REGION
Saturday, August 28, 2021
East Oregonian
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Pendleton man crashes motorcycle into traffi c on I-84
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — A Pendleton man
suff ered serious injuries Wednesday,
Aug. 25, on the eastbound side of Inter-
state 84 when he crashed his motor-
cycle into a passenger car that was
stopped because of a semitrailer crash
miles ahead.
Oregon State Police reported a heli-
copter ambulance fl ew Stephen Chan-
dler Peterson, 71, from the scene.
OSP Lt. Karl Farber of the Pendle-
ton Area Command said traffi c on I-84
began backing up after a semitrailer
full of 50-gallon barrels of apple juice
concentrate crashed at 7:23 a.m. on the
bridge at Meacham near milepost 238.
The driver of the semi, a 28-year-
old man from Tacoma, fell asleep, and
the big rig hit an impact barrier in the
road construction zone. The driver
over-corrected, Farber said, and the
tractor-trailer spun, fl ipped and got
hung up on the bridge, stopping short
of going off .
But the real problem was the mass
of apple juice concentrate.
Farber said the substance covered
the surface of the bridge, making it
slippery and sticky and a priority to
clean up before traffic could again
pass through safety. Road construc-
tion is underway in the area, and the
Oregon Department of Transportation
has reduced travel on the bridge to one
lane of eastbound and one lane of west-
bound traffi c. The wreck shut down
both directions of travel on the free-
way between Ontario and Pendleton.
Removing the concentrate was the
main reason the closure lasted as long
as it did, Farber said. ODOT reported
the freeway was open again at 5:08 p.m.
“We knew we were going to be shut
down a long time, so we closed at the
216 for access to services at Arrowhead
(Truck Plaza),” he said. “We had a lot
of traffi c backing up on the freeway.”
The traffi c backed up to about mile-
post 213, about three miles east of
Pendleton, where at 11:43 a.m. Peter-
son and the Harley Davidson motor-
cycle he was operating crashed into a
Toyota Avalon.
The crash threw Peterson from the
motorcycle, according to a report from
state police, which then collided with a
semitrailer on the shoulder of the free-
way.
Farber said Petserson was not able
to recount what happened at the scene.
Medics from the Umatilla Tribal Fire
Department responded and stabilized
him. State police shut down westbound
traffi c near the crash so a Life Flight
helicopter could land and fl y him to a
hospital.
Farber said OSP did not know that
destination, nor Peterson’s condition,
but was following up on that.
Oregon Department of Transportation/Contributed Photo
A semitrailer crash Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021, spills apple juice
concentrate across the Meacham Bridge on Interstate 84 near
milepost 238. The freeway in the area is under construction,
reducing travel on the bridge to one lane each for eastbound
and westbound traffi c. The wreck shut down a long stretch of
I-84 in Eastern Oregon most of the day.
GOBHI works to ensure smooth transition of services in Umatilla County
East Oregonian
UMATILLA COUNTY
— Greater Oregon Behavioral
Health Inc. on Friday, Aug, 27,
announced its board of direc-
tors took action to support the
continuity of behavioral health
services for Oregon Health
Plan members in Umatilla
County who are members of
the Eastern Oregon Coordi-
nated Care Organization.
GOBHI serves as an
administrative services orga-
nization on behalf of the
EOCCO and is responsible for
administering the behavioral
health benefi t, nonemergent
medical transportation and
for facilitating community
conversations to improve the
healthcare system in Eastern
Oregon for EOCCO members.
GOBHI also is one of
the owners of EOCCO, the
entity the state designated to
manage healthcare benefi ts for
Oregon Health Plan members
in 12 rural and frontier coun-
ties. There are approximately
23,000 EOCCO members in
Umatilla County.
GOBHI’s announce-
ment comes in the wake of
the Umatilla County Board
of Commissioners selecting
Community Counseling Solu-
tions over Lifeways Inc. as the
county’s provider for mental
health and substance abuse
treatment.
GOBHI in a press release
reported its board on Aug.
25 voted to terminate its
“Comprehensive Behavioral
Health Provider agreement”
with Lifeways in Umatilla
County effective Nov. 30.
The board also adopted a new
agreement with Community
Counseling Solutions fulfi ll-
ing this role eff ective Dec. 1.
This timeline coincides with
the county’s timeline for tran-
sitioning providers.
In each Oregon county,
community mental health
programs offer an array of
behavioral health and support
services, as well as crisis
response and mobile crisis
services. CCS is the provider
serving Gilliam, Grant,
Morrow and Wheeler coun-
ties.
The GOBHI board’s
actions represent a step
forward in the formal process
of service transitioning from
Lifeways to CCS.
“We look forward to
continuing our work with
partners in Umatilla County
to make this as smooth a tran-
sition as possible,” said Karen
Wheeler, GOBHI CEO.
“We’re encouraged by conver-
sations with CCS leadership
about their commitment to
meet the behavioral health
needs in this community. We
are aligned in our vision to
improve service delivery in
this county, particularly in
the area of crisis response for
vulnerable residents.”
CCS will begin oper-
ating the Umatilla County
substance use disorder
Save the Date
September 9, 2021, 1:00 pm
services effective Sept. 1,
and mental health provider
services eff ective Dec. 1.
Kimberly Lindsay, CCS
executive director, said in the
press release the organization
is “eager to learn more about
what has worked and not
worked, and are completely
committed to providing high
quality behavioral health
services to those we serve.”
Representatives from
CCS, Lifeways and GOBHI
are in regular communica-
tion regarding the transition,
according to Greater Oregon
Behavioral Health, “to ensure
continuity of operations and
clinical care for Umatilla
County residents, including
EOCCO members.”
“These par t nerships
are critical,” according to
Wheeler. “We must not
lose sight of our common
goal: making sure Umatilla
County residents have the
quality services they need
to lead healthy and fulfi ll-
ing lives. We look forward
to serving the community in
the future.”
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