REGION
Thursday, July 28, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
Pendleton airport to receive almost
$5M from FAA to reconfigure runway
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
Eastern Oregon Regional
Airport in Pendleton is
receiving almost $5 million
in federal funds to reconfig-
ure a runway.
The $4.96 million is part
of the $17.5 million in grants
from the Federal Aviation
Administration’s Airport
Improvement Program for
crucial safety improvements
to runways in small airports
in Oregon, U.S. Sens. Ron
Wyden and Jeff Merkley
announced Monday, July 25.
In addition to the airport
in Pendleton, the Corvallis
Municipal Airport is receiv-
ing $2.79 million to recon-
struct runway and update
lighting and the Crater Lake/
Klamath Regional Airport
is getting $9.75 million for
runway reconstruct.
“Small airports’ reliable
air service in rural areas
is crucial for Oregonians
and our state’s economy,”
Wyden said. “I am gratified
to see these dollars go toward
improving critical runway
infrastructure that is often
taken for granted when flying.
Investing in airport infra-
structure lays the ground-
East Oregonian, File
Rollers compact the asphalt of the primary runway in April 2020
at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport in Pendleton. Oregon
U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced Monday,
July 25, 2022, that the Pendleton airport is receiving almost $5
million in federal grant funds to reconfigure a runway.
work for airports in Corvallis,
Pendleton and Klamath Falls
to continue to support jobs,
our state’s economic growth
and tourism.”
“Regional airports are vital
in connecting rural communi-
ties to economic opportunities
across the state and beyond,”
Merkley said. “This fund-
ing for airports in Corvallis,
Pendleton and Klamath Falls
will help to improve the criti-
cal infrastructure that we rely
on when flying that is crit-
ical for businesses in those
communities to thrive. These
improvements will not only
support the airport, but local
economies of these cities and
Oregon as a whole.”
Steve Chrisman, Pendle-
ton economic development
director and interim airport
manager, in the announce-
ment said the Eastern Oregon
Regional Airport was thank-
ful to receive the grant fund-
ing for mitigation of a hot spot
area on Runway 29.
“The airport has been
experiencing unprecedented
growth for the last several
years, which requires safe and
structurally sound runways
and taxiways,” according to
Chrisman. “Sens. Wyden
and Merkley have been stal-
wart supporters of the airport
and the Pendleton Unmanned
Aerial System Range, and this
funding will help alleviate a
long-standing problem for
airfield users.”
The city proposed an
airport project to relocate
Runway 29’s threshold, build
new taxi lanes and rehabilitate
aprons in March. The engi-
neer’s cost estimate was $4.5
to $5.5 million.
“We put together the
proposal with the FAA,”
Chrisman said, “and added
it to the capital improvement
plan list.”
The Airport Improvement
Program grant is funding
upcoming projects, he added.
“This was in the works
for quite some time,” Chris-
man said. “It’s a dangerous
intersection. Now the grant is
awarded, but it was on the list
already.”
Projects on the capital
improvement project list
receive grants on a five-year
plan, he said.
“Our priority for the
next round of funding is to
extend the wildlife fence,”
Chrisman concluded.
EASTERN OREGON
National forests move to first phase of restrictions
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Due to
increased fire danger and dry
weather conditions, Phase
A of the Public Use Restric-
tions for smoking, off-road
travel and chainsaw use go
into effect on the Umatilla and
Wallowa-Whitman National
Forests at 12:01 a.m. Thurs-
day, July 28.
The Forest Ser vice
announced the restrictions
in a press release. Phase A is
the first level of wildfire-pre-
vention restrictions, gener-
ally implemented when the
fire danger is moderate to
high. National forests phase
in restrictions as conditions
warrant. Restrictions under
Phase A include:
• Using chainsaws only
between the hours of 8 p.m.
and 1 p.m., and a one-hour fire
watch is required after saw
operations cease. The restric-
tions require chainsaw opera-
tors to have an axe, shovel and
fire extinguisher with them.
• Smoking is allowed only
in enclosed vehicles, buildings
or cleared areas.
• Vehicles only can travel
on roads and trails that are
Umatilla National Forest/Contributed Photo
Smoke rises in July 2021 from the Elbow Creek Fire west of
Troy on the Umatilla National Forest. The first phase of pub-
lic use restrictions on the Umatilla National Forest goes into
effect Thursday, July 28, 2022, due to increased fire danger
and dry weather conditions.
clear of standing grass or other
flammable material. Off-road
or off-trail vehicle travel is not
allowed, nor is vehicle travel
on National Forest roads
where berm, logs, boulders or
man-made barricades block or
impede travel.
Forest officials also recom-
mend the following campfire
safety precautions:
Campfires should be in fire
pits surrounded by dirt, rock or
commercial rings and in areas
not conducive to rapid fire
spread. All flammable mate-
rial shall be cleared within a
3-foot radius from the edge of
the pit and free of overhang-
ing material. Use existing pits
wherever possible.
Campfires must be attended
at all times, and completely
extinguished prior to leaving.
Anyone with a camp-
fire should have a tool that
can serve as a shovel and at
least one gallon of water to
completely extinguish the
campfire.
The Forest Service stressed
the public’s awareness of the
increasing fire danger and
cooperation is essential to a
safe fire season.
Closures might be in
effect on state and private
lands under the protection of
the Oregon Department of
Forestry in Northeastern and
Central Oregon.
For more complete infor-
mation, contact the Umatilla
National Forest hotline at
877-958-9663, visit www.
fs.usda.gov/umatilla or on
Facebook go to www.face-
book.com/UmatillaNF.
Suicide hotline number change will help those in need
By ANTONIO
ARREDONDO
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
national suicide preven-
tion hotline has changed
its number. And for those
throughout Umatilla and
Morrow counties and the rest
of the nation, access during
mental health crises became
much easier.
On July 16, the United
States officially changed its
suicide hotline number to
988. It replaces the former
number, 800-273-8255, a
number that will still stay
online indefinitely. Local
health providers said they are
hopeful the shorter number
will help.
“It just means for us that
it’s easier for us to direct
people where to help,” said
Morgan Linder, Umatilla
Count y Public Health
Community Health supervi-
sor. “For so long, the number
was difficult to remember.”
Federal Communications
Commission reported its
staff in conjunction with the
Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Adminis-
tration, the Department of
Veterans Affairs and the
North American Numbering
Council released a report in
August 2019 recommending
the use of 988 as the thee-
digit code for the National
Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
The National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline launched
in 2005 and in its first year
received 46,000 calls. The
Lifeline reported receiving
almost 2.4 million crisis calls
in 2020, including 48,574
from Oregon. Since the
Lifeline’s inception, it has
received more than 23 million
calls.
The FCC in July 2020
established a plan to imple-
ment the number by July 16,
2022, and in October 2020
the National Suicide Hotline
Designation Act became law,
solidifying 988 into statute as
the new Lifeline and Veterans
Crisis Line phone number.
The FCC has billed the
three-digit number as a
“direct connection to compas-
sionate, accessible care and
support for anyone expe-
riencing mental health-re-
lated distress.” The number
also can be called if anyone
is worried about a family
member or friend.
With the longer number,
911 often was dialed in cases
of a mental health emergency,
prompting a police response.
With a shorter number, the
goal is getting those in need
in contact faster with profes-
sionals prepared to deal with
mental health situations.
Officials in Umatilla
and Morrow Counties said
they hope knowledge of the
number will become wide-
spread.
“We want to make it some-
thing people know about,”
Linder said. “Often people
need to call, and it won’t be
the first place they reach out
to.”
According to the Oregon
Health Authority, suicide is
the eighth leading cause of
death in the state. Suicide
claimed the lives of 685
people in 2010 in Oregon, and
in 2020, the number of fatali-
ties was 835. Suicide was the
10th leading cause of death
in 2020 in Umatilla County,
with 19 fatalities.
Linder recommended that
anyone in the area who is
struggling with mental health
to call the number or get in
contact with Community
Counseling Solutions, which
has eight locations through-
out Umatilla and Morrow
counties.
If you or a loved one is
experiencing a mental health
crisis, dial 988 or visit your
local health provider for help.
— East Oregonian news
editor Phil Wright contrib-
uted to this report.
Dawn Jeffers/Contributed Photo
Elmer Jeffers celebrates his 100th birthday on April 16,
2021 in Pilot Rock. Jeffers, now 101, is getting married Sat-
urday, July 30, 2022, in Pilot Rock.
101-year-old Pilot
Rock man weds
on Saturday
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PILOT ROCK — Elmer
Jeffers and Jerrie Gammond
of Pilot Rock are to wed
Saturday, July 30, at 2 p.m.
in the Life Church, 222 S.W.
Third St.
Jeffers turned 101 in
April.
“We met at the coffee
shop,” Jeffers recalled. “We
started talking, had a good
time, then courted for about
a year and a half. She’s a
very fine lady.”
The newlyweds plan a
short honeymoon, he said.
“We don’t even know
where we’re going yet,”
Jeffers said. “Some people
financed it, and we look
forward to it, wherever we
may go together.”
This will be Jeffers’ third
marriage.
“I’ve outlived t wo
wives,” he said. “The Lord
has been good to me.”
Jeffers was born in Fort
Dodge, Iowa, and lived
there for 12 years. He
served in the Navy during
World War II, and settled in
California after the global
conflict ended. There, he
was in the meat business
for 35 years. Jeffers retired
at 62, and moved to Pilot
Rock 12 years ago.
Jeffers had 12 siblings.
“Just three of the 13 are
left now,” he said, “a brother
LOCAL BRIEFING
Hermiston bans
psilocybin, refers
issue to voters
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston City Council at
is meeting Monday, July 25,
unanimously approved a
local law banning psilocybin
service centers and manu-
facture of the hallucinogenic
drug. The same ordinance
referred the prohibition to
the voters at the November
general election.
While Oregon’s 2020
Ballot Measure 109 to
legalize the psychoactive
mushrooms passed state-
wide, 64% of voters in
Umatilla County opposed
it. The law allows cities
and counties to vote anew
to ban psilocybin manufac-
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ture and services in their
jurisdictions.
Ordinance No. 2340
declared a ban on psilo-
cybin service centers or
manufacture of psilocybin
in Hermiston and referred
the ban to the ballot for
voters to decide to keep it
or reject it.
“The voters can repeal
the ordinance or let it
stand,” Assistant City
Manager Mark Morgan
said.
Her miston’s action
differs from the psilocy-
bin ordinances Umatilla
County and Pendleton
passed, which only referred
a ban to the voters with-
out first enacting prohibi-
tion of the fungus-derived
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in Chattanooga, Tennessee,
and a sister in California.
We’ve been blessed.”
With his first wife,
Jeffers had seven children.
“Only the youngest
daughter and eldest son still
survive,” he said. “She lives
in California, and my son is
in Tacoma.”
Jeffers is the great uncle
of Harley Jeffers, who, with
his wife Dawn Jeffers, are
pastors at the Pilot Rock
Life Church. A reception
follows the wedding at the
Pilot Rock Community
Center, 285 N.W. Cedar
Place.
“Elmer lives alone, at
least for now, drives and
shops for himself,” Dawn
Jeffers said. “It might take a
few rings for him to answer
the phone.”
Gammond has lived in
Pilot Rock since 1951.
“I was born in Idaho, and
met my husband there,” she
said. “We had two daugh-
ters and a son. He passed
away in 2017, and Oromel
(her husband) in 2019.”
Oromel Gam mond,
named for an uncle, went
by “Buster.”
“We look forward to
a few more years of good
marriage together,” Elmer
Jeffers said. “I’ve had an
amazing life. My parents
both lived to ripe old ages.
My dad died at 98 and my
mom at 95.”
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