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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 2017)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2017 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 LOCAL NEWS Harkenrider Center on pace to beat winter Council tours senior center, then approves raise for police By JADE McDOWELL STAFF WRITER STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL A black SUV is towed from inside the Umatilla Post Office after it crashed through the side of the building Saturday just before noon, destroying mailboxes and parts of the building. Preliminary information indicates it was accidental, and no one was transported to the hospital or cited. SUV crashes through Umatilla post office HERMISTON HERALD A sport utility vehicle crashed through the side of the Umatilla Post Office Sat- urday, traveling through the outer wall, a line of mailbox- es and into an employee-on- ly area. Umatilla Police Chief Darla Huxel said one woman who had been in the building at the time was taken by a private vehicle to seek med- ical care for minor injuries. The driver was Edward Olwell, 80, of Plymouth, Washington. Huxel said he was at the fuel station next door shortly before noon when the vehicle crossed the street and struck the post of- fice. The driver reported that it was accidental, and he was not cited. “I’m not sure if he made a mistake and hit the gas or there was a malfunction with the pedal,” she said. Umatilla Police Depart- ment and Oregon State Po- lice responded, and the ve- hicle was pulled out of the inside of the building and towed away. The post office was closed Monday for Colum- bus Day, but a sign posted on the door stated that mail for customers with boxes 1121- 1818 would be delivered at the window to customers with identification starting Tuesday. Hurtado faces charges after officer-involved shooting HERMISTON HERALD Morrow County District Attorney Justin Nelson will bring charges against a man who allegedly pointed a gun at a deputy and was shot in late September. A Morrow County grand jury recommend- ed bringing the charges based on evidence present- ed by the district attorney. Efren Hurtado, 26, will be charged with unlawful use of a weapon, Hurtado menacing and car- rying a concealed weapon. He is currently lodged in the Umatilla County Jail. Hurtado was shot in the early hours of Sept. 22 in a parked Chevy Tahoe on the westbound side of Interstate 84 near the Boardman exit. Nelson said the grand jury heard testimony and video indicating that Hurta- do leaned out of the vehicle and pointed his gun at Mor- row County Sheriff’s Dep- uty Aaron Haak, although Hurtado did not fire the gun. According to Nelson, Haak did not expect any- one to be inside the vehicle, which he was tagging to be towed. But as he approached, Hur- tado opened the rear passenger door, looked out, and pointed a gun at Haak. Haak quickly fired two rounds, one of which struck Hurtado in the side of the head, dropping him but not penetrating his skull. According to Nelson, Haak rushed back to his car for cover, called dispatch, and waited for other police officers to arrive. Officers arrived to find Hurtado un- conscious with a revolver near his hand. Hurtado had been recovering at a Port- land hospital. The most valuable and respected source of local news, advertising and information for our communities. www.eomediagroup.com The Harkenrider Center is on time and on budget. Hermiston city coun- cilors toured the partially completed senior center Monday before their regu- lar meeting to learn about the building’s floor plan and progress. “It’s going very well I think,” said Jared Wend- landt of G2 Construction. He said G2 is working hard to get exterior work finished before winter hits so that bad weather won’t affect the timeline. The Harkenrider Cen- ter, located near the Herm- iston Public Library and visible from Highway 395, is expected to open in March 2018. It is 7,000 square feet with a 4,000 square foot unfinished basement. The main floor includes a reception area, great room, fireplace, breakout rooms, offices, restrooms, commercial kitchen and elevator. The outdoors will feature a bus drop-off, parking, covered deck, landscaping and a path leading to Highway 395. The former senior cen- ter was 5,000 square feet but was demolished re- cently when Hermiston School District took own- ership of the former fair- grounds. Willard Fordice, the senior center’s bus driver, said Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church was gracious in offering its parish hall for senior meals By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER Hermiston police are cracking down on jay- walkers on Highway 395. Police Chief Jason Ed- miston said his department started a zero tolerance campaign for October to curtail pedestrians cross- ing the highway through town whenever or wher- ever they want. He warned jaywalkers should not ex- pect mere warnings. “When I say ‘zero tol- erance,’ then enforcement is going to be the norm and education secondary,” he said. He said this campaign is akin to Oregon’s em- phasis on distracted driv- ing. Jaywalkers can block traffic and worse, he said, and distracted pedestrians have walked into vehicles. Edmiston said Hermis- ton police received sever- al complaints about jay- walkers, primarily at the in the interim, but the se- niors are looking forward to having their own space again. “Some of them can’t believe it’s that big,” he said of a recent tour the se- niors took. He said Herm- iston Senior Center presi- dent Irene Miller, 96, was “tickled to death about it.” City councilors said they have had people ask- ing about the project and asked that some sort of sign be added along High- way 395 across from the Holiday Inn Express so that people would know that was what was being built. “I’m excited,” Mayor David Drotzmann said. “It looks nice.” On Monday during their regular meeting the coun- cil also approved a con- tract with the police union. The contract was supposed to be completed before July, but City Manager Byron Smith said a medi- ator was finally brought in on Sept. 26 to help finish negotiations. The contract approved Monday provides for a 2.75 percent salary in- crease retroactively dated to July 1, 2017, another 2.75 percent increase on Jan. 1, 2018 and a 1 per- cent increase on July 1, 2018. It also gives a $200 allowance for boots, in- creases bilingual pay from 2 percent to 3 percent, gives 5 percent assignment pay to officers promoted to a new corporal position and expands the definition of sick leave and bereave- ment leave to fit the one used by the city’s non- union employees. Associ- ation members agreed to pay 2.5 percent of current health insurance premiums starting July 2018. Smith said the contract was a little above what the city had budgeted for, in- cluding 2.5 percent salary increases, but didn’t have a total dollar amount off the top of his head. Smith also reported to the city council that he had met with the owners of Ranch & Home, and they reported that problems get- ting electrical contractors had delayed progress on their new store on South Highway 395, and they would likely not open un- til February or March. The city had offered the com- pany financial incentives for gaining their occupan- cy permit by Jan. 1. intersection with Highland Avenue and between Or- chard and Jennie avenues. He also said he saw it for himself while off duty. He added Highway 395 car- ries a fair share of truck traffic through town, and “those vehicles don’t stop on a dime.” Various Oregon stat- utes can apply to jaywalk- ing, Edmiston explained. Crossing against a light in an intersection, for exam- ple, can result in a ticket for failure to obey a traf- fic control device, while walking into and block- ing traffic can draw a dis- orderly conduct charge, which carries the potential for arrest. He said Herm- iston officers are to dou- ble-check to make sure they apply the correct law depending on the circum- stances. “Our intent is not to in- crease arrests for disorder- ly conduct, but as written, it’s a tool we can use if the circumstances apply,” he said. “We want people to conform to the norms of society, and willy-nilly walking across a four-lane or a five-lane highway ... because you feel like it, is not conforming.” Some residents might not like the crackdown, he said, but as Hermiston grows and new people come into the city, police need to continue enforcing the regulations and laws on the books. Edmiston said he anticipates the en- forcement might generate complaints about jaywalk- ing from other areas of town, but for now the fo- cus is on Highway 395. Now Connecting Businesses With Customers In More Ways Than Ever! www.statewideyp.com Simpl e y Best th g! 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