NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
SRCI COVID-19 cases nearly double in one month
State reports
nearly 400 total
cases since July
By AIDAN MCGLOIN
Malheur Enterprise
ONTARIO — The coro-
navirus continues to spread
through the Snake River
Correctional
Institution,
with the number of inmates
infected almost doubling in
the past 30 days.
The prison remains a
major source of COVID-19
cases in Malheur County
and has one of the highest
infection rates among Ore-
gon’s 14 prisons.
As of Sept. 24, the Ore-
gon Department of Cor-
rections reported a total of
394 inmate cases since the
first one was detected in
the Ontario prison in July.
Four inmates have died. The
department also reported a
total of 139 employees at the
prison have tested positive.
“We don’t have a specific
reason to link the cases from
this last month,” said Amber
Campbell, Snake River
spokeswoman.
Among Oregon prisons,
Snake River’s COVID-19
case rate is high.
Six prisons have reported
no cases, and the average
inmate infection rate across
all prisons is 4%. Snake Riv-
er’s infection rate among its
Argus Observer file photo
Snake River Correctional Institution, which is located outside Ontario city limits, remains a
major source of COVID-19 cases in Malheur County and has one of the highest infection rates
among Oregon’s 14 prisons.
2,700 inmates is 14%, sec-
ond only to Eastern Ore-
gon Correctional Institution
in Pendleton, where 18% of
inmates have been infected.
The outbreak adds to
Malheur County’s designa-
tion as the county with the
highest infection rate in the
state. Although the prison
cases won’t be counted in
any decision to open schools,
the outbreak counts in the
county’s total case load.
As of Friday, Sept. 25, the
county reported 1,613 cases
dating back to March.
An Aug. 6 assessment
by the Department of Cor-
rections and obtained by the
Malheur Enterprise through
a public records request
found that the majority of
employees and inmates at
Snake River wore face cov-
erings, and managers at
the prison appeared to take
COVID-19 seriously.
The agency sent a special
inspection team to the prison
last month as part of its effort
to track the virus in the state
prison system.
They
found
during
the August tour that two
employees didn’t have a face
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Pleasant with
plenty of sunshine
Mostly sunny and
nice
Sunshine
Mostly sunny and
very warm
Sunny and very
warm
covering available and one
pulled down their face cov-
ering to talk to an inmate.
One employee’s face cov-
ering wasn’t over his nose,
and two of the three employ-
ees in a prison tower weren’t
social distancing or wearing
face coverings.
Seven
employees
assigned to transporting
inmates weren’t wearing
masks while eating together
in an area too small for
social distancing, the audi-
tors found.
“The staff sometimes
wear masks, but not all the
81° 50°
82° 50°
82° 51°
84° 53°
84° 52°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
81° 44°
84° 45°
84° 46°
86° 54°
86° 46°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
79/55
Kennewick Walla Walla
78/52
Lewiston
81/53
80/45
Astoria
78/55
78/46
81/46
Longview
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Pullman
Yakima 81/45
78/50
81/51
Portland
Hermiston
83/56
The Dalles 81/44
Salem
Corvallis
79/49
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
81/41
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
84/52
85/49
85/50
Ontario
80/43
79/44
82/34
0.00"
0.07"
0.40"
1.73"
4.76"
6.55"
WINDS (in mph)
Caldwell
Burns
76°
39°
74°
44°
89° (1994) 31° (2015)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
82/50
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 78/42
83/52
0.00"
0.14"
0.51"
8.75"
10.85"
8.93"
HERMISTON
Enterprise
81/50
82/49
76°
42°
72°
46°
92° (1918) 27° (1911)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
75/49
Aberdeen
75/46
76/52
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
74/55
Today
Medford
94/56
Wed.
NE 3-6
NW 4-8
Boardman
Pendleton
ENE 3-6
NNW 4-8
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
85/40
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020
6:51 a.m.
6:39 p.m.
6:19 p.m.
4:22 a.m.
Full
Last
New
First
Oct 1
Oct 9
Oct 16
Oct 23
19, and an April 3 newslet-
ter from Santiam Correc-
tional Institution in Salem
said “it is important to note
that these masks will NOT
take the place of appropriate
personal protective equip-
ment (PPE) for those with,
or in close contact with,
COVID-19.”
Agency officials said it
would not have been appro-
priate to provide PPE to
inmates.
“Due to continuing
nationwide shortage of PPE,
it would not be irresponsible
for DOC to provide items like
N95 masks and face shields
to the general adult in cus-
tody population, when CDC
requirements have shown
that a washable, breathable
fabric mask is safe and effec-
tive for the majority of peo-
ple,” wrote Erdman.
Inmates have to wear
masks only when within 6
feet of another person, and
can be sent away from their
assignment and have their
daily wage docked if they
neglect to wear them at a
work site.
Two May declarations
from inmates in a lawsuit
against the DOC said that
inmates weren’t wearing
masks.
“They tell us we should
be wearing them, but they
only enforce it if we go to
medical,” said former SRCI
inmate Brandon Borba.
Brown seeks review of police
protest response in Oregon
Associated Press
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
time,” said SRCI inmate Pat-
rick Kirk.
The auditors found that
employees coming through
a back entrance at the min-
imum
facility
weren’t
screened. Since then, the
prison has directed employ-
ees to get a complete screen-
ing before reporting to their
work stations.
The assessment also
noted the difficulty of pre-
venting COVID-19 cases in
a 24-hour correctional facil-
ity where the employees live
in counties which have such
high COVID-19 case rates.
“Even if these controls
are implemented as well as
can be reasonably expected,
positive cases are still likely
to occur as long as COVID-
19 is prevalent in the out-
side community,” said the
assessment.
While the assessment
shows that the majority of
employees and inmates wear
masks, the masks provided
to inmates are not up to Cen-
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention standards.
The masks provided to
the inmates at Snake River
are single-layer polyester
and cotton masks, accord-
ing to Zachary Erdman,
DOC operations and policy
manager.
The CDC’s guidance
directs people to wear masks
with two or more layers to
stop the spread of COVID-
PORTLAND — Criti-
cism of the law enforcement
response to a protest in Port-
land late Saturday, Sept. 26,
into early Sunday, Sept. 27,
prompted Gov. Kate Brown
to ask authorities to review
“any alleged incidents”
involving their officers.
The governor said in a
series of tweets that she was
committed to building trust
in the community. She asked
Oregon State Police Super-
intendent Travis Hampton,
Multnomah County Sher-
iff Mike Reese and Portland
Police Chief Chuck Lovell
to take another look at what
happened during their joint
operations that night.
“Journalists and law
enforcement officers have
difficult jobs to do during
these demonstrations, but I
do still believe that we can
protect free speech and keep
the peace,” Brown tweeted.
Videos from the demon-
stration in downtown Port-
land showed police grab-
bing a news photographer
and pushing him to ground
as he was trying to doc-
ument them tackling and
detaining a person on a side-
walk, The Oregonian/Ore-
gonLive reported. Freelance
photographer John Rudoff
was wearing a helmet with
“PRESS” stickers affixed to
it. He told the outlet on Sept.
27 that he’s “physically OK
but am quite annoyed.”
One video appears to
show an officer push a jour-
nalist into a tree, causing the
journalist to drop the cam-
era. Oregon Public Broad-
casting Editor Anna Griffin
retweeted the video, writ-
ing, “I’d also love to hear
elected officials explain why
a reporter from my organi-
zation was subject to vio-
lence at the hands of law
enforcement when judges
have made it very clear this
is not acceptable.”
Another online video
showed an officer apparently
deploying a chemical spray
in the face of a man who was
yelling at police and waving
a sign toward them.
The American Civil Lib-
erties Union of Oregon late
Sept. 27 called on Brown to
appoint a special, indepen-
dent prosecutor to investi-
gate and prosecute police
abuses that have occurred in
Portland over the last several
months.
“Police abuse of protest-
ers, journalists, legal observ-
ers, medics, and bystanders
must be stopped,” said Kelly
Simon, the group’s interim
legal director.
Several arrests were
made and an unlawful
assembly was declared over-
night after objects were
thrown at officers, including
full drink cans, firecrackers
and rocks, authorities said.
One man broke away from
officers and ran two blocks
with his hands in zip-tie
cuffs before he was recap-
tured by police. Police also
seized bear spray, a baton
and a drone in separate stops
or arrests.
Sheriff’s
spokesman
Chris Liedle told The Ore-
gonian/Oregon Live that
anyone who believes officers
acted unjustly or excessively
can file a complaint with the
agency or corresponding
review board.
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 107° in Palm Springs, Calif. Low 8° in Daniel, Wyo.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
IN BRIEF
Lawmakers approve money
for wildfire bills
SALEM — Oregon lawmakers have
approved money to start paying wildfire
costs and helping homeowners rebuild, add
workers to process unemployment claims
and update technology and expand capacity
for coronavirus testing.
They did so Friday, Sept. 25, during an
Emergency Board meeting that lasted more
than three hours.
The board’s 20 members handle budget
matters between sessions of the full Oregon
Legislature.
Though the board has met monthly since
the 2020 session adjourned March 5 — and
twice in August — the Sept. 25 session was
the first after the board committed all of Ore-
gon’s $1.4 billion share of federal pandemic
aid under the CARES Act.
The board enabled the Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry to tap $75 million, instead
of the original $20 million, to start paying
suppression costs of the wildfires that have
swept through about 1 million acres of for-
ests since Labor Day. As many as three
dozen fires burned at once across Oregon.
Recent rains have helped firefighters
make gains. But according to the agency, six
major fires — each 100,000 acres or greater
— continued to burn as of Sept. 25 at vary-
ing degrees of containment. The official
death toll is nine.
— EO Media Group
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
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cold front
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CLARIFICATION: In the Sept. 19, 2020, Courts listing on page A7, Jacque Wilson
was erroneously listed as a defendant in a judgment. Ms. Wilson was dismissed from
the case.
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