MAY 06, 2022, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
CRIME , Continued
from page A1
“A lot of times, when we’re dealing
with someone who has some mental
health issues, we’re not able to get them
help if they are impaired or intoxicated –
we see this drive other criminalities like
trespassing,” he said.
Kast said prior to SB1510, law enforce-
ment officers were often able to intervene
in these situations and effectively “use”
a drug charge to direct the offender into
the mental health system for treatment.
Now, he said, they have to approach the
problem from a different angle.
For Marion County, that means mental
health teams going out into the commu-
nity to “interact with folks in a different
way.”
On the subject of homelessness, Kast
was quite direct. He said homelessness
is not a law enforcement issue, but it
becomes one by default.
“The crisis usually starts with a men-
tal health issue,” said Kast.
Kast, who estimated that 40% of the
inmates in the Marion County Jail have
an identified mental illness, said it’s a set
of convoluted, well-ingrained problems
facing law enforcement.
Gaston said his county’s percentage
was likely higher, and estimated that 10%
of the inmates in the Polk County Jail
who have an identified mental illness
are unable to conduct their own legal
defense, and in some cases even speak or
communicate with others clearly.
“A couple of decades ago we had
some mental health institutions locally –
Fairview, Hillcrest – and they shut down.
At the time, there was talk about having
the services provided by some other ave-
nue, and that just hasn’t materialized.
We wind up dealing with that situation
through our jails especially, but also on
From left to right, Marion County Sheriff Joe Kast, District Attorney Paige Clarkson, Polk County District Attorney Aaron
Felton, Salem Chamber of Commerce Vice President for Business Development Jeff Miller, and Marion County Commissioner
Kevin Cameron were among the discussion participants.
Photo by CHARLES GLENN of the Keizertimes
the patrol side,” said Kast.
Much of what the sheriffs had to
say was echoed by both county district
attorneys.
“I’ve been a prosecutor for over 20
years,” said Marion County District
Attorney Paige Clarkson. “The last few
years have been the hardest in my profes-
sional career – I’ve never seen the crimi-
nal justice system struggle like we have
over the last few years, and many of these
problems are beyond our control, like the
pandemic, but all of this has compressed
the system like never before.”
Clarkson said social distancing rules
and new regulations meant only two
courts in Marion County were fully-func-
tional and able to hold jury trials during
the pandemic, when they would usually
have 13 available.
In describing the challenges and
the public support for Measure 110, she
gave equal weight to what she called
Oregonian’s “confused compassion.”
“With Measure 110, we’ve seen the
compassionate heart of Oregonians
and our signature desire to help people
become confused with a lack of account-
ability – you can be compassionate and
still hold people accountable.”
Polk County District Attorney Aaron
Felton described the mental health crisis
as “the defining issue” of his career, and
he thinks one way tackle it is to make
the courts more accessible to the public
and more victim-friendly. He proposed
to make procedural hearings and court
activities public and put more cameras
in courtrooms.
Jeff Miller, who emceed the event and
is a board-officer the Salem chamber, said
that while solutions aren't easy to come
by, the real value of these discussions is
to get the county and law enforcement
officials and the business leaders in the
same room and on “the same page,” and
plans to have further panels on the issue.
KeizerFEST: ‘Bill got his wish’
Continued from page A1
The proposal has not been met with
much resistance since it was suggested.
Public Works Director Bill Lawyer noti-
fied the council in March that the cham-
ber had already contracted work at the
park in preparation for the event, includ-
ing weed control and ground-flattening.
He said the field adjacent to Chemawa
Road would be the event location,
between the access road along dog park
and up to the Big Toy site.
The Chamber’s plans for the
KeizerFEST week of August 8-12 include
a comedy show, a corn-hole tournament,
a car show, a parade, a golf tournament
and much more. A current schedule of
events is available on the chamber’s
website, keizerchamber.com.
WHEATLAND PUBLISHING CORP.
142 Chemawa Road N, Keizer, Oregon 97303
Phone: 503.390.1051 • www.keizertimes.com
Diners at a 2018 KeizerFEST event, to be held this year at Keizer Rapids Park.
FILE PHOTO
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
Lyndon Zaitz
publisher@keizertimes.com
ADVERTISING
Robin Barney
advertising@keizertimes.com
REPORTER
Charles Glenn
editor@keizertimes.com
PRODUCTION MANAGER
& GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Logan Turbes
graphics@keizertimes.com
SPORTS/SCHOOLS REPORTER
Joshua Manes
news@keizertimes.com
COMMUNITY REPORTER
Bee Flint
reporter@keizertimes.com
LEGAL NOTICES
legals@keizertimes.com
BUSINESS DESK
Christine Baker
billing@keizertimes.com
RECEPTION/
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Michelle Litsey
subs@keizertimes.com
FOLLOW US
ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
NEW DIGITAL
SUBSCRIPTION PRICING:
$5 per month, $60 per year
YEARLY PRINT
SUBSCRIPTION PRICING:
$35 inside Marion County
$43 outside Marion County
$55 outside Oregon
PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY
Publication No: USPS 679-430
POSTMASTER
Send address changes to:
Keizertimes Circulation
142 Chemawa Road N.
Keizer, OR 97303
Periodical postage paid
at Salem, Oregon