LOCAL NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
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By PHIL WRIGHT
Staff Writer
A man arrested for stab-
bing a woman Thursday,
March 17, also tried to
choNe an of¿cer transSort-
ing him to the Umatilla
County Jail.
+ermiston Solice Chief
Jason Edmiston in a written
statement said Richard D.
Heathman, 32, of 1100 W.
Sunland Ave., Hermiston,
is in custody after the vio-
lent confrontation.
Edmiston
reSorted
Hermiston of¿cers re-
sSonded to Heathman¶s was “extremely aggressive
and non-comSliant
home at about 11:05
with of¿cers,´ so
a.m. on a reSort of
they handcuffed him
a domestic distur-
and were taking him
bance with one Ser-
to the jail in Pendle-
son Sossibly stabbed.
ton.
Police arrived, and
While en route,
Hermiston Fire and
though,
Heathman
Emergency Services
steSSed
through
his
medics tended to a Heath-
man
arms, Edmiston said,
41-year-old woman
caused
signi¿cant
with a wound to her
damage to the Satrol car and
neck.
2f¿cers searched the then tried to choke Hermis-
neighborhood and within ton Solice CSl. Doug *ill
minutes caught Heathman, with the seatbelt while on
the statement said, but he Interstate 84 starting near
mileSost 13 near the Echo
exit.
The of¿cer told dis-
Satchers to send helS, ac-
cording to Solice radio
transmissions, and Edmis-
ton said Oregon State Po-
lice found *ill and helSed
secure Heathman.
An emergency Àight
took the stabbing victim to
a Portland hosSital. Edmis-
ton reSorted her injury did
not aSSear to be life-threat-
ening.
The Sunland home has
generated several com-
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Residents looking to do a little
sSring cleaning will have some helS
from the city during the month of
ASril.
*arbage vouchers will be
available uS to 50 during the
month-long, community-wide
cleanuS event. The garbage
voucher Srogram encourages
SeoSle to clear out the clutter from
their homes and lawns. Vouchers
are valid at both the Finley Butte
Landfill and North Morrow
Transfer Station.
To Sick uS a voucher, visit
Boardman City Hall at 200 City
Center Circle. For more information,
call 541-481-252.
DEQ permit delays wasterwater recycling plan
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
The city of Hermiston
Slans to start sending its recy-
cled water to the West Exten-
sion Irrigation District instead
of the Umatilla River during
growing season, but it can¶t
until the DeSartment of En-
vironmental Quality issues a
Sermit.
City Manager Byron
Smith said Sart of the reason
Hermiston built its uSgraded
wastewater treatment Slant
was because it was begin-
ning fall out of comSliance
with DEQ regulations for the
temSerature of discharge into
the river during the summer
months. The regulations are
in Slace to helS Srotect ¿sh
from being killed by warm
water when they swim uS-
stream to sSawn.
The city signed a mem-
orandum of agreement and
order with the DEQ in 2010,
creating an acknowledgment
on both sides that the city was
in the Srocess of addressing
the issue. The uSgraded re-
cycled water treatment Slant
came into full usage in Oct.
2014, discharging water that
Smith described as not just
adeTuate but “amazingly
clean´ comSared to the old
discharge.
“It¶s Srobably cleaner than
the water a lot of SeoSle Sull
out of wells,´ he said. But the
water is still warm, and until
the DEQ issues the city a new
Sermit it can¶t divert the wa-
ter into the West Extension Ir-
rigation District¶s main canal,
even though concerns about
water temSeratures for ¿sh
are irrelevant there because
¿sh are blocked from swim-
ming uS into the canal.
“We¶ve contacted the
DEQ and said, µWe¶re wait-
ing on you for a Sermit,¶´
Smith said.
He said the city has a ¿rst
draft in hand but the Ser-
mit still has to ¿nish going
through the Sublic comment
Seriod. Environmental grouSs
often Sush successfully for
comment Seriods to be ex-
tended, although in this case it
would be detrimental to their
cause because it would keeS
the warm water Àowing into
the Umatilla.
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Wasterwater churns in the aeration basin before being sent
through a Àlter to remoYe organic matter on Thursday at the
Hermiston Wastewater Treatment facility in Hermiston.
Bev Bridgewater, the ir-
rigation district¶s manager,
said if they don¶t hit any road-
blocks it is Sossible they could
start using the recycled water
in June, although at this Soint
they¶re just hoSing to have it
sometime this summer. She
said it¶s “crazy´ that the DEQ
has taken so long — longer
than the federal Environmen-
tal Protection Agency — to
issue the needed Sermits.
“We¶re very disaSSoint-
ed,´ she said.
The water coming from
the city will amount to about
3.5 to 4 cubic feet Ser second
out of the 120 cfs in the canal,
so it¶s not a big SroSortion
of the district¶s water. But
Bridgewater said it is water
that the district would nor-
mally have to Say to SumS
out of the Columbia River or
not have at all.
“We are a water-short dis-
trict, which means we don¶t
have enough water at some
times of year for all of our Sa-
trons,´ she said.
The district has also been
Sursuing grants to build a re-
gional storage Sond. Bridge-
water said if that haSSened,
they could take all of Herm-
iston¶s recycled water year-
round and also collect water
from nearby cities, further
reducing the amount of recy-
cled water being Sut back into
the river.
Bridgewater said the city
has been “the best Sartner´
on the Sroject, which could
Srovide a model for future co-
oSeration between cities and
irrigation districts.
Plant suServisor Bill
Schmittle said irrigation cus-
tomers don¶t need to worry
about how clean the water
coming from the Slant is. The
biological oxygen demand,
one way of measuring the
water¶s cleanliness, used to
be close to the 20 Sarts Ser
million limit and has been
reduced to just one Sart Ser
million.
As for the water temSera-
ture Sroblem, he said adding
a chilling mechanism in the
new Slant was cost-Srohib-
itive, and SiSing the water
all the way to the Columbia
River or directly onto Srivate
SroSerty was exSensive, too.
This new irrigation pump
station will be used to
pump recycled water to the
West End Irrigation District
from the Hermiston Waste
Water Treatment facility in
Hermiston.
“We were just exSloring
oStions, and we ¿gured out it
could go to the irrigation dis-
trict, and that solved a lot of
Sroblems,´ he said.
Until the irrigation district
can build a regional storage
Sond sometime in the future,
water will still enter the Uma-
tilla River in cold months,
when temSeratures for ¿sh ar-
en¶t an issue, using the same
SiSeline the city has always
used to discharge all of its
recycled water. But between
March and October the DEQ
Sermit would allow the water
to be SumSed to the irrigation
district¶s canal near Three
Mile Dam.
According to a 2011 re-
Sort from the DEQ itself,
the solution is one that could
helS the health of the Uma-
tilla River.
“Decreased temSerature
is a high Sriority for Umatilla
Basin watershed restoration
efforts,´ according to the re-
Sort. “Discharging the City¶s
warm wastewater to the canal
rather than the river during
the warm season would suS-
Sort Srogress towards this
Sriority.´
Slaints and was a focus of
Solice activity.
“We had been in the
middle of a three-Srong aS-
Sroach to dealing with the
residence and residents at
the time of the call today,´
Edmiston stated. “Not only
did we have a dedicated di-
rected Satrol taking Slace
for that residence internally
with our Satrol division, but
we also had code enforce-
ment addressing violations,
and our detective assigned
to the drug task force was
collecting
information
about the Sersons freTuent-
ing the house.´
Umatilla County Circuit
Court records show Heath-
man had a court aSSearance
Monday to change his Slea to
driving under the inÀuence
of intoxicants. He did not
show for the hearing, leading
Circuit Judge Dan Hill to is-
sue a warrant for his arrest.
Edmiston also stated
“exact charges for Heath-
man have not been ¿led
yet, but he will likely be
facing assault and vandal-
ism charges.´
Spring cleaning
opportunities
coming up
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
SSring is of¿cially here,
and with it are sSring clean-
ing oSSortunities in Herm-
iston.
Sanitary
DisSosal¶s
sSring cleanuS week will be
ASril 1-7. Loads less than
2.5 cubic yards or 454.5
Sounds can be droSSed off
at the Hermiston Transfer
Station for free during that
time, and cash customers
can receive uS to 13.50
off Ser load. Tires will be
billed at the regular rate.
The transfer station,
at 81144 Highway 34
North, will be oSen 8 a.m.
to 5 S.m. Monday through
Friday and a.m. to 5 S.m.
Saturday and Sunday.
At the end of Sanitary
DisSosal¶s cleanuS week,
the city of Hermiston will
host a free recycling day
on Saturday, ASril from
a.m. to 3 S.m.
Last year was the city¶s
¿rst time hosting the recy-
cling event, and Parks and
Recreation director Larry
Fetter said it brought an
imSressive turnout. About
200 citi]ens droSSed off
more than 60 tons of junk,
including about 25 tons of
old tires.
“We¶re hoSing to ex-
Sand as the years go by and
turn it into a whole com-
munity cleanuS event,´ he
said.
City staff and volunteers
will be collecting items
in the Umatilla Electric
CooSerative Sarking lot
at 750 W. Elm Ave. They
will acceSt aluminum,
aSSliances, car batteries,
comSuters, concrete, elec-
tronics, SaSer, cardboard,
glass bottles, jars, Slastics,
tires seSarated from rims,
tin, scraS metal, yard de-
bris and clean wood. Items
should be seSarated ahead
of time.
A Saint recycling orga-
nization called PaintCare
will also be on hand to
collect Saint. Oregonians
Say a tax on Saint they Sur-
chase in the state, and that
tax goes to PaintCare for
collecting leftover Saint
and recycling it. Fetter said
the city has been using re-
cycled Saint from Paint-
Care for the lines on its
soccer ¿elds.
“It¶s a great Sroduct,´ he
said.
Fetter said the city¶s
code enforcement of¿cer
has been giving warnings
and distributing Àiers to
residents with code viola-
tions in their yards, letting
them know that the free
event is a “good oSSortuni-
ty to get rid of this stuff.´
He said the city hoSes to
someday add a hazardous
chemical collection com-
Sonent to the recycling day,
but that would cost about
20,000 so it is too exSen-
sive to do this year without
a grant. The city will also
not be taking motor oil,
but Fetter said Sanitary
DisSosal does collect oil if
SeoSle are looking to get
rid of it.
The Faith-based Advi-
sory Committee is looking
for volunteers to helS col-
lect items during the event
and make sure they are Sut
in the correct bins.
Umatilla County donat-
ed 5,000 to the event, so
Fetter said the recycling
day will be oSen to all
county residents and not
just those in Hermiston.
Contact the Parks and
Recreation deSartment at
541-667-5018 with Tues-
tions.
McKay Creek Estates
Fully Digital
Enya 3 Series Hearing Aid
Spring $
Special
995
• Enhances Speech
• Reduces Noise
Call 541-276-3155
Ruud’s Hearing Aid Service
Sale price valid on the Resound Enya 3 series. Limit two at the
promotional price. No other offers or discounts apply.
Discount does not apply to prior sales.
SPRING DISCOUNT WEEK
APRIL 1 THRU APRIL 7
Load up your Spring Cleaning waste and take
it to the Transfer Station for disposal.
Cash customers using the Sanitary Disposal Transfer
Station will receive up to $13.50 off each load.
This means a load measuring up to 2.5 cu. yards with a
maximum weight of 454.5 lbs. can be disposed of for
FREE! This includes all acceptable solid waste with the
exception of tires, which will be charged
at the regular rate.
The Transfer Station is located 2 miles north of Hermiston on Hwy 395 and
is open weekdays from 8am to 5pm and weekends from 9am to 5pm.
Sanitary Disposal, Inc.
541-567-9350
Celebrate Life
At Prestige Senior Living, we believe life should be a celebration! Studies have
shown that up to 70% of what you feel is aging, is optional. The key to active,
successful aging is your lifestyle. It is about wellness and nurturing body, mind
and spirit.
Join us for one of our complimentary educational seminars that promote
healthy, fulfilled living, at every age.
SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 1:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M.
Paint and Sip
Presented by Katie Woodford, The Cabernet Canvas
Get in touch with your inner Monet. No painting experience is necessary for
this session, and all of the paints, brushes, canvas and techniques will be
provided. We will provide the drinks for you to sip while you paint. No cost
to residents, $30/person for outside guests. RSVP required for this event,
seating is limited.
Space is limited for this FUN educational series. For more information and to
reserve your seat please call (541) 276-1987.
McKay Creek Estates
1601 Southgate Place
Pendleton, Oregon 97801