2A — BAKER CITY HERALD
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2021
DRUG LAW
Continued from Page 1A
T URNING B ACK THE P AGES
50 YEARS AGO
from the Democrat-Herald
February 6, 1971
HALFWAY — Phil Turner tossed in a rebound shot and
sank a free throw with two seconds to go in the ball game
as the Pine-Eagle Spartans won their second Wapiti league
ball game last night from the Elgin Huskies, 57-55.
Roger Gulick was the top scorer for the winners as he
tossed in 18 points. He was followed by Turner with 11.
25 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
February 6, 1996
The artistic ability of a 10-year-old Baker City boy has
won — for the second time in two years — an all-expense
paid trip for him and his family.
But Adam Scura’s family is not the only benefi ciary of
his prize-winning work this time. As a grand prize winner in
the M&M/Mars “Make a Monster” drawing contest, Adam
also won a $10,000 contribution for his school. He is a fi fth-
grader in Tom Busey’s class at Brooklyn Elementary.
10 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
February 7, 2011
An Asheville, N.C., woman has been named supervisor
of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
Monica Schwalbach will succeed Steve Ellis as head of
the 2.3-million-acre Wallowa-Whitman, based in Baker City.
Schwalbach is scheduled to start her new job April 4.
ONE YEAR AGO
from the Baker City Herald
February 6, 2020
Baker City’s newest playground, an “all-inclusive” de-
sign that will be accessible to children in wheelchairs and
open to all, is scheduled to be built May 11-15 at Geiser-
Pollman Park.
The city recently received a $23,010 grant from the Ford
Family Foundation that brings the budget to the full esti-
mated cost of $308,000, said Joyce Bornstedt, the city’s
technical administrative supervisor.
The city also hopes to receive a $5,000 grant from
Northwest Farm Credit Services, Bornstedt said.
Earlier grants, the largest being $164,000 from the Or-
egon Parks and Recreation Department, allowed the city
to order playground equipment late last year.
Most of that equipment has arrived and is in storage,
Bornstedt said.
The artifi cial turf surface in the new playground, which
will overlay a shock-absorbing rubber layer, will be sent
to Baker City just before the installation contractor arrives,
Bornstedt said.
(That part of the park now has wood chips, which aren’t
compatible with wheelchairs and walkers.)
The new playground surface will be similar to what’s in
place under the playground equipment that was installed
at Geiser-Pollman in May 2014.
The all-inclusive play equipment will be installed to the
south of the current playground, in the area just north of
Madison Street that’s underlain now by wood chips.
City crews have removed the tall metal swing structure
that has been in the park for about a century. It no longer
meets safety standards, Bornstedt said.
Workers also removed the three metal-lattice play
domes, a structure that includes two short slides, and the
longer, taller single slide.
O REGON L OTTERY
MEGABUCKS, Feb. 3
4 — 13 — 15 — 18 – 37 — 38
Next jackpot: $1.5 million
POWERBALL, Feb. 3
5 — 37 — 40 — 64 — 66 PB 5
Next jackpot: $30 million
MEGA MILLIONS, Feb. 2
13 — 37 – 38 — 40 — 67
Mega
10
Next jackpot: $54 million
WIN FOR LIFE, Feb. 3
4 — 11 — 33 — 43
PICK 4, Feb. 4
• 1 p.m.: 7 — 9 — 5 — 9
• 4 p.m.: 4 — 0 — 0 — 0
• 7 p.m.: 5 — 0 — 2 — 0
• 10 p.m.: 9 — 1 — 4 — 8
LUCKY LINES, Feb. 4
4-7-10-15-17-22-25-32
Next jackpot: $18,000
Those amounts are:
• Heroin, 1 gram or less
• Cocaine, 2 grams or less
• Methamphetamine, 2
grams or less
• MDMA (commonly
known as ecstasy), less than 1
gram or fi ve pills
• LSD, less than 40 user
units
• Psilocybin, less than 12
grams
•Methadone, less than 40
user units
• Oxycodone, less than 40
pills, tablets or capsules.
The ballot measure was
approved statewide by a
vote of 1,333,268 (58.46%) in
favor and 947,313 (41.54%)
opposed.
In Baker County, mean-
while, voters soundly rejected
the measure by a margin
of 5,956 (62.4%) to 3,590
(37.6%).
The law comes with a strat-
egy for helping people receive
treatment for substance
abuse.
Both local law enforcement
offi cers and treatment provid-
ers, however, are concerned
that the law took effect before
that strategy is fully ready.
While reducing punish-
ment to a $100 fi ne for those
found with user amounts of
illegal drugs, the law also of-
fers the option for the person
to forego the fi ne and instead
complete a health assessment
with an addiction treatment
professional.
Proponents of the new law
hope the health assessment
will lead to treatment for the
drug user, but there is no re-
quirement for that to happen.
At this point, a person cited
on the Class E drug posses-
sion violation who chooses not
to pay the fi ne is directed to
receive an assessment by di-
aling the Addiction Recovery
hotline: 503-575-3769. The
hotline will be open around
the clock every day, accord-
ing to the Oregon Health
Authority.
Baker City Police Chief
Ray Duman and
Baker County
Sheriff Travis
Ash said their
offi cers will
make the phone
Duman
number avail-
able to those
who want an
assessment.
“We will be
able to provide a
telephone num-
Ash
ber for the as-
sessment center
line, where the individual can
have an assessment and the
addictions center will provide
them with a letter to take to
the court and have the fi ne
waived,” Duman stated in an
email to the Herald.
To help further the hope
that those cited will continue
in the next step to enroll in
treatment, the law also re-
S ENIOR M ENUS
■ MONDAY: Chicken-fried chicken, country gravy, mashed
potatoes, mixed vegetables, roll, ice cream
■ TUESDAY: Lasagna, zucchini, garlic breadsticks, pasta
salad, cookies
■ WEDNESDAY: Chicken cordon bleu with hollandaise, rice
pilaf, broccoli, roll, beet-and-onion salad, tapioca
■ THURSDAY: Barbecued ribs, baked beans, corn, roll,
broccoli-bacon salad, apple crisp
■ FRIDAY: Baked ham, candied yams, mixed vegetables, roll,
macaroni salad, cheesecake
Public luncheon at the Senior Center, 2810 Cedar St., 11:30
a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $4.50 donation (60 and older), $6.75 for
those under 60. Meals must be picked up; no dining on site.
C ONTACT THE H ERALD
1668 Resort St.
Open Monday through Friday
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Telephone: 541-523-3673
Fax: 541-833-6414
Publisher
Karrine Brogoitti
kbrogoitti@lagrandeobserver.
com
Jayson Jacoby, editor
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Advertising email
ads@bakercityherald.com
Classifi ed email
classified@bakercityherald.com
Circulation email
circ@bakercityherald.com
ISSN-8756-6419
Serving Baker County since 1870
Published Tuesdays, Thursdays and
Saturdays except Christmas Day by the
Baker Publishing Co., a part of EO Media
Group, at 1668 Resort St. (P.O. Box 807),
Baker City, OR 97814.
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Postmaster: Send address changes to
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Copyright © 2021
“For drugs to occur at a higher rate —
nothing good comes from that.”
— Shari Selander, CEO, New Directions
Northwest in Baker City
quires the establishment of at
least one addiction recovery
center in each of the state’s
15 existing coordinated care
organization service areas.
The centers will be funded
by tax money generated by
the state’s legal marijuana
industry.
Shari Selander, CEO of
New Directions Northwest in
Baker City, said her agency is
eager to staff one of those cen-
ters, but again, the logistics
are complicated.
The widespread Eastern
Oregon Coordinated Care
Organization includes Baker
County and 11 other counties
ranging from Lake County to
Wheeler County to Wallowa
County.
How just one center would
serve all of those residents
— some living more than
200 miles from Baker City —
including helping transport
them to one site, is a question
yet to be answered, said Shad
Thomas.
Thomas is a licensed clini-
cal social worker and Level
III drug and alcohol coun-
selor who directs addictions
programs for New Directions.
Thomas also noted that there
have been no changes to the
state administrative rules
that govern how the agency’s
programs are
run as a result
of the new law.
Chief Duman
and Sheriff
Ash along with
Baxter
Baker County
District Attor-
ney Greg Baxter fear that
the treatment portion of the
law could be doomed to fail
without any infrastructure in
place as the offi cers start issu-
ing citations for drug posses-
sion violations that Duman
equates to a parking ticket.
And without the clout of
the legal system to help moti-
vate addicts to enroll in treat-
ment and follow it through to
completion, the law enforce-
ment offi cials have little hope
that those cited will take that
next step beyond the medical
assessment.
On the other hand, Duman
points out, people cited can
forego even the assessment if
they choose to simply pay the
$100 fi ne.
The law required the es-
tablishment of a 21-member
Oversight and Accountability
Council by Feb. 1. Council
members, who were ap-
pointed by the Oregon Health
Authority, will oversee the
centers, which must be up
and running by Oct. 1.
“We don’t even have a pro-
cess in place, but the law has
been enacted,” Duman said.
New Directions is expand-
ing its programs and as part
of that effort, the company
recently hired two “recovery
peer mentors” to help bring
people to treatment, Thomas
said.
“They will engage those
with issues who are on the
fence about getting treat-
ment,” he said. “They are
people who can go and meet
with clients at their homes
or take them out for a cup of
coffee and mentor them in the
recovery process.”
Both Thomas and Selander
said they could not support
the ballot measure as it was
written despite their involve-
ment in treating and sup-
porting those battling drug
addiction.
“Decriminalization has
its place, but it needs much
stronger ties to treatment
than what Ballot Measure
110 provides,” Thomas said.
Selander bases her views
on personal experience.
“I know fi rsthand what
drugs and alcohol can do to
individuals and families,” she
said. “Are we going to see a
high increase in the numbers
due to this? Or will we see
more people in treatment?”
Selander agrees with law
enforcement offi cers who
expect to see a rise in other
crimes as the possession of
hard drugs becomes a Class
E violation.
“For drugs to occur at a
higher rate — nothing good
comes from that,” she said.
Duman points out that
since Oregonians voted to
legalize marijuana for rec-
reational use in 2014, Lance
Woodward, the police depart-
ment’s School Resource
Offi cer, has seen an uptick in
the availability of the drug
among teens, including those
as young as middle schoolers.
Duman expects the new
law to do the same for the
list of illegal drugs that now
carry a citation for a Class E
violation.
Selander and Thomas join
law enforcement in wonder-
ing how the new law will
affect their clients and the
community, including its
young people.
“If you can help individu-
als to prevent addictions to
substances, that’s where I
like to focus as much as I
can,” Selander said. “I am
concerned about what the
effects of Measure 110 will
be in the long term.”
Thomas also believes it
will be more diffi cult to en-
gage those who are addicted
to drugs and struggle to
remain in treatment without
the “external motivator” of
the legal system.
And looking at how the
services at New Directions
have been affected by the
legalization of marijuana, Se-
lander can’t help but wonder
how lessening punishment
for possession of illegal drugs
will affect New Directions
Northwest.
“There is an increase in
mental health and substance
abuse services since the
marijuana law went into
effect,” she said. “And there
have been more individuals
experiencing psychosis that
has not been there before.
“I’m very concerned about
our adolescents as well and
the long-term impact,” she
said. “That contributes to
my own fears about Bal-
lot Measure 110. As this is
starting to roll out we’re still
not sure how that is going to
play out.”
Sheriff Ash said his
deputies will be focusing on
prevention, especially among
the community’s young
people.
That will come in the con-
tinuation of the DARE (Drug
Abuse Resistance Education)
program, but also in routine
interactions to build relation-
ships with youth throughout
the county, he said.
“This is not an opportunity
to try drugs,” Ash says of the
decriminalization of posses-
sion of heroin, cocaine and
other hard drugs on the list.
“The drugs are still danger-
ous.
“We’re looking at every-
thing we can do to bolster
prevention,” he said, includ-
ing with adults. “I’ve seen
nothing good come out of
drug use or abuse.”
He added, however, that
he would be happy if the law
proves successful.
“Somebody who is addicted
has a medical condition. If we
could get them help and get
them better, that would be
great,” he said.
Still, he is concerned that
there is no infrastructure
in place to coincide with the
enactment of the new law.
Selander said the 21 mem-
bers of the Oversight and Ac-
countability Council were just
announced Tuesday, Feb. 2.
“Obviously we are very
concerned,” she said. “Just to
have a health screening does
not require treatment.”
Selander said she recalls
that before the November
election, the ballot measure
was being touted as providing
better and easier access to
treatment.
“I’m not actually sure this
is going to do that,” she said.
Selander echoes the
concerns of Duman, Ash and
Baxter, who say they expect
the decriminalization of
possession of user amounts
of illegal drugs to lead to an
increase in other crimes.
The Baker County Narcot-
ics Enforcement Team, which
includes city and county of-
fi cers with help from the state
police and District Attorney’s
offi ce, is still working cases in
Baker County, Duman says.
See Drug Law/Page 3A
O BITUARY
Andrea Patacini
Formerly of Baker City, 1981-2021
Andrea (Cloudt) Pata-
cini, 39, a former Baker City
resident, died unexpectedly
of natural causes on Jan. 22,
2021, at her home in Kenne-
wick, Washington.
Andrea was born on July
28, 1981, at
Baker City to
Steven and
Karen Cloudt.
She grew up
in Baker and
Andrea
graduated from
Patacini
Baker High
School in 1999.
After graduation, she went
to Boise State University for
two years then transferred
to Oregon State University
at Corvallis to complete her
degree in nutrition. Her last
year of education was spent
in Omaha, Nebraska, where
she completed a nutrition
internship.
Her fi rst job as a registered
News of Record
on Page 5A
dietician was at St. Elizabeth
Hospital in Baker City where
she worked for one year. Her
next job was at Sunnyside
Hospital in Washington
where she worked for four
years. Andrea most recently
worked for Trios Health Sys-
tem as a registered dietician
and just received recognition
for serving the system for
fi ve years.
While working at Sun-
nyside Hospital, she met her
husband, Robert Patacini, af-
ter being introduced through
his mother. Andrea and Rob-
ert reside in Kennewick with
their two children, Lena, age
8 and Mason, age 6.
Andrea, Robert and the
kids enjoyed boating on the
Columbia River and travel-
ling. Andrea loved to dance,
hike and visit with friends.
Andrea was always joking
and making people laugh.
Andrea developed type 1
diabetes at the age of 9. As
an adult she was an active
member and advocate for
juvenile diabetes research.
As a registered dietitian
and fellow diabetic, she
loved guiding and educating
new diabetics. Andrea en-
joyed planning and facilitat-
ing the annual Trios Health
diabetes day camp for
children. Additionally, she
was a certifi ed insulin pump
trainer, and she taught
many people with diabetes
how to use their new insulin
pump.
Throughout her life,
Andrea was known for her
great laugh, friendly nature
and her ability to make
those around her laugh. She
enjoyed watching reruns of
“The Offi ce” even though it
irritated her husband! She
touched a lot of lives in her
short time with us, her fam-
ily said.
She is survived by her
husband, Robert; her chil-
dren, Lena and Mason, and
her stepdaughter, Amy; her
parents, Steve and Karen
Cloudt; her brother, David;
her sisters, Christy and Amy;
and four nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death
by her grandparents, Joe and
Lena Frericks, Avery Cloudt
and Wealtha Silvera; her
aunt, Nikki Rankin, and her
uncle, Bruce Cloudt.
A friend from high school
has set up a GoFundMe ac-
count as a gift to the children
and to pay for any other
expenses needed. To donate
to the fund, search for “In
Memory of Andrea Patacini”
on gofundme.com. Donations
to the American Diabetes
Association would also be ac-
cepted in honor of Andrea.
“You’ll love the work we do. I guarantee it.” - JR
225 H Street • East of I-84 • 541-523-3200 • grumpysrepair.com