Page 10A
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Saturday, January 14, 2017
TOLLGATE: Bigfoot cast in animal collection GUN LAWS: Forum is
Tuesday at BMCC, 7 p.m.
Continued from 1A
Dylan Van Dyke. While Van Dyke
remains in California, Pinsker has been
running the place by himself, doing
everything from making coffee and
flipping burgers to stocking shelves
and plowing snow from the parking lot.
Though customers tend to come and
go based on the weather, Pinsker said
operating the store is too much for one
guy.
“I’m responsible for every single
thing,” he said. “It’s too much pressure,
too much stress.”
Pinsker keeps the store open five
days a week, closing on Monday to
do banking and Thursday to shop for
inventory. The store shelves are stocked
with basics like chips, candy, soda,
crackers and hot cocoa mix. Behind
the counter, Pinsker also sells Sno-Park
and firewood permits, depending on
the season.
With the recent decision by neigh-
boring Spout Springs Ski Area to close
for the season, the Tollgate Store is
now the only business around for food
and services — primarily burgers and
pizza in the restaurant. The store hasn’t
sold gas for at least three or four years,
after Pinsker said he was unable to
break even.
“It all comes down to money,” he
said. “We cannot handle that financial
responsibility. Right now, my money
goes to food.”
Tollgate has had a general store since
the 1970s when it was a little one-room
shack, Pinsker said. The current
store was built in 1984, according to
Umatilla County records. The restau-
rant is decorated with antler mounts on
the walls, and photos of local wildlife
including deer, elk, bears and cougars
Continued from 1A
when it comes to gun politics.
“For me, it’s a tool,”
Roberts said. “And there are
certain skill sets that go along
with that, and a tremendous
responsibility.”
Lou Jaffe is a retired busi-
ness executive and Vietnam
veteran. He said while he is
not a gun owner, he knows
guns and fired every kind the
infantry had.
Jaffe headed up the
Oregon WWII Memorial
Foundation, which created
the state’s World War II
memorial in 2014. The effort
gave him some statewide
visibility, he said, which he
put to use working to reduce
gun violence. He and five
others now make up the
board for Gun Owners For
Responsible Ownership,
“We’re not about taking
people’s guns away,” he
said. “We are about ensuring
responsible ownership.”
Jaffe said most of the
organization’s work has been
“preaching to the choir” in
the Portland-metro area, so
Eastern Oregon presents the
opportunity to get outside
that bubble and help the orga-
nization gain more traction.
“That’s why I’m looking
forward to coming to Pend-
leton,” he said.
Jaffe said that during Tues-
day’s forum he will stress that
no solution to gun violence
is going to come from the
“sanctimonious” left or
“obstructionists” on the right.
Broadfoot, an avid hunter
and shooter, said he would
address why the Second
Amendment is as relevant
today as at the end of the 18th
century and would argue
against the need for stricter
regulations and background
checks.
“The facts are more gun
laws don’t stop criminals
from breaking the law,”
Broadfoot said.
He also said he would
like to talk about federal
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Tollgate Store proprietor Jeff Pinsker holds a copy of a Bigfoot cast that
was given to him by Clifford Barackman, star of the Animal Planet show
“Finding Bigfoot”, at his store in Tollgate.
captured on game cameras.
Another wall is adorned with a line
of original Bigfoot casts, the oldest
dated 1986. In fact, the Animal Planet
television series “Finding Bigfoot”
visited the store while filming a 2014
episode, though Pinsker said none of
their footage made the final cut.
Pinsker said he will not close the
store before he is able to sell.
“Whether we’re busy or not, we
have to keep it going,” he said. “It’s
worth it to me to put in the time.”
Ron Briggs, who works in Herm-
iston but has lived at Tollgate full
time since 1995, said he feels there is
potential for the store, as the area pulls
in not only sportsmen but also families
from neighboring cities.
“It’s just a good place to congre-
gate,” Briggs said. “I foresee this
getting better.”
Dottie Carrell, who serves as
secretary for the Tollgate Trail Finders
Snowmobile Club, said she could “just
about guarantee business” for the store
from club members. One thing both
she and Berry agreed they would like to
see, however, is gasoline brought back
so they can gas up their snowmobiles
without having to drive into town.
“That’s a big deal to snowmobilers,”
Carrell said.
Pinsker said he will continue to live
in Tollgate even after the store is sold.
“I’m doing as well as one person
can do. It’s time for somebody else to
grab it and run with it.”
SNOW DAYS: Hermiston graduation pushed back
Continued from 1A
weeks, Pendleton’s schedule
left little room for cancella-
tions.
Although district staff
had originally suggested
turning one of the spring
student-teacher conference
days into an instruction
day, Bixler said that won’t
accomplish much because
they have missed out on so
many days.
While he’s heard of other
districts petitioning the
state, Bixler said Pendleton
isn’t ready to commit to
an approach, especially
since there could be more
inclement weather to come.
Bixler said Pendleton’s
remaining schedule could be
a topic of discussion at the
school board’s next meeting
on Tuesday, although he’s
unsure if any action will be
taken.
As of Thursday, the
district’s school calendar
wasn’t listed as an item on
the school board’s agenda.
Hermiston has a more
solid plan.
After the first snow day
in December, the Hermiston
School District announced
it would designate five
inclement weather make-up
days at the end of the year,
pushing graduation from
June 3 to June 10 and the
last day of school for other
students from June 7 to as
late as June 14.
Since then, the district
has canceled school four
more times and needed a
two-hour delay, and has not
yet decided how to handle
any additional snow days
that may occur.
“The district is consulting
with the Oregon Depart-
ment of Education,” said
Hermiston School District
Communications
Officer
Maria Duron. “Many school
districts have the same
dilemma.”
legislation that would remove
restrictions
on
owning
suppressors or silencers, the
device that fits on the end
of a gun barrel to reduce the
noise of a shot. Republican
Reps. Jeff Duncan of South
Carolina and John Carter of
Texas on Monday introduced
the “Hearing Protection Act,”
which would end the $200
federal tax and months-long
wait to own a suppressor
with the National Instant
Criminal Background Check.
Broadfoot called the proposal
a good idea because it elim-
inates red tape and saves a
shooter’s hearing whether on
the range or in the forest.
Each panelist will have up
to 15 minutes to speak, then
moderator David Nelson,
former state senator, will
open the discussion to ques-
tions and answers.
The Eastern Oregon
Forum is Tuesday at 7 p.m. at
Blue Mountain Community
College, Pendleton, in the
Science and Technology
Building, room 200. The
forum is open to the public
and tickets are $6 at the door
but free for students. You can
purchase a $20 membership
for admission to all four
forums (the others are on
Feb. 21, March 21 and April
18).
The Eastern Oregon
Forum is a collaborative
effort between Blue Moun-
tain Community College,
the InterMountain Education
Service District, the East
Oregonian, American Asso-
ciation of University Women
and Harriet Isom, a former
United States ambassador.
The forum is part of BMCC’s
annual Arts and Culture
Festival.
For more information on
the forum, contact Karen
Parker at 541-966-3177 at
the education service district.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0833.
MENTAL HEALTH: Governor says closure would save state $34 million a year
Continued from 1A
David Nelson (R-Pendleton)
used the Oregon Health
Authority’s own numbers to
show that “cost per client at
BMRC was less than the cost
per client at the State Hospital
and the Portland campus,
too.” The decision to shutter
the Pendleton hospital and
open one in Junction City
seemed to be driven more by
politics than good sense.
“It was kind of a painful
battle we fought,” he said.
The 11th hour save always
came, but finally in 2014 the
hospital closed for good and
the palatial building was
razed. The hospital’s diehard
supporters went on with life,
though they kept an eye on
Junction City, which opened
in mid-2015. When the
governor announced inten-
tions to close that facility,
Bob Jenson experienced
some of his previous biennial
déjà vu.
“However,” he said,
“whether or not this is truly
the governor’s goal and
whether she’ll push hard is
another question.”
The 174-bed hospital
currently houses 81 individ-
uals. Residents come to the
hospital by falling into one
of three classifications. Some
have been found by a court to
be guilty except for insanity.
Others have been committed
civilly after a judge found
them to be a danger to them-
selves or others or that they
couldn’t provide for their
own basic needs. The last
group consists of individuals
who have been arrested but
can’t participate in their own
defense because of mental
illness.
Gov. Brown said the
closure, which would cut
more than 400 jobs, would
save the state more than $34
million a year. She expressed
her belief that mental health
care ideally should happen in
independent settings.
Rep. Greg Smith (R-Hep-
pner), as co-vice chair of the
Joint Committee on Ways
and Means, will be involved
in budget discussions with
Gov. Brown. He said the
budget item sends a mixed
message.
“That Junction City is
slated for closure has people
scratching their heads and
asking, ‘Are we really serious
about mental health?’” Smith
said.
He
understands
the
governor being in a pinch,
though.
“She has really, really
tough choices,” he said.
“She’s prioritized the Oregon
Health Plan over all other
elements of the budget. Her
number one priority is to
ensure that all Oregonians
have health coverage. The
dollars have to come from
somewhere.”
Eastern Oregon mental
health
administrator
Kimberly Lindsey doesn’t
necessarily believe the
closure is a bad thing, but the
timing might not be right.
Lindsey, as executive
director of Community
Counseling Solutions based
in Heppner, serves as mental
health director for four
Eastern Oregon counties.
She generally favors caring
for mentally ill people in
community settings versus
big mental hospitals, but can’t
yet endorse the proposed
closure of the hospital in
Junction City.
Lindsey explained her
hesitation. The pendulum,
she said, has swung hard
away from the days when
people with mental illness
were warehoused in over-
crowded institutions. A
century ago, at the Eastern
Oregon State Hospital,
people arrived usually by
train and lived out their days
at the mental hospital. The
reason for admission was
often questionable. In the
1880s at the State Hospital
in Salem, common reasons
for admission included
alcoholism for men and
menopause for women. Even
into the ’30s at the Pendleton
hospital, adolescence, occult
study, senility, epilepsy,
moonshine drinking and
syphilis remained reasons
for committing someone
into state care. Psychiatrists
treated patients with chem-
ically induced seizures,
hydrotherapy, lobotomy and
other methods that eventually
fell out of favor.
The pendulum started
swinging the other way,
leading to eventual closure
of about 95 percent of state
hospitals in the United States
and the shifting of care to
community settings. Dein-
stitutionalization has a lot of
merit, Lindsey said, but the
vision hasn’t yet been real-
ized in the United States as it
has in some other countries.
Many of dollars that should
have gone to paying for
community-based treatment
were diverted for tax relief
or for other programs. Thou-
sands of people with mental
illness end up in prisons,
jails or on the streets instead
of community mental health
facilities.
“I don’t necessarily
believe you have to have
hospitals to be successful,
but in the absence of enough
community infrastructure,
we need hospitals,” Lindsey
said.
To house a state hospital
patient, the community
facility needs to be secured.
Small, secured facilities
include Lakeview Heights
(eight beds) in Heppner,
McNary Place (16 beds)
in Hermiston, Pendleton
Cottage (16 beds) in Pend-
leton, and Juniper Ridge
Acute Care Center (10 beds)
in John Day.
Bob Jenson believes the
Junction City hospital still
has a legitimate function.
“This type of facility is a
crash landing spot for people
who are going through
psychotic and neurotic
episodes where they are
endangering themselves and
society and need to be held
in a secure environment until
they’ve been stabilized,” he
said.
He admits, however, that
he’s glad the decision is not
up to him.
“There are no easy
answers with mental illness,”
he said.
———
Contact Kathy Aney at
kaney@eastoregonian.com
or call 541-966-0810.
WOMENS HEALTH FORUM
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Conference Rooms 1 & 2
Presentations Include:
Urinary y Incontinence in Women
TOURS OF
WOMENS
CLINIC
Dr. JD Ward
•
Zika Virus
Dr. Michael Brunsman
D
n
•
TOURS
OF
BIRTH
CENTER
Genetic
G
i S
Screening for Cancer M
Markers
k
Katie Morioka, WHNP DNP
•
Gentle Cesarean Section
Juile Malcom, RNC IBCLC & Tracy Wart RNC
•
Benefi ts of Breastfeeding
Elizabeth Michael, RNC IBCLC
2801 St Anthony Way.
For More Information
541-278-2639
Pendleton, OR 97801