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