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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 2019)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019 KITES FOR PEACE IN BRIEF High surf advisory issued A high surf advisory is in effect for the North Coast until 11 p.m. on Thursday. Offi cials say waves may reach up to 25 feet and can create dangerous conditions. There is an increased possibility for sneaker waves and rip currents, so people are advised to stay away from the water’s edge. The waves may cause beach erosion. Lewis and Clark superintendent to give talk at Fort George Lewis and Clark National Historical Park Superintendent Jon Burpee will be presenting an update on the park on Thursday at Fort George Brewery. The presentation is part of the Clatsop County Historical Society’s Thursday Night Talks lec- ture series at the brewery. Burpee will also discuss the connection between artifacts and people’s connection to the past. The free lectures are on the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. Coast Guard offers survival training for commercial fi shermen The U.S. Coast Guard is offering a two-day marine safety and survival training on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at the Astoria Armory. The training is for commercial fi shermen leading up to the Dungeness crab season. The training is not open to the general public. Flares and fi res on the beaches and jetties and smoke on vessels in port may be visible. “This is required training for documented commer- cial fi shing vessels that operate beyond the bound- ary line,” said Curt Farrell, Coast Guard fi shing ves- sel safety coordinator for Oregon and Southwest Washington. “Fishermen who have already taken the course are encouraged to attend again to sharpen their skills,” Farrell said. “A refresher course is recommended every fi ve years.” Participants will receive certifi cation at the end of the training to conduct emergency drills on com- mercial fi shing vessels. For more information, call at 503-325-8573. Special election ballots mailed out Ballots for the Nov. 5 special election were mailed out Wednesday to Clatsop County voters who are in the Gearhart Rural Fire Protection District or the War- renton Rural Fire Protection District. Ballots can be dropped in offi cial ballot drop boxes. For questions, go to the Clatsop County web- site or call the Clatsop County Clerk’s Offi ce at 503-325-8511. — The Astorian DEATHS Oct. 14, 2019 MALCOLM, Geral- dine Jean, 90, of Seaside, died in Seaside. Cald- well’s Funeral & Crema- tion Arrangement Center of Seaside is in charge of the arrangements. MARIN, Doris, 85, of Warrenton, died in Asto- ria. Hughes-Ransom Mortuary and Cremato- rium is in charge of the arrangements. PROPST, Raymond Lee, 90, of Astoria, died in Astoria. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. Oct. 13, 2019 SCHIFFMAN, Ron- ald, 73, of Arch Cape, died in Arch Cape. Hughes-Ransom Mor- tuary and Cremato- rium is in charge of the arrangements. Sept. 25, 2019 BJORNSTROM, Leonard Frank “Buck,” 85, of Astoria, died in Sea- side. Ocean View Funeral & Cremation Service of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. MEMORIAL Sunday, Oct. 20 ABRAHAMS, Donald Dee — Celebration of life from 1 to 4 p.m., Astoria Elks Lodge, second fl oor, 453 11th St. PUBLIC MEETINGS THURSDAY Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 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: Send address changes to The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com Circulation phone number: 503-325-3211 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Astorian become the property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2019 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Printed on recycled paper Subscription rates Eff ective May 1, 2019 MAIL (IN COUNTY) EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$11.25 13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00 26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00 52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00 Out of County Rates available at 800-781-3214 DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.00 Luke Whittaker/Chinook Observer Kites fi lled the sky on Sunday over the Long Beach Peninsula for the One Sky One World International Kite Fly for Peace. Two with mental illness sat in jail despite new law Hurdles in Pacifi c County By ASHLEY NERBOVIG Chinook Observer LONG BEACH, Wash. — Two people with men- tal illness charged with low- level crimes were transferred to Western State Hospital last week after sitting for two months in Pacifi c County Jail. This wait was despite a new law which required the judge to dismiss the cases after the defendants were found incompetent in late August. Hedy Piacendile, 65, was booked into Pacifi c County Jail on Aug. 8. She was arrested on a bench warrant for failing to appear in court on misdemeanor charges from June 2018. The charges were malicious mischief in the third degree and criminal trespass. In an unrelated case, 45-year-old Gian Moreno was arrested on Aug. 9 for criminal trespass in the sec- ond degree. Piacendile and Moreno were both found to be unable to understand the court pro- ceedings and unable to defend themselves against the misdemeanor charges, even with assistance from a public defender. Under a new law that went into effect in late July , once a defendant in a misdemeanor case is found incompetent, the court is required to hold a hearing to dismiss the case . At that hearing, if the prose- cuting attorney proves there is a compelling state interest for competency restoration, the court may order resto- ration. Restoration is when a court orders a defendant to treatment to see if their men- tal health can be stabilized so they can be prosecuted. Pacifi c County Deputy Chief Prosecuting Attor- ney Ben Haslam said based on his understanding of the cases, hearings were never held. “After the evaluation, the next time they had come into court, that’s the date it could have been dismissed,” Haslam said. Piacendile’s order for competency restoration was signed by South District A new law seeks to limit the amount of time mentally ill defendants spend in county jails. Court Judge Nancy McAl- lister during a pre trial hear- ing on Aug. 28 . The court did not move to dismiss the case. The form ordering Pia- cendile’s restoration did not include the step of fi nding a compelling state interest to send Piacendile for resto- ration. The prosecution fi lled out the form for restoration, marking that Piacendile’s charges in the case amounted to a serious offense. Nothing in Piacendile’s fi le explains why the judge and the pros- ecution believed this was a serious enough case to war- rant restoration. Moreno’s order for resto- ration was signed the same day as Piacendile’s, again with no motion from the court to dismiss the case and noth- ing fi led by the prosecution or the court that would indicate what compelling state inter- est warranted Moreno being sent for restoration. The order for restoration was fi led as soon as pos- sible after the defendants were found incompetent to get them into treatment as quickly as possible, McAl- lister said when asked about these cases. A judge has the option to hold a hearing to dismiss, she said. When asked what statute she was reading from, the judge said she wasn’t sure. “The assessment came in, the state made a motion for restoration,” McAllister said. “I was trying to prevent these individuals from any delays.” McAllister would not comment on whether this complied with the new law. Scott Harmer, the public defender for Piacendile and Moreno, would not comment on their cases. Piacendile and Moreno sat two months in Pacifi c County J ail before Western State Celebrate Community Bank Week with Lewis & Clark Bank Join us at our Seaside branch for a FREE mobile shred event Thursday, October 24th Bring your unwanted, personal documents to destroy. You may shred up to six boxes/bags of documents, please no binder or paper clips. All paper is then recycled. Then come back and see us on Friday, October 25th to our Seaside & Astoria branches for pie and ice cream! Hospital transferred them on Friday for restoration. If the cases against the pair were dismissed, the judge would have the option to hold Pia- cendile and Moreno long enough for a crisis responder to evaluate for civil commit- ment, rather than keeping them in the criminal justice system, said Haslam. State faced sanctions Western State Hospital is one of two state-owned psy- chiatric hospitals for adults in Washington state. It provides services to people in 20 west- ern Washington counties, including Pacifi c County. The hospital provides evalu- ation and inpatient treatment for people with serious or long-term mental illness. Western has struggled over the past decade to keep up with the increasing demand for services. It is the focus of federal and judicial scrutiny. On Monday, there were 119 people waiting in jail for restoration services at Western State Hospital, according to the state Offi ce of Forensic Mental Health Services. In 2015, a federal judge ruled that wait times for treat- ment in Washington jails vio- lated the rights of people with a mental illness. The lawsuit, fi led by Disability Rights Washington, sought relief for defendants waiting months in jail for competency eval- uations and a bed in Western State Hospital. The lawsuit showed that each additional day in jail caused further deterioration for people with severe mental illness. It can increase the risk of suicide and victimization by other people in the jail. And it can cause an illness to become more habitual and harder to cure, resulting in longer restoration periods or in the inability to ever restore that person to competency. The state was ordered to move individuals fac- ing criminal charges out of jail and into treatment facili- ties within seven or 14 days of when they are eligible for competency evaluation and restoration treatment. After the ruling, the state was being fi ned for each day and each defendant waiting in jails statewide. The new law was meant to help the state come into compliance with the ruling, said Kimberly Mosolf, attor- ney for Disability Rights Washington. “People with mental ill- ness are being harmed by long waits in jail, so under the change in the new law people charged with misdemeanors aren’t supposed to be sent de facto to restoration,” Mosolf said. Restoration vs. treatment The court asked both defendants be restored within 29 days. That is almost never enough time for a per- son to be restored to compe- tency, Haslam said. The hos- pital can extend the time to restore a defendant and if the patient doesn’t stabilize after 90 days, the hospital will typ- ically determine the people are not restorable, he said. Judd Comer is the jail liaison for the Justice Men- tal Health Collaboration Pro- gram. In the past year and a half, he and a team of peo- ple from the Pacifi c County Health Department and sheriff’s offi ce worked to improve the Pacifi c County J ail’s response to people with mental illness. The program brought a mental health spe- cialist to work at the jail in March to help Comer with evaluations and therapy sessions. But Comer can’t force people in the jail to cooperate with him. “You do what you can, but if they’re that sick then they’ll need to go off for res- toration,” Comer said. Watching how long people have to wait for that is heart- breaking, Comer said. And there isn’t a great answer, he said. Sometimes, designated crisis responders won’t rec- ommend someone for civil commitment and involuntary treatment. And if the person doesn’t want a plan for treat- ment when they leave jail, there isn’t much Comer can do. Restoration may be the best option for them in one sense, Comer said. In another sense, the long wait can do more damage than if they’d gotten released and connected with services through something other than law enforcement, Comer said. “If someone is in jail and they have a life outside of jail, what is the greater good? Is the greater good the indi- vidual sitting in jail and los- ing all their things?” Comer said. “Then they get out and they don’t have those things to help and support them. We jam them up even worse.” WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500