Why Not Wapato?

The year in books Local authors make lists — SEE LIFE, B1 PortlandTUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2015 • TWICE CHOSEN THE NATION’S BEST NONDAILY PAPERTribune • PORTLANDTRIBUNE.COM • PUBLISHED TUESDAY AND THURSDAY WHY NOT WAPATO? Despite questions about using jail as homeless refuge, Multnomah County only interested in selling facility By JIM REDDEN cial, legal, logistical and land-use build and $300,000 a year to The Tribune obstacles. maintain since it was completed “We have seriously studied in 2004. Multnomah County offi cials it,” Kafoury told the Portland “Our goal is to get rid of are rebuffi ng repeated calls to Tribune last week. “If it was just Wapato. It’s a drain on the tax- open the unused Wapato Cor- one or two things, I’d say press papers,” says Multnomah Coun- rectional Institution for home- ahead. But there are too many ty Communications Director less services. hurdles, and the money could be Dave Austin. County Chair Deborah Kaf- better spent creating shelters Others think the county is too TRIBUNE PHOTO: JONATHAN HOUSE oury says there are too many closer to downtown, where the quick to dismiss the idea, how- Multnomah County Facilities Manager Mark Gustafson hurdles to be overcome for using services are.” ever. Recent proposals have moves a serving cart in the large unused kitchen at the 525-bed North Portland facil- In fact, the county is hoping to ranged from using a portion of the never-opened Wapato Corrections Facility. Some ity to house and serve the home- just sell the never-commissioned cooking equipment has been removed over the years. less. She says they include fi nan- facility, which cost $58 million to See WAPATO / Page 2 CHARGES TO BE DROPPED IN ALLEGED ABUSE INVOLVING SURGERIES BY WEHBY Alec Klein, a professor who Doctor, politico no heads the project and is a for- mer investigative reporter for longer caught up in the Washington Post. Prosecutors alleged Parker child medical case “knowingly caused physical injury” to a son and two By NICK BUDNICK daughters with medical pro- The Tribune cedures, including surgeries, that were performed unnec- The Multnomah County essarily due to false state- Shane and Amanda District Attorney’s offi ce is ments made by Parker. They go over a box full of poised to drop charges also accused her of raising based on money with false statements. toys and gift surgeries by The charges involving sur- certifi cates that a Portland geries by Wehby were among donor via Catholic neurosur- the facets of the case chal- Charities sent them, geon Monica lenged by Medill. For in- so their children can Wehby in its stance, in an interview with have a Christmas. prosecution Wehby, detectives told her TRIBUNE PHOTO: of a southern that her surgeries were not JONATHAN HOUSE Oregon mom being questioned. for alleged In all, 13 of the 43 charges medical PARKER against Parker will be dropped, child abuse. according to the project. They Wehby, now a prominent are some of the most serious TIMELY DONATION LIFTS A FAMILY Republican activist, was nev- charges she faces, including er charged in the case. But fi rst-degree assault and crimi- several of her surgeries were nal mistreatment. portrayed as unnecessary in Klein, in an interview, said OFF THE STREETS FOR CHRISTMAS prosecutors’ filings against he understands the case to be Kate Parker of Grants Pass. the fi rst criminal prosecution Wehby’s peripheral involve- of medical child abuse in Ore- After being turned ment drew attention as she gon. He said prosecutors have ran for U.S. Senate against informed Parker’s attorneys away, six people have Jeff Merkley last year. of the plan to drop charges. The Medill Justice Project Chuck Sparks, Chief Deputy a place to sleep tonight on Dec. 23 broke the news of the Multnomah County Dis- that the charges involving trict Attorney’s offi ce, declined hen is a coincidence Wehby will be dropped. The to comment, as did Parker’s not just a coinci- STORY BY project on Dec. 17 published defense lawyer, Lisa Ludwig. dence? SHASTA findings from an investiga- Wehby also declined to W How many coinci- tion of the case conducted by comment, citing federal medi- dences does it take to add up to KEARNS 10 Northwestern University cal privacy law and the ongo- something more? MOORE journalism students led by ing case. Shane and Amanda were down on their luck. The engaged couple — who between them have four children ranging in age from 7 to 11 — had been living out of their van ever since leaving Grants Pass three months ago. Shane, who de- Big OHSU bonuses clined to give his last name, says he TRIBUNE PHOTO: JONATHAN HOUSE “I never is still “neck deep” in a divorce over Amanda holds Shane’s hands as he describes his family’s ordeal with living out of thought what he calls a domestic violence a van for months. follow year of deals situation. that this He worries most about what this Government agency after govern- “The shelter system here in Port- would The hefty compensation is doing to the kids — some of ment agency. They don’t fi t in any of land is horrendous,” she says. President gets nearly numbers highlight the ten- whom have special needs. the boxes. “There’s not really much we can do happen $400,000 perk for sion between OHSU’s status “We’ve spent everything that we Molly O’Donnell, program direc- but wait.” to us. I as a public entity and its in- had just to keep going,” Shane says, tor at Catholic Charities on South- Shane, Amanda and their four meeting milestones creasingly aggressive efforts noting that the couple skips meals east Powell Boulevard, talked to the kids would be homeless for Christ- would like to compete in an industry at times when their children don’t couple on Friday, Dec. 18. mas. to think By NICK BUDNICK dominated by nonpublic have enough to eat. “The babies “Frankly, when they came to us, that I had The Tribune health systems and insurers. come fi rst in everything.” their biggest presenting need was A woman’s vision Portland’s largest employ- Shane, a military veteran and food,” O’Donnell says. Tara was visiting with her dad a better Oregon Health & Science er, OHSU’s recent publicity erstwhile construction worker, says Catholic Charities has programs one day when she was struck by plan put University paid six top ex- has centered on its success he has had to learn to just breathe. for pregnant women, immigrants, how much she had. ecutives a combined $1 mil- raising $500 million — includ- “Being homeless kinda makes homeless women and refugees, The Troutdale woman, who de- together lion in bonuses this year — ing $200 million from the state you look at life way differently,” among others. clined to give her last name, says for the just months after success- — to invest in cancer research says Shane, who is unemployed. “I “They didn’t really fi t into those she was thinking a lot about the fully raising $1 billion for and trigger matching funds never thought that this would hap- categories, if you will,” O’Donnell plight of some people in Africa and future.” beefed-up cancer research. from Nike co-founder Phil pen to us. I would like to think that says. So she, like many social work- in the Middle East and comparing it — Shane, OHSU President Joe Rob- Knight and his wife, Penny. I had a better plan put together for ers before her, regretfully turned to the new house she just moved father of four ertson was the big winner. His But another transformation the future. I really didn’t see that them away. into, and the old house in Wood Vil- bonus of $396,447 came on top has been going on as well. curve ball.” O’Donnell put them on a waiting lage that her young family was of a yearly salary of more than In 1995, state lawmakers Shane and his fi ancee say they list for a family shelter, but the ma- planning to rent out. $1 million, as well as earnings converted OHSU from a state were turned away from charity af- jority of shelter space in Portland is from OHSU clinical enterprise ter charity. Program after program. reserved for singles. See ADOPT / Page 3 of more than $150,000. See OHSU / Page 3 “Pamplin Media Group’s pledge is to Portland Tribune deliver balanced news that re ects the PICKING A WINNER stories of our communities. Thank you — SEE SPORTS, PAGE B1 for reading our newspapers.” Inside — DR. ROBERT B. PAMPLIN JR. OWNER & NEIGHBOR A2 NEWS The Portland Tribune Tuesday, December 29, 2015 Wapato: Clean, dry alternative to streets? n From page 1 the facility as an emergency shelter to opening all of it as a comprehensive homeless services center staffed by nonprof- it providers. In a Dec. 22 column in the Portland Tribune, Portland Business Alliance Chair Mitch Hornecker suggested opening part of the facility to the homeless and seeing what happens. “Maybe we should overcome every ‘no,’ open part of Wapato, and see if some homeless Port- landers will voluntarily choose a safe, dry and sanitary place over another night in a tent in a temporary camp,” Hornecker wrote. Hornecker isn’t alone. The idea also is supported by busi- nesses in the North Park Blocks, where conflicts with homeless campers escalated into a crisis over the summer. Area business owner Michelle Cardinal says opening Wapato as a shelter would allow the city to enforce its anti-camping restrictions again.

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