REGION
Saturday, November 18, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Hermiston leads Umatilla County in population growth
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
It’s not the official slogan
anymore, but you can still
grow here in Hermiston.
Portland State University
released the first draft of its
annual population estimates
this week, measuring both
county and city numbers
statewide.
Umatilla
County’s
numbers have continued to
climb — with Hermiston
leading the way — while
Morrow County’s have
dropped overall.
Umatilla County
This year, the county’s
population is projected at
80,500. That’s a jump of
nearly 8,000 from 2010’s
estimate of 72,720. In 2000,
Umatilla County’s popula-
tion was estimated at 70,548.
Planning Director Bob
Waldher said the county
has seen a lot of economic
development and growth,
including several new proj-
ects that can not be discussed
yet.
“People come here for a
variety of reasons,” he said.
“Some cities have really low
growth and for some, the
growth has been staggering.”
Hermiston has seen
the largest and most rapid
growth in Eastern Oregon,
going from 13,260 in 2000
to 16,380 in 2010 and 17,985
this year.
Assistant city manager
Mark Morgan said he was a
little surprised by the increase
from last year — a growth of
EO file photo
The water tower overlooks Hermiston, which has been the fastest-growing city in
Umatilla County since 2000.
about 255 people.
“I thought we were kind
of holding steady along the
same number of building
starts, so it’s a little more
accelerated than I expected,”
he said.
Morgan noted that it is
difficult to pinpoint any
one reason for population
growth, but some included
increasing property values in
the Tri-Cities.
“I think as the (cost)
difference continues to widen
between Hermiston and the
Tri-Cities, we’re picking up
more of those people,” he
said.
He said another reason for
growth was likely a steady
increase in employment
across sectors.
“It’s difficult to point to
one employment generator,
but I think what we’ve seen
is an increase in employment
from existing employers as
we get further away from
the recession,” Morgan
said. “Probably the single
largest employer to point
to continues to be data
centers. They continue to
add a substantial number of
employees every year.”
Pendleton has seen a
fluctuation of roughly 1,000
people over the past 17 years,
settling in at around 16,890
this year.
Other Umatilla County
towns have seen small
growth. Milton-Freewater
has gone from 6,495 in 2000
to 7,070 this year. Umatilla
has seen a jump of about
2,000 people in the last 17
years, from 5,035 to 7,245.
Stanfield has seen some
change, going from 1,990
people in the year 2000 to
2,315 in 2010 and back down
to 2,145 this year.
Morrow County
Morrow County’s popu-
lation has seen less change
over the last several years
than its neighbor to the east.
The most recent numbers
estimate Morrow County’s
population at 11,890. The
projection is lower than the
Man who jumped from I-84 overpass was real estate broker
By SHANE DIXON
KAVANAUGH
The Oregonian/OregonLive
A Portland man struck
and killed by a car after he
jumped from an Interstate
84 overpass in Morrow
County was an ambitious
young real estate broker who
also struggled with bouts of
mental illness, his family and
co-workers said.
Alex Michael Herrera,
28, had fled a minor fend-
er-bender last week near
Boardman moments before
his death, said Oregon State
Police. The car that struck
Herrera kept driving and
remains unidentified, said
Lt. Cari Boyd, a state police
spokeswoman.
Authorities are inves-
tigating the fatality as a
suspected hit-and-run, Boyd
said, though it remains
unclear whether the impact
from the fall or the car caused
Herrera’s death.
“He was a good-hearted
human being with a
sensitivity for those less
fortunate,” Herrera’s mother,
Adrianna Kenney, said in an
email. “He had a capacity for
solving problems like I have
never seen.”
But her son also suffered
from mental health problems
most of his life, said Kenney,
a dentist in Southern Cali-
fornia. “That was his daily
struggle,” she said.
Herrera made local head-
lines in 2013 when authori-
ties said he tried to open the
door on an Alaskan Airlines
flight traveling to Portland.
He told police at the time
he was bipolar and had been
hearing voices for days.
After he was sentenced
to three years of probation,
Herrera became a licensed
real estate broker and sold
homes in the metro area. In
March, he joined MORE
Reality, where colleagues
quickly found him to be a
positive, upbeat addition.
“Alex was engaging and
funny,” said Paul Knighton.
“He was outgoing and
bubbly.”
But over the summer,
Knighton said his new
colleague began to act
noticeably different. Herrera
slowly grew detached from
co-workers.
He
rarely
returned phone calls.
Eventually,
Herrera
fell off the grid altogether,
Knighton said.
“The last couple of weeks
we were very worried about
him,” Knighton said.
On Nov. 9, state troopers
responded to reports of a
minor collision between
Herrera’s gold Ford Ranger
and a white commercial
vehicle on the off-ramp near
milepost 158 — three hours
east of Portland — about
3:05 a.m., police said.
After
the
accident,
Herrera hopped out of his car
and sprinted away, the other
driver told authorities.
Investigators
believe
Herrera then ran toward
the nearby overpass, scaled
the fence and jumped. An
eastbound car hit him, police
said. Troopers found Herre-
ra’s lifeless body about 130
feet from the overpass.
Police believe the vehicle
that struck Herrera may have
had dark gray metallic paint.
Anyone with information is
asked to call 541-276-2121.
ENTERPRISE — Oregon
State Police are asking for
help finding a poacher who
shot and killed a wolf in
Wallowa County.
According to a press
release, the body of the
collared wolf — dubbed
OR23 — was found
Wednesday in the
Chesnimnus unit in the Cold
Springs area east of Joseph.
Police said the animal likely
was shot Sunday or Monday.
OSP is asking for help
finding the shooter or anyone
involved in the killing.
Anyone with information
is asked to call Sgt. Chris
Hawkins at 541-963-7175,
ext. 4670, or leave an
anonymous tip at 1-800-452-
7888.
Poaching of fish and
wildlife, including wolves,
is a problem in Oregon,
according to Capt. Jeff
Samuels in a press release.
The division employs 120
officers in Oregon.
“We are upset and
frustrated by the unlawful
wolf killings in Oregon,”
said Doug Cottam,
ODFW Wildlife Division
administrator, in the release.
“Poaching of any wildlife is
wrong and harmful to their
conservation.”
Tree initiative
plan(t)s party
PENDLETON — In
recognition of reaching the
Plant 1,000 Trees initiative
goals, Pendleton Parks &
Recreation invites the public
to a celebration.
The gathering is Monday
from 6-8 p.m. in the Vert
Club Room, 345 S.W. Fourth
St., Pendleton. In addition
to cake, guest speakers
will talk about the project.
Also, displays will feature
the recreation department,
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RENATA ANDERSON M.A.
2237 Southwest • Court Place
Pendleton, OR 97801
541-276-5053
pushing Oregon’s population
to more than 4.1 million.
People migrating to
Oregon accounted for 88
percent of the jump. The
other 12 percent was due
to more births than deaths,
what’s known as a natural
increase.
Because of an aging
population and declining
birth rates, the natural
increase now contributes
less to Oregon’s population
growth than at any time since
the 1930s, PSU researcher
Charles Rynerson said
Friday.
But people from out of
state are flocking to the Port-
land area and central Oregon.
Portland gained more
residents than any other city,
with an estimated 639,100
people now living within its
limits. The tri-county Port-
land metropolitan area saw
the largest gains in popula-
tion from 2016 to 2017.
Multnomah and Wash-
ington counties each added
more than 12,000 residents,
and Clackamas County
added just over 8,000.
Deschutes County in
central Oregon had the largest
increase by percentage — 3.6
percent. Its largest city, Bend,
added 3,265 residents to
reach a population of 86,765.
Elsewhere in Oregon,
Eugene (167,255) remained
slightly ahead of Salem
(163,480) in the race to be
Oregon’s second-largest city.
Gresham is still Oregon’s
fourth-largest city, followed
by Hillsboro, which just
surpassed 100,000 people.
PUBLIC SAFETY LOG
THURSDAY
5:48 a.m. - Boardman fire and the Morrow County Sheriff’s
Office responded to eastbound Interstate 84 near Boardman
for a semitrailer with an axle on fire.
8:38 a.m. - A caller to Hermiston police asked for informa-
tion on the laws about the legal age to smoke marijuana.
9:22 a.m. - The driver of a Peterbilt semi eastbound on
Interstate 84 near milepost 234 tried to miss vehicles stopped
on the icy road due to an earlier crash. The semi driver
swerved toward the median, and the trailer jackknifed and
swiped the side of another semi stopped in the slow lane.
Oregon State Police reported all vehicles drove from the
scene.
10:55 a.m. - Better park right in the Umatilla neighborhood
of Dark Canyon and Bridgeport avenues. A city police officer
wrote tickets there on six vehicles for prohibited parking, cited
another for parking the wrong way and gave warnings to two
others.
1:38 p.m. - A Umatilla resident at Country Club Manor
Apartments, 605 Umatilla Ave., reported her “ex” took her car
without her permission and refuses to return it.
2:35 p.m. - Cats and birds prompted a Hermiston resident
to call police. She said she feeds birds at her home on Yucca
Avenue, and the neighbors have four cats that sometime come
into her yard and kill the birds. She asked if she could shoot the
cats if they are on her property.
3:57 p.m. - A 911 caller reported a road rage incident at
East Punkin Center Road and Highway 395, Hermiston.
4:48 p.m. - A driver in Heppner asked the Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office to send someone to talk to three third-graders
who were unattended and ran through traffic.
FRIDAY
6:49 a.m. - One vehicle lost control at East Crockett Road
and Highway 11, Milton-Freewater, and collided with a silver
Pontiac Grand Prix.
BRIEFLY
Wolf poached in
Wallowa County,
OSP seeks help
finding shooter
county’s 2010 population,
12,595. The county’s popula-
tion in 2000 was 10,995.
Morrow County’s fast-
est-growing city, Boardman,
has not had a population
boom. Despite the estab-
lishment of several large,
job-creating companies at the
Port of Morrow, Boardman’s
population has seen growth
of fewer than 1,000 people
in 17 years — from 2,910 in
2000 to 3,400 in 2010, and
up to 3,555 in 2017.
Karen Wolff, Morrow
County’s Human Resources
director, said the low
numbers in Boardman and
throughout Morrow County
were likely due to a housing
crunch in the area.
She said the county
continues to make the issue
a focus.
“Housing is a critical
need,” she said. “We’re
trying to look at ways to
bring in housing, and attract
people to stay.”
She said building more
homes closer to the Port of
Morrow is crucial.
“We’re trying to get
housing to (get people) to
stay in Morrow County,
as opposed to the Port of
Morrow being west Umatilla
County’s largest employer,”
she said.
Statewide
Oregon’s population is
growing at a strong clip,
driven by people coming
from out of state.
The state added 64,750
people between July 1, 2016,
and July 1, 2017, following a
similar gain the year before,
the Tree Commission, the
Memorial Trees program and
local organizations invested in
planting trees in Pendleton.
For more information or to
RSVP, call 541-276-8100 or
visit www.eventbrite.com.
ARRESTS, CITATIONS
Thursday
•Milton-Freewater police arrested Stephanie Marie Costa,
22, of Milton-Freewater, for second-degree assault related to
domestic violence.
Friday
•Pendleton police arrested Brooklin Paige Melson, 21, of
Hermiston, for heroin possession, methamphetamine posses-
sion and hindering prosecution.
The East Oregonian will not publish on
Th anksgiving Day
due to the postal holiday.
Look for your Holiday Edition
on Wednesday, Nov. 22
• Home for the Holidays special section
• A guide to the upcoming Farm Fair
• Wednesday and Thursday comics, features,
puzzles and TV listings
• BLACK FRIDAY INSERTS:
Big 5 Sporting Goods
Big Lots
Bi-Mart
D&B Supply
Harbor Freight Tools
Home Depot
Rite Aid
Sears
U.S. Cellular
Walgreens
Walmart