REGION Saturday, January 9, 2021 East Oregonian ≤ ≤ A3 Umatilla County holds COVID-19 vaccination clinic Cars line up for COVID-19 vacci- nations during a Umatilla County Public Health vaccination clinic at the Pendleton Con- vention center on Thursday, Jan 7, 2021. As of 2 p.m., the line of cars stretched roughly 60 vehicles long as the county worked to vac- cinate essential workers in the 1a category, in- cluding hospital workers and fi rst responders. Ben Lonergan/ East Oregonian Annual MLK event to take a different form this year By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian HERMISTON — A virtual forum on race will take the place of Hermiston’s usual Martin Luther King Day Peace Walk this year. The panel, held over Zoom, will take place on Monday, Jan. 18, from noon to 1 p.m. People can visit www.gohermiston. com that day to fi nd a link and login information to access the event. In the past, the Hermiston Cultural Awareness Coalition has planned a “peace walk” through downtown on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, followed by a gathering at First United Methodist Church to hear speakers and musical numbers and eat lunch. Jesus Rome, who is helping organize the panel this year, said a large gather- Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File Hispanic Advisory Committee Chair Jose Garcia, left, march- es with Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann, right, as a part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. March in Hermiston on January 20, 2020. This year Garcia will be part of a virtual panel on race being held instead of the march. ing felt inappropriate during the pandemic, but given the country’s protests and discus- sions on race in 2020 it seemed important to continue that work on Martin Luther King Day. “We’re excited,” he said. “We have some pretty good speakers.” The panel will include a discussion on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and related topics by Hermiston City Manager Byron Smith, Briana Spencer of the Confed- erated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Carol Jeffry Hoague of the Herm- iston Cultural Awareness Coalition, Jose Garcia of the Hispanic Advisory Commit- tee and Hermiston High School students Inle Gonza- lez and Jada Rome. It will be moderated by Angela Pursel of KOHU & The Q, which are sponsoring the event. Rome said Pursel will ask some prepared questions, but there will be opportunities for people to submit questions as well. LOCAL BRIEFING Hansell appointed Hermiston City to fi ve committees Council to meet for 2021 Legislature Jan. 11 SALEM — Veteran East- ern Oregon Republican legis- lator Bill Hansell has been issued Oregon Senate commit- tee assign- ments for the upcom- i ng 2021 Legislature, according to a Thursday, Hansell Jan. 7, press release. Hansell, entering his ninth year as a state senator, has been appointed to fi ve committee assignments, including vice- chair of labor and business. Other committee assignments include redistricting, joint committee on ways and means, public safety subcommittee and transportation and economic development subcommittee. “I’m excited about my committee assignments and honored to get to work on behalf of the voters of North- east Oregon,” Hansell said. ”With COVID-19 recovery and budget cuts there are a lot of challenges ahead of Oregon, but I look forward to meeting those challenges head-on.” Hansell represents Senate District 29, which comprises all of Gilliam, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa counties, as well as parts of Wasco County. The 2021 Oregon Legisla- ture begins its session on Tues- day, Jan. 19. HERMISTON — Hermis- ton city councilors will receive updates on water projects in the region during a work session preceding the Monday, Jan. 11, city council meeting. The work session will take place at 6 p.m. at the Hermis- ton Community Center, 415 S. Highway 395, followed by the regular city council meeting at 7 p.m. Both will be livestreamed over the City of Hermiston YouTube chan- nel and available for viewing afterward. During their regular meet- ing, city councilors will hold public hearings for two land use actions before voting on them. The fi rst is an annex- ation of 1.38 acres of land at 1035 S.W. 17th St., owned by Robert and Victoria Smith. The second request is an amendment to the city’s comprehensive plan and zoning map, and annexation of 11.5 acres at 455 E. Elm Ave. Steve Richards of East- ern Oregon Development LLC has requested that the zoning be changed from multi-family residential to a neighborhood commercial overlay. Accord- ing to the staff report, he hopes to build a mini-storage facility similar to Highland Mini-Stor- age, which he also owns, and make the rest of the property available for future commer- cial development. The action is recommended by the planning commission and city staff. Umatilla County logs two more COVID-19 deaths PENDLETON — The Oregon Health Authority announced Umatilla Coun- ty’s 60th COVID-19 death in a Friday, Jan. 8, press release. The victim is a 50-year- old man who tested positive on Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020, and died on Tuesday, Jan. 5, at Good Shepherd Community Hospital in Hermiston, accord- ing to the state. He had under- lying conditions. The announcement came a day after the state announced the county’s 59th COVID-19 death, a 56-year-old man who tested positive on Wednes- day, Dec. 30, 2020, and died on Saturday, Jan. 2, at his resi- dence, according to the state. He also had underlying condi- tions. The announcement comes as the county reported 38 new cases of COVID-19 on Jan. 8 and 158 new cases on Thurs- day, Jan. 7, bringing the coun- ty’s total to 6,185 total cases since the pandemic began last year, according to the Umatilla County COVID-19 dashboard. Morrow County reported 13 new cases on Jan. 8 and two new cases on Jan. 7, bringing its total to 866 cases, according to the Morrow County COVID- 19 dashboard. Morrow County has had eight deaths since the pandemic started early in 2020. Person of interest in fatal shooting turns himself in HEPPNER — A man police considered a “person of interest” in a December 2020 shooting that left one woman dead has surrendered to police. According to a press release from the Oregon State Police, D a v i d Bowle s voluntarily t u r n e d Bowles himself into the Morrow County Sheriff’s Offi ce shortly before 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 7, for outstanding felony warrants for manslaughter and felon in possession of a fi rearm. Oregon State Police troop- ers took Bowles into custody for the outstanding felony warrants and transported him to the Umatilla County Jail for the two felony warrants out of Morrow County Circuit Court. Bowles had been wanted in connection to a homicide investigation that occurred Dec. 15, 2020. Bowles is the husband of the victim, Marlen Bowles, who was shot in Heppner then Life Flighted to Oregon Health & Science University in Port- land in critical condition, where she later died with her family at her bedside. — EO Media Group Camp Umatilla gets funding for upgrades By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian HERMISTON — Camp Umatilla will greatly increase its training capac- ity in upcoming years as Congress continues to appropriate funding for improvements. The National Guard training center on the former Umatilla Chemical Depot, just west of Herm- iston, received approval for construction of a $15.7 million barracks building in the National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress on Jan. 1. The project is in addition to an $11.3 million barrack build- ing already under design. Together, according to a news release, the buildings will increase the National Guard’s ability to house visiting soldiers by 448 beds. The Oregon Military Department expects to start construction this summer or fall, with completion in the summer of 2022. “This is a great train- ing space now and with these improvements Camp Umatilla will become a premiere military training facility for both our service members and the local community in the future,” Stan Hutchison, director of installations for the Oregon Military Department, said in the news release. The Oregon Military Department was also notifi ed it is set to receive another $6 million for more housing in the following fi scal year. The 7,000-acre Camp Umatilla was originally part of the Umatilla Chem- ical Depot, but the U.S. Army turned over that portion of the depot to the Oregon Military Depart- ment in November 2017. At the time, department announced it was planning to spend $25 million on the facility over the next three years, including installation of water infrastructure, new roads, fencing and reno- vations of existing depot buildings, many of which date back to the depot’s construction in 1941. According to the Oregon Military Department’s Dec. 7, 2020, news release, the new barracks projects adds to a list of about 20 active capital projects in design or construction at Camp Umatilla and the Navy’s bombing range nearby in Boardman that together total more than $68 million in improvements. Some of those projects at the depot include a new schoolhouse and class- rooms for the Guard’s Regional Training Institute, a new wastewater treatment facility and water distri- bution system, electrical work, fi ber internet instal- lation, fencing, demolition of more than 100 structures deemed unsafe or outdated, and refurbishment of other old buildings. Phone and Internet Discounts Available to CenturyLink Customers The Oregon Public Utility Commission designated CenturyLink as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier within its service area for universal service purposes. CenturyLink’s basic local service rates for residential voice lines are $21.00-$21.43 per month and business services are $28.00-$32.00 per month. Specific rates will be provided upon request. CenturyLink participates in a government benefit program (Lifeline) to make residential telephone or broadband service more affordable to eligible low-income individuals and families. Eligible customers are those that meet eligibility standards as defined by the FCC and state commissions. Residents who live on federally recognized Tribal Lands may qualify for additional Tribal benefits if they participate in certain additional federal eligibility programs. 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