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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2018)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018 Oregon incarcerates youth as adults at high rate By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Oregon incarcerates young people and transfers them to adult court at a greater rate than most other states, accord- ing to a report released Tues- day by the Oregon Council on Civil Rights and the nonprofit Oregon Justice Resource Center. The report found that the state’s policy of charging youth as adults under Mea- sure 11 is “a harsh and costly practice that stands at odds with a contemporary under- standing of brain science. “While other states have modernized their approaches, Oregon has not,” the report states. Passed by voters in 1994, Measure 11 imposed manda- tory minimum sentences for certain serious crimes and, according to the report, helped to contribute to Oregon’s high incarceration of youth and a disproportionate rate of incar- ceration of black youth — which is 26 times higher. Courtney Vaughn/Pamplin Media Group A Columbia County Jail deputy delivers meals to inmates at the jail in St. Helens. Prison can have a lifelong effect on young offenders’ ability to secure housing and employment. “Youth charged under Measure 11 — even those who do not receive an adult sentence — face lifetime barriers to education and employment,” said state Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, who appoints mem- bers to the civil rights coun- cil. “Oregon’s juvenile justice system brings high costs and poor outcomes. We should modernize our approach to better prepare young people to have a meaningful life after release.” Although research sug- gests that the brain is still developing until a person is in their 20s, Oregon’s manda- tory minimum sentences fail to consider a young person’s capacity to change, according to the report. “Brain science tells us that for youth, the brain is still ‘under construction,’” said Dr. Alisha Moreland-Capuia, a physician, scholar and execu- tive director of Oregon Health & Science University’s Avel Gordly Center for Healing. “Young people lack the skills to effectively navigate an adult criminal justice system that disrupts the development pro- cess at a critical stage. Ore- gon should join the many other states in recognizing the role of brain development in crimi- nal justice reform.” The 69-page report recom- mends policy reforms aimed at a “more effective, fair and science-informed approach to youth involvement in the jus- tice system.” The report was authored by Roberta Phil- lip-Robbins, civil rights coun- cil chairwoman, and Ben Scis- sors of the Oregon Justice Resource Center. Recommendations include: • Improvements in data collection and transparency: Warrenton June 18, 1936 — Jan. 28, 2018 Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Despite being trapped in a car sitting at a 45-degree angle for several minutes Wednes- day morning in Astoria, an elderly woman walked away unharmed. The woman, 70, was attempting to park outside Providence Heart Clinic about 11:30 a.m. for an appointment. But she accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake of a red Kia Soul as she pulled into a parking spot, Astoria Police Deputy Chief Eric Halverson said. The car careened over a retaining wall and came to rest with its back end still above the wall and its front end on the pavement below. Emergency personnel safely extracted her from the car minutes later. ‘From my understanding she was a little embarrassed, but she made it to her appointment and was able to get a cab ride home,’ Halverson said. Roberta Mae Parks, 81, passed away Jan. tions for Clatsop County Assessment & Tax- 28, 2018, at Avamere Bethany Memory Care ation, mental health clinic, and city of Asto- ria utilities. After retirement, she worked for in Portland, Oregon. She was born on June 18, 1936, in Kalis- Compleat Photographer. She enjoyed music, pell, Montana, to John Edward gardening and photography. While Stahl and Ida Mae (Boyd) Stahl. As she was at Avamere, she enjoyed visits with her family and friends. a small child, the family moved to She was preceded in death by their dairy farm in Cut Bank, Mon- tana, where Roberta enjoyed farm her husband, Glen; her parents, life with her horse, Jo. John and Ida Stahl; a brother, Robert At age 12. the family moved to Stahl; a sister, Mary Lee Brunick; Payette, Idaho, for a year, where the and two nephews, Joseph Stahl and Edwin Willis. family heard the gospel. Her faith Survivors include a daugh- was utmost in her life. ter, Rachel Olson (Ken) of Rocky- In 1949 a final move was made to Hillsboro, Oregon, where Roberta Roberta Parks ford, Alberta, Canada; a son, Mal- colm Parks (Yvonne) of Soap Lake, graduated from Hilhi in 1954. She Washington; sisters Jackie Wil- held various secretarial positions in the area until 1958, when she returned to Mon- lis (Robert) of Tillamook and Jill McDonald tana as a missionary. She returned to Oregon (Lyle) of Hillsboro; grandsons Paul and Mat- in 1959, and worked for Bonneville Power thew Olson of Alberta and Brandon Parks of Administration until she was united in mar- Tigard, Oregon; granddaughters Ashlee Parks riage to Glen William Parks on July 29, 1961. and Brandy Parks; great-grandson Ethan The couple celebrated 55 years of marriage Parks; and 14 nieces and nephews. Memorial services will be held Satur- prior to his passing away of heart failure in 2016. They made their home in Astoria, later day, Feb. 3, 2018, at 3 p.m. at Caldwell’s retiring and moving to Aldercreek Village in Luce-Layton Mortuary, 1165 Franklin Ave. in Warrenton, Oregon. A daughter, Rachel, was Astoria, Oregon. Please sign our online guest book at cald- born in 1963 and a son, Malcolm, in 1965. Roberta held a variety of secretarial posi- wellsmortuary.com Major salmon producer fined for farmed fish escape SEATTLE — The largest U.S. producer of farmed Atlan- tic salmon was fined $332,000 for alleged violations of Wash- ington state water quality laws after hundreds of thousands of invasive Atlantic salmon were released last year into waters famed for their native salmon, state officials said. Cooke Aquaculture Pacific failed to adequately clean nets holding farmed salmon, leading to a net pen failure last summer that allowed the fish to swim away into Puget Sound, officials said in a report compiled by the state’s depart- ments of fish and wildlife, ecology and natural resources. The nets failed because they were excessively laden with mussels and other marine organisms, the report said. That increased the drag on the nets from tidal currents and overwhelmed their mooring system, the report said. More than 110 tons of mus- sels, clams and other material had accumulated on the nets, state Public Lands Commis- sioner Hilary Franz told report- ers Tuesday. “Cooke’s disregard caused this disaster and reck- lessly put our state’s aquatic ecosystem at risk,” she said. “Cooke knew they had a problem and they didn’t appropriately respond to deal with the problem,” said state Ecology Director Maria Bel- lon. The company “could have and should have prevented this incident,” she added. care, cultural responsivity and brain development. Leaders from the Oregon District Attorneys Associa- tion, who have resisted other attempts to weaken Measure 11, were not immediately available Tuesday to comment on recommendations from the report. The report also found that black youth are more than 26 times more likely to be incar- cerated in Oregon compared with whites. The state spends as much as nearly $100,000 a year to incarcerate one young Mea- sure 11 offender, the report found. “Oregon can do more to improve public safety out- comes while giving young people a chance to thrive,” Phillip-Robbins said. “ … we hope to be a force to adjust our misguided approach to youth and Measure 11. It’s clear that we can make better use of tax- payer resources while improv- ing public safety and reduc- ing recidivism in communities around the state.” Roberta Parks Heart stopping By PHUONG LE Associated Press Making prosecution data, such as demographic data of youth referred to prosecutors’ offices, publicly available supports evidence-based policymaking. • Youth charged under Mea- sure 11 should not be automat- ically moved to adult court: A judge should weigh the facts of each case before removing a young person from the juve- nile system. • Give youth a “sec- ond-look” hearing: Every young person should have the chance to grow and change during detention. After serv- ing half of a sentence, youth should be entitled to a sec- ond-look hearing, a review of the offender’s progress and rehabilitation. • Address root causes: Ore- gon should boost investment in anti-poverty safety net pro- grams that promote family stability and decrease future involvement with the criminal justice system. Along with pre- ventative measures, employ- ees throughout the crimi- nal justice system should be trained in trauma-informed State officials also accused the company of underreport- ing how many fish escaped into Puget Sound on Aug. 19 and over reporting how many fish were captured. Ahead of the report’s release, Cooke on Tuesday dismissed the state’s investigation as incomplete and inaccurate. The company said Cooke employees under state supervision counted each fish as it was recovered. Company vice president Joel Richardson said in a state- ment that Cooke was shut out of the investigative process, lead- ing to “an inaccurate and mis- leading document,” referring to the report by state officials. He said Cooke acknowl- edges that the facility fell behind in cleaning the nets before moorings failed in July of 2017. But he said the com- pany provided records show- ing it had washed the nets at the site after that July incident and before the Aug. 19 event. The company also com- plained that the state agen- cies gave it only several days to provide feedback on the lengthy report. WANTED Clatsop Post 12 Roasted Roasted Pork Loin Chicken Hind Dinner Quarters with all the fixings Early Bird Dinner Friday Saturday Feb. 2 nd Feb. 3 rd 4 pm until gone 8. 00 $ FREE to Early Birds All others $6.00 6PM “Karaoke Dave” 6PM “Music” SUNDAY the 4 th SUPERBOWL - NO BINGO Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA ASTORIA AMERICAN LEGION Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Clatsop Post 12 1132 Exchange Street Astoria, Oregon 97103 503-325-5771 A Great Big Thank You for your continued support of the COAST REHAB PARTY; Dec. 12th, 2017 • Astoria Warrenton Chamber of Commerce • Astoria Women of the Moose • Cash & Carry • Casual Elegance • Darlene Warren Insurance LLC • Englund Marine • Josephson’s Smokehouse • Moose Poker Players • Safeway • Silver Salmon Grille • Sundial Travel • Walgreen’s • Warrenton Mini Mart • Darla Salo • Dave Bue • Chris & Kim Connaway • Mark & Denise Leonard
