REGION
TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022
THE OBSERVER — A3
Tribes lift mask mandate within CTUIR boundaries
By JILL-MARIE GAVIN
Confederated Umatilla Journal
MISSION — The Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Res-
ervation Board of Trustees voted
last week to end the mask mandate
on the reservation eff ective no later
than Friday, March 11, at 4 p.m.
The move came Monday, Feb.
28, the same day Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown announced Oregon, Cal-
ifornia and Washington would
lift mandates simultaneously at
11:59 p.m. March 11. According
to a press release from CTUIR,
the vote followed the recom-
mendation of Yellowhawk Tribal
Health Center as the public health
authority for the tribes. And the
mask mandate could end sooner if
Yellowhawk gives the OK.
The board of trustees, however,
split on the vote.
Board Vice Chair Aaron Ashley,
Secretary Sally Kosey and mem-
bers-at-large Toby Patrick, Boots
Pond and Lisa Ganuelas voted in
favor of rescinding the mask man-
date, which has been in eff ect since
Aug. 13, 2021.
Board Treasurer Sandra
Sampson and member-at-large
Corinne Sams voted against the
polled resolution.
Sampson said she voted no
based on the unavailability of vac-
cines for children age 6 months to
4 years.
“I wanted to see it extended to
at least May 15 when kids have
opportunity to get vaccinated,”
she said. “They are our most vul-
nerable population when it comes
to the omicron and delta variants
of COVID. All of Eastern Oregon
is still less than 49% vaccinated.”
The resolution ending the mask
mandate states the board will con-
tinue to fund COVID-19 screeners
to monitor for signs and symp-
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
A sign advises employees they must be wearing masks at an employee entrance to Wildhorse Resort & Casino, Mission, on Friday, June 5, 2020. The Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees voted in late February 2022 to end the mask mandate on the reservation eff ective no later than Friday, March 11, at 4 p.m.
toms of illness in the Nixyaawii
Governance Center until April 29,
but that date also could be sub-
ject to change. When the mandate
ends, it will be at the discretion
of each entity’s CEO or executive
director on whether they choose
to continue to require masks for
indoor public use.
Interim-Deputy Executive
Director Teara Farrow-Ferman
provided the Confederated Uma-
tilla Journal with a draft memo
from the Offi ce of the Executive
that states: “The state will end
their mask mandate on March
11, 2022, for indoor and outdoor
public settings and schools, how-
ever, state and federal require-
ments, such as those for health
care settings, public transit and
other specialized settings, will
remain in place for a period of
time.”
Masks will remain required for
indoor settings on Kayak Public
Transportation and within the Yel-
lowhawk Tribal Health Center.
Aaron Hines, Yellowhawk chief
executive, did not have a fi rm date
for when the indoor use mandate
would be lifted at the clinic.
Board Chair Kat Brigham, who
did not vote on the polled resolu-
tion, said in a statement: “I trust
the removal of the mask mandate
because it is based on good data and
Yellowhawk’s consistency with the
state. Masks will be removed, but
please continue to follow the guide-
lines that continue to remain in
place. If you would like to continue
to wear your masks, we support you
and your safety measures.”
Two teens fi lmed tossing smoke bombs into Baker County Public Library
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — Three smoke
bomb fi reworks were tossed into
the Baker County Public Library
on Thursday, March 3, causing
an estimated $1,000 in heat and
smoke damage to fl ooring and
furniture.
Security camera videos show
multiple juveniles as potential sus-
pects, said Perry Stokes, director of
the Baker County Library District.
Due to an active investigation,
and the suspects being juveniles,
the district wouldn’t release the
images, Stokes said.
Heather Spry, supervisor of
circulation and operations at the
library, said the fi rst smoke bomb
was thrown into the building
from the front entrance, off Resort
Street, around 5 p.m.
It landed near a table.
The second incident hap-
pened about 15 minutes later, when
someone came in through the
rear entrance, next to the Powder
River, and rolled a smoke bomb
that stopped in the movie section,
melting a section of carpet.
Spry said there was a longer
interval between the second and
fi nal incident, about half an hour.
The third smoke bomb, also
thrown from the rear entrance,
landed beneath a desk in the area
that has multiple card catalog com-
puters, near the shelves holding
new books. The smoke bomb
melted a section of carpet and also
scorched part of the underside of
the desk.
Spry said she called police
after the third incident in hopes of
deterring whoever was responsible.
Smoke bombs create a small
fl ame and emit smoke.
Spry said video from the secu-
rity cameras at the front and rear
entrances both show the same
pair of teenage boys tossing in the
smoke bombs.
She said neither was wearing
any face covering so it should be
possible to identify them.
Stokes said library offi cials
are working with police on the
investigation.
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald
A smoke bomb melted a section of carpet inside the Baker County Public Library,
Baker City, on Thursday, March 3, 2022.
Drone company tests medical 19-year-old in jail for slaying in Milton-Freewater
delivery service in Pendleton
East Oregonian
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — A
customer at the Pendleton
Unmanned Aerial Systems
Range is partnering with the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
and Interpath Laboratory to
test drone-assisted medical
test delivery.
In a Tuesday, Feb. 22,
press release, Spright, an
Arizona UAS company,
announced it was going
to work with both entities
to create a proof-of-con-
cept drone delivery network
between Interpath and the
Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Center on the Umatilla Indian
Reservation. Spright held its
fi rst test fl ight between Pend-
leton and Mission the week
before the press release.
Spright and its part-
ners assert that transfer-
ring delivery services from
vehicles to drones will
allow Interpath to deliver
and receive lab specimens
throughout the day and
off er a greener alternative to
gas-powered cars.
“Many communities
located in remote or rural
areas lack timely and conve-
nient access to essential med-
ical supplies and service,”
Spright President Joe Resnik
said in a statement. “We look
forward to this proof-of-con-
cept, showcasing drone deliv-
ery’s ability to solve many of
health care’s existing access
and effi ciency challenges,
while also improving patient
care and experience.”
In the press release, Inter-
path President Tom Kennedy
added a transition to drones
could help his business save
money while Yellowhawk
CEO Aaron Hines said a suc-
cessful drone program could
improve health care services
for the clinic’s patients.
“If this pilot program is
successful and we are able
to utilize this service, our
patients have the opportunity
to benefi t from more rapid
test results and access fol-
low-up medical procedures
and services,” Hines said.
“This project could help us
further our mission of pro-
viding high-quality, primary
health care for the (CTUIR).”
Spright is a subsidiary of
Colorado aviation company
Air Methods specializing in
emergency patient transport.
MILTON-FREE-
WATER — The Umatilla
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce has
arrested a 19-year-old man
for the shooting death of
another teen that occurred
Saturday, March 5, in
Milton-Freewater.
Manuel Adam Peralez
Jr., of Walla Walla, now is
in the Umatilla County Jail,
Pendleton, on a probable
cause charge of second-de-
gree murder, as well as for
second-degree disorderly
conduct and second-degree
criminal trespass.
The sheriff ’s offi ce in
a press release reported
it received 911 calls on
March 5 at approximately
12:10 a.m. about gun-
shots on the 84000 block
of Yellow Jacket Road,
Milton-Freewater.
Initial reports indicated
two people had been shot.
Umatilla County sher-
iff ’s deputies, together with
Oregon State Police and
Milton-Freewater police,
responded to the scene.
According to the press
release, the investiga-
tion showed people at the
residence left before law
enforcement arrived and
took a gunshot victim to
Providence St. Mary Med-
ical Center, Walla Walla.
Jason Samuel Warner,
18, of Milton-Freewater, had
been shot multiple times by
another male, according to
the sheriff ’s offi ce, after an
altercation during a party at
the residence.
Walla Walla Police
Department and Walla
Walla County Sheriff ’s
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Offi ce responded to the hos-
pital as well. Warner died at
the hospital.
According to the press
release, law enforcement early
in the investigation identifi ed
Peralez as the lone suspect.
Sunday, March 6, at
approximately 11 a.m.,
Peralez walked into the
Milton-Freewater Police
Department, which notifi ed
the Umatilla County Sher-
iff ’s Offi ce.
The sheriff ’s offi ce
working in cooperation with
Umatilla County District
Attorney’s Offi ce, Walla
Walla County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce and the police depart-
ments of Milton-Freewater,
Walla Walla and Pasco were
able to establish probable
cause for Peralez’s arrest.
The investigation is
ongoing.
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