REGION
Thursday, December 17, 2020
East Oregonian
A3
Chemical Depot gets mention in federal defense bill
CDA working with
U.S. Army to turn
most of depot over
to local control
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
UMATILLA — An
amendment regarding the
former Umatilla Chemi-
cal Depot was included in
the fi nal National Defense
Authorization Act passed by
Congress on Friday, Dec. 11.
The Columbia Develop-
ment Authority — a part-
nership between Umatilla
County, Morrow County,
Port of Morrow, Port of
Umatilla and the Confeder-
ated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation — has
been now that the land no
longer functions as an active
army depot.
A portion of the prop-
erty has already been turned
over the the Oregon Military
Department for a National
Guard training facility
known as Camp Umatilla,
but the CDA intends to use
the rest for a wildlife preserve
and industrial development.
Greg Smith, CDA direc-
tor, said while the Environ-
mental Protection Agency
signed off on the depot as
clean, when the Army did
a follow-up review out of
“an abundance of caution”
it determined that about 60
acres of property along the
western side of the depot
needed additional cleanup.
Smith said the CDA is work-
ing with the Army to con-
tinue with the transfer of the
rest of the depot, however,
with the understanding that
the Army would turn over
the 60 acres later after any
environmental hazards are
cleaned up.
“If it’s not clean, we’re not
taking it,” he said.
The $740 billion National
Defense Authorization Act
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Storage igloos line the horizon at the former Umatilla Chem-
ical Depot on Oct. 22, 2020.
includes a line directing the
Secretary of the Army to
submit to Congress a plan
to fi nish remediation activi-
ties on the depot within the
next three years. The Army
is directed to submit the plan
within 90 days of enactment
of the NDAA.
Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden
and Jeff Merkley and Con-
gressman Greg Walden
Hermiston council prepares for leadership turnover
Manuel Gutierrez,
David McCarthy
attend fi nal meeting
as councilors on
Dec. 14
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston City Council
said goodbye to two mem-
bers and saw three new ones
sworn in during their Mon-
day, Dec. 14, meeting.
It was the last meeting for
Manuel Gutierrez, who did
not run for another term in
preparation for a move out-
side city limits, and David
McCarthy, who lost his bid
for reelection.
Mayor David Drotzmann
presented Gutierrez with
a parting award, recogniz-
ing him for 15 years of ser-
vice to the city, including
his recent eight-year stint on
Sheriff’s Offi ce
investigating
possible shooting
HEPPNER — The Mor-
row County Sheriff’s Offi ce
is asking for the communi-
ty’s help in a shooting inves-
tigation, according to a press
release.
The Morrow County
Commutations
Center
received reports of a shot
fi red in Heppner shortly
before 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday,
Dec. 15.
When Morrow County
Sheriff’s Offi ce deputies
arrived on scene, they found
a 42-year-old female with
a serious injury. She was
transported to an out-of-
area hospital by Life-Flight.
“This investigation is
ongoing and in the very
early stages,” the press
release said. “Witnesses or
others with information per-
taining to this incident are
being sought. More infor-
mation will be released as it
becomes available.”
Police believe this is an
isolated incident and do
not believe there is current
threat to the public, the press
release said.
Anyone with any infor-
mation is encouraged to
contact the Morrow County
Sheriff’s Offi ce at 541-676-
5317 or the Morrow County
District Attorney’s Offi ce at
541-676-5626.
Two M-F teens
injured in icy crash
M I LT O N - F R E E WA-
TER — Two juveniles from
Milton-Freewater
were
injured last week when a
vehicle rolled on Highway
11 at milepost 21.
The 17-year-old youth
was driving a Chevy truck
on Highway 11 at 7:52 a.m.
on Thursday, Dec. 10,
when the vehicle slid on
ice, left the road, rolled and
landed on its top, according
to an Oregon State Patrol
release.
Durón
Gutierrez
the council, a previous four-
year term on the council
and years on the city’s bud-
get committee and Hispanic
Advisory Committee.
“I’ve looked up to you
and your relationships with
our Latino community,”
Drotzmann told Gutier-
rez. “You’ve been a strong
advocate for our commu-
nity, not just for Latino res-
idents but for all residents,
always advocating to make
sure we’re looking out, espe-
cially, for the ‘little guy.’”
Councilor Roy Barron
thanked Gutierrez for his
example, noting it would be
intimidating to be the only
Latino member of the city
McCarthy
Peterson
council. He said if it weren’t
for Gutierrez, he might not
have run for offi ce when he
did.
“You paved the way for
other Latinos and people of
color on this council,” he
said.
Newcomers
Maria
Duron, Nancy Peterson and
Philip Spicerkuhn were
sworn in at the end of the
Dec. 14 meeting in prepara-
tion to take their seat at the
beginning of the council’s
fi rst meeting of 2021. Coun-
cilors Doug Primmer and
Rod Hardin, Mayor David
Drotzmann and Municipal
Judge Thomas Creasing also
took the oath of offi ce after
LOCAL BRIEFING
The driver and 14-year-
old passenger were trans-
ported to Providence St.
Mary’s Medical Center
with injuries that were not
expected to be life-threat-
ening, the report stated.
The hospital is not
releasing updates on vic-
tims of crashes during the
pandemic.
Walla Walla man
rolls vehicle
east of Weston
WESTON — A Walla
Walla man was injured Fri-
day, Dec. 11, when a vehicle
rolled on Highway 204 near
milepost 12 east of Weston.
Bert Saranto, 60, was
driving a Toyota 4Runner
on the highway at 5:46 p.m.
when the vehicle slid on ice,
left the road, and then rolled
on its side, according to an
Oregon State Patrol release.
Saranto complained of
pain, but he declined to be
taken to a nearby hospital
by ambulance, the report
stated.
PDA hires
new director
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton Downtown Associ-
ation has found a new director.
In a Monday, Dec. 14,
press release, the association
announced it had hired John
Hart to become the nonprof-
it’s next executive director.
Hart’s fi rst day was Wednes-
day, Dec. 16, and he’s starting
his job by working remotely.
The press release states that
Hart is an “out-of-the-box”
thinker who has experience
working with nonprofi ts, city
governments, corporations,
small businesses and colleges.
Since establishing the
position in 2017, the associa-
tion has had three directors.
Molly Turner was elevated
from intern to become the
organization’s fi rst director
and was replaced by Wesley
Murack in late 2018 after she
took a job with Blue Mountain
Community College. Murack
resigned in July for “personal
reasons.”
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Spicerkuhn
being elected to another
term.
During the meeting, the
city council awarded Sineco
Construction of Hermiston a
bid for a $357,000 water line
replacement project during
their Dec. 14 meeting.
“We did get fi ve bidders
on the project, which was a
good turnout from the bid-
ding community,” Assistant
City Manager Mark Morgan
told the council.
The project will replace
1920s-era
pipes
along
Northwest Sixth Street,
Northwest Seventh Street
and West Ridgeway Avenue
near Rocky Heights Elemen-
tary School.
Umatilla County
reports 53rd
COVID-19 death
PENDLETON — The
Umatilla County Health
Department announced the
county’s 53rd COVID-19
death in a Tuesday, Dec. 15,
press release.
The victim is a 89-year-
old male who tested positive
Nov. 20 and died Dec. 6 at
Good Shepherd Health Care
System in Hermiston. This
individual had underlying
medical conditions, accord-
ing to the press release.
The
announcement
comes as the health depart-
ment reported 35 new cases
on Wednesday, Dec. 16, and
43 new cases on Dec. 15,
bringing the county’s total
to 4,981 confi rmed and pre-
sumptive coronavirus cases
since the pandemic began.
— EO Media Group and
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
have provided support for
the CDA’s efforts to get the
Army to provide the depot
land to the CDA while meet-
ing the CDA’s three criteria:
that the land be free, clean
and have adequate water for
development. In May, they
sent a letter to Secretary of
the Army Ryan McCarthy
urging the Army to complete
the remaining cleanup.
Last
week,
Wyden
said in a statement he was
pleased to see the addition
about the depot in the fi nal
defense bill.
“This development marks
a major step forward for
Umatilla and Morrow coun-
ties, which have been work-
ing in good faith with the
Oregon National Guard to
transfer the historic Chemi-
cal Depot lands and property
for multiple uses in Eastern
Oregon,” Wyden said. “I’m
proud to have worked with
Senator Merkley on legisla-
tion to hold the government
accountable and complete
the cleanup work so National
Guard members can train,
and neighboring properties
are protected for cultural and
economic uses.”
Smith said the CDA con-
tinues to make progress on
clearing the fi nal hurdles
for transfer, which include
sign-offs from a long list of
federal government offi ces
that have sometimes been
slow to respond. Smith said
in the past the Army’s Base
Realignment and Closure
department had handled
interfacing with the vari-
ous agencies, but lately he
has found great success by
reaching out to people in
those agencies directly.
“It’s really broken the log
jam. I just call them up, and
they don’t know who I am,
but I introduce myself and
say, ‘Do you know you’ve
been sitting on this docu-
ment for six months?’” he
said.
Morrow County
felon sentenced
to federal prison
Jeremy Michael
Carroll sentenced
to 63 months for
drug distribution,
illegal fi rearm
possession
East Oregonian
PORTLAND — A Mor-
row County man with a
decades-long criminal his-
tory, who was on probation
following his recent release
from federal prison, was
ordered to return to prison
Tuesday, Dec. 15, for ille-
gally possessing a fi rearm
and distributing metham-
phetamine, according to a
press release from the U.S.
Attorney’s Offi ce.
Jeremy Michael Carroll,
39, of Boardman, was sen-
tenced to 63 months in fed-
eral prison and four years
of supervised release. Car-
roll previously pleaded
guilty to illegally possess-
ing a fi rearm as a con-
victed felon and possessing
with the intent to distribute
methamphetamine.
“ Met ha mphet a m i ne
abuse and addiction con-
tinues to plague rural
communities
through-
out Oregon and across the
country,” said Billy J. Wil-
liams, U.S. attorney for
the District of Oregon. “I
applaud the Blue Moun-
tain Enforcement Narcot-
ics Team and its member
agencies for their steadfast
work to protect commu-
nities in Eastern Oregon
from the deadly scourge
of illegal drug traffi ck-
ing. Their hard work saves
lives and prevents violent
crime.”
According to court doc-
uments, in July 2019, BENT
detectives were investi-
gating Carroll, a known
drug traffi cker in Morrow
County. During the inves-
tigation, offi cers conducted
two separate controlled
purchases of methamphet-
amine from Carroll. Offi -
cers obtained and con-
ducted a search warrant on
Carroll’s Boardman resi-
dence. Inside the residence,
offi cers located a .243 cal-
iber rifl e, a .22 caliber
revolver, assorted ammuni-
tion, 35 grams of metham-
phetamine, 3 grams of her-
oin, scales, drug packaging
and drug ledgers.
In August 2019, inves-
tigators learned that Car-
roll was staying at a hotel
in Hermiston. Offi cers sur-
veilled the hotel, located
Carroll and arrested him.
A search of Carroll’s hotel
room returned a second .22
caliber pistol, a box of .22
caliber long rifl e ammuni-
tion, a loaded .22 caliber
long rifl e magazine, brass
knuckles, laser sights,
scope mounts and glass
smoking pipes, among
other items.
Carroll’s criminal his-
tory spans two decades
with prior convictions for
criminal mischief, carry-
ing a concealed weapon,
theft, strangulation, resist-
ing arrest, attempted bur-
glary, driving under the
infl uence of intoxicants,
felon in possession of a
fi rearm and felon in pos-
session of a destructive
device.
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