NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Clatsop County asks ODOT for help detering suicides
tion of deterrence measures
to help prevent future loss of
life by way of the bridge.
“Tools such as fencing
and netting have proven
to be highly successful in
deterring and preventing tall
bridges from being used to
take one’s life,” the statement
said, “and we would enthusi-
astically encourage ODOT to
consider these measures with
regards to the Megler.”
There have been several
suicides off the Astoria
Bridge in the past couple of
decades, but the state does
not keep an official count,
said Don Hamilton, a depart-
ment of transportation public
information officer.
“We really don’t know,”
he said.
The deaths have prompted
difficult discussions among
county leaders, social
services agencies and law
enforcement about mental
health and substance abuse
treatment on the northern
Oregon Coast.
While Neikes was in
the county jail, he had two
meetings, including one on
Jan. 11, with Clatsop Behav-
ioral Healthcare counselors,
according to Sheriff Matt
Phillips.
“He never indicated to
anyone that he was suicidal,
at least not to us,” Phillips
said. “So that was just a flat
shock.”
On Jan. 12, Neikes had
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
ASTORIA — Another
fatal jump off the Astoria
Bridge prompted Clatsop
County to ask the Oregon
Department of Transpor-
tation to consider ways to
prevent more suicides.
In a letter to Bill Jablon-
ski, ODOT district manager,
the county board of commis-
sioners requested the state
partner with the county and
local mental health profes-
sionals to assess a full range
of prevention options.
On the afternoon of
Jan. 12, James Neikes, 29,
of Astoria, jumped off the
bridge. He landed on the
grass east of Suomi Hall.
Still breathing when police
officers arrived, Neikes was
taken to Columbia Memo-
rial Hospital, then flown to a
Portland-area hospital, where
he died.
“These deaths not only
impact the individual fami-
lies who experience the
tragic loss of life, but also
their community peers,
co-workers, and bystand-
ers,” according to the coun-
ty’s letter, signed by Mark
Kujala, the board’s chairman.
Clat sop Beh av ior al
Healthcare, the county’s
mental health and substance
abuse treatment contractor,
said in a statement the agency
supports “the implementa-
Ed Hunt/For The Astorian
A recent fatal jump off the Astoria Bridge has Clatsop County
officials asking the Oregon Department of Transportation to
consider ways to prevent more suicides.
a virtual hearing in circuit
court with Judge Cindee
Matyas. Neikes was jailed
10 days earlier for two misde-
meanors — second-degree
criminal mischief and tres-
pass — and two probation
violations.
His attorney, Kristopher
Kaino, noted at the hearing
that cases such as Neikes’,
where substance abuse and
mental health issues interact,
seem to be rising.
Forecast for Pendleton Area
| Go to AccuWeather.com
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
A snow squall this
afternoon
Cold; a little
afternoon snow
Clouds breaking
for sun; milder
Increasing
cloudiness
Partly sunny
38° 25°
34° 30°
“We see more and more of
these types of cases, and they
become somewhat frustrat-
ing to try to help folks with,
because I’m not sure what the
best avenue is,” the attorney
said.
Kaino said when he
started criminal defense
work in the 1990s, he might
have seen half a dozen mental
health-related cases a year.
“I’ve got three or four
a month now with mental
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
47° 28°
48° 28°
48° 34°
44° 28°
35° 32°
49° 30°
49° 30°
46° 38°
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
45/32
31/14
40/21
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
38/23
Lewiston
43/32
44/28
Astoria
45/34
Pullman
Yakima 34/21
46/30
40/21
Portland
Hermiston
43/34
The Dalles 44/28
Salem
Corvallis
44/31
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
33/18
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
45/32
38/24
29/21
Ontario
34/17
Caldwell
Burns
49°
38°
45°
29°
69° (1971) -27° (1950)
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
44/33
0.04"
0.93"
1.14"
0.93"
0.59"
1.14"
WINDS (in mph)
36/21
32/14
0.06"
1.53"
1.54"
1.53"
0.91"
1.54"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 28/11
46/33
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
38/25
49/32
44°
36°
44°
29°
70° (1995) -15° (1950)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
43/28
Aberdeen
30/13
34/17
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
42/31
Today
Medford
49/27
Wed.
W 6-12
W 8-16
Boardman
Pendleton
NW 4-8
W 6-12
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
40/14
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:17 a.m.
5:01 p.m.
8:07 a.m.
5:42 p.m.
First
Full
Last
New
Feb 8
Feb 16
Feb 23
Mar 2
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 81° in Harlingen, Texas Low -31° in Antero Reservoir, Colo.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
every week, and check in to
see how you’re doing,” the
judge told him.
She urged Neikes to stay
connected with people —
from the probation officer
to services such as Clatsop
Behavioral Healthcare’s
Rapid Access Center.
“And I don’t want you to
lose hope, OK?” Matyas told
him.
“OK,” Neikes replied.
As the hearing ended,
Matyas told him, “Look
forward to seeing you in the
future.”
“All right,” Neikes said.
“Thank you.”
Before he was released
from jail, Neikes asked for,
and took, his afternoon medi-
cations, Phillips said. Neikes
also asked for bus tokens; he
needed to check in with his
probation officer in Warren-
ton.
Neikes was laying plans
to move into Clatsop Behav-
ioral Healthcare’s sober
living house in Warrenton,
Phillips said.
“Those are all good signs
that he was forward-thinking
and looking to the future,”
Phillips said.
Neikes left the jail at
2:05 p.m. About 15 minutes
later, he was seen walking up
the Astoria Bridge.
“James, he was a good
kid. Nice kid. Very nice kid,”
Kaino said. “I was sick when
I heard he did what he did.”
Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office
spending $2M on take-home cars
By GARRETT
ANDREWS
The Bulletin
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
health issues, minimum,” he
said.
With few exceptions,
people held in custody in
Oregon have a statutory right
to be brought to trial within
60 days unless they waive
that right. But getting an
in-depth psychological eval-
uation to see what services
a person needs often takes
longer.
Kaino said people in
custody for nuisance-type
offenses, such as those
Neikes faced, often don’t
want to wait if they can get
out earlier, even if staying in
jail would lead to a psycho-
logical evaluation that may
help them, “which I get,” he
said at the hearing.
Neikes said he was
worried about getting out.
“I’m worried about how
I’m going to — if I don’t have
a phone or anything — I’m
worried about how I’m going
to get a job and just manage
all this at the same time,”
Neikes said. “And I’m not
sure really what I’m going to
do right now.”
Matyas dismissed the
trespass charge and ordered
Neikes complete 18 months
supervised probation. She
also ordered that he get
assessed for potential place-
ment in a specialty court
— either the drug court or
mental health treatment
court.
“I’ll want to see you,
DESCHUTES COUNTY
— The Deschutes County
Sheriff’s Office is spend-
ing more than $2 million
for a slew of new vehicles to
ensure every patrol deputy
has one to drive home.
The sheriff believes
giving each patrol deputy
a vehicle will add years to
vehicle lifespans and better
position deputies to respond
to emergencies.
But Sheriff Shane Nelson’s
new vehicle plan bucks
conventional wisdom about
fleet budgeting, in which
purchases are staggered so
many vehicles don’t end their
useful lives at the same time
and need to be replaced all at
once. The change also may
increase maintenance and
other costs.
For fiscal year 2022,
the sheriff’s office ordered
32 vehicles at a total cost
of $1.1 million from Port-
land-area dealerships. The
vehicles are 2021 and 2022
model Dodge Durangos,
Chargers, Ram 1500s, Ford
F-150s and F-250s and a
Toyota Sienna, according
to sale contracts The Bulle-
tin obtained through public
records requests.
Outfitting the vehicles
with police electronics,
partition cages, vinyl decals,
lights and sirens cost the
sheriff’s office an additional
$1 million.
Prior to this year, the
sheriff’s office employed
a system where two depu-
ties shared one vehicle. The
vehicle was in use 12 hours
every day, which a sheriff’s
spokesperson said caused
mileage to add up fast. Under
that system, vehicles needed
replacing every two to three
years, according to sheriff’s
Sgt. Jayson Janes.
Sheriff’s patrol depu-
ties work 12-hour shifts,
four days on and four days
off. The old plan involved
deputies dropping off their
car partner at home every
four days. Janes stated that
was fine as long as nothing
happened at shift change
“There have been a
number of times close to shift
change that major crashes or
other incidents occurred,”
he said, “and the night shift
deputies would be committed
to the incident, so the oncom-
ing day shift deputies had to
find another way to come to
work and find a vehicle so
they could start their shift.”
The Bend Police Depart-
ment does not have take-
home cruisers, and it retires
vehicles at 100,000 miles.
Reaching that figure takes
three to five years, accord-
ing to Bend police Lt. Juli
McConkey.
The police department
grew its fleet by two vehicles
in fiscal year 2021-22 and
purchased 31 more to replace
retired vehicles. That figure
is twice as high as an ordi-
nary year because the depart-
ment purchased no vehicles
during the first year of the
pandemic, McConkey said.
Janes said the new sher-
iff’s office vehicle plan is
based on the Clackamas
County Sheriff’s Office’s
program, which it initiated
in 2000. Janes said Clacka-
mas officials found assign-
ing every deputy a vehicle
increased the life of the vehi-
cles — from approximately
70,000 miles to approxi-
mately 120,000 miles —
improved deputy efficiency,
reduced response times
to critical incidents and
enhanced the visibility of law
enforcement in the commu-
nity.
Janes said Clackamas
County deputies reported
feeling a sense of ownership
toward their assigned vehi-
cles, meaning they take extra
care of it.
“Deputies can also be
held individually account-
able for failing to ensure their
vehicles receive appropri-
ate maintenance and minor
repairs eventually reducing
the vehicle’s service life,”
according to Janes.
If there are cost savings
with the new plan, there also
likely will be new costs.
Having twice as many
cars on the street likely mean
an increase to maintenance
costs. And because depu-
ties technically are working
when driving their patrol
vehicles, the sheriff’s take-
home vehicle system could
lead to higher insurance
costs and open the office to
Fair Labor Standards Act
claims. The sheriff’s office’s
contract with the 911 service
district requires the office to
maintain in-car radios based
upon the numbers of radios,
meaning that bill could go up
as well.
Even if the sheriff’s office
is able to extend the useful
life of vehicles, 32 vehicles
purchased at the same time
likely all reach the end of
their service lives at the same
time. Public agencies typi-
cally replace the same small
number of vehicles each
time, so budgets are predica-
ble and there are always fresh
vehicles.
The sheriff’s new vehicle
plan also could be aimed at
improving morale. Nelson
has clashed openly with the
deputy union. This summer, a
fired former deputy prevailed
in a federal civil rights claim
and the county settled for a
half-million dollars with a
former deputy who accused
Nelson of gender discrimi-
nation.
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
60s
cold front
E AST O REGONIAN
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
70s
East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday,
by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals
postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to
East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801.
Copyright © 2022, EO Media Group
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
CORRECTIONS: The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely
regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818.
low
Circulation Dept.
For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops
or delivery concerns call 800-781-3214
ADVERTISING
Classified & Legal Advertising
Regional Sales Director (Eastside) EO Media Group:
Classified advertising: 541-564-4538
• Karrine Brogoitti
541-963-3161 • kbrogoitti@eomediagroup.com
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed major holidays
EastOregonian.com
In the App Store:
80s
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Local home
delivery
Savings
(cover price)
$10.75/month
50 percent
52 weeks
$135
42 percent
26 weeks
$71
39 percent
13 weeks
$37
36 percent
EZPay
Single copy price:
$1.50 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
Multimedia Consultants:
• Angel Aguilar
541-564-4531 • aaguilar@hermistonherald.com
• Melissa Barnes
541-966-0827 • mbarnes@eastoregonian.com
• Audra Workman
541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com
Business Office
Legal advertising: 541-966-0824
classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com
NEWS
• To submit news tips and press releases:
call 541-966-0818 or email news@eastoregonian.com
• To submit community events, calendar items, engagements,
weddings and anniversaries: email community@eastoregonian.com,
call 541-966-0818 or or visit eastoregonian.com/community/
announcements.
• To submit sports or outdoors information or tips,
email sports@eastoregonian.com.
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
• Dayle Stinson
Commercial Print Manager: Holly Rouska
541-966-0824 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com
541-617-7839 • hrouska@eomediagroup.com