OFF PAGE ONE
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Fire crews respond to
grass fire near I-84
East Oregonian
A7
Shelter: City councilor starts
talks on addressing the homeless
Continued from Page A1
As the council mulls
changes to the way it deals
with homelessness, Innes said
the city hasn’t committed to
one of the potential solutions.
“It’s a big issue,” she said.
“We have not said as a coun-
cil, ‘We want to build a home-
less shelter.’”
If the council does go that
route, Innes said there are
grants available to help with
funding it.
The rest of the council’s
response was mixed.
Councilor Paul Chalm-
ers said the top homelessness
complaints are from pedes-
trians who aren’t comfort-
able walking on the Pendle-
ton River Parkway because of
the presence of nearby home-
less camps, and from business
owners who say homeless are
trespassing onto their prop-
erty to sleep in their door-
ways or rifle through their
dumpsters.
Councilor
McKennon
McDonald said she’s encoun-
tered more homeless peo-
ple in downtown Pendleton
in recent months than in her
daily walks on the parkway.
Mayor John Turner said
he’s unsure if the city should
change its approach, which
he called “benign” and
“friendly.”
Turner said Pendleton
already experiences higher
rates of homelessness because
of services offered by organi-
zations like the Community
Action Program of East Cen-
tral Oregon and the Salvation
Army.
While he thought the
council and police department
weren’t interested in ”perse-
cuting homeless people,” he
also added that there have
been some “very disturbing
scenes” in Portland and Seat-
tle when they provided more
services.
Chalmers said the prob-
lem was compounded by
the state’s shrinking number
of mental hospital beds, but
the city’s primary responsi-
bility should be to the city’s
taxpayers.
“There’s just a boatload of
folks, that’s the lifestyle they
choose,” he said. “I don’t think
we need to validate that at any
cost because there’s services
that are being provided for
people who choose that.”
Innes said locals who want
to stay permanently home-
less is a minority, but mental
health is an issue.
While the longterm hous-
ing situation for the homeless
remains unsolved, the coun-
cil is moving ahead with an
ordinance that will change
the way homelessness is
enforced.
The council will soon
consider a proposed law that
would repeal the city’s ban on
loitering but would also add
new prohibitions on public
camping and sleeping on pub-
lic benches.
“If we are very strict about
cleaning up the river parkway
and under the edges of the
bridge, those people are just
going to float into our neigh-
borhoods,” she said. “They
are going to have to find some
place to stay.”
She added that she recently
spoke with a homeless man
who had lost his camp and
was now sleeping in a garage,
and she was unsure if had
secured permission to stay
there.
This isn’t the first time the
city has put some thought on
where to house the homeless.
In 2018, former Pendleton
City Manager Larry Leh-
man said the city held inter-
nal discussions about estab-
lishing a regulated homeless
camp.
Walla Walla actually
started one in 2016, and after
some trial-and-error, the city
and a local nonprofit now
maintain a cluster of huts
that are open to the homeless
year-round.
Before discussing the
issue further, Turner said
Innes should return with
recommendations
from
the committee.
Jail: Hedman is facing 6 charges in
Baker County before extradition
Continued from Page A1
Staff photos by Ben Lonergan
Pendleton Fire Department and Oregon Department of Forestry fire crews responded to
a grass fire on a hillside along Interstate 84 near Exit 209 in Pendleton late Wednesday
afternoon. The cause of the fire is still under investigation at this time.
Breast implant recalled after
link to more rare cancer cases
By MATTHEW
PERRONE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
—
Breast implant maker Aller-
gan Inc. issued a worldwide
recall Wednesday for certain
textured models after regula-
tors alerted the company to a
heightened cancer risk with
the devices.
The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration said it called
for the removal after new
information showed Aller-
gan’s Biocell breast implants
with a textured surface were
tied to the vast majority of
cases of a rare form of lym-
phoma. The move follows
similar action in France,
Australia, Canada and other
nations.
The FDA is not recom-
mending women with the
implants have them removed
because the cancer is so rare,
but say they should check
with their doctor if they have
symptoms, which include
pain and swelling.
Biocell implants feature a
textured surface designed to
prevent slippage and to mini-
mize scar tissue. Those mod-
els account for just 5% of the
U.S. market. The vast major-
ity of breast implants used
in the U.S. have a smooth
surface.
Wednesday’s recall does
not affect Allergan’s smooth
implants or a different Aller-
gan textured implant sold
under the Microcell brand.
Health authorities first
linked breast implants to
cancer in 2011. The dis-
ease is not breast cancer but
lymphoma that grows in the
scar tissue surrounding the
breasts. It grows slowly and
can usually be successfully
treated by surgically remov-
ing the implants.
As recently as May, the
FDA said that the danger did
not warrant a national ban
on textured devices. But the
FDA said Wednesday that
new data show a direct link
to cancer with Allergan’s
implants not seen with other
textured implants.
“Once the evidence indi-
cated that a specific manu-
facturer’s product appeared
to be directly linked to signif-
icant patient harm, including
death, the FDA took action,”
said FDA deputy commis-
sioner Amy Abernethy, on a
call with reporters.
The FDA said the latest
figures show more than 80%
of the 570 confirmed cases
of the lymphoma worldwide
have been linked to Allergan
implants. Regulators esti-
mate that the risk of the dis-
ease is six times higher with
Allergan’s implants than
other textured implants sold
in the U.S.
FDA officials said they
decided to act after receiving
116 new reports of the can-
cer. Those reports increased
the number of deaths tied
to the disease from 9 to 33,
including at least 12 cases in
women with Allergan breast
implants.
FDA’s device director Jef-
frey Shuren said the death
increase played a significant
role in their decision to seek
a recall.
“Our team concluded
action was necessary to pro-
tect the public health,” he
said.
The new numbers still
reflect a rare disease consid-
ering an estimated 10 million
women globally have breast
implants. The FDA estimates
that hundreds of thousands
of U.S. women have the Bio-
cell implants.
There is no firm agree-
ment on the exact frequency
of the disease, known as
breast
implant-associated
anaplastic large cell lym-
phoma. Published estimates
range from 1 in 3,000 patients
to 1 in 30,000 patients.
Dr. Mark Clemens of
Houston’s MD Anderson
Cancer Center said Biocell’s
surface differs from other
textured implants, producing
a large amount of particles
that shed into the body.
“But what key factor is
most important, we don’t
know at this time,” said Cle-
mens, a plastic surgeon who
has published extensively on
the disease.
Allergan said in a state-
ment it would no longer sell
or distribute Biocell implants
and tissue expanders, which
are used to prepare patients
for breast reconstruction.
The company said it would
direct surgeons to return
unused implants.
Roughly 400,000 U.S.
women get breast implants
each year. The devices have
a silicone outer shell and
are filled with either saline
or silicone. Silicone-filled
implants are more popular
in the U.S. because they are
considered more natural.
Hedman to face first-degree
murder charges.
Hedman is accused of kill-
ing Kyle Jordan Martz, 35, of
Walla Walla.
Shirtcliff said it’s uncer-
tain how long the extradition
process will take, although he
said he doubts it would require
more than a month.
“It’s always hard to say,”
he said. “They’ve begun that
process, but there is no time
frame.”
In Baker County, Hed-
man is charged with unautho-
rized use of a motor vehicle,
attempting to elude, reckless
driving, criminal trespassing,
criminal mischief and prop-
erty hit-and-run.
He was arrested near Baker
City after trying to elude
police. Hedman is accused of
breaking into Bob and Rob-
bie Borders’ home on Taggert
Lane, just north of Baker City.
Shirtcliff said the Walla
Walla murder charges take
priority over the Baker
County case.
However, he said that if
the extradition process is
still pending when Hedman
is scheduled to go to trial in
Baker City, it’s possible the
trial here could happen before
Hedman returns to Washing-
ton, Shirtcliff said.
Hedman has not waived
his right to a speedy trial,
and a trial date could be set
during a hearing next week,
Shirtcliff said.
According to police
reports, when Hedman went
to the Borders’ property he
initially moved items from
a Toyota pickup truck he
is accused of stealing from
Martz into the Borders’ Ford
pickup truck.
Baker County Sheriff’s
Office deputies Gabe Mal-
donado and Craig Rilee con-
fronted Hedman, who fled on
foot.
He later returned to the
Borders’ property and drove
away in the couple’s 2000
Jeep Wrangler.
Hedman was arrested
later after leading police on a
chase during which the Bor-
ders’ Jeep, valued at about
$10,000, was totaled, accord-
ing to Bob Borders.
Charter: Review committee maintains
Umatilla County needs a manager
Continued from Page A1
she said, the committee con-
siders the county at some
point would be better off with
five part-time commission-
ers plus a full-time county
manager.
“We did stick with —
and have recommended very
strongly — that a county
manager be appointed,” she
said.
Grable also addressed
Shafer telling the commit-
tee at the work session, “If it
ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” refer-
ring to the county’s system
of administration with three
commissioners.
“Well, in my opinion, this
is a vision of the present,”
Grable said. “I submit it isn’t
a vision of the future, and it’s
certainly not a vision of the
past.”
The county has not func-
tioned well under previous
commissioners, she said,
and continuity remains a
chief problem in county
government.
Citing
Commissioner
George Murdock, chair of
the county board, Grable said
27 of Oregon’s 36 counties
have a manager. County tax
assessor Paul Chalmers told
the committee that previous
commissioners and boards
sunk employee morale and
created a negative workplace.
Chalmers also described
Murdock as the de facto
county manager, she said,
which other county depart-
ment heads echoed.
A county manager would
come with a cost, Grable
said, but Robert Pahl, the
county’s chief finance offi-
cer, confirmed the money
for such a position would be
available in the budget.
The county adopted the
charter in 1994, when the
county population was about
59,000 and the county bud-
get was $18 million. Now, the
county has more than 80,000
residents and the total bud-
get is north of $90 million.
The very first charter review
committee recommended a
manager, she said, and that
was 15 years ago. She added
a manager also would allow
the commissioners to be
more responsive to the public
and spend more time advo-
cating in Salem and Wash-
ington, D.C., for the county.
Committee member Dan
Dorran, building on that
point, told the board the city
of Bend received $60.7 mil-
lion in federal highway funds
for an interchange. Achiev-
ing that grant took one city
councilor and a county com-
missioner working in D.C. for
21 days. That advocacy work
is critical, he said.
“It all has to start with
somebody at the head of the
table with consistency,” Dor-
ran sad. “For that, I strongly
advocate to put this on the
ballot and let the people of
Umatilla County make the
choice.”
The second proposal from
the committee would sim-
plify elections. If no more
than two candidates seek the
office, there would be no May
primary election and the can-
didates would advance to the
November general. If more
than two run, the two who
win the most votes in the pri-
mary face off in the general.
And the third proposal
would replace “Law Enforce-
ment Department” with
“Sheriff’s Office” in the
charter and reflect the sher-
iff’s functions according to
Oregon law.
Commissioner
Elfer-
ing said he saw “very lit-
tle disagreement” with the
recommendations.
Mur-
dock said he was not excited
about five part-time com-
missioners and appreciated
the committee’s change in
direction. He also added
the county in the past had a
quasi-administrator.
“In many eyes that did not
go well,” he said, “but I don’t
know if that would be a basis
for not having administration
in the future.”
Murdock also referenced
his own prior career working
for and with school districts:
“When you have a superin-
tendent that doesn’t work out,
you don’t eliminate the posi-
tion of superintendent. You
get a new superintendent
who will work out.”
He concluded he remains
committed to the integrity of
the review committee’s pro-
posals and should consider at
the Aug. 7 meeting whether
or not to put them on the
ballot.
“This has gone on for 18
months,” he said. “I see no
value in fussing around any
longer.”
Commissioner
Shafer
made the motion to that
end, Elfering gave the sec-
ond and the trio voted in
favor of the plan.