2A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016
Department of Corrections doesn’t
track mistakes in inmate releases
Traveling cannabis
fair visits Astoria
gators to potential customers to
check their business practices.
If everything checks out, she
said, New Growth will cover
up to $2 million in case of theft.
Kevin Sikkink and Grant
Thomas traveled from Min-
nesota to represent their com-
pany, Skunk Tees, started while
they were college students.
Despite legalization and the
history of cannabis and hemp
cultivation in the U.S., Sik-
kink said he has to source his
hemp and organic copper shirts
from China because of the cost
being about double domesti-
cally. Sikkink said he also faces
the challenge of fi nding print-
ers who will work on hemp.
Thomas said the irony is
that while cannabis-related
businesses love to be asso-
ciated with hemp products,
hemp companies are fearful
of the linkage and its effect on
business.
But the two said they are
still fi nding a market in head
shops and fairs. “We’re trying
to be one of those early compa-
nies,” Sikkink said.
The only local sponsor of
the event was Sweet Relief
Natural Medicine, the fi rst dis-
pensary in the county. Gary
Reynolds, a co-owner of the
dispensary, said it’s import-
ant for local businesses to be
present at such fairs and help
provide knowledge to their
customers.
Seeds, edibles,
even insurance,
on display
By EDWARD
STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
A month after the rides went
down, the blue ribbons were
given out and the 4-H animals
sold at auction, another type of
fair came the Clatsop County
Fairgrounds.
The Hemp & Cannabis
Fair, a traveling, all-in-one dis-
play for one of Oregon’s new-
est industries, set up shop over
the weekend.
Naomi Forkash, manager
of the fair, said the idea is to
bring knowledge about all
things cannabis to the people.
The fair is traveling around the
state, next visiting Bend and
Salem.
The fair brought speakers
on the laws, effects, science
and seeds behind cannabis.
Vendors sold seeds, edibles,
paraphernalia, growing and
harvesting supplies and even
insurance. It included some
of the newer businesses that
have popped up as a result of
legalization.
Steven Lewis said he had
been working for a company
focusing on energy effi ciency.
He helped build a greenhouse
Mistake in
Washington state
set thousands
free early
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
My Urban Growhouse
was selling all-in-one in-
door grow setups at The
Hemp & Cannabis Fair.
in a friend’s backyard. Then the
idea for My Urban Growhouse
was born.
“We basically give you a
complete turnkey grow sys-
tem,” Lewis said.
Dawn Redlich, a represen-
tative of New Growth Insur-
ance, said there are probably
only three companies in the
region providing insurance
to cannabis-related business.
She said her employers were
working in the more traditional
insurance industry, but saw an
unserved market.
“Sadly, the reality is dis-
pensaries are being robbed,”
Redlich said.
Her company sends investi-
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
57
67
55
Cloudy with a couple of
showers
Occasional morning rain
and drizzle
ALMANAC
Mostly cloudy and
comfortable
Full
Salem
55/70
Newport
53/62
Sep 16
Coos Bay
53/67
New
Sep 23
OREGON
Sunday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 4-6-6-7
4 p.m.: 7-0-9-0
7 p.m.: 3-5-8-6
10 p.m.: 1-1-0-6
Saturday’s Megabucks:
Ontario
45/73
Burns
34/67
Klamath Falls
35/72
02-04-16-17-37-48
Lakeview
33/73
Ashland
46/77
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
10:56 a.m.
11:39 p.m.
Low
1.3 ft.
0.8 ft.
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
Hi
70
69
67
76
64
71
80
71
62
67
Today
Lo
35
43
51
52
58
35
49
55
53
54
W
pc
s
pc
pc
c
s
s
c
pc
pc
Hi
61
65
66
70
64
72
79
69
62
67
Tues.
Lo
35
38
53
48
57
36
52
51
51
52
W
c
c
pc
sh
r
pc
pc
sh
sh
c
City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
67
74
70
79
75
65
70
75
69
78
Today
Lo
52
52
57
52
55
58
48
51
56
51
W
c
pc
c
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
c
pc
Hi
67
69
69
73
70
65
60
68
68
76
Tues.
Lo
51
50
54
54
51
56
47
50
52
44
W
c
sh
sh
c
sh
pc
sh
sh
sh
c
TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
Hi
89
69
88
89
90
85
93
55
87
89
91
93
76
94
90
92
88
83
92
85
93
75
71
67
88
LOTTERIES
Baker
35/61
REGIONAL CITIES
Tonight's Sky: M18 is a small star cluster in the
constellation Sagittarius, which is low in the south
at nightfall.
Today
Lo
68
63
73
52
75
68
73
46
75
70
74
71
60
77
77
69
78
68
73
69
76
53
55
55
69
La Grande
41/60
Roseburg
52/73
Brookings
50/69
Sep 30
John Day
48/62
Bend
43/65
Medford
49/79
UNDER THE SKY
High
6.7 ft.
7.7 ft.
Prineville
46/67
Lebanon
52/68
Eugene
52/70
Last
Pendleton
52/69
The Dalles
57/74
Portland
57/69
Sunset tonight ........................... 7:46 p.m.
Sunrise Tuesday .......................... 6:43 a.m.
Moonrise today ......................... 10:58 a.m.
Moonset today ........................... 9:58 p.m.
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Honolulu
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC
A morning shower;
otherwise, cloudy
Partial sunshine
Tillamook
56/63
SUN AND MOON
Time
5:08 a.m.
5:01 p.m.
71
55
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
57/67
Precipitation
Sunday ............................................. 0.00"
Month to date ................................... 0.57"
Normal month to date ....................... 0.24"
Year to date .................................... 41.41"
Normal year to date ........................ 38.59"
Sep 9
FRIDAY
68
53
REGIONAL WEATHER
Astoria through Sunday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 66°/53°
Normal high/low ........................... 69°/51°
Record high ............................ 92° in 1955
Record low ............................. 41° in 1956
First
THURSDAY
69
55
W
s
r
s
s
t
s
t
r
pc
s
s
s
pc
t
pc
s
t
pc
pc
s
s
pc
pc
c
s
Hi
92
72
90
81
92
90
83
48
87
90
92
96
78
93
88
93
89
85
91
90
94
80
74
66
92
Tues.
Lo
69
67
75
53
73
73
67
35
76
73
75
73
59
77
76
70
78
70
74
71
78
57
57
55
73
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
s
sh
pc
pc
t
s
t
sh
pc
s
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
s
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
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Saturday’s Powerball: 07-
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Estimated jackpot: $170
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Saturday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 9-6-5-9
4 p.m.: 7-7-5-3
7 p.m.: 5-4-9-1
10 p.m.: 6-1-0-9
Friday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 6-1-0-7
4 p.m.: 0-1-8-9
7 p.m.: 4-4-6-8
10 p.m.: 8-9-7-7
WASHINGTON
Sunday’s Daily Game: 7-7-0
Sunday’s Keno: 03-13-22-
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Saturday’s Lotto: 05-15-27-
37-41-46
Saturday’s Match 4: 01-12-
23-24
Friday’s Daily Game: 2-1-4
Friday’s Keno: 03-16-18-28-
31-35-38-41-42-46-50-52-
53-57-62-65-66-73-74-75
Friday’s Match 4: 03-12-
16-21
Friday’s Mega Millions:
22-28-41-46-60, Mega Ball:
3, Megaplier: 3
Estimated jackpot: $92
million
E.J. Harris/EO Media Group
Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton. Or-
egon corrections offi cials say its rare that inmates are mis-
takenly released early, though they don’t track such errors.
lor in May 2015, less than two
weeks after Smith’s accidental
release from prison, according
to multiple news reports.
Oregon Department of Cor-
rections has multiple systems in
place to guard against mistakes
in release dates, Bernt said.
Information
technology
employees conduct extensive
testing when sentencing track-
ing computer system updates
are made due to law changes.
Two separate corrections
employees also review pris-
oner fi les six months prior to
release, with additional reviews
at two weeks and one day before
release, Bernt said.
Mistakes in release dates
usually stem from human error
or failure to receive “critical
information” from the county
jail or county court in a timely
manner, she said.
Mistakes are usually detected
when corrections employees
review an inmate’s fi le after
release for some reason, Bernt
said. Events that could prompt
a review include when a lawsuit
is fi led or when offi cials receive
a call from county offi cials who
have questions about the release,
she said.
John Potter, who has been
executive director of the Ore-
gon Criminal Defense Associa-
tion for the past 37 years, said he
has never known of a case when
a client was released too early.
“I can’t even come up with
an anecdotal example of a law-
yer who had someone who got
out early because someone
made a mistake,” Potter said.
360-875-8016
Raymond, Washington
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State Rep. Jeff Barker,
D-Aloha, chairman of the House
Judiciary Committee, said he
was unaware that Oregon cor-
rections offi cials don’t track the
frequency of erroneous releases.
“I don’t know if they have
anybody released early, … but
I would be interested in looking
into that,” Barker said.
Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eu-
gene, chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, said even
though Oregon doesn’t appear
to have a chronic problem with
releasing inmates too early, he
has asked the Department of
Corrections to begin to count
how many times it happens.
“I know they said they don’t
normally, but they are going to
maybe try to integrate that in, so
they have a point of reference,”
Prozanski said.
Corrections offi cials said they
plan to track those numbers in
the future, but have not selected
a date. Tracking past instances
would require offi cials to man-
ually pull the release records of
every inmate, they said.
“So far, our plans to start
tracking erroneous releases are
in the discussion phase,” Bernt
said. “We agree that errone-
ous releases should and can be
tracked in some way, but need
to explore the most accurate and
effi cient way to do that.”
“We are confi dent that pre-
mature releases are a rare occur-
rence in Oregon,” she added.
The Capital Bureau is a col-
laboration between EO Media
Group and Pamplin Media
Group.
Schools take steps to ensure
water supplies are lead free
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
As school starts this year,
school districts trying to
ensure returning students
have water supplies free of
lead.
Astoria Superintendent
Craig Hoppes said testing
found lead issues in five
feed lines to water foun-
tains at Astoria High School.
All other schools came back
clean.
“The d istrict is in the
process of replacing the
feed lines to the water foun-
tains,” Hoppes wrote in a
letter to parents. “In addi-
tion, the d istrict is replacing
the five water fountains at
the high school. The water
fountains will be replaced
due to their age and for pre-
cautionary reasons.”
Hoppes said two of the
affected fountains will be
replaced by Tuesday, with
the other three replaced
within a couple weeks. The
district received help with
testing from the city of
Astoria.
Wa r r e n t o n - H a m m o n d
School District received
their results from lead and
copper testing Thursday.
Superintendent Mark Jef-
fery said that among the two
water features tested at War-
renton Grade School and
Warrenton High School,
there were no issues.
“We’re good on lead and
copper,” Jeffery said, adding
the district is focusing on
readying its preliminary test-
ing plans for lead and radon
by Sept. 15.
FUNERAL
Tuesday, Sept. 6
PARKS, Glen William — A
funeral service is 1 p.m. Tues-
day at Caldwell’s Luce-Layton
Mortuary. A reception follows
after the service at Warrenton
Community Center, 170 S.W.
Third St., Warrenton, Oregon.
Caldwell’s Luce Layton Mortu-
ary is in charge of arrangements.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Seaside Community Center
Commission, 10 a.m., 1225
Avenue A.
Seaside Library Board, 4:30
p.m., 1131 Broadway.
Miles Crossing Sanitary Sewer
District Board, 6 p.m., 34583
U.S. Highway 101 Business.
Astoria City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
The Daily Astorian
Established July 1, 1873
(USPS 035-000)
Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group,
949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-
325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER:
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MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
2870 Ocean Avenue
Between Raymond & South Bend on
Highwayt 101 at mile post 56
SALEM — Oregon correc-
tions offi cials say it’s rare that
inmates are mistakenly released
early, though they don’t track
such errors.
A computer coding error in
Washington state caused thou-
sands of inmates there to be
released before they had com-
pleted their sentences.
The Oregon Department of
Corrections releases more than
5,000 inmates each year. Offi -
cials said instances of erroneous
releases are a “rare occurrence”
because they test computer
codes used to calculate sen-
tences and “good time” credit
and review individual fi les. But
offi cials could not provide an
estimate of how many mistakes
occur each year.
“While DOC does not track
when erroneous early releases
happen, we do know that it
does not occur that often,”
said Betty Bernt, a corrections
spokeswoman.
Washington Gov. Jay Ins-
lee announced in December that
state’s Department of Correc-
tions had released up to 3,200
inmates too soon since 2002
because a software-coding error
was miscalculating sentences.
The error occurred when cal-
culating “good time” credits for
certain sentences.
A victim’s family alerted
offi cials to the problem in 2012,
but offi cials knowingly delayed
a scheduled software fi x,
according to a third-party inves-
tigation of the errors.
Several of those prisoners
committed crimes while they
were free, Washington correc-
tions offi cials said. One pris-
oner, Jeremiah A. Smith, gunned
down 17-year-old Ceasar
Medina during an attempted
robbery at a Spokane tattoo par-
The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for
republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper.
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Broadway.
Cannon Beach City Council, 7
p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
WEDNESDAY
Astoria Maritime Memorial
Committee, 1 p.m., Holiday Inn
Express, 204 W. Marine Drive.
Seaside Improvement Com-
mission, 6:30 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 698 Pacifi c Way.
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