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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 2018)
A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2018 NEWS Officer injured in arrest attempt HERMISTON HERALD STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Jail uniforms sit on a rack in the booking area at the Umatilla County Jail in Pendleton. Officials are seeking more space. Sheriff seeks funds for jail mental health By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER Umatilla County Sher- iff Terry Rowan has a small ask from the Oregon Legis- lature: $1 million. The money would pay for a major revamp at the county jail in Pendleton to allow the intake and tem- porary housing of offend- ers suffering mental crisis, medical issues or addiction. “Those three areas seem to be significantly on the rise,” Rowan said. The jail was designed 20 years ago to hold 130 to 180 inmates. Thursday morn- ing’s shift started with 229. Much of that fulfills Rowan’s promise to hold offenders in jail until they see a judge. But people with mental illness are an increas- ing part of the offender pop- ulation, and their crimes are often petty, such as throw- ing rocks at windows. “To me, it makes per- fect sense some of that pop- ulation never land in jail,” Rowan said. The Blue Mountain Recovery Center in Pend- leton used to take some of those offenders, but the cen- ter closed in 2014. Local police lament how officers can spend hours on one shift dealing with a lawbreaker in a mental state. Those offenders also are often high or drunk. Detoxification centers won’t take someone in the middle of a mental episode, and mental health providers won’t take some- one under the influence. That leaves the jail. But Rowan said the jail lacks the capacity to handle inmates who are delusional, high or both. That person may need to be alone in a holding cell, he said, and the jail’s intake center has two holding cells for mul- tiple inmates. Jail staff even converted one of two small strip search rooms into a small cell. “What we’re seeing is a bottleneck in the booking area,” Rowan said. The fix would be an $800,000 renovation to help accommodate inmates with mental health problems. That does not include the cost of moving and install- ing security cameras and the like. LCA Architects, Boise, designed the jail, and Rowan said he had the com- pany visit last year. That led to a proposal to convert one of the jail’s two sally ports into new holding areas and a book-in site. That would provide space for someone in a crisis. The plan also uses existing space to add eight beds to the intake area. The only new construc- tion would be for storage. Jail Sgt. Kenny Franks said housing more inmates means needing more clothes, more bedding, even more rubber gloves for staff. Franks showed how little space is left. Large red plastic bins for inmate belongings fill nearly all the shelves in one room. Files about inmates threaten to take up another. The mobile rack for inmate clothing has no closet and sits next to a wall. Franks said staff cram extra mat- tresses into a closet. “Storage would be a huge help to the whole facil- ity,” he said. Restructuring the jail also would make it more efficient, Rowan and Franks said. Umatilla County Jail is the regional hub for trans- ferring inmates. Buses drop off multiple inmates each Wednesday and others take them away. That happens in the second sally port, where inmates wait inside a wire cage up to five hours. Franks said while the sally port has video cam- eras, staff have to be in the room monitoring the inmates. New holding cells would allow video surveil- lance alone and not tie up an officer for half a shift on one task. Umatilla County Com- missioner George Murdock backs Rowan’s plan. He said just as the jail is a trans- fer hub, it could serve as a regional mental heath drop- off facility. “We’re talking about what to do with individuals who are a danger to them- selves and others and who are on the street,” Murdock said. “We would benefit Wallowa, Morrow, Union, and Umatilla counties.” The commissioner also pointed out when the state’s prison population was growing too large, lawmak- ers created the Justice Rein- vestment Initiative Act, the grant program to pro- vide counties with funds to keep offenders out of prison while keeping the pub- lic safe. Murdock said the state should follow a simi- lar model to help local gov- ernments deal with mental health problems. Amy Ashton-Williams, director of Umatilla County Human Services, said most people who have mental health issues do not com- mit crimes. They take medi- cations, follow their therapy and are productive mem- bers of the community. But 10 percent, she said, tax the system. Rowan made his pitch for state funds Friday afternoon in Salem to the Legislature’s Subcommittee on Capital Construction. He discussed the proposal with Repub- lican state lawmakers Sen. Bill Hansell of Athena and Rep. Greg Barreto of Cove. Both said they support the proposal but neither serve on the subcommittee. Rowan said if the Legisla- ture does not come through, he is not done pushing for this. He said there might be some opportunity through Justice Reinvestment grants. Mental health is a local, state and national problem, Murdock said, and this pro- posal makes sense to house mental patients on an imme- diate basis. “In Eastern Oregon,” he said, “you may need to sometimes find solutions that aren’t perfect but that work.” MEDICAL DIRECTORY COUNSELING Hermiston police Cpl. Doug Gill was injured after two suspects dragged him under a vehicle after a traffic stop Saturday. At about 3 a.m. Satur- day, Hermiston police Cpl. Leonard Stokoe stopped a 2014 Toyota Camry for a minor traffic violation near the intersection of North- east Third Street and East Gladys Avenue, accord- ing to a written statement from police Lt. Randy Studebaker. The offi- cer reviewed documents from the driver, Nathan Olney, 36, of Hermiston, and learned the car had the wrong license plates. Suspecting the vehi- cle was stolen, he called for backup, and Cpl. Doug Gill arrived. Stokoe and Gill tried to detain Olney and passen- ger Lucia Madrigal, 30, of Boardman. The vehicle sped away and Gill became entangled on its passenger WORSHIP COMMUNITY Seventh-day Adventist Church Saturdays Sabbath School........9:30 a.m. Worship Service......11:00 a.m. English & Spanish Services 567-8241 855 W. Highland • Hermiston LANDMARK BAPTIST CHURCH 125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232 Pastor David Dever Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am Sun. Worship Service..............11:00am Sun. Evening Worship..............6:00pm Wed. Prayer & Bible Study......6:00pm www.hermistonlmbc.com Grace Baptist Church 555 SW 11th, Hermiston 567-9497 FAMILY DENTISTRY Family Dentistry 541-567-8161 995 W. Orchard Ave., Hermiston Ryan M. Wieseler, D.D.S . MENTAL HEALTH URGENT AND FAMILY CARE LET US BE THE ONE THAT HELPS! HERMISTON FAMILY MEDICINE & • Adult, Child and Family Therapy • Psychiatric Evaluation and Treatment • Mental Health and Crisis Services • Confidential and Professional Care LIFEWAYS PENDLETON Crisis Phone: LIFEWAYS HERMISTON 331 SE 2nd St., 595 NW 11th St., 866-343-4473 Pendleton, OR 97801 Hermiston, OR 97838 Office: 541-276-6207 WWW . LIFEWAYS . ORG Office: 541-567-2536 PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY Call Today! 541-289-5433 1060 W. Elm, Suite #115, Hermiston, OR (across from Good Shepherd Medical Center) www.apd4kidz.com Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm URGENT CARE Sports & Dot Physicals • Minor Injuries • Family Care • Minor Surgeries We accept Medicare & some Advantage Medicare plans NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY HOURS: Mon.-Sat. 7:30am-7:00pm 541-567-1137 236 E. Newport, Hermiston (across from U.S. Bank) VISION CARE Eye Health & Vision Care Robert D. Rolen , O.D., LLC Optometric Physician 115 W. Hermiston Ave. Suite 130 541-567-1837 To advertise in the Medical Directory, please call: Jeanne at 541-564-4531 or Audra at 541-564-4538 First United Methodist Church Hermiston 191 E. Gladys Ave , Hermiston OR Sunday Worship 11am • 541-567-3002 Nursery available Check us out on Face Book Worship Livestream at herfumc.com Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors Rev. Dr. Jim Pierce, pastor Echo Community Church 21 N. Bonanza Street, Echo OR Nursery provided for all services Sunday School - 9:30 AM Worship - 10:45 AM 6:00 PM Wed Prayer & Worship - 7:00 PM “Proclaiming God’s word, growing in God’s grace” Phone: (541) 376-8108 Sunday School • 9:30am Worship • 10:45am Children’s Church • 11:15am Potluck & Communion ~ First Sunday of the Month Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church NEW BEGINNINGS 565 W. HERMISTON AVE. ~ N ew Patients Welcome~ side and was dragged for about 30 yards. Stokoe stayed to help Gill, and the suspects escaped. Gill got 15 to 20 stitches at Good Shepherd Medical Center where medical staff also removed glass from his skin before releasing him. Police Chief Jason Edmiston said Gill would return to work Wednesday. Police found the vehi- cle, which contained stolen tools and electronics from a burglary outside the city, according to Studebaker. The Morrow County Sheriff’s Office on Sat- urday afternoon arrested Madrigal and booked her into the Umatilla County Jail on car theft and van- dalism charges. “We are still trying to locate Nathan Olney,” Studebaker said. “We believe that he is armed, and we are asking the pub- lic to call 911 or 541-567- 5519 if they have informa- tion about his location.” DAILY MASS: Monday-Friday ...............................English 7:00 am Thursday...............Spanish 6:00 pm SATURDAY:.........English 5:00 pm ...............................Spanish 7:00 pm SUNDAY:..............English 9:00 am ..........................Bilingual 11:00 am ..............................Spanish 1:00 pm Offi ce..............................567-5812 First Christian Church “Proclaiming the Message of Hope, Living the Gospel of Love” Sunday School 9:15am Worship Gathering 10:30 am Children’s Church 10:30 am 567-3013 775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP Worship Service 10:30 AM Sunday School 9:00 AM Pastor J.C. Barnett Children’s Church & Nursery Available 700 West Orchard Avenue P.O. Box 933 Hermiston, Oregon 541-567-8441 The Full Gospel Home Church 235 SW 3rd Phone 567-7678 Rev. Ed Baker - Rev. Nina Baker Sunday: Sunday School........10:00 am Worship...................11:00 am Evening Service........7:00 pm Wednesday Service..7:00 pm “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Pet. 5:7 St. Johns Episcopal Church Join Us On Our Journey With Jesus. Scripture, Tradition and Reason Family service 9am Sunday N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston t. PH: 567-6672 We are an all inclusive Church who welcomes all. 1520 W ORCHARD AVE Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am Classes for Kids @ 9:15 am SEEKING JESUS, SHARING LIFE, SERVING PEOPLE www.hermistonnazarene.org To share your worship times call 541-278-2678
