NEWS
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
Nychal Gritz recovering
after motorcycle crash
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
A Hermiston man who
was in a motorcycle crash
on May 3 is still in the hos-
pital recovering from a
brain injury.
Nychal Gritz, 22, was
injured in a single-vehi-
cle crash outside of Stan-
fi eld. His father Jeff Gritz
said in an email over the
weekend that Nychal spent
12 days in Oregon Health
& Science University Hos-
pital’s intensive care unit
in Portland before being
transferred to the hospi-
tal’s trauma unit, where he
remains.
Jeff said Nychal was
“pretty unresponsive” the
fi rst few days due to swell-
ing and bleeding in his
brain (the Hermiston Her-
ald originally reported
he was awake during that
time based on incorrect
information released by
the Umatilla County Sher-
iff’s Offi ce). He is now
walking and eating with
assistance and his short-
term memory is unpredict-
able but improving, Jeff
said. He should be moving
to a rehab facility soon.
“He has multiple facial
fractures and skull frac-
tures that are non-opera-
ble and will heal on their
own,” he wrote on Satur-
day. “His biggest threat
now is a small blood clot
in his brain that is being
medically treated, that
could take up to several
months. He should be dis-
charged from the hospital
early next week if he con-
tinues to improve over the
weekend.”
Nychal was a star base-
ball pitcher for Hermiston
High School and played
for Blue Mountain Com-
munity College last year.
Jeff said community mem-
bers have inquired about
being able to send letters
or donations to help cover
medical bills. Letters to
Nychal can be sent to P.O.
Box 356, Hermiston, OR
97838. People can donate
to an account in Nychal’s
name at Columbia Bank
or search for “Nychal’s
Medical Fundraiser” on
Facebook.
“Nychal and our family
are very thankful for fam-
ily, friends and our Eastern
Oregon communities that
have reached out and sent
prayers our way,” Jeff said.
“We truly appreciate it.”
Heavy traffi c expected for
Memorial Day weekend
BY HERMISTON HERALD
Experts at AAA are pre-
dicting the second-highest
number of Memorial Day
travelers on record this
year.
The automobile club
is estimating 43 million
Americans will be trav-
eling this weekend, a 3.6
percent increase over
2018. More than 37 mil-
lion of them will be travel-
ing by car.
Average gas prices last
week were recorded at
$2.86, according to a AAA
news release.
“Americans are eagerly
anticipating the start of
summer, and expensive
gas prices won’t keep them
home this Memorial Day
weekend,” Paula Twidale,
vice president AAA Travel,
said in a statement. “Con-
sumer spending remains
strong, helped by solid job
and income growth. Fam-
ilies continue to priori-
tize spending their dispos-
able incomes on travel,
and near-record numbers
of them are looking for-
ward to doing just that for
Memorial Day.”
Based on the company’s
travel bookings, the most
popular destination of the
weekend will be Orlando,
Florida, followed by New
York, Las Vegas, Honolulu
and Anaheim, California.
One of the main ser-
vices AAA provides to its
members is roadside assis-
tance. The auto club esti-
mates it will rescue about
353,000 motorists over
Memorial Day weekend.
AAA recommends driv-
ers take their vehicle to a
trusted service provider
to check the tires, brakes,
fl uid levels and other
potential sources of trou-
ble before heading out on a
long trip. Drivers should be
prepared for emergencies
by keeping snacks, water,
fl ashlight, cell phone char-
ger, batteries, fi rst aid kit
and a basic toolkit in their
car.
Travelers should also
factor in heavier traffi c and
longer drive times over the
holiday weekend, along
with busier hotels and
restaurants. Air travelers
should budget more time
than usual to get through
security lines.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2019
Forecast: Water supplies across Oregon mixed
By GEORGE PLAVEN
CAPITAL PRESS
PORTLAND — Oregon farmers
and ranchers can expect mixed irri-
gation supplies heading into summer
after months of fast-changing weather.
The USDA Natural Resources Con-
servation Service released its statewide
water outlook report for May, pre-
dicting near- to above-average stream
fl ows in eastern and southern Oregon,
and near- to below-average stream
fl ows in central and western Oregon.
Scott Oviatt, snow survey supervi-
sor for the NRCS in Portland, said res-
ervoir levels are faring well across the
state, averaging from 93% to 140% of
normal storage.
“Water users that have access to res-
ervoir storage will likely have adequate
water supplies this summer, while
those dependent upon in-stream fl ows
will need to continually monitor condi-
tions due to rapidly changing weather
patterns,” Oviatt said.
Conditions have been feast or fam-
ine through most of the water year
dating back to October, Oviatt said.
The year got off to a slow start until
record-breaking snowfall in February,
which dramatically changed the agen-
cy’s forecast.
Then came early April, bring-
ing heavy rains that mixed with rapid
snowmelt to cause widespread fl ooding
and record-high stream fl ows. More
than half of river gauging stations
around the state measured record-high
stream fl ows, including 300% to 500%
of normal in the Umatilla, Walla Walla
and Willow Creek basins of northeast
Oregon.
Flooding also occurred in the Willa-
mette Basin, which received 186% of
its normal April precipitation. Now, as
temperatures rise into the upper 80s and
much of the in-stream fl ow has already
passed, Oviatt said the concern will
begin shifting toward parched range-
land and the possibility of wildfi res.
Overall, basins in eastern and south-
ern Oregon have received 100% to
120% of normal precipitation dating
back to October, while those in west-
ern and central Oregon have received
85% to 100%.
Snowpack continues to linger at
higher elevations in Eastern Oregon,
while dwindling to about half of nor-
mal in the Klamath, Willamette and
Upper Deschutes basins, and as low
as 40% in the Hood, Sandy and Lower
Deschutes basins.
Thanks to a wet February and April,
the U.S. Drought Monitor lists just
17% of Oregon as “abnormally dry,” as
opposed to 81% of the state a year ago.
That said, the National Climate Pre-
diction Center is calling for increased
chances of higher temperatures and
a roughly equal chance of above- or
below-normal precipitation over the
next three months.
“In an optimum world, we would
cool down here and still get some
spring precipitation carrying through
the early part of June,” Oviatt said. “As
we know, by that point in time, we just
don’t receive that much precipitation
after that.”
Preservation agreement moves depot closer to transfer
Smith, who serves as CDA
director as part of his private
economic development busi-
ness but is also a state legis-
lator, said he plans to have
the Army work with SHPO
to avoid any confl icts of
interest.
The Army fi nished incin-
erating the depot’s chemi-
cal weapons and closed the
depot in 2012, with plans
to transfer the depot to local
control by 2015. Negotia-
tions about issues such as
water rights, along with
the Army’s slow-moving
bureaucracy, have delayed
the transfer ever since. A
7,500-acre portion of the for-
mer depot has already been
turned over to the Oregon
Military Department for use
as a National Guard train-
ing facility. Once the trans-
fer papers are signed, the
rest will be split between a
5,700-acre wildlife refuge
managed by the CTUIR and
nearly 4,000 acres of indus-
trial, commercial and agri-
cultural land managed by the
CDA.
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
A memorandum of agree-
ment between the Columbia
Development Authority and
the Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion puts the former Umatilla
Chemical Depot one step
closer to local control.
The agreement lays out
plans to preserve areas of
cultural, historical and reli-
gious signifi cance within the
former depot. After months
of negotiations it was
approved by the CDA board
in April and approved by the
CTUIR board last week.
Chuck Sams, commu-
nications director for the
CTUIR, said the board
of directors was pleased
to move forward with the
memorandum and was look-
ing forward to working with
the CDA to preserve those
signifi cant areas.
The agreement lays out
agreements for the CTUIR
to manage the wildlife hab-
itat portion of the property,
HH fi le photo
A line of storage igloos in G block at the former Umatilla
Chemical Depot.
including access to needed
water rights and roads.
It states that the CTUIR
and CDA will work together
to preserve a site of religious
importance to the tribes and
preserve historically signifi -
cant areas such as sections of
the Oregon Trail.
Greg Smith, execu-
tive director of the CDA,
said having the local part-
ners come to an agreement
is a “major step” in wrap-
ping up transfer of the land.
The fi nal barrier is getting
the State Historical Preser-
vation Offi ce to approve the
terms of the agreement, after
which attorneys will draw up
the fi nal transfer papers.
“After the SHPO issue
there’s nothing left for (the
CDA) to complete,” he said.
Smith said both sides’
attorneys
have
been
involved in the process and
there hasn’t been an indica-
tion that SHPO or the attor-
neys will hold things up.
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