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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 9, 2008)
Mental health treatment facility discussed for Heppner By David Sykes il , - ' " essie Wetzell Newspaper Library Lmversity of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 The developer o f resi dential treatment facilities, w hich are used to house and treat mentally ill per sons convicted o f crimes, met with community mem- hers T uesday to discuss the possibility o f locating a treatment facility here in Heppner. Rod Estes, a Regional Residential Developm ent Specialist with Lifeways, the company which would run the Secure Residential Treatment Facility (SRTF), spoke w ith members o f the Willow Creek Valley Eco nomic Development Group, the Heppner City Council and the County Court about the possibility of locating an eight-bed facility to house people w ho have committed crim es and found “guilty except for insanity.” The facility would be dif ferent from the one recently proposed for Fossil, which caused a great deal o f com munity upheaval and ani mosity and was eventually abandoned, in that the pro posed Hep- ity w ould not house sexual of- fenders. VOL. 127 NO. 28 10 Pages Wednesday, July 9, 2008 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Public health advisory issued for Willow Creek Reservoir A health advisory prompted by high algae lev els found in Willow Creek R eservoir, near H eppner was issued today by the Oregon Department o f Hu man Services and the Mor row County Health Depart ment. Water sampling has confirmed the presence of blue-green algae in concen trations which can produce toxins harmful to humans and animals. These levels can be associated w ith dan gerous toxin concentrations in the water, according to W orld H ealth O rg an iza tion guidelines. Swallowing or inhaling water droplets should be avoided, as well as skin contact with water by humans or animals. The toxins cannot be removed by boiling, filtering or treating water. DHS recom m ends that if people choose to eat fish from waters where algae blooms are present, they should remove all fat, skin and organs from the fish before cooking since toxins are more likely to collect in these tissues. Exposure to toxins can produce symptoms of numbness, tingling and diz ziness which can lead to difficulty breathing or heart problems and require im mediate medical attention. Symptoms of skin irritation, weakness, diarrhea, nausea, cramps and fainting should also receive m edical a t tention if they persist or worsen. Children and pets are particularly susceptible. The public will be advised w hen the concern no longer exists. With proper precau tions to avoid water contact, people are encouraged to visit Willow Creek Reser voir and enjoy activities such as cam ping, hiking, biking, picnicking, catch- and-release fishing and bird watching. For local inform a tion contact the Corps' Wil low Creek Natural Resource Management Office at ( 541 ) 676-9009. For health infor mation, contact Ken Kauff man, DHS Environmental Health Specialist, at (971) 673-0435 or visit http://or- egon.gov/DHS/ph/envtox/ maadvisories.shtml. lone 4th of July Celebration held nj J McNary place in Umatilla opened in December and is similar in construction to a treatment facility being dis cussed for the Heppner area. problems the residents face are bipolar and schizophre nia, both controlled with medications. He said resi dents o f the facility are motivated to behave since many have been allowed to come from a more institu tional type facility such as the state hospital to the rural and small town residential facilities. He said many have been allowed out to go to the store and are even planning a trip to a baseball game in the Tri-Cities. The residents have jobs and are paid a sal ary o f $ 150 per month. All the persons that are recom m ended for place m ent in an SRTF “ have been highly screened and reviewed the State Psychi atric Security Review Board (PSR B ), Estes said. The PSRB is extremely sensitive and cautious concerning the safety of communities, he added. Some o f the concerns ad dressed by Estes include: The resident’s family and friends move to the area. Estes said most of the people do not have active or sup portive family or friends, how ever, M ahoney d is agreed and said residents at his facility do receive a fair amount of v isitors. Once out of the facility res idents will live here. Both Estes and Mahoney agreed that most o f the residents come from the west side o f the state and will return there once released. The residents w ill threaten o ur area and make it un safe to live here. Estes said studies have shown that the resident facilities have not caused any increase in crime. As an additional benefit Estes said that as part o f the project a two-bed crisis respite unit will be added to the facility. This unit will be open to local people experienc ing a men tal heaTth crisis and give them a place to s ta b i liz e and avoid h o s p ita l ization. Mahoney Tim Mahoney and Estes met w ith the com munity members for about tw o hours Tuesday ev ening, answ ering questions and discussing the project, and there w as a consensus of the group that the public should becom e inform ed before any planning for the facility moves forward. The Heppner City Council plans to take up the proposal for discussion at its next council meeting Monday, July 14 at 7p.m . at city hall. There was also talk o f holding public meetings on the proposal; however nothing definite has been announced. If the facility were built it would most likely be admin istered by Morrow/Wheeler Behavioral Health, o f which Kimberly Lindsay o f Lex ington is the director. Some o f the serv ices M orrow / Wheeler Behavioral Health prov ides are mental health assessment, alcohol/drug as sessment, DU II evaluations, individual, group and family therapy. house any ty p e o f c r im in a l, j Estes said. Rod | stes but the type allowed here would be determined by the administrator of the facility, which would most likely be the M orrow /W heeler Be havioral Health, he said. The facility would give an economic boost to the area, Estes explained, providing 20 to 24 full time positions paying $30,000 to $65,000 in wages for annual salaries o f $720,000. The annual operating budget would be around $960,000, and con struction costs o f the facil ity would be $1.2 million, he said. In addition most supplies for the facility would be purchased locally, includ ing food, medications, and transportation and gener al supplies. It would also strengthen the local mental health services, increase lo cal school populations w ith more students o f workers, and generally strengthen the local economy, he pointed out. Along with Estes at the meeting was Tim Mahoney. Operations Manager of Mc- Nary Place, a similar, but not exact type o f facility re cently opened in Umatilla. Residents o f the proposed Heppner SRTF would be housed behind a six-foot PVC fence, behind which is an eight-foot fence equipped with motion detectors. There would also be security cam eras and alarms as part of the overall security system. Some residents would at times be allowed out in the community to go to the store and to other activities, Estes said, but only under the su pervision o f one staff mem Inside picture of McNary Place ber for each two residents. The design o f the building 290 ™ is to “blend" the facility into Willamette St. 1 the area in which it is located and to avoid an institutional ' L ^ w ays look, he said. It is also man ( 541 ) 922-6226 ► Mental H#altri Assessment datory that the facility be Si Counseling located close to a hospital • Psychiatric Treatment • Case Management & and police facilities. Community Support 1 24 HOUR Crisis Intervention Mahoney said there have been no escapes or serious McNARY PLACE ( 541)922 0880 problems at the Umatilla Short Term Stabilization facility since its opening in Residential Treatment December, 2007, and said the m ajor m ental health Articles wanted for annual fair edition The annual Morrow County Fair is fast approaching. Once again this year the Heppner Gazette-Times w ill be putting together a special fair edition. Anyone interested in writing any fair related articles arc asked to turn in those articles by Friday, July 25. Articles can be dropped o f at the Heppner Gazette-Times or emailed to editor^/ rapid- serve.net. AT The City of lone held their annual 4th of July Celebration this past weekend. More pictures of different events can be found on page Four. -Photo hy David Sykes ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. 8 1HCGG GREEN FEED & SEED IN HEPPNER: DcnCt tAiy> O w N ursery Sate! Fruit Trees: Buy One Qet Second 1/2 Price All Other Nursery Stock Off M orrow C ounty Grain G rowers Green Feed S l S eed 242 W. Linden Way, H eppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG mam office)
