GO! EASTERN OREGON MAGAZINE | INSIDE
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
154th Year • No. 7 • 16 Pages • $1.50
MyEagleNews.com
COVID spikes in
E. Oregon prisons
By ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
EASTERN OREGON —
Eastern Oregon Correctional
Institution and Two Rivers Cor-
rectional Institution in Umatilla
County still are in quarantine
due to the spread of the COVID-
19 virus throughout their facil-
ities, according to the Depart-
ment of Corrections COVID-19
tracking website.
Powder River Correctional
Facility in Baker County is in
a heightened state of alert and
testing according to the same
tracker, as cases rose amongst
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at the end of January. Seven out
of the 15 prisons in Oregon were
in Tier 4 status as of Feb. 8 —
meaning that those facilities are
under quarantine.
Overall, case numbers had
increased dramatically through
January, peaking at 286 active
cases for Two Rivers on Jan.
20. In December, those numbers
were in the single digits.
Those case numbers fell
throughout the week. As of Feb.
8, Two Rivers had just one active
case of COVID-19, though it
still remained in tier 4 status.
As a percentage of total
cases during the entire pan-
demic against the number of
beds at each facility, Two Riv-
ers ranked the highest by a wide
margin. The case-to-bed rate
was at 64.18%, while the aver-
age across all prisons in Oregon
was 31.81%
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wouldn’t say whether or not the
COVID-19 cases that spurred a
large spike at Two Rivers were
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numbers and dates shared with
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Two Rivers had tested positive
on Dec. 29, just 10 days before
members of the prison popula-
tion showed a spike in positive
tests.
“There is no way of know-
ing exactly how each positive
case originates or is spread,” said
Betty Bernt, communications
manager for the Oregon Depart-
ment of Corrections. “When an
individual comes into our intake
unit, our current process is to test
all adults in custody.”
Juan Chavez, project direc-
tor and attorney with the Ore-
gon Justice Resource Center,
disagrees.
“There’s only one way for
the virus to get in, and that’s
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abundantly clear that mask
wearing has been scant in par-
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They haven’t been enforcing the
mask wearing policy, they just
let it slide. They’re more afraid
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killing people, in my mind.”
Chavez noted because intake
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rectional Facility — DOC’s
intake facility in Wilsonville
where adults in custody are
tested, isolated and quarantined
before being transferred to other
parts of the state — the possi-
bility of an inmate bringing the
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remote.
The
Oregon
Justice
Resource Center is involved in
a class action lawsuit against
the Department of Corrections
due to conditions at the prisons
regarding COVID-19 safety.
That lawsuit is expected to go
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on Feb. 14.
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in April 2020, asked only the
bare minimum from the Depart-
ment of Corrections regarding
safety procedures in combating
the spread of COVID-19. Those
measures included mandatory
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and implementing social dis-
tancing requirements.
Those requirements, accord-
ing to the lawsuit, were widely
ignored.
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described an interaction with
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See COVID, Page A16
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
A sign stands at the entrance of Two Rivers Correctional Institu-
tion in Umatilla as the sun rises April 2, 2021.
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle
The vacant building on Canyon Boulevard in John Day that Choices Recovery, a Prineville-based drug treatment provider,
planned to turn into an outpatient drug treatment clinic with funding from a grant program set up by Oregon’s drug-decrimi-
nalization law, Measure 110. The Oregon Health Authority withdrew the $285,250 grant shortly after issuing the award in May.
Still waiting for help
County has yet to receive M110 drug treatment funds
is currently looking for a location in John
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under a contract to complete paperwork
JOHN DAY — Oregonians who voted and other administrative tasks.
for Measure 110 did not just decriminal-
Byus said #Recovery would use the
ize small amounts of most illegal drugs, same harm reduction model Choices used,
including methamphetamine, heroin and which does not require complete absti-
cocaine; they also redirected millions of nence from drugs and alcohol, unlike most
dollars in marijuana tax revenue to drug traditional approaches to treating substance
rehabilitation providers to expand access abuse. Instead, the focus is on reduc-
to treatment.
ing destructive social and health conse-
But so far, more than a year after Ore- quences, such as overdose and death.
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6KH VDLG WKH IDFLOLW\ ZRXOG DOVR R൵HU
L]DWLRQODZZHQWLQWRH൵HFWQRQHRIWKDW peer support services, recovery mentors,
money has found its way to Grant County. and outreach work in the community. Byus
In May, Choices Recovery Services, said she sold Beltz the recovery literature
a Prineville-based provider, was slated she used at Choices.
to receive $285,250 — the only funding
Byus’ comments were similar to those
awarded to a provider in Grant County — she shared with the John Day City Council
and announced plans to open an outpatient during an Aug. 24 meeting.
clinic in John Day.
At that meeting, Byus told council-
However, according to Darla Byus, a ors that Choices Recovery’s outpatient
former owner of Choices Recovery, state clinic on Canyon Boulevard would have
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“They (Oregon Health Authority) could provide medication treatment, along
wanted (the grant) to be for an expansion with counseling, parenting classes and peer
of already-in-place services,” Byus said in support.
a phone interview. “And since we were not
Not only that, but the clinic would work
already in place in John Day, they did not closely with Community Counseling Solu-
approve it.”
tions, law enforcement, the Department
According to Byus, Choices Recovery of Human Services and other community
has since shut down, including removing partners.
the website and closing the email account.
But, according to Community Coun-
Byus said she closed the company for seling Solutions CEO Kimberly Lind-
“personal reasons.”
say, nobody from Choices Recovery ever
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reached out to cultivate a relationship.
cer with the Oregon Health Authority,
Thad Labhart, the clinical director for
FRQ¿UPHG &KRLFHV GLG QRW JHW WKH JUDQW CCS, said he must have called Byus at
Heider declined to answer questions about least three times before she returned his
why the funding did not get approved but call. Then, after they set up a meeting,
added that Choices’ grant award “is under Byus didn’t show up, Labhart said. He said
review by an outside jurisdiction.”
it took another couple of calls to resched-
Meanwhile, Byus’ former clinical ule, and she again did not show. Finally,
supervisor, Brian Beltz, has started his Labhart said, she called and apologized,
own company, #Recovery. Byus said Beltz VD\LQJWKDWVKHKDGFRQÀLFWVZLWKWKHHDU
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
lier meeting times.
Labhart said CCS had applied for
$302,836 to expand access to drug treat-
ment in Morrow, Wheeler, Gilliam and
Grant counties and was disappointed the
state did not fund any of those requests.
Labhart said he met with state health
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cials told him that while CCS’s application
scored well, there were not enough dollars
to go around.
In one of those meetings, according to
Labhart, an OHA representative told him
the state had awarded Choices a grant to
expand services in Grant County.
Out of the gate, Labhart said, he wanted
to understand why a Prineville-based pro-
vider wanted to open a clinic in Grant
County. So he asked other community
partners if they had heard anything about
Choices and, more importantly, if they had
heard from Choices. And they had not.
“(Learning about Choices) was more
than just curiosity. I felt if there was going
to be another treatment provider in town,
we needed to take the proactive initia-
tive to reach out to see where there might
be opportunities to collaborate, comple-
ment (one another), rather than compete,”
Labhart said. “And be mindful of the small
local work force.”
Labhart said that when he initially
spoke to Byus, she mentioned Choices
had planned to open an outpatient clinic
in Dayville. It was only later he heard that
Choices planned on opening a location in
John Day.
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events. In an email to the newspaper, she
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to all community partners in the county
regarding working together and got what
See Measure 110, Page A16
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Trulock plans mix of long-
and short-term logging deals
awarded to Iron Triangle in 2013, esti-
mated to be worth roughly $69 million,
expires in March of 2023.
The John Day logging company’s
By STEVEN MITCHELL
current deal is what’s known as an
Blue Mountain Eagle
integrated resource service contract, a
mechanism that Trulock said has both
JOHN DAY — The Malheur
pluses and minuses.
National Forest will issue another long-
With 70% of the total volume of
Malheur National Forest timber sales
term stewardship deal in an open bid
going to the program, Trulock said, that
process starting in November, but it
provides a high level of predictability
will also use another contracting mech-
for the contractor while also guarantee-
anism to bring in additional indepen-
ing a steady supply of logs for Malheur
GHQW FRQWUDFWRUV DQG DGG ÀH[LELOLW\ LQ
Lumber’s John Day sawmill.
meeting forest management goals and
But, Trulock said, having so much
Blue Mountain Eagle, File
budget constraints.
Malheur National Forest Supervi- The 10-year stewardship contract awarded to Iron Triangle in 2013 is widely of the national forest’s discretionary
sor Craig Trulock announced the agen- credited with saving John Day’s last surviving lumber mill, creating hundreds timber revenue committed to the stew-
cy’s decision at a Thursday, Feb. 10, of jobs and improving forest health but has also prompted criticism from other ardship contract could create a problem
for the agency’s budget.
meeting of the Grant County Natural logging companies.
Additionally, despite the fact that
Resource Advisory Committee at the
ardship deal, such as decreasing the the stewardship contract was awarded
the forest should take in the future.
Grant County Regional Airport.
While Trulock said he had been guaranteed 70% of timber volume through a competitive bidding process,
With the current long-term contract
set to expire early next year, federal for- leaning toward awarding another long- FRPLQJR൵WKHIRUHVWWREHWZHHQDQG the 10-year deal has prompted criticism
est managers have been trying to decide term contract, he has been contemplat- 50%.
See Malheur, Page A16
what form stewardship contracting on ing some changes in the next stew-
The 10-year stewardship contract