A8
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Thursday, May 13, 2021
Mental health: ‘We’re not going to arrest our way out of this problem’
Continued from Page A1
Wyden town hall
At a recent virtual town
hall with Sen. Ron Wyden,
Umatilla County Commis-
sioner George Murdock told
the senator that county law
enforcement wanted to “get
out of the mental health busi-
ness.”
Wyden, chairman of the
Senate Finance Commit-
tee, has pushed Congress
in the past year to pass the
CAHOOTS Act, which
would fund partnerships
between law enforcement
and mental health profes-
sionals to form joint 24/7
crisis response teams. Seed
money — $1 billion — for
a CAHOOTS-like program
reimbursed through Medic-
aid was included in the
American Rescue Plan.
Programs like CAHOOTS
have yet to be tested in rural
areas, but Wyden has voiced
interest multiple times in
trying pilot programs in
Oregon, officials say.
Murdock told Wyden
that Umatilla County was
heavily interested in partic-
ipating in a CAHOOTS
program, adding the county
has already set aside funding
to jump on if the opportunity
presented itself. He said those
funds amount to roughly
$200,000 for the program.
Mu rdock said he
“emerged from the (town
hall) very optimistic about
our chances.”
“Our law enforcement
officers are the first to say
they want to get out of the
mental health business,”
he said. “Right now they’re
the only option. They real-
ize they’re not trained. They
want to get out of the busi-
ness. We want to set up a
program where we have
trained personnel on the
street able to respond and
work with law enforcement
and dispatch and so forth.”
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Pendleton Police Officer Ben Carleton drives up Southgate in Pendleton during a patrol on
on Jan. 10, 2020. Pendleton Police Chief Charles Byram said 115 out of the more than 22,000
reports in the past year were listed specifically as “mental illness.”
De-escalating the
situation
With the closure of multi-
ple county mental health
facilities in recent years,
some law enforcement offi-
cials say they are respond-
ing to more calls for people
struggling with mental
health or addiction, at times
arresting and jailing people
that they say could be better
served in a treatment facility.
Umatilla County Sheriff
Terry Rowan said a team of
mental health professionals
could help his deputies in
situations they aren’t trained
for, including de-escalating
volatile situations.
“We get some de-escala-
tion training and whatnot,
but at the end of the day, we
are not trained to the level or
degree that the mental health
professionals are,” he said.
“At some point, it seems like
a lot of different incidents
involving people in crisis,
law enforcement becomes
the first phone call.”
Officials varied in the
extent to which they would
want mental health profes-
sionals assisting situations
where there is violence. Some
said they would want mental
health professionals helping
de-escalate a situation right
from the start. Others said
they would only want them
helping after the fact.
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston said he sees
the reason for a mental health
professional to help out in
some situations, but “the last
thing we want to do is bring
additional concerns for an
officer to have to address or
deal with or face.”
“Officers have so many
different variables thrown at
them, especially during situ-
ations that are very tense or
high emotion,” he said. “It
can be detrimental to bring
additional people into a situ-
ation that the officer has to
be concerned about. It’s not
going to be a cookie-cutter
approach.”
In 2020, fewer than 1%
of the 24,000 calls routed to
the clinic in the CAHOOTS
system in Eugene required
police backup, according to
its website. The program also
saves roughly $8.5 million
each year in the city’s public
safety spending.
‘We’re not going to
arrest our way out of
this problem’
The commissioners, as
well as county law enforce-
ment, say that a critical way
mental health workers can
help the county is being “out
on the streets” assisting indi-
viduals before a crime is
committed.
“I think there’s a lot of
room there to do some field
work and check on these
individuals, especially those
who may not have the abil-
ity to drive or get into a clinic
and speak to a mental health
professional,” Rowan said.
“They could go out and do
that field work and create an
environment where you try
to deter something as much
as you can and head some-
thing off before it gets out of
hand.”
Pendleton Police Chief
Charles Byram said 115 out
of more than 22,000 reports
in the past year were codi-
fied specifically as “mental
illness.” After review-
ing perhaps 70 or 80 of the
reports, Byram said almost
every call was a situation
where law enforcement
wasn’t needed.
But even that number is
“just scratching the surface.”
“A majority of the crim-
inal drivers within this
community, and I’ll dare
to say most communities,
is going to be drug- and
alcohol-related or mental
illness-related or a combina-
tion thereof,” he said.
Byram said he’s interested
in exploring “anything to get
our officers out of the busi-
ness of responding to legit-
imate mental health crises,”
but added a caveat.
“Just because somebody
is deemed mentally ill or
is under the influence of a
controlled substance does
not mean that they’re not
committing a crime,” he said.
“We definitely have to have a
seat at the table for every situ-
ation to determine if they’re
culpable for their actions.”
Ed miston expressed
a similar interest in the
program. He said some
mental health-related issues
can force officers to arrest
people in crisis for low-level
crimes, and like other offi-
cials, he’s questioned if that’s
always the right call.
“Where we’ve ended up
is, we know we’re arresting
them and putting them in jail
for disorderly conduct, and
we know they don’t belong
there,” he said, adding “we’re
open to any idea to address
the problem. However, I
firmly and adamantly believe
that we’re only going to get
there through legislative
changes.”
Last week, the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Office
responded to multiple calls
over several days from
a family in Hermiston
concerned for their loved
one. Deputies could have
initially arrested the person
on charges of harassment,
but left each time because
the person was “seriously
Project:
Continued from Page A1
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Cowboys watch from the infield as Dawson Hay of Wild-
wood, Alberta, rides Rise and Shine on the opening day of
the 2019 Pendleton Round-Up.
Round-Up:
Continued from Page A1
Round-Up Publicity
Director Pat Reay said
it was the “first positive
announcement” they’ve
heard from the governor in
2021 and they were happy
to hear it.
In addition to getting
state approval, Reay said
the Round-Up needs to
work with other entities like
the Pro Rodeo Cowboys
Association and Umatilla
County Public Health
before proceeding. The
Round-Up expects to final-
ize its safety plan sometime
during mid-summer.
In the meantime, the
Round-Up continues to
gear up for September. The
association has already
announced dates for bull
riding events in the days
leading up to Round-Up
and intends to reveal the
main act at the kickoff
concert soon.
Umatilla Cou nt y
Commissioner George
Murdock said he wants
to take Brown at her
word because he “cannot
fathom taking another $65
million hit by not having
Round-Up.”
“I hope she also under-
stands that the Round-Up
can’t operate at half mast,”
he said. “They have to go
full bore, in terms of no
crowd limitations. But she’s
confident that by Septem-
ber we’re going to have it,
and I like to take her at her
word.”
Pe nd let on Mayor
John Turner, a nonvoting
member of the Round-Up
board, said the governor’s
comments would increase
the Round-Up’s confidence
in holding a full event.
For the state to progress
and for events to be held
safely, officials say that
regions must have high
vaccination rates.
But in Umatilla County,
the least-vaccinated county
in Oregon, vaccination
rates have declined rapidly
in recent weeks, leaving a
greater vaccine supply than
there is demand.
Nearly 25% of Umatilla
County residents have
received at least one shot,
according to a Oregonian/
OregonLive database,
though the county has the
second-highest COVID-19
case rate. That’s compared
to the approximately 46%
of all Oregonians who have
received at least their first
dose.
“I understand people’s
individual rights not to get
a shot if they choose not
to,” Murdock said. “I just
hope they consider the fact
that might have an impact
on events like Round-Up if
they choose not to.”
He added: “If they’re
going to use vaccination
rate as a standard to deter-
mine whether or not these
things are going to occur,
then I think a vaccination is
a small price to pay to make
sure these things go on and
get back to normal.”
The
Pendleton
Round-Up is scheduled for
Sept. 15 through Sept. 18.
was founded to take advan-
tage of $7 million in state
funding, that left the land-
owners on the hook for the
remainder of the projected
$46 million price tag. With no
credit history in the district’s
name, landowners committed
the remainder of the funding
in equity and debt service.
“I think 75 to 80% of our
budget was financed and
therefore we need to use the
water over as many acres as
possible so we can keep our
debt service cost down and
get things paid for,” St. Hilaire
said.
Decades in the making
Among those who spoke
at the dedication was Rep.
Bobby Lev y, R-Echo,
who used the opportu-
nity to outline the decades-
long process that led to the
East Project. Levy, whose
husband’s farm is among
those in the East Project’s
distribution area, explained
that in 1954, just one year
after she was born, the Bureau
of Reclamation made a deter-
mination that the irrigable
land in the Umatilla River
watershed exceeded avail-
able groundwater supply.
She went on to outline vari-
ous milestones that led to the
East Project.
“What makes this proj-
ect so unique is the level of
commitment and decades of
collaboration, trust building
and compromise that lead to
our ability to be here today,”
she said.
Levy said the water proj-
ects are something the state
needs to commit to in the
years to come and not forget
that the true scope of the proj-
ect has yet to be completed.
She added that she has
submitted a $6 million fund-
ing request to fund the
Ordnance Project, the third of
three water projects proposed
in 2015 that include the East
Project and West Project,
which was completed in May
2020.
Lev y extended her
thanks to U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden, D-Ore., Oregon
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
IRZ Consulting President Fred Ziari explains the technical
specifications of the East Project pumping station from with-
in the facility during a tour of the facility on Tuesday, May
11, 2021.
Sens. Bill Hansell, R-Ath-
ena, and Michael Dembrow,
D-Portland, for securing $11
million in funding for the
East and West projects in
2015, members of the Oregon
Water Resources Division,
the CTUIR and several other
agencies for their continued
negotiations and cooperation.
Higher value crops
Although the primary goal
of the project is to allow for
the recharge of aquifers in the
Columbia Basin, the increase
in consistent water supply will
allow farmers in the region to
grow higher value crops, such
as onions, potatoes and other
produce that yield higher
dollar returns per acre.
St. Hilaire said that the
sandy soil and dry climate
requires a lot of water to grow
crops, but when water is plen-
tiful these factors make for
perfect conditions.
“The soil type and
the climate over here are
extremely dry and it requires
a lot of water to grow things,”
he said. “On the flip side, if
you have water there are a
lot of different types of high-
value crops you can grow.”
St. Hilaire said farmers
have been hurt in recent years
by low commodity prices,
and that the ability to switch
to higher value crops not only
helps farms but also the local
economy.
“Water is the critical
resource, so for us it means the
possibility of farming some
high-value crops, including
organic, and having a consis-
tent source of water for them,”
he said.
All of these advancements
in farming would not be possi-
ble without an efficient means
of transporting the water from
the Columbia River.
Technological
advancements aid
efficiency
Fred Ziari, president
of Hermiston-based IRZ
Consulting, said of the thou-
sands of irrigation projects
his company has completed
in all corners of the globe, the
East Project ranked at the top
in both design complexity and
technological advancements.
Ziari credits not only his
staff, but the farmers behind
the project who prioritized
technology and efficiency
throughout the project. Ziari
said the main pumping station
and the booster pumps at each
outlet are managed remotely
and can be monitored for
function and flow rate from
a cellphone.
“We had foresight from
the farmers,” he said. “They
didn’t want to shortchange
the system, so they wanted
the highest level of technol-
ogy that is totally controlled
and measured 24/7.”
Ziari added that each pump
has a variable-frequency drive
allowing it to scale quickly
to the needed flow rate. The
pumping station is capable of
moving up to 100,000 gallons
mentally ill,” Rowan said.
The sheriff ’s off ice
reached out to the county’s
main mental health provider
for help, “but they weren’t
able to get a crisis worker
there,” Rowan said. Even-
tually, as the situation esca-
lated over several days, the
deputies returned and made
the arrest on charges of
attempted arson.
“In that same initial
response, if we had a mental
health crisis worker with us,
maybe additional calls for
service to that location would
have been avoided,” he said.
Rowan described the situ-
ation as “frustrating to say
the least.”
“Although law enforce-
ment has a desire to be
responsive and be a team
player, the other side of the
equation isn’t always a will-
ing participant,” he said. “So
that’s where it is today that
we don’t always get a crisis
worker that will respond with
us to those incidents, even
though the person we’re deal-
ing with may be their client.
It just seems counterpro-
ductive. There needs to be a
willingness to move the ball
forward.”
For a crisis intervention
team to work well, county
law enforcement pointed to
several things they would
want to see, including buy-in
from various community
groups, resources and fund-
ing allocated through the
state legislature, oversight
and accountability.
“Nobody wants to be in
the situation that we’re in
right now,” Rowan said. “We
can’t keep doing the same
thing that we’ve been doing,
because it’s obvious to us that
it’s not working. Changing
the plan and coming up with
a better approach I believe
will be beneficial to all.”
Edmiston echoed Rowan’s
sentiment.
“We’re not going to arrest
our way out of this problem,”
he said. “And we know that.”
per minute at peak operation.
Moving that amount water
is no small feat; the pumping
station, located 7 miles east
of McNary on the Colum-
bia River, utilizes 19,000
horsepower worth of pumps
to carry the water out of the
station in an 84-inch diame-
ter pipe and across roughly 8
miles over a 500-foot eleva-
tion gain.
“It was a labor of love from
our side,” Ziari said.
In addition to technolog-
ically advanced mechanical
equipment, Ziari credits the
use of fiberglass reinforced
pipe (FRP) with keeping costs
down and increasing the effi-
ciency of the design.
“First, its 35% cheaper
than steel and second, it has
tremendous energy effi-
ciency,” he said. “I would
have needed to add an addi-
tional 3,500 horsepower if I
had steel pipe rather than this
FRP.”
Next steps
For Northeast Oregon
Water Association Direc-
tor J.R. Cook, the dedication
was both a celebration of how
far the project has come and a
reminder of how far they have
to go.
“What we’ve been trying
to remind people is this is
just the cornerstone,” he said.
“Now we’ve got the mitiga-
tion program, we’ve got to
get the groundwater savings
program done and we have a
huge project in the Ordnance
pipeline that needs to be
finished.”
Cook said the past few
years have been a constant
struggle to keep everyone up
to date with the project and
its purpose. In addition to
transitions in Salem, he said
he has had to ensure that a
new generation of landown-
ers within the land base are
brought up to speed on the
process as well.
“What made this work
was commitments that we
don’t just use these projects
to go squirt a bunch more
water on, grow a bunch more
vegetables and make more
money,” he said. “It had to be
a uniform effort of mitigated
water, groundwater saving all
of the additional benefits than
just the financial side.”