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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 2022)
$1.50 THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2022 Read ‘Frenc Braid’ h 146th Year, No. 71 INSIDE APR IL 6–13 WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021 PA GE 6 , 202 2 WW W.G OEA STE RNO REG Experienc e Esca room pe PA GE 9 Listen Tune Night smith PA GE 14 MAT TIEL ON.COM page 8 TAMASTSLIKT SHOWCASES MIXED MEDIA EXHIBITION IN GO! makes a co in BAKE ncert stop R CITY SHEARER’S FOODS FIRE BOILER EXPLOSION STILL A MYSTERY Former Shearer’s safety manager alleges bad record at Hermiston plant he did some in-depth looks into the facility to identify risks and hazards and found some he deemed as “high risk” and “high consequence.” He was particularly worried about oil fi res, he said. While he was at the plant, Dean said, there were “a bunch of mini- fi res,” which were the result of mate- rial building up in ovens. In policies and procedures, he said, work- ers were supposed to rake out the ovens when in a safe state. Accord- ing to Dean, procedures changed so workers were using compressed air to clean the ovens instead. “You don’t put compressed air onto fi res,” he said. He said this is just one example of the culture at the plant. Practices were unsafe, not necessarily because any one person was directing them poorly, but because those practices shifted towards being unsafe, he said. Dean said once people start doing things one way, they pass on those habits to new workers and behaviors become ingrained. By ERICK PETERSON East Oregonian H ERMISTON — More than three dozen people are trying to fi gure out why a boiler exploded at Hermiston Shearer’s Foods plant on Feb. 22, causing a fi re that destroyed the build- ing and put 231 people out of work. Scott Goff , Umatilla County Fire District No. 1 investigator, said on Tuesday, April 5, the examination of the site has been delayed. First, there was trouble because the rubble was so great it was diffi cult to sort through it. Also, it took time to bring together involved parties. In the past couple of days, big winds pushed back the investigation, which was the latest delay. The examination of the destroyed Hermiston plant, which once employed 231 people, has brought people from the fi re district, Shear- er’s, insurance carriers and repre- sentatives of involved equipment and contractors, according to Goff . Speculation on the cause Though the direct cause of the explosion is yet unknown, one former Shearer’s Foods employee Erick Peterson/East Oregonian A toppled section of the Shearer’s Foods plant stands Monday, April 4, 2022. claims lax safety measures might have contributed to the explosion. “I saw a lot of things,” Stephen Dean said. “I spoke with several peers that I had that no longer work there about how many conversa- tions I had about that place being a time bomb.” According to Dean, when he heard of the explosion and the result- ing fi re, the fi rst words that came out of his mouth were, “I told you so.” He said he was surprised the fi re, which destroyed the building, sent a handful of people to the hospital and left 231 people out of work, was not worse. After all, no one died. He said he was plant safety manager, working directly with the management team. He said he “provided safety culture and infl u- ence and direct safety policy and procedure” for about one year, from early 2018 to early 2019. The Hermiston Herald contacted the Shearer’s corporate office to verify Dean’s employment. Shear- er’s management, though, stated the company would not share employ- ment information out of respect for employees and their confi dentiality. Dean, however, was able to present a letter of hire and his own resignation letter as evidence he had worked there. Early in his employment, he said, Uber exerts infl uence on Pendleton taxi debate By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian PENDLETON — The future of ride-hail services in Pendleton now is in the hands of city attorney Nancy Kerns. After ride-hail giant Uber nixed a proposed ordinance that would have integrated ride-hails into Pendleton, Kerns used a Tuesday, April 5, city council meeting to ask for guidance as she prepares to reengage Uber in negotiations. The city previously was negoti- ating with Elite Taxi, the city’s only taxi service, and a group of resi- dents who aspired to drive for Uber. After meeting with the two sides, the city emerged with a framework that would have allowed, on a trial basis, ride-hails such as Uber to operate during the evening hours while Elite mainly operated during the day. While the local ride-hail OSHA weighs in Aaron Corvin is the public infor- mation offi cer for Oregon Occupa- tional Safety and Health, or Oregon OSHA. He confirmed that the agency is investigating the Feb. 22 explosion and fi re. He stated in an email, however, OSHA does not discuss the status or details of active cases and he would share informa- tion about it once the investigation is complete. See Fire, Page A6 EASTERN OREGON Merkley touts support of rural Oregon By ALEX WITTWER EO Media Group Kathy Aney/East Oregonian Two Elite Taxi vehicles await fares Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at 332 S.E. Dorion Ave., Pendleton. City attorney See Uber, Page A6 Nancy Kerns is working on a proposal for a pilot project to allow Uber to operate in Pendleton. WALLA WALLA REGIONAL AIRPORT Extensive remodel slated to accommodate jets By MAX ERIKSON Walla Walla Union-Bulletin WALLA WALLA — The future of air travel at the Walla Walla Regional Airport is going to get faster. Alaska Air Group, parent company of Alaska Airlines, announced last week it plans to transition from turboprop planes to full-jet aircraft for its Horizon Air services sometime in 2023. The Embraer 175 jet aircraft will be the newest addition to the airport, replacing the turboprop Bombardier Q-400, which has served passengers for many years and is considered a good work horse aircraft for regional fl ights. The Port of Walla Walla is Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin The afternoon Alaska Airlines fl ight sits outside the Walla Walla Region- al Airport on Friday, April 1, 2022. preparing now for the switch, with a facilities remodel to accommo- date the new planes. The Q-400 has been in opera- tion at the Walla Walla airport since 2008. The E-175 will have the same LA GRANDE — Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley is setting his sights on fi re protection and forest resilience in Eastern Oregon. The Oregon Democrat previ- ously promoted The Valley West Joint Chiefs project in September 2021 as a way to “ensure the safety of our communities, the resilience of our forests and the conservation of our natural resources,” Merkley according to a press release from Merkley’s offi ce. The project is a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and the U.S. Forest Service. “I am very happy to be able to announce that I was able to secure $1.8 million for the La Grande Valley West Joint Chiefs project,” he said during a one-on-one inter- view Wednesday, March 30. “We’re talking about precommercial thin- ning, fuels reduction, prescribed burning (and) mowing, and all of it produces jobs in the woods, saw logs for the mill and a more fi re resilient forest, which I think is a triple-win.” Forest resilience and response to drought 76-passenger capacity as the Q-400 but with added cabins including 12 for fi rst-class riders, 12 premi- um-class seats and 52 economy seats. Last year’s fi re season was one of the most explosive ones yet in Oregon, though Eastern Oregon was largely spared from confl agra- tions and widespread damage like that seen in the southern parts of See Airport, Page A6 See Merkley, Page A6