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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 4, 2018)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 4, 2018 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 LOCAL County steps up for mentally ill By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER Umatilla County is step- ping up to reduce the num- ber of mentally ill people in the county jail. Commissioner George Murdock said mental illness is a major concern nation- wide and Umatilla County is no different. “We have way too many people in jail suffering from mental illness,” he said. To help take on the prob- lem, the county board of commissioners is adopt- ing the Stepping Up Ini- tiative, a national program to get county officials to work with law enforcement, judges, district attorneys and treatment providers to divert people with mental illness from jails and into treatment. The National Asso- ciation of Counties, The Council of State Govern- ments Justice Center and the American Psychiat- ric Association Founda- tion launched the initiative in May 2015. According to stepuptogether.org, the ini- tiative’s website, 449 coun- ties nationwide participate with 19 in Oregon, includ- ing Sherman, Gilliam and Union counties. Murdock said the reso- lution to step into Stepping Up acknowledges the men- tal health situation the coun- try faces: •Two million people with serious mental illness end up in jails each year across the nation. •Jail populations have three to six times as many adults suffering from seri- ous mental illness as the general population. •Adults with mental ill- ness who go to jail tend to have longer stays and a higher rate of re-offending than people without mental illness. Sheriff Terry Rowan ear- lier this year sought $1 mil- lion from the Legislature to renovate the jail to accom- modate inmates with mental health issues. The state did not fund the investment. Under this new call to action, the county promises to take several steps to tackle the crisis, from setting up a team to address safe reduc- tion in jail to tracking data on the mentally ill coming into jail, as well as identi- fying local and state policy and funding barriers to treat- ment and to sharing what it learns with other counties. Rowan said he supports Stepping Up, but there may be a practical limit on its effectiveness. “The only concern I have is resources available to the population to go to this,” he said. “That’s what we seem to have to battle against day in and day out.” Much of what Stepping Up strives to achieve, he said, aligns with the goals of Oregon’s Justice Reinvest- ment Act, which provides state funding for local pro- grams to reduce the prison population, hold offend- ers accountable, cut back on offenders committing new crimes and increasing the public safety. Rowan said more Oregon coun- ties adopting the initiative could create a tipping point for state lawmakers to take notice and create a behav- ioral reinvestment program. Murdock also advocates for that approach. The state in 2014 shut down the Blue Mountain Recovery Cen- ter, a psychiatric facility in Pendleton, but did not estab- lish a new one. He said the Justice Reinvestment Act is a model that works well and it cost effective. “If the state would make a companion mental health reinvestment initiative, I think that would make huge inroads for us,” he said. The county commission- ers vote on the Stepping Up Initiative when they meet Tuesday starting at 9 a.m. at the courthouse in Pendleton. Lorence honored as Administrator of the Year PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY HEIDI SIPE Distracted driving could add up to jail time Bob Lorence shows off his Administrator of the Year award in Seaside. ored June 22 in Sea- side by the Oregon Small School Association. In a copy of his acceptance speech provided by USD, he called his time at the high school the most chal- lenging and rewarding of his career, and said he had felt honored recently to be able to present high school diplomas to the students that he once wel- comed to McNary Heights Elementary School as kindergartners. HERMISTON HERALD By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER Penalties for using your phone while driving started adding up on Sunday — in some cases all the way up to possible jail time for repeat offenders. While Oregon’s new, stricter distracted driving law went into effect last October, drivers had a grace period where offenses were dealt with individually. Now, the fines will get big- ger with each offense after July 1. “If it’s not enough encouragement to think you might contribute to a crash, think that the police might be out specifically look- ing for people using their phones, and the dollars can add up,” said Oregon Department of Transporta- tion spokesperson Shelley Snow. A first offense not con- tributing to a crash is a Class B violation with a fine of up to $1,000. A second offense, or first offense contribut- ing to a crash, is a Class A violation with a fine of up to $2,000. Three offenses within 10 years ramps up to a Class B misdemeanor — meaning a fine of up to $2,500, a criminal record and a possible penalty of up to 6 months in jail. Drivers under 18 can’t use any electronic devices while driving, even if they are hands-free. Adults can PHOTO ILLUSTRATION New laws that went into effect with the new year include stiffer penalties for texting while driving. use hands-free devices but cannot use any function on a phone or other electronic device like a tablet that requires holding or touch- ing the device beyond a sin- gle touch to activate. The rules include drivers who are stopped at a traffic sig- nal or stuck in stand-still traffic. A few exemptions apply, including drivers making a 911 call during an emer- gency and profession- als such as bus drivers and ambulance drivers who are acting in the scope of their employment. ODOT reported that this year an unofficial tally shows Oregon has had 172 traffic fatalities so far, up 17.8 percent from this time last year. From 2012-2016, according to the depart- ment, Oregon saw 10,814 crashes involving a dis- tracted driver, including 70 fatalities. “Distracted driving is an epidemic in Oregon, and the consequences can be deadly,” Troy E. Costales, Transportation Safety Divi- sion administrator, said in a statement. “Everyone using the transportation system – drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians alike – should put away the distractions when traveling to help elim- inate these tragedies.” DENTAL Itsuratce Physiciats Mutual Itsuratce Compaty A less expetsive way to help get the dettal care you deserve If you’re over 50, you can get coverage for about No wait for preventive care and no deductibles – $1 a day* you could get a checkup tomorrow Keep your own dentist! You can go to any dentist Coverage for over 350 procedures including you want cleanings, exams, fi llings, crowns…even dentures Umatilla High School Principal Bob Lorence has been named 2018 Admin- istrator of the Year by the Oregon Small School Association. Lorence has worked for Umatilla School District for 27 years, starting out as an elementary school principal, and has been UHS principal since 2016. 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