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East Oregonian
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Saturday, January 29, 2022
Behavioral Health Court off to promising start
By DICK MASON The
Observer
LA GRANDE — Union
County Circuit Court has
a promising new program
for veterans and commu-
nity members — Behavioral
Health Court.
The program aims to
help people facing crimi-
nal charges due to actions
triggered by conditions
they suff er from, including
post-traumatic stress disor-
der. The participants meet
regularly at the courthouse
to receive guidance from a
15-member team of coun-
selors, attorneys, veterans
service providers, judicial
employees, law enforcement
and probation offi cers. The
team develops programs for
the participants designed to
help them overcome the issues
they are facing.
Some of those who will
be graduating from Behav-
ioral Health Court will have
the charges against them
dismissed, and all should be
emerging with more stability
and improved coping skills,
said Union County District
Attorney Kelsie McDaniel,
the program’s founder and a
team member.
“We want to give them a
new lease on life,” McDaniel
said.
Behavioral Health Court
conducted its fi rst graduation
on Dec. 27, 2021. There were
Dick Mason/The Observer
Kelsie McDaniel, from left, Kara Rudd and Troy Davis, all members of the Behavioral Health
Court team, talk during a meeting Jan. 10, 2022, at the Union County Courthouse in La Grande.
McDaniel is Union County’s district attorney, Rudd is with the Oregon Judicial Department
and Davis works for the nonprofi t Center for Human Development Inc. in La Grande.
two graduates, both of whom
made tremendous progress
since starting.
“We are so proud of them,”
McDaniel said.
their team after its members
spent an hour reviewing their
progress since the last meet-
ing. Their probation offi cers
would discuss whether they
had kept appointments with
counselors, for example,
attended treatment sessions
and taken their required drug
tests.
“The team works together
to do everything it can to help
them,” McDaniel said.
Participants in Behav-
ioral Health Court meet
‘The team works
together’
The graduates had each
come to the courthouse at least
twice a month and sometimes
weekly for 12-18 months to
meet with their Behavioral
Health Court team.
They would meet with
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with their team in a court-
room in a formal setting, as
if they are part of an actual
court hearing. The meet-
ing is conducted by Union
County Circuit Court Judge
Tom Powers, who wears his
judicial robe. Powers reviews
the participant’s progress and
any setbacks. At the end of the
session Powers rules whether
the week has been a success-
ful one for the participant.
A ruling of success means a
reward awaits the individual.
The participant chooses an
item from a basket of small
rewards Powers has assem-
bled. Other rewards Powers
provides include reducing
how often participants must
check in with probation offi -
cers.
Powers enjoys having
the opportunity to encour-
age participants and provide
incentives. He noted that
normally when people come
before him in a courtroom it
is because they are about to
be sentenced or have been
charged with a crime, all
occasions calling for stern
expressions.
“Now I get to be a smiling
judge,” Powers said.
On the down side, Powers
does have to issue sanctions
if the participant has had a
bad week by missing coun-
seling appointments, drug
tests or other assigned tasks.
The sanctions he may impose
include adding drug tests and
check-ins with the individu-
al’s probation offi cer.
A range of participants
Not all Behavioral Health
Court participants have drug
problems but each must be
drug tested to confi rm sobri-
ety and to help with medica-
tion management, McDaniel
said.
Some participants are
new to the judicial system,
but others are not. Some have
extensive criminal records
Baker City to pursue quiet zone
Dixon and Johnny Waggoner
Sr. voted against the
proposal.
McQuisten and Dixon
BAKER CITY — The both talked about an initia-
Baker City City Council tive petition that would ask
on Tuesday evening, Jan. city voters to amend the city
25, voted 4-3 to apply for charter to prohibit the city
a railroad quiet zone in the from enacting a quiet zone
city, a controversial idea unless voters approve such
that opposing coun-
a plan.
cilors say should be
Dixon, who is
decided by voters.
the chief petitioner,
T he cou ncil’s
said if voters chose
to add that clause to
newest member,
the charter, it would
Dean Guyer, who
“halt any ongoing
was appointed Dec.
eff orts to establish a
14, 2021, submitted
the proposal, which
Guyer
railroad quiet zone
calls for the city to
effective immedi-
seek a quiet zone through the ately.”
Federal Railroad Adminis-
Dixon said she hopes
tration.
to get the charter change
Guyer voted for the measure on the May 22
proposal to seek a quiet zone, ballot.
joined by Councilors Shane
In a quiet zone, freight
Alderson, Heather Sells and trains are not required to
Jason Spriet.
sound their whistles when
Mayor Kerry McQuis- approaching a street cross-
ten and Councilors Joanna ing. Train crews still would
By SAMANTHA
O’CONNER
Baker City Herald
Chilly with clouds
and sun
Cloudy and milder
36° 25°
46° 35°
Winds subsiding
with sunshine
Partly sunny and
chilly
Cloudy and chilly
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
41° 27°
41° 25°
39° 26°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
35° 26°
43° 38°
45° 30°
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OREGON FORECAST
40° 27°
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
46/43
38/28
33/24
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
33/25
Lewiston
46/37
33/26
Astoria
49/43
Pullman
Yakima 31/22
48/41
43/31
Portland
Hermiston
49/37
The Dalles 35/26
Salem
Corvallis
48/34
Yesterday
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Records
La Grande
35/23
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
49/36
53/31
44/26
Ontario
28/17
Caldwell
Burns
34°
31°
45°
29°
61° (1984) -21° (1957)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
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Albany
47/31
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
58/29
0.00"
0.89"
1.04"
0.89"
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WINDS (in mph)
32/20
35/14
0.00"
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1.47"
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1.40"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 37/20
50/35
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
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HERMISTON
Enterprise
36/25
38/32
30°
27°
43°
29°
67° (1931) -14° (1957)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
46/39
Aberdeen
32/26
27/23
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
46/41
Today
Sun.
NE 3-6
NW 6-12
SW 6-12
SW 7-14
50/19
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
New
7:20 a.m.
4:57 p.m.
5:35 a.m.
1:51 p.m.
First
Full
Last
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 78° in Santa Ana, Calif. Low -33° in Antero Reservoir, Colo.
Jan 31
Feb 8
Feb 16
Feb 23
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
trigger their warning whis-
tles at their discretion — if,
for instance, they saw a vehi-
cle or pedestrian on or near
the tracks.
There are 967 quiet zones
across the nation, according
to the FRA. There are 13 in
Oregon, including Pendle-
ton, which has had a quiet
zone since the 1970s, and
La Grande, where the quiet
zone took eff ect in Decem-
ber 2019.
An October 2017 report
f rom the Gover n ment
Accountability Office —
the offi cial auditor of federal
programs — concluded that
analyses in 2011 and 2013 by
the Federal Railroad Admin-
istration “showed that there
was generally no statisti-
cally signifi cant diff erence
in the number of accidents
that occurred before and
after quiet zones were estab-
lished.” The FRA studied
359 quiet zones in 2011, and
203 more in 2013.
IN BRIEF
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
and are in the program
because the root cause of their
problem is one the Behavioral
Health Court team believes
the right corrective action
can solve. For example, an
individual may have been
committing crimes because
of an addiction to alcohol,
which the team believes can
be successfully addressed
with treatment the individual
has not received, McDaniel
said.
James Schaeffer, a La
Grande defense attorney and
a member of the team, cred-
ited the program with adding
stability to the lives of partic-
ipants.
“It provides them with
structure and the mental
health services they need. It
is a good alternative,” Schaef-
fer said.
He added the program not
only helps participants but
also the community. When
people have issues addressed,
he explained, they are better
able to become productive
members of society.
Kara Rudd, the Behav-
ioral Health Court’s coordi-
nator, is encouraged by how
she has seen the program
change people’s lives for the
better. She also said she is
optimistic about the future of
the program.
“It is a very exciting
program,” she said. “The
participants are excited and it
is gaining momentum.”
Oregon bill could allow
self-serve gas pumping
SALEM — The Oregon Legislature will
again consider giving the state’s drivers the
option to pump their own gas.
House Bill 4151, fi led ahead of the legis-
lative session that begins Tuesday, would
allow gas stations to offer self-service
pumps alongside pumps staff ed by a station
attendant.
Oregon is one of only two states in
the U.S. that don’t allow self-service gas
pumps, although the state relaxed those
rules for some rural counties in 2015, allow-
ing customers to pump their own gas at
night. The state also allowed self-serve gas
for a few months in 2020 at the beginning
of the pandemic, and briefl y during a heat
wave last summer.
The bill is sponsored by members of both
parties in both chambers of the Legisla-
ture, including Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis,
R-Albany; Rep. Julie Fahey, D-Eugene;
Rep. Ron Noble, R-McMinnville; Rep.
Rick Lewis, R-Silverton; Sen. Janeen Soll-
man, D-Hillsboro; and Sen. Brian Boquist,
I-Dallas.
Gas station owners and the legislators
sponsoring the bill said the workforce short-
age from the pandemic has led to long lines
at the pump, overworked attendants and
some stations struggling to remain open
to comply with the attendant requirement.
According to proponents of the bill, it
would preserve the availability of assis-
tance for people with disabilities or others
who need or want help from an attendant.
The bill requires that prices would remain
the same whether pumped by a customer or
a station attendant.
— EO Media Group
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