REGION
Saturday, May 8, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
Authorities to hold search for missing Idaho woman
The Observer
MEACHAM — Umatilla
County Search and Rescue
and Oregon State Police
are coordinating a two-day
multiagency search set to
begin on Saturday, May 8,
near Meacham for Debo-
rah Hendrichs, the 56-year-
old woman from Star, Idaho,
who went missing in the area
on Jan. 11.
The search will concen-
trate on areas surrounding
the eastbound side of Inter-
state 84 near milepost 238,
where her abandoned vehi-
cle was found after she was
reported missing, according
to a press release from the
Umatilla County Sheriff’s
Offi ce. Search areas include
portions along I-84, Hancock
Road, the railroad and bridge
and area creeks, bodies of
water and wooded land.
The objective of the search
is to locate any remains of
Hendrichs or any items she
may have had with her at the
time of her disappearance.
“This will be a robust
search response with multi-
ple agencies involved,” the
release said. “Approximately
90 personnel have commit- choose an alternate hunt loca-
ted to assist in the search, tion during those days. And
including possibly 10 K-9 locals living in the area, espe-
teams, four drones and about cially near Meacham Lake,
35 ground searchers.
should be aware the
The actual number
search will use four
drones.
will not be known
“The drones will
until participants
check in on (May 8).”
not be concentrating
T he she r if f ’s
on occupied areas or
invading privacy of
offi ce also is asking
homes or curtilage,”
the general public
Hendrichs
according to the press
to remain out of the
release. “They will be
area unless they are
residents and requesting that concentrating on areas away
hunters with spring turkey or from occupied buildings and
bear tags be aware there are bodies of water. Searchers
searchers in the area and to on the ground will also be
staying away from occupied
homes and curtilage, however
if a home appears to have been
vacant throughout the winter
or looks broken into, they
will notify the land owner in
an attempt to eliminate any
possibility that she entered
an unoccupied residence or
structure seeking assistance.”
Personnel with the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion and Union Pacifi c Rail-
road have provided a liaison
to ensure safety of the search
personnel because the area
includes the interstate and
railroad lines. ODOT also
provided the location for an
incident command post.
Union Pacif ic Rail-
road, Cunningham Sheep
Company and Hancock
Timber Resource Group
have been contacted and are
cooperating with searchers
because these businesses own
a large portion of the search
area.
Sheriff ’s Lt. Sterrin Ward
said the project includes the
development of a website on
this mission at sterrinward.
wixsite.com/website. The
website also is where the
mission will provide updates.
City council to consider grant program Arrest made after
brief chase, fi ght
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston City Council will
hear a proposal during its
Monday, May 10, meeting
to help get local restaurants
back on their feet.
Instead of a straightfor-
ward grant, the program
would use gift certifi cates
paid for by the city. The
idea is to not only provide
cash directly from the city,
but also to provide people
incentive to return to eating
at restaurants, likely bring-
ing more paying customers
with them when they do.
Ac c o r d i n g t o t h e
proposal by Assistant City
Manager Mark Morgan,
the city already did some-
thing similar with Herm-
iston Cinemas and Desert
Lanes Family Fun Center
last year. The city had part-
nered with Umatilla County
to off er cash grants to small
businesses aff ected by the
pandemic, and when fewer
than expected applied,
they used some of the extra
money to purchase large
quantities of gift certifi cates
from the movie theater and
bowling alley.
The result was upfront
cash for those businesses
when they needed it to
stay afl oat during closures,
Morgan said, but also
boosted sales later as, for
example, a child took their
parents with them, or some-
one who had a gift certifi cate
for a movie ticket purchased
concessions while there.
“Those gift certifi cates
have been getting pushed
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Rasna Som, 10, bowls at Desert Lanes Family Fun Center in Hermiston on Monday, June 8,
2020. The city purchased gift certifi cates to support the business during the summer of
2020, and could apply the same strategy to restaurants.
IF YOU GO
The city council meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Hermis-
ton Community Center, 415 S. Highway 395. The meeting
will also be livestreamed on the city of Hermiston You-
Tube page. The full agenda packet for the meeting can be
found at hermiston.or.us/meetings.
out to the community
through the Parks & Rec
and Library programs, and
the overall arrangement has
been well received by the
participating businesses,”
he wrote in a memo to the
city council.
He is proposing the
city do something simi-
lar through restaurants,
although in this case the
city would pay the Hermis-
ton Chamber of Commerce
a 10% administrative fee to
administer the program on
the city’s behalf. Morgan is
proposing the city pay for
$50,000 worth of $10 gift
certificates, which could
be handed out through the
parks department, library,
chamber and to utility
customers.
The council will also
consider a supplemental
budget, which is used near
the end of the fi scal year to
add in large, unexpected
expenses that weren’t origi-
nally included in the budget
at the beginning of the year.
It will also consider a
proposal to lease some of
the city’s currently unused
water allocations from the
Regional Water System to
agricultural users, on a year-
by-year basis.
The agenda also includes
an intergovernmental agree-
ment between Hermiston,
Umatilla, Stanfield, Echo
and Umatilla County to
more closely work together
on projects that benefi t the
whole of western Umatilla
County. The main provi-
sion of the agreement is for
all parties to split the cost of
the contract that Hermiston
currently has with Pac/West,
which provides lobbying,
public relations and other
services for the city.
PENDLETON — A man
was arrested on charges of
burglary, theft, criminal
mischief, escape and resist-
ing arrest on Sunday, May
2, after a brief chase resulted
in a fi ght with police offi cers
that left both the man and an
offi cer with minor injuries,
according to a press release
from Pendleton Police Chief
Charles Byram.
Police on April 26 began
investigating a reported
burglary that occurred at
Highly Active, a tobacco
shop in downtown Pendleton
on 318 South Main St. Three
longboards, each priced at
$160, were stolen from the
business and a window was
smashed, with damages
estimated at approximately
$1,500, the press release said.
Later, in the early hours
of May 2, a police officer
recognized a man he knew
to be Colten Kee Nez, 31,
carrying a longboard in the
parking area of The Mari-
gold Hotel on 105 Southeast
Court Avenue in Pendleton.
Nez fl ed on foot and left the
longboard behind. Police lost
Nez, but the longboard was
confi rmed as one of the three
stolen from Highly Active, the
press release said.
That same day, Pendle-
ton police located Nez at the
Marigold and attempted to
arrest him, but Nez resisted
arrest and fled, the press
release said.
Three offi cers, two from
Pendleton and one from
Umatilla Tribal Police, chased
Nez to the laundry room of the
apartments above Virgil’s at
Cimmiyotti’s at 137 South
Main St. Nez, who Byram
said is a large man trained
in mixed martial arts, fought
back as police tried to hold
him down and make the
arrest.
While Nez struggled, a
knife fell from his waist-
band and injured an offi cer,
but medical attention was not
needed, the press release said.
“This could have ended
badly for everyone involved,”
Byram said.
Nez received medical
attention and was admitted
to St. Anthony Hospital due
to concerns over his use of
a controlled substance and
complaints of pains to his
side after the fi ght, accord-
ing to Byram, who added that
police hadn’t learned of any
injuries to Nez.
Nez was later released
from the hospital and was
arrested on charges of
second-degree burglary,
f i r st- deg r e e c r i m i n a l
mischief, second-degree theft,
two counts of second-de-
gree escape and two counts
of resisting arrest, the press
release said. He was booked in
the Umatilla County Jail with
bail set at $55,000, according
to the jail’s website.
The case will now be
turned over to the Umatilla
County District Attorney’s
Offi ce, the press release said.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Woodlands association
off ers spring fi eld day
PENDLETON — The Umatilla/Morrow
Chapter of the Oregon Small Woodlands
Association is inviting forest landowners to
its Spring 2021 Field Day on Saturday, May
22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 55381 Albee Road
near Ukiah.
The main highlight will be a fuels reduc-
tion thinning work demonstration on-site with
several contractors showing various pieces of
equipment to assist in reducing wildfi re risks
on private forest lands.
There will also be an update from both the
Oregon Department of Forestry and the Natu-
ral Resources Conservation Service on future
funding sources to accomplish fuels reduc-
tion thinning, an update on the timber and log
prices in the area, and the benefi ts of becom-
ing a member of the Oregon Small Woodland
Owners Association.
Lunch will be provided, and a number
of items will be raffl ed off during the event.
Participants are requested to dress accordingly
for walking on forest roads and in the forest.
For more information, call Hans Rudolf at
541-276-3491.
CTUIR will allow people who
test positive for marijuana to
obtain tribal housing
MISSION — The Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian Reservation have
removed a barrier to obtaining tribal hous-
ing.
In a Tuesday, May 4, press release, the
Tribes announced they had amended their
housing department’s drug elimination
policy to allow tribal members to test posi-
tive for marijuana during the application
process.
The press release noted that cannabis was
still illegal on the reservation, but chang-
ing the policy was an acknowledgment that
marijuana was legal to consume in Oregon
and Washington and THC, one of the
active ingredients in cannabis, can stay in a
person’s system for weeks or longer.
The rule is narrow in application: The
CTUIR will screen for drugs during the
application process, and drugs that are ille-
gal under federal or tribal law still can’t be
possessed or consumed while living in tribal
housing.
— EO Media Group
