Saturday, October 13, 2018
OFF PAGE ONE
CONTROL: ‘We tried to keep her away from him, but it was hard to do’
Page 12A
East Oregonian
Continued from 1A
Chaney explained.
In addition to physi-
cal abuse, it can be man-
ifested by name-calling,
possessiveness, social isola-
tion, monitoring a person’s
whereabouts,
withhold-
ing affection and threats of
harm. Chaney’s agency has
programs tailored specifi-
cally for youths to help them
understand what constitutes
an abusive relationship.
“Sometimes they get
into very dangerous situa-
tions before they realize it,”
Chaney said.
In hindsight, Cassie is
now aware of things that
were “off with the relation-
ship.” CL wanted to know
where Cassie was, who she
was with and demanded
that she constantly checked
in with him — in person,
via email, texting or phone
calls.
During the summer
months, Cassie rarely spent
time with her friends and
family. His friends became
her friends. Her time, Cassie
said, was consumed by CL.
“I didn’t look at it being
strange or not normal, I
enjoyed spending time with
him. I thought he wanted
me to do it because he
enjoyed me and wanted to
spend more time with me,”
she said. “Looking back, it
didn’t take long to see that
no one else was in my life.”
The physical abuse
started in an insidious way
— CL would often pinch
Cassie’s legs or the back of
her arms. Leaving bruises,
she carefully chose cloth-
ing to cover the marks. To
prevent her from leaving or
calling for help, CL often
took Cassie’s car keys and
cellphone — even breaking
several of them.
And,
when
school
resumed in the fall of 2008,
Cassie quit sports and other
extracurricular activities.
CL expected her to go to
his house before she went
to school and return as soon
as classes were over. If she
didn’t, he went looking for
her.
The first escalation of
physical contact occurred
after Cassie turned down a
sandwich he made her. CL
shoved her backward over
the couch. Shocked, Cassie
didn’t know how to respond.
“He left for a little bit,
and then came back and was
super apologetic and said he
wouldn’t do it again,” she
said. “I believed him.”
Keeping the abuse a
secret, Cassie didn’t tell her
parents. She grew up hear-
ing messages about how
to be strong and to have
respect for herself. Cassie
thought that somehow she
had allowed it to happen.
Embarrassment, she said,
initially prevented her from
asking for help — hoping,
instead, to handle it herself.
Jeff and Carol Greene
learned of the abuse after
police responded to reports
of aggressive behavior
between Cassie and CL.
The police, Carol said, told
her Cassie was fine but they
decided to call since it was
the second time officers had
responded to a neighbor’s
concerns. Carol was flabber-
gasted they weren’t notified
previously.
Police were called on
another occasion by Cas-
sie’s boss when CL showed
up screaming and swearing
at her.
“They just talked to him
and they let him go,” Carol
said. “They always just let
him go home — that still
frustrates me.”
Recognizing the situa-
tion was becoming danger-
ous, the Greenes told Cassie
they would immediately call
911 if she didn’t answer her
cellphone.
“We basically tried to
forbid her from seeing
him,” Carol said. “We tried
to keep her away from him,
but it was hard to do until
she was ready — until she
realized it’s not going to get
better.”
A picture’s worth a
thousand words
Cassie’s normally bright
and expressive eyes are dull,
red and swollen in photo-
graphs documenting inju-
ries after CL attacked her
May 30, 2009. Fear initially
prevented Cassie from fully
disclosing details to police.
CL was charged with assault
and violation of a restrain-
ing order.
However, the incident in
her car was far more seri-
ous than she first revealed.
In addition to squeezing
her throat with his hand
and pressing brass knuckles
against her windpipe, CL
attempted to wrap the seat
belt around her neck.
Cassie was nearly a
foot shorter than CL and
weighed less than 100
pounds. Barely able to
breathe, she began honk-
ing her car horn. Attracting
attention, a man came out of
his house to intervene and
CL finally got out of the car
“I looked at Cassie and
she looked petrified,” Carol
said.
The next morning Cassie
realized her cellphone was
gone. CL had either climbed
in or reached through Cas-
sie’s bedroom window and
taken it. He was subse-
quently charged with bur-
glary and ultimately put on
felony probation. Shortly
thereafter, the Greenes had
an alarm system installed in
their house.
“We realized he was
actually going to hurt her or
us,” Carol said. “We were
afraid he was going to take
her from the house.”
Cassie finally got some
breathing room when CL
was incarcerated and in a
rehabilitation facility.
“I was able to break away
from him and realize this
had to stop,” she said.
Increased
consequences for a
serious crime
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Domestic violence survivor Cassie Greene has taken to
illustrating her survival story using her skin as a canvas.
Soup Bowl Supper & Silent Auction
Host: Domestic Violence
Services
When: Tuesday, Oct. 23,
5:30-8 p.m.
Where: Sister’s Cafe, 308 S.
Main St., Pendleton
Cost: $25
Info: 541-276-3322, www.
dvs-or.org
As part of National
Domestic Violence
Awareness Month, the
fundraiser supports the
and left. Cassie is convinced
that stranger saved her life.
“I thought I was going to
die that day,” Cassie said.
With her cellphone dam-
aged during the fracas, Cas-
sie drove to a friend’s house,
who in turn called the police
and her parents. That eve-
ning and the next day, Cas-
sie shared more about what
happened with her parents
— they both urged her to
follow up with police.
Two days after the ini-
tial report was filed, Cassie
met with police again. Addi-
tional charges of strangu-
lation and menacing were
tacked onto the case.
CL continued to reach
out to Cassie. And she still
saw him a few times after
that incident.
“I had a really hard time
breaking away. He was
nonprofit organization
in Umatilla and Morrow
counties. Serving victims
of domestic violence and
sexual assault, DVS has
shelters in Pendleton
and Hermiston, offers
safety planning, provides
information and referrals,
offers classes and peer
support, and maintains a
24-hour crisis line (800-
833-1161).
really persistent,” Cassie
said. “I really did care about
him and I did believe that he
loved me.”
Sensing he was losing
his grasp, CL began stalking
Cassie — leaving notes on
her car, hanging around the
school and donning dark
clothing and standing out-
side her bedroom window.
One night, CL demanded
she get her suitcase and go
with him. Frightened, she
went into her parent’s bed-
room and told them she was
having nightmares.
“We laid on the couch,”
Carol said. “She was cold
and shaking.”
Not long afterward, their
landline started ringing. The
number was blocked and
no one spoke when Carol
answered. That happened
several times.
ECONOMY: Enough reserve to cover first biennium
Continued from 1A
scenario.
Oregon’s economy is more
volatile than many states, ris-
ing faster during good times
and falling faster during a
downturn. Its economy is
more diversified, with a vari-
ety of manufacturing and nat-
ural resources, and on top
of that, its heavy reliance on
income taxes over sales tax
gives the state a more volatile
revenue stream.
Lehner said that’s not nec-
essarily a bad thing, as seen
now when Oregon’s growth
continues to outpace other
states.
“Oregon
comes
out
ahead,” he said.
Looking for solutions
Softening the blow of
the country’s next economic
downturn is something that
some Oregonians are already
thinking about. At a Greater
Hermiston Area Chamber
of Commerce event Tues-
day, titled “Facing Oregon’s
next economic crisis,” Jer-
emy Rogers, vice president of
the Oregon Business Coun-
cil, discussed possible solu-
tions to Oregon’s economic
challenges.
Rogers is part of the Ore-
gon Business Plan, a collab-
oration of public and private
entities that researches and
lobbies for solutions to make
Oregon’s economy stronger.
He said the upcoming 2019
legislative session will be a
crucial time to address those
challenges, because after that
the state could be back in a
recession.
The problem, Rogers said,
is that despite Ore-
gon’s strong rev-
enue growth, its
expenditures are
also growing. He
said the state proj-
ects an $800 mil-
lion shortfall next
biennium,
and
more than a billion
Lehner
in the two after that.
Part of that
shortfall will be driven by an
expected 150 percent growth
in expenses for the Public
Employee Retirement System
between 2019 and 2027, he
said, along with a 90 percent
growth in Medicaid expenses
expected during that same
time. The Oregon Business
Plan believes the state must
look at ways to cut expenses,
such as PERS reform, in addi-
tion to increasing revenue
through methods, such as a
restructure of the tax code.
The state currently has
enough in reserve to cover
the first biennium of a reces-
sion, Rogers said, but not the
“hangover” after that. One
possible solution discussed
is reform of Oregon’s unique
kicker law, which states that
if Oregon’s revenue exceeds
state economists’ revenue
projections by more than 2
percent for any biennium, tax-
payers get that money back in
the form of a rebate.
Rogers said if the previous
two kickers plus the one cur-
rently expected were put into
a reserve fund, that should be
enough to cover state bud-
get shortfalls during the next
downturn.
“We would have enough
to cover the full impacts of a
recession,” he said.
However, the
fight for a ballot
measure to redi-
rect the kicker
money into a rainy
day fund would
be expensive and
difficult, he said,
which was why the
Oregon Business
Plan was talking to
groups around the
state asking for their feed-
back about whether the effort
would be worth pursuing.
Weston mayor Jenni-
fer Spurgeon said part of the
problem with asking vot-
ers to give up their rebate is
that there was a low level of
trust that the legislature would
truly save it for a rainy day.
“It would be very import-
ant to lock some of that up so
you don’t end up in a bigger
problem,” she said.
Diversifying
Oregon’s
revenues by implementing a
sales tax and lowering income
taxes would be one strategy
that could soften the effects of
a recession on state services,
but John Audley of the Ore-
gon Business Plan said that’s
not a fight worth starting in
2019, given Oregon voters’
resistance in the past.
“We’re barely pumping
our own gas; sales tax is just
a stretch too far still, even
though many experts argue
it is the most logical thing to
do,” he said.
However, Rogers and
Audley said there were other
tax reforms that might have
a better chance of passing,
such as a business activity tax
that would tax gross receipts
minus purchases from other
businesses.
Eastern Oregon Telecom
CEO Joe Frannell said such
a tax would be devastating, if
not fatal, to a capital-intensive
businesses like his, to which
Audley responded that’s the
type of feedback the Ore-
gon Business Plan needs as
it searches for a way forward.
Tax effects
While legislators or vot-
ers may decide on changes
in Oregon’s tax structure at
some point, Lehner told the
East Oregonian that there
are benefits to Oregon’s tax
structure.
“In a typical year, income
tax brings in more revenue
than a sales tax,” he said.
Income tax is more equi-
table, he said, because high-
er-income households tend
to save a significant chunk of
their income instead of spend-
ing it, while low-income
households might spend
every penny. Money sitting in
a bank account isn’t subject to
a sales tax.
The economy is also
becoming more service-based,
and items like televisions and
couches aren’t bringing in as
much as they used to.
“These big-ticket items
that sales tax relies on are
actually getting cheaper,” he
said.
Any type of tax will be
affected by the quality of the
state and national economy.
And economists aren’t sure
exactly what the economy
will do in the long term as
market forces such as tariffs
and tax cuts come into play.
For now, however, state
economists say Oregon con-
tinues to “hit the sweet spot.”
Senate Bill 1562, passed
unanimously in the House
and Senate earlier this year,
upgrades strangulation from
a misdemeanor to a felony.
Domestic violence victim
advocates applauded the
change — as did Cassie.
“It’s about damn time,”
she said. “Someone stran-
gling you is one of the most
personal and terrifying
things.”
Equally
enthusiastic,
Chaney said it didn’t make
sense that something as
life-threatening as strangu-
lation was previously a mis-
demeanor. Increasing the
legal classification, she said,
helps in relating the serious-
ness of the offense.
Also, Chaney doesn’t
mince words regarding
strangulation — calling
it choking, she said, is a
misnomer.
“It’s a very serious thing.
Someone is trying to pre-
vent you from breathing,”
Chaney said.
“It’s all about power
and all about control. It’s
really about them saying
to you they could take your
life at any time,” Cassie
explained.
While CL did eventually
go to prison, it wasn’t until
after he was charged with
strangling another victim.
Cassie wonders if the threat
of a felony would have
saved his next victim.
From victim to
survivor
On her 18th birthday,
Cassie had the words “Live
Strong” tattooed on her
right forearm. It’s a perma-
nent reminder to be strong
for herself.
A work in progress, she
now has a sleeve with mul-
tiple tattoos that depict
being a survivor of domes-
tic violence — including
words to Eminem’s “Beau-
tiful Pain,” the infinity sym-
bol with “bts” for “Break
the Silence” and a butterfly,
which represents her meta-
morphosis as a survivor.
With a desire to leave her
past behind and knowing
she eventually wanted to go
to college, Cassie moved to
Corvallis after graduating
from high school. Initially,
she met a guy and merely
existed.
“I went down a dark path
for a long time,” she said.
“And then I knew I didn’t
want to be another statis-
tic of domestic violence. I
wanted to be a survivor. I
wanted to overcome what
happened to me.”
Working for Jackson
Street Youth Services, a
shelter for teens, and later
in the detention center at
Linn-Benton Juvenile Cor-
rections, Cassie assisted
youths who were struggling.
“A lot of my healing has
come through helping peo-
ple. I was able to work with
kids that had been trudg-
ing their whole lives,” she
said. “That’s all I wanted
to do with CL, too, because
he was so messed up in so
many ways.”
Enrolling at Linn-Benton
Community College, Cas-
sie graduated with a degree
in criminal justice in 2016.
Breaking off a six-year rela-
tionship, Cassie missed her
family and decided to apply
for jobs in Umatilla County.
“I just felt it was time to
come home,” she said.
As a probation services
specialist with Umatilla
County Community Correc-
tions, Cassie works with the
offender population. A num-
ber of the clients have a his-
tory of domestic violence
— both as perpetrators and
victims.
Without judgment, she
provides services to help
people change — if they
want to. As for victims,
Cassie wants them to under-
stand that once the abuse
starts, it usually gets worse.
“They need to know they
aren’t alone. They can and
will get through it by asking
for help,” she said.
“Looking back, I know
there were people there for
me.”
OPIOIDS: Include
illegal drugs like heroin
Continued from 1A
munities Act, passed out
of the House in late Sep-
tember 393-8 and days
later sailed through the
Senate 98-1. Walden, chair
of the House Energy and
Commerce
Committee,
said the bill now awaits
the president’s signature.
He turned over most of the
hour-and-15-minute ses-
sion to hear from doctors,
addiction specialists and
county officials.
Opioids include ille-
gal drugs like heroin and
fentanyl and prescription
drugs like oxycodone and
hydrocodone.
Harry Geller, presi-
dent of St. Anthony Hos-
pital, Pendleton, touted
the success of identify-
ing local “frequent flyers”
who sought opioids. He
said the hospital managed
to reduce its prescription
for the drug 60 percent and
save $250,000.
Dr. Joel Rice, who oper-
ates addiction treatment
centers in Pendleton and
La Grande, told the con-
gressman that fentanyl is
the most commonly used
opioid in Umatilla County,
costs about $25 a pill on
the street, and an addict
needs four or five pills a
day. The drug is coming
out of Yakima, is in Union
County, and making its
way into Baker County.
Walden said the product
is coming from China and
into the U.S. through the
Energy and
Commerce con-
sidered regulating
pill presses but the
idea died because
the supplement
industry uses the
mechanisms in
abundance
postal system.
“What costs $3,000-
$5,000 in China will sell
for a million here,” he said.
The substance does
not require a key ingre-
dient like pseudoephed-
rine the way methamphet-
amine does, Joel said, and
for the price of a $350 pill
press online anyone can
be on the way to making
fentanyl.
Walden made a note of
that.
“That’s another thing
for the oversight commit-
tee to address,” he said,
adding the Energy and
Commerce considered reg-
ulating pill presses but the
idea died because the sup-
plement industry uses the
mechanisms in abundance.
Walden also received
plenty of thanks from the
dozen or so officials in
the room before he left for
the clinic in Boardman for
another session.
His appearance at the
courthouse also attracted
four protesters.