REGION
Thursday, July 6, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Woman injured in collision with semi Fireworks spark two
East Oregonian
A woman driving a
pickup was injured in a
collision with a semi truck
near the intersection of
Diagonal Road and East
Punkin Center around 4
p.m. Wednesday.
The extent of the
driver’s injuries weren’t
immediately available, but
Fire Chief Scott Stanton
said she was treated at the
scene before being taken to
Good Shepherd Hospital for
further care. The driver of
the semi declined medical
attention.
The front of the gold
Toyota Tundra was smashed
and it was resting next to a
fence on the eastbound side
of the road, facing the wrong
way. The semi was smashed
above the front wheel on the
left side of the vehicle, and
debris littered the roadway.
Diagonal Road was
blocked, and drivers were
rerouted through Baxter
Road. State Trooper Jerrad
Little said he did not know
how the crash occurred, but
he thought the semi truck
was driving west and the
pickup truck was driving
east.
blazes in Pendleton
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan
UCFD Battalion Chief J.W. Roberts and Chief Scott
Stanton assist after a Toyota Tundra collided with a
semi at Diagonal Road. The driver of the truck was
taken to the hospital with injuries.
PENDLETON
New superintendent to take on human resources duties
East Oregonian
Pendleton
School
District
Superintendent
Chris Fritsch has only been
on the job for one day, but
he may have already taken
on more responsibility.
Fritsch said Wednesday
he will assume human
resource duties after budget
cuts required the district
to eliminate its human
resources director position.
Brad Bixler, who held
the job during the 2016-
2017 school year, was
one of several employees
laid off by a district-wide
reduction in staff.
The former Highland
Hills Elementary School
principal and Pendleton
High School principal was
hired to cover the human
resources duties left behind
by former Assistant Super-
intendent Tricia Mooney,
who took a similar position
with the Hermiston School
District.
Following the layoff,
Fritsch said Bixler found a
similar position in the North
Bend School District.
With
Bixler
and
Mooney gone, Fritsch said
the district’s tentative plans
are focused on directing
its funds toward the class-
room rather than finding a
replacement.
At his previous job as
the assistant superintendent
for the Longview School
District in Washington,
Fritsch said he had six
years of human resources
experience.
Fritsch said he and other
district staff members
will cover Bixler’s human
resources duties.
As
Fritsch
settles
in as the district’s new
superintendent, he plans
to meet with Michelle
Jones, director of busi-
ness services, and Matt
Yoshioka, director of
curriculum,
instruction
and assessment, to see how
budget cuts will affect the
district going forward.
Umatilla County approves moves for school mental health
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Umatilla County Board
of Commissioners approved
a program Wednesday
to provide mental health
workers for the Hermiston
School
District.
The
program, however, is contin-
gent upon funding from the
Greater Oregon Behavioral
Health Initiative.
Amy Ashton-Williams,
the county’s human services
director, in a memo to
commissioners explained
her department has been
negotiating with GOBHI
to provide the Hermiston
School District’s mental
health program.
“We are currently working
out the exact dollar amount
that GOBHI will fund for
this program,” according to
her memo, “knowing it will
be a minimum of $300,000.”
The memo stated Life-
ways provided the services
for the past five years while
the school district voiced
“concerns about the level
of care provided and the
consistency of such care.”
The district wants a program
that “emulates the care and
consistency” of the county’s
Community Access for
Resource
Effectiveness
program.
The $300,000 would pay
for a mental health services
program manager with an
annual salary and benefits
of $93,000 and three mental
health associates, with
annual salary and benefits
of $68,000-$74,000. Human
services also wants GOBHI
to provide another $135,000
to buy three vehicles and pay
for an additional substance
abuse counselor who would
split time between the
Hermiston School District
and county human services.
The county does not plan
to advertise the openings
until GOBHI provides the
funding. Jennifer Blake, the
county’s human resources
manager, told commis-
sioners during the public
meeting Wednesday in
Pendleton the county incurs
no cost for the program.
Commissioners
Larry
Givens and Bill Elfering
voted in favor of the
proposal.
Commissioner
George Murdock is out of
town.
The county also approved
the purchase of a 2001 paint
truck for $8,500 for the road
department. County public
works director Tom Fellows
told the board his department
pays $6,000-$10,000 a year to
use Morrow County’s truck.
Buying the used vehicle from
the state’s surplus would save
the county money in the long
run, he said, and the truck
also comes with $10,000
worth of replacement parts
and paint equipment.
Fireworks caused back-
to-back blazes in Pendleton
in the hour after the Fourth of
July ended.
Pendleton Fire Chief
Mike Ciraulo also said both
sites had evidence of illegal
fireworks.
The city fire department
responded
Wednesday
at 12:03 a.m. to a fire at
Northwest Furnish Avenue
and 12th Street. Flames fully
engulfed a large garbage can,
Ciraulo said, and had spread
to the side of a detached
garage.
After extinguishing the
flames, Ciraulo said the inves-
tigation showed improperly
disposed of fireworks were
the cause. He estimated the
garage sustained damage in
the thousands of dollars. He
also said the investigation
found remains of mortars
from illegal fireworks.
Ciraulo said the occu-
pants claimed they put the
used fireworks in water in
the container and went to bed
about two hours earlier. He
said they denied setting off
the illegal pyrotechnics.
While the crew wrapped
up at the home, they got a
call at 12:40 a.m. for a brush
fire with plenty of fuel at
701 S.W. 15th St. The burn
threatened two houses at
Southwest Hailey Avenue
and 15th Street.
With firefighters still at
the ready, Ciraulo said “we
were able to jump on that
right away.”
An aerial firework was the
cause, he said, and the flames
never reached structures.
The Fourth of July
holiday weekend was busy
for the Umatilla County
Fire District in Hermiston,
with about six more calls
throughout the weekend than
last year.
Only one fire, on North-
east Misty Drive, was started
by fireworks, according to
the fire department. The
fire melted the vinyl siding
on a portion of the home’s
exterior, and one person was
cited.
Capps sells radio stations
to La Grande media group
East Oregonian
Capps Broadcast Group
announced Wednesday that
its six radio stations in Pend-
leton and Walla Walla will be
sold to Elkhorn Media Group
of La Grande.
Although Capps is being
purchased by an outside
company, Elkhorn owner
Randy McKone said he has
an insider’s perspective on
the media markets, having
managed Capps’ stations for
more than two decades.
“Same face, it’s just a
changing of the guard,” he
said.
McKone, who already
owns radio stations in La
Grande, Baker City and John
Day, didn’t anticipate making
any changes to the stations or
their staff.
“Most of the staff are folks
that I brought in or worked
with,” he said.
McKone will assume
management over Capps
on Aug. 1, pending Federal
Communications Commis-
sion approval.
Capps stations are split
between Pendleton and Walla
Walla, although all can be
heard in Pendleton. KUMA,
a news and talk radio station,
and KTIX, an ESPN Radio
affiliate, are both based at
2003 N.W. 56th Drive, near
the Pendleton airport.
Sale In Progress
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