2A — THE OBSERVER
SaTuRday, MaRcH 14, 2020
STATE
Daily
Planner
TODAY
Today is Saturday, March
14, the 74th day of 2020.
There are 292 days left in
the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On March 14, 1794, Eli
Whitney received a patent
for his cotton gin, an in-
vention that revolutionized
America’s cotton industry.
ON THIS DATE
In 1885, the Gilbert and
Sullivan comic opera “The
Mikado” premiered at the
Savoy Theatre in London.
In 1907, President Theo-
dore Roosevelt signed an
executive order designed to
prevent Japanese laborers
from immigrating to the
United States as part of a
“gentlemen’s agreement”
with Japan.
In 1962, Democrat Ed-
ward M. Kennedy officially
launched in Boston his
successful candidacy for
the U.S. Senate seat from
Massachusetts once held by
his brother, President John F.
Kennedy. (Edward Kennedy
served in the Senate for
nearly 47 years.)
In 1964, a jury in Dallas
found Jack Ruby guilty of
murdering Lee Harvey Os-
wald, the accused assassin
of President John F. Kenne-
dy, and sentenced him to
death. (Both the conviction
and death sentence were
overturned, but Ruby died
before he could be retried.)
In 1965, Israel’s cabinet
formally approved establish-
ment of diplomatic relations
with West Germany.
In 1967, the body of
President John F. Kennedy
was moved from a tempo-
rary grave to a permanent
memorial site at Arlington
National Cemetery in
Virginia.
In 1976, movie musical
director and choreographer
Busby Berkeley, 80, died in
Palm Springs, California.
In 1980, an LOT Polish
Airlines jet crashed while at-
tempting to land in Warsaw,
killing all 87 people aboard,
including 22 members of a
U.S. amateur boxing team.
In 1990, the Soviet Con-
gress of People’s Deputies
held a secret ballot that
elected Mikhail S. Gor-
bachev to a new, powerful
presidency.
In 2001, inspectors tight-
ened U.S. defenses against
foot-and-mouth disease a
day after a case was con-
firmed in France.
In 2002, the government
charged the Arthur Andersen
accounting firm with ob-
struction of justice, securing
its first indictment in the
collapse of Enron. (Although
Arthur Andersen was later
found guilty, its conviction
was overturned by the U.S.
Supreme Court; however,
the damage to the firm’s
reputation was enough to
put it out of business.)
Five years ago, Robert
Durst, a wealthy eccentric
linked to two killings and
his wife’s disappearance,
was arrested by the FBI in
New Orleans on a murder
warrant a day before HBO
aired the final episode of a
serial documentary about
his life. (Durst is now on trial
for murder in Los Angeles.)
Math enthusiasts observed
“Pi Day,” in which the date
— 3-14-15 — lined up with
the first five digits of the
mathematical constant pi:
3.1415.
LOTTERY
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Mega Millions: $80 million
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Powerball: $120 million
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Win for Life: March 11
5-23-37-47
Pick 4: March 12
• 1 p.m.: 9-6-9-2
• 4 p.m.: 2-3-4-5
• 7 p.m.: 8-1-3-9
• 10 p.m.: 5-1-7-9
Pick 4: March 11
• 1 p.m.: 9-4-0-5
• 4 p.m.: 5-1-2-2
• 7 p.m.: 1-7-4-4
• 10 p.m.: 3-7-0-2
DELIVERY ISSUES?
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Any fool can make things
bigger, more complex, and
more violent. It takes a touch
of genius — and a lot of
courage — to move in the
opposite direction.”
— Albert Einstein, Ger-
man-born American physicist
(born this date in 1879, died
1955)
Lawmakers snub state’s public defenders
By Conrad Wilson
Oregon Public Broadcasting
SALEM — A bill that
would’ve boosted Oregon’s
public defenders died as a
result of the derailed legis-
lative session in Salem.
House Bill 4004
would’ve established per-
formance and case stan-
dards, and eliminated a
requirement for the state to
run a public defense system
built around being as cost
effective as possible.
“That had been, I
think, originally thought
by people to mean the
cheapest,” said Lane Borg,
executive director of the
state’s Office of Public
Defense Services.
The bill passed in the
state House overwhelm-
ingly. But like almost every
other bill in the 2020 leg-
islative session, it stalled
after Republicans walked
out because of a climate
change bill, denying the
Legislature a quorum nec-
essary to conduct business.
The public defense bill
also would’ve expanded the
commission that runs the
Office of Public Defense
Services from seven mem-
bers to nine, and required
one of the members be
an individual who had
received public defense
services.
Last session, lawmakers
failed to pass HB 3145,
OPB photo by Kaylee Domzalsk
Carl Macpherson is the executive director of Metropolitan Public Defender. The MPD is
the largest single provider of public defense services in Oregon.
which would’ve overhauled
the state’s public defense
system and started the
process of turning some
public defenders into state
employees. At the trial
level, all public defenders
in Oregon are contract
employees of the state.
Some of the attorneys work
at nonprofits, while others
are self employed or work
with other attorneys in
consortia.
In 2019, lawmakers
received a report from the
nonpartisan Sixth Amend-
ment Center, which found
Oregon’s public defense
system was structurally
flawed and effectively
unconstitutional.
The commission that
oversees public defense
addressed some of the
largest concerns raised by
the report, including a flat
fee contracting model that
paid attorneys per case,
regardless of the hours it
took. While lawmakers
didn’t pass HB 3145, they
pumped an additional $38
million into the system for
the 2019-21 budget; that
led to about 30 additional
attorneys and pay increases
across the state.
Teenage vaping small
but growing trend in
Wallowa County
By Bill Bradshaw
and Ellen Morris Bishop
EO Media Group
Photo by Kathy Aney/EO Media Group
Crystal King, charge nurse at Willowbrook Terrace, takes the temperature of Amber
Rice on Thursday morning. Rice, deemed an essential visitor, had come to visit her
grandmother.
State halts nursing home visits
Kathy Aney
EO Media Group
PENDLETON — A
sign inside McKay Creek
Estates’ sliding front doors
Thursday morning stopped
visitors cold.
In red marker, it said
“Under executive order
by the Governor, we are
not allowed visitors at this
time.”
The Pendleton assisted
living facility placed the
sign in the foyer after
receiving a mandate from
the state to prevent the
spread of the novel corona-
virus that has proven espe-
cially deadly for the elderly.
About a mile away, Wil-
lowbrook Terrace gave
visitors much the same
message. A sign warned,
“STOP HERE!” ALL VIS-
ITORS AND VENDORS.
Due to the COVID-19
virus, we are screening
all visitors. Please see the
nurse before entering.”
Only visitors deemed
“essential” will gain
entrance into Oregon’s
nursing homes, assisted
care facilities and residen-
tial care facilities — phy-
sicians, physical thera-
pists, hospice workers and
family members consid-
ered essential for the indi-
vidual’s well-being and
care or visiting during end-
of-life stages. Even essen-
tial people must answer
screening questions and
have their temperatures
taken.
“Our No. 1 priority is
to stop the spread of this
virus,” said Fariborz Pak-
seresht, director of the
Oregon Department of
Human Services.
Pakseresht and Pat
Allen, director of the
Oregon Health Authority,
announced the new restric-
tions Tuesday evening. The
extraordinary step comes as
data from around the world
shows the elderly are most
vulnerable to the corona-
virus that causes the respi-
ratory disease COVID-19.
State health authorities
also directed the facility
operators to limit commu-
nity outings and work to
arrange “virtual visits” for
their residents.
The first cases of coro-
navirus at an Oregon
assisted living facility were
announced Wednesday
night after two residents in
a veterans’ nursing home
in Lebanon contracted the
virus. State health officials
have sent a “strike team”
into the nursing home and
will test all of its residents
and staff.
Local administrators
appear to be taking the
mandate seriously.
“We have a really vul-
nerable population here,”
said Corey Crisman,
administrator at Willow-
brook Terrace. “We’re
trying to limit as many visi-
tors as possible.”
So far, he said, family
members are being
understanding.
“They know we have
to protect our residents,”
Crisman said. “We’ll get
through it.”
Malhia Lieuallen, exec-
utive director at McKay
Creek Estates, said resi-
dents, employees and vis-
itors are disappointed, but
compliant.
“This executive order
trumps everything,”
Lieuallen said. “We’re just
being cautious.”
Both facilities have
ceased taking groups of
residents to movies, con-
certs and other events in
the community, everything
except medical appoint-
ments. Similarly, musical
groups and other com-
munity visitors won’t be
allowed to come in.
“We’re doing a lot
of bingo and planning a
St. Paddy’s Day party,”
Lieuallen said. “We’re
trying to keep them busy.”
Crisman said Wil-
lowbrook residents will
have movies and popcorn
on-site, instead of going to
a theater.
Tests to determine
whether someone is
infected are conducted
through medical swabs sent
to the state’s central health
laboratory.
Pakseresht said Oregon
officials are taking every
step they can to avoid “the
tragic situation devel-
oping in Washington.”
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Nicole Cathey
Borg said there was an
additional $20 million pos-
sibility attached to the short
session’s budget bill, which
also did not pass after the
Republican walkout. He
said he hopes to get the
money released through the
state’s Emergency Board,
which is made of a group
of lawmakers who can allo-
cate funds outside of the
legislative session. There
are also rumors of a special
session.
Some public defenders
said they’re disappointed
lawmakers didn’t pass HB
4004.
“It does hurt morale in
that public defenders are
hoping, we’re counting
on this to pass,” said Carl
Macpherson, executive
director of Metropolitan
Public Defender, a non-
profit that serves indigent
clients in Multnomah and
Washington counties.
If Oregon fails to ade-
quately provide a public
defense system that meets
the needs of its clients, the
state could face a lawsuit.
“With the failure of
House Bill 3145 in 2019
and the failure of 4004 in
the short session, I think
it’s possible it could move
us closer to a lawsuit,”
said Carl Macpherson,
executive director of Met-
ropolitan Public Defender,
a nonprofit that serves
indigent clients in Mult-
nomah and Washington
counties.
The American Civil
Liberties Union has sued
a number of states over
a lack funding to public
defense: Michigan in 2007,
Washington in 2011, Loui-
siana in 2016, Missouri and
Nevada in 2017, and Idaho
in 2018.
Kelly Simon, interim
legal director at the ACLU
of Oregon, said it’s good to
see the state investing in
the public defense system.
But, Simon added, there
remains the potential for
costly litigation.
10106 N. ‘C’ • Island City
541-975-1364
ENTERPRISE —
Vaping among young
people has reached epi-
demic proportions both
in Oregon and the U.S.
according to the U.S.
Food and Drug Admin-
istration. And this new,
high-tech method of
inhaling nicotine and
other substances seems to
be a growing problem in
Wallowa County as well.
In Wallowa County,
schools ban both smoking
and vaping on school
grounds and at school
activates. But within the
past three months, several
students and student-ath-
letes have reportedly
been involved in vaping
at athletic events. Despite
the ban on kid-friendly
vaping flavors, Mandy
Decker, Director of Juve-
nile Services for Wallowa
County, sees vaping as a
growing problem.
Just like smoking
tobacco, vaping delivers
nicotine to the user.
Hence, other concerns
cited by the CDC include
the negative effects of
nicotine on the devel-
oping adolescent brain,
the presence of heavy
metals, including nickel,
tin and lead in the aero-
sols inhaled, and the
presence of known car-
cinogens in the same
fluids. Flavorings can
also trigger serious lung
disease.
“It took 20 to 30 years
to get the studies out that
tobacco could kill you,”
said David Howe, prin-
cipal at Wallowa High
School. When it comes
to studying vaping,
“They’re only a few years
into it.” Howe would nei-
ther confirm nor deny
vaping by Wallowa
students.
At Joseph Charter
School, high school prin-
cipal Sherri Kilgore said
the school has taken steps
to detect vaping in the
school buildings and on
the school grounds.
“It’s a big enough
problem we bought and
installed vaping detec-
tors in the bathrooms and
locker rooms,” she said.
“Those tend to be the
places kids go to vape.
We already have cameras
down all the hallways. …
They work, they definitely
work.”
She said some stu-
dents were caught vaping
during a wrestling match
in January, but they were
not Joseph students, were
from a visiting school and
their coach was notified.
Sheriff Steve Rodgers said
that the sheriff’s office
was called late last year to
Joseph Charter School and
a youth was cited.
Although youth vaping
has been called an epi-
demic, Kilgore doesn’t
believe that’s the case at
Joseph. But she admits she
could be wrong.
“Problem is, the kids
can conceal their use,” she
said. “I think it’s a bigger
problem than we see.”
Enterprise School
Superintendent Erika
Pinkerton agreed, but
noted that there haven’t
been any known incidents
in Enterprise this school
year.
Enterprise Police Chief
Joel Fish noted that there
was an incident at the
Enterprise School where
someone was reported
vaping during a game. He
didn’t recall if anyone was
caught or a citation was
issued.
While a 2018, con-
gressionally mandated,
National Academy of Sci-
ence study found that
e-cigarettes and vaping
may be less harmful than
conventional cigarettes,
it also noted that the long
term effect of e-cigarettes
was not clear, and that they
were likely to draw more
young people into nicotine
addiction and, ultimately
cigarette smoking.
Mandy Decker,
director of Juvenile
Services for Wallowa
County, said Friday,
March 6, that although
the youth vaping problem
is growing, it doesn’t
seem to be very wide-
spread in Wallowa
County — yet.
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