A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2018
NEWS
Access roads cause funding dilemma
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
Everyone agrees that the
potholes on East McKinney
Avenue are huge.
They don’t agree on what
to do about it.
The road — located in the
county on the southern edge
of Hermiston — is consid-
ered by the county a “local
access road,” meaning it’s
not a county, state, federal or
city road but the public has
the right to use it.
The question is what hap-
pens when it needs major
maintenance.
Umatilla County says
it’s the neighboring prop-
erty owners’ responsibil-
ity to fund the filling of the
potholes themselves. But
property owners along the
road say that law is meant
for roads off the beaten path
and accessed mostly by res-
idents. East McKinney Ave-
nue, which connects South-
east Fourth Street with South
First Street, sees significant
traffic from Union Pacific
Railroad employees and
locals who are trying to skip
past the high school traffic
or take a shortcut home from
Safeway. All of that creates
wear and tear that nine prop-
erty owners are expected to
shoulder the bill for.
“It doesn’t seem fair,”
said Roe Gardner, one of
East McKinney Avenue’s
residents.
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
A truck drives around the potholes in the middle of East McKinney Avenue on Tuesday in
Hermiston.
He said property owners
along the road have been “in
limbo” for months as they
have worked to determine
the legal classification of the
road and what can be done
about it.
In December, several res-
idents appeared before the
Umatilla County Board of
Commissioners to ask the
county to assist in taking
care of the potholes, which
are so large cars frequently
move into the oncoming
lane or partway off the road
to avoid them. Residents
claimed that the county had
done minor maintenance on
the road in years past and
asked why this instance was
different.
County counsel Doug
Olsen told them the road
wasn’t a county road but
rather a local access road.
Oregon State Statute
368.031 states that a local
access road is open to the
public and “subject to the
exercise of jurisdiction by
a county governing body in
the same manner as a county
road” and yet “a county
and its officers, employ-
ees or agents are not liable
for failure to improve the
local access road or keep it
in repair.” The county is also
not legally allowed to spend
money on the road except
in cases of emergency or
when “public use justifies”
the project and the county
passes a resolution.
Residents feel that the
level of public use on the
road justifies some sort of
assistance from the govern-
ment, even if property own-
ers do need to shoulder some
of the burden.
“It started as a little ser-
vice road to two houses,”
Scott Purswell said. “Obvi-
ously things have changed.”
Purswell said vehicles
have left behind bumpers,
headlights and other parts as
they took the road too fast
and hit the massive potholes.
Other people swerve off the
road, which Purswell said
leads him to worry that a
neighbor checking their mail
will get clipped by a car.
“You can see tire tracks a
foot from our fences now,”
he said.
Purswell said the nine
neighbors have gotten a few
bids, which have ranged
from $25,000 to just fill in
the potholes to more than
three times that for resur-
facing work along the crum-
bling road.
County
commissioner
Larry Givens said after
the December meeting the
county did some further
research and determined it
was mostly a public access
road with a very small pri-
vate piece. He said the road
department’s survey crew
has been working to deter-
mine how much frontage
each property possessed
on the road in case neigh-
bors decide to form a local
improvement district.
While neighbors can han-
dle improvements to local
access roads and private-
ly-owned roads all on their
own if they choose, a local
improvement district pro-
vides a way for them to pay
over time instead of provid-
ing all the cash upfront. If
more than 60 percent of the
neighbors petition a county
to form an LID, the county
can handle design and con-
struction on behalf of the
property owners and then
send them a bill with financ-
ing options after the work is
complete.
Givens said an “emer-
gency” on a local access
road would be if it were
determined that it wasn’t
passable for emergency
vehicles. He said while the
county understands the issue
on East McKinney Avenue
they have just under 1,800
miles of roads in the county
and not enough money to do
everything needed on them.
WORSHIP
COMMUNITY
Judges ask minorities about court experiences
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
Dealing with the court
system can be challenging,
especially for minorities.
Whether they are deal-
ing with language barri-
ers, unfamiliarity with the
legal process or concerns
about stereotyping from
law enforcement, going to a
courthouse can be daunting.
About 50 people packed
a classroom at Blue Moun-
tain Community College,
Hermiston campus last
week to talk about how
to mitigate some of those
issues. A group of citi-
zens put together the first
“Cafe with a Judge” event,
inviting members of local
minority communities to
talk about their experiences
in the court system.
All five circuit court
judges were in attendance
at the event on Feb. 27, as
well as trial court adminis-
trator Roy Blaine, Umatilla
County District Attorney
Dan Primus, and Morrow
County DA Justin Nelson.
The event was spear-
headed by Judge Eva Tem-
ple, who said it was import-
ant for judges to hear what
community members have
to say.
“As judges, after court
we can’t hand out a satisfac-
tion survey,” she said. “But
we want to listen. We want
to hear from people who use
the courts system — how it
feels to come to court, what
your experiences are.”
The judges were not pres-
ent for most of the discus-
sion, and could not answer
any specific questions about
legal proceedings or give
legal advice. They left the
room while those in atten-
dance discussed their expe-
rience with and perception
of the local courts system.
Ultimately, the group
came up with three catego-
STAFF PHOTO BY JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
Circuit Court Judges Eva Temple (far left), Lynne Hampton,
Christopher Brauer, Dan Hill and Jon Lieuallen, serve food to
people participating in the “Cafe with a Judge” event on Feb.
27.
ries to present to the judges:
What’s available, what’s
lacking, and expectations.
The judges then returned to
the room to review the final
lists.
Those in attendance said
they had found that things
like court-appointed attor-
neys and forms in Spanish
were available, as well as
interpreters and legal aid.
But many said they found
customer service, bilingual
judges and attorneys, and
immigration attorneys to be
lacking in the area.
Some also said they’d like
to see more free legal aid,
courts that accommodate
people who work during the
day and aid for medical and
mental health issues. Others
said they would just like to
see more empathy and bet-
ter customer service at local
courts.
The group came up
with some expectations for
judges: equitable outcomes,
diversity in juries and clear
language in proceedings.
After the event, Judge
Jon Lieuallen said he got
some useful information out
of the event, but that he was
aware of some of the con-
cerns already.
“There aren’t easy fixes
to their concerns,” he said.
“Some of the things — they
just may not understand
how they work. There is
court-appointed counseling,
but it’s not always perfect.”
He said regarding com-
ments about diverse juries,
there are some existing
challenges.
“A lot of times, juries are
picked from voting rolls or
driver licenses,” he said. “If
you’re not voting, you’re
not going to be able to influ-
ence those things.”
But he said the event was
a good example of things
moving forward, however
slowly.
Primus said he wasn’t
surprised by most of the
things he heard, and many
of the victims he works with
have similar concerns.
“If it’s expressed more,
we have more opportunities
to make the changes neces-
sary,” he said.
The event was a part-
nership between Umatil-
la-Morrow Head Start and
members of the Hermiston
Cultural Awareness Club.
Alex Hobbs, who helped
plan the event, said they
reached out mainly to Latino
communities in the area.
Jose Garcia, the director
for the New Horizons pro-
gram, was one of the mem-
bers of the planning group.
He was helping interpret
questions at the event for
families who only spoke
Spanish.
He said many Latinos are
scared when it comes to the
criminal justice system.
“They even miss court,”
he said, “They don’t want
to show up. Maybe we can
resolve this mystery.”
He said he hoped the
event would help judges
understand some of the
community’s fears, but also
clear up misconceptions
Latino community members
who deal with the courts
system may have.
But he said many have
had negative experiences
with law enforcement.
“One gentleman said that
he pulled over to answer his
cell phone. A lady who lived
on that street called the cops
on him, and said he was try-
ing to get into her house,”
Garcia said.
Garcia said the man had
police come to his house
three days later for the same
incident.
But others said their deal-
ings with the law enforce-
ment system have been
positive.
One man said he was
stopped by a police officer
for a traffic violation, but
he felt the officer was kind
to him because he had his
children in the car. Another
said he was pleased with his
encounter in court.
“He knew he was in
the wrong, but he was still
treated fairly,” said Jesse
Roa, translating for a man at
the event.
After the event, orga-
nizer Mary Lou Gutierrez
said the information would
be compiled and distributed
to judges.
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
Join Us On Our Journey With Jesus.
Scripture, Tradition and Reason
Family service 9am Sunday
N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston
Fr. Dan Lediard, Priest. PH: 567-6672
We are an all inclusive Church who welcomes all.
LANDMARK BAPTIST
CHURCH
125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232
Pastor David Dever
Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am
Sun. Worship Service..............11:00am
Sun. Evening Worship..............6:00pm
Wed. Prayer & Bible Study......6:00pm
www.hermistonlmbc.com
Grace Baptist Church
555 SW 11th, Hermiston
567-9497
First United
Methodist
Church
Hermiston
191 E. Gladys Ave , Hermiston OR
Sunday Worship 11am • 541-567-3002
Nursery available Check us out on Face Book
Worship Livestream at herfumc.com
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
Rev. Dr. Jim Pierce, pastor
Echo
Community Church
21 N. Bonanza Street, Echo OR
Nursery provided for all services
Sunday School - 9:30 AM
Worship - 10:45 AM
6:00 PM
Wed Prayer & Worship - 7:00 PM
“Proclaiming God’s word,
growing in God’s grace”
Phone: (541) 376-8108
Sunday School • 9:30am
Worship • 10:45am
Children’s Church • 11:15am
Potluck & Communion ~
First Sunday of the Month
Our Lady of Angels
Catholic Church
NEW BEGINNINGS
565 W. HERMISTON AVE.
DAILY MASS: Monday-Friday
...............................English 7:00 am
Thursday...............Spanish 6:00 pm
SATURDAY:.........English 5:00 pm
...............................Spanish 7:00 pm
SUNDAY:..............English 9:00 am
..........................Bilingual 11:00 am
..............................Spanish 1:00 pm
Offi ce..............................567-5812
First Christian
Church
“Proclaiming the Message of
Hope, Living the Gospel of Love”
Sunday School 9:15am
Worship Gathering 10:30 am
Children’s Church 10:30 am
567-3013
775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
Worship Service 10:30 AM
Sunday School 9:00 AM
Pastor J.C. Barnett
Children’s Church &
Nursery Available
700 West Orchard Avenue
P.O. Box 933
Hermiston, Oregon
541-567-8441
The Full Gospel
Home Church
235 SW 3rd
Phone 567-7678
Rev. Ed Baker - Rev. Nina Baker
Sunday:
Sunday School........10:00 am
Worship...................11:00 am
Evening Service........7:00 pm
Wednesday Service..7:00 pm
“Casting all your care upon him;
for he careth for you.”
1 Pet. 5:7
Seventh-day
Adventist Church
Saturdays
Sabbath School........9:30 a.m.
Worship Service......11:00 a.m.
English & Spanish Services
567-8241
855 W. Highland • Hermiston
1520 W ORCHARD AVE
Sunday Worship Service
10:30 am Classes for Kids @ 9:15 am
SEEKING JESUS, SHARING LIFE,
SERVING PEOPLE
www.hermistonnazarene.org
FREE Admission!
To share your
worship times call
541-278-2678