REGION
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
State reports 14 workplace outbreaks in Umatilla, Morrow counties
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Fourteen
workplaces in Umatilla and Morrow
counties reported outbreaks in the
Oregon Health Authority’s most
recent weekly report.
It was the second straight
week where workplace outbreaks
declined in the county as infec-
tion is slowing slightly across the
region and state. Most of the facili-
ties reported a few extra cases, and
several reported no changes since
last week’s report.
The state publishes an active
outbreak in nursing homes if the
facility reports more than three
cases. The outbreak is consid-
ered resolved if no new cases are
reported within 28 days of the last
case. The local assisted living facil-
ities with COVID-19 outbreaks are:
• Regency Hermiston Nursing &
Rehabilitation Center, Hermiston,
33 cases and one death since July 15.
• Willowbrooke Terrace, Pend-
leton, 21 cases and one death since
July 30.
• Cascade Valley Assisted Living
& Memory Care, Milton-Freewater,
nine cases since Sept. 2.
• Ashley Manor — Sage,
Umatilla, 12 cases since Sept. 27.
• Juniper House, Pendleton, eight
cases since Oct. 1.
The state publishes a workplace
outbreak when fi ve or more cases
are reported at a facility with 30
or more workers. An outbreak is
considered resolved if no new cases
are reported within 28 days of the
last case.
• Good Shepherd Medical
Center, Hermiston, 62 cases since
July 21.
• Walmart Distribution Center,
Hermiston, 51 cases since April 26.
• Eastern Oregon Correctional
Institution, Pendleton, 28 cases
since July 12.
• Two Rivers Correctional Insti-
tution, Umatilla, 23 cases since July
15.
• CHI St. Anthony Hospital,
Pendleton, 15 cases since Aug. 19.
• First Coast Security, Hermis-
ton, 11 cases since Sept. 16.
• Lamb Weston Packing Center,
Boardman, 11 cases since Aug. 18.
• Union Pacifi c Railroad, Stan-
fi eld, ten cases since Sept. 20.
• JVB Dairy, Ione, eight cases
since Sept. 18.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Wrong-way driver
suff ers injuries in
head-on crash
Kylie Temple/Contributed Photo
From left, Hector Leal, Alexis Leathers, Cidney Estes, Grant
Hills, Kylie Temple, Gretchen Barton, Abigail Conner and
Elizabeth Doherty, members of Hermiston High School’s
FFA group, pose for a photo ahead of next week’s National
FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis.
Hermiston FFA plans
trip to national event
18 students in all
head to big show
in Indianapolis
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
H ER MISTON
—
Three teams of Hermiston
High School FFA students
are leaving next week to
compete in the 94th National
FFA Convention & Expo in
Indianapolis.
Sandy McKay, Herm-
iston High School agricul-
tural science teacher and
FFA advisor, is in his second
year with FFA. He said the
school’s FFA is able to send
youths to national competi-
tion every two or three years.
“It’s no small feat,” he
said.
To qualify for Nationals,
students must get through
district competition, state
competition and regional
competition. For Hermiston
students, reaching nationals
meant going head to head
with students from states
throughout the American
west.
Hermiston is sending
three teams. Two of those
teams won in regionals and
will advance in Indianapolis.
In all, 18 students will travel
to Naptown.
The Hermiston teams are
“advanced” teams — soph-
omores, juniors and seniors.
Of the 29 categories in FFA,
these students are compet-
ing in “career and leadership
events.” There are diff erent
rules and goals for these
events, helping students with
job skills.
The first team is the
“nursery/landscape team,”
and students in this team
placed fi fth in regionals.
“It’s still a great accom-
plishment,” McKay said,
though the team will not
advance. They were, techni-
cally, in a national round by
virtue of this year’s unusual
situation.
Another team is “agricul-
tural issues,” a seven-person
team that puts on a skit on an
ag issue. The topic is an issue
at the forefront of technology
— vertical farming.
In traditional farm-
ing, people grow crops
outdoors in fi elds, but verti-
cal farming is growing crops
indoors, often in unused
factory buildings. Farmers
use hydroponics to grow
crops indoors. Grow lights
and artifi cial irrigation are
needed in vertical farming.
Another Hermiston team
will take the stage at nation-
als to debate the pros and
cons of switching to vertical
farming.
The third team, in the
“agricultural communica-
tions” category is a four-per-
son finals-qualified team.
Students in this competition
put themselves into the role
of consultants and develop
a written media plan in
front of a panel of judges.
They will have to convince
judges to hire them for their
services.
Kylie Temple, a 16-year-
old junior, is one of the
students planning on going
to nationals.
“I’m beyond excited,” she
said.
Though she has been in
the FFA since her freshman
year, 2021 is her fi rst year
travelling to the big compe-
tition. COVID-19 ended her
dreams of this competition
previously, as she had qual-
ifi ed but was not able to go.
She has heard many
stories of the competition
and said she would like to
talk to people from all over
the U.S.
She is a little nervous,
she said, but she is confi dent
she will do well at nationals
and even gain useful experi-
ence. Temple said she wants
to have a career in agricul-
ture business and marketing.
“I cannot ever see myself
leaving the agricultural
industry,” she said. Her
trip to nationals is one step
toward further work in that
industry.
STA N FI ELD — A
wrong-way driver ended up
in a crash Friday, Oct. 15, and
required an emergency fl ight
to a hospital.
Oregon State Police
reported the crash occurred
Friday, Oct. 15, at about
milepost 193 on the east-
bound side of Interstate 84.
Paul Lawrence Comrie,
67, of Pendleton, was driv-
ing a Chevrolet Silverado
east on the freeway when a
westbound Nissan Altima
crossed the median and
entered the eastbound lanes
and collided with the Silver-
ado.
State police reported Ryan
Nelson Yazzie, 39, was the
driver of the Nissan. A Life
Flight helicopter flew him
to Kadlec Regional Medical
Center, Richland, Washing-
ton. State police did not have
information about his condi-
tion.
Comrie was not injured,
according to state police, but
police gave him a ride to St.
Anthony Hospital, Pendleton.
Mult iple agencies
responded to the crash,
including Stanfield police,
the Umatilla County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce and Umatilla County
Fire District No. 1.
OSP also reported it
received complaints about
Yazzie’s driving approxi-
mately 3 miles before the
crash, and police observed
evidence of alcohol consump-
tion in Yazzie’s vehicle.
CTUIR declares
end to COVID-19
health emergency
MISSION — The Confed-
erated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation Board
of Trustees passed a resolu-
tion declaring an end to the
COVID-19 public health
emergency on the reserva-
tion.
According to a CTUIR
press release, the emer-
gency expired at 4 p.m. on
Friday, Oct. 15. The main
result of the move is the
tribes will dissolve its inci-
dent command team and lift
capacity limits on social gath-
erings and tribal facilities.
The press release stated
the emergency was declared
on Sept. 24, the day after
Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Center documented 26 new
cases, the largest one-day
total since the pandemic
began. On Sept. 28, Yellow-
hawk recorded 98 active
cases, another record for the
tribes.
Yellowhawk got support
from the Oregon Health
Authority and the board of
trustees to increase testing,
and the tribes soon saw a
signifi cant decrease in new
cases. On Oct. 14, Yellow-
hawk reported only one new
case while active cases are
down to 26.
Restrictions now are lifted
on social gatherings and tribal
enterprises, such as the Wild-
horse Resort & Casino and
Cayuse Holdings, can issue
their own safety standards.
The board did retain its mask
mandate, which applies to all
public indoor facilities on the
reservation.
Trial dates set
for Mattila case
PEN DLETON
—
Manslaughter defendant John
McKenzie Mattila of Weston
has new trial dates.
Court records show the
Umatilla County Circuit
Court set a trial readiness
hearing in the case for Oct.
12 and then a 12-person
jury trial for six days, Nov.
15-19 and 22.
A jury in March 2020
convicted Mattila, 26, of
driving drunk and causing
the death of Adelaida Solis
Torres on the night of Feb.
22, 2019. The jury reached
a unanimous verdict on
a charge of hit-and-run.
But the jury voted 11-1 to
convict Mattila of fi rst-de-
gree and second-degree
manslaughter and voted
10-2 on driving under the
infl uence of intoxicants.
The 2020 U.S. Supreme
Court ruling requiring unani-
mous guilty verdicts for crim-
inal trials sent the case back
for a retrial. Umatilla County
District Attorney Dan Primus
has said his offi ce has handled
a handful of these cases
already.
Helix School
District seeks to
fi ll board vacancy
HELIX — The Helix
School District announced
it is seeking a board member
to fi ll Position 3 of the Helix
School Board.
Position 3 is at large. The
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appointee will serve until
June 30, 2023.
Candidates must be a
registered voter living in the
district and must have lived
within the school district
boundaries for one year
preceding the appointment.
Helix School District employ-
ees are not eligible to serve as
board members.
Those interested in serv-
ing need to complete and
submit an application to the
Helix School District Offi ce,
106 Main St., P.O. Box 398,
Helix, by 5 p.m. on Nov.
4. Applications are avail-
able on the Helix School
District website, www.helix.
k12.or.us, or at https://5il.
co/10h7a, or at the Helix
School District Offi ce, 106
Main St., Helix.
The school board will
review applications at its Nov.
10 meeting and determine
next steps to fi ll the position.
Submit the application or
questions about the appli-
cation and process to Cindy
Wood, administrative assis-
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