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East Oregonian
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Murder: Hedman admitted to police he struck victim with an ax multiple times
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needed the tools for work,
records stated. The two
then smoked marijuana
with Hedman in the
afternoon.
Detectives
“pinged”
Martz’s cell phone near
North Powder. Oregon
State Police later found
and arrested a man match-
ing Hedman’s description
Monday night for allegedly
stealing at least one vehicle
— including the victim’s —
and attempting to elude law
enforcement in Baker City.
The court documents state
Hedman confessed to police
that he killed Martz “with
an ax, hitting him multiple
times.” He also told investi-
gators that Martz was “still
on the property.”
Hedman ran into police
trouble this year when Pend-
leton officers the morn-
ing of June 5 responded to
916 S.W. Court Ave. for a
male looking in cars and
acting suspicious. Minutes
later, a patrol sergeant spot-
ted a person matching the
description of the prowler
just a block to the west.
Pendleton police later
confirmed the suspect was
Hedman.
The sergeant tried to
stop Hedman, but he took
off running north. Offi-
cers had no probable cause
for an arrest, so they mon-
itored him while the ser-
geant viewed surveillance
video at the reporting busi-
ness. The police observed
Hedman cross private
properties, vaulting fences
between, according to the
police report, and one prop-
erty owner wanted the cops
to arrest him for trespass.
A pursuit ensued, and
Hedman ducked into a
property on the 300 block
of Southwest Third Street.
Police found him hiding
there in a basement stair-
well. He also had four war-
rants for his arrest — three
out of Hermiston and one
from the Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Office.
Not one of the six offi-
cers at the scene recognized
Hedman, according to the
report, and police informa-
tion listed him as a transient
from the Heppner area.
Police reported Hedman
admitted to being high on
heroin and had a syringe
filled with a liquid. Medical
staff at St. Anthony Hospital
cleared Hedman before offi-
cers booked him into county
jail in Pendleton for trespass-
ing, interfering with police,
third-degree escape and
second-degree disorderly
conduct, all misdemeanors.
The jail gave Hedman
the boot on June 25 due
to overpopulation. The
release agreement noted his
charges and a July 8 court
proceeding.
Umatilla County Sher-
iff Terry Rowan said data
showed the jail population
that day was between 228
to 230. When the population
reaches those levels, he said,
the jail starts running out of
mattresses, space and other
resources.
Several elements play a
role in who the jail selects
for release, from how
quickly an inmate can get
in front of a judge for an
arraignment to the severity
of their offenses.
After working through
the inmates that have court
proceedings, jail staff
rely on a matrix to whit-
tle the remaining popula-
tion. Rowan explained that
system takes into account
an inmate’s criminal his-
tory. The more serious the
offense and the greater the
number of offenses, the
higher the score. Rowan
said he has seen scores as
high as 2,025 for someone
with serious felonies, but
an inmate with many mis-
demeanors might top out at
1,500.
Misdemeanors often pro-
duce scores as low as 100
or 200, Rowan said, and the
lower an inmate’s score, the
more likely the jail consid-
ers them for release. Hed-
man’s history consists of
trespass and the like, Rowan
said, and before now lacks
assaults or other violent
crimes.
State court records show
Hedman also has local con-
victions for misdemeanors
and low-level felonies going
back to 2015.
He
completed
two
years probation in Morrow
County for a 2015 menac-
ing charge. That June, he
pleaded guilty to attempt-
ing to commit a Class A fel-
ony and received 30 days
in jail and three years pro-
bation under community
corrections.
He pleaded no contest in
2016 in Wasco County for
driving while suspended,
which
stemmed
from
ignoring a speeding ticket,
according to the Oregon
State Police citation. And
Hedman pleaded guilty in
February 2019 in Morrow
County Circuit Court to
giving false information to
an officer and in a separate
case pleaded no contest to
driving uninsured.
Martz worked at Whit-
man for seven years and
graduated with a gender and
German studies degree in
2007, according to an email
to staff from Whitman
College President Kathy
Murray.
“I am at a loss for words
for how to begin to under-
stand this and I am sure
many of you feel the same
way,” part of Murray’s
email said.
Hedman faces Baker
County charges of vehi-
cle theft, trespass, reckless
driving, criminal mischief
and hit-and-run involving
property. State court records
show he has a hearing July
31 to enter a plea. He has no
court proceedings in Walla
Walla Superior Court until
he leaves Oregon.
———
Walla Walla Union-Bul-
letin Reporter Emily Thorn-
ton contributed to this story.
Decision: Lack of emergency services puts rural Americans at greater risk
Continued from Page A1
that with $923,000 in funds
for the Milton-Freewater
EMS, there were 1,045 call
responses last year.
That comes down to
approximately $883 per
response.
In nearby Athena, where
its emergency services
had $441,000 in fund-
ing, White said there were
210 call responses. That
equates to roughly $2,100
per response.
The emergency medi-
cal service employees are
also underpaid compared
to neighboring districts,
and Saager told the board
he wants to see their wages
brought closer to their
counterparts.
In addition, many peo-
ple who need ambulance
rides struggle to pay the
bill for it. Kilmer said the
government’s cuts to reim-
bursement through Medi-
care and Medicaid have
only compounded the prob-
lem by placing a larger
financial burden on those
riding in the ambulance.
The ambulances and
equipment also need to be
maintained and must be
replaced every so many
years. Purchasing a new
ambulance can cost in the
area of a $250,000 White
said.
Saager did not return
calls for comment.
Funding
for
emer-
gency services has been
an ongoing battle in
Milton-Freewater.
The ambulance district
was originally voted on
and established in Novem-
ber 2011 with more than
86% of the vote, and the
expectation was the dis-
trict would raise $130,000
annually.
Prior to the establish-
ment of the district, Saager
and Milton-Freewater EMS
served the area since 1984
after the fire district devel-
oped a quick-response
team. By 2000, their ser-
vices expanded to trans-
porting Advanced Life
Support patients.
But insufficient funding
in 2011 caused Saager and
the EMS to almost suspend
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Milton-Freewater Rural Fire District is attempting to secure funding for a new ambulance district.
services and kindled the
discussions of forming an
ambulance district. After
a series of negotiations, the
county helped keep the ser-
vices running throughout
the end of the year until the
district could decide on a
future provider.
After the district passed,
the board opted to keep
the area’s services with
Saager. Then being sub-
sidized by local property
taxes, Saager and the Mil-
ton-Freewater EMS still
struggled financially.
Kilmer has been a
board member for the Mil-
ton-Freewater Ambulance
Service Area Health Dis-
trict for roughly six years
and said it’s been known
for several years the fund-
ing was insufficient. Previ-
ous attempts to remedy it
by applying for grants have
failed or fell short of the
district’s needs.
“I told them in their
inception, ‘Be careful what
you ask for because this
is a permanent rate,’” said
Paul Chalmers, Umatilla
County tax assessor.
Eight years later, the
board is seeking to dissolve
its district and again must
ask voters to raise the tax-
ing rate.
“The question for them
that,” Chalmers said.
The proposed district
would require the voters to
pass three measures. First,
to dissolve the current dis-
trict. Second, to estab-
“THE ONLY WAY WE CAN SURVIVE,
IN OUR OPINION, IS TO RECEIVE
MORE FUNDING.”
– George White
is how will it impact other
districts,” Chalmers said.
The challenge is the
constraints of compression
from raising the rate. With
the state’s cap on collection
and spending for local gov-
ernment services at $10 per
$1,000, the increase will
ultimately impact other
services.
The difficult decision for
voters will be determining
how much value the dis-
trict’s emergency services
has while balancing this
potential impact.
“It becomes a political
question as to whether or
not folks want to vote into
lish the new district. And
last, to determine the new
tax rate. If either measure
doesn’t pass, the current
district would remain as is.
But failing to pass a new
district would mean the
potential end to the city’s
ambulance service.
When local emergency
services were nearly sus-
pended in 2011, the city was
going to turn to the East
Umatilla County Ambu-
lance Area Health District
(Medic 400), which has
services based out of Ath-
ena, and the Walla Walla
City Emergency Services
for help. The city of Pend-
leton also offered to extend
its services if needed.
While these options
don’t leave Milton-Free-
water unaccounted for,
they could double or triple
wait and travel times. Ulti-
mately, the board would
have to mull over these and
other options if the mea-
sures don’t make it to the
ballot or don’t pass when
they do.
Either way, Milton-Free-
water’s emergency services
can’t sustain itself as is.
“I just want [the vot-
ers] to understand we’re at
a crucial moment,” White
said. “We might not sur-
vive another year.”
The district’s fight for
survival is emblematic of a
nationwide problem plagu-
ing rural communities.
A 2018 National Rural
Health Association policy
brief stated roughly one-
third of rural EMS are in
“immediate
operational
jeopardy” due to lack of
funding, staffing, and
reimbursement.
For those residing in
Milton-Freewater
and
other rural areas, this
makes the issue of survival
quite literal.
The same NRHA report
said rural Americans face
50% greater risk of trau-
ma-related death as a result
of limited emergency ser-
vices and the longer wait
and travel times associated
with it. In America, one of
the most common causes
of trauma-related deaths
are drug overdoses, and
thus the rising opioid crisis
exacerbates these risks.
While many EMS pro-
viders target a response
time of eight minutes or less
for Advanced Life Support
patients, the NRHA report
found rural communities
face an average of 20-30%
longer response times. Spe-
cifically in the case of opi-
oid overdoses, this added
average of 9.4 minutes per
call is often the difference
between life and death,
according to the report.
“Unfortunately, these
problems are not unique to
Milton-Freewater,” county
commissioner John Shafer
said.
Shafer served on the
Medic 400 board when
its service area also faced
funding issues and had
to establish a new district
that raised its rate to $1 per
$1,000 in 2016.
For now, the next steps
lie with the district board
placing its future in the
voter’s hands.
“It’s important that
we get it onto the bal-
lot,” county commissioner
George Murdock said.
The
Milton-Freewa-
ter Ambulance Service
Area Health District plans
to present its proposal for
approval at the city council
meeting on Aug. 12, which
will take place at 7 p.m.
inside the Albee room at
the library.
The Umatilla County
Board of Commissioners
also will hold a public hear-
ing Friday, July 26, where
the new district’s proposed
boundaries will be con-
firmed. Then, a second
hearing where the commis-
sioners can officially refer
the issue to the ballot will
be held on Aug. 16.
Bill: One of the last bills passed was also one of the more important
Continued from Page A1
will put its trade programs
in one place. The center will
have space to train electri-
cians and plumbers, as well
as students studying fire sci-
ences and emergency medi-
cal operations.
And Treasure Valley
Community College will get
$4.9 million to build a facil-
ity to train nurses and other
health care workers.
The state Department of
Administrative Services had
$24 million carved out in HB
5006 to buy a former Micro-
soft building in Wilsonville.
It’s something the state has
had its eye on, DAS spokes-
woman Liz Craig said.
The building comes with
office, warehouse and labo-
ratory space.
Right now, a specific pur-
pose isn’t outlined.
“We believe the build-
ing could solve a number
of space needs for various
agencies, including lab space
and secure storage, in a cen-
tral location,” Craig said.
DAS expects to decide
whether to buy the building
by the end of the year.
While some dollars
go to fund new projects,
much of the funding will
improve existing buildings.
The Oregon Youth Author-
ity received $6.4 million to
fund four projects, the bulk
going to upgrading medical
and dental clinics at the Til-
lamook Youth Correctional
Facility, MacLaren Youth
Correctional Facility and
Oak Creek Youth Correc-
tional Facility.
Right now, the Oak
Creek and Tillamook facil-
ities don’t have space for a
dentist to come in, so youths
have to be taken off cam-
pus for dental work. An
expansion of the facilities
will allow dentists to come
on-site, agency spokes-
woman Sarah Evans said.
The expansion of the
medical clinics at Oak Creek
and Tillamook will provide
quicker access to services.
At Oak Creek, the space is
currently so tight that it lim-
its how often doctors can
come visit.
“Both are just so small,”
Evans said. “If you look at
an exam room, you don’t
even have room to fit a doc-
tor, nurse and a youth all in
the room at the same time.”
MacLaren will get $1.8
million to upgrade its infir-
mary, clinic and pharmacy.
Evans said these services
were in an old building and
the new one will be better
suited to dealing with sick
people.
“If you walk into a place
that’s cold, old and run-
down looking, it’s not going
to make you feel better,” she
said.
Several Salem buildings
are getting upgrades through
the Oregon Military Depart-
ment. Almost $10 million
is dedicated to improv-
ing Army Aviation Support
facilities in Salem and Pend-
leton. The buildings will be
seismically retrofitted and
receive backup generators.
The Oregon Supreme
Court building will get a
seismic upgrade, along with
other renovations and ener-
gy-efficiency
upgrades,
using $28 million in state
funds.
The Oregon Department
of Corrections got more
than $47 million to upgrade
radios, cameras and building
maintenance. The depart-
ment is also going to use
$1.6 million to upgrade the
software it uses to track
inmates. The software now
in use today was developed
in the 1980s, according to
testimony submitted to the
Legislature, and is the black-
screen-green-font sort of
software now mostly seen in
decades-old movies.