REGION
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
East Oregonian
Irrigation supplies holding on locally
McKay Reservoir
is 42% full, Cold
Springs Reservoir
at 12% capacity
Umatilla County reports
two COVID-19 deaths
The county is 2
COVID-19 deaths
shy of its all-time
pandemic record for
deaths reported in a
single month
By KATY NESBITT
For the East Oregonian
PENDLETON — While
much of Oregon’s irri-
gators are in dire straits,
water users in Umatilla and
Morrow counties have not
been greatly affected by this
summer’s drought.
Sean Kimbrel, Bureau
of Reclamation Umatilla
field office manager, said
McKay Creek Reservoir
was slightly above average
for this time of year.
“Water storage i n
Umatilla County is in
better shape than the rest
of Oregon,” Kimbrel said.
“Irrigation districts have
close to a complete water
supply.”
According to the Bureau
of Reclamation, Pacific
Northwest Region Umatilla
River Basin Storage and
Flow Diagram, McKay
Reservoir is 42% full.
McKay Dam has 65,534
acre-feet active storage
capacity plus 6,000 acre-
feet of space exclusive for
f lood risk management
above the normal full pool.
McKay Reservoir typi-
cally peaks the third week
of May. This year, the
maximum stored water
was 64,176 acre-feet, a bit
below last year’s maximum
of 69,242 acre-feet.
“I r r igat ion water
supplies will be close to
if not completely fulfilled
this year from reclama-
tion facilities to contracted
water users in the Umatilla
River Basin, which is much
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Boaters on June 2, 2021, recreate on McKay Reservoir outside of Pendleton. According
to the Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Northwest Region Umatilla River Basin Storage
and Flow Diagram, McKay Reservoir is 42% full.
better in comparison to
the very limited irrigation
water supplies across the
rest of Oregon as a result
of drought conditions,”
Kimbrel said.
One of the reasons the
reservoir is still around
average for late August
is because the Confeder-
ated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation haven’t
released water for fish yet.
“CTUIR is about to
ramp-up fish water releases
in the Umatilla,” Kimbrel
said.
While the Cold Springs
Reservoir is below average
right now at 12% capacity,
it is fulfilled by winter-
time diversions from the
Umatilla River with mini-
mum flows maintained for
fish, which are exchanged
with summertime pumping
from the Columbia River,
Kimbrel said.
Mo r r ow C o u n t y’s
Willow Creek Reser-
voir outside of Heppner
is managed by the Army
Corps of Engineers primar-
ily as a flood control facil-
ity. Its downstream use is
primarily irrigation.
Tom Conning, public
affairs specialist for the
Corps’ Portland District,
said the reservoir is filled
with snowmelt and rainfall.
Its peak storage is between
April 1 and May 15. This
year’s drought has greatly
affected its levels.
“At this point of the year,
it should be close to full,
but it’s 90% below full,” he
said.
Conning said Willow
Creek is far lower than it is
even in the winter months.
“After Labor Day it
starts to draw down to
Pendleton man represents himself
in Walla Walla group assault case
The judge lowered Charles
Thompkins’ bail from
$150,000 to $100,000
and also kept a 10% cash
equivalency available
By JEDIDIAH MAYNES
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
WALLA WALLA — A Pendleton man
accused of gathering up a group of people
and attacking three men in Walla Walla
represented himself in court Thursday, Aug.
26, and wound up having a judge enter a
plea for him after a tense exchange of words.
Charles Thompkins Jr., 63, was origi-
nally scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 23 but
he requested a change of representation in
Walla Walla County Superior Court.
Nicholas Holce, who was Thompkins’
court-appointed attorney, was kept on as a
standby legal consultant while Thompkins
elected to represent himself primarily.
“Charles Thompkins, is that your true
name?” Judge Brandon L. Johnson asked
to start.
“Yes,” Thompkins responded. “That is
the name by which this court recognizes
me.”
Thompkins read from a book in his lap
and some written notes and claimed his
right to have an arraignment within 14 days
had already been violated because it had
been 20 days since his initial arrest.
Throughout the hearing, Thompkins held
up the fact that he’s innocent until proven
guilty and that the local justice system was
already causing him undue harm, in his
opinion.
“I’ve already suffered,” Thompkins said.
“I’ve had so much community support that
people are beginning to wonder what’s
really happening,” Thompkins said.
Johnson refuted several points by
Thompkins, but acknowledged that his
support appeared strong.
The judge lowered Thompkins’ bail from
$150,000 to $100,000 and also kept a 10%
cash equivalency available.
But Thompkins held that he should be
released, which Johnson said didn’t seem
reasonable.
“There’s no doubt of the community
support,” Johnson said, motioning to about
10 people in the hearing for Thompkins.
“But one of the other concerns is the seri-
ousness of the charges.”
Thompkins is charged with first-degree
robbery, three counts of first-degree assault,
first-degree burglary — all Class A felo-
nies — and criminal mischief — a Class
C felony — as well as harassment, a gross
misdemeanor.
Johnson repeatedly asked Thompkins
how he wished to plead, but Thompkins
didn’t answer.
“My rights are being violated in this
court,” Thompkins returned. “These are
violations and trespasses on my rights.”
“We’re here for your arraignment — so
do you want to plead guilty or not guilty?”
Johnson asked again.
“Let me ask you this: Are you going to
give me a fair trial, Mr. Johnson?” Thomp-
kins asked.
“My name is not Mr. Johnson in this
court,” Johnson replied.
Thompkins apologized and Johnson
ended up entering “not guilty” pleas on all
counts on behalf of Thompkins.
Thompkins’ trial date is set for Oct. 19,
with a pretrial hearing Sept. 29.
He still was listed on the Walla Walla
County Jail roster as of Aug. 29.
allow a larger pool to catch
large storm events,” he
said. “By Feb. 1 it starts to
refill, while releasing any
excess water coming from
a storm.”
To supply irrigators with
summer water, Conning
said the Corps coordinates
with the Oregon Water
Resources Department
to adjust inflows versus
outflows.
“Once we hit 2,047 acre-
feet we start to lose the abil-
ity to release more than
what is coming in,” he said.
“We are pretty close to that
now at 2,051.”
Willow Creek is a popu-
lar fishing and camping
destination and the mini-
mum acre-feet level is main-
tained for fish managed in
the reservoir by the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife, Conning said.
A3
PENDLETON — Umatilla
County reported two COVID-
19 deaths Monday, Aug. 30,
raising the county’s death toll
this month to 19.
One of the victims was 21
years old, according to the
county.
The latest disclosure puts
the county two COVID-19
deaths shy of its all-time
p a n d e m i c r e c o r d fo r
deaths reported in a single
month. That record was
set in July 2020, when the
county became the epicen-
ter of high infection rates in
Oregon.
The newly reported deaths
come as the latest surge in
COVID-19 cases, driven by
the highly infectious delta
variant, continues to rock the
county, state and the nation.
The county on Aug. 30
reported 78 new cases.
The county’s 116th victim
is a 21-year-old man who
tested positive Aug. 17 and
died Aug. 21 in his home. He
had unspecified underlying
health conditions. Aside from
a newborn boy from Umatilla
County who died in January,
he is the county’s youngest
COVID-19 victim.
Young people in Umatilla
County are getting sicker and
are being hospitalized more
often amid the delta surge
than at any other point in the
pandemic, county health offi-
cials and hospital employees
have said.
On Aug. 10, a 29-year-old
Umatilla County woman with
COVID-19 died. The week
before that, the state reported
a 35-year-old Morrow County
woman and a 19-year-old
Union County woman died
after contracting the virus.
The county’s 117th victim
is a 51-year-old woman who
tested positive Aug. 11 and
died Aug. 27 at Providence St.
Mary Medical Center, Walla
Walla. She had unspecified
underlying health conditions.
Hospitals across Oregon
over the past month have filled
to the brim with COVID-19
patients, and Umatilla County
hospitals also saw record
numbers of residents admit-
ted after testing positive this
month. The vast majority of
patients were not vaccinated
against COVID-19, hospital
spokespersons have said.
Roughly 42% of all
Umatilla County residents
have been vaccinated against
COVID-19, according to the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
T houg h cases have
declined slightly f rom
record-breaking levels two
weeks ago, the county has
reported more than 400 cases
for five consecutive weeks, a
total that dwarfs all previous
pandemic surges.
In early July, the county
was reporting less than 70
cases per week. For more
than five months, the county
reported at least 100 cases in
a week just once.
Since the pandemic began,
Umatilla County has reported
11,475 COVID-19 cases,
according to county data.
Roughly one in seven resi-
dents have tested positive.
Round-Up spruces up
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Andrew Nelson, right, and Preston Bucher help fellow members of Boy Scouts of America
Troop 700 paint the North Grandstand at the Pendleton Round-Up Grounds on Saturday,
Aug. 28, 2021. Troop 700 was among the many volunteers to turn out for the Round-Up’s
annual work party in preparation for the September event.
inside
every
Inside Thursday
every
hursday
LOCAL BRIEFING
‘Dining Dollars’
coupons, gift cards
to encourage visits
HER MISTON — A
program to encourage visits
to the city’s restaurants soon
begins under a partnership
between the Hermiston
Chamber of Commerce and
city of Hermiston.
With a theme of “Giving
Back to the Hermiston
Community,” $50,000 in
funding the city received
through the American
Rescue Plan Act will be
used to provide coupons for
residents to use at any eating
establishment in the city.
To a d m i n ister t he
program, the chamber has
created “Dining Dollars”
coupons for local participat-
ing restaurants, purchased
bulk gift cards from chain
restaurants and purchased
prepaid Visa cards for
restaurants that don’t fall
into either option.
Dining Dollars vouchers
and restaurant-direct gift
cards will be in $10 incre-
ments.
Utility holders will
receive 20% of the Dining
Dollars and restaurant-direct
gift cards. The Hermiston
Chamber will distribute the
remainder through Feature
Fridays, Facebook promo-
tions and other public activ-
ities and events.
Distribution of coupons
and gift cards will begin
within the next two weeks.
Watch the chamber’s online
and other communication
channels for more informa-
tion.
The program will run
through December and
beyond. All Direct Dining
coupons will expire Dec. 31,
while chain restaurant and
Visa gift cards may have
extended expiration dates.
— EO Media Group
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