the ground. Because of my ad, I hafe had a steady fl ow of customers efery week and am now building word-of-mouth referrals, too. My ad rep, Karen, is super-helpful because she comes up with new ideas that keep my ad fresh — and that keeps people calling. -Peter Hermann, Circuit Rider Carpet Cleaning Advertising in Th e Nugget works! Call Karen at 541-549-9941 today!
