LOCAL
WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2019
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Hermiston police buckling down on distracted driving
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
L
ast year, the Herm-
iston Police Depart-
ment handed out
almost 200 citations for
operating a motor vehicle
while using a mobile elec-
tronic device and for care-
less driving. Now, thanks to
a grant, the department aims
to hand out more distracted
driving tickets.
The department has
received a $4,000 Dis-
tracted Driving Enforce-
ment Grant through Ore-
gon Impact, a nonprofi t that
advocates against impaired
and distracted driving. The
grant will provide about 60
hours of overtime specifi -
cally focused on distracted
driving.
According to the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion, there are four types of
distracted driving — visual,
auditory, manual, and cogni-
tive. One of the most prom-
inent behaviors, which can
involve all four types of dis-
tracted driving, is cellphone
use.
Between
2013
and
2017, 20 people in Ore-
gon died and over 1,500
have been injured due to
crashes involving cellphone
use behind the wheel. This
includes 158 people who
were injured while in the car
with a driver between the
ages of 16 and 18, who was
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The wrecked car of Alexxyss Leigh Therwhanger, who died while distracted by her phone while driving on Highway 395 in 2016
south of Pilot Rock, sits on display outside of the Hermiston High School in 2017.
using a cell-
phone at the
time of an
accident.
“There’s
a signifi cant
d i ff e r e n c e
Edmiston
between
talking on a
cellphone and texting on a
cellphone,” said Hermiston
Police Department Chief
Jason Edmiston. “There
may be some sort of justifi -
cation for someone talking
on a cellphone. Texting on a
cellphone, there’s no rhyme
or reason. Pull over if it’s
that important.”
The grant is the fi rst of its
kind received by the HPD,
which also pursues grants
supporting high visibility
and DUII enforcement.
The HPD has an offi cer
whose main focus is traf-
fi c patrol. Edmiston said he
usually responds to crashes,
and that traffi c patrol goes
beyond catching distracted
drivers.
“A lot of criminal activity
is mobile,” Edmiston said.
A routine traffi c stop
could result in the return
of stolen property, or in the
discovery of clandestine
substances.
Edmiston said the depart-
ment has investigated mul-
tiple crashes that involved
pedestrian use of cellphones.
The number of crashes
in the city of Hermiston
has increased 10% the past
fi ve years as population has
expanded from over 17,340
to 18,200 people.
When the HPD makes
a traffi c stop for distracted
driving, they’ll issue the
maximum fi ne for the Class
B traffi c violation, which is
$1,000. Second offenses, or
fi rst-time offenses that result
in a crash, can expect a max-
imum fi ne of $2,000 for a
Class A violation.
Edmiston said he expects
the amount of citations to
increase in Hermiston for
the duration of the grant.
“Traffi c citations are no
fun, but they’re not the end
of the world,” he said.
Edmiston’s connection
to distracted driving is more
than just professional.
In 2016, his great-niece,
Alexxyss Therwhanger, 19,
was involved in a deadly
crash south of Pilot Rock.
She was living in Richland,
Wash. at the time.
Investigations
later
revealed she had been using
her cellphone periodically
during the trip.
“That was a 19-year-old
who hadn’t experienced
life yet,” he said. “She had
everything in front of her
and made one mistake.
We’ve all made mistakes,
but that one cost her dearly.”
County plans to take over NOWA water interest
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
A
n interest in Colum-
bia River water that
could
potentially
supply the former Umatilla
Chemical Depot is changing
hands from the Northeast
Oregon Water Association
to Umatilla County.
“This is one of those
projects that will be able to
sustain economic develop-
ment in Umatilla County
for years to come,” commis-
sioner John Shafer said.
Commissioners
voted
Wednesday to approve an
exclusive option agree-
ment with NOWA in prepa-
ration for acquiring inter-
est in the rights to pump up
to 45 cubic feet per second
out of the river through a
pump station located there.
The water could be used to
serve potential economic
development on the depot
and to recharge the aquifer
located there, giving farm-
ers greater access to water
for irrigation.
The project has about
$835,000 plus interest left
to be paid off, which the
county will purchase. Shafer
said the county will imme-
diately provide NOWA with
the money for a $25,000
interest payment due July 7.
Shafer said NOWA
founder JR Cook had dis-
cussed with him that the
organization needed some-
one to take over the fi nan-
cial obligation for the water
interest but had not had any
takers. Such an opportu-
nity to draw water from the
Columbia River is extremely
diffi cult to obtain from the
federal government.
“This one’s get all the
federal permits done and it’s
ready to go, it’s just capped
off waiting for develop-
ment,” Shafer said.
During
Wednesday’s
meeting, Cook called the
interest a “very valuable
asset to the region.” The
water could be used by
companies looking to build
on the depot land and to
recharge the large aquifer
that runs under the depot.
“This project has the
very real opportunity to take
wintertime Columbia River
water and recharge that
aquifer that is actually in a
critical groundwater area,
that has been depleted to
the point that there is a ton
of storage because we’ve
pumped all the water out of
it,” he said.
Shrinking water levels
in the area’s basalt aqui-
fers have taken farmland
out of production or moved
Staff photo by Jessica Pollard
A motorcycle was involved in a motor vehicle crash outside
32553 East Punkin Center Road in Hermiston.
Hermiston man killed in motorcycle crash
HH fi le photo
The Columbia River in northeast Oregon will deliver water to three project areas to relieve
stress on underground aquifers, while allowing farmers to grow more high-value crops that
feed the region’s economy.
“There is no
question about
the importance
of this project
to industrial
and agricultural
growth of the
region”
Bill Elfering , Commissioner
it to less profi table dryland
crops. NOWA was launched
with a grand vision of a
water recharge project that
would build three pipes
from the Columbia River
and allow farms to use that
water instead of ground-
water, giving the aquifers
time to recharge. The water
WEEK
LONG
SALE!
pulled from the river would
be mitigated by municipal
water rights transferred and
left in the river.
Factors ranging from
government
bureaucracy
to a lawsuit against West-
land Irrigation District have
slowed the project, how-
ever. The county’s purchase
of the interest discussed
Wednesday would help pre-
serve the central arm of
the project by keeping the
option open to pipe water to
the depot area.
Once the fi nal deal goes
through, the county will be
guaranteed intake capac-
ity of 30 csf year-round and
will have fi rst right to an
additional 15 csf except for
July 15-Sept. 30. It will also
obtain an easement to build
a pipeline to pump the water
to the former depot.
The depot is in the fi nal
JULY 9th - 14th
30
YEAR
Anniversary Celebration
SUNDAY JULY 14TH • 12-5PM
FREE
VEGETARIAN
BBQ
WITH PURCHASE
SALES
SAMPLES
VENDORS
FREE
GIFT BAG
WITH GOODIES
WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
TREASURE FASHION
SHOW
HUNT FOR
2PM
$20 GIFT CARDS
Melting Massage by Sunita ($20/15min)
541-567-0272
2150 N. First St.
Hermiston
A Hermiston man was
killed in a multiple vehicle
crash on Highway 207 out-
side Circle K convenience
store Monday.
According to the Ore-
gon State Police, alcohol
is being investigated as a
factor.
David Way Morgan, 75,
of Hermiston was driving
a grey 2013 Dodge pickup
towing a horse trailer north
and made a left turn toward
the convenience store
when a red 1984 Yamaha
XT2 motorcycle, driven by
Nathaniel John Bloomer
of Hermiston, 56, collided
with the trailer at about
4:20 p.m. while heading
south, according to OSP.
Bloomer was trans-
ported to Good Shepherd
Medical Center, where he
was pronounced deceased.
stages of being transferred
from the U.S. Army to the
locally-controlled Colum-
bia Development Author-
ity. The CDA plans to mar-
ket portions of the depot
for industrial develop-
ment, and water availabil-
ity will improve the land’s
marketability.
Commissioners
voted
unanimously Wednesday to
sign the option agreement.
“There is no question
about the importance of
this project to industrial and
agricultural growth of the
region,” commissioner Bill
Elfering said.
The Office will be
CLOSED
TH
JULY 12
for the whole day.
We apologize for
any inconveniences.
Thank You