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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 2018)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 LOCAL Better rating for fire district likely to lower insurance premiums By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY The eastbound lanes of the Interstate 82 bridge at Umatilla won’t open in 2018 as expected. Bridge not yet ready to reopen By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER T he Washington State Department of Transportation doesn’t know exactly when the eastbound Interstate 82 bridge across the Colum- bia River will reopen, but it won’t be in 2018. The department had previously said construction on the bridge deck near Umatilla would finish in October, then pushed that timeline to December. But in an email to the Hermiston Herald, spokeswoman Jackie Ramirez said the bridge that previously took drivers into Oregon will continue to be closed through the winter because crews can- not finish work on the bridge until the weather warms up again. “Crews will finish pouring the con- crete once the weather gets better and completion of the bridge will be in spring/summer of 2019,” she said. Ramirez said there was some “addi- tional repair work” that cropped up unexpectedly as contractors worked on replacing the bridge deck, and that extra work put them too far behind to finish up concrete overlay pours before cold weather set in. A smaller crew will continue throughout the winter on repairs that can be completed in cold weather. The eastbound bridge, built in 1955, had originally carried traffic to and from Oregon before a second west- bound bridge was added in 1988 to carry two lanes of traffic into Washing- ton while the 1955 bridge carried two lanes of traffic into Oregon. Since the summer of 2017 the west- bound bridge has carried one lane of traffic each direction while construc- tion crews rebuild the eastbound bridge deck, which had been riddled with holes and patches over time. Oregon and Washington split the cost of maintenance for bridges that span the Columbia River between the two states. In this case, Washington is managing the project, originally bud- geted at $10 million. Ramirez said WSDOT wanted to remind drivers to be cautious and allow themselves extra time to cross the bridge, as the department has seen traffic delays during peak travel times, such as Thanksgiving weekend. “We especially see the bridge back up when there is a collision, as crews have to block both lanes to clear the collision,” she said. Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office forms sharpshooter program New sharpshooter unit would provide an additional resource during local crises By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office is develop- ing a team of sharpshooters. Sheriff Terry Rowan said the “designated marksman program” is new but aims to fill a crucial need for crack shot officers who can respond to local crises. The Oregon State Sher- iff’s Association pushed the initiative this year, Rowan explained, for sheriffs to develop teams with sharp- shooting skills. “There has been a lit- tle bit bigger push to create these regional specialized teams,” Rowan said. Beyond having interests in such a program, he said, the key was for agencies that could equip and train officers. Rowan, who serves on the association’s execu- tive committee, said Uma- tilla County could handle it. The team consists of four members: Capt. Stew- art Harp, Lt. Thoren Hearn, detective Erik Palmer and retired court security offi- cer Cliff Pease, who also has a military background. The sheriff’s office has not made a public splash about the program. But last week, Hearn approached the county board of com- missioners for approval to purchase 16,000 rounds of ammunition for $8,021.50. He said the bulk purchase would provide ammo for training, on-duty deputies and the designated marks- man program. Harp said the sheriff’s office has been mum on the marksman team because it remains in development. Rowan said the unit is too new to send out, so the first call for a tactical police response would go to the Pendleton Police Depart- ment SWAT team and the next to Oregon State Police SWAT. But both teams take time to assemble and get in place, particularly the state team, whose members live throughout Oregon. Harp said the standoff with a homicide suspect in January 2017 at a Pendleton hotel exemplifies the need for a local approach. Police from Pendleton, Hermiston and the sheriff’s office waited long hours for the Oregon State Police SWAT to provide crucial support. He said that inci- dent sparked discussion in the sheriff’s office about the glaring need for a faster response with officers who have the proper training and equipment. “Sometimes the only way to address that is to step up and do it,” he said. “I had the opportunity to step in and develop the program.” Rowan said the team members earlier this year took 48 hours of “pretty extensive” shooting training over several days and they train every month. Their main weapons are .308 rifles. Almost half of the cost of the ammunition was for 4,000 .308 Winchester rounds. Rowan said the team is not a fiscal burden for the sheriff’s office. The ammo purchase was in the budget. And he said the sheriff’s office gives guns it confis- cates to reputable arms deal- ers after criminal cases con- clude. In exchange, he said, the dealers give a discount on the cost of new equip- ment. Simply put, the sher- iff’s office is using weapons from bad guys to help arm and outfit its own. The program could one day expand, he also said, but at this time it was dif- ficult to say what the end result would look like. Still, he and Harp were positive about the team’s potential. “I’m really excited,” Harp said, “about what it will bring to our community.” Commercial and resi- dential insurance premi- ums will likely go down in the Hermiston and Stanfield area after Uma- tilla County Fire District’s Insurance Services Office rating improved. Both cities, as well as most of the rural area UCFD covers, have been upgraded to a class three. Previously, Hermiston was a class four and Stanfield was a class five. The ISO gives fire dis- tricts ratings on a scale of 1 to 10 based on factors, such as a fire district’s response times, station proximity, equipment quality, training hours, water infrastructure and dispatch call-handling times. Dick Ferranti of Fer- ranti Graybeal Insurance Agency in Hermiston said the lower the number, the less risky insurance com- panies consider an area. “A lower number indi- cates a quicker response, better equipment, better vehicles, etc. so that if we do have a fire they can put it out more quickly,” he said. He said the ISO class is one of several things insur- ance companies look at while setting premiums, but the lowered number is a “very positive thing” for the Hermiston-Stanfield area. The ISO is an inde- pendent actuarial financed by dues from insurance companies, and those companies use data gath- ered by the ISO — includ- ing the fire district ratings — when calculating pre- miums for homeowners and business insurance. The new class three rating should reflect in lower pre- miums as people renew or purchase policies. “The lower the rates, the lower the protection class, the more attractive this area becomes,” he said. In an announcement about the lowered ISO rat- ing Thursday, the fire dis- trict said the new class three rating puts UCFD in the top 8 percent of the nation. “The ISO change here is huge for the communi- ties and those areas within five miles of a fire station,” Chief Scott Stanton said in a statement. “It really shows a lot of the hard work that the water depart- ments, county 911 dispatch and the fire district have put into this accomplishment.” He credited the 2016 merger between Stanfield and Hermiston fire districts with making the improve- ments that led to the rat- ings change possible. Further class changes could be in UCFD’s future. Operations chief Jim Forquer said there are still areas the district could improve upon, particularly when it comes to preven- tion items, such as building inspections. “A lower number indicates a quicker response, better equipment, better vehicles, etc. so that if we do have a fire they can put it out more quickly.” Dick Ferranti, Ferranti Graybeal Insurance Agency Forquer said the UCFD administration and board are also looking at how they could add a fifth fire station to UCFD’s proper- ties. Right now, he said, it’s just in the talking stage, but they are looking for prop- erty or an existing building on the east side of Herm- iston, somewhere toward Highway 37 and Walls Road. Being able to put personnel and equipment out there would put almost all of the fire district within 5 miles of a station. Forquer said there are many factors that help UCFD achieve a good ISO rating. 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