Thirty-four months after Oregon voters decriminalized hard drugs with Measure 110 (and three months after legislators rolled back major provisions of the unpopular law), money from Measure 110 is fueling a transformation in Harney County. More than one, in fact. “We think we have a really good idea with Late to arrive, money from the controversial law now funds a mix of recovery programs around the state including Burns’ Fresh Start Cafe. But progress remains slow and data and accountability lag. BY GARRETT ANDREWS | PHOTOS BY JASON E. KAPLAN Funding from Measure 110 Fuels a Transformation in Harney County this, and we think we’re going to be able to impact a lot of people,” says Chris Siegner, director of Symmetry Care, Harney County’s lone behavioral health clinic, which recently unveiled a novel client-based business in downtown Burns: the Fresh Start Cafe. Perhaps the most obvious change is to the building itself. Constructed in 1920 at 195 North Broadway Avenue, the space was originally a general store called Smith’s Market. Then in 1955, it became a family-owned Chinese restaurant, which is what it was for most of its history, though the family in question turned over several times. “They love their Chinese food here, which maybe you wouldn’t expect,” says Chelan Thissell-Armstrong, whose great-grandfather owned Smith’s Market. “For a lot of ranchers, it was a weekend treat.” In 2022 Ping and John Lei retired and 26
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