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)