Portland sex offender clinic may change locations
After facing pressure from local residents, a clinic that provides therapy to sex offenders may move if it can get out of its lease, according to The Oregonian. The Whole Systems clinic’s owner Johneen Manno told the clinic’s Southeast Portland neighbors that, although her lease still had four years left, she would move the clinic if possible.
Since the clinic’s opening in the neighborhood in December 2011, it has caused controversy because of its placement in a residential area with a school and a Boys & Girls Club.
The clinic has contracts with the Multnomah and Clackamas counties to provide counseling to sex offenders. Approximately 60 percent of the clinic’s 200 patients have been convicted of a sexual crime.
Beaverton High’s first freshman homecoming queen dies of cancer
14-year-old Maddie Lauer died of thyroid cancer on Sunday, one month after she beat 11 other Beaverton High School homecoming queen hopefuls to win the title. Lauer was the first freshman in the high school’s history to be crowned homecoming queen, according to The Oregonian.
Students at the high school wore purple ribbons in Lauer’s honor.
Activists and attorneys push for more police reforms
Activists and attorneys are pushing for police bureau reforms to include a restricted use of force, The Oregonian reports. Civil rights attorneys and activists are asking that when the City Council votes on police bureau reforms, it consider clarifying its standard guidelines that state when police officers can use deadly force.
The requested changes include clarifying what an immediate threat which permits officers to use deadly force is, explicitly requiring officers to consider perceived mental illness, limiting police strikes to the neck, throat and head and requiring officers to call emergency medical services when an injury occurs.
Water treatment plant sued
Hillsboro-based water treatment plant Clean Water Services is being fined $4,800 by the DEQ for exceeding chlorine requirements. The violation lasted for less than an hour on Aug. 22, but doubled the 24-hour average of chlorine allowed under the plant’s contract, according to The Oregonian.
Although the violation time was short, officials are saying the effects were substantial, as it occurred during a time of low river flow and a small amount of chlorine could be very toxic.
Portland’s Dougy Center receives more than $10,000
The Dougy Center, a Portland clinic that provides free support for grieving families, has received a check for $10, 478 from the proceeds of the 2012 Regence Grand Floral Walk.
The walk was put on by Regence BlueCross BlueShield and the Rose Festival. Approximately 2,000 people walked 4.2 miles in the June fundraiser, according to The Oregonian.