A2 THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2022
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Couple with 4,500 fentanyl pills sentenced
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BY GARRETT ANDREWS
The Bulletin
A couple that trafficked fen-
tanyl in peanut butter jars will
head to prison following sen-
tencing this week in Deschutes
County Circuit Court.
Ryeann Nicole Martin re-
ceived an 18-month sentence,
while her husband, Luke An-
thony Martin, was sentenced
to 40 months.
Ryeann Martin, 29, pleaded
guilty to manufacturing meth-
amphetamine, manufacturing
fentanyl and aggravated ID
theft, for having more than 10
pieces of identification from
10 or more people.
Luke Martin, 38, pleaded no
contest to the same charges.
He received a longer sentence
than his wife primarily be-
cause he has a more extensive
criminal record.
When defendants plead
“no contest,” they accept re-
sponsibility for an offense
without specifically admitting
guilt.
Last month, the Central
Oregon Drug Enforcement
team announced the Martins’
arrests following a Feb. 11 raid
of their home in the 61000
block of Ferguson Court. Offi-
cers used stun grenades to dis-
orient the couple, according to
the drug enforcement team.
As detectives swarmed the
home, Luke Martin was hold-
ing a grocery bag with an
“unusual” number of peanut
butter containers, according to
Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp of the
Deschutes County Sheriff’s
Office. Police believe the pea-
nut butter was used to mask
odor and prevent drug dogs
and detectives from finding
the drugs. In all, police recov-
ered 4,500 fentanyl pills in the
raid.
The arrests were part of a
larger investigation of fentanyl
trafficking in the Central Ore-
gon, Vander Kamp said. Police
believe the Martins imported
large quantities of fentanyl
pills and powder from the
Portland area into cCentral
Oregon, where they distrib-
uted it.
Detectives also found stolen
mail from around the Bend
area. They believe it was part
of a fake-check operation run
from the couple’s home.
█
Reporter: 541-383-0325,
gandrews@bendbulletin.com
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Oregon could do more to reduce risk
of violent extremism, audit finds
Associated Press
SALEM — The breach of the Oregon
Capitol in December 2020 and the hours-
long standoff with police capped a year of
heightened politically-motivated violence,
state auditors said in a new report.
Auditors said Wednesday the state could
do more to prevent these events from hap-
pening and improve coordination between
levels of government and agencies grap-
pling with the threat of extremist acts, the
Statesman Journal reported.
Oregon ranks 27th among states in pop-
ulation, but came in sixth among states for
violent extremist attacks between 2011 and
2020, auditors said, citing data from the Cen-
ter for Strategic and International Studies.
The threats have “become increasingly
complex and volatile,” with people using
social media and websites to propagate “ex-
tremist narratives and activity,” according
to the auditor’s report.
Oregon state law doesn’t define or
criminalize domestic violent extremism.
Auditors suggest Oregon consider look-
ing to other states that define domestic
violent extremism or “terroristic acts” in
their laws, which can mean the state can
charge offenders if federal standards ar-
en’t met.
Federal law defines domestic terrorism
as “acts dangerous to human life” that are
illegal, primarily take place on U.S. soil and
Abigail Dollins/Statesman-Journal via AP, file
A right-wing protester screams at Salem Police as she attempts to get into the Oregon State Cap-
itol during a special session of the Legislature in Salem on Dec. 21, 2020. A newly released audit
says the state needs to take action to reduce the risk of violent extremism.
appear to intend to influence a government
or intimidate people.
“Attacks on the Oregon state capitol and
the U.S. capitol over the last couple years
clearly demonstrated the risk to public
safety and the high cost on public resources
resulting from domestic terrorism and vi-
olent extremism,” Audits Division Director
Kip Memmott said. “Our report notes that
Oregon is especially at high risk for this
type of violence.”
The report also suggested the state’s
homeland security council come up with
a statewide strategy that includes “specific,
measurable outcomes” to counter extrem-
ist activities, and that the state revise its
plan to protect critical infrastructure like
hospitals and power plants with the “latest
information” on threats of domestic violent
extremism.
COVID-19
community levels
for Central Oregon
The Bulletin is no
longer publishing
COVID-19 daily case
counts by county.
The Centers for
Disease Control and
Prevention monitors
community levels of
COVID-19 to help
communities decide
what prevention steps
to take based on the
latest data. Levels can
be low, medium or
high and are deter-
mined by looking at
hospital beds being
used, hospital ad-
missions and the to-
tal number of new
COVID-19 cases in
an area.
The CDC lists the
following levels for
Central Oregon:
Deschutes County:
Low
Crook County: Low
Jefferson County:
Low
Precautions the
CDC recommends
for communities with
low levels: Stay up to
date on vaccines and
get tested if you have
symptoms.
Oregon to pay $1.3M to home
Ex-superintendent created care workers who received
toxic workplace, suit alleges
late or partial payments
ALSEA SCHOOL DISTRICT
genitalia and sexual life on “an
ALSEA — A lawsuit alleges almost daily basis,” the legal
the Alsea School District en-
complaint alleges, and regu-
abled its former su-
larly used sexual in-
perintendent to create
nuendos and made
a hostile work envi-
sexually suggestive
ronment with gender
comments about
discrimination, sex-
women’s bodies. It
ual harassment and
was so pervasive that
general misogyny.
Rice would take a
The lawsuit alleges
“mental vacation”
Marc Thielman, who Thielman
whenever Thielman
resigned as super-
steered a conversation
intendent in February after
toward sex, the lawsuit said.
several complaints were filed
The lawsuit alleges district
against him, “engaged in sex-
officials enabled him by con-
ual harassment on a regular,
sistently ignoring concerns
sustained and ongoing basis”
and complaints and retaliated
throughout Shanon Rice’s em- against Rice by not renewing
ployment with the rural, West- her contract, effectively termi-
ern Oregon school district,
nating her as of June 30, 2022.
the Albany Democrat-Herald
Rice is seeking more than
reported.
$3.7 million from the district
Rice, the principal of Alsea
for the alleged hostile work
Elementary School, filed the
environment, sexual harass-
lawsuit in Benton County Cir- ment, gender discrimination
cuit Court last week. The law- and whistleblower retaliation.
suit does not name Thielman
Thielman made waves in
as a defendant. District offi-
January when he announced
cials could not be reached for
that at his direction, the school
comment.
board had passed a resolu-
Thielman is running for
tion to return “local control”
Oregon governor as a Repub-
to the board and make indoor
lican.
masking optional during the
He would talk about his
COVID-19 pandemic.
Associated Press
BY JAMIE GOLDBERG
The Oregonian
Oregon will pay a com-
bined $1.3 million in late fees
to more than 4,000 home
care workers who received
late or incomplete payments
over the last seven months
due to glitches in a state soft-
ware system.
Rebecca Sandoval, vice
president of Service Em-
ployees International Union
Local 503, which represents
home care and personal sup-
port workers, said the union
is aware of more than 8,600
instances over the last seven
months where Oregon failed
to provide home care work-
ers employed by the state
with their full paycheck on
time.
The glitches have impacted
4,366 workers, nearly a sixth
of the state’s home care work-
ers, who care for seniors
with physical disabilities,
according to the state.
“It’s not acceptable,” San-
doval said. “It’s quite negli-
gent in terms of servicing a
workforce.”
Elisa Williams, a spokes-
person for Oregon’s Depart-
ment of Human Services,
said the state is working on
a fix that will allow hours to
be entered entirely electron-
ically.
Williams said the state
hired an outside vendor to
implement the new system
in order to meet federal law,
which required the state to
use an electronic visit veri-
fication system to approve
hours. In light of the issues
with incorrect payments,
Williams said the state has
hired additional technical
staff to help home care work-
ers, reached out directly to
workers who are experienc-
ing problems with the system
and provided access to com-
puters where workers can en-
ter their hours at agency of-
fices around the state.
The union filed a griev-
ance against the state in No-
vember.
The settlement between
the union and Oregon’s De-
partment of Human Services
requires the state to pay pro-
viders who received partial
or late payments since Au-
gust $150 for each incident
when they were incorrectly
paid, in addition to the pay
they were owed for their
time worked. The money
will start going out to work-
ers in May.
The state agency also
agreed to pay late fees when
home care workers receive
late paychecks and partial
payments going forward,
the union said. The Oregon
Home Care Commission has
also agreed to investigate any
late pay complaints within 30
days, the union said.
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