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
