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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 2018)
DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2018 146TH YEAR, NO. 31 ONE DOLLAR GRAND LAND PARADE A REGATTA TRADITION Inmates get help on mental health Treatment center at state prison By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian The Astoria Regatta festivities included a parade through downtown. A maritime-style march through downtown By HANNAH SIEVERT The Daily Astorian F loats, clowns, dancers, a marching band and the Asto- ria Regatta princesses paraded through downtown on Satur- day for the Regatta’s annual Grand Land Parade. The parade has been a feature of the Regatta since the event began in 1894. It’s the oldest and biggest parade west of the Rockies, according to the Regatta’s organizers. Some in the community have been attending the parade for years. Bill Landwehr and Jim Robinson, mem- bers of the Astoria Clowns, estimate they have been performing in the parade as clowns for around 15 years. Hannah Sievert/The Daily Astorian See PARADE, Page 5A The 2018 Astoria Regatta princesses and queen wave to the crowd during the parade. SALEM — The Oregon Depart- ment of Corrections has opened a new behavioral health treatment cen- ter at Oregon State Penitentiary to help improve conditions for inmates with severe mental illness. Two years ago, Colette Peters, the department’s director, signed a mem- orandum of understanding with Dis- ability Rights Oregon to increase out- of-cell time for these inmates and make other improvements. Peters agreed to give inmates at least 20 hours per week, or less than three hours per day, outside their cells by 2020. “I believe this building and our great staff work is going to get us there in no time,” Peters said during a ribbon-cutting at the treatment cen- ter on Friday. In July and early August, the agency provided about 12.6 hours per week, or about 1.8 hours a day, Peters said. Inmates remain in windowless cells measured 6 feet by 11 feet with no companionship for the rest of the day. Disability Rights Oregon has alleged those conditions are on par with solitary confinement. Twenty hours a week is the mini- mum needed to protect inmates with mental health conditions from cruel and unusual punishment as defined by the Eighth Amendment, according to Disability Rights Oregon. Joel Greenberg, attorney at Dis- ability Rights Oregon, said he is “skeptically optimistic” that the agency will meet its obligation. “We hope this building — which they have placed a lot of faith in and a lot of hope in — will turn around the numbers,” Greenberg said. State lawmakers appropriated $5.2 million in February 2016 to build, furnish and staff the treatment center for some 45 inmates who have seri- ous mental illness and have demon- strated violent or disruptive behavior. The metal mesh doors in the inmates’ living quarters and the con- figuration of the prison prevent expo- sure to natural light and make it diffi- cult for inmates to communicate with anyone outside. “Talking to someone through punched-out metal holes doesn’t allow you to adequately see or hear anything,” Greenberg said. “In order to talk to someone inside a cell, you would have to bend down and talk through the food slot and hopefully the resident of the cell would do the same thing. Even though the resi- dents are very disabled and ill, there is a lot of noise, yelling and scream- ing that made it difficult to have not only a private conversation but any conversation.” Now, inmates can meet privately with mental health professionals in one of 13 offices at the treatment cen- ter. The 6,830-square-foot center also has four classrooms for group therapy See INMATES, Page 5A ‘Pottery for a purpose’ By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian G EARHART — Jenn Whyman likes to think of the artwork she sells as “pottery with a purpose.” In late July, she opened Coast Gallery and Numismatics, a small gallery located off U.S. Highway 101 in Gearhart that features a mix between sculptures, paintings and an extensive stock of coins paired with appraisal services. On the surface, it resembles many other North Coast galleries, with pieces featuring coastal landmarks like Haystack Rock and Hug Point. But Whyman’s inspiration to open the gal- Gearhart resident opens art gallery for charity lery drew from a slightly different well. Instead of selling for a profit, she envisioned a model where proceeds from each sale — after bills were paid and art- ists given their cut — would go to sup- port different charities. To do so, she brought together the passions of her husband, Dan Whyman, who is an avid coin collector and appraiser, and her broth- er-in-law, Jeff Whyman, a sculptor and painter whose North Coast roots extend back to his days operating an art gallery in Cannon Beach in the 1990s. “I wanted to support both of their interests, as well as open a gallery that Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian See WHYMAN, Page 5A Dan and Jenn Whyman opened Coast Gallery and Numismatics in Gearhart in July.
