REGION
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
Suspect in New Year’s Eve shootout on Interstate 84 dies
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton Police Department
in a press release Saturday,
Jan. 1, reported the suspect
law enforcement pursued on
New Year’s Eve from Union
County into Umatilla County
died.
Police identified the
suspect as Nicholas Russell
Proudfoot, 30, of North Bend,
Washington.
The pursuit began the
morning of Friday, Dec. 31,
after the theft of a vehicle in
Ukiah at 6 a.m., according to
a press release that day from
the Umatilla County District
Attorney’s Offi ce. The Union
County Sheriff’s Office at
about 10:45 a.m. attempted
to stop the vehicle in Union
County.
The report from Dec. 31
stated law enforcement caught
the suspect at 11:53 a.m. and
took him into custody at
gunpoint. Offi cers took the
suspect to a hospital for medi-
cal attention.
But the press release Jan.
1 from the Pendleton Police
Department presented more
information.
Pendleton police reported
the chase ended on Interstate
84 at approximately milepost
223 on Cabbage Hill, about 13
miles east of Pendleton.
The suspect fi red several
rounds at an Oregon State
Police trooper and civilians
as he fl ed and carjacked occu-
pied vehicles on the interstate,
Pendleton police reported.
The trooper and one civil-
ian, who was a victim of a
carjacking, returned fi re at
the suspect.
“The incident ended after
the suspect’s stolen vehicle
became disabled,” according
to the press release, “and he
was found unresponsive with
an injury to his head.”
Pendleton police reported
law enforcement performed
life-saving efforts and an
ambulance took Proudfoot to
a hospital, but he succumbed
to his injuries Dec. 31 at 9 p.m.
No civilians or law
enforcement officers were
injured during this chase and
shooting.
At approximately noon
that day, Pendleton Police
Department, at the request of
the Umatilla County District
Attorney’s Office and in
compliance with the Umatilla
County Deadly Physical
Force Plan, assumed control
of the investigation. Police
also reported there will be
an autopsy to determine the
manner and cause of Proud-
foot’s death.
The investigation of multi-
ple crime scenes led to the
shutdown of I-84 between
mileposts 237 and 223 on both
the east and westbound sides
until about 9:30 p.m. Dec. 31.
The investigation also is rely-
ing on resources from Herm-
iston Police Department,
Umatilla Tribal Police Depart-
ment, Umatilla County Sher-
iff’s Office, Union County
Sheriff ’s Offi ce, Oregon State
Police and its crime lab and
the Federal Bureau of Inves-
tigation.
“Once the investigation
is complete,” according to
the press release, “all mate-
rial will be turned over to
the Umatilla County District
Attorney.”
Resolution runners plow ahead
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
A road grader Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, plows a section of
Westgate in Pendleton.The National Weather Service report-
ed the Pendleton area experienced temperatures slightly
warmer than normal during December.
December temps were
warmer than normal
East Oregonian
PEN DLETON
—
Temperatures during Decem-
ber in the Pendleton area were
slightly warmer than normal,
according to preliminary
data received by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s National
Weather Service in Pendleton.
The average temperature
during the month was 34.7
degrees, 1.5 degrees above
normal. High temperatures
averaged 42.2 degrees, 2.7
degrees above normal, accord-
ing to the monthly climate
summary.
The highest temperature
was 68 degrees recorded
Dec. 1.
Low temperatures aver-
aged 27.3 degrees, 0.4 degrees
above normal. The lowest
temperature for the month was
minus 7, recorded Dec. 31.
There were 21 days with
the low temperature below
32 degrees and six days when
the high temperature stayed
below 32 degrees.
Precipitation for the month
totaled 2.01 inches, 0.54
inches above normal. Measur-
able precipitation — at least
.01 inch — was received on
15 days with the heaviest, 0.84
inches reported on Dec. 19.
Precipitation in 2021
totaled 9.38 inches, which is
3.28 inches below normal.
Since October, the water year
precipitation at the Pendleton
airport has been 4.39 inches,
which is 0.39 inches above
normal.
Snowfall totaled 17.8
inches with at least 1 inch of
snow reported on six days.
The heaviest snowfall was 4.6
inches on Dec. 30.
The highest wind gust
was 48 mph, which occurred
Dec. 11.
The outlook for January
from NOAA’s Climate Predic-
tion Center calls for below
normal temperatures and
above normal precipitation.
Normal highs for the Pendle-
ton airport during January are
41.8 degrees and normal lows
are 28.9 degrees. The 30-year
normal precipitation is 1.43
inches.
Fire marshal calls on
public for hydrant care
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Scott
Goff, fire marshal for
Umatilla County Fire District
No. 1, is urging locals to make
sure fi re hydrants are clear of
deep snow.
“During the winter it is
helpful, as the snow gets
deeper, that a path from the
street to the hydrant and a
minimum 3-foot (distance)
around the hydrant is kept
clear,” stated Goff, in an
email to the East Oregonian.
He added, though, there
are problems even with-
out snow, as landscaping,
including fences, can block or
obstruct a hydrant from view.
“Keeping vegetation
trimmed so that hydrants are
visible from the street is help-
ful,” he said. “We did experi-
ence some delay in accessing
a hydrant at a residential
structure fire this fall that
was obstructed from view by
landscaping. While this did
not change the outcome of
the fi re incident it did cause a
delay in establishing a water
supply to fi ght the fi re.”
Hermiston alone has 715
hydrants, and they are all
important to the work of fi re-
fi ghters, Goff said.
Fire apparatuses carry
limited amounts of water
for fi refi ghters to take initial
actions at a fi re scene, he said,
whereas “a hydrant provides
a constant fl ow of water to
fi re apparatus beyond what
is carried.”
Local hydrants are other-
wise dependable even in the
winter, Goff said, because
they are the “dry barrel” type.
That is, “when the hydrant is
shut off , a drain opens well
below the frost line under-
ground,” he said, and the
portion of the hydrant and
piping above the frost line,
then, do not have water in
them to prevent freezing
during the winter months.
“We are in constant
communication with the
water purveyors in our fi re
district who inform us of
known hydrants that are not
usable,” he said.
Hydrants are required to
be fl owed at least once a year,
he said, and water depart-
ments usually handle that
when fl ushing of the water
system or conducting main-
tenance.
Privately owned hydrants
also exist in town, and it is the
responsibility of the owners
to fl ush and maintain them,
Goff said.
Like any other piece of
equipment, he said, hydrants
should be kept in working
order if firefighters are to
avoid unhappy surprises.
And the public also can play
a role in helping fi refi ghters.
“The hose lines from the
hydrant to the apparatus also
play a signifi cant role in the
water supply,” Goff said. “We
still encounter people driv-
ing over hose lines, which, if
damaged, has to be replaced,
which could delay putting
additional water on a fi re as
each piece of hose damaged
often has to be replaced by
two additional sections.”
Doing that requires fi re-
fi ghters to stop working on a
fi re and instead replace hoses.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Runners lead off the pack of participants in the New Year’s Day Resolution Run on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022, at
Riverfront Park in Hermiston.
City moves ahead with South Hill road project
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
city of Pendleton is moving
forward with a $2 million
fund to build a new road for
housing on the South Hill.
At a Dec. 21 meeting,
the Pendleton City Council
unanimously approved an
agreement with Umatilla
County to establish a $2
million revolving fund to
help cover the costs of build-
ing the street. Public Works
Director Bob Patterson told
the council it would need to
create a fund in the future
to house the money once it’s
disbursed.
The city has taken some
early steps to secure ease-
ments to build a new road
that would connect High-
way 11 and Highway 30.
City officials believe the
new road could open up
land capable of sustaining
hundreds of new housing
units.
Given that a revolving
fund can’t be drawn down
without replenishing it, the
city plans to pair the $2
million with a reimburse-
ment district where hous-
ing developers reimburse
the city for the costs of the
road and other infrastruc-
ture once they start build-
ing houses. But even with
the $2 million in hand, the
city likely will need to raise
money from other sources to
fully fund the project.
Kim Puzey, the general
manager of the Port of
Umatilla, said he’s met
with city officials about
contributing money toward
the road building effort,
but a commitment would
require approval from the
port commission. Puzey
said there were no city
representative at the last
port commission meeting
in December and would
be unable to proceed with
discussions until both sides
met.
“We probably won’t
be discussing it in their
absence,” Puzey said.
Mayor John Turner,
himself a former commis-
sioner, confirmed he and
City Manager Robb Corbett
have met with Puzey about
the port participating in the
revolving fund.
Turner said he and
Corbett have been busy
trying to address end-of-
the-year tasks, but he antic-
ipates returning to the port
commission in January to
continue discussions. While
there’s uncertainty whether
the port could off er fi nancial
support during the current
fi scal year or next, Turner
said he was confi dent a deal
could be worked out.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Local police arrest
two in connection
to car theft
STANFIELD — Two
Keizer residents are in the
Umatilla County Jail, Pendle-
ton, after local police arrested
them Sunday, Jan. 2, for vehi-
cle theft.
Kenneth Wayne Felton,
25, faces an initial charge
of vehicle theft, and Darcie
Noel Wetzel-Barnett, 28,
faces charges of vehicle
theft and felon in posses-
sion of a fi rearm, accord-
ing to state court records.
Pendleton police in a
press release Jan. 3 reported
offi cers at 11:49 a.m. Jan. 2
responded to the Pendle-
ton Walmart on a report
of theft of merchandise.
An employee told police
a male and a female left
the store with a suitcase
containing more store prop-
erty and paid for nothing.
The employee gave police
the license plate number of
the red Hyundai Sonata the
pair were in. Police found
the car was stolen out of
Keizer.
An aler t about the
car went out to local law
enforcement. A Stanfi eld
police officer at about
12:16 p.m. spotted the car at
the Pilot Travel Center, 2115
S. Highway 395, Stanfi eld.
The officer with backup
from Umatilla County
sheriff ’s deputies arrested
Felton and Wetzel-Barnett.
A Pendleton off icer
arrived and secured the
property from Walmart
and added misdemeanor
theft charges against the
pair. Stanfi eld police took
control of the car. Police
also arrested Wetzel-Bar-
nett on a Marion County
probat ion v iolat ion
warrant.
State cour t records
show Wetzel-Barnett has
a conviction from 2019
for misdemeanor theft and
Felton has convictions from
2017 and 2021 for vehicle
thefts and other crimes in
Marion and Hood River
counties.
— EO Media Group