REGION
Friday, July 19, 2019
East Oregonian
A3
New vehicle boosts sheriff’s office rescue abilities
down a mountainside near
Dead Man Pass on Inter-
state 84 east of Pendleton.
Nine people died in that
wreck, and 39 suffered inju-
ries, many serious.
“We had to bring in a
similar vehicle from Walla
Walla to assist with that epi-
sode,” Roberts said. Since
then the emergency man-
agement department has
worked to get a UTV of its
own, seeking funds from
the Homeland Security
Grant Program under the
Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency. The grant
program plays an import-
ant role in FEMA’s National
Preparedness System, fund-
ing preparedness activities
from emergency planning
to training to equipment
purchases.
“We
were
finally
awarded $48,838 for the
procurement of this unit,”
Roberts said. The funds
also will go toward buying
a trailer to transport it.
Rowan said the grants
Utility task vehicle
arrived Monday to
the sheriff’s office
in Pendleton
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
Umatilla County Sheriff’s
Office has a new tool for
responding to major crises.
County emergency man-
ager Tom Roberts said the
Polaris Ranger Crew XP
1000 EPS Northstar HVAC
Edition fills a critical gap
for the sheriff’s office.
The utility task vehicle
arrived Monday to the sher-
iff’s office in Pendleton.
Roberts said it can transport
six people in the cab plus
has a seat and stretcher in
the exterior bed for a patient
care provider and someone
who is immobile. The rig is
for off-road work and runs
on snow tracks for winter.
Sheriff Terry Rowan said
Photo contributed by the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office
Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan shows the sheriff’s office’s latest big equipment acquisi-
tion — a new utility task vehicle capable of rescues over rugged terrain and rough conditions.
this was a solid acquisition
for the sheriff’s office. The
patrol division has a simi-
lar vehicle for working in
off-highway vehicle parks,
state parks and the like, he
said, but without the capa-
bility to transport medics
and patients.
Roberts said the need for
Truck fire breaks out at local auto shop
Pendleton Fire Department
Capt. Steve Brost (left) and
Lt. Jeff Perry work to bat-
tle an engine fire in a Ford
Ranger pickup truck at The
Shop, located at 238 S.W.
Court Ave. According to me-
chanics on scene, the driver
of the vehicle pulled in com-
plaining that the truck was
overheating and may need
repair before it burst into
flames in the parking lot.
The exact cause of the fire is
still under investigation.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Hermiston School District wins
financial accountability award
By JESSICA POLLARD
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Herm-
iston School District recently
received the Certificate of
Achievement for Excellence
in Financial Reporting from
the Government Finance
Officers Association for the
12th year in a row.
The certificate was issued
for the Comprehensive
Annual Financial Report
for the fiscal year that ended
June 30, 2018.
Public entities can elect to
submit their financial infor-
mation to the GFOA to seek
review and become eligible
for the certificate, which is
the highest recognition for
government accounting and
reporting, according to a
press release from the Herm-
iston School District.
“While this is an award
that looks at just one finan-
cial document, it’s really a
culmination of the entire
school and fiscal year,” said
Director of Business Ser-
vices Katie Saul. “Not just
the business office, but the
entire district. Everybody
within the district takes
financial responsibility very
seriously.”
The CAFR Program,
established in 1945, assesses
transparency and disclosure,
rather than financial health.
Last year’s results named
over 4,000 different public
entities nationwide that won
the certificate.
The district’s financial
reports, debt management
practices, per-student fund-
ing, and reimbursed spend-
ing were some of the metrics
used to examine how money
was used and recorded for
the 2017-18 fiscal year.
Saul said that the metrics
make it easier for HSD to
compare its expenditures to
that of other school districts
in the area. Saul has been
working at HSD since 2009,
and has been the director of
business services since 2016.
“Saul and her team are
responsive and make sure
everyone is engaged, which
fosters a culture of account-
ability,” Superintendent Tri-
cia Mooney said in a recent
press release.
The district first submit-
ted to the GFOA after the
2004-05 school year, and
has won the award 13 times
total.
The GFOA, a national
organization, was founded in
1906 and aims to “advance
excellence”
in
public
finance. The organization
provides best practices guid-
ance and consulting for pub-
lic finance officials in the
United States and Canada.
“It just really goes to
show the consistency of the
district being mindful of the
taxpayers’ funds,” Saul said.
HERMISTON
—
Walmart is hiring 130 new
truck drivers in the Pacific
Northwest, and Hermiston is
landing 30 of those jobs.
The company’s Herm-
iston transportation office
serves
the
Hermiston
Walmart Distribution Cen-
ter and other centers and
stores around the Pacific
Northwest.
Walmart also recently
announced a pay increase
for all drivers, meaning the
new drivers can earn an
all-in rate of nearly 89 cents
a mile, adding up to as much
as $87,500 in their first year.
Those interested in apply-
ing can visit drive4walmart.
com.
Construction
to close part of
Hermiston Avenue
HERMISTON — Con-
struction work on Hermis-
ton Avenue will disrupt traf-
fic over the next couple of
months in Hermiston.
The city will be working
on replacing underground
utilities and then repaving
between Southwest Third
Street and Southwest 10th
Street between July 22 and
end of the month.
The street will be com-
pletely open for the Umatilla
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Greater Hermiston Community
Foundation looks forward to giving
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON
—
When the Greater Herm-
iston Community Foun-
dation started a little more
than a year ago, its found-
ers weren’t sure how long
it would take before they
could start the fun part:
giving away money.
That part is almost
here. The foundation
plans to take applications
this fall and award its first
grants in early 2020 after
hitting the $200,000 mark
earlier this year.
“That was a huge mile-
stone,” vice-chair Nate
Rivera said. “We were
thrilled to reach that goal
in that timeline.”
The Greater Hermiston
Community Foundation
is a 501©3 charity started
by Hermiston residents
who wanted to help peo-
ple give back to the com-
munity in a lasting way.
The foundation’s main
component is an endow-
ment fund, where money
will be held in trust and
the interest earned from
the fund will perpetually
generate money for com-
munity projects.
The GHCF will also
be able to open separate
accounts to collect direct
donations for specific
projects. For example,
will. He said the time for
a bequeathment opportu-
nity like the GHCF is ripe,
given the timeline of how
the city has grown.
“We will have a lot of
wealth that will be transi-
tioning for the first time in
Hermiston,” he said.
While there are local
foundations that focus
on specific areas, such as
health or education, the
Greater Hermiston Foun-
dation will be more broad
in scope. Rivera said they
will be looking more
toward
brick-and-mor-
tar projects than events
to make the most impact
in the greater Hermiston
area.
“We have a lot of flex-
ibility in what we can
fund,” he said.
The board will come up
with an application form
and list of criteria this fall,
then award its first grant
in early 2020. Their next
fundraising goal is to take
the endowment fund up to
$500,000.
Own your own Sears
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Showing Wednesday
County Fair Parade on Aug.
3 and throughout the follow-
ing week for the fair. After-
ward, according to the city,
Hermiston Avenue will be
completely closed between
South First Place and South-
west Third Street for “sev-
eral weeks” to fully rebuild
the street and sidewalks.
Businesses in the area
of the closure will remain
open, with parking on side
streets and behind buildings.
For
more
informa-
tion contact city hall at
541-567-5521.
once the city of Hermiston
is ready to actively solicit
donations for the rebuild
of Funland Playground,
the foundation will col-
lect tax-exempt donations
and pass 100% of the
money on to the city. The
account will be an option
for large corporations and
others that have policies
against giving directly to
cities to avoid a conflict of
interest.
Board treasurer Den-
nis Barnett said those
involved in the founda-
tion made the commit-
ment to donate time, web-
site costs, printing and
all other overhead costs
in-kind instead of using
money from donations.
“There’s not a dollar of
administration in this,” he
said. “No overhead.”
Barnett said in addition
to donations the founda-
tion has in hand, a few of
Hermiston’s more well-off
current and former resi-
dents have also written
the foundation into their
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Walmart hiring 30
new truck drivers
in Hermiston
this kind of vehicle became
apparent on Dec. 31, 2012,
when a tour bus carry-
ing dozens of passengers
crashed and plummeted
are not easy to win because
they are so competitive.
Agencies across the county
apply for funds to enhance
their ability to respond to
emergencies.
“We’re just thankful this
go-round we had a compel-
ling enough application to
get funding,” he said.
The sheriff’s office will
house the vehicle with other
equipment for the search
and rescue team, and the
team will oversee the use
of the Polaris. Roberts said
he anticipates the team will
have ample opportunity to
use the UTV. The team each
year, particularly during the
winter, hustles to mountain
areas to help lost hunters
and the like.
The sheriff’s office aims
to have the UTV ready soon,
and Rowan said the public
can expect to see it working
in August at the Umatilla
County Fair, where medical
teams will put it use taking
patients to ambulances if
the need arises.
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