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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2018)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2018 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 LOCAL HH FILE PHOTO Stacks of dry goods sit in a Port of Morrow warehouse waiting to be exported overseas. Finalists announced for Port of Morrow general manager HERMISTON HERALD CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY MARY KATE RIVERA. Fire burns along the Columbia River east of Hat Rock Sunday evening. Fire grows to 10,250 acres By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER The fire burning along Highway 730 was 65 percent contained Tuesday morn- ing after crews fought back flames fanned by high winds and extreme temperatures. The fire — dubbed the Lake Wallula Fire — began Sunday evening and was at approximately 10,250 acres Tuesday. Highway 730 was closed from Cold Springs Junc- tion to Wallula Junction for most of the day Monday, and Umatilla County Road 37 was closed for part of the day. Umatilla County Fire District 1 operations chief Jim Forquer said the district got called to the fire about 5 p.m. Sunday night, and as of Monday morning it had spread somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 acres, con- tinuing to burn throughout the day. The cause of the fire is under investigation. “We’re concerned about fire behavior and the weather expected this morning,” he said Monday morning, call- ing the fire’s patterns “spo- radic.” A news release from the incident management team stated that fighting the fire was complicated by the fact that much of the terrain was difficult to access. By 5:30 p.m. Monday, Forquer said that fire crews had a “pretty good handle” on containment and were moving into the mop-up phase. Forquer said Umatilla Rural Fire District, Echo Fire District and other area dis- tricts were also on scene, as well as the Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife. He said area farmers were also helping disc fire breaks. About 80 people were fight- Cooperative’s Juniper Can- yon substation and affected some transmission lines to the Hermiston East Substa- tion. Forquer said the Juni- per Canyon substation was shut off briefly as the fire approached but that concern was mitigated. Temperatures were in the 100s during the early part of the week. “People need to use a lot of caution the next few days,” Forquer said. “With the hot and dry conditions the fire danger is getting worse every day.” Highway 730 has re-opened but the public is warned to drive cautiously as there is still an active fire in the area. Updated road closure information is avail- able on www.tripcheck.com and updated power outage information is available on outageviewer.umatillaelec- tric.com. STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS An Oregon Department of Transportation crew blocks traffic northbound on Highway 37 near Walls Road due to an out of control brushfire Monday east of Hermiston. Both Highway 37 and Highway 730 were closed due to the fire. ing the fire in total, and they were provided air support by helicopter water drops and retardant planes. Some Hermiston-area residents experienced inter- ruptions to their electric- ity Monday afternoon as the fire neared Umatilla Electric Finalists for the Port of Morrow manager position will be available for a meet and greet with the public next Monday. The port’s board announced Monday after- noon that the finalists are Dean Gardner, Ryan D. Neal, Stephanie Seamans and Peter M. Wilhelm. They will attend a meet and greet at the Riverfront Room, 2 Marine Drive in Boardman, from 5-7 p.m. on Aug. 6. Appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided, and the finalists will give a short speech at 5:30 p.m. The candidate chosen for the general manager job by the port’s board will replace longtime Port of Morrow manager Gary Neal, who is retiring at the end of the year. Finalist Ryan Neal is Gary Neal’s son. He is cur- rently the general manager of warehousing for the Port of Morrow and the only finalist from Boardman. He was formerly director of operations for Haney Truck Line and regional sales manager for Knight Transportation, according to information provided in a news release from the port. He has a bachelor’s in business from Oregon State University. Gardner works for Nex- tLevel: Building Enter- prise Value and is currently living in Selah, Washing- ton. He is the former CEO of Larson Fruit Company, former CEO of United Pump & Supply and has an MBA in marketing, finance and accounting from Uni- versity of Texas. Seamans is a certified public accountant and cur- rently lives in Kennewick as the community and eco- nomic development man- ager for Benton-Franklin Council of Goverments. She is the former busi- ness development manager and CPA for the Confeder- ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and has a bachelor’s in business accounting from Univer- sity of Idaho. Wilhelm also lives in Kennewick and is cur- rently project manager for Boise/PCA Paper Mill in Wallula, Washington through QBM Manage- ment, Inc. He is the former plant manager of Zeachem, Inc. and has a bachelor’s of mechanical engineering from University of Idaho and an MBA from Univer- sity of Oregon. BRIEFS Man accidentally stabs self while cutting vegetables Hermiston Police responded to reports of a man with a stab wound Wednesday evening and found a man with an uninten- tional, self-inflicted injury. According to police chief Jason Edmiston, a 50-year- old male was cutting vegeta- bles and stabbed himself in the abdomen. He said when the police were notified, the wound was two hours old. “The family tried to pro- vide necessary first aid, but after a couple of hours it became clear he needed immediate attention,” Edmiston said. He said the man was taken to the hospital, but, against advice, left on his own. Edmiston said that based on statements and evi- dence, police believe alco- hol may have been a contrib- uting factor in the incident. “What appeared to start as a police matter quickly turned into a medical issue,” Edmiston said. Blood shortage continues The American Red Cross is facing a blood donation shortage as blood is being sent to hospitals faster than it is being donated. Right now there is less than a five-day supply on hand, according to a news release sent out by the Red Cross on Wednesday. The biggest need is for Type O, the most-transfused blood type in the country. “Patients don’t get a sum- mer break from the need for lifesaving treatments, so it is critical that hospitals have access to blood prod- ucts each and every day,” said Nick Gehrig, commu- nications executive, said in a statement. “We sincerely appreciate those who have responded to the call to help save lives, but the emer- gency need remains. Those who haven’t rolled up a sleeve to give are urged to do so today.” Those who give blood or platelets between July 30 and Aug. 30 will receive a $5 Amazon gift card as a thank you. Hermiston’s next sched- uled blood drive is Aug. 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hermiston Pub- lic Library, 235 E. Gladys Ave. Pendleton’s next drive is Aug. 3 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Roundup Ath- letic Club, 1415 Southgate. Numerous opportunities to donate in Walla Walla and the Tri-Cities can also be found by visiting redcross- blood.org or downloading the app. Umatilla County verifying 1,695 signatures for Second Amendment initiative Gun rights activists in Umatilla County submit- ted almost 1,700 signatures so far to place the Second Amendment Preservation Ordinance on the November ballot. The initiative would restrict Umatilla County states that on July 23 a sheep herder heard wolves howl- ing and then witnessed six livestock guard and herd- ing dogs engage with two wolves near a sheep pen at about 3 a.m. The wolves retreated, but one dog gave chase through the forest. The 80-pound male dog returned about 20 minutes later with severe injuries and died the follow- ing night. The incident happened in the area of Ruckel Ridge south of Tollgate. The sheep were on a U.S. Forest Ser- vice grazing allotment. ODFW examined the dog after its death and found “multiple paired canine punctures” on its neck, right armpit and lumbar vertebra and smaller bite marks on the right hind leg, right flank and abdomen. A wolf from the Ruckel Ridge pack with a radio collar had a GPS location about half a mile from the sheep band before the attack. “The size, number, and locations of the bite marks with the associated mus- cle trauma are sufficient to attribute the death of this livestock dog to a wolf or wolves of the Ruckel Ridge pack,” ODFW concluded. from using any resources to enforce state or federal laws infringing “on the right of the People to keep and bear arms.” The initiative des- ignates the county sheriff as the authority to decide which of those laws would cross the infringement line. Umatilla County elec- tions director Kim Lindell said petitioners Jesse Bon- ifer of Athena and Kevin Pettey of Hermiston deliv- ered 1,695 signatures this week. The elections divi- sions needs a few days to verify those, Lindell said, and the petition needs 1,131 to land the proposal on the ballot. The deadline for submitting signatures is Aug. 8 at 5 p.m. Lindell said Bonifer and Pettey plan to continuing gathering signatures until then. The election is Nov. 6. Wolves kill dog guarding sheep in Umatilla County Wolves killed a sheep dog guarding a herd in Uma- tilla County on Monday. A depredation report from the Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife Fresh Flowers for all Occasions Gift Items and Home Decor Put a smile on the heart with the power of flowers. HWY 395, HERMISTON 541-567-4305 Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5am www.cottagefl owersonline.com EARTHLINK INTERNET HIGH SPEED INTERNET You Never Know What You’ll Find At A Collectors West Gun & Knife Show! Enjov big-time Internet speeds without spending big bucks! Get Connected for as low as August 4 th & 5 th Pendleton Convention Center Get Connected for as low as 14.95/mo. $ 49.99/mo. 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