Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current, February 21, 2018, Image 3

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Hermiston herald., February 21, 2018, Page A3, Image 3

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Newspaper Page TextWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2018 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 NEWS 97 percent of curb ramps on state highways not ADA-compliant By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER Ninety-seven percent of curb ramps on Oregon’s state highways are not com- pliant with Americans with Disabilities Act standards, according to a recent inven- tory, and Umatilla County is no exception to that lack of accessibility. While Hermiston still has many that are not com- pliant, it does have some of the state’s few curb ramps that do meet specifications thanks to upgrades that hap- pened along Highway 395 two years ago. Pendleton, on the other hand, has a long list of cor- ners along its own stretch of Highway 395 that are miss- ing ramps to allow wheel- chair users to access the sidewalk. The city was one of several places in Oregon singled out in a report by advocacy group Disability Rights Oregon. “I was very concerned about Umatilla County in particular and highlighted Pendleton because I thought it had the most egregious problems, but there were many areas that were con- cerning,” said Tom Stenson, litigation attorney with Dis- ability Rights Oregon. The Americans with Dis- abilities Act was passed in 1991 to create federal stan- dards for accessibility, including laws that pedes- trian walkways must include a ramp where they cross a curb. A settlement between disability rights advocates and the Oregon Department of Transportation approved by a federal judge in March 2017 committed ODOT to creating an audit of all cross- ings, completing curb ramp upgrades at 30 percent of the locations by the end of 2022, completing upgrades at 75 percent by the end of 2027 and fixing all of the curb ramp locations by Decem- ber 31, 2032. The audit, completed about a month ago, rated only 3 percent of the curb ramps on state highways as “good.” Some were rated “fair” but most of the rest were rated “poor.” In 20 per- cent of cases, there was no ramp of any kind. In others, the ramp was at too steep of an angle, blocked by a utility pole, in a place that required going out of the crosswalk PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS The Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center, a joint venture between Umatilla County and the city of Hermiston, may be taken over by Hermiston in March. Umatilla County, Hermiston in negotiations over EOTEC split STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS A semi-trailer passes in front of an ADA-compliant wheelchair ramp crossing Highway 395 in Hermiston. “I was very concerned about Umatilla County in particular and highlighted Pendleton because I thought it had the most egregious problems, but there were many areas that were concerning.” Tom Stenson, litigation attorney with Disability Rights Oregon and into oncoming traffic to access it, or lacking a set of bumps for vision-impaired pedestrians to know they are stepping out into a roadway. Tom Strandberg, pub- lic information officer for ODOT’s Region 5, said ODOT has been fixing curb ramps as it completes other work. When the depart- ment installed new traf- fic control cameras along Highway 395 in Hermis- ton in 2015, ADA-compli- ant curbs marked with yel- low bumps were installed, giving Hermiston some of Oregon’s curb ramps clas- sified as “good.” More of those ramps will be installed later this year on Northwest 11th Street (Highway 205) when ODOT partners with the city of Hermiston to add traffic signals to its intersec- tions with Orchard and Elm avenues. Due to the settlement agreement, ODOT has also set some money aside to do projects specifically focused on ADA compliance. “Obviously they can’t all be done at once,” Strandberg said. They might not be able to all be done at once, but having 883 crossings out of 26,225 compliant since 1991 is not moving fast enough in the view of Disability Rights Oregon. “If you’re only manag- ing to complete 3 percent of ramps in 27 years, your progress is not adequate,” Stenson said. He said creating proper curb ramps on state high- ways is not just about fol- lowing the law, it’s about allowing people with dis- abilities to fully and safely participate in their commu- nity. Stenson said he has seen people have to move out into oncoming traffic to access a sidewalk and has one client who showed him how she had to turn around and back up too-steep ramps to avoid tipping over in her wheelchair. Darren Umbarger of Clearview Mediation and Disability Resource Center in Pendleton said things like that can be dangerous. “People will get mad because here’s someone rid- ing down the bicycle lane in a wheelchair. ... Sometimes it’s easier to go down a bicy- cle lane and sometimes it’s not, but sometimes there’s no choice,” he said. Umbarger said ADA-compliant ramps aren’t just for people in wheelchairs — they can make things easier for senior citizens with walkers, par- ents pushing baby strollers or delivery people pushing dollies. In 2017 ODOT published the Americans with Dis- abilities Act Title II Transi- tion Plan Update detailing a game plan for becom- ing fully ADA-compliant, including making all of its buildings more accessible and aggressively moving to fix curb ramps. “ODOT is committed to improving the accessibility of the transportation system and its facilities. ... ODOT has made significant prog- ress in reducing the number of missing and non-com- pliant curb ramps in recent years, and a commitment to ongoing resources will address remaining short- comings,” the report says. STDs on the rise in Umatilla County By KATHY ANEY STAFF WRITER What’s going on with gonorrhea? The sexually transmit- ted disease, known colloqui- ally as “the clap,” is surg- ing in Oregon and around the nation. Umatilla County reported 71 new cases of gonorrhea last year and 88 cases in 2016 — up from just four in 2012. Two other STDs, syphilis and chlamydia, are also on the rise in the United States. Ruth Helsley, of the Ore- gon Health Authority, man- ages the state’s HIV/STD prevention program. “STDs are having a big- time comeback,” Helsley said. “Oregon is not unique — it’s happening all over the country.” From 1975 to 1997, gon- orrhea rates plummeted, stayed steady for a decade, then began rising again. Syphilis had an even more dramatic rise from the ashes. “In the ’90s, we thought syphilis was gone,” Helsley said. Now both STDs are back — in spades. Helsley offered an expla- nation. People are taking more sexual risks because they are less afraid of con- tracting HIV. “At this point in his- tory, the fear of HIV as a lethal diagnosis is going away,” she said. “Now, it is treatable.” She said people are more relaxed about engaging in risky sexual behavior. But just because HIV treatments provide a better prognosis and even protect partners, she said, doesn’t mean they combat gonorrhea, syphilis or chlamydia. With the threat of fatal HIV lifted, “obviously what’s causing a rise in STDs is unprotected sexual activity.” The Umatilla County Public Health Department is dealing with the gonorrhea epidemic by frank discus- sions with clients and mes- saging to the public about the DENTAL Itsuratce Physiciats Mutual Itsuratce Compaty importance of protected sex. A poster greets those enter- ing the Pendleton clinic. “Half of all sexually active young people will get an STD before the age of 25,” it says in block print. Jim Setzer, the county’s public health administrator, isn’t shy about the subject of STDs or how people get them. “People don’t get gonor- rhea by someone sneezing in line at Safeway,” Setzer said. “They don’t get this by themselves.” That’s why tracking down sexual partners is so important. He understands the hesitancy of those asked to divulge names, but it’s necessary. “You know the old adage,” Setzer said. “You’re not just sleeping with that person. You’re sleeping with every person they’ve slept with.” To those working to stop the epidemic, it seems like the public health version of Whack-a-Mole. Last year (in 2017), Uma- tilla County had the dubi- ous distinction of having the third highest rate in the state. The county made inroads by sending a communica- ble disease nurse and a dis- ease intervention special- ist into the field for several months to make home visits to partners of patients diag- nosed with gonorrhea. Often the nurse, Riann Roggiero, tested for gonorrhea on the spot. If positive, she admin- istered an intramuscular injection of ceftriaxone and another drug by mouth. Gonorrhea symptoms usually appear within two weeks, but sometimes symptoms aren’t immedi- ately noticeable. Men might notice pain urinating, along with swelling, discharge and sore throat. Women may experience similar, but milder symptoms. But, Setzer said, “Many people are asymptomatic.” Untreated infections can lead to scarring, infertility, arthritis, heart valve damage or inflammation in the lining of the brain. EARTHLINK INTERNET HIGH SPEED INTERNET A less expetsive way to help get the dettal care you deserve If you’re over 50, you can get coverage for about $1 a day* Keep your own dentist! NO netlorks to lorry about NO annual or lifetime cap o n the cash beneﬁ ts By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER Umatilla County has spent more than $4.8 mil- lion to create and operate the Eastern Oregon Event and Trade Center since its inception, and plans to spend almost $1.2 million more in the next five years if Hermiston takes over full control of the event center. The county’s single biggest contribution to EOTEC was the roughly $3 million it earned from selling the fairgrounds in 2013. The county provided an additional $1,050,000 in 2015-16 for construc- tion, and along the way more than $136,000 for operational support. A proposal by the county to give Herm- iston full ownership of EOTEC Hermiston had listed March 1 as the take- over date, but commission- ers voted to push that to March 12 when Hermiston City Council meets. While both entities voted Jan. 22 to begin negotiations for a deal, a final decision must still be approved by both, which have partnered in the project since the beginning. Larry Givens, county commissioner, and Byron Smith, Hermiston city manager, said the deal is about cutting down on the number of governments involved in EOTEC, akin to having the correct num- ber of cooks in the kitchen. “That’s what we’re hop- ing,” Smith said. Smith and Givens said the delay allows more time to work out details to the deal. That includes lan- guage requiring the city to construct a new building at EOTEC to serve as year- round office and storage space for the county fair. Smith said the city and county agree on the need for the building but have yet to decide how to pay for it. The deal also would have the county pay $105,000 to cover half of EOTEC’s construc- tion overrun and $595,000 for its half of the equip- ment, storage and other needs requested by Venu- Works, the company hired to oversee EOTEC. The county also agreed to pay $375,000 in the next five years to cover operations, plus $85,175 in 2018 and $75,399 in 2019 to cover operational overruns as currently estimated by VenuWorks. Givens said handing over EOTEC to the city without ongoing fiscal support would not have been fair, and VenuWorks reported it needs three years to break even. “Still, the goal of EOTEC is be a self-sus- taining facility,” Givens said. All told, the county finance department reported the total contribu- tions through 2022 would come to more than $6 mil- lion but that could change if the city and county don’t reach a deal.That seems unlikely, Givens and Smith said, as both sides want to reach an agreement. One piece of the pro- posal that might need more time to come together is the county handing control of Airport and Ott roads — which lead to EOTEC — to the city. Givens said the county is waiting on about $1.1 million from the Oregon Department of Transportation before it upgrades the roads. He said it could be June before the county gets that check. The primary project would add a center turn lane on Airport Road, making it three lanes wide. That’s a tight construction timeline before August, when the county fair is underway at EOTEC. “We don’t want the roads torn up when we’re having to do the fair,” Giv- ens said. “So timing it critical.” He also said the state funds may not be enough to cover those costs and improve Ott Road, which is unpaved, so this could go into multiple budget cycles. Smith said the city wants the roads, but this would not hold up the deal. The city and county, he said, would just come to an agreement to work out the roads as the funding comes through. 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