CLINIC LEADER WON'T BE TRIED FOR TRESPASS

Criminal charges will not be pursued against the proprietor of a nationally
recognized North Portland health clinic, the Yamhill County district
attorney's office said Wednesday.

Mariah Taylor was cited Aug. 24 for criminal trespass after refusing to
leave the Sheridan Correctional Facility. Prison officials ordered Taylor
to leave the grounds after a drug-detection device called an ion tracker
indicated she had tested positive.

Taylor, who was at the facility to visit her incarcerated son, had been
scheduled to appear in court on the accusation Sept. 10.

Brad Berry, Yamhill County district attorney, said he decided not to
prosecute the case for several reasons. Those included Taylor's lack of
criminal history, the minor nature of the alleged offense, Taylor's
"emotional rather than malicious" response at the prison and wishes by
Warden Robert Hood that the case not proceed.

Tom Markgraf, senior staff adviser to Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.,
contacted Berry's office on Taylor's behalf. He praised the decision to
halt criminal charges but said a larger review was still needed of the ion
tracker, which has drawn criticism from civil liberties groups across the
country.

Taylor has won numerous honors and awards since founding the North Portland
Nurse Practitioner Community Health Clinic more than 20 years ago. The
clinic has provided health care to an estimated 18,000 children from its
office on North Vancouver Avenue.