News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
A9
JUNIPER
Continued from Page A1
The patient earlier this
month and another in January
both broke through the fence,
through a ÀaZ in its design
/indsay e[plained hoZ the
facility is in the process of
installing a neZ fence, and is
currently in a laZsuit against
the contractor Zho built the
original fence
In addition, Lindsay said,
the facility has recently
changed its protocol to not al-
loZ a patient outside Zithout
a staff member present
Commissioner
Chris
Labhart said he is pleased
Zith the facility¶s efforts
³CC6 is de¿nitely trying
to solve the problem and they
changed the policy,´ he said
“I obviously believe the pub-
lic is safe Zith these policy
changes´
The Blue Mountain Ea-
gle asked Lindsay and Rory
Schilling, the facility admin-
istrator at Juniper Ridge, to
further describe Zhat is being
done to improve the safety
and security of the facility
Eagle: What precautions/
protocols have changed since
the escape?
CCS: Residents can no
longer be outside Zithout a
staff member present Staff
presence provides direct line-
of-sight supervision
Eagle: What are Juniper
Ridge¶s plans moving forZard
Zith the fence?
CCS: Materials for a neZ
fence Zill arrive at Juniper
Ridge 1ovember 11 Our con-
tractors have been noti¿ed
of this This fence has been
crafted speci¿cally for Juni-
per Ridge Modi¿cations in
the design of the fence have
been adopted in consultation
Zith designers, contractors
and engineers that Zill mini-
mi]e impact to the neZ fence
should the ground contin-
ue to shift Juniper Ridge is
also e[ploring other Zays to
increase community safety
such as additional cameras,
fence movement sensors, and
possibly an additional fence
surrounding the perimeter of
Eagle photos/Kyle Spurr
The fence at the Juniper Ridge Acute Care Facility
is leaning and weakened in sections due to being
built on non-compacted ground.
Eagle photos/Kyle Spurr
Kimberly Lindsay, executive director of Community Counseling Solutions,
points to the fence at Juniper Ridge Acute Care Facility that is flawed in it’s
design. Lindsay gave the Grant County Court a tour of the facility Monday.
the property to compliment
the security fence around the
e[ercise yard
Eagle: What has Juniper
Ridge been doing prior to the
escape to get the fence re-
paired?
CCS: 3roactively, Ze¶ve
made alterations to the ex-
isting fence, such as adding
mesh screen around the top
of the fence to hinder hand-
holds and climbing We also
identi¿ed some Zeaknesses
that Zere ¿xed prior to the
escape When an issue has
been identi¿ed it has been
¿xed Resident and commu-
nity safety has been our top
priority $nd Ze¶ve actively
pursued replacement of the
existing fence Zith a secure
fence since January This has
been a challenge given our
soil issues Once Ze identi-
¿ed a fence that provided the
needed security, our engineer
Zorked Zith the fence man-
ufacturer and a local con-
tractor to build “sleeves” or
“pockets” that Zill house the
posts and alloZ them to move
Zith the shifting soil Zithout
compromising the security
or structural features of the
fence This fence Zas sched-
uled to arrive in $ugust and
should already be in place
+oZever, the manufacturer
ran into a design ÀaZ that
reTuired additional Zork be-
fore installation could begin
This delayed shipment of the
fence
Eagle: What alert system
is noZ in place Zith police,
etc so the public can be made
aZare as soon as possible?
CCS: Juniper Ridge
management and staff reg-
ularly assess the risks that
our residents present to the
local community and larger
public We have a strong re-
lationship Zith local, county,
and state laZ enforcement
agencies, Zho have proven
to be extremely responsive
to, and conscientious about,
the community¶s safety We
Sheriff Palmer,
Search & Rescue, family,
friends and neighbors:
There are not enough words to
express our appreciation.
Thank you all from the bottom
of our hearts.
Sherry Deming & Mike Davidson
are scheduling meetings
Zith these agencies to insure
timely response and coordi-
nation betZeen all parties to
provide for the safety of the
community as Zell as our
residents
Should another escape
occur, Ze Zill notify laZ en-
forcement immediately and
Zork Zith laZ enforcement
to provide them the necessary
information We Zill also no-
tify the Blue Mountain Eagle
and KJDY so that they can
spread the Zord as Zell The
safety of the community, our
staff, and residents is para-
mount We take this incident
seriously and understand the
community¶s concern Based
on the research conducted,
Ze fully expect that the neZ
fence, coupled Zith other
steps Ze are taking, should
address identi¿ed issues and
serve to restore community¶s
trust in CCS
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