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From A1/News
wallowa.com
March 14, 2018
Wallowa County Chieftain
Legislature strengthens strangulation penalties
Move will help
domestic violence
prosecutions
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Two bills approved by the Leg-
islature in its recently completed
short session will help in prosecut-
ing domestic violence cases, Wallowa
County officials say.
Senate Bill 1562 more thoroughly
defines strangulation, and elevates all
strangulation of any household mem-
ber to a Class C felony.
House Bill 4145 expanded prohib-
ited ownership of firearms to those
convicted of the state’s stalking stat-
utes from family members to those of
domestic partners as well.
Governor Kate Brown signed the
house bill on March 5 and is expected
to sign the senate bill shortly. Both
bills will take effect on Jan, 1, 2019.
Help for prosecutors
Rebecca Frolander, the county’s
deputy district attorney, said that the
changes may appear minor, but they
could have a major impact. Frolander
prosecutes all the county’s domestic
violence cases.
“I agree that strangulation against
a family or household member
COUNTY
Continued from Page A1
SA calculated its crime
stats by the violent and prop-
erty crimes per 100,000 res-
idents. Using the school and
crime numbers, the company
calculated a community score,
which is the ratio of the school
rank to the combined crime
rate per 100,000 residents.
Other statistics used were
the number of households,
median home value and aver-
age property tax rate to calcu-
late a per capita property tax
collected for each county.
Lastly, the company calcu-
lated a tax value by creating a
ratio of the community score
to the per capita property tax
paid.
On the top 10 list, Wallowa
County registered third on
property taxes with a 0.72 of
one percent on taxes, which is
STREETS
Continued from Page A1
With nearly 40 long and
short-term goals in hand, the
council showed its determi-
nation to work together for
the benefit of Joseph citizens
and hammered out eight short-
term and seven long-term pri-
ority goals for the city.
City administrators Tammy
Mauro and Sandra Patterson
acted as facilitator for the ses-
sion. Those attending said that
the session went relatively
smoothly and was dominated
by a spirit of reaching com-
mon priority goals.
Mayor Dennis Sands said
much of the meeting went
smoothly, street repair, the
top goal on the sheet hit a few
bumps in the road.
“We had quite a discussion
on the streets,” he said. “Sev-
eral councilors wanted to do
should be a felony,” Frolander said.
“I think that any strangulation should
be a felony because of the nature of
the charge. I can tell you that every
training I’ve been to that pertains
to domestic violence, they say that
strangulation needs to be a felony and
they talk about the huge risk of lethal-
ity that goes along with the crime.”
Here’s her thinking.
“In the crime of strangulation, you
are communicating to your victim, ‘I
determine in this moment, whether
you live or die,’” she said.
Even if a perpetrator doesn’t stran-
gle the victim to the point of death,
tissue damage and swelling occur.
In a significant number of cases, the
damage can continue for up to 12
hours after the act. Frolander said she
recommends to all strangulation vic-
tims to see a physician as soon as pos-
sible after the act.
Upping the punishment for crime
helps her office in a number of ways,
including providing her with more
funds for supervised probation. She
added that those convicted of strangu-
lation were previously put on super-
vised probation, but their fees didn’t
cover the costs.
“Having that one funding compo-
nent helps with the supervision,” she
said.
She added that the upgrade also
gives her more to bargain with in plea
negotiations.
based on lowest taxes paid as a
percentage of home value.
Although both Hood River
and Curry counties paid slightly
less property taxes, Wallowa
County’s school performances
and lower crime rates sealed
the deal for the county.
Schools registered a 9.0
of 10 on the company’s rat-
ing system while crime stats
showed 569 crimes committed
per 100,000 residents.
Wallowa County’s overall
value in the competition stood
at 90.38 points of 100. Baker
County was the nearest com-
petitor with an 87.10 score,
followed by Lake County with
a 78.17 score.
County commissioner Todd
Nash was impressed with the
accolades, but he saw warning
signs as well.
“People should know that
we have about the third lowest
taxes in the state of Oregon,”
he said. “Our services and
all the streets in town in one
fell swoop. It’s pretty spendy.”
How much to spend
remains unsure. The city only
holds one goal-setting meeting
per year.
The mayor said that he
thought the February meet-
ing was more focused than a
previous meeting two years
ago. Sands’ priorities followed
expressed citizen concerns.
“Number one is streets, and
number two is getting all our
water lines up to snuff, replac-
ing the steel water lines and
we need to complete our sewer
study,” Sands said.
Council member Teresa
Sajonia said she was
impressed with the tenor and
accomplishments at the ses-
sion. She thought it helped
bring the council together and
get its members on the same
page.
“This meeting was based
on what the citizen survey said
Thurs, March 15 • 7 pm • FREE!
“There’s the option of saying
I’ll reduce something to a misde-
meanor,” Frolander said. “I’m not
saying I would do that for this crime,
but it’s a possibility.”
As the law stands, someone with
no previous convictions would be eli-
gible for up to 20 days in jail, but if
they have a personal felony convic-
tion (a felony crime against an indi-
vidual) the crime guidelines grid
allows for 9-10 months in the county
jail. A defendant with two previous
personal felony convictions is look-
ing at 13-14 months incarceration.
Strangulation and
domestic violence
Strangulation is common in
domestic violence cases. Frolander
said her training and her own per-
sonal experience with victims is that
continued domestic violence tends to
escalate into strangulation after time.
“Once someone starts strangling
their victim, they’ll do it every time,”
Frolander said. She said that one
domestic violence victim she encoun-
tered had endured numerous strangu-
lations and said that if she struggled
or resisted, it made the abuser more
angry and determined.
“It think it’s important for them to
have that on their criminal history if
that’s something they do,” she said.
Frolander also said that both defense
attorneys and perpetrators can accept
the injury to the victim or placed
them in fear of imminent severe
physical injury but won’t acknowl-
edge that the defendant placed their
hands around the victim’s throat and
strangled them.
“They’re just not ready or willing
to go there,” Frolander said.
Frolander also noted that under
the law, strangulation is defined as
any attempt to deprive another per-
son of oxygen or cut off their blood
flow.
“It takes less than the pressure to
open a pop can than to impede some-
one’s blood flow,” she said.
She added that the bill also broad-
ened the definition of strangulation to
include kneeling on a victim’s chest
to impede air flow, an act that has
seen a nationwide uptick. Previously,
the law had only covered blocking
access through the nose or mouth.
She also said that the high risk of
injury or death is why police depart-
ments seldom apply chokeholds on
suspects resisting arrest.
From a health perspective, Fro-
lander said that the loss of oxygen
destroys brain cells and can cause
permanent damage. She said she’s
noticed that a number of victims sub-
jected to repeated strangulation, par-
ticularly those who have been stran-
gled to the point of blackout, have
trouble remembering the circum-
stances of the crime. Some of the
quality of life is pretty high.”
“Conversely,” Nash contin-
ued, “Because we have such
low taxes, we’re unable to pro-
vide services the same way
that other counties do. It’s a
trade-off.”
The commissioner’s con-
cerns spotlighted law enforce-
ment particularly. He noted
that even though the county’s
crime rate is lower than other
counties, he believes Wallowa
County is on the cusp of a sit-
uation under which that could
change.
“We need to find ways to
fund our sheriff’s department,”
he said. “We’re down two men
right now. We have to provide
services to tourists as well, part
of that being law enforcement.
That’s a real concern.”
Nash isn’t worried that the
Smart Asset award for prop-
erty taxes will bring multi-
tudes of individuals looking
to lighten their property tax
burden.
“We only have room for so
many here,” he said. “Whether
people have been vacationing
here or reading Sunset maga-
zine or any of the plethora of
other articles about the county,
we’ve been at a fairly stagnant
number for a long time. The
demographics have changed,
but the population hasn’t
exploded as of yet.”
not on anyone’s personal opin-
ion,” she said. She noted that
the survey and session helped
reprioritize the streets as the
top issue. She added that even
high school students who par-
ticipated in the survey named
the streets as their highest
priority.
Because of the infrastruc-
ture issues, Sajonia said the
council has had to tighten its
belt regarding expenditures.
“We’re even telling the
library people: ‘Hey, we’re
putting stuff on hold ... “ How
can we justify anything else.”
She added that even the lodg-
ing tax grants were on hold
until more pressing issues
were addressed.
“You can’t spend $30,000
on something when that
money would fix two blocks
of streets,” she said.
Sajonia also said that main-
taining the flower boxes on
Main Street were a top concern
on the survey and also some-
thing the council will address.
She saw a bright future ahead
for the citizen concerns as a
result.
“As far as the goal setting
goes, I was impressed,” she
said. “I actually felt hopeful
for the first time in a long time.
It’s like ‘Hey, there’s positive
things going on around here.’”
Bingham marveled at the
cohesiveness of the meeting.
“It was one of the best meet-
ings I’ve ever been to,” she
said. “It was just excellent.”
For Bingham, highlights
included Patterson’s handling
of her facilitating duties in try-
ing to understand the citizen
and council priorities before
submitting a budget as well as
the setting of rules before the
session started.
“There were no dumb
ideas,” she said. “Everything
was on the table, Anything you
can think of.”
Bingham said that one of
the things that most surprised
her on the survey was con-
cern over the sidewalk “bump-
outs” on Main Street. Also,
the fact that most respondents
didn’t understand why the city
doesn’t have recycling.
“There isn’t anyone who
doesn’t want recycling,” she
said. “I want it back, and I
think everyone on the council
wants it back, but that’s a long-
term goal.”
Because we have
such low taxes,
we’re unable to
provide services
the same way that
other counties do.”
— Todd Nash
County commissioner
Jordan Alford
Conservation of a Working Prairie
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Former hospital
employee arrested
Gray had been
facility’s head of
physical therapy
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Aaron Douglas Gray, 38,
Enterprise, was arrested and
charged with Sexual Abuse
in the Third Degree and
Harassment March 5. He
was detained at the Wallowa
County Detention Center
until transported to the Uma-
tilla County Jail. He was later
released on $1,000 bond.
Gray appeared at a March
7 arraignment, represented
by attorney Benjamin Boyd
of Hostetter Law Group.
Deputy District Attorney
Rebecca Frolander repre-
sented the state, and Judge
Russell B. West presided.
Boyd requested a change
in Gray’s release agreement
that allowed him to return
to the home of his parents in
Orofino, Idaho. West granted
the request. Gray will appear
back in court on April 11 for
a plea hearing.
Gray had worked at Wal-
lowa Memorial Hospital in
the physical therapy depart-
ment for 4-5 years and served
as its director at the time of
his arrest.
Wallowa Memorial Hos-
pital Chief Executive Offi-
cer Larry Davy said he first
learned of the accusation and
arrest on Monday night when
someone alerted him to a
Facebook post of the arrest on
the Enterprise Police Depart-
ment’s page.
“I was shocked when the
charges were shared with
me,” Davy said. “It was like
total disbelief. Obviously, that
is not who we are as an insti-
tution, and it does not reflect
our mission, vision or values.”
Noting that Gray is pre-
sumed innocent until proven
guilty, Davy also said the hos-
pital has great respect for the
legal process. Gray has not
worked since the day of the
arrest and resigned his posi-
tion on March 7.
Davy said he is unaware
of any other charges or inci-
dents with Gray. Because of
the hospital’s lack of infor-
mation about the incident,
and Gray’s resignation, he
said a thorough in-house
investigation is impossible,
although Davy said no other
employees were aware of
any red flags.
“You always ask the ques-
tion as a group: ‘If true, what
did we miss?’ Because no one
saw that coming,” he said.
“Our highest obligation is to
our patients, for the trust, the
safety, the excellence,” Davy
said.
Leaders to consider bills
to protect gun retailers
By Paris Achen
For the Chieftain
Oregon legislative leaders
say they are willing to change
Oregon law to protect retail-
ers that voluntarily restrict
gun and ammunition sales to
customers 21 and older.
Under state and federal
law, Oregonians 18 and older
can buy rifles and shotguns,
and the ammunition for those
firearms. You must be at least
21 to buy a handgun and
handgun ammunition.
Oregon Labor Commis-
sioner Brad Avakian has con-
cluded gun retailers that have
stopped selling to customers
younger than 21 in the wake
of recent mass shootings
could be violating the state’s
anti-discrimination laws.
The decision could be
challenged at the Bureau of
Labor and Industries or in a
civil court complaint.
In order to raise the min-
imum age to buy firearms,
state lawmakers would need
to enact an exemption during
the next upcoming legislative
session.
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Legislative maneuvering
Sen. Bill Hansell, who represents
District 29, which includes Wallowa
County, said he’s been behind a bill
tougher on strangulation for years,
and in fact, co-sponsored several
bills. The senator said he had been
presented statistics that show nearly
every domestic violence case that
ends in a fatality includes strangula-
tion as a common denominator.
He co-sponsored a bill in 2015
that would have labeled all domes-
tic strangulations as felonies, only
to have the chairman of the legisla-
ture’s committee, Democrat Floyd
Prozanski, block its passage.
Hansell later worked with newly
elected senate Democrat Kathleen
Taylor on a similar bill she had spon-
sored. The two testified together
before the House, The bill was
approved by the house unanimously.
When it got to the senate’s judi-
ciary committee, it again met a road-
block in Prozanski. However, this
time, the bill had a co-sponsor from
the democratic caucus, and the
#metoo movement had picked up
considerable steam.
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memory loss she also attributes to the
trauma of the incident.
Contrary to the way strangulation
victims are portrayed on movies and
television, a victim’s throat rarely
shows visual signs of trauma.
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