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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2016
Mental health agency making
strides, but path still bumpy
OBITUARY
Mary Louise Strohl Montgomery
Astoria
Feb. 18, 1917 — Dec. 11, 2016
Crisis respite
center lacks
secure beds
Mary Montgomery was born Feb. 18, 1917, olina and became a children’s protective ser-
in Quincy, Illinois, to Dr. Harley and Eva (Gill) vice worker for the states of Maryland and Flor-
Strohl. Mary passed away Sunday, Dec. 11, ida. Upon retiring in 1980, she moved from
2016, in Astoria.
Winter Park, Florida, to Astoria, where she was
employed as a library assistant for 11
Mrs. Montgomery was a graduate
of the class of 1939 at the University
years at the Astoria Library.
of Illinois, with a major in fine arts.
She is survived by her son, Mark
She was granted a year’s study with
V. Montgomery III and daughter-in-
Frederic Taubes, an Italian painter. She
law, Tomelene, of Lompoc, California;
was a member of Illustrators Interna-
daughter Kristin M. Johnson and son-
in-law, Jeffery H. Johnson, of Astoria;
tional (an honorary fraternity). She
granddaughter Jasmine Swank and her
maintained a studio and painted many
husband, Shannon, of Astoria; grand-
portraits while also employed by Gar-
son Michael Montgomery of Boulder,
rard Press as art editor and job estima-
Colorado; grandson Daniel Montgom-
tor. She later became a cartographer,
Mary
ery and his wife, Morgana, of Win-
then apprenticed as an editor with
Montgomery
ston-Salem, North Carolina; grandson
Kingsport Press.
Matthew White and his wife, Davina,
In 1941, Mary married Ensign
Mark V. Montgomery Jr. They divorced in 1969. of Templeton, California; five great-grandchil-
They had three children, Mark III, David P. and dren, Solice Swank of Astoria and Ethan, Isaiah,
daughter Kristin. Cmdr. Montgomery and their Emma and Jaiden White of Templeton, California.
A special remembrance for a longtime friend,
son, David, preceded her in death, along with a
Pat Miller. Special thanks to Brent and Renee
grandson, Ethan Montgomery.
As a Navy wife, Mrs. Montgomery continued Kahle for providing 2 1⁄2 years of loving care
to paint many portraits, landscapes and still life, and friendship. The Kahles became, and will con-
throughout the U.S. and British Territories until tinue to be, part of Mary’s family.
Visitation will be held Friday, Dec. 16, 2016,
she became legally blind in 2003. She maintained
a lively interest in art, politics and Bible study, from 1 to 5 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016,
and was a member of the First Congregational from 10 to noon at Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mor-
Church, although she was baptized in St. John’s tuary, 1165 Franklin Ave., Astoria, Oregon.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, Dec. 17,
Cathedral, in Quincy, Illinois, of which she had
fond memories. She was also church organist 2016, at 1 p.m. at Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary.
Private vault interment will be at Ocean View
and choir director of the Navy Chapel in Trin-
idad, British West Indies, from 1947-1948. She Cemetery in Warrenton, Oregon.
Memorial contributions may be given to the
later taught in a private school and sang at the
Clatsop County Animal Shelter, 1315 S.E. 19th
Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C.
In later years, Mrs. Montgomery studied St., Warrenton, OR 97146, or to a charity of one’s
social work at Winthrop College in South Car- choice.
By DERRICK
DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
Six months after a
leadership
implosion,
Clatsop
Behavioral
Healthcare has hired more
than two dozen new staff-
ers, opened a crisis respite
center in Warrenton, and
secured a two-year cer-
tificate to provide mental
health services.
Amy Baker, the exec-
utive director brought in
to stabilize the agency
in June, has also ensured
that the status of high-risk
patients is reviewed every
morning, a safeguard to
help prevent people from
crisis.
“I think that we’ve
made some significant
headway, but we’re defi-
nitely not where we want
to be yet,” Baker told the
Clatsop County Board of
Commissioners
during
an update on the agen-
cy’s progress Wednesday
night. “We’re still cross-
ing some — I don’t want
to say huge waves — but defi-
nitely some rough waves.”
Among the 26 new hires
is Pyper Powell, the clini-
cal director, who previously
worked at the Southeast
Alaska Regional Health Con-
sortium, along with a psy-
chiatrist, a psychiatric nurse
practitioner, and a new crisis
response team.
Clatsop
Behavioral
Healthcare, the county’s
mental health contractor, was
in disarray earlier this year
after staff departures tied to
management and operational
dysfunction.
An internal investiga-
tion, as well as a review by
the Oregon Health Author-
ity, outlined the management
shortcomings. The state had
issued the agency a one-year
provisional certificate to pro-
vide mental health services
pending a follow-up review.
The agency has about
100 employees and 1,400
patients.
One positive step, and
challenge, is the crisis respite
center in Warrenton that
opened in July.
The 16-bed center, an
alternative to hospital emer-
gency rooms and jail for peo-
ple in crisis, has served 31
patients so far.
The crisis respite center is
supposed to have four secure
beds, a commitment made
after concerns from law
enforcement and city lead-
ers in Astoria and Warrenton
that potentially dangerous
patients could walk away.
Baker said the respite
center has not been licensed
for secure beds, but could
complete the process by
March.
The respite center was
also supposed to have res-
idential treatment, a clien-
tele, covered by insurance,
that could help finance the
facility. But Baker said that
because of state funding
issues there is no residential
treatment component, so the
respite center will have to
find ways to be financially
sustainable.
At a briefing Baker gave
to the Warrenton City Com-
mission on Tuesday night,
commissioners praised the
respite center as long over-
due. Warrenton Police Chief
Mathew Workman said
his department has a good
relationship with the new
facility.
“This fills a real need,
not just in Warrenton, but
countywide,” Mayor Mark
Kujala said. “So that’s why
we’re really pleased to be a
home for the respite center.”
Emergency Board denies more money for women’s prison
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — The Oregon
Emergency Board Wednes-
day denied a request by state
corrections officials for $3.8
million to continue laying
the groundwork for opening
a second women’s prison in
Oregon.
Lawmakers on the 20-mem-
ber board said they want to see
if efforts by the Department of
Corrections and several coun-
ties can reduce the female
inmate population enough
to avoid opening the Oregon
State Penitentiary Minimum in
Salem, where the second wom-
en’s prison would be housed.
The Emergency Board
could reconsider the request in
March.
“This isn’t a denial,” said
state Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stay-
ton. “All we are doing is delay-
ing the decision.”
The decision came amid
backlash from justice reform
advocates and others over the
Department of Corrections
plan to open the second prison
in June for as few as 20 female
inmates. Despite a statewide
revenue shortfall of $1.7 bil-
lion, Gov. Kate Brown also
had allocated $17.5 million
to open the prison in her pro-
posed budget.
Lawmakers
approved
$55 million in “justice rein-
vestment” grants to counties
over the past three years with
the hope of avoiding open-
ing additional prisons. The
grant proceeds are intended
to pay for programs that help
keep offenders out of prison.
Despite those concerted
efforts, the population at the
state’s sole women’s prison
— Coffee Creek Correctional
Facility in Wilsonville — has
hovered over the 1,280 limit
since May. The population
reached an all-time high of
1,315 in November, said Liz
Craig, an administrator in the
Department of Corrections
Office of Communications.
State corrections officials
have used the 1,280-popula-
tion threshold as a trigger for
opening a second women’s
prison.
Corrections officials have
been delaying additional mon-
etary requests for opening the
facility “solely based on our
commitment to justice rein-
vestment,” Department of
Corrections Director Colette
Peters said.
Cookie Walk
& Bake Sale
Dec 16 th & 17 th , 2016
9:00 AM
TO
3:00 PM
Lighthouse Christian Church
A Lighthouse of Hope
88786 Dellmoor Loop
Warrenton, OR • 503.738.5182
www.LighthouseChristianChurchOregon.com
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
from the staff at
.
.
.
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T hat’
Keith Klatt, MD
Sally Baker, PA-C
Mark Tabor, PA-C
Our friendly and dedicated Physicians
and Physician Assistants are available
for all of your routine healthcare
needs , not just for emergency
situations!
Express Healthcare for Busy Lifestyles
www.urgentcarenwastoria.com
We observe the following holidays & are closed on
July 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year’s Day.
If you’re suffering from a
headache, toothache, earache,
backache, any illness or injury ,
are in need of a refill of your
prescription medications , or
even a sports physical or DOT
physical , our dedicated staff is
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We are open 7 days a week
from 9:00am to 7:00pm. We are
located in the Park Medical
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Honey Marques, PA-C
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Astoria, Oregon