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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2016)
Page 12A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Saturday, February 6, 2016 HEALTH: Resources and options are limited SEAPORT: Attracted only Continued from 1A fretting that someone would run into the vehicle. She soothed his worries and the man walked away. Studebaker is one of a growing number of police of¿cers who have completed Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) to hone their street-counselor skills. At the week-long course, she learned the basics of behav- ioral health and an array of de-escalation techniques. “It’s taking time to talk to people and connecting on a personal basis,” Studebaker said. “If we can come to a positive conclusion, it estab- lishes trust and saves time later.” Sometimes, though, the situation is simply beyond the reach of communication skills. On New Year’s Eve of 2012, a man named Greg Shafer robbed the Hermiston branch of Community Bank. Instead of stashing the loot in a bag, Shafer tossed some money into the air on his way out of the bank, leaving a trail as he crossed the road to the liquor store where he cut to the front of the line to purchase an expensive bottle of whiskey and a cigar. Liquor store video shows him tossing more money as he catches sight of a police of¿cer through the window. As two Hermiston of¿cers enter the store, Shafer draws what looks like a semiauto- matic handgun (actually a BB gun) and points it at the of¿cers. They ¿re ¿ve shots. Shafer slumps to the Àoor. He died later that night. Most interactions are less serious, but the sheer number of them are taking their toll. The Pendleton Police Depart- ment tracks calls for service involving mental illness and has experienced a sharp uptick — about 160 percent — in the past ¿ve years. Police have become ¿rst-line responders, said Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton Police officers Drew Hubel and Shelly Studebaker take a man into custody on Wednesday in Pendleton. Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts. The job is often a frustrating one. Options are limited. Many times a mentally ill person ends up in jail on charges of disorderly conduct or trespassing. “Jails are not a place for a person with mental illness,” Roberts said. “Jails aren’t set up to deal with that popu- lation, but you know while they are there, they’ll be safe and the community will be safe.” Others are evaluated by psychiatric professionals in a hospital setting, but only the most severe end up being committed to state care. The majority end up back on the streets. Then they become mired in court appearances and ¿nes. “We put them on a merry- go-round and we spin it,” he said. “Every time they are released from jail or go back to jail, it’s another spin. Pretty soon it’s spinning so hard they can’t get off.” With so much mental instability on the streets, law enforcement of¿cers are ready for anything. “They never know what they’re getting into on any particular call,” Edmiston said. “They have no clue what might be on board chemically and what’s going on mentally. They have to rely on intuition and training to kick in.” One option in Umatilla County is the Pendleton Creek Crisis Recovery Center, a ¿ve-bed facility run by Lifeways on Westgate where people having a mental crisis can recover in a calm environment. Police can bring people or they can come on their own. Admit- tance is voluntary, though, and the place isn’t set up to deal with those under the inÀuence of drugs or alcohol. Up until about the mid-1990s, things were different, Roberts said. Of¿cers in this area could drive people in crisis to the now-defunct Blue Mountain Recovery Center. “Residential folks were upstairs and there was a detox center in the basement. A staff member would meet us at the back door, take (the mentally ill individual) in and a psychiatrist would evaluate the person on the spot,” Roberts said. “That was much more ef¿cient than what we’ve evolved to today.” Drugs and alcohol are a complicating factor and so interwoven, Roberts said. Substance abuse can trigger mental illness or be a symptom. It’s chicken or egg — which came ¿rst, he said. “Mental illness and drug and alcohol addiction — a lot of professionals will look at that and say it’s all mental illness,” Roberts said. “Oregon looks at it as two separate issues and deals with them accordingly with different agencies.” Another hitch is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a privacy rule that prevents mental health providers from sharing patient information with law enforcement, said both Edmiston and Roberts. Other barriers come from courts and other agencies. Both chiefs wish everyone could just get out of their silos and join together to work toward a holistic solution. “All service providers are running the same race, but in different lanes,” Roberts said. “It should be a relay. It should be a baton pass from beginning to end. Instead, we’re walking on each other and pointing ¿ngers.” There is something of an urban-rural divide as far as resources for of¿cers and mentally ill people on the streets. “In Portland, they have resources and mechanisms we don’t have,” Roberts said. “They have the practitioners and professionals — they can do those handoffs.” Edmiston admits feeling frustrated and abandoned at times. “The bottom line is there seems to be this push with legislators at the state and federal level to push more and more onto ¿rst responders,” Edmiston said. “When things go bad, law enforcement is the ¿rst to get blamed.” Roberts sees no quick ¿x. “Everything keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger and has so many layers,” Roberts said. “I think people look at it and say that is such a big issue — we don’t know how or where to attack it.” ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810. FOOTBALL: Lilly was the ¿rst ever Dallas draft pick Continued from 1A to every high school that had produced a football player that went on to play or coach in a Super Bowl. As Martinez stood there looking at the football, he remembered learning that former Pendleton Buckaroo Bob Lilly had played in two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, yet Pendleton had not received anything from the league. “I did some research online ,” Martinez said. “And since he transferred here and graduated here I thought (Pendleton) should have one.” Martinez contacted the NFL via email and described the situation, and sure enough, a few weeks later Pendleton High School ¿nally received its own football, which arrived on Thursday — just in time for Super Bowl 50, which will take place in Santa Clara, Calif. on Sunday between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers. Pendleton athletic director Troy Jerome said that the school is thrilled to have the gift from NFL, which is now displayed prominently in the Hall of Champions outside of Warberg Court. “It’s part of our founda- tion and a part of who we are here in 2016,” he said. “It embraces our athletes, embraces our community and hits on our tradition of who we are and how we got here. We have this beautiful Hallway of Champions and having this (football) here is just one more thing for our community to look at and say ‘Wow, that’s cool.” Lilly grew up in the small town of Throckmorton, Texas but moved with his family to Pendleton before his senior year of high school in 1956. Lilly played one year for the Buckaroos, where he garnered ¿rst team all-state recognition before graduating in 1957 and playing collegiately at Texas Christian University. After spending four years at TCU, Lilly was the ¿rst ever draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys, where he would go on to play 14 seasons from 1961-1974. Over that span, Lilly — a defensive Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton senior Roman Martinez holds an NFL commemorative golden football that acknowledges Buckaroos football star Bob Lilly’s two Super Bowl appearances with the Dallas Cowboys. lineman — played in 196 games and was a nine-time All-Pro selection and played in two Super Bowls in 1971 and 1972, with the Cowboys winning it in 1972. He was inducted into the National Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981 and in 1999 Lilly was ranked No. 10 by The Sporting News on its list of the 100 greatest football players. He currently has a place in the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor and his number 74 is retired in Dallas. Jerome said having this recognition from the NFL to display shows current and future Pendleton students that nothing is impossible. “The cool thing about it is that when you have some- body that was a part of your high school that goes on and does something famous, it’s just an example of what can happen at a place like Pendleton if you choose to do the right thing and work at things to make it at a high level at whatever profession that you do,” he said. Along with the football, Pendleton will also receive new character education curriculum and the oppor- tunity to apply for grants up to 5,000 speci¿cally for the growth of football programs. Jerome said the school is excited to use the character education curriculum to help the schools’ athletic leader- ship academy. But in addition to the recognition that the school has received from the NFL, Jerome said he couldn’t be happier to see that a student was responsible for bringing the football to Pendleton. “The business we’re in with educating our kids is really important here, and to have this driven by one of our students is special,” he said. “The reality is, without a student being interested in it, we might not have it. So here he is being a leader, giving back, and we’re lucky he did this and it’s coming this way.” ——— Contact Eric Singer at esinger@eastoregonian. com, 541-966-0839, or follow on Twitter @ByEr- icSinger. 4,015 boardings in 2014 Continued from 1A with the Oxford, Conn.- based company claiming SeaPort owed it an estimated $500,000 after failing to pay rent on a leased airplane. Sieber did not return a request for comment. While SeaPort has managed to maintain Àight service in Pendleton, the airline attracted only 4,015 boardings in 2014. That is SeaPort’s lowest total since the ¿rst full year it started serving Pendleton in 2009. Commercial Àights from the Pendleton airport are made possible through a $1.8 million subsidy from the U.S. Department of Trans- portation’s Essential Air Service program. If SeaPort’s boarding numbers continue to decline, the airport is in danger of having its subsidy stripped. SeaPort’s contract ends Dec. 31 and Steve Chrisman, Pendleton’s airport manager and economic development director, said potential bids must include concrete proposals to boost boardings. Even though SeaPort has run “a clean operation” in the past, Chrisman said the company’s bankruptcy could be a factor if they submit another bid for the Essential Air Service contract. “We want to be objective, but you can’t say that its ideal,” he said. Although he expects service to continue, Chrisman said the city has the option of putting out an emergency request for bids if SeaPort drops its Àights from Pendleton. WEAPONS: Case could end up back in Umatilla County Continued from 1A tice for his of¿ce to work with federal agencies on gun cases, and on cases on Indian lands or involving tribal members. He also said this was not a case of federal charges trumping local jurisdiction and he has been communi- cating with the United States Attorney’s Of¿ce daily. Primus said with the investi- gation still going, there is the possibility for more serious charges. Primus said he understands the residents of Umatilla County are asking questions about how a murder case he was handling went to a ¿rearms case in federal court. He explained his ¿rst duty is to protect the citizens of the county and to protect the integrity of the case for the best possible outcome. “That’s de¿nitely at the forefront when I make deci- sions,” he said, and this case is no different. The case will center on McIver, who went to trial in February 2014 for stealing a vehicle and Àeeing police. A jury found him guilty of felony and misdemeanor attempt to Àee police, hit and run and reckless driving. The federal indictment uses the felony conviction for the basis of the gun crime. McIver, the indictment states, “did knowingly possess” a Savage 12 gauge Model 69RXL shotgun, a Ruger Model 10-22 riÀe and a Winchester Model 70 XTR .270 riÀe that “had previously been transported in interstate commerce.” The indictment alleges Ayala and Vargas, also possessed those guns, as well as a Ruger SR1911 .45 caliber pistol, a Braztech International LC Revolver .357 Magnum revolver and a Colt Anaconda .44 Magnum revolver. Ayala has felony convictions in Fresno for assault in 1997, vandalism in 2006, assault of a spouse in 2008 and possession of methmaphetamine in 2010, according to the indictment, and Vargas has felony convic- tions in Fresno for possession of methmaphetamine while possessing a loaded ¿rearm in 2001 and receiving stolen property in 2004 and again in 2006. Pendleton police are part of the major crime team investigating the homicide. Roberts said the team worked through last weekend and met again Friday to go over the case, and the investigation is not letting up. Police responding to the crime scene found 15 people there, Roberts said, and ques- tioned each, which led to more names and more interviews. And of¿cers and crime scene analysts also gathered up a lot of evidence, from DNA swabs to latent ¿ngerprints. Roberts said those results and reports are weeks away. Robert and Primus said the case could end up back in Umatilla County. Circuit Judge Christopher Brauer granted Primus’ motions to dismiss the cases, but he also left the legal door open for the prosecution to start again. The Place for Lovebirds S ATURDAY & S UNDAY , F EB . 13 & 14 Bleu Cheese Topped Sirloin Fire Roasted Salmon with Mango Salsa Live Music Saturday AT 9 PM IN THE SALOON DAKOTA BROWN F R E E - N O C O V E R CALL FOR RESERVATIONS Saloon Opens at 4 PM • Dinner beginning at 5 PM 541.278.1100 H AMLEY S TEAK H OUSE COURT & MAIN • DOWNTOWN PENDLETON Foot Notes - That “Wad of Sock” Feeling in Your Feet Sherri has been having a burning sensation in the ball of her foot for about two years. She recalls that she was fine, until her mare, Ginger, stepped on her foot about two years ago. From that point on, Sherri has had trouble with her foot. Now, after just fifteen minutes on her foot, there will be pain and burning. Sometimes, she has removed her shoe, thinking that she had a “wad of sock”, but did not find any such thing. Sherri may have a NEUROMA. A neuroma is a painful, enlarged nerve, most commonly found between the 3rd and fourth toes. It forms when there has been trauma or repetitive forces to the area. Symptoms include tingling or numbness between the toes and on the ball of the foot. Varying levels of pain can be present. Narrow shoes or uneven surfaces can aggravate the area. When treating neuromas in the feet, Dr. Clarke and Dr. Hampton are your experts. They can diagnose the foot problem and recommend d i f f e r e n t t r e a t m e n t alternatives that may include padding, arch supports, shoe gear changes or cortisone shots. An in office x-ray can also be taken to ensure the problem is not something else. If the problem requires surgery, then outpatient surgery with a quick recovery can be discussed. The bottom line, you should not live with chronic foot pain. S TACEY J. C LARKE , DPM & T RAVIS T. H AMPTON , DPM Pendleton Medical Center Suite 11 • Pendleton, OR 97801 (541) 963-0265 • (888) 843-9090 Also Seeing Patients in La Grande
