“We’re going to ask for alliances with Milton-Freewater, Pendleton and all the surrounding communities,” said Dorothy Werttemberger, an organizer with Enough is Enough. “We’re in hopes that we can get everybody together.”

Citing statistics that say 64 percent of violent sexual offenders will repeat, typically within a 30-mile radius from their residence, Werttemberger said the matter should be of concern to local communities, which have so far been relatively quiet.

The city of Walla Walla has already filed a lawsuit against the Washington Department of Social and Health Services, claiming that state procedures were not followed in the selection of the Walla Walla site.

Werttemberger said her group expects to file its own lawsuit next month following a Wednesday meeting at which anonymous individuals have promised to contribute toward retaining an attorney to bring the suit.

“We believe this a sham,” she said. “We are prepared to do whatever it takes to stop this.”

Pendleton City Manager Larry Lehman said he would be willing to meet with the group and listen to members’ concerns, although it was too early for him to state the position the city would take.

The residents of the house, scheduled to open adjacent to the state prison, will be inmates who have completed mental health treatment at the state’s McNeil Island Correctional Facility but are deemed too dangerous to live without supervision.

Milton-Freewater council member Dennis Widmer said it was a difficult situation for both the state and cities, as the state wants to move people it claims are rehabilitated into less-restrictive environments, while the residents of the proposed locations do not want them.

“It’s a problem that needs to be addressed,” Widmer said. “A lot of people say, ‘it’s a great idea, just not in my backyard.’”

Widmer did say the Council may discuss the issue at its first meeting next year, and it was possible that the council may write a letter of objection to the halfway house proposal.

Ruben Bybee, of Enough is Enough, said Oregon city leaders could expect to start hearing from his group shortly.

“We may make the initial contact before the beginning of the year,” Bybee said. “We’re completely open to working with any community.”

The group has also made a point of mentioning the three-strikes law in Washington and how offenders with two felonies could be spared from a lifetime sentence with no parole by committing their crimes in Oregon.