REGION
Friday, July 22, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Retired Hermiston ire chief Pat Hart shows off some
of his photography prints for sale at a reception at
the Hermiston Public Library.
Former ire chief’s
photography on
display at library
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
After
trading
his
ire chief’s uniform for
Hawaiian shirts in May
2014, Pat Hart hasn’t
slowed down much.
“Retirement’s great, but
I’m still pretty busy,” he
said.
The former Herm-
iston Fire & Emergency
Services chief was at the
Hermiston Public Library
on Thursday, answering
questions
about
his
photography on display
there through the end of
the month.
Hart said he has done
a senior portrait or two in
the past, but his great love
is landscape photography.
His computer currently
has 46,000 pictures on it,
he said, and while quite a
few are personal snapshots
of his four grandchildren,
thousands more feature
wheat ields, trees, water-
falls and lighthouses.
“I’ve got pictures from
all over the country, from
the East Coast to the West
Coast,” Hart said.
He said the beauty of
digital photography is that
he can take 20 shots of
an interesting tree to get
just the right angle, but
the downside is he’s not
always very good about
deleting the excess shots.
Banner Bank commis-
sioned Hart to take the
photographs featured in
their Hermiston lobby, and
Hart’s shot of Hermiston’s
welcome sign hangs in
Rep. Greg Smith’s ofice.
He said others have asked
for a photo of a certain
size to hang in their living
room, or commissioned
a picture of a speciic
landmark that has special
meaning to them, and he’s
happy to do them all.
Hart participates in
Hermiston’s photography
club, which meets at the
library at 5:30 the second
Tuesday of every month to
head out and shoot photos
at a chosen location,
sharing tips and construc-
tive critiques as they go.
“I love talking about
photography,” he said.
“Any time someone wants
to chat about photography,
I’d love to grab a coffee
with them.”
Examples of his prints
for sale can be found at
www.hartphoto.shutterly.
com or he can be reached
at 541-571-3062 or hart-
photo@machmedia.net.
When Hart isn’t busy
taking photos, traveling
or spending time with
his
grandchildren
in
Olympia and Virginia,
he has been working on
writing Morrow County’s
emergency management
plan, after doing Umatilla
County’s last year.
He said he has also been
helping out Umatilla Fire
District 1. He does miscel-
laneous projects, including
some IT work with the
phones and computers,
and helped campaign
for the ballot measure
combining Hermiston and
Stanield’s ire districts
this year. When he retired
he talked with current ire
chief Scott Stanton about
possibly shooting some
photos of ires that the
district was ighting, but so
far he is enjoying not being
on call and so has left that
to the department’s current
employees.
“When I handed my
badge over to Scott I
turned my pager off and I
haven’t turned it on since,”
he said.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at
jmcdowell@eastore-
gonian.com or 541-564-
4536.
Umatilla rural ire chief drives
new engine cross-country
By ALEXA LOUGEE
East Oregonian
A good road trip lends
itself to plenty of Facebook
posts. The newly minted
Umatilla Rural Fire Protec-
tion District ire chief,
Steve Potts, is driving
across the country in the
district’s new ire engine
and posting the road trip
on Facebook. His posts
read like a captain’s log
with updates from places
like Florida, Georgia and
Tennessee. On Tuesday,
July 19 Potts wrote from
Ocala, Fla., “The scenery
here is quite green and
when it ‘rains’ as they call
it here, it’s serious. Not
like the drizzles we get at
home.”
In November 2015,
Umatilla voters narrowly
passed a general obliga-
tion bond of $1.8 million
to assist in purchasing
updated ire safety equip-
ment for the district’s
volunteer ire ighters and
buying new ire engines.
The newest addition to
the ire district’s arsenal is
a pumper ire engine built
by Pierce Manufacturing in
Bradenton, Fla. A pumper
truck carries hoses, water
and tools to a ire and is
equipped with a pump
that pushes the water out.
By lying to Florida and
driving the new engine
back to Oregon, Potts said
the district is saving about
$4,000 in delivery fees.
Along for the ride is
Potts’ adult son Tyler. Tyler
graduated from Umatilla
High School in 2007 and
entered the Air Force.
The elder Potts said he
was looking forward to
spending time with his son
on the eight-day journey
home to Umatilla. That
journey will take them
through Missouri, South
Dakota and into Montana,
where the Potts men will
visit with family and pay
their own expenses.
Potts believes the new
ire truck, along with other
planned purchases, will
improve the protection
of residents living within
the Umatilla Rural Fire
District and its corps of
volunteer ireighters.
Potts hopes that by
sharing the adventure on
Facebook he can honor his
volunteers and bring them
in some way along for the
ride. The district’s new
chief and its new engine
are set to arrive home early
next week. The community
can follow along on the
district’s Facebook page.
Final Days
Saager’s Shoe Shop
Up to 50% Off
Milton-Freewater, OR
Thrill of the chase
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A pair of fox squirrels chase each
other across Southwest 41st Street on
Thursday in Pendleton.
Search and rescue adds 16 special deputies
By ALEXA LOUGEE
East Oregonian
Umatilla
County
is
strengthening relationships
across state lines.
Last weekend search
and rescue teams from
Walla Walla County came
to Umatilla County for a
joint training mission. Walla
Walla County search and
rescue members can often
reach areas of Oregon before
their compatriots in Umatilla
County can.
The Tiger Creek area
in northeastern Umatilla
County is one area where
teams often respond. It is a
popular outdoor recreation
site that attracts hunters,
snowmobilers, hikers and
ATV riders. Umatilla County
Sheriff Terry Rowan said it
is often faster for Umatilla
search and rescue to drive
through the city of Walla
Walla and then over to Tiger
Creek.
In 2015 Walla Walla
County assisted on missions
in Oregon 25 times. Umatilla
County assisted in Wash-
ington three times.
While the teams have
worked together in the past,
there have been some legal
gray areas that the sheriffs
from both counties wanted
to address. One concern
from an organizational
standpoint was who had
authority
during
these
missions. Another concern
was whether Washington
Photo Courtesy of Umatilla County Sheriff’s Ofice
Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan swears in members of the Walla Walla County
Search and Rescue team as special deputies for search and rescue activities.
volunteers were covered
under their state safety
plan when operating within
Oregon borders.
To
mitigate
these
concerns, Sheriff Rowan,
in cooperation with Walla
Walla County Sheriff John
Turner, used the training
opportunity to swear in 16
members of the Walla Walla
County Sheriff’s Ofice as
special deputies in Umatilla
County.
A bulk of both SAR teams
are volunteers that complete
a high volume of training.
Over the course of three
days, both teams worked
BRIEFLY
Alzheimer’s
group cancels July
meeting
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston Area Alzheimer
Support Group will not
meet in July.
The group, which
regularly meets the fourth
Monday of each month,
will resume in August.
The upcoming meeting is
Monday, Aug. 22 at 5:30
p.m. in the pavilion at
Good Shepherd Medical
Center, 610 N.W. 11th St.,
Hermiston.
For more information,
call Cathy Lloyd at
458-206-6337.
Programs focus on
aging population
HERMISTON — A
pair of free trainings on the
topics of depression and
suicide prevention in older
adults, and responding to
dementia-related behaviors,
are being offered through
Good Shepherd Medical
Center.
The 3 Ds: Depression,
Delirium & Dementia
is Tuesday from 8 a.m.
to noon in the hospital’s
Conference Room No.
1, 610 N.W. 11th St.,
Hermiston. It’s a remote
site live broadcast with Dr.
Patrick Arbore, director
of the Center for Elderly
Suicide Prevention and
Grief Related Services, a
program of the Institute on
Aging in San Francisco.
For more information
or to register, visit http://
events.signup4.com/the3ds.
Understanding and
Responding to Dementia-
Related Behavior
is presented by the
Alzheimer’s Association. It
is Tuesday from 6-7:30 p.m.
in the education department
at Good Shepherd.
Learn to decode
behavioral messages,
identify common behavior
triggers and learn strategies
to help intervene with
some of the most common
behavioral challenges of
Alzheimer’s disease.
For more information
or to register, call 800-272-
3900.
on a variety of search and
rescue methods including
training using ropes from
a high angle and searches
using canines, ATVs and
horses.
“The keys is for these
teams to maintain a high
level of readiness,” said
former Walla Walla County
Undersheriff and FBI agent
Eddie Freyer. “Keeping
teams engaged through
training
and
exercises
ensures that they are
prepared for when they are
needed.” Freyer is currently
afiliated with the California
Peace Oficer Standards and
Training and helped set up
the weekend’s mock search
and rescue mission.
In the mock mission, the
teams searched for a missing
mother and son. The search
evolved into a crime scene
providing the teams with a
variety of training for real-
life scenarios.
Sheriff Rowan hopes
that with the addition of the
special deputies from Wash-
ington, response times to
missions in the mountainous
northern area of Umatilla
County will decrease while
ultimately increasing efi-
ciency.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
FRIDAY, JULY 22
SUNDAY, JULY 24
PENDLETON MASTERS
SWIM CLUB, 5-6 p.m., Round-
up Athletic Club pool, 1415
Southgate, Pendleton. Fees are
$5 per session coaching fee;
non-RAC members pay $8 pool
fee per session. (Tania Wildbill
541-310-9102).
PENDLETON
EAGLES
LADIES AUXILIARY KITCH-
EN, 6-8 p.m., Pendleton Eagles
Lodge #28, 428 S. Main St.,
Pendleton. (541-278-2828).
PENDLETON
EAGLES
BREAKFAST, 9 a.m. to noon,
Pendleton Eagles Lodge #28,
428 S. Main St., Pendleton.
Open to members and guests.
(541-278-2828).
UNION PACIFIC EMPLOY-
EES CLUB, 1:30 p.m., Herm-
iston VFW Hall, 45 W. Cherry
Ave., Hermiston. All UP employ-
ees, working or retired, are invit-
ed to attend. Bring a main dish
or dessert and table service.
(541-567-5260).
SATURDAY, JULY 23
MEN’S BREAKFAST, 8
am., Bethel Assembly of God
Church, 1109 Airport Road,
Pendleton.
RETIRED
UMATILLA
ARMY DEPOT WOMEN’S
CLUB, 9 a.m. no-host break-
fast, Pheasant Cafe, 149 E.
Main St., Hermiston.
UMATILLA COUNTY PO-
MONA GRANGE, 12:30 p.m.
lunch with meeting to follow, Co-
lumbia Grange Hall, Diagonal
Road, Hermiston.
PENDLETON
EAGLES
STEAK AND LIVE MUSIC, 6-8
p.m. dinner, music 8 p.m. to mid-
night, Pendleton Eagles Lodge
#28, 428 S. Main St., Pendleton.
Open to members and guests.
(541-278-2828).
MONDAY, JULY 25
NATIONAL ACTIVE AND
RETIRED
FEDERAL EM-
PLOYEES OF HERMISTON,
12 noon no-host lunch, Desert
Lanes Bowling Alley. All federal
employees, retirees and their
spouses are welcome.
IRRIGON MOOSE LODGE
TACOS AND BINGO, 6-9 p.m.
tacos; 6:30-9 p.m. bingo. Bin-
go open to the public, 220 N.E.
Third St. (541-922-1802 from
noon-8 p.m.)
WESTON CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE, 6 p.m., Memorial
Hall, 210 E. Main St.
V.F.W. POST NO. 922 SO-
CIAL, 6:30 p.m., VFW Hall,
1221 S.E. Court Place, Pend-
leton.