Wednesday, February 21, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Guilty plea for teen accused
of sparking Oregon wildfire
HOOD RIVER (AP) — A
teenager who started a mas-
sive wildfire in Oregon’s
Columbia River Gorge last
fall by tossing a lit firecracker
into the woods pleaded guilty
Friday in a deal that spares
him time in custody.
The boy, who was 15 at
the time, has not been iden-
tified by authorities because
of fear for his safety after an
angry backlash from those
who consider the scenic
gorge a cherished playground
on Portland’s doorstep. He
appeared in Hood River
County Court with his parents,
who followed the hearing
with the help of an interpreter.
The teen’s family emi-
grated to the U.S. in 2000
from Ukraine and lives in
Vancouver, Washington.
He pleaded guilty to eight
counts of reckless burning
of public and private prop-
erty, two counts of depositing
burning materials on forest
land, and one count each of
second-degree criminal mis-
chief and reckless endanger-
ment of others.
District Judge John Olson
sentenced the teen to more
than 2-1/2 months of com-
munity service, five years
of probation and restitution,
The Oregonian/OregonLive
reported.
The teen apologized in a
statement he read in court and
asked for forgiveness.
“I know I will have to live
with this bad decision for the
rest of my life, but I have
learned from this experience
and will work hard to help
rebuild the community in any
way that I can,” he said.
“I now realize how impor-
tant it is to think before acting
because my actions can have
serious consequences.”
The early September blaze
grew to 75 square miles (194
square kilometers) and forced
evacuations, caused the
extended shutdown of a major
interstate highway and sent
ash raining down on Portland
for days.
A group of day hikers was
trapped by rapidly spreading
flames in the forest overnight
and had to hike out 14 miles
the following day.
The fire and its aftermath
have cost nearly $40 mil-
lion, and that figure could rise
because crews are still work-
ing to rebuild and reopen
a number of popular hik-
ing trails in the Eagle Creek
Wilderness before the sum-
mer season.
The closure of Interstate
84 and the historic Columbia
Gorge Highway also impacted
small businesses that depend
on tourism.
Environmental groups
said after the hearing that it
was time to focus on rebuild-
ing the gorge. “The fire is out
and the court has spoken,”
Michael Lang, conservation
director for Friends of the
Columbia Gorge, said in a
statement.
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CRIME DOWN: District
Attorney reports to
Sisters City Council
Continued from page 1
get them, and their fami-
lies if indicated, the help
they need so they don’t
reoffend.
On the adult side, despite
a growth in population for
the county of 10,000 new
residents and more tour-
ists in town, the crime rate
has dropped by 8.6 percent.
Hummel said that there are
still too many domestic-vio-
lence and impaired-driving
cases and that needs to be
addressed. He is exploring a
domestic-violence interven-
tion program coming out of
Virginia.
When all types of crimes
since 2014-15 are added up,
there is a small increase in
the number of criminal cases
reviewed but a definite year-
after-year decrease in the
cases that are actually filed,
with 30 percent of felonies
and misdemeanors being dis-
missed up front over the past
four years. Disposition of
those cases includes obtain-
ing appropriate services for
people rather than simply
locking them up.
“The justice department
is doing a great job pro-
viding services rather than
prosecutions,” Hummel
said.
The new Goldilocks pro-
gram, or the “just right”
intervention, encourages
low-risk drug offenders
to enter the “clean slate”
program where they get
immediate access to the
medical system and harm
reduction to treat their addic-
tion, while being closely fol-
lowed by a judge, addiction
counselor, and attorney. If
the program is successfully
completed, the person gets a
clean slate with no criminal
charges for their possession
offense.
On the other end of the
spectrum is the “deter” pro-
gram, which is aimed at
those participating in the
manufacture and delivery of
drugs. They face enhanced
prosecution in an attempt
to reduce the number of
commercial drug deal-
ers in the area. They can
face federal racketeering
charges.
The Goldilocks program
was developed in response
to the high recidivism rate
(34 percent) for people
charged with drug and theft
crimes between 2009-2015.
If the program proves suc-
cessful at the end of two
years, it will be continued.
If it doesn’t seem to have
31
an impact on the recidivism
rate, something else will be
tried.
“We are not going to stop,
because we need a better
way,” Hummel assured the
Council.
The mental-health court
operates much like the
drug court, designed to get
people who qualify into a
program of extensive treat-
ment with a team approach.
Of the 242 mental-health
holds, most were stabi-
lized as they improved on
medication, while receiving
needed services, shelter, and
counseling.
Hummel reported he is
concerned that the inspection
program of marijuana grow
sites is inadequate. There are
980 medical marijuana grow
sites in Deschutes County
and 20,000 in the state. Fifty-
five have been inspected. He
said that the Oregon Liquor
Control Commission, which
is responsible for monitor-
ing, does have good access
on recreational marijuana
grows.
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