LOCAL
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
A3
Six certifi ed to intervene in mental crises
CIT Team training
held last week
in Enterprise
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Six
fi rst-responders were cer-
tifi ed Friday, May 14, after
a weeklong training session
to help law enforcement
offi cers and others dealing
with the mentally ill, drug or
alcohol affl icted and aging
communities, according to a
press release.
“The information, tools,
and resources presented are
designed to enhance fi rst
responder response and
reduce the overall risk of
injury or death,” the release
stated.
Certifi ed in the Crisis
Intervention Team train-
ing were Offi cer Jacob
Curtis, of the Enterprise
Police Department; Dep-
uty Austin Violette, of the
Wallowa County Sher-
iff ’s Offi ce; Deputy Jenni-
fer Harmon, of the Wallowa
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce;
Deputy Anthony Scott, of
the Umatilla County Sher-
iff ’s Offi ce; Josiah Bates, a
Wallowa Mountain Medi-
cal Clinic nursing student;
and Sandra Gore, a Wallowa
Valley Center for Wellness
therapist.
The certifi cation was
held at Enterprise Christian
Church.
Brandon Miller, a mental
health clinician for the Cen-
ter for Wellness who hosted
some of the training, held
a review of the 40 hours of
instruction on specifi c top-
ics, with a CIT version of the
game show “Jeopardy.” Cat-
egories in the game included
Suicide, Mental Health First
Aid, Tactical Communica-
tion, Crisis, Acronyms and
Psychosis. Topics covered
through the week’s training
included medication time,
crisis cycle, “Sad, Bad,
Mad,” mental illness in the
elderly, seniors presenta-
tion, post-traumatic stress
disorder/battlemind, family
presentation, psychosis and
mood disorders, personal-
IN BRIEF
Flora School off ers
virtual pioneer
classes
FLORA — The Flora
School will take advan-
tage of current technology
to present classes online
this year instead of in-per-
son, once again, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Online classes include:
9-Patch Lap Quilt, Black-
smithing from the Ground
Up, Basic Bladesmithing,
Weaving: The 3 Rs — Recy-
cling, Reusing, Repurpos-
ing! and French Burrito
Pillowcase.
Sewing, blacksmithing
and weaving, all three were
important skills used by the
pioneers. The blacksmith-
ing and weaving classes will
be building the forge and the
loom.
Class fees are by dona-
tion after taking the class,
“therefore, a donation is
not required, but is appreci-
ated,” said Laura Wisdom, a
Portland-area resident who
is in charge of FSEC classes.
Each class has a mate-
rials and equipment list.
Since the classes are online,
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Brandon Miller, left, a mental health clinician for the Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness, handed out certifi cates of completion
to six fi rst-responders who completed Crisis Intervention Team training Friday, May 14, 2021. From left, are Miller; Deputy
Anthony Scott, of the Umatila County Sheriff ’s Offi ce; Josiah Bates, a Wallowa Mountain Medical Clinic nursing student; Sandra
Gore, a Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness therapist; Offi cer Jacob Curtis, of the Enterprise Police Department; Deputy Jennifer
Harmon, of the Wallowa County Sheriff ’s Offi ce; and Deputy Austin Violette, of the Wallowa County Sheriff ’s Offi ce.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
He wasn’t Alex Trebek, but Brandon Miller, a mental health
clinician for the Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness, did
a credible job conducting a “Jeopardy” review of Crisis
Intervention Team training Friday, May 14, 2021, at Enterprise
Christian Church. Six area fi rst-responders received their CIT
training certifi cations.
ity disorders, treatment of
psychiatric illnesses, syn-
thetic substances, excited
delirium, addictive dis-
eases, voices presentation,
legal panel, liability and
use of force, developmen-
it is important to register
ahead of time to make sure
all materials and equipment
are gathered. Register and
learn class times by email-
ing fsec.education@gmail.
com. Students will receive
information on using the
format used for the online
classes, i.e. Zoom, Messen-
ger Room, etc. and how to
donate.
Josephy Center
to return to
summer hours
JOSEPH — Like many
businesses in Wallowa
County, the Josephy Cen-
ter for Arts and Culture is
resuming its summer hours
beginning May 31, accord-
ing to a press release.
Hours will be 10 a.m. to
5 p.m. Monday through Fri-
day and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on
Saturdays.
For more information on
the center, visit https://jose-
phy.org, call 541-432-0505
or stop by at 403 N. Main
St. in Joseph.
County may take
part in opioid
litigation
ENTERPRISE — A res-
olution on Wallowa Coun-
tal disabilities, de-escalation
techniques, National Alli-
ance On Mental Illness/own
voice, child and adolescent
crisis, suicide prevention,
suicide by cop and self-care
and scenario-based training.
ty’s participation in opi-
oid litigation will be on the
agenda Wednesday, May 19,
when the Wallowa County
Board of Commissioners
meet.
The commissioners meet
at 9 a.m. at the courthouse.
County Counsel Paige
Sully will discuss the reso-
lution with the commission-
ers prior to its adoption.
Also on Wednesday’s
agenda are a letter from a
Wallowa business to con-
sider a donation, the res-
ignation of Hannah Miller
from the county Assessor’s
Offi ce, an order on the scope
of review of a land appeal
and two intrafund transfers
of funds totaling $43,550.
Hurricane Creek
half-marathon is
May 29
JOSEPH — Wallowa
County is urged to get out
and run or walk as half-mar-
athon event will take place
Saturday, May 29, starting
at Joseph City Park, accord-
ing to a press release.
The Hurricane Creek
Half Marathon/5 Mile/5K
starts at 8 a.m. and heads
toward
the
Hurricane
Creek Trailhead. This is
for anyone from walkers to
12:00 PM
12:00
PM - - Thursday,
Thursday, May
May 26
27
The
will be
be CLOSED
CLOSED
The Chieftain
Chieftain office
office will
Monday,
30 for
Memorial Day
Day
Monday, May
May 31
for Memorial
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Enterprise Police Chief
Kevin McQuead, who has
taken the training several
times, said the CIT Train-
ing isn’t a one-time event,
since the parameters of the
training change, as do an
offi cer’s understanding of it
based on his experience and
occasions the offi cer has had
to apply the training.
He said a major goal is to
get a person suff ering from
mental health issues the
help they need and to do it
in a manner that is as peace-
ful as possible. Miller said
it’s always preferable when
mental health care is needed
that a patient seeks that care
voluntarily rather than hav-
ing it forced upon them.
Each class varies in
length and is taught by
instructors locally and from
around the state.
Ridg Medford, one of the
instructors from the Oregon
Center on Behavioral Health
and Justice Integration, also
emphasized to the trainees
that they could become vic-
tims to some of the issues
they’re intended to address.
advanced runners.
The whole mission of the
event is to encourage more
active lifestyles and the goal
is to get Wallowa County
out and running.
Energy Brown
Bag coming on
Thursday
ENTERPRISE — An
Energy Brown Bag on
energy planning is set to
take place at noon Thursday,
May 20. The meeting will
take a look at comprehen-
sive energy planning eff orts
that are coming together in
Wallowa County.
“Long-range planning
can ensure a reliable mix
of energy sources for local
residents, prioritize energy
effi ciency and renewable
energy development, access
to funding, keeping energy
dollars local and creating
community resilience,” a
press release on the event
states.
To view the meeting,
visit wallowaresources.org.
— Chieftain staff
He urged them to regularly
step away from their work.
“When you get home,
you need to take off your
vest, take off your badge and
step away from it,” he said.
He emphasized that too
often, particularly law offi -
cers, lose touch with people
outside the law enforcement
community — even fam-
ily — and fi nd themselves
alone at the end of their
careers.
Nationwide connection
through CIT
CIT programs create
connections in over 2,700
communities
nationwide
between law enforcement,
mental health providers,
hospital emergency ser-
vices and individuals with
mental illness and their
families. Through collabo-
rative community partner-
ships and intensive training,
according to the release,
CIT improves communica-
tion, identifi es mental health
resources for those in cri-
sis and ensures offi cer and
community safety.
According
to
the
National Alliance on Men-
tal Illness, the lack of men-
tal health crisis services
across the U.S. has resulted
in law enforcement offi cers
serving as fi rst responders
to most crises. A CIT pro-
gram is an innovative, com-
munity-based approach to
improve the outcomes of
these encounters, the release
stated.
CIT Training objectives
include:
• Providing informa-
tion and resources to law
enforcement personnel who
fi nd themselves handling
calls involving emotionally
disturbed individuals.
• Increasing the ability of
law enforcement to success-
fully manage an emotion-
ally disturbed individual.
• Reducing the number
of inappropriate incarcera-
tions involving people with
mental illness.
• Providing relief to an
overburdened criminal jus-
tice system.
• Developing/implement-
ing a treatment response
system for persons experi-
encing emotional or mental
crisis.
• Developing and sus-
taining offi cer interest
and involvement on calls
involving emotionally dis-
turbed individuals.
• Continuing to develop
relationships between men-
tal health providers, law
enforcement and mentally
ill individuals and their
families.
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