‘You Are Here’ exhibit comes to Tamastslikt | REGION, A3
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
146th year, No. 67
$1.50
WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021
COVID-19
Infections expected to rise with new version of omicron
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
saLeM — an upswing in
cOVId-19 cases in Oregon is
expected to hit this week, driven by
infections of the hyper-contagious
Ba.2 version of the omicron vari-
ant, according to a new state report.
The forecast from the Oregon
health & science university shows
a much lower peak for the new
wave of cases, topping out at under
300 hospitalizations per day in the
first week of May, then resuming
a downward trend until reaching
current levels again by late June.
“The primary forecast shows
a slight increase in hospitalized
patients as the impacts of Ba2 and
reduced cOVId restrictions are
experienced,” said the report writ-
ten by dr. Peter Graven, the chief
cOVId-19 forecaster at Ohsu.
The forecast is part of the mixed
medical and political signals
around the nation as the omicron
surge that began in late November
and peaked in mid-January has
rapidly dropped to levels not seen
since before the delta variant spike
began at the end of June 2021.
as of Friday, March 25, the
statistics in Oregon showed a
precipitous drop-off. The Oregon
health authority on March
25 reported 189 new cases of
cOVId-19 and two deaths.
Oregon hospitals reported 157
patients with cOVId-19, down
four from the day before. There
are 26 patients with cOVId-19 in
intensive care units, up one from
Thursday’s report.
Positive test results — a key
indicator of future growth of the
virus — were at 2.5%, down from
the high point of 22.6% in mid-Jan-
uary. Oha has said throughout the
pandemic that a rate of 5% or under
was manageable for health care
providers.
The pandemic in Oregon
reached two milestones during the
last week, passing 7,000 deaths and
700,000 cases. as of March 25,
there have been 7,035 deaths and
702,750 reported infections.
The expected rise in cases is due
to two factors, one expected, but
the other an unwelcome surprise.
even before the official lift-
ing of indoor face mask require-
ments, compliance with safeguards
was waning. Ohsu forecast-
ers said a slowing of the drop in
cases was likely as more people
became exposed.
See Omicron, Page A9
PENDLETON
FAA: Amazon
drone crashed
twice in 2021
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PeNdLeTON — Package deliv-
ery drones being tested at the Pend-
leton unmanned aerial systems
range crashed a couple of times
last year, but the city of Pendleton
is remaining quiet about the details
surrounding the incidents.
Business Insider obtained reports
from the Federal aviation admin-
istration that documented crashes
on the Pendleton range in May and
June of 2021. In the latter instance,
the unmanned vehicle fell 160 feet,
its battery catching fire after hitting
the ground.
“several acres of wheat stubble
field were soon on fire,” the report
states, according to Business Insider.
The May crash involved
amazon’s MK27 drone falling to
the ground after a propeller failure.
an amazon spokesperson told
Business Insider that no one was hurt
in either incident
“We follow thorough procedures
on how flight tests are conducted and
how we respond to any incident,” the
spokesperson said in a statement.
“In this instance, we carried out a
test with the utmost caution, as is
normal in the aviation industry. No
employee or community member
was at risk and the team followed all
appropriate safety procedures and
reporting requirements.”
In a Friday, March 25, interview,
Pendleton range Manager darryl
Abling confirmed the crashes but
said he could provide no other details
about the incidents. abling said it’s
against the drone range’s policy to
discuss crashes and other incidents.
since the range’s customers are the
groups that witness the crashes,
abling said he would be speculat-
ing if he commented on them.
abling said the testing range
tracks all operations, including
crashes, but he declined to disclose
them since they aren’t public record.
at the urging of the city of Pend-
See Drone, Page A9
Mary Otteson/Contributed Pphoto
Longtime friends Cody Watson, Braydon Postma and Kyler Carter pose for a photo after Watson and Carter surprised Postma at his
bootcamp graduation in January 2019.
Cold night in the canyon
Death leaves a gap: ‘Nothing will ever replace him’
Editor’s Note: This is the second of a
two-part feature. Part one ran in the East
Oregonian in print and online Saturday,
March 26.
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
P
ILOT rOcK — Braydon Postma
and cody Watson lay on their backs
on a bed of cold river rock. Postma
had a broken leg, pelvis and arm.
Watson’s leg was shattered.
The two men and their friend Kyler
carter had fallen about 50 feet from a
swimming hole above a waterfall and
landed in the shallow, rocky creek bed
below. as dusk turned to dark, they
talked. Their rescue, they realized, was
not assured.
carter, with injuries to his lungs and
the loss of his eyeglasses, had gone for
help.
“cody and I didn’t know if Kyler had
internal injuries or something,” Postma
said. “as much faith as we had in him to
do it, we didn’t know if he’d make it.”
The men, not able to move and sepa-
rated by the creek, realized their situation
was dire. They concentrated about what
was important.
“We talked about family,” Postma
said. “We said we loved each other. cody
talked a lot about how he loved his mom
and his brothers and sister. he talked
about how much he loved his friends, and
Kaybob and me.”
“Kaybob” was their nickname for
carter.
at one point, Watson half-joked that
it was so cold from waterfall mist that he
wished he could come over and snuggle.
Both men cracked up.
after the sun rose high enough to shine
into the canyon and warm the air, they
decided to close their eyes.
“Let’s just get some sleep while we
can,” Postma remembered Watson saying.
“I think that was the last thing he said.”
See Rescue, Page A9
Pendleton World War II guardhouses under threat
airport commission
again questions what
to do with structures
80-plus-years old
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PeNdLeTON — The elements,
construction traffic and neglect
threaten two guardhouses dating
back to World War II at what was
then the Pendleton Field army air
Base.
They’ve gone largely unmain-
tained for decades at airport road.
What to do with them has become
Phil Wright/East Oregonian
See WWII, Page A9
The construction area of the new Radisson Hotel on Sunday, March 27, 2022, encroaches on the guardhouses from
World War II at the airport in Pendleton. Some are again calling for the preservation of the historic structures.