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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 2016)
HOMER IN 10TH LIFTS MARINERS TWO JACKPOT Idaho possible WINNERS IN site for nuclear TWO MONTHS waste storage BASEBALL/1B 58/39 HERMISTON/5A NORTHWEST/2A THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 140th Year, No. 129 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD UMATILLA-MORROW HEALTH ASSESSMENT REPORT Diagnosis: Still unhealthy By JENNIFER COLTON East Oregonian Residents of Umatilla and Morrow counties weigh too much, exercise too little, overuse alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs, and feel worse than the\ did ¿ ve \ears ago, according to a community health survey released this week. Last year, more than 800 residents of Umatilla and Morrow counties responded to the Umatilla-Morrow Counties Community Health Assess- ment Report, a mail-in survey collecting data on health of local residents. Sponsored by a slew of local entities, including Good Shepherd Health Care System and St. Anthony Hospital, the survey was conducted by researchers at the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio and the University of Toledo. Britney Ward, director of community health improvement for the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio, presented the results of the survey Wednesday in both Pendleton and Milton-Freewater. Ward and Ron Harwood, health assessment chair and director of mission services for St. Anthony Hospital, will host events Thursday in Boardman and Friday in Hermiston. During the release events, attendees view a presentation on the results, receive a copy of the 122-page report and are able to ask ques- tions and provide feedback on the results. The next steps will include choosing priority health concerns and developing initiatives to help combat them. Harwood said a similar study was conducted in Umatilla County in 2011, but the current study will allow local stake- holders to compare data with Morrow and Union counties, both of which conducted similar studies under Ward’s group. “When it comes to preven- tion, one of the key things is that you get groups to work together,” he said. “What I have seen in the last four to ¿ ve years is that is happening.” For the 2015 study, 2,400 surveys were sent out to residents of Umatilla and Morrow coun- ties. About 38 percent of those surveys were returned. Targeted studies were also conducted in tandem with Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center to study health of the American Indian population in Umatilla County and with Hispanic community groups for targeted surveys on residents of Hispanic heritage. Information 13 percent of adults are tobacco smokers PENDLETON City may lift ban on EOCI work crews By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian EO fi le photo 36 percent of adults are obese 38 percent of adults are overweight AP Photo/David Duprey, File 21 percent of adults do not participate in any physical activities or exercise EO fi le photo on each of those groups is included in the spiral-bound report, and information on speci¿ c areas of Umatilla and Morrow County — the greater Hermiston area compared to the greater Pendleton area, for example — will be released separately. Ward said the report showed both positive and negative trends for the area. The greatest positive change from 2011 to 2015 came in the form of insurance. In 2011, 16 percent of adults in Umatilla County self-reported as unin- sured. In 2015, that number had fallen to 8 percent, well below Oregon’s average of 11 percent and the U.S. average of 13 percent. The greatest negative change between the reports, however, was a drop of 17 percent in respondents’ perception of their own health. In 2011, 53 percent of Umatilla residents rated their health as “very good” or “excellent.” However, in 2015, that number fell to 38 percent. In 2011, 15 percent of Umatilla County residents rated their See HEALTH/8A The Pendleton City Council is set to reconsider a nearly 20-year-old ban on Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution work crews working in Pendleton. EOCI Superintendent Jeri Taylor pitched the idea to a receptive city council at a workshop Tuesday. The city signed an agreement with EOCI prohibiting inmates from working outside prison grounds in 1987, a few years after the former mental institution was converted to a state prison. EOCI was the ¿ rst state prison located outside the Salem area and Mayor Phillip Houk said citizens at the time had public safety concerns about inmates leaving the facility to work, spurring the ban. Taylor argued that how EOCI selects inmates for work crews has come a long way since 1987 and they’re doing bene¿ - cial work across the state. See EOCI/8A LA GRANDE Two students arrested in attack plot Parents fully cooperating with the investigation By JOSH BENHAM La Grande Observer Two La Grande High School students are in juvenile custody, held on charges of conspiracy to commit murder after an alleged threat against students at the school. La Grande Police Department Chief Brian Harvey said Wednesday that the department received second-hand infor- mation from La Grande High School staff Monday night regarding students who discussed potentially harming others. Harvey said the youth were identi¿ ed and kept out of school Tuesday, initially being taken into custody on charges of disorderly conduct. “We go through an exhaustive process to see if (the threats were) credible,” Harvey said. “We started working (Tuesday) morning, and based on that investigation, these two youth had talked about doing a See STUDENTS/8A California transplant asks Oregonians to pay for him to leave By LUKE HAMMILL The Oregonian PORTLAND — Daniel Bullington is challenging Oregonians who complain about Californian transplants to put their money where their mouths are. Bullington, 29, of West Linn, arrived in Oregon from Southern California about 18 months ago, seeking “the promise of green pastures,” he said. He found a job selling cars. He and his wife had a baby daughter, who is now 15 months old. But what Bullington “Oregonians are not keen on Californians. It’s clearly apparent.” — Daniel Bullington didn’t expect, he said, was the attitude some in Oregon displayed toward Californians like him. So he created a GoFundMe page, and if he raises $3,500, he’ll move back to the Golden State, he said. Oregon is “a beautiful See OREGON/8A New hotel under construction Staff photo by E.J. Harris A construction worker hands a tool up to a coworker Monday out of an unfi nished window of the Holiday Inn Express that is under construction in Hermiston.
