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East Oregonian
Thursday, July 28, 2022
medical emergencies. The
Sheriff’s dispatch center
has been doing so since
March 2020.”
Browne also stated while
the Oregon Health Authority
has approved the ASA Plan,
the county has yet to adopt it.
Browne then took a shot
at Emily Roberts, CEO of
Morrow County Health
District.
“However, Since becom-
ing CEO of the Health
District, Emily Roberts has
been on a mission to keep
Boardman Fire from doing
what we have been trained
and certified to do. It should
also be noted that the EMS
Advisory Committee is 80%
Health District employees,”
according to Browne’s post.
Morrow County Health
District spokesperson Scott
Gallagher explained Hughes
is not looking to partner with
the health district but instead
take it over and the funding
that goes with it.
According to health
district meeting minutes of
April 25, its 2022-23 budget
is about $14.6 million, and
the district also was set to
receive almost $660,000
from Amazon, which oper-
ates several data centers in
Morrow County at the Port
of Morrow.
Boardman Fire not only
ignores protocol when it
jumps calls for ambulance
service, according to Galla-
gher, it then bills the health
district for the service.
Browne further stated in
his post the health district
has refused to partner with
Boardman Fire, which
remains “committed to
providing the best possible
patient care and outcomes
to our community. We have
been doing this, within the
constraints of the county’s
ASA Plan. We will continue
to provide emergency
services to our community
while trying to bring forward
a nationally adopted response
model.”
The health district also
stated it has attempted
to “resolve this issue and
develop a partnership with
BRFD to enhance EMS
services,” but those efforts
have been unsuccessful.
Still, the health district
stated it is working within
the ambulance ser vice
plan’s legal process “toward
a reasonable, communi-
ty-based resolution.”
football and we are excited
about that. We’re excited
with the amount of student
athletes that want to play
football. One thing that
is important is our family
atmosphere. We won’t lose
that.”
The TigerScots actually
played nine-man football last
year against Riverside, as did
a few other teams.
“O u r prog ram will
continue to grow whether
it’s nine-man or 11-man,”
Hansell said.
A small percentage (17%)
of nine-man football games
are played on a smaller field
measuring 80 yards long
by 40 yards wide. A stan-
dard football field for NFL,
college and high school is
the field will not change.
“The six-player and eight-
player games are not played
field. Schools move up and
down, and teams that want
to play an 11-player game
out of league need to have
the facility.”
Nine-man football is not
as popular as 11-man or
8-man, but seems to be a
compromise for a few states.
In 2018, a count of schools
nationwide which sponsored
six/eight/nine-man football
teams, found that just three
states had nine-man football,
with South Dakota lead-
ing the way with 76, while
Minnesota had 63 and North
Dakota 43.
Wyoming, which had
nine-man football from
1989-94, brought back the
nine-man game in 2020,
with 12 teams.
Oregon will have 37
schools offering nine-
man football. Of the 38 2A
schools in Oregon, one has
opted to play up at the 3A
level rather than play nine-
man ball.
“Any 2A school that
wanted to play 11-man
moved to 3A,” Welch said.
The only one who opted to
do that was Kennedy.”
The Trojans will move
out of the Tri-River Confer-
ence and play football in the
3A Special District 2. The
move is just for football.
Fight:
Continued from Page A1
forums,” members of the fire
district “disparaging health
district ambulance crew in
public” and “engaging in a
public campaign to under-
mine the reputation” of
Morrow County ambulance
staff and the health district
board.
The determination also
shot down Hughes’ request
because one of the “overrid-
ing reasons” for the request
was about funding rather
than public safety.
In spite of the health
district’s determination,
Boardman Fire has continued
to respond to all calls.
Ken Browne, chair of
the Boardman Fire Rescue
District, fired back on Face-
book.
“In Boardman Fire’s
case, it is properly respond-
ing because it is a Quick
Response Team agency.
In March 2020, the Health
District was taking over 7
minutes to respond to 911
emergency medical calls,
when the accepted National
average is 60 seconds. In
an effort to provide quicker
patient care (within the Coun-
ty’s ASA Plan) and to also be
in alignment with the Gover-
nor’s COVID response State
of Emergency, Boardman
Fire requested their dispatch
center, Morrow County Sher-
iff’s Office, to page us for all
Football:
Continued from Page A1
As a staff, Hansell and
his assistants have had to do
their homework to under-
stand the workings of the
nine-man game.
At the snap of the ball,
the team on offense has to
have at least five players on
the line of scrimmage. The
remaining players are in the
backfield.
“We are going to have
to do things differently and
adjust,” Hansell said. “In
reality, we’re still playing
Morrow County Health District/Contributed Photo
Morrow County Health District participates in a Fourth of July parade in 2022 in Morrow County. The district and Boardman
Fire Rescue District are fighting over who should respond to calls for ambulance service in Morrow County.
East Oregonian, File
Alisha Lundgren, assistant deputy director of the Umatilla
County Health Department, draws up doses of the COVID-19
vaccine Oct. 29, 2021, during a booster shot clinic at the
Pendleton Convention Center. The Oregon Health Authority
reported Umatilla County had the second highest COVID-19
case rate among Oregon counties as of July 20, 2022.
COVID-19:
Continued from Page A1
OHA wastewater moni-
toring for SARS-CoV-2
viral concentration showed
no change at Pendleton and
sustained decrease at Herm-
iston this month. Pendleton
was last sampled on July 11
and Hermiston on July 14.
Um a t i l l a C o u n t y’s
COVID-19 vaccination rate
of 60.4% of population aged
18 or older with at least one
dose remains below the state
median for 36 counties of
about 69.5% and state mean
average of 84.6%.
In Umatilla County, of
people ages 18 and older
14,567 have received a
booster dose. Those eligible to
receive a booster dose but who
haven’t yet numbered 18,260.
Of those eligible 44.4% have
received a booster.
For comparison, state-
wide 84.6% of those over 18
have been vaccinated and of
those eligible 47.4% have been
boosted, Goodnight reported.
The OHA urged Orego-
nians in the 21 counties with
high COVID-19 cases and
hospitalizations to mask up on
Wednesday, July 20, warning
the state’s hospital system is
again under extreme strain.
“You still need to wear a
mask in health care settings
UMATILLA
COUNTY
COVID-19
VACCINATION
STATS
Umatilla County had a
population of 80,075,
according to the 2020
census. Of that num-
ber, 40,853 individuals
have been vaccinated,
equating to 60.4% of
those 18 or older being
vaccinated, as of July 18,
according to the OHA.
That breaks down by age
group as follows:
5 months to 4 years: 41.
5-11years: 1,149.
12-17years: 2,966.
18-19years: 1,240.
20-49years: 16,615.
50-64years: 8,859.
65+years: 9,983.
to keep everyone safe,” the
OHA’s website read.
The OHA emphasized that
data from Opera, Oregon’s
COVID-19 disease surveil-
lance system, are provisional
and subject to change.
Both presumptive and
confirmed cases make up
the total. Presumptive cases
are people without a posi-
tive diagnostic test but with
symptoms like COVID-19
and close contact with a labo-
ratory-confirmed case.
“WE ARE ALWAYS EXCITED TO
PLAY FOOTBALL AND REPRESENT
OUR FAMILIES, COMMUNITY AND
OUR SCHOOL. WE’RE GOING TO
GO OUT THERE AND CONTINUE
TO COMPETE. ”
— Kenzie Hansel, Weston-McEwen football coach
100 yards long by 53⅓ yards
wide.
Welch said that the size of
on a smaller field,” Welch
said. “As of now, all games
will be played on a 100-yard