TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — A3
LOCAL & STATE
More than half of Oregon’s most serious juvenile
offenders make governor’s commutation plan
By NOELLE CROMBIE
The Oregonian
More than half of the
people serving time in Oregon
prisons for crimes they com-
mitted as juveniles will be
eligible to seek parole or in
some cases released outright
under a commutation plan by
Gov. Kate Brown.
About three-quarters of
the estimated 250 prisoners
who meet Brown’s criteria
were sentenced under Mea-
sure 11, the state’s mandatory
minimum sentencing law,
which applies to the most se-
rious crimes, including sexual
abuse, rape and murder.
The governor’s plan rep-
resents the latest significant
effort to reexamine criminal
justice policy in Oregon. In
recent years, the state has
undertaken multiple major
reforms, including rethinking
how it prosecutes juveniles.
The move will apply to
some notorious young killers,
further fanning the sim-
mering philosophical debate
about where victims and
their families fit in the reform
picture.
Brown wants to empha-
size crime prevention and
rehabilitation over “harsh
punishments and lengthy and
costly prison sentences,” said
her spokesperson Elizabeth
Merah.
The governor’s criteria does
not apply to people convicted
of crimes as juveniles whose
projected release dates are
in 2050 or later or those who
were convicted as juveniles
but are also serving time for
offenses they committed as
adults.
So Kip Kinkel — who
fatally shot his parents before
killing two students and
wounding 24 others at Thur-
ston High School — in 1998
isn’t among the group.
Brown’s office released to
The Oregonian the names
of all offenders who met her
criteria. The list is comprised
of people who committed
crimes as young as 14 through
17 and are now in the adult
prison system.
Several have convictions
dating to the early 1980s.
About two dozen are serving
life sentences.
Brown is looking at two
groups:
An estimated 78 people
who were convicted of felonies
as juveniles and have served
at least 15 years of their
sentences.
And an estimated 214
people who were convicted of
crimes as juveniles and have
served half their sentences or
will have served half of their
sentences by the end of next
year.
Combined, the two groups
represent about 63% of all
people in Department of
Corrections custody who are
serving time for crimes they
committed as juveniles.
Two years ago, the Legisla-
ture passed Senate Bill 1008
with the goal of keeping teens
accused of Measure 11 crimes
in the juvenile system, which
places an emphasis on reha-
bilitation, instead of moving
them into the adult system.
The law made several
changes. Perhaps the most
significant: Juveniles accused
of Measure 11 crimes are no
longer automatically pros-
ecuted as adults. Prosecutors
must seek a hearing before a
judge who decides whether a
juvenile will be waived into
adult court.
Lawmakers at the time
stressed the law would ap-
ply only to future cases, but
Brown this month said she
would use her authority to
review older cases as well.
The governor “intends to
use her constitutional clem-
ency powers to consider youth
— on an individualized basis
— who didn’t benefit from
RESCUE
Baker County Sheriff’s Office/Contributed Photo
Members of the Baker County Search and Rescue team were
able to drive side-by-sides part of the way before hiking into
the Wallowa Mountains on Sunday evening, Oct. 24, seeking
to rescue a horse-packer who was stranded in a blizzard.
that legislation,” Merah said.
Merah said Brown this
week plans to grant com-
mutations for dozens of
people who have served at
least 15 years for crimes they
committed as juveniles. She
stressed that Brown will not
make decisions about their
release.
“That discretion lies with
the Parole Board in these
cases,” she said in an email.
She said 45 days after
the governor authorizes the
commutation, defendants
can begin seeking a parole
hearing. She said victims and
their families will “receive no-
tifications in accordance with
the standard victim notifica-
tion procedures for commuta-
tions, and they will have an
opportunity to participate in
the hearing process.”
She said the governor will
use a different approach with
people who have served at
least half of their sentences.
In those cases, Brown’s office
will “engage in an individual-
ized review process” that will
include conversations with
prosecutors and victims.
“If the governor deter-
mines that a commutation
is warranted, the youth will
be granted a conditional
release,” Merah said.
the mountains.
The sheriff’s office had
few other details Monday
Continued from A1
afternoon.
McClay said Borders
They eventually had to
retreat late in the evening apparently had left from
on Sunday, McClay said. the Cornucopia trailhead
on Saturday, Oct. 23.
On Monday morn-
The weather dete-
ing, Baker County crews
were joined by search and riorated on Sunday, and
rescue members from
according to the text mes-
Union County to resume sage the man sent to his
the effort, McClay said.
friend, he was unable to
The Union County team get back to the trailhead
members arrived at the
and needed help.
Baker County Sheriff’s
The first rifle elk
Office around 5 a.m.,
season starts Wednesday,
traveling from there to
Oct. 27.
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
The forest room is full of papier-mache creations.
Corrine Vegter, along with Brigid and Blake
Musselman, use their artistic backgrounds when
designing the Haunted Studios at Churchill School.
CHURCHILL
Continued from A1
And throughout it all is
artwork — designs on the
walls created with phospho-
rescent paint that glow in
the black lights, and slanted
walls to look like a mine
shaft, and a jagged row of
teeth that makes it feel like
you’re stepping through a
monster’s mouth.
“We just have a vision and
hope it works,” Vegter said.
She said she’s enjoyed
haunted houses for as long as
she can remember, and the
Musselmans have worked on
haunting the Nile Shriners
Golf Course in Seattle.
“We gained a little experi-
ence that way,” Brigid said.
The Churchill basement
is divided into themed rooms,
and real actors haunt the
spaces to jump out when it’s
least expected.
Above the decorations,
Vegter points out the pipes
and wires that were already
part of the old school, which
was built in 1926.
“It’s already creepy with-
out anything,” she said.
Especially when the sun
goes down and the basement
has no ambient light from
outside.
“It does get quite scary
and eerie,” Vegter said.
Which is, after all, the
point of a haunted house.
Justin Kendall has wired
speakers to pipe original
music throughout the base-
ment. Kendall’s 8-year-old
son, Andrew, is one of the 16
actors who haunt the base-
ment each weekend.
Vegter and the Mussel-
mans are already thinking
about what they will add for
2022.
“We already have plans
for next year,” Vegter said.
“And every year we’ll invest
in more lights.”
Blake seemed to be
brainstorming as he warmed
up his guitar in the “Music
Never Dies” area of the
haunted house.
“I’ve got some new ideas,”
he said with a smile.
A Smarter
Way to Power
Your Home.
REQUEST A FREE QUOTE!
ACT NOW TO RECEIVE
A $300 SPECIAL OFFER!*
(844) 989-2328
*Off er value when purchased at retail.
Solar panels sold separately.
RAIN
Continued from A1
Other totals:
• Burns — 0.59 of an inch
• Ontario — 0.52
• McCall, Idaho — 1.01
Although Baker Valley was
comparatively dry on Sunday,
locations not very distant were
much more damp.
An automated weather
station near Morgan Moun-
tain, for instance, north of
Huntington and about 33 air
miles southeast of Baker City,
recorded 1 inch of rain on
Sunday, and a weekend total of
1.7 inches.
The Morgan Mountain
weather station is at an eleva-
tion of 4,200 feet.
Even the Oregon Trail In-
terpretive Center, on Flagstaff
Hill just a couple miles from
the airport and, at 3,945 feet el-
evation almost 600 feet higher
than the airport, was wetter on
Sunday, with 0.30 of an inch.
Other three-day (Friday
through Sunday) rainfall totals
in the region:
• Blue Canyon, automated
station, elevation 4,200 feet,
near Old Auburn Lane about
Don’t text and
drive... you
won’t have to
come see us!
Chelsea Judy/Contributed Photo
Snow falls Friday morning, Oct. 22 at Anthony Lakes
Mountain Resort.
10 miles southwest of Baker
City — 0.96
• Elk Creek, automated sta-
tion, elevation 6,576 feet, in the
Elkhorn Mountains near the
Baker City watershed — 1.69
inches
• Mason Dam, elevation
3,900 feet — 1.02 inches
• Sparta Butte, elevation
4,265 feet, northwest of Rich-
land — 1.24 inches
• Unity Dam, elevation
3,756 feet — 0.58 of an inch
According to the National
Weather Service office in Boise,
the atmospheric river extended
from near San Francisco
through Winnemucca, Nevada,
Mountain Home, Idaho, and
Salmon, Idaho.
That route kept the heavi-
est rain south and east of
Baker Valley.
Some areas in the Boise
Mountains had three to four
inches of rain — or, at higher
elevations, a combination of
rain and the water equivalent
in snow.
Snow also accumulated in
the Elkhorn Mountains, with
about 3 inches on the ground
at Anthony Lakes Mountain
Resort Monday morning, said
Chelsea Judy, marketing direc-
tor for the ski area about 34
miles northwest of Baker City.
The ski area’s lodge is at
about 7,100 feet elevation, with
the top of the chairlift 8,000
feet.
On Friday afternoon at
about 3:30 p.m. winds toppled
a power line, cutting power to
about 700 members of Oregon
Trail Electric Cooperative in
the Sumpter area.
OTEC crews restored power
at about 5:30 p.m. Friday.
For Discounted
2021-2022 Season Passes
PURCHASE BY OCTOBER 31!
ON-LINE: AnthonyLakes.com
LA GRANDE: Mountain Works
BAKER CITY: Kicks or
The Trailhead
PURCHASE
ONLINE
TODAY!
NO MORE GUTTER CLEANING,
OR YOUR MONEY BACK GUARANTEED!
CALL US TODAY FOR
A FREE ESTIMATE
15
%
AND!
OFF
YOUR ENTIRE
PURCHASE *
Promo Number: 285
1-855-536-8838
10
%
OFF
SENIOR & MILITARY
DISCOUNTS
+
5 %
OFF
TO THE FIRST
50 CALLERS! **
Mon-Thurs: 8am-11pm, Fri-Sat: 8am-5pm, Sun: 2pm-8pm EST
*For those who qualify. One coupon per household. No obligation estimate valid for 1 year. ** Offer valid at estimate only. CSLB# 1035795 DOPL #10783658-5501
License# 7656 License# 50145 License# 41354 License# 99338 License# 128344 License# 218294 License# 603 233 977 License# 2102212986 License# 2106212946
License# 2705132153A License# LEAFFNW822JZ License# WV056912 License# WC-29998-H17 Nassau HIC License# H01067000 Registration# 176447 Registration#
HIC.0649905 Registration# C127229 Registration# C127230 Registration# 366920918 Registration# PC6475 Registration# IR731804 Registration# 13VH09953900
Registration# PA069383 Suffolk HIC License# 52229-H
Prepare for unexpected
power outages with a
Generac home standby
generator
877-557-1912
FREE
7-Year Extended Warranty*
A $695 Value!
Off er valid March 16, 2020 - June 30, 2020
Special Financing Available
Subject to Credit Approval
Upload your photo,
sign the waiver,
and we’ll mail
your pass!
AnthonyLakes.com
SCHEDULE YOUR FREE IN-HOME
ASSESSMENT TODAY!
2390 Broadway, Baker City
541-523-5223
LAST CHANCE
*Terms & Conditions Apply