A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2022
Senators to investigate private treatment
facilities that housed children in foster care
IN BRIEF
Seaside man sentenced
to prison after attack
A Seaside man who attacked a woman in March at a
condominium was sentenced in Circuit Court to three
years in prison on Wednesday.
Thomas Squier Whiteford, 60, was convicted of
strangulation, second-degree assault and menac-
ing, with the last two counts constituting domestic
violence.
He entered an Alford plea on each count, mean-
ing that he maintained his innocence but knew a jury
would likely fi nd him guilty at trial. He was intoxi-
cated when the incident occurred.
Fire destroys two homes in Seaside
SEASIDE — Two homes on the southeast cor-
ner of Fourth Avenue along N. Roosevelt Drive were
destroyed by fi re early Monday morning.
The blaze, reported at 4:19 a.m., started at one
house and spread to the house next door, Seaside Fire
Department Division Chief David Rankin said.
According to the city, the fi re caused several pro-
pane explosions that caused some damage to another
home.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the fi re is
under investigation.
The home where the fi re started had suff ered a fi re
earlier this year and was considered uninhabitable,
Rankin said.
Brownson to hold meet-and-greet
Astoria City Councilor Tom Brownson will hold a
meet-and-greet from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the
Columbia River Coff ee Roaster on W. Marine Drive.
People are welcome to drop by with comments and
questions. Brownson represents Ward 2, which covers
the South Slope and a portion of the Port of Astoria.
— The Astorian
DEATH
July 22, 2022
In WOOD,
Brief
Dorothy Sue, 80, of Astoria, died in Asto-
ria. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in
charge of the arrangements.
Death
MEMORIALS
Memorials
Saturday, July 30
COVEY,
Michael
Owen — Celebration
of life from 1 to 4 p.m.,
Broadway Park, 1300
Broadway in Seaside.
Covey, 59, of Seaside, died
July 17, 2022, in Seaside.
GILLIE,
Marcene
(Marcy) Lou — Service at
2 p.m., Peace First Lutheran
Church, 725 33rd St.
CORRECTION
Incorrect location — A wedding referenced in a
profi le of Constance Waisanen on A1 on Saturday took
place in Naselle. The story incorrectly said the event
was in Knappa.
ON THE RECORD
Theft
Fred Meyer in Warrenton
On
the
• David
William Record
Nich- for second-degree theft
ols, Jr., 33, of Hammond,
was arrested on Friday
at Walmart in Warrenton
for second-degree theft
and third-degree criminal
mischief.
• Joshua Henry Mar-
shall, 37, of Seaside,
was arrested on Friday at
and fi rst-degree criminal
trespass.
• Tori Lynn Gus-
tafson, 19, of Asto-
ria, was arrested for an
alleged fi rst-degree theft
that took place on Thurs-
day at Fred Meyer in
Warrenton.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Astoria Planning Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main
Ave.
Clatsop Community College Board, 6:30 p.m., special
session, Columbia 219, 1651 Lexington Ave., Astoria.
WEDNESDAY
Astoria Parks Board, 6:45 a.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 6 p.m., Judge
Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St., Astoria.
THURSDAY
Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce Council, noon,
(electronic meeting).
Port of Astoria Marina Advisory Committee, noon, El
Tapatio restaurant, 229 W. Marine Dr.
Cannon Beach Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall,
163 E. Gower Ave.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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There are reports of
widespread abuse
By LAUREN DAKE
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Two U.S. senators from
the Pacifi c Northwest are
investigating abuse at facil-
ities that run treatment pro-
grams for children, including
the center where a 9-year-old
girl placed in Oregon foster
care was drugged and another
where a 16-year-old child
was restrained for so long he
suff ocated to death.
U.S. Sen . Patty Murray, a
Washington state Democrat,
and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden,
an Oregon Democrat, asked
four companies operating
youth residential treatment
facilities for information on
their policies and practices.
The move comes after a lit-
any of reports of widespread
abuse and neglect stretching
back years.
Oregon Public Broad-
casting fi rst chronicled tales
of abuse and neglect of vul-
nerable children placed in
Oregon foster care at facili-
ties owned by Sequel Youth
and Family Services start-
ing in 2019. Later, the com-
pany garnered national atten-
tion amid reports from across
the country of children being
mistreated at private facili-
ties. That company has since
closed many facilities and
sold much of the company
to another business, Vivant
Behavioral Healthcare. H ow-
ever, the founder of Sequel
Youth and Family Ser-
Mandel Ngan/AP Photo
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden speaks during a Senate Finance
Committee hearing in October.
vices and the CEO of Vivant
Behavioral Healthcare are the
same person, Jay Ripley.
Wyden and Murray have
written to the CEOs of Aca-
dia Health Services, Dever-
aux Advanced Behavioral
Health, Universal Health
Services and Vivant Behav-
ioral Healthcare. The facili-
ties provide care for children
who have been placed in fos-
ter care and others who are
struggling with emotional,
behavioral or substance
abuse issues.
Oregon state Sen. Sara
Gelser Blouin, D-Corvallis,
who led the charge to bring
Oregon children placed in
these facilities back home,
said the news was encour-
aging. Gelser Blouin said
she met with Wyden more
than a year ago to talk about
using a Senate committee to
investigate private care facil-
ities. Murray chairs the Sen-
ate Health, Education, Labor
and Pensions Committee,
All sides declare victory in Washington state logging ruling
Court issues
an 8-0 decision
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
The Washington Supreme
Court said the Department of
Natural Resources has discre-
tion on how it manages state
forests, a decision that gave
the timber industry an imme-
diate victory, but was hailed
by environmentalists as a
“monumental conservation
decision.”
In the 8-0 ruling on Thurs-
day , the court rejected claims
that the Department of Nat-
ural Resources ‘ timber-har-
vesting plans were violating
its constitutional duty to man-
age state-owned forests for all
the people.
Writing for the court,
Judge
Helen
Whitener
said the public gains from
increased economic activity
and funding for education and
government.
“As DNR emphasizes,
generating revenue from tim-
ber harvests helps boost local
economies and maintain state
institutions,” she wrote.
Whitener, however, was
sympathetic to the envi-
ronmental groups, say-
ing they presented a “com-
mendable argument” that
state forests should be man-
aged to “also combat climate
change and protect our crucial
ecosystem.”
While the Department of
Natural Resources can allow
logging, it’s not required to,
she said. It will be up to the
Legislature, not the court, to
order changes, she said.
The ruling dismisses a
lawsuit led by Conservation
Northwest.
Nevertheless,
Mitch Friedman, the group’s
executive director, declared
victory.
“The court issued a mon-
umental conservation rul-
ing,” he said. “Over coming
years and decades, this rul-
ing will be cited in support
of nature-protection policies
made by the Legislature and
the DNR.”
The Department of Nat-
DIGITAL
EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.25
ural Resources manages
about 3 million acres. The
federal government granted
much of the land to fund pub-
lic services when Washing-
ton became a state. Counties
and school districts in heavily
forested areas rely on money
from state timber sales.
Conservation
North-
west, joined by the Washing-
ton Environmental Council
and Olympic Forest Coali-
tion, accused the Department
of Natural Resources of act-
ing “like a private timber
company.”
Climate activists sup-
ported the lawsuit, while the
timber industry and rural
counties, school districts and
fi re districts intervened to
support the department .
The Department of Nat-
ural Resources argued that
it has an obligation to gener-
ate timber revenue, but also
said it doesn’t endanger the
environment. Lands Com-
missioner Hilary Franz said
the ruling affi rms the depart-
ment’s authority.
“I also recognize that in the
face of a rapidly changing cli-
mate, we must do everything
we can to safeguard public
lands and protect our forests,”
she said in a statement.
American Forest Resource
Council President Travis
Joseph said the ruling should
encourage the department to
stop being “publicly bullied
by anti-forestry groups.”
“This opinion rejects, once
and for all, legal attacks by
anti-forestry groups to upend
the trust mandate and the
many benefi ts it provides,” he
said.
A Thurston County judge
dismissed the lawsuit, which
originated over the state’s
plan to conserve marbled
murrelet habitat. The environ-
mental groups appealed and
the Supreme Court accepted
the case, skipping over the
Court of Appeals.
The case drew widespread
interest. In an amicus brief,
the Washington Council of
Machinists said that if the
environmental groups won,
state forests would become
“theme parks for the affl uent.”
Oregon Employment Department readies new computer system
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
Oregon businesses and
workers will begin to see the
rollout of a new computer
system for the Employment
Department after more than
a decade of false starts and
frustrations.
When the transition is
completed in more than three
years, the new system will
automate employer payroll
and tax records, employee
claims and benefi ts from the
state unemployment trust
fund — and also contribu-
tions and benefi ts for Ore-
gon’s new program of paid
family leave, which starts in
2023.
“It is a complex proj-
ect and a multiyear eff ort to
transform the Employment
Department business pro-
cesses and core technology
so that they are more fl exible,
adaptable and effi cient,” said
David Gerstenfeld, the agen-
cy’s acting director .
In early September , the
new system will go live with
Oregon employers fi ling their
third-quarter payroll reports,
on which their unemploy-
ment tax payments are based.
Employers also will use the
new system to gain access to
their unemployment tax rates.
In late August , the two
current systems that han-
dle those functions will shut
down to allow for the transi-
tion to the new system.
“We are doing this to
make sure all the remaining
work is completed,” Gersten-
feld said. “We think this will
not have an impact on most
employers,” because they
should have completed fi ling
payroll reports for the second
quarter of 2022, which ended
in June .
He said some employers
that took part in agency focus
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and Wyden chairs the Senate
Finance Committee.
“It’s legitimizing. And
I think for the survivors
it makes them feel seen
because for the Senate c om-
mittee to take this step, they
have done the background
work,” Gelser Blouin said,
adding senators have done
enough groundwork to know
there are systemic issues.
“Hopefully, this leads
to federal requirements for
states to have common, basic
requirements for anyone who
is caring for kids,” Gelser
Blouin said. “Because we
don’t have that yet.”
The U.S. senators have
asked the companies to pro-
vide the committee policies
on restraining children or
placing them in seclusion.
They have also asked about
how employees are trained,
details on contracts and what
company leaders are doing
to ensure children placed in
their care have access to edu-
cation. The lawmakers have
asked for the information by
Aug. 4.
“These youth and their
families have put their trust
in these organizations to help
them get better and instead
are being met with more
trauma,” Wyden said in a
statement. “Accountability
is desperately needed, and
we’re demanding answers.”
Starting in 2018, child
welfare offi cials in Oregon
increasingly relied on out-
of-state facilities to house
youth placed in foster care.
Initially, child welfare offi -
cials kept their decision to
send more children to other
states largely under wraps.
They didn’t alert lawmak-
ers to the arrangement, and
when Oregon Public Broad-
casting broke the news in
February 2019, state admin-
istrators declined to disclose
where they were sending the
children or what kind of over-
sight was off ered once the
children, some as young as 9,
were sent thousands of miles
away.
As more details were
uncovered, a litany of dis-
turbing stories and reports
of widespread abuse and use
of restraints at such centers
surfaced.
In June 2020, two Oregon
teenagers were removed from
a Michigan treatment facility
after state offi cials learned
another child restrained by
staff for throwing a sandwich
died. At that time, Oregon
offi cials said they would stop
sending kids to treatment
facilities in other states.
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groups were invited to log on
to a copy of the new system
so they could become famil-
iar with how it operates.
“It was positive over-
all,” he said, and suggested
adjustments will be incorpo-
rated into future work on the
system.
“Our staff has run more
than 1,500 test scenarios with
a 99% pass rate,” he added.
“Those scenarios that did
not pass were sent back to
the team, fi xed and will be
retested. We are also working
with other state agencies and
organizations we share data
and processes with to ensure
those connections are intact
and working the way they
need to.”
One of those agencies is
the Oregon Department of
Revenue, which is the repos-
itory for the unemployment
payroll taxes paid by employ-
ers. Employees do not con-
tribute to the unemployment
trust fund.
The new system, Frances
Online, is named in honor of
Frances Perkins, U.S. labor
secretary during the 12 years
Franklin D. Roosevelt was
president and also the fi rst
woman appointed to a presi-
dential Cabinet back in 1933.
LIGHTHOUSE
PRESCHOOL
& DAYCARE
NOW OPEN
Only Co-Op Daycare in Clatsop County
Quality Care at Affordable Rates
Daycare as low as $500/month
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Multiple Child Discounts
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Monday-Friday 8am-5pm
LIghthouse Christian Church on Dellmoor Loop Rd. Warrenton
Please call 503-738-5182 to Register Today
https://www.lighthouseofhope.org/preschool-daycare