NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
A5
Round-Up source of new COVID-19 spike in Umatilla County
By BRYCE DOLE
and ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — What
was long a fear among Uma-
tilla County’s health care
workers appears to be coming
true — COVID-19 cases are
rising because of the Pendle-
ton Round-Up.
In recent days, local gov-
ernments and their pub-
lic health authorities began
acknowledging the rodeo was
having an eff ect on the spread
of COVID-19. The Confed-
erated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation Board of
Trustees on Monday, Sept.
27, ratifi ed a public health
emergency declaration made
Sept. 24, which was quickly
followed by new gathering
restrictions.
In a statement, a tribal
health offi cial cited Round-Up
specifi cally when talking
about a new surge of cases on
the reservation.
In an interview, Joe Fiu-
mara, the director of Umatilla
County Public Health, said
his department has traced
nearly 50 cases to Round-Up
before admitting a lack of
contact tracing cooperation
from COVID-19 patients
meant the outbreak likely
was much larger. The cases
stem from venues across the
event from Sept. 11 through
Sept. 22 and include people
who came to the Round-Up
already having COVID-19.
“We were dropping ahead
of the state,” Fiumara said.
“I believe they are still drop-
ping. And if we’re not now,
it doesn’t take a whole lot of
thought to come up with some
reasons why.”
Saying the Pendleton
Round-Up Association has
not seen the case numbers
from the tribes or the county,
Round-Up General Man-
ager Erika Patton declined to
comment.
{p dir=”ltr”}Rudy Owens,
a spokesperson with the Ore-
gon Health Authority, said in
an email that the state is off er-
ing “assistance to local and
tribal health authorities with
outbreak investigation, case
investigation, testing, and
contact tracing.”
Last week, Oregon saw a
decline in COVID-19 cases
for the third straight week.
Umatilla County’s cases had
followed that trend, drop-
ping below 400 weekly cases
for the fi rst time in more than
a month. But by the end of
last week, the county’s cases
began to tick upward, topping
out with the second-highest
weekly total since the pan-
demic began — 505.
‘Cases have spiked
quickly’
Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Center recorded 72 new
cases last week. In a state-
ment, interim Yellowhawk
Yellowhawk has reported
a total of 569 cases and four
deaths over the course of
the pandemic. Although the
agency is seeing a signifi -
cant number of breakthrough
cases, 80% of cases are
attributed to non-vaccinated
patients.
Lack of cooperation
means inaccurate count
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Former Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center CEO Lisa Guzman re-
ceives a dose of the Pfi zer COVID-19 vaccine from registered
nurse LeAnn Alexander at the health clinic in Mission on Dec. 18.
CEO Aaron Hines mentioned
Round-Up when talking about
the surge in new cases.
“This emergency declara-
tion is needed to help protect
our community,” he said. “We
knew that a surge in positive
COVID-19 cases was possi-
ble following the Pendleton
Round-Up. What we’ve seen
from this past week is that the
cases have spiked quickly.”
While the tribes have
largely aligned their COVID-
19 rules with the state in
recent months, they’re hear-
kening to the early days of the
pandemic by going further in
their restrictions. On the same
day the tribal trustees declared
a public health emergency, the
incident command team pro-
hibited social gatherings of six
people or more from two dif-
ferent households and capped
attendance at Nixyaawii Com-
munity School events at 75.
The CTUIR has organized
several mass vaccination
events and engaged with tribal
members directly about get-
ting the vaccine, but the tribes’
47% vaccination rate remains
below its 70% goal.
The board on Sept. 2
announced it was requiring all
COVID-19 screeners and staff
at Yellowhawk, the Umatilla
Tribal Fire Department and the
CTUIR Education Department
to get vaccinated by Sept. 30.
But at the meeting Sept. 27, the
board of trustees unanimously
voted to extend that dead-
line to Oct. 31. Unvaccinated
staff in those departments will
be required to get tested for
COVID-19 on a weekly basis
and wear a face mask during
work hours until then.
Joe Fiumara, the county’s
public health director, said the
county has traced 49 COVID-
19 cases back to Round-Up
events so far.
“What’s disheartening is
that people who had symp-
toms chose to partake,” he
said. “That’s something peo-
ple don’t seem to understand
— if you have symptoms,
please stay home.”
The Pendleton Round-Up
and Happy Canyon took sev-
eral measures to heed state
and local health guidelines
and mandates. Contractors
and staff were “subject to
wear a mask when not actively
engaged in the events,” and
guests over the age of 5 were
“requested to wear a mask” if
they were not having food or
beverages, the organizers said
in a Facebook post. The event
had hand sanitizer, hand wash-
ing stations, medical person-
nel, ambulance coverage and
“increased” medical room size
and coverage.
Signs
recommending
masks were posted through-
out the event. They reminded
attendees of the potential risks
of COVID-19: “By your par-
ticipation in the event, you are
accepting the potential risk
of COVID-19 exposure,” the
signs said.
But masks were few and
far between at the event. And
there was no proof of vacci-
nation or negative COVID-
19 tests required to enter the
Round-Up Grounds.
“I was disappointed in
the lack of support from the
Round-Up staff , volunteers, in
showcasing the masking and
encouraging the mask-wear-
ing,” Fiumara added. “And
I’m worried we may be look-
ing at the price we’re going to
pay for that.”
The 49 cases are surely an
undercount, Fiumara added.
Many attendees who have
fallen ill and know others who
have are not cooperating with
health offi cials. That means,
for now, it is almost impossi-
ble for the county to determine
how large the outbreak is.
Hines and Fiumara said
they were expecting to see
a case spike following the
Round-Up. But the latest
spike is quicker and steeper
than they anticipated.
“My concern is that we
will end up with more deaths
out of this,” Fiumara said.
“And many of them likely
could have been avoided. We
don’t know how vaccinated
the crowd was.”
COPS AND COURTS
Arrests and citations in
the Blue Mountain Eagle are
taken from the logs of law
enforcement agencies. Every
eff ort is made to report the
court disposition of arrest
cases.
Hearings held: 22
Persons on probation: 42
Community service hours: 0
License suspensions: 0
To collections/DOR: 0
Warrants issued: 1
Oregon State Police
Grant County Circuit
Court
Toby James Yazzie, 28,
was found guilty by a jury
on Sept. 21 of a single mis-
demeanor count of criminal
trespass committed on Feb. 3.
Yazzie was given one year of
probation and ordered to serve
three days in jail, with credit
for time already served. He was
also ordered to pay a $100 fi ne.
A count of fourth-degree assault
was dismissed.
Grant County Sheriff
The Grant County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce reported the following
for the week ending Sept. 22:
Concealed
handgun
licenses: 6
Average inmates: 11
Bookings: 9
Releases: 5
Arrests: 2
Citations: 5
Fingerprints: 3
Civil papers: 11
Warrants processed: 11
Assistance/Welfare check: 3
Search and Rescue: 1
Grant County Justice
Court
The Grant County Justice
Court reported the following for
the week ending Sept. 22:
Traffi c citations: 21
Violation crimes: 5
Misdemeanors: 3
Small claims/civil: 5
Dispatch
John Day dispatch worked
195 calls from Sept. 20-26,
including:
• John Day Police
Department
• Grant County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce
Sept. 20: Responded to a
road hazard on Highway 26 at
milepost 156.
Sept. 20: Responded to a
theft report on Ingle Street. The
issue was determined to be a
civil matter.
Sept. 20: Advised of a theft
on Trout Road.
Sept. 20: Received a report
of suspicious circumstances on
Mountain Boulevard.
Sept. 20: Arrested Nicole
Christine Shaff er, 25, on a Grant
County Justice Court warrant.
Sept. 20: Responded to a
welfare check request on Frank-
lin Street.
Sept. 20: Arrested Melinda
Jo Moss, 42, of Mt. Vernon on
a Grant County warrant.
Sept. 21: Responded to
a theft report at the Wickiup
Campground.
Sept. 21: Responded with
Oregon State Police to a
reported road hazard on High-
way 26 at milepost 167.
Sept. 21: Responded to a
theft report at the Blue Moun-
tain Works Center.
Sept. 22: Performed a
welfare check on Mountain
Boulevard.
Sept. 22: Responded to an
animal complaint on Mountain
Boulevard.
Sept. 22: Responded to a
request for a welfare check on
Bridge Street.
Sept. 23: Responded to a
report of a deer stuck in a fence
near the Kountry Lanes bowl-
ing alley.
Sept. 23: Advised of an ani-
mal complaint on Millie Way.
Sept. 23: Advised of an ani-
mal complaint on Highland
Drive.
Sept. 23: Responded with
Oregon State Police to a sus-
picious subject at the Chuck
Wagon.
Sept. 23: Initiated a search
and rescue operation for an
overdue hunter near Scotty
Creek Lane.
Sept. 24: Removed a dead
animal from Highway 395
South near milepost 8.
Sept. 24: Responded to
a report of a suspicious per-
son at Humbolt Elementary
School.
Sept. 24: Responded to a
report of a deer hit by a vehi-
cle on Bench Road with assis-
tance from the John Day
Police Department.
Sept. 24: Arrested Amanda
Ellen Wright, 42, of Canyon
City on Humbolt Street for
violation of a no-contact order.
Sept. 25: Responded to an
animal complaint on Millie
Way.
Sept. 25: Responded to a
theft report on Soaring Eagle.
Sept. 25: Called for an
ambulance for a subject having
a heart attack on Main Street.
Sept. 25: Responded to
a trespassing complaint on
Belshaw Creek.
Sept. 25: Arrested Tra-
vis Benjamin Farr, 28, of Mt.
Vernon on a Grant County
warrant.
Sept. 25: Cited Gaylord
Talton McLamb, 72, on Hum-
bolt Street for driving while
suspended.
Sept. 26: Responded to a
phone harassment complaint
on Bridge Street.
Sept. 26: Responded to a
report of a domestic distur-
bance on Bridge Street, with
assistance from John Day
police.
• John Day Police
Sept. 21: Responded to a
report of child abuse on Main
Street.
Sept. 21: Responded to a
report of a suspicious subject
at Cornerstone Church.
Sept. 22: Responded to a
report of cattle on the roadway
at the mill corner.
Sept. 22: Arrested Stew-
art Duwe, 60, of John Day
on Canyon Boulevard on an
assault charge.
Sept. 22: Performed a wel-
fare check on Second Street.
Sept. 24: Arrested Travis
Bryers, 22, on Canyon Boule-
vard for menacing.
Sept. 24: Arrested Devan
James Haynes, 28, of John
Day on Main Street on a Grant
County warrant.
Sept. 24: Arrested Cody
Sasser, 41, of Canyon City on
a charge of driving under the
infl uence in the Len’s Phar-
macy parking lot following a
report of a minor crash.
Sept. 25: Cited Ashlie Ruth
Clark, 29, of John Day in an
alley off Main Street for driv-
ing while suspended and driv-
ing uninsured.
Sept. 26: Responded to a
request for a welfare check on
Elm Street.
• Oregon State Police
Sept. 20: Responded to a
report of a deer struck by a
vehicle on Highway 26 near
Wilderness Road.
Sept. 20: Responded to a
report of a cow struck by a
vehicle on Highway 26 near
milepost 178.
Sept. 21: Assisted John
Day police with a welfare
check on Seventh Avenue.
Sept. 25: Responded to
a report of cattle on the road
near Dollar General.
Sept. 25: Responded to a
report of trespassing on High-
way 19.
Sept. 25: Advised of ille-
gal hunting along highway 26
near milepost 171.
Sept. 25: Advised of shots
fi red near Indian Creek Road.
• John Day ambulance
Sept. 20: Responded to an
injury accident on Highway
26 near milepost 166.
Sept. 20: Responded to
a male who fell at Chester’s
Market.
Sept: 20: Responded to a
call for two males on Main
Street needing treatment at a
care facility.
Sept. 21: Responded to a
welfare check request on Hil-
crest Drive.
Sept. 22: responded to a
medical call on Highway 395
South.
Sept. 22: responded along
with Dayville Ambulance
to a motor vehicle crash on
County Road 38 near mile-
post 3.
Sept. 24: Responded to
a call from a 38-year-old
female feeling sick on Brent
Drive.
Sept. 25: Responded to
a call about a 90-year-old
female with high pulse and
blood pressure at Valley View.
Sept. 26: Responded to a
medical call on Main Street.
Sept. 26: Responded for an
82-year-old female who had
fallen on Eastside Lane.
• U.S. Forest Service
Sept. 24: Responded to a
report of a possible forest fi re
along Forest Service Road 13
near the Short Creek Guard
Station.
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