REGION
Thursday, July 18, 2019
East Oregonian
A3
Video helps Pendleton police
understand Tuesday’s serious crash
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
An inground sprinkler system waters the lawn at The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day
Saints in Hermiston on Tuesday afternoon.
Water conservation
can help lower bills
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Since
water and sewer rates
increased in March to pay
for repairs and upgrades to
the system, high water bills
have been a hot topic on social
media in Hermiston.
A petition on change.org
by Jacob Neighbors, which
gained 922 signatures, drew
comments from residents who
said they were having to take
shorter showers or let their
lawns go brown to be able to
afford their bill.
“Many residents have
experienced hard to swal-
low increases without any
changes in water quality, vol-
ume, or accessibility,” Neigh-
bors wrote.
While discussion online
hasn’t sparked any discus-
sions at city council about
lowering rates again, there are
some conservation steps that
people can take to lower their
bill on their own.
During warm weather, the
biggest cost for most home-
owners comes from watering
their lawns, gardens and other
landscaping. Many people
water their lawn every day,
but experts say about four
times a week is sufficient for
most of the year.
Homeowners have the
option of removing plants for
“xeriscaping” options like
bark chips or rocks, but if they
are set on keeping their green,
grassy lawn, they can take
steps to reduce the amount
of water they waste in the
process.
Watering in the eve-
ning minimizes the amount
of water lost to evaporation,
and avoiding windy days
keeps the breeze from carry-
ing away droplets. Watering
in two shorter sessions with
a break in between helps pre-
vent losing water to runoff as
well.
Raising your lawnmower
blades to a higher level and
keeping fertilizer to a mini-
mum can also help the lawn
retain more water.
Make sure sprinklers are
watering the lawn, not the
sidewalk or driveway, and
repair even small leaks imme-
diately. According to Water-
Sense, the Environmental
Protection Agency’s water
conservation program, a leak
the size of the tip of a ballpoint
pen can waste over 6,000 gal-
lons of water per month.
“Household leaks can
waste approximately nearly
900 billion gallons of water
annually nationwide,” the
WaterSense fact sheet states.
“That’s equal to the annual
household water use of nearly
11 million homes.”
Water users in Hermiston
pay a base charge of $30 per
month, plus 50 cents per 1,000
gallons up to 15,000 gallons
and $3.50 per 1,000 gallons
thereafter. That means even
a small 6,000 gallon leak can
add an extra $21 per month.
The city offers the EyeOn-
Water app for free to all cus-
tomers, which can help detect
leaks. The app allows users to
track their water usage by the
month, day or time of day and
can be set up to send alerts to
their phone when usage pat-
terns indicate a leak.
Beyond leaks and lawns,
dishwashers and washing
machines can also be heavy
water users. According to the
city of Portland, about 22 per-
cent of the water used in a typ-
ical residential home is from
washing clothes.
Purchasing
appliances,
faucets, shower heads, toi-
lets and more with the gov-
ernment’s WaterSense seal of
approval can greatly reduce
the amount of water a home
uses. But if new appliances
are not in the budget, people
PENDLETON — Pend-
leton police Chief Stuart
Roberts said the 73-year-old
motorcyclist who crashed
Tuesday in Pendleton likely
suffered a “life-altering”
injury.
The motorcycle and a
Toyota Rav4 collided Tues-
day around 4:50 p.m. in the
intersection of Southwest
Dorion Avenue and 10th
Street. Finding out what
occurred became onerous,
Roberts said, when peo-
ple who claimed they were
witnesses had conflicting
accounts.
“No two had the same
story,” he said.
Officers on Wednesday
were able to view video
from Dave’s Chevron at
220 S.W. 12th St. and that
helped bring clarity to a
MORE
INFORMATION
terrible moment.
Roberts said the motor-
cycle and the Toyota Rav4
were traveling side-by-side
east on Dorion Avenue,
with the Toyota in the north-
ern lane and the motorcy-
cle in the southern lane. As
they entered the intersection
with 10th Street, the motor-
cyclist turned left from the
southern lane and smashed
into the Toyota.
The
SUV
contin-
ued about a block further
on Dorion, dragging the
motorcyclist before get-
ting stopped on the south
side curb. Roberts said that
may have caused the rider’s
severe injuries.
A Life Flight helicop-
ter took the rider to Kadlec
Regional Medical Cen-
ter, Richland, Washington.
Roberts said doctors there
have performed surgery on
the man, who is intubated
and will remain so for sev-
eral days.
The motorcyclist had
identification showing he
was from the area of Cal-
gary in Alberta, Canada,
Roberts said, but so far
police have had no luck in
finding anyone how knows
him. Roberts also said the
man at the scene uttered “he
didn’t want anyone to be
advised,” but just what that
means is unclear.
The Toyota driver is
a local woman, Roberts
said, who does not face
citations or charges. He
added the crash has left her
traumatized.
Roberts also urged locals
to stay vigilant when on
the roads. The summer has
produced several crashes
already, and Pendleton Bike
Week is bringing in thou-
sands of visitors who may not
be as familiar with the town.
BRIEFLY
For more information on
ways to lower your water
bill, visit www.epa.gov/
watersense.
Unstable bridge
forces trail closure
can also help reduce wasted
water by waiting to run a load
of clothes or dishes until the
machine is full.
They can also not let water
run any longer than necessary
while hand washing items in
the sink or rinsing vegetables
and fruit.
In the bathroom, letting the
sink run while brushing your
teeth or shaving and letting
the shower or bath run while
shaving your legs is send-
ing money straight down the
drain. WaterSense suggests
running a timer to help keep
showers shorter as well.
You can check for toilet
leaks by dropping food color-
ing in the tank of the toilet and
waiting several minutes to see
if any shows up in the bowl
without flushing. According
to the EPA, replacing old toi-
lets with new water-conserv-
ing models can save families
an average of 13,000 gallons
of water a year.
PENDLETON — For-
est Service officials on
the North Fork John Day
Ranger District have closed
a portion of Big Creek Trail
No. 3151 until further notice
due to an unsafe bridge that
crosses Big Creek approx-
imately 1.5 miles uphill
from the North Fork John
Day River Trail.
The bridge supports
have completely rotted,
making the bridge unstable.
There is currently no estab-
lished, safe creek crossing
in that area.
The Big Creek Trail No.
3151 will be closed from
its junction with the North
Fork John Day River Trail
No. 3022 north to the junc-
tion with the South Winom
Trail No. 3153. The loop
opportunity provided by
the northern part of the Big
Creek Trail and the South
Winom Trail will remain
open. Closure signs will be
posted at both junctions, as
well as the North Fork John
Staying Safe
in Wildfire Season
Day River, Big Creek, and
South Winom trailheads.
The ranger district is
working on developing a
safe crossing for the bridge,
with the goal of reopening
the trail prior to hunting
season.
Pendleton man
takes deal in child
porn case
PENDLETON — Steven
Moses Enko of Pendleton
took a plea deal in June and
avoided facing trial for pos-
sessing child pornography.
Enko pleaded guilty on
June 28 in Umatilla County
Circuit Court to two counts
of first-degree encourag-
ing child sex abuse. Court
records show Judge Dan-
iel Hill sentenced Enko,
38, to two years and three
months in state prison. He
gets credit for the time he
was in the Umatilla County
Jail. Enko could be eli-
gible for release in April
2021, according to Oregon
Department of Corrections
information. He also has
to complete three years of
post-prison supervision.
Pendleton police inves-
tigated the case in 2018
based on a “Cyber Tipline
Report” and related infor-
mation from the Oregon
Department of Justice about
apparent child pornography,
according to a search war-
rant affidavit. The mate-
rial included photographs
depicting children from
about 2-7 years old in sex-
ual acts. Bowen obtained
records for social media
websites and followed the
trail to Enko.
The district attorney’s
office charged Enko with
13 counts of encouraging
child sex abuse and dis-
missed 11 of those per the
deal. According to the plea
petition, Enko admitted to
having a visual recording of
child pornography since late
December 2017. Taking the
deal nixed his trial, which
would have began July 2.
Enko now is in the
inmate intake center at
Coffee Creek Correctional
Facility, Wilsonville.
Mom &
Baby
Support
Group
Wildfire season is here, and safety
is top of mind for you and us.
As wildfires become more frequent and intense, we’re taking even
more steps to keep you safe—especially in areas with higher risk of
fires. We’re trimming vegetation around power lines, adding more
weather monitoring equipment and expanding our preparedness
efforts by working with local, state and federal emergency services.
To find out more about what we’re doing and what you can do
to be prepared, visit us at pacificpower.net/wildfiresafety.
We meet every Friday 9AM -11AM
at St Anthony Hospital
in Conference Rooms 3 & 4
7/18
Cineplex Show Times
$5 Classic Movie
Showing Wednesday
Shrek the Third at 10AM
And Beverly Hills Cops 12PM
Stuber (R)
4:40p 7:10p 9:40p
This support group is Free and
specifically geared toward
Moms and Caregivers.
We provide Free snacks,
support, breastfeeding help
and baby weigh ins.
Crawl (R)
4:50p 7:20p 9:30p
Spider-Man:
Far From Home (PG13)
2D 7:00p
4:10p 9:50p
Toy Story 4 (PG)
4:20p 6:40p 9:20p
The Lion King (PG)
6:00p and 9:00p
* Matinee Pricing
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
St. Anthony Clinic
3001 St. Anthony Way
Pendleton, Oregon
www.sahpendleton.org