Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2016)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2016 Roden: Doctors describe the childrens’ injuries as torture Continued from Page 1A move the case forward to trial in September, and to allow the prosecution to present the gruesome evidence. “It’s all systems go in Sep- tember,” Brown said. Traumatized children Roden, 28, who is facing the death penalty if convicted, is already serving an eight- year prison sentence for violat- ing probation from a previous domestic violence conviction. He is accused of tortur- ing and murdering Evange- lina Wing in December 2014. An autopsy found the toddler apparently died of battered child syndrome with blunt force trauma to her head. Roden is also accused of abusing the two brothers, Pat- rick Wing, now 3, and Peydon Kahclamat-Harding, now 7. The boys are living with fam- ily in California. Doctors describe the chil- drens’ injuries as torture. A pediatric doctor testiied in April that Peydon is one of the most traumatized children she had ever seen. Prosecutors believe Evan- gelina Wing and her broth- ers were tortured, burned, bitten and caged in the Sea- side apartment their mother, Dorothy Wing, shared with Roden. Wing, 26, pleaded guilty in January to irst-degree man- slaughter and two counts of irst-degree criminal mistreat- The Daily Astorian/File Photo Defense attorney Conor Huseby leads Randy Roden away after a hearing at Clatsop County Courthouse. ment. She was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison, contingent on her truthfully testifying at Roden’s trial. Attempts to dismiss Roden’s defense lawyers attempted to dismiss the case by claiming doctors never tested the children’s tissue for a dangerous lesh-eating virus known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infec- tion. The defense has an expert — Janice Ophoven, a pedi- atric forensic pathologist — who claims the toddler likely died from complications of the infection, rather than from blunt-force trauma. The two brothers also showed signs of the infection, she said. “(The doctors) acted in good faith,” Brownhill con- cluded. “Moreover, it was not apparent in December 2014 that testing more tis- sue for MRSA would pro- duce evidence favorable to the defendant.” The defense lawyers tried to claim Roden does not qualify for the death penalty because he is intellectually disabled. Brownhill denied their request, concluding that Roden illustrated a history of bad behavior, not intellectual disabilities. Throughout his school years in Georgia, Roden threaten to kill himself, threatened to kill teachers and other students, hit and slapped other students, threw things in class and used foul and vulgar language. “He was in special educa- tion services in school because of his behavior, not his intel- lect,” Brownhill wrote. “He earned good grades when he wanted to play football. His poor grades were due in large part to absenteeism and his refusal to work.” Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Andrew Gonzalez zips up his graduation gown while get- ting ready for his graduation ceremony at South Jetty High School, Thursday in Warrenton. Greg Slate, right, puts on his graduation gown alongside his fellow graduates before the South Jetty High School graduation ceremony begins Thursday in Warrenton. Demetreas Watier, left, is congratulated by his cousin Re- zell Brandon after his graduation ceremony Thursday at South Jetty High School in Warrenton. Grads: Students thanked teachers and staff who cared Continued from Page 1A Herrera said he was ill- ing in for a neighboring county when he met Johnson-Fleish- man, a young man with a cap- tivating smile who he promised to work with during his time in the system. “Am I conident he will stay clean and sober? Yes,” Herrera said about his client’s immi- nent return to his old stomping grounds. “Will he have bumps? Yes.” Herrera compared sending kids back to their old neighbor- hoods and temptations to send- ing them out to walk through the mud. His job, he said, is helping them learn how to stay clean. A learning experience Along with friends and fam- ily, graduates Thursday gave thanks to the teachers and sup- port staff who cared, stayed after-hours to help and pushed them in the right direction. Heading the educational pro- grams at South Jetty is Richard Glinert, a former principal in Warrenton’s other schools who was transferred to the correc- tional facility in 2013. Glinert estimates that South Jetty has graduated 65 students out of about 400 who have come and gone during his 3 1/2 years, including 28 in the last year. It was intimidating at irst, he said, checking in behind the security walls, hearing about the worst-case scenarios that could unfold and keeping that in the back of his mind. But like other educators at South Jetty, Glinert said the worst-case scenarios never happened. ‘I have not had a kid square up to me in 3 1/2 years. That’s because I treat them with respect.’ Richard Glinert he’s heading the educational programs at South Jetty “They’re just kids,” he said. “I know they’ve committed crimes, but … I know a lot of these guys would like to move on with their lives, and I can respect that. “I have not had a kid square up to me in 3 1/2 years. That’s because I treat them with respect.” New operator, uncertain teachers The Northwest Regional Education Service District will take over the contract for South Jetty from Warrenton-Ham- mond in July. Paul Peterson, deputy super- intendent of the service district, said the plan is to try and bring back all the existing teachers, who get irst dibs at the South Jetty jobs, and keep things sim- ilar. “We are carrying forward the program that has been here and has been very successful,” he said. But for reasons unrelated to the service district, it may have to ind some new staff. Sam Ko, an educational spe- cialist for the state’s youth correc- tions and juvenile detention edu- cation programs, said the state is looking to standardize the edu- cational programs between dif- ferent facilities, trying to ensure kids get the same quality educa- tion wherever they go. Glinert said educators around the state are pushing back against the new model of standardization, feeling different schools with different populations should not be treated the same. “Some of the teachers said the process is chaos,” Glinert said. “They didn’t want to be a part of a program that was largely computer work.”’ Glinert said one of the two teachers and three of the four teaching assistants are planning to come back under the service district, while he wants to leave administration and get back into teaching math. Kate Licitra, a popular lan- guage arts and writing teacher at South Jetty and the longest-ten- ured after four years, said that although her salary would jump signiicantly under the service district, she is leaving to help kids from the outside. “I don’t believe in the prison system,” said Licitra, a self-de- scribed abolitionist. Moving back to Portland, she plans to open a coffee shop employing recently released inmates, helping people pass their GED exams and provid- ing a support network to avoid recidivism. ODOT: Union Paciic conducts a stress test every 18 months on metal fasteners Continued from Page 1A Union Paciic conducts a stress test of those metal fas- teners, called lag bolts, once every 18 months, using a special vehicle that tests the strength of the bolts, said Jus- tin Jacobs, a spokesman for Union Paciic. “What that vehicle does is it is designed to go down the tracks and put lateral pressure on rails so if there is a broken bolt, it will detect it,” Jacobs said. “That vehicle provides equivalent pressure of a loco- motive to the rails.” That specialized equipment is “above and beyond” what the Federal Railroad Admin- istration and the department of transportation do in their inspections, Garrett said. Union Paciic now plans to use that vehicle to inspect the bolts four times a year and plans to replace the older South Jetty High School graduates gaze outside the windows looking for their family and friends to arrive at the correctional facility for their gradua- tion ceremony Thursday in Warrenton. bolts with spiked bolts in the Columbia Gorge by end of year and across the state within the next two years, he said. The spiked bolts are eas- ier for state inspectors to see, Gard said. State transportation ofi- cials have requested Union Paciic’s inspection records, data on the last stress test on the Columbia Gorge line and construction plans. Gard said he wants rail trafic to stop until the Federal Railroad Administration and his agency can verify that Union Pacif- ic’s plans are suficient to keep people safe. “I need to be able to stand with straight face and say this track is as safe as it possibly can be,” Gard said. The Federal Railroad Administration plans to start a technical investigation spe- ciically into the bolts and is conducting intense inspections on both sides of the Columbia River. Gard said he has yet to receive word on whether the federal agency will grant his request for a moratorium on train trafic until then. Union Paciic has a his- tory of violations in the state. Nationwide, the company has paid more in penalties in the last two years than any other railroad, according to The Ore- gonian. None of the Oregon violations concerned defective railroad bolts, which caused the Mosier derailment, the newspaper reported June 10. Several state leaders ear- lier last week also requested a moratorium on oil trains in the state, including Oregon Sena- tors Ron Wyden and Jeff Mer- ley, Gov. Kate Brown, and Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici. In the meantime, Union Paciic trains continue to carry products through the Gorge. Healthcare at your $POWFOJFODF "QQPJOUNFOU5JNFTǰBU8PSL'PS:PV You’ve got a million and one things to do this week. Taking care of your health does not have to mean missing other important events—like that game-winning slide into home. See your doctor when it’s convenient to you. $.)1SJNBSZ$BSFJO8BSSFOUPOIBT OFXFYUFOEFEIPVST 7 AM - 7 PM , M - Th 7 AM - 5 PM , Fri People Centered, Quality Driven & Service Focused. 1639 SE Ensign Lane, Ste B103, Warrenton, Oregon tXXXDPMVNCJBNFNPSJBMPSH
