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A8 THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2021 COVID-19 in Oregon Hundreds fall ill, 2 die amid surge at prison BY BRYCE DOLE East Oregonian UMATILLA — Brandon Baker was already feeling symptoms when officials at Two Rivers Correctional Insti- tution carried out a sick inmate from two cells down. Another inmate, four cells away, said he saw the same in- mate lying on his bed ill for nearly two weeks, receiving lit- tle care. “He looked like death,” the inmate, who asked for ano- nymity out of fear of retalia- tion, said. “I walked by and told him, ‘Get better bro’ and he didn’t even move. Like, co- matose on his bed.” The sick inmate, who was between 50 and 60 years old and was serving his sentence at TRCI, reportedly died Jan. 2, after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a press release that did not iden- tify him by name. He’s one of two inmates who have recently died as the institution endures the largest surge in COVID-19 cases among prisons in Ore- gon, with 235 active cases as of Wednesday, according to data from the Oregon Department of Corrections. “They aren’t actually doing anything,” Baker, who said he tested positive for COVID-19 around the first of the year, said of prison staff. “Right now, somebody could be in their cell dying and they wouldn’t know anything about it because they’re locked in their cell, not being monitored, not being anything. They’re just locked in their cell.” Baker is one of 393 inmates at TRCI who have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 since Dec. 10, according to data from the department of corrections. Since the begin- ning of December, 50 TRCI staff have also tested positive. Interviews with four in- mates, eight people with loved ones in the prison, and two attorneys with more than 20 clients at TRCI, illuminate the conditions adults in cus- tody are facing as the prison is rocked by the case spike. They described to the East Orego- nian inconsistent mask wear- Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Two Rivers Correctional Institution is bathed in the afternoon sun. ing among prison staff, failures to both maintain social dis- tancing and to separate quar- antined and non-quarantined inmates, meager and expired food supplies, and an environ- ment that has put inmates and prison staff at risk of infec- tion since a power outage left the east side of the institution largely in the dark on Dec. 16. The power was restored on Dec. 24, according to officials. But since then, infection has surged rapidly, with 281 addi- tional inmates and 40 staff re- portedly testing positive. “Just because they’re an in- mate doesn’t mean they don’t have people out there who love them,” said Erika Sjolander, whose husband, an inmate at TRCI, was rushed to the hos- pital on Thursday, four days after testing positive in the outbreak. Sjolander’s husband, who she said was to be released from the prison in 27 days, has asthma, diabetes and has gone through chemotherapy for cancer. She’s worried he won’t make it. “He called me (on Wednes- day), and he could barely talk.” she said, crying. “And he says, ‘Tell my kids I love them. I might not make it home.’ And hearing that is breaking my heart.” Baker and the anonymous inmate each said that since the virus began to spread through the prison in mid-December, infecting hundreds and forc- ing their unit into quarantine, prison staff had only con- ducted brief daily checks for temperature and symptoms. Maria Stenkamp Crawford Vosburg 04/29/1928 - 11/17/2019 Maria was born in Bend, Oregon on April 29, 1928 to Henry J. and Huber} ne E. Stenkamp. She grew up on Stenkamp Road and at ended Rock School and Bend High School. Maria married Wallace Crawford in 1946 and divorced in 1978. Maria and Wallace operated a dairy farm east of Bend for many years. Maria was the chief milker of the herd of cows and she always said it was a good life but a lot of work. Maria always grew a large garden and shared the bounty of fruits and vegetables to all the neighbors. She was kind and a friend to all that knew her. In 1986 Maria married Milford Vosburg and they resided in Prineville, Oregon. Maria con} nued to reside in Prineville un} l 2016 at which } me she moved to Milwaukie to be in the care of her daughter, Sandra. Maria is survived by her children, Dale Crawford (Liz) and Sandra Crawford Senger. Grandchildren, Jason Smith, (Melody), Jennifer Smith, Ellen Crawford and Courtney Crawford. Maria was preceded in death by her son, George W. Crawford (Vicky), her parents, brothers, Henry and Hubert and sister, Huber} ne Stenkamp. A special thank you to Maria9s caregivers, Kristal Bird, Melody Souther and Dona Reid. And, thank you to Bristol Hospice, especially Tanéy and Abner. A gathering of friends and family will be held at a later date. They are released from their cells once a day for a brief phone call, which Troy Marin, an inmate, said is due to the shortage of staff caused by the outbreak. In an email to the East Or- egonian newsroom, officials from the department of cor- rections did not respond to multiple questions regarding the source’s allegations of min- imal medical care, but said, “DOC employees are making decisions based on medical and operational expertise,” and added staff are limited by “in- stitution design” and the num- ber of hospital beds available for COVID-19 patients across the state. Officials said inmates who require medical attention be- yond what is available at the prison are transferred to hos- pitals Statewide surge The surge at TRCI comes as the state’s prison system endures a significant spike in cases, with 545 active cases among adults in custody as of Wednesday, according to DOC data. Only three of the state’s 15 prisons do not have current active cases. In all, 2,690 adults in cus- tody and 679 staff have report- edly tested positive in Oregon, and 26 inmates who contracted COVID-19 have died, accord- ing to the DOC. “It seems like the (depart- ment of corrections) is just really reactive,” Tara Herivel, a Portland-based attorney with more than 20 clients at TRCI, said. “They wait until the problem has taken over, no matter how predictable it is or not. Then when pressures are hard enough, they take action, whether adequate or not. They wait in a reactive kind of posi- tion, and it is just fatal in these circumstances.” Some inmates at TRCI say they believe infection is stemming from prison work- places, like the laundry unit or kitchen, where they say in- mates from quarantined units are mixing with those who ar- en’t quarantined. “Don’t get me wrong, I like my job, I like working,” said Troy Marin, an inmate at TRCI who works in the laundry unit. “But I don’t want my life being in jeopardy either.” Inmates say that if they re- fuse to go to work, they will face retaliation by being placed in “the hole” — a segregated unit where inmates are sent when they misbehave. Officials from the DOC said, “It is impossible to definitively say what may have caused or exacerbated the outbreak at TRCI.” They said that health and safety measures like sani- tization, mask wearing and so- cial distancing are taking place to their “best ability.” When it began On Dec. 10, after two prison staff tested positive a week be- fore, corrections staff transferred 10 COVID-19-positive inmates from Deer Ridge Correctional Institution in Madras to the medical isolation unit at Two Rivers, as first reported by Ore- gon Public Broadcasting. At the time of the transfer, Deer Ridge had more than 130 adults in custody with active cases. Between Dec. 10 and Dec. Norma Jean (Chasse Donovan) Horak age 74, died November 16, 2020, at Ojai Valley Community Hospital following a stroke complicating chronic ARVD cardiomyopathy. Norma was born March 13, 1946 in Greenfield, MA. She grew up in nearby Hawley in a large family on a potato farm in the Berkshire Mountains. She was a life-long lover of animals, especially horses which she raised and trained. She was an accomplished horse rider and instructor. She had special expertise with gaited horses, particularly Missouri Fox Trotters. Both children and animals were drawn to her. She was an avid seamstress and an award-winning quilter. She loved gardening and loved to plant and grow flowers, especially daff odils. She enjoyed travel and adventure. She was a registered nurse, earning her nursing degree from Greenfield Community College. She worked in many hospitals including the North Adams and Greenfield hospitals in Massachusetts, and Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, New Hampshire. She worked in the Emergency Department at St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City, Colorado, as well as in a small family medicine clinic in Moff at, Colorado in the San Luis Valley. She was preceded in death by her parents Rilda and Roland Chasse and her brother Roger Chasse. She is survived by her husband of 25 years, James Hank Horak, her son Patrick and daughter Amy, her sisters Donna, Serra, and Paula, her brothers Maurice and Richard, as well as numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. She had many friends in the horse community of Central Oregon where she lived prior to moving to Ojai, California this last summer. She was beloved and will be terribly missed. Memorial gatherings will be held in the coming year after the Covid pandemic has subsided, in the many places Norma loved and was loved, including Oregon, Colorado, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. 18, 47 additional inmates and six staff at TRCI tested positive. Herivel said there are de- partment of corrections pol- icies against transferring in- mates in and out of Tier-4 prisons — the highest level of quarantine based on cases at an individual prison. She said she believes the transfers are done when prisons run out of space for medical treatment and the institution is overcome by the spread of disease, “and this appears to have happened at TRCI,” she said. “If you transfer people from a Tier-4 prison to another prison, and those people hav- en’t been tested but it turns out they’re positive, you are open- ing up a whole bunch of people to pain, suffering and possibly death,” Herivel said. Officials said in the email that they were following trans- fer protocol. On Dec. 16, a power outage caused by two wires shorting and exploding in a conduit underground after 20 years of degradation left an area where more than 600 inmates reside in the pitch black, according to officials and sources. Several days later, inmates were pro- vided small, battery-powered lights to illuminate their cells, just as infection was ramping up in the prison. For more than a week, in- mates were released from their cells for about an hour a day to use the phone and shower. Aside from that — darkness. “It’s weird, because you lose your sense of what’s go- ing on,” said Frank Roof, an inmate, who added he con- sidered causing trouble and getting himself put into “the hole” just to be in a cell with light. “You can’t read or you can’t do anything. You’re just laying there. Our cells aren’t big enough for two people to get up and move around at the same time.” CARL ANTHONY BAILEY, a retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant and 20-year resident of Yuma, AZ, died December 26, 2020 at the age of 81 at the Yuma Regional Medical Center in Yuma Arizona. Carl is survived by his wife of 64 years, Betty and his children Kathleen Bailey, Carl Bailey, Jr. (Carrie), Karen Nelson (Lloyd) and Laura Slater (Danny), 9 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Carl was born in San Diego, CA on August 1, 1939 to Charles A. Bailey and Gertrude H. Leibundgut. He attended schools in Yuba City CA, Winnemucca NV and Reno NV. He earned two degrees simultaneously from Central Oregon Community College in Bend, OR., where he also taught in the Automotive Department for four years. Carl joined the Marine Corps in 1956. He was a proud 20-year Marine, fi rst stationed in Japan from 1957 through 1958 then proudly served two tours in Vietnam, fi rst during 1966 through 1968 and again in 1972. During this time, he earned Rifl e Expert, Pistol Expert, Commendation and Achievement Medals, was a member of The Flying Tigers, Death Rattlers, USMC Aviation, Marine Aircraft Group, Armed Forces Expeditionary Service, Vietnam Pop A Smoke and Veterans of Underage Military Service among others. Carl and his family lived in many different cities during his time serving his country. Upon retiring from the USMC Carl and family resided for many years in Bend, OR. Carl worked in the automotive industry after retiring from the USMC. He owned an auto repair shop and was a master mechanic. He also owned and operated both a car sales and automotive transport business. Carl completely retired in 2001 at which time he and his wife Betty traveled for many years in their motorhome, visiting almost every state within the U.S. fi nally relocating to Yuma, Arizona. Carl enjoyed many hobbies, his chief hobby being an avid gun enthusiast. He belonged to the High Power Rifl e and Pistol Club of Yuma where he shot 400, 600 and 1,000 yards. He taught a Women’s Self Defense class in Yuma, AZ and Hunter Safety courses for children in Bend, OR. He has left behind many friends and valued each and every one. Services for Carl will be held in Fernley, NV at a date to be determined and he will be interred at the Veterans Cemetery in Fernley, NV. A Celebration of Life for Carl will also be held in Yuma, AZ, depending on safety and restrictions, at a date to be determined. In lieu of fl owers please make a donation in Carl’s name to St. Jude’s or the Christian Children’s Fund or any other charity for children of your choice. He loved the little children. Our Glorious Hero in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, you can rest peacefully now, your tour is over. Semper Fi Marine.