REGION
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
East Oregonian
HERMISTON
Page 3A
PENDLETON
Council approves new dispatch contract Woman’s purse went
Will cost $303,487 for first year
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
The Hermiston city
council
unanimously
approved a contract with
Umatilla County for emer-
gency dispatch services on
Monday.
The city combined its
dispatch services with the
county’s in 2014, but an
advisory committee has
since been working out a
formula for how much cities
pay per year for services.
Previously, Hermiston
and Pendleton were paying
for services based on popu-
lation, while smaller cities
weren’t sharing the cost.
Under the new contract,
cities will pay based on
assessed value.
The new contract will
cost Hermiston $303,487
for the irst year — about
$50,000 more than it has
been paying — but is still
signiicantly cheaper than
having the city run its own
dispatch center again.
City Manager Byron
Smith said like any change,
there have been a few bumps
in the road, but overall the
combined dispatch has been
a beneit to the city.
“I really think it’s been a
good transition for us,” he
said.
He said the advisory
committee will continue to
meet, but can now turn its
main focus from inances to
improving operations.
If citizens come to the
police station to speak with
an oficer about a non-emer-
gency issue outside of the
Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. hours it is open, a phone
“I really think
it’s been a good
transition for us.”
— Bryan Smith,
Hermiston city manager,
on the switch to combined
dispatch services
to the side of the front door
will connect them straight to
the dispatch ofice.
Mayor David Drotzmann
said he wanted to thank the
county and the sheriff’s
ofice for taking the time
to listen to cities’ concerns
through
the
advisory
committee.
In other business Monday
night, the city council:
• Approved a franchise
agreement with Fatbeam,
LLC to use the city’s right
of way for its iber optic
equipment in exchange for a
5 percent franchise fee. The
company will be providing
iber optic service for Herm-
iston School District.
• Approved a pair of stop
signs on NW 5th Street
where it intersects with
Madrona Avenue.
• Discussed implementa-
tion of the new “Where Life
is Sweet” brand. T-shirts
and tank tops with the new
logo and tagline are for sale
at city hall for $10 apiece,
and Smith said a Portland
painting company should
start in seven to 10 days on
repainting the entire water
tower, inishing by mid-Oc-
tober. The tower will be an
off-white color with the
new “Where Life is Sweet”
tagline and logo (which
includes a watermelon
slice) on both sides of the
structure.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
BRIEFLY
Fall prescribed
burning set for
national forest
PENDLETON — Fall
prescribed burning is set on
the Umatilla National Forest,
which could temporarily
impact roads and trails
across several hunting units
in the forest.
Maps of the prescribed
burns can be found online
at www.inciweb.nwcg.
gov. Burns typically take
between two and ive days
to complete. Hunters are
advised to plan ahead and
avoid camping in affected
areas.
“Unfortunately, hunting
season coincides with
prescribed burning season
and can impact our hunters,
but controlled burns are
necessary to reintroduce
ire to the landscape and
encourage healthy vege-
tation that will ultimately
improve landscapes and
forage for big game,”
said Lizzy Berkley, forest
wildlife biologist.
Prescribed burning is
highly dependent on weather
conditions. The forest works
closed with the Oregon
Department of Forestry and
Washington Department
of Natural Resources to
determine when, where and
how much is burned on a
daily basis.
The next burn is sched-
uled to begin Tuesday in
the Grassy Butte unit of the
Heppner District, on about
2,700 acres. Another 300
acres is also planned on a
portion of Long Prairie.
For more information,
contact Chris Johnson at the
Umatilla National Forest at
541-278-3704.
Stanield church
sets kid’s crusade
STANFIELD — A
bouncy castle, games,
activities, stories, food,
and lots of fun is planned
during the Kid’s Crusade
Round-up.
The free event features
Dan Gordanier and
Friends. It runs nightly
Friday through Sunday at
6:30 p.m. at Crossroads
Community Church,
350 N.W. Sherman St.,
Stanield. Prizes will be
awarded each night.
For more information, call
541-449-3434.
Virtual reality rides
into Round-Up
PENDLETON —
Round-Up visitors can
enjoy a virtual reality
experience thanks to U.S.
Cellular.
Those in attendance
can use Samsung Gear
VR devices for virtual
adventures, including
travel, interactive games
and more. People can get
more information and use
equipment Wednesday
through Saturday at the
U.S. Cellular booth near the
Round-Up Grounds, 1205
S.W. Court Ave., Pendleton.
In addition, a variety
of giveaways, including
concert tickets, concession
vouchers and additional
prizes are available. Also, a
phone charging station will
be available.
For more information,
contact Anni Murphy
at amurphy@
gardcommunications.com
or 503-552-5011.
Senior center hosts
lu shot clinic
HERMISTON — A lu
shot clinic is being offered
through Rite Aid Pharmacy
at the Hermiston Senior
Center.
The event is Tuesday,
Sept. 20 from 8:30-
11:30 a.m. at 435 W.
Orchard Ave., located
on the Umatilla County
Fairgrounds. There is no
cost to those on Medicare
but seniors must present
East Oregonian
PENDLETON —
Treasure seekers will want
to make a beeline for the
McKay Creek Antique and
Craft Market.
The market will feature
vintage, antique, retro and
salvaged goods and crafts.
While admission is free,
donations of cash or canned
goods will support the
Young Life Summer Camp.
The event is Saturday,
Sept. 24 from 9 a.m. to 3
p.m. at 71182 Appaloosa
Lane, south of Pendleton on
Highway 395.
Vendor fees are $40.
An application and vendor
informaiton is available
at https://goo.gl/forms/
dD2vt0Bw0J8Hp74a2.
For more information,
email mckaycreekmarket@
gmail.com or visit
www.facebook.com/
mckaycreekmarket.
A 84-year-old woman
was found early Monday at
the Pendleton McDonald’s
after she went missing for at
least four hours.
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts reported a
caller at 2:57 a.m. Monday
told the Umatilla County
dispatch center the woman,
who suffers dementia, was
missing from the 600 block
of Southwest 30th Street,
Pendleton.
“Information
was
obtained concerning descrip-
tion, routines, etc.,” Roberts
stated in an email. “Search
patterns were identiied and
executed.”
The city ire department
brought its thermal imaging
device, Roberts said, which
allowed searches of vacant
lots, parks and similar places.
And the local LifeFlight heli-
copter at the Eastern Oregon
Regional Airport, Pendleton,
assisted with night vision
and search lights.
The call for help also
went out to the search and
rescue unit of the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Ofice, but
the woman turned up before
they deployed.
The woman was missing
for at least four hours,
according to Roberts, and
an ambulance took her to
St. Anthony Hospital, Pend-
leton, for an evaluation.
Submit community news information to: community@
eastoregonian.com or drop off to the attention of Tam-
my Malgesini at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee
Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-
564-4539 or 541-966-0818 with questions.
Save the Memories, Share the Stories
2016 Round-Up
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Five Daily Papers:
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souvenir magazine, rodeo
results and championship
photos. $15 mailed to anywhere
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$8 mailed to
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for just $5 each
Real Estate
211 SE Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR
1-800-522-0255
AUCTION
No Reserve
www.MaconBros
Auction.com
A Pendleton man is
hoping police catch whoever
stole his wife’s purse as she
was dying.
Sandy Marie Heaton, 62,
suffered a fatal heart attack
Wednesday morning while
in town. Her husband, John
Heaton, 71, said she called
and told him she was having
trouble breathing.
“I told her, ‘Hang up and
I’m going to call the ambu-
lance,’” he said. “And I did
it right then.”
He made the call at
11:35 a.m., according to
police logs, and directed
emergency responders to his
wife’s gray 2005 Honda at
Southeast Emigrant Avenue
and Third Street. Heaton
said he also headed there
and saw the ambulance and
crew at the scene. The ire
captain, Heaton said, was
looking through his wife’s
large bag in the car to ind
out who she was.
“We couldn’t ind any
ID,” he said, and that was
the irst it hit him that wife’s
teal colored clutch purse was
missing.
The purse was not in
the car, he said, and he
nor family have found it.
Someone, he said, must have
taken the purse while his
wife struggled for her life.
Heaton said the family
reported the theft to
Pendleton police Sgt. Paul
Wolverton, who told them
he recognized three people
at the scene and talked to
two of them so far. Still,
Heaton said, Wolverton
seemed concerned about
solving the case.
“I really hope that the last
thing she saw on this earth
was not this evil thing,”
Heaton said, “but I fear it
probably was.”
Missing woman turns
up in McDonald’s
Market to offer
vintage goods
IRRIGON — The
monthly luncheon meetings
of the Irrigon Chamber of
Commerce are resuming this
week.
This month’s luncheon is
Wednesday with a meet and
greet beginning at 11:45 a.m.
at Stokes Landing Senior
Center, 190 N.W. Opal
Place, Irrigon. The cost is
$8 for members and $10 for
non-members.
The guest speaker is
Rev. Terry Haight of the
Hermiston Assembly of God
Church. He will share about
the SUM Bible College and
Theological Seminary.
For more information,
contact 541-922-3857
or irrigonchamber@
irrigonchamber.com.
Preview Sunday
Noon–2:30pm
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
their red, white and blue
Medicare card.
For more information,
call 541-567-7805.
Irrigon Chamber
resumes monthly
meetings
11 NW 9th St
Pendleton
missing as she died
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