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Quick Take
Lookout Eugene-Springfield launches next Thursday, but we felt this story looking at the conditions at Oregon State Hospital, and the death of a Lane County man at the psychiatric facility, could not wait until then to be published.
Sometimes a story just needs to be told. And told now.
That is how we felt when Ben Botkin, our politics and policy correspondent, shared what was happening at Oregon State Hospital in Salem and its connection to Lane County.
Ben received a recording of a meeting between Sejal Hathi, director of the Oregon Health Authority, and senior staff of the psychiatric hospital who were expressing specific concerns about the facility.
The meeting shed an important light on the inner workings of the facility that already faced violations related to three patient deaths in fewer than 12 months.
Then last month, another death. While widely reported, Ben learned an important detail that had not been made public: the victim was Kenneth Hass, a 25-year-old man from Lane County.
Ben confirmed the information and spoke with Hass’s sister, Sierra Hass, who told us the story of a man who had struggles, but also had a kind heart. The siblings were best friends.
This was a story that could not wait until April 10 to share with you. It was a story we didn’t want to wait to share.
For the past several months, Lookout Eugene-Springfield has been building toward our launch, when we can bring new reporting and storytelling to our community.
We are building a team of experienced full-time correspondents who are dedicated to the mission of growing journalism in Eugene and Springfield. We have also brought together a group of experienced contributors including Bob Welch, Mark Baker and Dorcas Smucker who will share their storytelling flair with Lookout readers.
More than 250 of you have already signed up to be Founding Members, joining several civic and marketing partners. We are so grateful for your support.
I am excited for next Thursday, our formal launch day — and every day after. I am energized by the response we have received in the community and for the appetite that exists for more news about this community.
We are excited to tell the stories of Lane County.
Today is a sample of the type of journalism you can expect from Lookout. It is accountability journalism. It is watchdog journalism. It is shedding light on a troubled institution.
It’s an institution where a member of our community, Kenneth Hass, died, alone.
Thank you for supporting Lookout Eugene-Springfield. We look forward to seeing what you think when we launch — for good — next Thursday.
