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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 2019)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019 ❚ SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK Governor celebrates school's attendance efforts Bill Poehler Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Cloverdale Elementary School is a country school of 160 students, sitting in rural Marion County 2 miles southwest of Turner along Parrish Gap Road. But it’s efforts to encourage attendance got big rec- ognition by Oregon's governor. A video the school produced and posted about at- tendance was tweeted out by Gov. Kate Brown on Fri- day. “This video is making my week. Students at Clover- dale Elementary share why school attendance is so im- portant. A few of my favorites: "because your friends are counting on you to be there..." and "you might miss a fire drill." #EveryDayMatters,” she tweeted. Cloverdale principal Bryan Dyer said the school does monthly videos and features students in them every other month. He said they got the idea to do a video about atten- dance from a video Brown did to kick off September as Attendance Awareness month. Some other subjects of monthly videos have includ- ed fish dissection, Valentine’s Day and the student of the month. “We have fun making those videos,” Dyer said. Dyer said the attendance rate for Cloverdale was 94 percent in the 2018-2019 school year and was about the same the year before. Cloverdale Elementary School is located on Parrish Gap Road. FILE See ATTENDANCE, Page 5A DHS Child Welfare to change child death reviews Whitney Woodworth Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Turner Christian Church is the oldest church in the city at 100 years old. BILL POEHLER/STATESMAN JOURNAL Turner’s oldest church celebrates 100 years Bill Poehler Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK TURNER – When a church has proven itself to the highest court in the state, lasting to be 100 years old seems almost easy. Turner Christian Church has grown from its origi- nal 18 members in 1919 to over 200 today, and the old- est church in town – which celebrates its centennial this month – traces its roots to one of the city’s foun- ders and an early dispute involving her wishes. “We had some very prominent community mem- bers early in the town’s history that were very suppor- tive of us,” said Turner Christian Church pastor Mat- thew Holmes. When Cornelia Davis – daughter of pioneer and city namesake Henry Turner – died in 1932, she left an estate estimated at $150,000 to an “orthodox denom- ination, to be designated later.” Her will designated the proceeds of her estate should be used for a “home for the needy.” Davis had gone to Turner Christian Church, then known as First Christian Church since its founding and a trustee determined the church should receive her estate. But J.M. Sharp, Davis’ cousin and sole heir, sued, claiming he should be the trustee and be allowed to determine what happened to her estate. After three years of court battles, a ruling was handed down in 1934 with the state Supreme Court declaring Turner Christian Church the intended ben- eficiary of her estate. Church founding in 1919 When the church was founded in 1919, Turner was a city of 400 most notable for being on Highway 22 be- tween Salem and Bend. R.L. Putnam, the minister at Court Street Christian Church in Salem, met with six people of the Stone- Campbell movement, also known as the Disciples of Christ, at Turner’s Presbyterian Church building on Denver Street in October 1919. A few days later he met with 18 members who char- tered the congregation. Investigations into the deaths of children involved with child welfare will now be launched faster and have increased transparency, Oregon Department of Human Services officials announced Sept. 30. The changes come after the passage of Senate Bill 832 and Gov. Kate Brown's executive order earlier this year on child welfare. Since 2004, more than 80 investigations — mostly involving deaths of children in DHS-involved fam- ilies — have been launched. DHS spokesman Jake Sunderland said Orego- nians will soon be able to access more timely infor- mation about child fatalities and systemic issues that, when addressed, could help prevent tragedies. SB 832, sponsored by Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corval- lis, makes significant changes to the Department of Human Services’ child fatality review process. “When a child dies as a result of abuse or neglect, there is no way to restore the irrevocable loss,” Gelser said. “However, we can honor that child’s life by tak- ing a deep look at the circumstances surrounding her death to learn how we might work better as a commu- nity to support children and families." A DHS Critical Incident Response Team, also known as a CIRT, conducts an investigation into a child's death when the victim, their siblings or an- other child in the household has had previous inter- actions with the child welfare system in the year pre- ceding the death. "When a critical incident is reviewed, the team seeks to understand the circumstances surrounding the death of the child, as well as the history of the family, the community and the child welfare and oth- er family-serving systems," Sunderland said in a statement. A CIRT was launched following the death of Keizer 12-year-old Caden Berry, who was allegedly mur- dered by his mother. The review found several possible systemic is- sues, including heavy caseloads in child welfare and lack of coordination across jurisdictions. The dozens of reviews that preceded Caden's death found similar issues. Several deaths, including one involving a Stayton toddler killed in a fire, remain open and under inves- tigation. See CHURCH, Page 5A Neglect, deaths targeted by changes Trade war hits Oregon’s agricultural exports hard Andrew Selsky ASSOCIATED PRESS MARQUAM — Rancher Jerome Rosa sat in his mud-spattered pickup truck, glumly watching some of his cows resting on a grassy slope in Oregon’s fertile Willamette Valley. Rosa, the executive director of the Oregon Cattle- men’s Association, told state lawmakers a few days earlier about the disruptions to Oregon’s beef exports because of the U.S.-China trade war. Also testifying were the director of the Oregon Department of Agri- culture, the head of Oregon wheat producers’ associa- tions and a hazelnut expert. Sales of U.S. beef and wheat to China have all but halted. The trade conflicts impact Oregon agricultural See TRADE WAR, Page 4A Hazelnuts are harvested from an orchard at Aman Brothers LLC in Mt. Angel. DAVID DAVIS AND KELLY JORDAN/STATESMAN JOURNAL Online at SilvertonAppeal.com Vol. 138, No. 42 News updates: ❚ Breaking news ❚ Get updates from the Silverton area Photos: ❚ Photo galleries Serving the Silverton Area Since 1880 A Unique Edition of the Statesman Journal QEAJAB-07403y ©2019 50 cents Printed on recycled paper During the 2019 Legislature, several legislators pushed the agency to release more information on the CIRT investigations — and do so in a more timely manner — in order to increase DHS's accountability to the public and prevent future fatalities by quickly identifying patterns that led to the initial child death. After the bill was signed into law on July 15, DHS began implementing the changes. The changes were expected to be fully operative Oct. 1. "Already, Critical Incident Response Teams have led to new strategies to address chronic neglect and unsafe sleep practices," Gelser said. "This type of candid, open work will help prevent future trage- dies.” Some of the most notable changes in SB 832 in- clude requiring DHS to assign a CIRT when there is a reasonable belief that a child died due to neglect or abuse. Sunderland said this most often will occur within seven days after a Child Protective Services Assess- ment is assigned from Oregon’s Child Abuse Hotline. Previously, DHS declared investigations only after the completion of the assessment. This change is ex- pected to increase the number of CIRTS assigned. The law also mandates increased transparency throughout the process and requires DHS to immedi- ately post information about a CIRT online, which will include the date of the incident, the age of the child and when the final report is expected. An investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive in 2018 found several significant delays and missing CIRT reports. The story spurred lawmakers into pushing to See CIRT, Page 2A