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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2018
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
Founded in 1873
JEREMY FELDMAN
Circulation Manager
DEBRA BLOOM
Business Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
Water
under
the bridge
Compiled by Bob Duke
From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers
10 years ago
this week — 2008
Power was the key, but John Benthin had to wrestle smart.
Knappa junior John Benthin simply overpowered the rest
of the field to win the heavyweight title at the OSSA Class 2A
state wrestling tournament Friday and Saturday at Portland’s
Memorial Coliseum.
Benthin completed his perfect run through the bracket with
a 15-1 majority win over Crane senior Carl Neumann in Sat-
urday’s championship bout.
Though the December storm brought the
Klootchy Creek Giant to its knees, the ancient Sitka
spruce will remain an Oregon Heritage Tree until
further notice.
The Oregon Heritage Tree Committee met last
month and decided to keep the giant spruce south-
east of Seaside on the state’s list of heritage trees,
even though it’s just a snag now and most of the tree
is lying on the forest floor.
“Until they determine the tree is just completely
dead, they’re going to keep it on the list,” said Clat-
sop County Parks Director Steve Meshke. “It was
the tree that started the program up, so they felt it
could hold its title a little longer.”
Two cannons were found over the Presidents Day weekend
on the beach at Arch Cape.
The first cannon was spotted by Mike Petrone of Tualatin
and his daughter, Miranda, while they were walking on the
beach Saturday.
Petrone said he and his daughter first thought the cannon
was an old stump.
“I go, ‘Gee, that’s a funny looking stump.’ Miranda said, ‘I
don’t think it’s wood. Dad, It’s rusting.’”
So the pair did a bit of digging and soon the rough form of
a cannon took shape. Petrone called the Cannon Beach His-
torical Society.
The second cannon was found Monday by Sharisse Repp
of Tualatin, whose family spent the weekend at the coast with
the Petrones. She said that after the first discovery, they all
went back to the beach Monday to look for more pieces of the
first cannon.
She wandered into the water, admiring what looked like
an ancient forest bed, when she stumbled upon another hunk
of metal.
“I started screaming I found the second cannon,” Repp
said.
The M.R. Chessman is to go to Vietnam for use by the Army as a ferry.
50 years ago — 1968
There were 13 ships left in the U.S. Maritime
Administration’s Astoria reserve fleet base Tuesday
and four of them have already been sold to Zidell
Explorations Inc. for scrapping.
The City Council retained Paul See, Clatsop college geol-
ogist, Monday evening to investigate the creeping slide which
drops the level of Niagara Avenue near 15th several times
each winter.
See said he recommended that a surface investigation
be made of a five to six block area around the slide to
obtain all information about sub-surface conditions it will
provide.
The federal government apparently is about to make up its
mind what to do with the ferry M.R. Chessman.
Astoria Marine construction company received word Tues-
day afternoon that the Army is taking over the vessel for use
as a ferry in Vietnam and that AMCCO can expect to go to
work soon on its contract to repair the vessel and rig if for tow
across the Pacific.
75 years ago — 1943
Twenty-two producers of fresh milk for Asto-
ria homes Sunday voted 15 to 7 to continue produc-
ing milk for consumers in this city, but bitterly reaf-
firmed their determination to obtain from OPA a
higher price for their work or else ship their milk to
the creameries.
SEASIDE — The meat shortage is not without its humor-
ous side. Will Haley, veteran meat dealer in this city, ran out
of meat with the heavy Saturday business and today custom-
ers read the following sign on his door:
“We close Monday. This is a perfect wash day. Warm up
the leftovers.”
First Astoria girl to enlist in the ranks of the
WAVES, women’s service of the U.S. Navy, is Ruth
Helen Marie Rabell, daughter of John F. Rabell,
1681 Harrison Avenue. Ensign Ellamae Naylor, first
to go from here, is now stationed in San Francisco,
having completed officer’s training last month.
Second big rationing headache for Astoria and Clatsop
County in as many weeks was scheduled to begin here Mon-
day as D.J. Lewis, rationing administrator, and A.C. Hampton,
city school superintendent, announced plans for the Ration
Book 2 signup, for canned goods and coffee. Rationing will
start March 1.
Canned meat and fish stocks, the latest objective
of hoarders, were “frozen” on grocery-store shelves
today.
All sales were ordered suspended without warn-
ing at 12:01 a.m., until rationing of meat goes into
effect, probably about March 28, or for a maximum
of 60 days.
The emergency crack-down on “panic-buying”
was ordered by the office of price administration at
the request of Food Administrator Claude R. Wick-
ard. Officials said sales of canned meat and fish had
skyrocketed in the past few weeks until there was
danger that none of those items would be left by the
time meat rationing begins.
Civilian supplies of canned meat and fish are
very small and OPA officials said the “freeze” was
designed to prevent hoarders from getting more
than their share. Under rationing all persons will
have an equal opportunity to share in the limited
supply.
Relatively small amounts of canned meat and fish
will be available for civilians even under rationing.
Military and lend-lease orders will take 75 percent
of the canned meat, 80 percent of the canned sar-
dines and mackerel, and 60 percent of the canned
salmon in 1943.
GUEST COLUMN
We need a treatment center, not a new jail
I
attended the presentation of a new pro-
posal for a new county jail at the Oregon
Youth Authority site. The promotion
has already started in the local news. This
concept has been done several times before.
This proposal advocates for hard prison
construction (pods) at the very time when the
state and the nation are trying to get out of
the prison system.
Incarceration is very expensive. It is only
punitive, and it rarely works. Inmates with
mental disabilities, especially mental illness,
and addiction comprise the vast bulk of the
prison population. If the state can’t make it
work, why would it work for the county?
A 2004 study by the National Institute of
Corrections (NIC) of our county jail suggests
too many are put in jail. I
think that study is still valid.
It reveals many issues.
I propose that we take
the Oregon Youth Authority
property and use it as what
might be described as a
RICHARD low-security, lockdown,
ELFERING county treatment and deten-
tion center. This would be
a coming together of the sheriff’s office, the
parole and probation office, county physical
health and proposed county mental health
office(s), county addiction services, and a
proposed social work office.
The purpose of this center would be to
briefly hold, detoxify, stabilize, and assess
inmates, create plans, and deliver them to the
next level of treatment. That next level may
be a return to the community under a pro-
bation officer’s supervision, a foster home,
community behavioral health treatment,
addiction residential, state hospital, or before
the court.
We need one dossier — a holistic folder
of files, or portfolio — of arrest record, legal
record, parole and probation, addiction, men-
tal health, physical health files, and a family/
community file. Over time, this dossier will
give both a current status and a reliable fore-
cast for the inmate.
Inmates should pass through this center
quickly, usually not longer than about 10
days. This would maintain the inmate’s
in-community support system of income,
rents, and possessions. In 10 days we have
a “clean” addict, a stabilized (or not) mental
The Daily Astorian
The sleeping quarters in one of the living units of the former North Coast Youth Correc-
tional Facility.
patient, a physically stabilized patient, a
person introduced or reconnected to their
probation office, and a new plan for release.
By restriction to 10 days, a very large num-
ber can be processed, and still keep their
community support system intact.
There is this need for a continuous com-
munity filter for an offender population that
is approximately 1,200; the exact number
needs to be determined. Those of highest risk
go to advanced stage of treatment, which
likely does destroy what supports they have.
There is also need for assessment, and a plan
for those returning from incarceration, or any
program resulting in community supports
being destroyed.
Currently, we ask that people with poor
capabilities, unassisted, develop great
resources, organization and a realistic plan.
This course of action frequently fails, with
costs borne by the community.
There is need for perhaps eight to 12
observation cells in an area of higher med-
ical security. This is where those of altered
consciousness go. Extreme intoxication, to
full psychosis, to suicide watch, and all who
would harm themselves or others, go here
until a determination is made. Should the
inmate become sober, then there is quick
return to main area for addiction service. If
recovery is not made, then this is a holding
area for transport to medical care.
If an incident occurs in main treatment
area(s), then this is where the inmate is taken,
for observation. These cells have rubber
surfaces, rounded edges, minimal comforts, a
large glass door, and are designed for power
cleaning. They can be arranged in semi-circle
or pod styles — continuous observation is
the need. They are cheaper to construct and
operationally cost about the same as standard
high-security jail cells, but without need for
the redundant security.
What other benefits to this center?
Currently, court orders to seek treatment and
supervision are wrapped in release orders,
and are too easily discarded. Here, treatment
and first contact are applied. A plan is made.
Probation violations are reduced.
Those of questionable mental stability,
at risk for failure to appear in court, can be
released by the court with proviso that they
surrender to the center, or can be picked up
a day or two in advance of their next court
date. Failure to appear is a major cause of
jail overcrowding. Using information in the
dossier, the subject can be quickly found and
detained.
For greater control of some in the commu-
nity, the center could serve as a day release
site. For times of the harshest weather, more
vulnerable populations can be taken to safety
and observation without need for a serious
charge. There are many more opportunities
for community service sentences as the sup-
port facilities for a treatment center — such
as laundry, kitchen, and janitorial — also
support the jail.
The professional staffing requirements
are approximately the same for a high- or
low-security facility. Will there still be a need
for a high-security jail? There will always
be a need. There will always be a need to
separate inmates (Tillamook). High-security
jail should be for high-security inmates
bound for state incarceration. They would
be inappropriate inmates for a treatment and
detention center.
The current jail would meet our needs for
high security if the crowding were removed.
The advantages of a treatment and detention
center are numerous over those of a new
county jail. We don’t know how many people
we have who need treatment, nor do we
know how many providers there are, nor
what restrictions they may have. The power
of family to assist has never been utilized.
The dossier is the missing information.
This site was already a detention center;
it may cost very little to remodel and would
be operational much sooner. Even with
repeat offenders, such a center would provide
in-community control of many, many times
more offenders than the need today. It would
have multi-purpose uses, as opposed to the
singular punitive use. It is a positive step
forward in community-based control.
Richard Elfering is president of the local
chapter of the National Alliance on Mental
Illness.