REGION Saturday, January 2, 2021 East Oregonian ≤ ≤ A3 Truck crash closes Interstate 84 LOCAL BRIEFING Semitruck crash on I-84 kills one PENDLETON — A sin- gle vehicle crash Thursday, Dec. 31, on Interstate 84 left one person dead, according to a press release from the Oregon State Police. Chauncey Rife, 41, of Midvale, Utah, was east- bound on Interstate 84 near milepost 238 when his Freightliner CMV left the roadway, the release said. Investigators believe Rife possibly had a medical event before the crash. The crash occurred shortly before 10:30 a.m. OSP was assisted at the scene by the Umatilla Tribal Fire Department and Oregon Department of Transportation. Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Oregon Department of Transportation staff and tow truck operators work to clear the interstate at the site of a two-vehi- cle crash near milepost 215 on Interstate 84 westbound on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020. The crash blocked both lanes of west- bound traffi c and closed the interstate for more than two hours when one semitruck rear-ended another in the left lane, according to an offi cial from the Oregon Department of Transportation. The crash, which was reported around 7:50 a.m., turned one truck sideways across the interstate, and vehicles were forced to take a detour off exit 216 and on through Pendleton before they could merge back onto I-84 westbound. No injuries or diesel spill were reported as a result of the crash, according to ODOT. The interstate was closed while the road was cleaned up and a tow truck drove in from over an hour away, according to ODOT. Eastern Oregon representatives assigned to House committees Committees, subcommittees will focus on a variety of issues, including wildfi re recovery, COVID-19, equitable policing East Oregonian SALEM — Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek announced on Thursday, Dec. 31, the House com- mittees for the upcom- ing 2021 legislative ses- sion, which will focus on a variety of issues, including wildfi re recovery, COVID- 19 response and equitable policing, according to a press release. “Oregonians are facing crises that demand urgent action. The House is ready to lead on the issues that matter most in people’s lives right now. We also need to create the space to have a focused conver- sation about long-term, transformational changes to modernize the people’s legislature,” Speaker Kotek said in the press release. “I’m grateful for the diverse perspectives that my col- Levy Smith leagues will bring as we all work together to help Ore- gonians navigate the big challenges that lie ahead.” Among those assigned to committees were Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, and representative-elect Bobby Levy, from Echo. Smith was assigned to seven different commit- tees, including the Reve- nue Committee, Interstate 5 Bridge, the Ways and Means Committee, Ways and Means subcommittees for capital construction and general government, the Legislative Administration Committee, and the Legis- lative Audit Committee. Levy, who was elected in November 2020 to repre- sent Oregon House District 58 and replace outgoing state Rep. Greg Barreto, was assigned to the Rev- enue Committee and the Ways and Means Educa- tion Subcommittee. Oregon Republicans announce new caucus leadership SALEM — House Republicans in the Ore- gon Legislature announced their caucus leadership for 2021 on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020. House Republican Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, will remain in her position for the 2021 Leg- islative Session and Rep. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, will serve as House Republican deputy leader. “This leadership team represents rural, subur- ban and urban areas across the state, and the team’s diverse backgrounds and professional experiences will serve Oregon well,” Drazan said in a state- ment. “As we continue to face challenging issues amplifi ed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and wildfi re recovery efforts, Oregonians expect strong and steady leaders who will fi ght for their future, and that’s what the House Republican Leadership team will do.” Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, was listed in the announcement as an ex-offi cio member of the leadership team as vice chair of Ways and Means. Other members are Rep. Duane Stark, R-Grants Pass, House Republi- can whip; Rep. Kim Wal- lan, R-Medford, House Republican assistant whip; Rep. Bill Post, R-Keizer, House Republican assis- tant deputy; Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, R-Albany, House Republican assis- tant leader; Rep. Ced- ric Hayden, R-Roseburg, House Republican assis- tant leader; and Rep. Rick Lewis, R-Silverton, House Republican assistant leader. ICE removes Mexican man convicted of kidnapping Muniz-Vazquez was convicted in 2018 in Umatilla County Circuit Court East Oregonian PORTLAND — A Mexi- can man convicted of a 2018 kidnapping was removed from the country on Tues- day, Dec. 29, 2020, accord- ing to a press release from U. S. Immigration and Cus- toms Enforcement. Gerardo Muniz-Vazquez, 28, was convicted on Oct. 4, 2018, in the Umatilla County Circuit Court for kidnap- ping and assault, and sen- tenced to 34 months confine- ment. ICE’s Enforce- ment and R e m o v a l Muniz-Vazquez O pera- tions offi cers encountered Muniz-Vazquez at the Ore- gon Department of Correc- tions a month after Muniz- Vazquez’s conviction and lodged an immigration detainer with the jail. ICE lodges immigra- tion detainers on individu- als, such as Muniz-Vazquez, who have been arrested on local criminal charges and who are suspected of being removable, so that ICE can take custody of that person when he or she is released from local custody. Muniz-Vazquez was released from the ODOC in November 2020, transferred to ICE custody and housed at the Northwest ICE Pro- cessing Center pending immigration proceedings. “The safe and secure transfer of this convicted kidnapper is an excel- lent example of how law enforcement partnerships should work,” said ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Seattle Field Offi ce Director Nathalie Asher. “By honoring ICE’s immigration detainer, and safely transferring custody of this convicted criminal alien, our law enforcement partners have prevented an at-large arrest and the unnecessary increased risk that comes along with it.” An immigration judge on Dec. 17, 2020, ordered Muniz-Vazquez removed from the United States. He was transported from the United States via an ICE Air Operations charter fl ight and transferred to the cus- tody of Mexican authorities. ICE is charged with enforcing federal immigra- tion laws enacted by Con- gress. ICE offi cers are sworn law enforcement offi cers who carry out the arrest, detention and removal of aliens found to be in the United States unlawfully. Tree recycling available in Pendleton PENDLETON — Pend- leton-area residents look- ing to get rid of their Christ- mas trees can bring them to Pendleton City Club for recycling. The nonprofi t will be col- lecting trees at the empty lot next to the Pendleton Early Learning Center on the cor- ner of Southwest 12th Street and Southwest Emigrant Avenue through at least the second weekend in Janu- ary, Tim Simons said. Drop- offs are by donation, and City Club of Pendleton will use the donations for pro- grams benefi tting youth in Pendleton. Simons said if peo- ple come during weekday afternoons or daytime on weekends, someone will be there to help them unload their tree if they want help, but club members are also happy to keep their distance if people are worried about COVID and don’t want con- tact. People can also drop off their tree in the evenings when no one is around, and leave a donation in the drop box. Council to vote on sidewalk stamp preservation PENDLETON — The Pendleton City Council will spend part of its fi rst meet- ing of 2021 tackling a con- tentious issue that wasn’t on their radar two months ago. At its Jan. 5 meeting, the council is set to vote to amend its historic preser- vation ordinance to exclude sidewalk stamps — old etch- ings in the concrete denot- ing the street’s historic name — from future preservation. The issue came to a head in November, after the Pend- leton Historic Preservation Commission directed staff to preserve four sidewalk stamps named after Confed- erate fi gures along Southeast Byers Avenue as the city did work on the streets and side- walks. Pendleton resident Joshua Walker broke a Jef- ferson Davis stamp that had been removed from the sidewalk and affi xed a pro- Black Lives Matter sign to it, an act of protest that drew a criminal mischief misde- meanor charge. After initially opposing any action on the stamps, Mayor John Turner directed staff to halt plans to reinstall or re-imprint the stamps and draft a policy to pre- vent future stamp preserva- tion. Turner said his change of heart was spurred by the city’s lack of consistency, pointing out historic areas in town where they weren’t preserved. Activists spoke out against the stamps at December 2020 council meeting, and both oppo- nents and proponents will get a chance to speak at the Jan. 5 public hearing. The council meeting will be held in the council cham- bers in city hall, 500 S.W. Dorion Ave. Visitors can either attend in-person or over Zoom through a link on the city council’s digital agenda. Umatilla County reports 57th COVID-19 death PENDLETON — The Umatilla County Health Department announced the county’s 57th COVID-19 death in a Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020, press release. The victim is a 66-year- old male who tested positive Dec. 10, 2020, and died Dec. 25, 2020, at Good Shep- herd Health Care System in Hermiston. This individ- ual had underlying medical conditions, according to the press release. The announcement comes as the health depart- ment reported 143 new cases on Dec. 31, bringing the county’s total to 5,640 total cases reported in the county, according to the Umatilla County COVID- 19 dashboard. According to a press release, 77 of these cases are connected to outbreaks at local prisons. Morrow County reported 10 new cases, bringing its total to 815 cases. Morrow County has had eight deaths since the pandemic started earlier this year. Good Shepherd foundation awards grants HERMISTON — Good Shepherd Community Health Foundation con- cluded a “very success- ful year,” the foundation reported, awarding grants and scholarships totaling nearly $250,000 during 2020. Over two grant cycles, in spring and fall, 21 orga- nizations received grants for projects promoting health in area communities. Accord- ing to a news release, the largest grant contribu- tion was $50,000 for the city of Hermiston to help rebuild the Funland Park facility. Other funding was approved for medical health devices, security locks, community fi tness centers, health education programs, community gardening proj- ects, youth activities and services, foster care sup- plies, health exams and eye glasses. Twenty-two local stu- dents, attending 17 differ- ent colleges and universities and enrolled in 12 differ- ent medical disciplines, received scholarships to assist their training in the medical fi eld. For more information, call 541-667-3419 or email foundation@gshealth.org. Donations can be made online at gshealth.org/ foundation. — EO Media Group