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2A | WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2020 | APPEAL TRIBUNE Public safety task force set to review training of police Virginia Barreda Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK A new public safety task force is set to develop recommendations for im- proving training and certification prac- tices for Oregon law enforcement offi- cials. Gov. Kate Brown announced her ap- pointees Wednesday to the Public Safe- ty Training and Standards Task Force, which will be chaired by the Governor’s Public Safety Policy Advisor, Constan- tin Severe. “Bold action on racial justice and criminal justice reform is long overdue,” Brown said in a release Wednesday. “But words from leaders aren’t enough. We need action.” The Oregon Legislature is simulta- neously looking at six police reform proposals during a special session that consists of measures such as banning peace officers from using chokeholds, the use of tear gas or sound cannons by law enforcement agencies. The task force will report its recom- mendations and findings to Brown by Nov.1. The task force is scheduled to have its first meeting toward the end of July, though no specific date is set. The force is made up of 13 members, including retired Marion County Sheriff Jason Myers. Myers, who was previously chair of the Board on Public Safety Standards and Training, said ongoing improve- ments to law enforcement training and accountability are nothing new, though recent protests against police brutality have brought the issue to the forefront of the conversation. Oregon’s “unique” Department of Public Safety Standards and Training agency serves to standardized training for public safety officials across the state, whereas many states may only have “regionalized” or “inconsistent” training, Myers said. “We have a really good system set up here in Oregon,” he said. Still, “I think like anything, it’s not perfect. Having a holistic review...I think that’s what ev- erybody wants. That’s how you get the best — is by not being afraid of rolling up your sleeves and try to make im- provements.” Lt. Treven Upkes, a spokesperson with the Salem Police Department, said the department always “welcomes” a training review. “We’re a learning agency so our pol- icies are reviewed regularly,” Upkes said. “We’re always updating our train- ing, our tactics, strategy, equipment. We’re not static — we’re not doing the Dikes Continued from Page 1A move both rock walls. “We’re moving the upper one right now,” Case said. “If we move the lower dike, it’s going to be a huge danger to ev- erybody on the river. I’m very worried somebody will drown.” And it’s already dangerous. A large number of trees fell into the stream this year and combined with un- usually high water, swept many people floating the river in inner tubes into logs known as “strainers” — because water goes through, but people often don’t, Address: P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309 Phone: 503-399-6773 Fax: 503-399-6706 Email: sanews@salem.gannett.com Web site: www.SilvertonAppeal.com Staff same things that police departments did in the 1930s.” Upkes said no one from the depart- ment has been asked to participate with the task force as of yet. One of the task forces’ responsibil- ities will be to give recommendations on how to include additional public participation and inclusion of commu- nities of color. Upkes said Salem’s department has a recruiting team that is committed to creating a “culturally equitable and competent” hiring process. One challenge for the task force, he said, could be adjusting the require- ments so that all law enforcement agencies — no matter the size or re- sources — can meet it. “We have specialists who can take time out of patrol to train, but if you’re a three-person department that doesn’t even patrol 24/7, it’s really hard for them to get all of the training hours that they need in a year -- let alone having the budget to travel or get training to come to them,” he said. “Those are things that need to be considered as well.” According to a release from Brown’s office, members of the task force will: i Review current Oregon statutes and administrative rules on police training and certification. i Identify gaps in current statute, administrative rules, and policies gov- erning officer training and certification. i Recommend how to apply best practices, research and data to officer training and certification. i Provide recommendations on how to best incorporate concepts of racial equity into officer training and certifi- cation requirements. i Provide recommendations on use of force training, including best prac- tices of how to incorporate concepts of officer use of the least amount of neces- sary force to accomplish a lawful objec- tive and de-escalation during a use of force event. i Provide recommendations on the composition of the Board on Public Safety Standards and Training and how to include additional public participa- tion and inclusion of communities of color. i Provide recommendations on statutory requirements for officer de- certification. Virginia Barreda is the breaking news and public safety reporter for the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at 503-399-6657 or at vbarre- da@statesmanjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2. leading to drownings. The Oregon Marine Board has con- sidered removing the logs, but ultimate- ly didn’t because of expense, access is- sues and impact to fish habitat. Removing dikes could create risk The 1,075-foot-long rock wall Case is removing this week predates his owner- ship of the farm land. As part of the removal of that rock, Case will reduce the slope and replant the area of riverbank, and it is likely when he does, the river will change channels. “The first one they’re starting on is the upper dike that the U.S Army Corps LOCAL ADVISORS Salem Area www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC Michael Wooters Garry Falor CFP ® FINANCIAL ADVISOR South | 503-362-5439 FINANCIAL ADVISOR West | 503-588-5426 Caitlin Davis CFP ® Chip Hutchings FINANCIAL ADVISOR West | 503-585-1464 FINANCIAL ADVISOR Lancaster | 503-585-4689 Jeff Davis Tim Sparks FINANCIAL ADVISOR Mission | 503-363-0445 FINANCIAL ADVISOR Commercial | 503-370-6159 Tyson Wooters FINANCIAL ADVISOR South | 503-362-5439 Keizer Area Mario Montiel FINANCIAL ADVISOR Keizer | 503-393-8166 Surrounding Area Concerned about interest rates? Let's talk. 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Clinics Continued from Page 1A closed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then it has referred those seek- ing those reproductive health services to other health care providers. The county came to the decision af- ter rounds of focus groups and inter- views with other health care providers that began in late 2019. “As we begin to move away from di- rect service, we are eager to focus more of our time on creating change at the systems level,” said Katrina Rothen- berger, Marion County Public Health Division Director. Those seeking family planning ser- vices at Marion County facilities dropped to 1,346 in 2019 from 6,662 in 2010, a drop of 80%. Wyatt said the reproductive services program cost about $1 million each year, which is part of what led the de- partment to make the shift. “I believe there was only one or two of Engineers put in 50 years ago,” said Dave Duquette, a consultant for Case. Case constructed the second dike, a 770-foot rock wall, just upstream of the confluence of the North and South San- tiam, after repeated floods in 2009. The removal of the dike will send the river’s current directly into the grove of tall trees, which, once fallen, will likely stretch across the river. Yon spent over a decade working on Linn County’s water rescue team, fre- quently being called to rescue people whose watercraft had become snagged in that area on the river. “Historically and for years, the con- fluence has been pretty tricky,” Yon said. “There’s some tight turns. This one cor- ner by the second levy, that’s where we’ve picked people up the most.” The area where the two branches of the river come together has long been prone to flooding. But its relatively calm waters and easy accessibility make it popular for people who want to float down the river on inner tubes and other water craft. ‘Government overreach?’ Case farms about 2,000 acres around Jefferson, including about 1,200 acres he owns, and grows sweet corn on the property in question. Most of this corn ends up at Safeway, Fred Meyer or Wal- mart. After the farmland flooded multiple times and washed out vegetation such as trees, he built a 770-foot-long rock wall in the lower section of his farm in 2009. Case said he got permission to build the dike from the U.S. Army Corps of En- gineers and the Oregon Department of State Lands, and was told he didn’t need a permit as long as the work stayed out of the water. He said officials with the Army Corps even checked his progress. But building that dike without a per- mit and no written authorization brought him under the scrutiny of the EPA and set off a decade of legal fights. Case and the EPA reached a settle- ment where he would pay $100,000, re- move both rock walls and restore the banks of the North Santiam River with employees associated with it and they have been reassigned,” Wyatt said. There were several other public health services Marion County offers that saw steep declines in the past dec- ade. Though those seeking services like immunizations (1,522 in 2019 from 6,194 in 2019), sexually transmitted in- fections (808 from 2,946) and tubercu- losis (2,168 from 2,560) dropped in the time frame. Other nearby counties such as Mult- nomah, Washington and Clackamas, dropped immunization services from their public health authorities in recent years. Despite the decline in those seeking immunizations and STD and HIV ser- vices, Marion County will continue to offer those at the Salem Public Health Clinic location at 3180 Center Street NE in Salem. Bill Poehler covers Marion County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@statesmanjournal.com or Twitter.com/bpoehler Support local journalism by sub- scribing to the Statesman Journal. native vegetation. He said he felt pressured to sign the settlement. Now that settlement could make a bad situation worse for recreation on the river. “It makes absolutely no sense what they’re doing,” Duquette said. Case’s settlement with the EPA be- came official May 31 after a public com- ment period, and he says he had no choice but to start the work. At no point before the settlement was reached did the EPA reach out to other impacted government agencies for their input about potential impacts the resto- rations could have. “To me this is just government over- reach,” said Yon, who has been Linn County’s Sheriff since 2018. “Someone at the EPA, for whatever, reason doesn’t like it. That’s just my opinion. “They’ve never stepped foot out there. They’ve never had to go rescue someone. Yet they know and that’s the world we live in.” A spokesperson from the EPA did not return calls for comment. Case is spending thousands of dol- lars moving rock and earth in a move he knows will impact the river, allowing it to form new channels and causing con- cern by multiple groups, including the Linn County Commissioners. He also worries that when the water gets high, it will wash pollution and dirt from his farm into the drinking water in- take for Albany and Millersburg, located just downstream from the field at the confluence of the two rivers. “It is not popular with anyone but the EPA,” Duquette said. Case said even with the agreement, he’s kept fighting, hoping EPA will change its mind. “I know somebody is going to drown there,” he said. Bill Poehler covers Marion County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@statesmanjournal.com or Twitter.com/bpoehler Zach Urness has been an outdoors re- porter, photographer and drone pilot in Oregon for 12 years. He can be reached at zurness@statesmanjournal.com.