REGION
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
10 apply for Pilot Rock City Council vacancies
Agenda starts with
selection of new
councilors
East Oregonian
PILOT ROCK — The
Pilot Rock City Council
could get back to business
Tuesday, Aug. 3, with selec-
tion of residents to fi ll three
vacancies on the council.
The three remaining coun-
cilors have 10 locals to
consider to fill the empty
seats.
City Recorder Teri Bacus
said the agenda starts with
selecting the new council
members. Each of the 10
applicants will have 3 to 5
minutes to address the coun-
cil about why they should
get the votes to serve on
the volunteer council. The
council then will deliber-
ate and can vote to fi ll one,
two or all three sets. She
said her recommendation
to the council is to select at
least one to give the council
a quorum and move forward
with business.
“We have 10 people, we
can fi ll all three seats,” she
said.
The three remaining
council members can opt to
not select anyone. Bacus said
that’s not what she wants to
see happen.
Council business has
been backing up since July
6, when Jackie Carey and
Robbie Young resigned
from the council in a dispute
concerning the council’s
consideration of a policy
to allow residents to live
in recreational vehicles on
private property. Prior to
that, Bob Deno resigned due
to health issues.
Bacus said she was
thrilled so many applied for
the vacant seats. If the coun-
cil has a quorum it can pick
up where it left off in the
midst of the meeting in early
July, including adopting the
“Umatilla County Multi-Ju-
risdictional Natural Hazards
Mitigation Plan,” a require-
ment for seeking disas-
ter mitigation grants under
Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency programs.
The council also could
consider approving funds
for cleaning up and repair-
ing Birch Creek.
Flooding in May 2020
caused the collection of
major debris in Birch Creek.
The city has about $187,000
for capital improvements in
the economic development
fund and needs $20,000 for
permit fees.
The council meeting
begins at 6 p.m. at Pilot
Rock City Call, 144 N.
Alder Place.
Irrigon celebrates harvest season
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Parade
participants
throw candy
Saturday, July
31, 2021, during
the Irrigon
Watermelon
Festival.
Ben Lonergan/
East Oregonian
HELIX — A fi re threat-
ened several buildings and
a home before farmers with
water trucks helped fire-
fi ghters extinguish the blaze
Saturday, July 31, near Helix.
A combine caught fire
and sparked a larger blaze
in a wheat fi eld on Vansy-
cle Road, according to a
Suzie Reitz, spokesper-
son with East Umatilla Fire
and Rescue. Firefighters
responded to the fire just
before 10:30 a.m. The fire
burned in stubble and stand-
ing wheat Reitz said.
Offi cials have yet to deter-
mine the size of the fi re, but
an image shows a large, black
plume of smoke towering
over much of the town.
No injuries were reported
and no structures were
damaged, according to Reitz,
who said many local farm-
ers with water trucks helped
douse the fi re.
Police respond to
multiple crashes
over weekend
PENDLETON — The
Oregon State Police had a
busy weekend responding to
car crashes, including four
where people were hospital-
ized with injuries.
On Thursday, July 29,
a driver lost control while
attempting to stop his car
and rear-ended another
vehicle near milepost 24 on
Highway 207, OSP reported.
Robert Alan Shaff er, 21, from
Lexington, was injured and
had to be taken to Good Shep-
herd Medical Center, Herm-
iston.
Then, July 30, three vehi-
cles crashed near milepost
179 on Interstate 84. The
crash occurred when a car
merged onto the interstate
from exit 177 and another car
failed to yield to the right of
way, police reported. The cars
sideswiped another vehicle
traveling east.
Police cited the driver who
failed to yield. The passen-
ger of the car that was side-
swiped was injured and taken
to Good Shepherd.
On July 31, a vehicle
carrying four people crashed
and rolled. One passenger
was hospitalized at Good
Shepherd.
State police arrested the
driver, Stephanie Michelle
Ramirez, 19, of Umatilla, for
driving under the infl uence
of intoxicants, three counts
of reckless endangering and
one count of possessing alco-
hol as a minor. A breath test
showed her blood alcohol
content to be 0.13%, state
police reported.
Local emergency services
also responded July 31 to a
crash on Vansycle Road near
Helix.
East Umatilla Fire and
Rescue responded to reports
of the crash just past 6 p.m.
Residents reported hearing a
loud bang and a car alarm and
smoke coming from the vehi-
cle after it landed in a ditch.
Offi cials transported one
victim to a local hospital,
according to East Umatilla
Fire and Rescue.
And Oregon State Police
reported a crash that occurred
July 31 at about 10 p.m.
ejected one person.
The report from OSP
was sketchy on details, but
a car collided with the side
rear bumper of another car,
sped off the road and rolled,
coming to a stop upright. The
crash ejected one person, who
OSP reported was unrespon-
sive and had to be taken to
Pioneer Memorial Hospital,
Heppner.
The state police report did
not provide a location for the
crash, which involved a man
and woman from Hermiston,
a man from Umatilla and a
10-year-old boy from Herm-
iston.
The person who was
ejected was later scheduled
to be transported to Oregon
Health & Science Univer-
sity, Portland. A preliminary
investigation revealed alcohol
was a contributing factor in
the crash, according to state
police.
DEQ issues air
quality warning
UMATILLA COUNTY
— The Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality
issued an air quality warning
for Umatilla County, Morrow
County and the rest of North-
eastern Oregon due to smoke
from wildfi res in Washing-
ton, Idaho and Canada,
according to a Monday, Aug.
2, press release.
DEQ anticipates keep-
ing the warning in place
until the evening of Aug.
5, but advised residents to
check the state’s Air Quality
Index because conditions can
change rapidly depending on
the weather.
As of 11 a.m. Aug 2,,
Northeastern Oregon had
some of the worst air qual-
ity numbers in the state.
According to DEQ, Hermis-
ton had the second worst air
quality in the state, coming
behind only Oakridge, which
was directly aff ected by the
Middle Fork Complex fi re in
eastern Lane County. Pend-
leton’s air quality score was
much lower, but still at a
“moderate” level.
Poor air quality can irri-
tate people’s eyes and lungs
and can especially affect
younger children, older
adults, pregnant women and
people with health condi-
tions. DEQ is advising resi-
dents to stay at home, avoid
strenuous outdoor activities
and to use air fi lters and air
purifi ers when possible.
Cloth and surgical masks
won’t protect residents from
smoke particles, and while
N95 masks or respirators
could provide a safeguard
against the smoke, they must
be properly fi tted and worn.
— EO Media Group
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Pendleton area
sees warmer than
normal July temps
East Oregonian
LOCAL BRIEFING
Fire burns
through wheat
fi eld near Helix
A fan lifts their hat Saturday, July 10, 2021, during the
Pendleton Whisky Music Fest at the Pendleton Round-Up
Grounds.
arts
arts
events
events
entertainment
entertainment
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton area experienced
much warmer than normal
temperatures during the
month of July, according to
preliminary data received
by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration’s National Weather
Service Offi ce in Pendle-
ton.
The average tempera-
ture during the month was
77.5 degrees, 5 degrees
above nor mal. Hig h
temperatures averaged 94.4
degrees, 6.5 degrees above
normal, according to the
monthly climate summary.
The highest temperature
was 107 degrees recorded
on July 30. On 24 days
during the month tempera-
tures exceeded 90 degrees,
and it was over 100 degrees
on fi ve days in July, accord-
ing to the monthly climate
summary.
Low temperatures aver-
aged 60.7 degrees, 3.5
degrees above normal. The
lowest temperature for the
month was 46 degrees,
recorded on July 22.
Precipitation for the
month totaled 0.02 inches,
which was 0.30 inches
below normal, the report
said. Measurable precipi-
tation — at least 0.01 inch
— was received on two
days, with the heaviest, 0.01
inches, reported on July 26,
according to the monthly
climate summary.
Precipitation for the year
is 4.35 inches, which is
3.36 inches below normal.
Since October 2020, the
water year precipitation at
the Pendleton airport has
been 8.8 inches, 2.91 inches
below normal, according
to the monthly climate
summary.
The highest wind gust
was 39 mph on July 7, the
report said.
The outlook for August
from NOAA’s Climate
Prediction Center calls for
above normal temperatures
and near normal precipita-
tion. Normal highs for the
Pendleton airport during
August are 86.8 degrees
and normal lows are 56.9
degrees. The 30-year
normal precipitation is
0.38 inches.
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