LOCAL & STATE
Lawsuit
Continued from A1
On Sept. 22, 2022, Andrew
Hallman, a U.S. magistrate
judge, recommended that Ash
and the county’s motion for
summary judgment — meaning
Nilsson’s claims would be dis-
missed — be granted for all but
one of those claims, including
his contention that Ash violated
his Second and Fourth amend-
ment rights.
Hallman recommended that
Nilsson’s other claim, that Ash
violated Nilsson’s First Amend-
ment rights, be decided at trial.
Nilsson contends that Ash re-
taliated against him, including
by participating in the search
of Nilsson’s vehicle and home,
after Nilsson complained to the
sheriff about how he was treated
by police during the incident at
the lime plant. Nilsson also gave
media interviews about the lime
plant incident in which he com-
plained about how Maldonado
treated him and his friend.
Hallman, as a magistrate
judge, does not have the au-
thority to grant summary judg-
ments. His recommendations
will go to Judge Michael Mos-
man, who will decide, probably
within a few months, whether to
approve Hallman’s recommen-
dations in whole or in part.
The Second Amendment
violation claim is based on
Ash suspending Nilsson’s con-
cealed carry handgun permit
after Nilsson pleaded guilty in
November 2017 to one count
of third-degree criminal mis-
chief, a Class C misdemeanor,
for spray-painting graffiti at the
lime plant. The charge of crimi-
nal trespassing while in posses-
sion of a firearm was dismissed
in a plea agreement with the
district’s attorney’s office.
In his recommendations,
Hallman wrote that the four-
year suspension of Nilsson’s per-
mit does not violate Nilsson’s
Second Amendment rights.
In a written statement to the
Baker City Herald, Ash wrote:
“As the sheriff of Baker County,
I consistently work to earn the
public’s trust. To that end, I
continue to deny the claim Mr.
Nilsson has raised against me in
his lawsuit.”
Nilsson wrote in a text to the
Baker City Herald: “I’m con-
fident that a jury will find that
Sheriff Ash retaliated against
me. As long as Ash is held to
account for retaliation I’m sat-
isfied. I’m concerned with truth
and accountability, not vindica-
tion and punishment.”
Ash sought
to dismiss lawsuit claims
Ash, who along with the
county is represented by Salem
attorneys Aaron Hisel and Eliz-
abeth A. Jones, filed a motion
on Oct. 1, 2021, seeking to dis-
miss the First Amendment vio-
lation claim as well as Nilsson’s
claims about Second and Fourth
amendment violations.
But Hallman disagreed, writ-
ing in his findings and recom-
mendations on Sept. 22, 2022,
that Ash is not entitled to sum-
mary judgment on Nilsson’s First
Amendment violation claim.
Ash’s attorneys argued that
the sheriff and other county of-
ficials searched Nilsson’s home
and vehicle not as retaliation
for his public statements that
criticized their actions, but as a
normal part of a criminal inves-
tigation.
Hallman conceded that this
interpretation is one “that a rea-
sonable juror could accept.”
However, Hallman also notes
that summary judgments are
appropriate only in situations
where there is no “genuine is-
sue of material fact” — in effect,
when a reasonable juror could
only reach one conclusion on
the issue at hand.
But so long as a reasonable
juror could come to more than
one conclusion, a summary
judgment is not warranted,
Hallman wrote.
In this case, Hallman wrote,
Nilsson “has demonstrated a
genuine issue of material fact:
whether Defendant Ash retal-
iated against Plaintiff for exer-
cising his rights under the First
Rotary
Continued from A1
“All over the world, Rotary
makes a difference in peace and
safety,” she said.
Areas of focus this year in-
clude:
• Domestic peace building to
“expand the peace force through
service.”
• Expanding public image by
increasing Rotary’s visibility and
Amendment.”
Hallman also wrote: “When
the evidence is viewed in the
light most favorable to (Nils-
son), a reasonable juror could
conclude that retaliation was a
substantial or motivating factor
behind the search.”
Hallman noted that although
other people have trespassed at
the lime plant and painted graf-
fiti there, during the five years
prior to Nilsson being cited in
August 2017, the sheriff’s of-
fice didn’t apply for any search
warrants as part of other inves-
tigations related to graffiti at the
property.
Ash’s attorneys countered by
pointing out that another man,
about one month after Nilsson
was cited, was also arrested for
similar violations at the lime
plant.
Hallman noted, however, that
the sheriff’s office did not apply
for a search warrant in that case,
although the suspect lived in a
different state.
Ultimately, Hallman con-
cluded, Nilsson has raised an
“issue of fact” about whether
retaliation was a factor in the
search of his home and vehicle,
and so Ash is not entitled to a
summary judgment on that sin-
gle claim, and that it should be
decided by a jury.
Fourth Amendment
Hallman reaches a different
conclusion with regard to Nils-
son’s claim that Ash, through
the August 2017 search, violated
Nilsson’s constitutional rights
against unreasonable searches
and seizures.
Hallman concludes that as-
pects of that search, includ-
ing the county seizing papers,
a micro-SD card, cellphone
and computer tablet, are not
constitutional violations even
though, as Nilsson noted in his
complaint, some of those doc-
uments and devices contained
data not related to the incident
at the lime plant.
In regard to the papers, for
instance, Hallman writes that
“Defendant Ash was not re-
quired to parse through each
page of the legal pad to deter-
mine which pages directly re-
lated to the incident at the Lime
Plant.”
Claims against other
defendants dismissed
After filing the lawsuit in
2019, Nilsson submitted an
amended complaint on April 1,
2021, naming as additional de-
fendants Jef Van Arsdall, then
the Baker County undersheriff
(he has since moved out of the
county), Maldonado and two
other officers from the sheriff’s
office, Lt. Will Benson and Sgt.
Eric Colton.
Nilsson’s amended suit also
named as defendants Baker
City, then police chief Wyn
Lohner, and detective Shannon
Regan.
The claims against the city,
Lohner and Regan were dis-
missed on Aug. 23, 2021, after
their attorney filed a motion
stating that Nilsson’s claims
were not timely.
Hallman recommended in
his Sept. 22 findings that the
claims against Van Arsdall, Mal-
donado, Benson and Colton
also be dismissed.
Hallman wrote that, as was
the case with Nilsson’s amended
suit naming the city, Lohner and
Regan as defendants, there is a
two-year statute of limitations
for adding defendants. Hallman
recommended that the same
criteria that the court used to
dismiss claims against the city
defendants also apply to Van
Arsdall, Maldonado, Benson
and Colton.
Nilsson, in a text to the Baker
City Herald, acknowledged
that he filed the amended suit,
naming the other defendants,
too late.
But Nilsson said that the
amended complaint ensures
there is a “more detailed and
complete record of events.”
“I’m not going to berate my-
self for not being a great lawyer,”
Nilsson wrote, referencing his
decision to represent himself
in the lawsuit. “I’m learning as
I go.”
developing more partnerships.
• Increase leadership training.
• The return of youth pro-
grams, such as student exchanges.
• Promoting the Rotary Foun-
dation, which is supporting
Ukrainian disaster relief and
working to eradicate polio.
Fulkerson said the Foundation
can also help with local disaster
relief efforts.
Each club contributes to the
Foundation, and Fulkerson pre-
BAKER CITY HERALD • TuEsDAY, NovEmBER 8, 2022 A3
Fred Joe/oregon Capital Chronicle
People set up a mini-homeless camp on the edge of Southeast 28th Street in Portland in September 2022.
Cities seek to control camping
amid growing homeless crisis
BY CLAIRE RUSH
Associated Press/Report for America
PORTLAND — The tents proliferating
on sidewalks in downtown and residential
neighborhoods across Portland are fueling
a debate that’s playing out in cities nation-
wide as the homelessness crisis in the U.S.
explodes: Should camping be banned any-
where except in sanctioned sites?
Republican-led states including Texas and
Missouri have passed laws in the past cou-
ple years prohibiting street camping while
diverting money from affordable housing
projects to short-term shelter solutions.
Now, after decades of struggling to
tackle homelessness, some progressive
West Coast cities are considering similar
plans. Portland City Council members
voted Thursday, Nov. 3 to create at least
three large, designated campsites and ban
the rest of the roughly 700 encampments
currently scattered across the city. More
than 3,000 people are living without shel-
ter in Portland, a 50% jump from 2019, ac-
cording to the proposal.
“People on the streets deserve our com-
Camping
passion. They need our understanding,
and many of them need our help to get off
and stay off the streets,” Portland Mayor
Ted Wheeler said after the vote. “It is my
personal view that these resolutions take
an important step forward for the city of
Portland to be able to do just that.”
Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty was the
sole council member that voted against the
resolution.
“I hear and share the anxiety and frus-
tration community members feel around
the city about the houseless crisis. And I’m
committed to continue to work to solve the
problem,” she said. “But saying we will mag-
ically wave a wand in 18 months and there
will be no more street camping is not real.”
Opponents have said the camping re-
strictions effectively criminalize homeless-
ness and fail to address its root causes.
“As visible homelessness has increased,
there is also an increase in pressure from
the public and from others for elected of-
ficials and other folks in positions of au-
thority to address that issue,” said Ann Ol-
iva, CEO of the National Alliance to End
Homelessness. “What’s starting to happen
is that the way to immediately address an
issue that is at its core an affordable hous-
ing problem is to try and remove people
from public view.”
Portland’s soaring homelessness has be-
come a top concern for the vast majority of
residents and has prompted legal action. A
group of people with disabilities has sued
the city over tents blocking sidewalks and
making them inaccessible.
Portland’s proposal would establish at
least three designated sites where camping
would be allowed, with an initial capac-
ity to serve about 150 people each. They
would have 24-hour management and
provide access to services such as food, hy-
giene, litter collection and treatment for
mental health and substance abuse.
Outreach workers would direct people
living on the street to the designated camp-
ing sites. Those who refuse could be cited,
but the citations could be waived if the per-
son takes part in a diversion program that
would require mental health or substance
abuse treatment in lieu of jail time.
“contaminating the area,” ac-
ineptly handle the problem
would be allowed, with time
cording to the press release.
they made. You don’t find this
restrictions, on public prop-
Continued from A1
erty in the general-commer-
“Due to an increase in this
problem at nearly this level in
For vehicles that are parked
cial, general industrial and
type of activity, Baker City Po-
most other states.”
lice Department officers and
longer, the police department’s light industrial zones. The or-
Councilor Shane Alderson
dinance prohibits
our Code enforce- said he believes the city’s new
code enforcement officer can
The ordinance ment officer will
camping during
affix a “dead storage” tag that
camping regulations include
be
working
pro-
the period 6 a.m.
requires the vehicles to be
“reasonable accommodation
also states that if actively as time
to 8 p.m.
moved within 10 days.
for people that are having a
someone is living allows to address hard time.”
The ordinance
In addition to the parking
“The city council put a lot of
these issues be-
applies only to
ordinance, the city council in
in a vehicle, it
fore winter sets in,” thought into our camping ordi-
May approved ordinance 3383, public property.
must be moved Duby wrote.
nance,” Alderson said. “Our or-
People are not al-
which regulates camping on
are the law and peo-
lowed to camp on
City councilors
public property.
at least every 24 said they support dinances
ple should expect that they will
someone’s prop-
Duby told councilors this
erty, at any time,
spring that the ordinance,
hours and for at Duby’s effort to en- be enforced.”
the new ordi-
Councilor Dean Guyer said
which is modeled after existing regardless of the
least the distance force
nance.
he believes the city’s new camp-
zone.
regulations in other Oregon
“As far as I know ing ordinance, and the time
Duby was
cities, including Coos Bay, is
of a city block.
limits on parking recreational
it’s working pretty
prompted to pro-
designed to address problems
vehicles on public property, are
well,” Councilor
with homeless people camping pose the ordinance
reasonable.
after the Oregon Legislature
Johnny Waggoner Sr. said.
on public property.
“It gives people plenty of
Mayor Kerry McQuisten
The ordinance states, in part: passed a bill in 2021 which
time to, if they have friends or
states that cities and counties
said the council “passes ordi-
“It shall be unlawful for any
nances with the expectation
neighbors that are visiting and
with ordinances regulating
person to set up tents or any
they will be enforced. The real
they’re sitting out in the front
camping on public property
other temporary shelter or to
solutions to the homeless is-
in their campers, that’s plenty
must ensure those ordinances
use house trailers, campers or
sue in Oregon are found at the
of time for a person to have a
automobiles for the purpose of are “objectively reasonable as
trailer out on the street but past
to time, place and manner with state level, however. Cities are
overnight camping in any city
that, when you have an ordi-
stuck just trying to find work-
regards to persons experienc-
park, nor shall any person re-
arounds. Our liberal legislators nance, it needs to be enforced.
main in any city park after clos- ing homelessness.”
ing hours; provided, however,
have created a growing home-
Obviously there’s no reason to
The state law also allows
less problem and subsequent
organized youth groups under
have an ordinance if you don’t
homeless people to challenge
competent adult supervision
enforce it.”
in court such city or county or- taxpayer-funded industry to
dinances.
may be permitted overnight
In his press release, Duby
camping privileges.”
The ordinance defines parks wrote that: “Multiple cities
Charles James “Jim” Conro
as including the Leo Adler Me- in Oregon have been over-
March 8, 1930 - October 30, 2022
morial Parkway. The ordinance whelmed dealing with tran-
Charles James “Jim” Conro, 92,
sient camping that has littered
also prohibits camping in sev-
of Haines, Oregon, passed away
eral other specific public prop- their city with makeshift shel-
on October 30, 2022, in Meridian,
ters, garbage, hazardous waste
erties, including within 150
Idaho. A private family service to
feet of any school, preschool or and caused public outcry.
honor his life will be held in the
childcare center, or at the Baker In our best effort to protect
spring of 2023 on the hill behind
Baker City citizens, both with
Heritage Museum at 2480
the family home in Haines, Oregon.
and without homes, the City
Grove St., the Baker County
Jim was born on March 8, 1930,
of Baker City has adopted Or-
Courthouse, Sam-O Swim
to Floyd and Eunice (Homer)
dinance 3383 that regulates
Center, the YMCA gym on
Conro in Baker City, Oregon. He
camping in Baker City. This
Church Street and the YMCA
attended high school at Baker High and later Eastern
ordinance offers reasonable
Fitness Center on Pocahontas
Oregon University, graduating in 1948. Jim was also a
accommodations but does not
Road.
Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force and served
allow unlimited encroach-
The ordinance also states
his country for four years.
that if someone is living in a ve- ment of public and private
After serving in the military and attending college,
hicle, it must be moved at least
properties.”
Jim became a self-employed farmer in Haines, Oregon,
every 24 hours and for at least
Duby cited a camp trailer
retiring after 45 years at age 75 in 2005.
the distance of a city block.
that the city towed from pub-
On October 22, 1988, Jim married Carol Steffey in
lic property on Oct. 25.
The ordinance also bans
Baker City, Oregon.
The trailer had a sewage
camping on public property
Jim enjoyed hunting, fishing, carpentry, metal
hose placed in the ground,
in residential zones, while it
fabrication, and working on his farm in his free time.
Jim also won the best alfalfa hay award from the Oregon
About Rotary
Farm Bureau. He was a member of the Elks Club and he
sented plaques to recognize the
attended the Baker City Church of the Nazarene.
Baker City club for its contribu-
The Baker City Rotary Club
He is survived by his wife, Carol Conro of Meridian,
tions — 100% of the members
meets at noon on Mondays at
Idaho; sons Mike Conro of Jordan Valley, Oregon, and
give $100 or more.
Baker Tower, corner of Main
Bruce Conro of Nampa, Idaho; stepdaughters Kim Srack
“It’s very impressive what the
Street and Auburn Avenue. For
of Baker City, Oregon, and Karen Shishido of Nampa,
Baker City club is doing,” she said. more information, call Greg Bax-
Idaho. Jim is also survived by nine grandchildren and
• Community and club collab- ter, membership chair, at 541-523-
nine great-grandchildren.
oration to focuses on member
8205.
Jim’s first wife, Patricia Conro, his parents, Floyd
engagement and recruiting for
“The more people we have in
and Eunice Conro, and his son Mark Conro have
district positions.
our club, the more good we can
preceded him in death.
“Rotary is as local or as global do in our community,” said An-
To leave an online condolence for the family of Jim,
thony Bailey, current club pres-
as you want it to be,” Fulkerson
please visit www.colestributecenter.com.
ident.
said.