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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2019)
NEWS Wednesday, January 23, 2019 HerMIsTOnHeraLd.COM • A3 Operation Wildfire burns through local drug dealers By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER T he Blue Mountain Enforcement Nar- cotics Team arrested more the five dozen sus- pects to take down drug trafficking organizations last Wednesday in Opera- tion Wildfire. Pendleton police Chief Stuart Roberts, head of local anti-drug team’s board, said the goal was to dismantle drug dealing operations in Umatilla, Morrow, Union, and Gilliam counties. “The reason this is called Wildfire is because it just took off,” he said, “took off like a wildfire.” BENT usually works its way up the chain of com- mand in a criminal organi- zation. But Roberts said the team was in a lull on a big case and decided to revisit the notion of “knock and talks” — knocking on doors of possible drug activity and seeing if people will talk. “We’ve kind of gotten away from that because of so many big cases to work,” he said. The focus in last week’s bust was on places reported as drug houses. Local police departments have a hard staff photo by Kathy aney The Pendleton Convention Center served as a command and processing center for Operation Wildfire, a significant BENT drug bust that seized large amounts of drugs and involved at least 65 arrests. time making those cases, Roberts explained, because the drugs and offenders are not always at the home. But those nuisance sites affect the livability of a commu- nity and involve the local offenders, which police and neighbors know. “That was kind of where all this started,” he said. Roberts reported the investigation used 116 undercover drug purchases. Police would hit one house, Roberts said, and find clues that led them to another name, another place, and the investigation burned along. The work resulted in police seizing two guns, 5.9 grams of cocaine, 22 fen- tanyl pills, 39.5 grams of heroin and 1,447.5 grams — about 3.2 pounds — of methamphetamine. BENT detectives and county pros- ecutors presented the evi- dence to grand juries, which handed up 63 secret indictments. BENT units rolled with those Jan. 16 and arrested 65 suspects from around the region, including as many as 16 already in county jails or state prisons. The team also obtained five search warrants. Roberts said police conducted those searches the week before to minimize risks to the public and in anticipation of last week’s efforts. Several suspects were small-time dope slingers, but Roberts said a few were dealing in larger amounts, and police earlier in the week arrested suspects that were more troublesome. Operation Wildfire also netted more arrests than the targets on the indictments. Roberts said police found other offenders who were violating probation, for example, and seized more drugs. The team used the Pend- leton Convention Center as its base of operations, and staff from the Umatilla County Jail were on hand to book and process suspects. He said BENT could not conduct this kind of enter- prise without relying on law enforcement partners. Operation Wildfire is not finished. Roberts said police are tracking down another 10 or 11 suspects. City taking input on skate park plans By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR The city of Hermiston is looking for input on a planned skate park. Skateboarders, neigh- bors of the proposed park and others are invited to give their opinions on Thurs- day from 3:45-5:15 p.m. at Hermiston High School. The city aims to build the park on South First Street, just north of the high school and across the street from the building that houses Hermiston Police Department and Umatilla County Fire District. While the city already owned a part of the undeveloped property across from the public safety building, in 2017 it made a deal with Mitco Investments to lease more land, allowing for a larger design, parking and landscaping. Local skaters were first eO file photo A remote control operator decouples a rail car in July 2012 while taking apart a train at the Union Pacific Railroad Hinkle Locomotive Service and Repair Facility and Freight Classification Yard near Stanfield. Hinkle Rail Yard affected by Union Pacific layoffs By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR Hermiston’s Hinkle Rail Yard is part of a round of layoffs by Union Pacific Railroad. Union Pacific notified its mechani- cal employees this month that 140 posi- tions would be eliminated in early February, according to spokesperson Hannah Bolte. She said in an email that the company was not providing “location-specific informa- tion,” but confirmed that the Hinkle facility was affected. She said that the workforce reduction came about due to the completion of Posi- tive Train Control installation and a reduc- tion in Union Pacific’s locomotive fleet staff photo by Jade Mcdowell The city of Hermiston wants to build a skate park across South First Street from the building housing Hermiston Police Department and Umatilla County Fire District. asked to give their input on the project in 2015, but the park was put on hold after an Oregon Supreme Court ruling that opened cities up to more liability for pub- lic use of parks. The leg- islature passed a bill pro- tecting cities in 2017, and money for the skate park was included in the city’s 2018-19 budget. The city has retained California Skateparks, a skate park design and con- struction company, and representatives from the company will be on hand Thursday to discuss various design options for the park. For more informa- tion, call Hermiston Parks and Recreation at 541-667-5018. HAPPY 50th ANNIVERSARY! under Unified Plan 2020, a new operat- ing plan that “streamlines operations as we ensure Union Pacific remains a strong, com- petitive and vibrant company.” Positive Train Control is a technologi- cally advanced safety system Union Pacific has been working to implement. It can auto- matically stop trains to prevent accidents, such as derailments and collisions. Located within the rail yard is the Hin- kle Locomotive and Service Repair Facil- ity. Union Pacific’s website states the 100,000-square-foot repair facility employs 235 people and provides repairs of loco- motives, inspections and “the service track fuels and readies nearly 90 locomotives a day.” 5 Theater Cineplex Check wildhorseresort.com for showtimes $5 Matinee Classics Every Wednesday Harold & Sarah Bruce Married January 24, 1969 Credit & Debit Cards accepted Cineplex gift cards available 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 McKay Creek Estates FREE Cognitive Screening Is Mom a little more forgetful lately? 1 2 3 4 There are many early warning signs of a potential memory disorder, such as Alzheimer’s disease. That’s why we’re offering a FREE and CONFIDENTIAL cognitive screening. We Whiteline Dig Area Call 811 to Locate Wait for Locates Dig Safe encourage anyone who is concerned about cognitive decline to take this short, in-person screening. The screening is administered by a qualified health care professional. 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