REGION
Friday, August 5, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Wyden ired up to prevent forest ires
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Just 2 percent of ires on the
Umatilla National Forest turn into
the infernos that rage for days,
roar across thousands of acres
and consume millions of taxpayer
dollars.
Those blazes were why U.S. Sen.
Ron Wyden sat down Thursday with
more than a dozen local emergency
administrators and oficials at the
Umatilla National Forest ofices
on the Umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion near Pendleton. The Oregon
Democrat was there to learn about
the latest on wildires in Eastern
Wyden
Crapo
Oregon, including the potential ire
danger, and to talk up the wildire
funding bill he and Idaho Repub-
lican Sen. Mike Crapo drafted.
Chris Johnson, deputy ire oficer
for the Umatilla National Forest,
said the forest averages 81 ires a
year, but only seven have started
so far this season. And the Forest
Service keeps 98 percent of those
ires to no more than 10 acres.
Still, that 2 percent is the
problem. And while the season is
starting slow, the National Weather
Service in Pendleton issued a ire
watch Thursday due to dry thun-
derstorms in the area Friday and
Saturday.
Johnson said the ire danger level
is bumping up against the “high”
threshold, and resources from other
national forests are en route just in
case.
A wind-whipped ire Saturday
in the Deadman Pass area burned
HERMISTON
688 acres. John Buckman, district
forester with the Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry, told the senator
the ire jumped Interstate 84 and
took 300 people and 13 state and
federal aircraft to bring under
control. And the cost was more
than $1.5 million.
Wyden said a ire that jumps an
interstate is the kind of example
he can use to build support for the
his and Crapo’s proposal to free
up money for projects to prevent
large ires in the irst place. Land
management agencies for years
have used those funds to pay to ight
ires instead, and this legislation
would but an end to the practice of
“ire borrowing,”
“You just can’t have the big
ires eat up more and more of the
budget,” Wyden said.
The budget analysis comes out
a wash for the bill, he said, and
has drawn support from U.S. Sen.
Chuck Schumer of New York.
Wyden said his fellow Democrat
is on board because dipping into
ire prevention funds “has discom-
bobulated the entire system” and
prevented projects in New York.
When lawmakers like Schumer
sign on, Wyden said, you know
you are on the way to a ix. He
said passing the proposal is his top
priority.
HERMISTON
BRIEFLY
Seniors get techy
with help from
local Girl Scouts
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Past Hermiston Rotary Club president Tim Bein-
ert hands a donation check to Dennis Barnett at the
Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center.
Rotary Club gives
$25,000 to EOTEC Three boys hit by car in fenced
Staff photo by Tammy Malgesini
Paramedics from Umatilla County Fire District 1 treat victims at the scene of a
crash Wednesday evening in the 400 block of Northeast Fourth Street, Hermiston.
East Oregonian
The Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center board got
some good news Thursday
afternoon in the form of a
$25,000 donation from the
Hermiston Rotary Club.
The donation, which will
be spread out over ive years
through a inancing option
offered to EOTEC donors,
went to the nonproit Friends
of the Fair and Rodeo to
provide lexibility for how the
donation is used.
Rotary Club President
Dean Fialka said the club’s
past, current and future
presidents came together and
decided that the sizable dona-
tion could help the new fair
and rodeo grounds be a quality
project for the community.
“We’ll be very interested
to see it all come together,” he
said.
Former Rotary Club pres-
ident Tim Beinert presented
the check to EOTEC fund-
raising committee member
Dennis Barnett on Thursday
during the Rotary Club’s
regular meeting. The meeting
took place in EOTEC’s
newly-completed
event
center, and club members
were offered a tour after the
event.
Barnett said after construc-
tion bids for both the rodeo
arena and barns came in over
budget, the donation was very
much appreciated and will be
put to good use.
“It’s truly amazing how
giving our community and
Rotary really is,” he said.
Staff photo by Alexa Lougee
A travel trailer pulling an oversized load snagged
drooping power lines along Highway 395 Thursday.
August heat leads to downed
power lines across Hwy 395
By ALEXA LOUGEE
East Oregonian
A semi-truck carrying an
oversized load clipped power
lines near the Pilot gas station
in Stanield on Thursday
afternoon, blocking all lanes
of trafic for about a half hour
and cutting power to parts of
town.
The truck was hauling half
of a manufactured home north
on Highway 395, and the
hot temperatures had caused
the power lines to sag in the
middle. The tallest point of
the manufactured home roof
snagged onto the lowest part
of the sagging wires.
The force of the moving
truck on the wires caused the
power lines and one of the
power poles to snap in half.
By a stroke of bad luck,
a man riding his electric
scooter down Foster Ceme-
tery Road toward Highway
395 to pick up his mail was
hit on the head by the falling
power lines. Responders
from Umatilla County Fire
District 1 evaluated the man
on scene and released him to
go home. A good Samaritan
helped the man into her car,
picked up his mail for him
and drove him home.
The names of those
individuals are not available,
and no other injuries were
reported.
ODOT and Stanield
Police worked to halt and
direct trafic along the
highway. Umatilla Electric
Company responded to
address power concerns.
Stanield Police Chief
Bryon Zumwalt said some
people had lost power, and
one of the Stanield City
water pumps had stalled
due to the power failure. He
said Umatilla Electric was
expected to replace the pole
and ix the lines sometime
Thursday night.
yard, one remains in hospital
By ALEXA LOUGEE
East Oregonian
One boy remains hospitalized after being
hit by a car while standing in a fenced-in yard.
Three 11-year-old boys were standing in
the yard of the house at 430 Northeast Fourth
Street in Hermiston, planning a
sleepover Wednesday evening
when a 2014 Chevrolet driven by
Jesse J. Focht, 23, left the road and
hit them.
One of the boys’ dad, Ryan
Whitman, lives two blocks down
and ran toward the location after
hearing sirens. When he got there,
he said, “My heart sank in my
chest.”
Two of the boys were lying Focht
on the ground unconscious. Soon
he saw his son was conscious and being
comforted by a neighbor. The two other
boys regained consciousness and paramedics
treated the boys on scene.
Whitman took his son to Good Shepherd
Medical Center, while the other two boys
were transported via ambulance.
As of Thursday morning two of the boys
had been released and one boy remained
hospitalized. The victim in the hospital has
broken ribs, spleen injuries and lacerations
that required several stitches. The two others
suffered injuries including a sprained ankle,
bruising and swelling and lacerations.
Focht was driving southbound on North-
east Fourth Street around 6:46 p.m. when his
car crashed into the front yard fence.
Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston
said in a press release that “alcohol consump-
tion does not appear to be the main contrib-
uting factor in the crash, but we are waiting
on chemical analysis of evidence
collected before making the inal
determination.”
Edmiston also said they have
not ruled out distracted driving,
though Focht did not have a cell-
phone on him.
Bystanders grew agitated at the
scene and the suspect was placed in
the back of a patrol car for his own
safety.
In March 2015, Focht plead
guilty to possession of meth-
amphetamine and was given 18 months
probation and a six-month suspension of his
license. In May, Focht again faced charges
of possession of methamphetamine and the
unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
Focht was arrested at the scene Wednesday
night for probation violation.
“Clearly this is a very emotional inves-
tigation as three children were in what was
believed to be a protected area, playing,”
Edmiston said in the press release. “We
appreciate the support of Umatilla County
Parole and Probation as we want to ensure
we conduct a thorough investigation.”
Pendleton man killed in crash in Baker City
East Oregonian
A Pendleton man was
killed Thursday in a car
crash in Baker City.
Ronald Fisher, 59, died
at the scene of a two-car
collision at the intersection
of A Street and 2nd Street,
according to Oregon State
Police.
Fisher was traveling
southbound about 11:56
a.m. when his 2015 Chev-
rolet Equinox collided with
a westbound car driven
by Yvonne Hesseltine of
Baker City. Hesseltine’s
vehicle, which contained a
passenger, struck Fisher’s
vehicle on the driver’s
side. Fisher’s vehicle
rolled onto its top and
Fisher was ejected. He
died at the scene, and
safety restraint used may
have been a contributing
Contributed photo by Oregon State Police
A Pendleton man died in a two-vehicle crash at the
intersection of A Street and 2nd Street in Baker City
on Thursday.
factor, said OSP.
An ambulance took
Hesselstine
to
Saint
Alphonsus Medical Center
in Baker City for minor
injuries. Her passenger was
not injured in the crash.
The intersection was
SE
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closed for four hours
as
the
investigation
was conducted and the
wreckage removed. This
is an ongoing investigation
and more information will
be released as it becomes
available.
HERMISTON —
Local Girl Scouts are
offering technology and
software classes for the
area’s senior citizens.
The irst class will be
Saturday, Aug. 20 from
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and
will cover social media,
technology classes,
Facebook, Skype, email,
One Drive and Word
basics. The second class
will be Saturday, Aug.
27 from 9-11 a.m. and
will focus solely on more
advanced Word program
skills, including how to
formulate contact lists
and mailing addresses.
The classes will be
held at the Hermiston
BMCC center in the
computer labs, so there
is no need to bring a
computer. The Girl
Scouts are offering these
classes as part of their
Gold Award Project,
which is like the Boy
Scout Eagle Project.
Those interested in
attending are asked to
call Soia Tello at 541-
701-8693.
Medicare 101
sessions provide
help, information
Information about
Medicare enrollment,
coverage options,
associated costs and
where to get help in the
community is featured in
Medicare 101.
Several sessions
are offered in the area
by the Senior Health
Insurance Beneits
Assistance ofice.
Although the class is
free, people are advised
to register in advance to
ensure enough seats and
handouts are available.
The sessions are:
•Tuesday, Aug. 16
from 6-8 p.m., Hermiston
Public Library, 235 E.
Gladys Ave.
•Wednesday, Aug.
17 from noon to 2 p.m.,
Milton-Freewater Public
Library, 8 S.W. Eighth
Ave.
•Wednesday, Aug.
17 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.,
Pendleton Public Library,
502 S.W. Dorion Ave.
•Thursday, Aug. 18
from 10 a.m. to noon,
Stanield Public Library,
180 W. Coe Ave.
•Thursday, Aug. 18
from 2:30-4:30 p.m.,
Umatilla Public Library,
911 Seventh St.
For more information,
contact shiba.oregon@
oregon.gov or 800-722-
5134.
———
Briefs are compiled
from staff and wire
reports, and press
releases. Email press
releases to news@
eastoregonian.com