BUSINESS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
First phase of Wheatridge now online
Oregon Health
Authority releases
weekly workplace
outbreak report
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
The Oregon Health
Authority’s weekly report of
outbreaks of COVID-19 for
Dec. 9 shows half of Uma-
tilla and Morrow counties’
current workplace outbreaks
began within two weeks
after Halloween.
Umatilla County Public
Health Director Joe Fiumara
previously stated the area’s
spike in cases in November
was largely spurred by large
Halloween parties with no
social distancing.
In OHA’s weekly report,
outbreaks are reported at
workplaces with at least 30
employees that have had at
least fi ve cases, and includes
employees who tested pos-
itive and close contacts of
those employees, such as
family members.
An outbreak is con-
sidered active until the
site has gone at least 30
days with no new cases,
at which time the work-
place is taken off the list,
and new cases in the future
are considered the start of a
new outbreak.
The outbreaks in Uma-
tilla and Morrow counties
for the Dec. 9 report are as
follows:
• Eastern Oregon Cor-
rectional
Institution,
Pendleton, 554 cases
since June 24
• Lamb Weston East,
Boardman, 96 cases since
July 13
• Walmart Distribution
Center, Hermiston, 93
cases since June 30
• Good Shepherd Medi-
cal Center, Hermiston, 74
cases since July 16
• Lamb Weston Board-
man Pac Center, Board-
man, 59 cases since July
1
• Shearer’s
Foods,
Hermiston, 16 cases
since Nov. 16
• Smith Frozen Food,
Weston, 16 cases since
Nov. 17
• Marlette
Homes,
Hermiston, 13 cases
since Nov. 16
• Keystone RV, Pendle-
ton, 12 cases since Nov.
16
• Lamb Weston West,
Boardman, 10 cases since
Nov. 9
• Earl Brown and Sons,
Milton-Freewater, nine
cases since Oct. 28
• Walmart, Hermiston,
six cases since Nov. 4
• Pilot Travel Center,
Stanfi eld, fi ve cases since
Nov. 16
OHA also reports out-
breaks linked to nursing
homes and other congregate
care facilities. Outbreaks
listed in its Dec. 9 report
include:
• Avamere at Hermis-
ton, 47 cases and four
deaths since Oct. 26
• Regency Hermiston
Nursing and Rehabili-
tation Center, fi ve cases
since Nov. 7
• Guardian
Angel
Homes, Hermiston, fi ve
cases since Nov. 10
• Cascade
Valley
Assisted Living, Mil-
ton-Freewater,
eight
cases since Nov. 30
For the full outbreaks
report and other statis-
tics from Oregon Health
Authority’s weekly report,
released each Wednesday,
visit govstatus.egov.com/
OR-OHA-COVID-19.
Portland General Electric/Contributed Photo
The wind portion of the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility is now operational.
and adds to our growing
wind generation portfolio.
We deeply appreciate the
partnerships that make the
Wheatridge project pos-
sible, with NextEra and
with the transmission ser-
vices teams at the Bonne-
ville Power Administra-
tion and Umatilla Electric
Cooperative.”
Sen. Ron Wyden praised
the project in a statement,
saying he was happy to
have helped the project
get over hurdles. He said it
will have a “huge benefi t”
in both handling the cli-
mate crisis and generating
jobs in rural Oregon.
Port of Morrow General
Manager Ryan Neal said in
a statement the port’s long-
term partnership with PGE
has created family-wage
jobs for the county, and
Morrow County Commis-
sioner Don Russell said in
a statement the county was
pleased to be playing a role
in providing clean energy
for Oregonians.
“Projects like Wheat-
ridge
Energy
Facil-
ity provide family-wage
jobs, tax revenue for our
schools and services and
strengthen Morrow Coun-
ty’s position in the region’s
clean energy economy,”
Russell said.
According to the news
release, the wind farm
brings PGE’s wind gen-
eration portfolio up to
more than 1,000 mega-
watts nameplate capac-
ity, “typically generat-
ing enough power to serve
the equivalent of 340,000
homes.” The release said
“up to” 300 jobs were cre-
ated at Wheatridge during
the construction of the
wind phase, and about 174
workers will build the solar
and battery storage phases.
About 10 employees will
operate the site once it is
fi nished.
e
n
Di Local
in
Alive & Well
541-567-0272
Bellinger Farms
541-567-5870
Burger King
541-564-1967
Chen’s Chinese
541-667-8472
Dairy Queen
541-567-6622
Delish Bistro
541-303-9006
Denny’s
541-567-7178
Desert Lanes
541-567-6364
Domino’s Pizza
541-567-4000
El Nopal Mexican Grill
541-567-0385
El Pueblo Bakery
541-564-2519
El Ranchero
541-303-1095
Fortune Gardens
541-564-8512
Golden Palace
541-567-5151
Hale’s Restaurant
541-567-7975
Harkenrider Sr. Ctr.
541-567-3582
Hermiston Drug
541-567-3072
Ixtapa Mexican Rest
541-564-0320
Jack in the Box
541-567-3671
Kobe Hibachi Sushi
541-567-6178
La Palma
541-289-7240
Lawan’s Thai Garden
541-289-8424
Little Caesar’s Pizza
541-567-1697
McDonald’s
541-567-2544
Midway Bar & Grill
541-567-5180
Neighbor Dudes
541-289-2337
Downtown District
Obie’s
541-567-7300
Panaderia Yasmine
541-567-0671
Panda Express
541-848-6189
Panda Inn
541-564-6515
Papa Murphy’s
541-567-6000
Pho Quan
541-701-0676
Pizza Hut
541-567-7177
Quiznos
541-567-5050
Ruty’s Restaurant
541-314-9606
Shiki Steakhouse/Sushi
541-303-1558
Southern Twain
910-733-5829
Subway
541-564-0000
Taco Bell
541-564-4589
HERMISTON
New cases may be result
of Halloween gatherings,
health authorities say
The fi rst phase of the
Wheatridge
Renewable
Energy Facility in Morrow
County is now operational.
The commercial power
generation project, a joint
venture between Portland
General Electric Com-
pany and a subsidiary of
NextEra
Energy
Resources, LLC, came
online Dec. 8. Accord-
ing to a news release from
PGE, the facility is “one of
the fi rst large-scale energy
facilities in the United
States to combine wind,
solar and battery stor-
age resources at a single
location.”
A 300-megawatt wind
farm with 120 turbines was
the fi rst phase of the proj-
ect and is now generating
power. The 50-megawatt
solar farm and 30-megawatt
battery storage are expected
to be operational in 2021.
The project — just
northeast of Lexington —
is part of PGE’s compa-
nywide goal of net zero
greenhouse gas emissions
by 2040.
“Customers want and
expect cleaner, greener
energy sources,” Maria
Pope, PGE president
and CEO, said in a news
release. “This is an excit-
ing step toward completion
of this important resource
Tacos Garcia
541-701-0219
Tacos Nayarit
541-571-7209
Tacos Xavi
541-571-6880
Tacos y Mas
541-289-0228
Taste of Thai
541-567-5700
The Pheasant Bar/Grill
541-567-3022
Trina’s Mexican Food
541-289-8888
USA Subs & Grill
541-567-2260
Veg Out
541-561-9231
Ye Olde Pizza Shoppe
541-567-9066
TEMPORARILY CLOSED
Cozy Corner Tavern
Last Chance Tavern
Nookie’s Restaurant
Rio Express
Shari’s Restaurant
Covid-19 regulations are evolving. Please check with
restaurants for updated information. 12/14/20