WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017
LOCAL NEWS
Like a good neighbor State Farm
is there ... but not at my number
crossed and their office
calls were being routed to
my cell phone. Although
their slogan says, “Like a
good neighbor, State Farm
is there” — it’s not at this
number.
He asked what my
phone number was. Due
to all the scammers, I
didn’t feel comfortable
telling him. He said he
understood, but again said
who he was and described
where his office was locat-
ed, including businesses
that are nearby.
Then another call came
in — a female this time.
She asked if I was State
Farm. I told her no and let
her know they were having
problems with their phone
lines. Then, the guy, who
was in the background,
spoke up. It seems they
were still trying to test
their phone.
By this time, Eastern
Oregon Telecom had
identified what number
it appeared they were
forwarding calls to and the
State Farm agent wanted
to confirm if that was my
number. I hesitated. I’ve
heard all kinds of scammer
tricks, including how they
will record you saying,
“Yes,” and then use it to
make money transfers or
open accounts.
Trying to ascertain if he
truly was in Hermiston — I
would have driven down
to the State Farm office but
I was in Lincoln City — I
decided to play Hermiston
trivia. You know, ask ques-
tions that a local would
readily know. I said, “Who
is the mayor of Hermis-
ton?” Ding, ding, ding, he
got it right by saying Dave
Drotzmann. Then I asked
which former mayor died
I
get so tired of the
continuous calls from
telemarketers and
the incredibly annoying,
“This is your last chance
regarding renewal of your
car warranty.”
If only.
Seriously,
do they really
think after
they’ve pes-
tered me for
the umpteenth
time that I’m Tammy
Malgesini
finally going
INSIDE MY
SHOES
to give in?
I did get a
short reprieve when I lied,
saying I no longer owned
said vehicle.
With all the robocalls
and telephone scams I
have a tendency to ig-
nore calls from numbers I
don’t recognize. I used to
readily answer calls from
local numbers. However,
it seems scammers are
spoofing people by disguis-
ing their number — often
making it look like it’s a
local phone number.
When John and I got
rid of our landline, we still
wanted a “home phone.”
We got an additional cell
phone with an unlisted
number, which we’ve giv-
en out to very few people.
So, imagine my surprise
when it began ringing off
the hook one morning last
week.
After the third call,
I finally answered. The
gentleman asked if this
was State Farm. I said no
and hung up. The next call
went the same way.
Then the fifth call was
from a dude that identified
himself as a State Farm
agent in Hermiston. He
indicated Eastern Oregon
Telecom got some wires
recently. He said he wasn’t
so sure and then replied,
“Bob of Bob’s Red Apple,”
referring to Bob Sever-
son. Although the correct
answer is “Who is Frank
Harkenrider?,” a scammer
certainly couldn’t have
known the connection with
Mayor Bob.
I called Eastern Oregon
Telecom and they finally
got things figured out. Oh,
and I do have a couple of
phone messages for Jesse
at State Farm.
———
Tammy Malgesini is
the community editor. Her
column, Inside my Shoes,
includes general musings
about life. Contact her at
tmalgesini@eastoregonian.
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
State police question Morrow
County deputy after shooting
By PHIL WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER
Morrow County District
Attorney Justin Nelson said
the sheriff’s deputy who
shot a man early Friday is
about to undergo two days
of police interviews.
Nelson also said reveal-
ing the deputy’s identity
would wait until the inves-
tigation is complete.
The shooting occurred
after the deputy stopped Fri-
day at about 1:50 a.m. for a
disabled vehicle on the west-
bound side of Interstate 84
near exit 164 for Boardman,
according to Oregon State
Police, the lead agency in-
vestigating the shooting. The
deputy encountered Efren
Hurtado Jr., 26, of Board-
man, who had a firearm, ac-
cording to police.
State police have not
specified if the two ex-
changed gunfire or if the
deputy was the only shoot-
er.
Nelson said Oregon
State Police detective Mi-
chael Wolf out of the Pend-
leton office is heading up
the investigation,
“His next step is to in-
terview the deputy,” Nelson
said. “The plan for the next
two days is for him to be in-
terviewed.”
Wolf reviewed the dep-
uty’s body camera footage
from the shooting, Nelson
said, and he likely has to
interview officers that re-
sponded to the shooting and
watch their body cam foot-
age as well. Police also ob-
tained a warrant to search
the suspect’s vehicle, and
the state police crime lab is
processing evidence from
that scene.
Nelson said as far as he
knows police have not in-
terviewed Hurtado, who
remains in a Portland hos-
pital. Nelson said he did not
know his condition.
While Hurtado made
some statements in the am-
bulance, Nelson said, those
might have been gibberish,
and even now he may not
be in a condition to talk
about what happened.
Nelson added there’s no
way to estimate when the
investigation may be com-
plete and state police have
not provided an estimate.
He also said he has not de-
cided if he would release
the body camera footage
with the deputy’s name or
make it available for public
records requests.
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Name of man who drowned at
Warehouse Beach released
some work acquaintances
how to swim when he was
swept out into the water and
began to struggle.
“They lost contact with
him, and our deputies were
notified,” Gregory said.
“The police boat located
him via sonar.”
A diving team from the
Tri-Cities came down, and
recovered Aguilera’s body
around 8 p.m. No one else
was in the water with Aguilera
at the time of his drowning.
HERMISTON HERALD
The Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Department has
identified the man who
drowned at Warehouse
Beach earlier this month.
Luis Toro Aguilera, 21,
drowned around 6 p.m. on
Saturday, Sept. 9, while
swimming at the beach near
the Columbia River.
According to Sgt. Adam
Gregory, Aguilera, an Irri-
gon resident, was showing
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