FROM A1
A12 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2019
DANGER
OXBOW
Continued from Page A1
Continued from Page A1
recommended people mow,
trim and weedwhack away
fl ammable materials around
their property before the
sparks fl y. All sparklers and
other hot items should be
dropped into a bucket of
water, she said, and a hose
or other water source should
be kept at the ready.
“It’s lots of common
sense, basically,” she said.
Phillips said one of the
most common fi reworks-re-
lated injuries comes from
children who grab the hot
end of a sparkler after it goes
out. While no one under 16
is allowed to purchase fi re-
works in Oregon, she said
she tries to instill the idea
of safety into minors who
come in with their parents.
Sometime last Friday or
Saturday, the track and turf
on Kennison Stadium expe-
rienced fi rework damage,
according to the Hermiston
School District.
A vandalism report was
fi led, citing minor damages.
According to the report,
which was fi led with Herm-
iston Police Department,
the district will be review-
ing security cameras for
information about who was
responsible.
Maria Duron, Communi-
cations Offi cer with HSD,
said a press release will be
issued when HSD has more
information on the event.
“I have no idea why
someone would think that
was a good idea,” said HPD
Chief Jason Edmiston.
“There’s nothing to indi-
cate it was intentional but [it
was] defi nitely reckless.”
Edmiston said that light-
ing illegal fi reworks is a
Class B Misdemeanor, but
additional violations or
charges can be tacked on if
the fi reworks are not being
used how they are intended
to be.
“If we do have a fi re that
is started with illegal fi re-
works, those folks will be
responsible for the suppres-
sion costs,” said Umatilla
County Fire District 1 Fire
Mahal,” which included
makeshift walls from
salvaged items, and an
impressively well-hidden
bivouac put together by a
man Laramore called the
Camoufl age King.
“Every section
of Oxbow is very
different. It has
personality.”
Eileen Laramore,
Friends of Oxbow
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Signs outside the Black Cat fi reworks stand in Hermiston outline safety rules for the stand.
“If we do have
a fi re that is
started with
illegal fi reworks,
those folks will
be responsible for
the suppression
costs.”
Scott Goff, Fire Marshall
Marshall Scott Goff.
The fi re district will be
following the Oregon State
Fire Marshal’s recommen-
dation of the “Four B’s”
of fi rework safety: be pre-
pared, be safe, be responsi-
ble and be aware.
Goff said it’s import-
ant to remember to make
sure all children are being
supervised while handling
fi reworks, and to always
have a hose or bucket of
water handy. Tall grass and
windy conditions should be
avoided, and pets should be
kept somewhere away from
the fi reworks.
Offi cers from the HPD
and
fi refi ghters
from
UCFD1 will both be pres-
ent during the Fourth of July
Stars and Stripes celebration
at the Hermiston Butte.
Goff said that UCFD1
plans to increase their staff-
ing for the evening of July
4.
In June, UCFD1 set the
Hermiston Butte alight
during a controlled burn. In
past years, they’ve burnt the
north side of the butte. But
this year, both the north and
south sides were subject to
the burn.
“We’ve burnt the south
area off, so we’re hoping by
doing that we’ll minimize
any fi res from the fallout
of the public display,” Goff
said.
Edmiston
reminded
attendees to be mindful on
their way home. To keep
traffi c moving around Butte
Park on the holiday, only
right turns will be allowed
out of parking areas.
“Give yourself plenty of
time to get home, be aware
of people walking on the
streets. It’s going to be dark
at that time and Elm can
be busy and very chaotic,”
Edmiston said.
“I shook the hand of the
Camoufl age King because
he had the best camp I had
ever seen in my life,” she
said.
Laramore said she was
sympathetic to the plight of
those she encountered, and
sometimes helped them
with food or clothing. But
their living situation put
the restoration area’s eco-
system at risk from fi re,
garbage and other hazards.
Many were also putting
themselves at risk by using
unsanitary water from the
Hermiston Ditch, which
collects stormwater run-
off, for hygiene or washing
clothes.
“Most of the homeless
were pretty good about
moving on, but the crimi-
nal minds just went deeper
into the bush,” she said.
Now that the camp-
ing and illicit activities are
mostly under control, Lar-
amore has gone back to
focusing on other projects,
such as planting milkweed
to attract monarch butter-
fl ies. Friends of Oxbow
is aggressively removing
puncture vine and garlic
mustard, an invasive weed
that chokes out native
plants and releases chem-
icals into the soil that dis-
courage other plant growth
even after it has been
pulled up.
In April, spring runoff
caused the Umatilla River
to overfl ow its banks and
come rushing through the
Oxbow area. Between the
fl ood damage and the work
of some literal busy bea-
vers, Laramore said some
parts of Oxbow are now
more diffi cult to access.
Laramore is a passion-
ate environmental advo-
cate, and said she fi nds
Hermiston a frustrating
“black hole” when it comes
to interest in environmen-
tal issues. She disbanded
a previous endeavor called
Tour of Knowledge due to
lack of help. Most of her
help at Oxbow comes from
people fulfi lling court-or-
dered community service
hours.
She worries about what
will happen when her
increasing age and health
problems keep her from
putting in so many hours
each week.
“We need more peo-
ple in the group, because
I don’t know how many
more miles I’ve got left in
me,” she said.
Whoever carries the
torch next, it’s hard to
imagine they would be
as passionate as Lar-
amore, who spent much of
Wednesday’s hike waxing
poetic about the “stunning”
trees and “amazing” wild-
life she fi nds on her walks.
The paw prints of a mother
raccoon and her babies on
the river bank are enough
to make “even cranky old
me” melt, she said.
“Every
section
of
Oxbow is very differ-
ent,” she said. “It has
personality.”
FRIENDS OF OXBOW
For more information about Friends of Oxbow or to
volunteer, contact Eileen Laramore at 541-303-3872 or
gelaramore3@gmail.com.
The EO’s
Biggest
Special
Publication
of the Year
COMING
September 4th, 2019
Trust your advertising dollar to a company that has been in
the publishing business for more than a century.
• Proven Distribution network of 20,000 magazines
• Distributed in the East Oregonian, Hermiston Herald, Wallowa County Chieftan,
Blue Mountain Eagle, LaGrande Observer and Baker City Herald.
• Available in Hotels, Motels and RV Parks and Pendleton Chamber of Commerce.
• Collectible High Gloss Magazine
• Trust your advertising dollar to a company that has been in the Round-Up
Business for years.
• Early bird advertising rates available now, reserve your space now!
It’s the only unlimited plan that pays
you back for data you don’t use
$40 per line with 4 lines
Unlimited Data with Payback, Autopay/Paperless billing and credit approval required. Taxes and
charges such as USF and RCRF apply. Prices are per month. Unlimited data plan(s) will stream at speeds
of up to 3.0 Mbps and will automatically shift to 2G when each line reaches 22GB. For each line that uses
less than 3GB of data per month, you will also receive a $10 payback bill credit. Additional terms apply.
Angela Treadwell
541-966-0827
Rowan Treadwell
541-278-2670
atreadwell@eastoregonian.com
rowan@eastoregonian.com
Grace Bubar
541-276-2214
Jeanne Jewett
541-564-4531
gbubar@eastoregonian.com
jjewett@hermistonherald.com
Audra Workman
541-564-4538
aworkman@eastoregonian.com
Hermiston
1565 N. 1st St.
541-289-8722
Things we want you to know: New consumer or small business (20 lines or fewer) Total Plan line with Unlimited Data with Payback and credit
approval required. A Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee applies; this is not a tax or government-required charge. Additional fees, taxes, terms,
conditions and coverage areas may apply and vary by plan, service and phone. Offers valid at participating locations only and cannot be
combined. See store or uscellular.com for details. Unlimited data plan(s) will stream at speeds of up to 3.0 Mbps and will automatically shift to
2G when each line reaches 22GB. The speed you receive will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to, your data plan terms, the
device you use, your distance from a cell tower, topography and the number of users on the network at the time of your session. Limitations
and exclusions apply. Ask an associate for more details. For each line that uses less than 3GB of data per month (full bill cycle), you will also
receive a $10 payback bill credit (up to $120/year). Kansas customers: In areas in which U.S. Cellular receives support from the Federal
Universal Service Fund, all reasonable requests for service must be met. Unresolved questions concerning services availability can be directed
to the Kansas Corporation Commission Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at 1-800-662-0027. Limited-time offer. Trademarks
and trade names are the property of their respective owners. ©2019 U.S. Cellular