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38 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, March 8, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 2, 2005 Incident focuses mental health debate Buckley recalls McGowan’s fight in aftermath of Capitol intruder; Bates calls for state action By DON JEPSEN for the Mail Tribune SALEM — Like others in the Capitol on Monday, Rep. Peter Buckley watched the drama unfold when a deranged man stormed into the Senate chambers and threatened to kill himself. Boyd Owens, 54, of Salem, eventually surrendered peacefully and subsequently was accused of criminal mischief, menacing and disorderly conduct. But the incident stirred painful memories of Buckley’s friend, Ashland artist and activist Joanie McGowan — a victim of mental illness who took her own life on Jan. 6. "I don’t think anybody except her very close friends saw how intense a struggle she was going through," the first-term Ashland Democrat recalled Tuesday. He said McGowan fell through the cracks of the mental health system. "We have a hard time living with that," Buckley said. Advertisement The takeover of the Senate chambers by Owens came the same day the Oregon chapter of NAMI, formerly the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, was at the Capitol to seek better state support for programs addressing mental illnesses. Delegates also lobbied for legislation requiring health insurance policies to provide benefits for mental illness equal to those for physical illnesses or injuries. Similar legislation introduced in 2003 by former Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland, died in the Ways and Means Committee after private insurers opposed it. Maybe, Buckley said, people like McGowan and others could get quicker treatment if relatives and friends were more aware of the symptoms through programs like that on display in the Capitol. "Because Joanie was larger than life," Buckley said, "her friends early on figured she was acting out, and we should ignore her." "It wasn’t until things got increasingly serious that we started to say, ‘What’s going on here?’ " he said. Sen. Alan Bates, D-Ashland, said the incident in the Senate chamber — "the intensity of the moment" — may have brought home to a lot of legislators the need for parity in mental health coverage. "If that doesn’t drive home that we have a major problem in this country, I don’t know what does," said Bates, a physician. He predicted Monday’s dramatic standoff with Owens would have an impact on mental health funding. "I think parity is the way to go because so much in health care is driven by not taking care of these issues," said Bates, who serves on the health and human services subcommittee of Ways and Means. Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, chairs the health subcommittee which is struggling to stretch scarce resources for a number of health and social service programs. He said the process of developing a budget will be a deliberate one. It will include extensive hearings and priority recommendations from state social service agencies, followed by a determination of how much money is available and finally reviewing recommendations with the two Ways and Means co-chairs before a budget is adopted. "At the end of the process we will set the budget," said Richardson. He said the incident on Monday "will have no effect either way." Buckley said he strongly supports the parity bill, saying that might have helped McGowan in her struggle with the bipolar disorder. He remembered her fondly during an interview. McGowan often showed up at political rallies for Democratic candidates and causes — including most of Buckley’s. About 600 people crowded her memorial service on Jan. 17. Buckley was among those eulogizing the actress and longtime Geppetto’s Restaurant waitress. "Joanie’s attitude was that politics is about making people’s lives better, and making it better right now," Buckley said Tuesday. "She was larger than life, and a good friend," he added. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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