OFF PAGE ONE
Thursday, May 19, 2022
East Oregonian
Fire:
Runoff s:
Continued from Page A1
Continued from Page A1
“Please be smart and
careful when enjoying the
outdoors to prevent tragic
loss,” she said. “Being
prepared can mean the diff er-
ence between life and death.”
In the wake of fi res that
not only destroyed hundreds
of thousands of forest and
rangeland, some of Oregon’s
recent wildfi res, especially in
September 2020, left thou-
sands homeless. Brown asked
that people stay informed
through outlets like oralert.
gov on fi re activity and evac-
uation orders.
“If you are asked to evac-
uate, please just do it,” she
said.
Mike Shaw, Oregon
Department of Forestry’s
fi re protection chief, said the
cool, wet weather of April
and May are welcome respite
from the drought and has
helped put off fi re season, but
echoed the governor about
the continued threat of wild-
fi re across most of the state.
“We are in a very signif-
icant drought pattern, espe-
cially on the east slope of the
Cascades and vast parts of
eastern, southern and central
Oregon,” he said.
According to maps
predicting the national wild-
fi re outlook, the season will
likely ramp up in mid-July
and be very active in August.
Travis Medema, chief deputy
for the state fi re marshal’s
offi ce, said that is the same
time period that competition
for resources could be a prob-
lem.
“We are going to try and
keep fi res small and out of
communities,” he said.
The state has 305 fire
She also said she is going
to address voter turnout.
Umatilla County’s turnout
is an unoffi cial 24.9%, or
11,908 ballots accepted out
of 47,922 registered voters.
Bower said she wants to get
people enthused about local
government and the demo-
cratic process to push up
that turnout in November.
“I’m going to be talking
about that a lot,” she said.
Heading into the general
election, though, Bower
said this is the time to push
for changes now on major
issues aff ecting the county
and not wait until January
2023. She said she was at
Walmart this weekend and
visited with people helm-
ing a booth for the group
Design for Change, which
supports homeless veter-
ans. That discussion, she
said, prompted her to get
involved and fi nd people to
work on that matter here.
“I started that yester-
day,” she said.
Timmons said as the
polls closed the night of
May 17, she did not know
if she would end up at the
bottom of the list or the
top. The results, she said,
were as surprising to her as
anyone else
“I had no idea, in fact,”
she said. “Of course I got
texts, I got calls, I heard
from relatives from all over.
I was like everyone else, I
waited for results to come
in.”
She credited candidates
in both Umatilla County
commissioner races as
“wonderful people” and for
jumping into the election.
And while four candi-
dates who were in the race
for Position 1 are done,
Timmons said she is jump-
ing back on the campaign
trail right off . She said she
received a call the morn-
ing after the election for a
group who wants to meet
with her that same night.
East Oregonian, File
A fi refi ghting air tanker drops a load of fi re retardant into a draw in Harrington Canyon as a
large wildfi re burned out of control on Aug. 17, 2018, southwest of Pilot Rock. Offi cials are
bracing for an intense wildfi re season for 2022 due to a “mega” drought, with worse condi-
tions expected to continue.
departments and three inci-
dent command teams.
“We will work with local
communities to bolster
capacity when needed,”
Medema said.
With technology that
predicts lightning and detects
fuel moisture of grasses, live
fuel like trees and dead and
down material, Medema said
fi re crews can be pre-posi-
tioned in areas that are likely
to have high fi re activity.
While state and federal
agencies have contracts
with air support, the Oregon
National Guard will also
have two Blackhawk heli-
copters that can haul 500
gallons of water at a time
and one Chinook that can fl y
with a 1,500-gallon bucket.
National Guard troops will be
trained and ready for ground
support, as well, according to
Maj. Gen. Michael Stencel,
the adjutant general of the
Oregon National Guard.
Andrew Phelps, direc-
tor of the Office of Emer-
gency Management, said
there are several state agen-
cies coordinating efforts
for the upcoming wildfire
season like Oregon Depart-
ment of Human Services
that works with nonprofi ts
to provide shelter and food
for those who are displaced
and Oregon Department of
Transportation that works
with the Department of
Forestr y cross-training
employees in fire fighting
and snow removal. He said
the state also has a mutual aid
agreement with its neighbors.
“As seasons are longer
and more intense, the agen-
cies’ roles are keeping people
safe,” he said. “We have
a shared responsibility to
prepare for emergencies.”
The Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality’s focus is
on smoke management, air
quality and communication,
said Deputy Director Leah
Feldon.
Tom Roick, DEQ air qual-
ity monitoring manager said
the network of smoke moni-
tors across Oregon is expand-
ing. He said his department
received money to install 20
new monitors. The informa-
tion will be shared through
the state’s air quality index
on the OregonAIR app and
https://oregonsmoke.blog-
spot.com/.
Measures:
Continued from Page A1
will be discussions at the
June board meeting, but not
concrete proposals.”
He added the No. 1
concern is school safety and
security. The board could
conduct opinion polls further
to find out what citizens
want, Dirksen said, and he
trusts his successor Mathew
Combe can do what needs to
be done.
Oregon:
Continued from Page A1
Bentz easily
outdistances
challengers
Measure pass for
recreational facilities
The vote for bonds to fund
improvements for recre-
ational facilities in Helix and
Milton-Freewater received
overwhelming support.
Helix Park & Recreation
District’s proposal Measure
30-151 is passing 93-57 votes,
or 62% to 38%.
Helix Park and Recreation
District board member Tom
Winn said the results mean a
boon for Helix.
“The citizens of Helix said
they want a pool, and we’ll
give them one,” he said.
The measure would raise
$1 million to design and build
a new public pool, splash
pad, pump house, improve
the bathhouse and exterior
restrooms and pay the cost
of bond issuance. Helix prop-
erty owners would pay 37
cents per $1,000 of assessed
value. The bond would
Hermiston:
Continued from Page A1
she called a “luxury item.”
Instead, she said, she wants
to meet with local business
leaders and see what they are
most interested in.
Ward 2 (southwest
Hermiston)
Incumbent Roy Barron
led challenger Stan Strand-
ley 924-603 votes (60.3%
to 39.4%) for Ward 2. An
Armand Larive Middle
School teacher, Barron was on
his way in fending off Strand-
ley, a former executive direc-
tor of the Umatilla County
Housing Authority.
“I feel honored. I feel
grateful,” Barron said. “I’m
excited to see what the next
four years have in store.”
He added there are projects
he is happy to continue. Top
priorities include items from
Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, File
Improvements are coming to the Joe Humbert Family Aquatic Center and other Milton-Free-
water recreational facilities. Voters in the primary election Tuesday, May 17, 2022, voted 434-
314, or 58% to 42%, in favor of a bond measure to renew a local option tax to fund a number
of upgrades.
mature in 21 years or less
from the date of issuance.
The board is now work-
ing to raise more money and
write grants.
Winn also said he was
glad to see Milton-Freewa-
ter’s measure pass, particu-
larly after the problems the
community has had with
school funding.
Measu re 30 -150 i n
Milton-Freewater is pass-
ing 434-314 votes, or 58% to
42%.
The measure would
renew a local option tax
of $100,000 a year for fi ve
years at a rate of 32 cents per
the Hermiston 2040 commit-
tee, he said, including the
oft-discussed aquatic center.
“We really want to make
sure that the infrastructure
projects that we have going
on continue to move forward,
that we’re fi nancially stable
and being fiscally prudent
with our decisions,” he said.
He added he wanted to
speak to Strandley and tell
him of his respect for him.
“It’s not easy to put your
name out there and run a
campaign,” Barron said.
Ward 3 (northeast
Hermiston)
The four ward positions
were up for grabs in the elec-
tion. Incumbent Jackie Myers,
who has been on the council
since 1994, was the only coun-
cilor who was running unop-
posed. As such, she said she
was not altogether surprised
by her lead the morning of
May 18. She had 1,273 votes,
99% of the total vote count.
LOCAL BALLOT MEASURE RESULTS
Morrow County schools bond: failing 1,305-798 votes
or 62.1% to 38%.
Helix pool bond: passing 93-57 votes or 62% to 38%.
Milton-Freewater recreational facilities bond: passing
434-314 votes or 58% to 42%.
$1,000 of assessed value to
replace or repair city recre-
ation facilities, according to
the “Umatilla County Voters’
Pamphlet,” including the Joe
Humbert Family Aquatic
Center, Yantis Park Play-
ground equipment and city
ballfi elds.
Milton-Freewater
City Manager Linda Hall
expressed gratitude for voters
showing trust and confi dence
in the city.
“We know it’s tough times
out there, but they want us to
fi nish their priority list,” she
said.
The city plans to begin the
projects in fi scal year 2024.
“I am very honored and
excited to be elected to serve
another four years,” Myers
said. “I’ve always tried to be
engaged and informed in my
work for the citizens of Herm-
iston.”
She added she intends to
continue her hard work to
“help move Hermiston into
the future in a progressive and
thoughtful way.”
voters’ pamphlet, run radio
ads and place signs.
As a city councilor, he
said, he intends to make inter-
net connectivity a priority.
He added he has spoken with
Umatilla County commis-
sioners, who share his hope to
improve internet service for
residents, and he thinks they
can get things done.
Also, he espoused on
“low-cost, high-reward,
low-risk” projects he said
he feels the council also can
accomplish.
“We do a lot of big things,
and I’m happy about all of the
big things that we are doing,
like the city hall and the
library remodeling and all of
those things, and the things
we’re doing at the park,” he
said.
Still, he added, there are
smaller projects that can
make a big diff erence. He said
he will be on the lookout for
those items, helping people in
his community.
Ward 4 (southeast
Hermiston)
Challenger David McCa-
rthy, radio station sales
manager, was leading the
incumbent, Councilor Phillip
Spicerkuhn. The vote count
at that point was 1,046 to 462.
“I’m really surprised,”
McCarthy said.
He added the surprise was
not over winning, but the
margin, which he attributed
to his campaign.
“I did a few things
(Spicerkuhn) didn’t do,” he
said, such as advertise in the
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz
easily outdistanced his
Republican challengers for
the U.S. House in Oregon’s
Second Congressional
District.
Bentz has more than
59,000 votes, earning 75.9%
of the vote. Challenger Mark
Cavener has 14,473 votes
and Katherine Gallant is in a
distant third place with 3,954
votes.
Bentz, who is from
Ontario, was elected to repre-
sent Oregon’s 2nd Congres-
sional District in 2020.
Oregon’s 2nd Congres-
sional District includes all
or part of 20 counties across
northern, eastern, central and
southern Oregon.
Tight race in GOP
nomination for U.S.
senator
Jo Rae Perkins has the
A7
“There’s no time for a
breather,” she said.
Timmons also said she
appreciates the numerous
people in the county who
took their time to talk with
her. And while the race has
narrowed to just her and
Bower, Timmons said she
does not plan to change her
campaign strategy — going
out, knocking on doors and
meeting people face to face.
In the two weeks before
the election, she said, that
ground game intensifi ed.
“I got invited onto a lot
of porches, a lot of good
conversations over the
fence,” she said. “I just put
on my tennis shoes and
went door to door.”
She explained she took
that approach on the advice
of some “seasoned politi-
cians” — she didn’t name
who — and it paid off .
Timmons said while
campaigning she would end
up in conversations with
residents who turned out to
already know her, and that
sent her a strong message.
“This campaign has
driven home the fact that
I’ve lived here my whole
life,” she said.
To that end, she said,
she will continue having
conversations with resi-
dents about who she is.
“I’m a candidate for
the people,” she said,
“the people of Umatilla
County.”
Bower added she wants
to talk with Timmons about
campaign events that would
allow them to discuss issues
in depth and also hear from
locals. Candidate forums
are fi ne, she said, but those
are just a starting point.
Bower said she doesn’t
know what kind of format
this could take, but she
would push to get it going
early.
Closing out the fi eld for
Position 1 were Bob Barton
of Hermiston with 2,033
votes, David Nelson of
Pendleton with 1,276 votes,
Jesse Bonifer of Athena with
1,257 votes and Alvin Young
of Hermiston with 498.
edge in the Republican
nomination in the race for
Oregon U.S. senator.
Perkins has 32.2% of the
vote over Darin Harbick
with 30.3%.
Whoever wins faces
Democrat Ron Wyden in
the general election. Wyden
is running away with his
party’s nomination, having
so far received 89.4% of the
vote.
Wenholz has edge
in Morrow County
commissioner race
Wen holz leads the
race for Position 2 on the
Morrow County Board of
Commissioners 50.6% to
49.2% for Commissioner
Melissa Lindsay.
In the race for Position
3 on the Morrow County
Board of Commissioners,
David Sykes has 50.3%,
with
Mike McNamee at
30.8% and Gus Peterson at
18.7%.
— Election results are
preliminary and from
the Oregon Secretary of
State’s elections tracker.
Got a great business idea
for downtown Pendleton?
Join the Path to Success
Grant Challenge!
Each winner receives
$20,000
to fund their business.
Apply at pendletonurbanrenewal.com/pts
OR: Print and send/deliver your application to
Pendleton City Hall. Application due by 5 p.m.
May 24.
To qualify for this challenge:
You must have at least $5,000 available to you to
invest in your new business.
Learn more at: pendletonurbanrenewal.com/pts