REGION
Thursday, March 4, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
Five resign from Morrow County Sheriff’s Office
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
MORROW COUNTY —
Five Morrow County Sher-
iff’s Office employees have
resigned in the past 30 days,
according to officials at the
sheriff’s office.
Four of the employees who
resigned were deputies and
one was a sergeant, Morrow
County Sher-
iff Kenneth
Matlack said.
Matlack
said there
were several
reasons why
the employ-
ees
left
Matlack
t h e s h e r-
iff’s office. One employee
was moving to a new home
with his wife in Redmond,
and another moved to Port-
land, where his daugh-
ter has access to better,
more consistent medical
care at a local hospital, the
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
A Morrow County Sheriff’s Office truck passes through Heppner on Friday, Feb. 19, 2021.
sheriff said.
Three of the employees,
however, resigned to seek
opportunities elsewhere
after they were not promoted
during a series of shifts at
the sheriff’s office that came
Cattlemen raise
questions about wild
and scenic river bill
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
PENDLETON — East-
ern Oregon ranchers say
they are wary of federal
legislation that would add
nearly 4,700 miles of wild
and scenic rivers state-
wide, despite assurances
the proposal will not affect
existing private property or
water rights.
U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden
and Jeff Merkley, both
Democrats from Oregon,
introduced the River
Democracy Act on Feb.
3, which calls for dramat-
ically expanding wild and
scenic river designations
in all corners of the state
to protect water quality,
enhance outdoor recreation
and mitigate wildfire risks.
Oregon currently has
2,173 miles of wild and
scenic rivers. The River
Democracy Act would
roughly triple that number.
The bill also expands
wild and scenic river corri-
dors from one-quarter mile
to one-half mile on both
sides of the river. For 4,700
river miles, that amounts to
slightly more than 3 million
acres of protected land —
an area about the size of
Connecticut.
“It’s a huge, vast amount
of land,” said Todd Nash, a
Wallowa County commis-
sioner and rancher. “That
alone is of huge concern.”
The National Wild and
Scenic Rivers System was
created by Congress in 1968
to shield certain waterways
from development. In 2019,
Wyden invited members of
the public to nominate new
streams and rivers for protec-
tion, which led to the River
Democracy Act.
“Oregonians made it
loud and clear: they cherish
Oregon’s rivers and want
them protected for genera-
tions to come,” Wyden said in
a statement. “More protected
rivers and clear management
objectives mean more jobs,
improved wildfire resiliency
and a guarantee for the liva-
bility of Oregon.”
However, Tom Sharp,
president of the Oregon
Cattlemen’s Association,
said the bill caught him off
guard.
Sharp, who ranches near
Burns in Southeast Oregon,
said many producers in the
region depend on federal
grazing permits with agen-
cies like the U.S. Forest
Service and Bureau of Land
Management. More wild and
scenic rivers could prompt
greater restrictions, he said.
“We are cognizant of the
importance of protecting the
riparian areas along these
waterways, but to have the
potential exclusion of access
in these areas, that could
raise some serious ques-
tions,” Sharp said. “That
would be an obvious impact
to producers.”
While the vast majority
Nash
Sharp
Merkley
Wyden
of streams and rivers identi-
fied in the River Democracy
Act are on Forest Service or
BLM land, some stretches do
flow through private prop-
erty.
Matt McElligott, a North
Powder rancher and board
member of the Public Lands
Council, said the map of
proposed wild and scenic
rivers creates a “checker-
board pattern” of protected
and non-protected areas that
could make it more difficult
for agencies to manage.
“Some of them, you can
graze them. Some of them,
you can’t,” McElligott said.
“And they’re not connected.”
The bill’s authors have
said they were careful to
include plain language that
explicitly preserves existing
property rights.
For example, the bill
states that nothing in it will
repeal any existing private
contract, including those for
utility corridors, communi-
cations facilities, recreational
cabins, group facilities, roads
and, importantly for ranch-
ers, water transmission facil-
ities.
If the bill is passed, agen-
cies will have up to six years
to write a comprehensive
plan for the newly desig-
nated wild and scenic corri-
dors. Specifically, the bill
requires them to assess wild-
fire risks, and implement a
plan to protect homes, busi-
nesses and clean up water-
sheds post-fire.
McElligott said ranch-
ers appreciate the acknowl-
edgment of wildfire risks,
though the Public Lands
Commission criticized the
bill for not recognizing graz-
ing as a potential manage-
ment tool for reducing fuel
loads.
“If we have that big of
a set-aside (of land), that’s
more of a fire danger than
fire prevention,” he said.
Nash, the county commis-
sioner, said ranchers and
local leaders are continuing
to gather more information
about the bill and working
with the senators’ staff to
answer questions.
“We have good-faith
communication and inten-
tions from the Wyden
administration, I do believe,”
Nash said. “But I can’t help
but think there will be some
unintended consequences at
some point.”
after a longtime operations
lieutenant resigned.
“Sometimes you don’t
get selected,” Matlack said.
“Sometimes you can work at
it and do better, and some-
times the other guy is going
to win.”
Matlack noted that he
is not a “seniority-based”
sheriff. Personality, temper-
ament, loyalty and vision are
what he looks for in promot-
ing someone, rather than
how long someone has been
on the job.
“If I have people who are
missing the mark, are really
jerks and they’re just bad
employees and whatever,
generally speaking, they’re
not going to be happy with
the sheriff,” he said. “On
the other hand, I get a lot of
credit from people who are
happy with my guys because
they say, ‘Boy, you really
have good people,’ and well,
maybe I’m lucky, maybe I’m
making good promotional
opportunities, or maybe I’m
hiring the right people and I
luck out.”
Matlack said that some of
the resignations may have
been partly due to politi-
cal reasons. He said some
of the employees may have
supported his opponent from
the last election cycle, Mark
Pratt, and over time decided
that they do not align with
Matlack’s view and efforts.
“Someone might have
a different opinion about it
than mine,” Matlack said. “I
try to find people that I’ve
hired who are loyal to the
sheriff. They understand our
mission, they buy into our
mission, because I cannot
hire people or promote
people that doesn’t see where
the ship is going.”
Matlack said regardless of
the reasons why the employ-
ees left, he wishes them well
on their future endeavors.
“My philosophy’s been
that if you can be happy in
your job then you’re going to
do a lot better in your work,”
he said. “But if you’re to
the point where you’re not
happy, you’re dissatisfied,
then I’m not going to hold
anybody” back.
Matlack said there are
currently five positions
open at the sheriff’s office.
He added that the office
has begun taking applica-
tions and is in the process of
hiring more employees.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Bendixsen sworn
in as municipal
judge pro tem
HERMISTON — Cameron
Bendixsen was sworn in as
a municipal judge pro tem
for Hermiston on Tuesday,
March 2.
The judge pro tem fills in
for Municipal Judge Thomas
Creasing when he is not avail-
able to hear a case or has to
excuse himself due to a conflict
of interest. The previous judge
pro tem, Phillip Spicerkuhn,
stepped down after being
elected to the city council.
According to a news
release from the city, Bendix-
sen is president of Bendix-
sen Law P.C. in Hermiston.
He graduated from Hermis-
ton High School and earned a
Juris Doctorate from Thomas
M. Cooley Law School in
Lansing, Michigan. He now
lives in Hermiston with his
wife and four children, and
serves in various local organi-
zations, including on the East-
ern Oregon Mission Board of
Directors.
Grants available
for Morrow
County businesses
BOARDMAN — Morrow
County and Tillamook County
Creamery Association have
announced another round of
funding is available to assist
small businesses affected by
COVID-19.
The businesses must have
their principal operations in
Morrow County, and have
fewer than 25 employees.
They must also be able to
demonstrate that they were
prohibited from operating
by Executive Orders 20-12
or 20-65 or can show a total
decline in sales of 25% or
more, caused by COVID-19
pandemic regulations between
March 1, 2020, and Dec. 31,
2020, as compared with the
same period in 2019.
The deadline to apply is
5 p.m. on Monday, March 15.
The grant application must
include all information at the
time of submittal, and can
be dropped off in person at
the Board of Commissioners
Office, 110 N. Court St., Room
201, Heppner, Monday-Fri-
day, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., except
over the noon hour. They can
also be mailed to the Board of
Commissioners Office, P.O.
Box 788, Heppner, OR 97836
or submitted via email to
gzody@co.morrow.or.us.
For questions, contact
Gregg Zody, Morrow County
Director of Community
Development at 541-676-5605.
EOCI completes
vaccine efforts
PENDLETON — Eastern
Oregon Correctional Institu-
tion in Pendleton has finished
offering COVID-19 vaccines
to all adults in custody at the
prison, a spokesperson from
the prison said in an email
to the East Oregonian on
Monday, March 1.
Prison officials offered
vaccines to 1,618 adults in
custody during three clinics
since vaccine efforts began
at EOCI in February. In all,
City of Hermiston/Contributed Photo
Cameron Bendixsen, left, is sworn in as municipal judge pro tem for the city of Hermiston on
March 2, 2021.
1,081 inmates have been
vaccinated, for an acceptance
rate of approximately 67%.
The prison has also given
155 inmates a second dose,
the spokesperson said.
The vaccinations come
after a federal judge ordered
the state in February to begin
offering the vaccine to all
adults in Oregon prisons
as infection spread rapidly
through the state’s prison
system in December 2020
and January. The order came
during a larger case where a
group of inmates criticized
the state for its response to
COVID-19 outbreaks in state
prisons.
Two Rivers Correctional
Institution in Umatilla has
also been vaccinating its
adults in custody since
February, but officials at
the prison did not respond
to questions about vaccine
progress prior to press time.
Good Shepherd
offering vaccine
appointments
HERMISTON — Good
Shepherd Health Care
System expects to receive
weekly COVID-19 vaccine
allocations and will hold
weekly vaccine events for
those eligible under Oregon
Health Authority guidelines.
The vaccines are free,
but by appointment only.
According to a news release,
as of Feb. 12, Good Shepherd
had vaccinated 2,096 indi-
viduals with first doses and
1,563 with second doses.
“A l locat ion proje c -
tions are looking better
for Umatilla County and
our primary goal is to help
Umatilla County Public
Health to vaccinate as many
as we can,” Devin Goldman,
quality and infection control
director, said in a statement.
Vaccine clinics will be
held weekly until further
notice on Good Shepherd’s
campus in Conference
Centers 1 & 2, located at 610
N.W. 11th St. in Hermiston.
Community members should
sign up for an appointment
online at https://www.signup-
genius.com/go/8050c4cafaf-
2ca0f49-good. The signup
link goes live at 8 a.m. the
Monday before the vaccine
clinic takes place. Those
signed up are encouraged to
wait in their vehicle until 10
minutes prior to their sched-
uled appointment to allow for
social distancing while wait-
ing in line, and will need to
be monitored for 15 minutes
after the vaccine is adminis-
tered.
For questions, Good Shep-
herd’s COVID-19 Vaccina-
tion Hotline at 541-667-3426.
PSD announces
potential COVID-19
exposures
PENDLETON — As high
school athletics ramps back
up for the first time in 2021,
the Pendle-
ton School
District is
dealing with
potential
COVID -19
exposures
among two
Fritsch
of its sports
teams.
In a Wednesday, March 3,
email, Pendleton Superinten-
dent Chris Fritsch wrote that
members of its high school
dance and boys soccer teams
were potentially exposed to
the coronavirus.
“Students and their fami-
lies have been informed
that (Umatilla County
Public Health) is currently
conducting contact trac-
ing,” he wrote. “Once that
is complete, the District will
make a determination of the
appropriate actions to be
taken and the duration of any
suspension of activities. At
this time all activities asso-
ciated with both teams have
been suspended.”
In an interview, Fritsch
said it was still early, but he
didn’t anticipate the COVID-
19 exposures would affect
Pendleton High School’s
reopening later this month.
Construction
begins on water
project
HERMISTON — The
city of Hermiston is prepar-
ing to begin work on a proj-
ect to replace about 2,000
feet of a 100-year-old water
main running under Ridge-
way Avenue, Northwest
Sixth Street and Northwest
Seventh Street between
Hermiston Avenue and Stan-
dard Avenue.
The city warns that there
will be some delays and
detours along the route while
construction is underway for
the next two months. The
project is expected to cost
$320,000, paid for out of the
city’s utility funds.
For more information,
visit www.hermistonproj-
ects.com.
— EO Media Group
3/5-3/11
Cineplex Show Times
Theater seating will adhere to social distancing protocols
Every showing $7.50 per person (ages 0-3 still free)
Raya and the
Last Dragon (PG)
1:40p 4:40p 7:40p
Chaos
Walking (PG-13)
1:20p 4:20p 7:20p
Tom and Jerry (PG)
2:00p 5:00p 8:00p
News of
the World (PG-13)
1:00p 4:00p 7:00p
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216