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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2019)
LOCAL A12 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAy, JuLy 24, 2019 Photo contributed by the umatilla County Sheriff’s Office Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan shows the sheriff’s office’s latest big equipment acquisition — a new utility task vehicle capable of rescues over rugged terrain and rough conditions. Blaze, a 7-year-old lab mix, drinks from a bucket at Pendleton Animal Welfare Shelter (PAWS). New vehicle boosts sheriff’s office rescue abilities By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office has a new tool for responding to major crises. County emergency manager Tom Roberts said the Polaris Ranger Crew XP 1000 EPS Northstar HVAC Edition fills a critical gap for the sheriff’s office. The utility task vehicle arrived July 15 to the sher- iff’s office. Roberts said it can transport six people in the cab plus has a seat and stretcher in the exterior bed for a patient care provider and someone who is immo- bile. The rig is for off-road work and runs on snow tracks for winter. Sheriff Terry Rowan said this was a solid acquisition for the sheriff’s office. The patrol division has a simi- lar vehicle for working in off-highway vehicle parks, state parks and the like, he said, but without the capa- bility to transport medics and patients. Roberts said the need for this kind of vehicle became apparent on Dec. 31, 2012, when a tour bus carrying dozens of passen- gers crashed and plummeted down a mountainside near Deadman Pass on Interstate 84 east of Pendleton. Nine people died in that wreck, and 39 suffered injuries, many serious. “We had to bring in a similar vehicle from Walla Walla to assist with that epi- sode,” Roberts said. Since then the emergency man- agement department has worked to get a UTV of its own, seeking funds from the Homeland Security Grant Program under the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The grant program plays an important role in FEMA’s National Prepared- ness System, funding pre- paredness activities from emergency planning to train- ing to equipment purchases. “We were finally awarded $48,838 for the procure- ment of this unit,” Roberts said. The funds also will go toward buying a trailer to transport it. Rowan said the grants are not easy to win because they are so competitive. Agencies across the county apply for funds to enhance their ability to respond to emergencies. “We’re just thankful this go-round we had a compel- ling enough application to get funding,” he said. The sheriff’s office will house the vehicle with other equipment for the search and rescue team, and the team will oversee the use of the Polaris. Roberts said he anticipates the team will have ample opportunity to use the UTV. The team each year, particularly during the winter, hustles to mountain areas to help lost hunters and the like. The sheriff’s office aims to have the UTV ready soon, and Rowan said the public can expect to see it working in August at the Umatilla County Fair, where medical teams will put it use taking patients to ambulances if the need arises. High temperatures can spell disaster for dogs, children left in cars By JESSICA POLLARD STAFF WRITER The days are long, the pools are open, and tempera- ture predictions are show- ing highs in the 90s this week. While summertime is a relaxing season for many, it’s also a potentially danger- ous time for dogs and chil- dren left in cars at the mercy of their guardians. “We haven’t taken that many calls this year,” Lt. Charles Byram of the Pend- leton Police Department said. “The weather is a little milder.” But, Byram said, the calls do happen. Usually in park- ing lots outside stores like Safeway or Walmart. Last month in Medford, a man received a felony charge for animal abuse after falling asleep in his home and leav- ing his dog unattended in a car. The 4-year-old Minia- ture Pinscher did not survive the incident. While it might not seem like a big deal to leave a furry companion in the car for a few minutes, the thermome- ter begs to differ. Temperate 80-degree weather can cause a car to heat up to 99 degrees in 10 minutes, according to the Humane Society. Byram said within an hour, the temperature in a car could rise 30 to 50 degrees from the outside temperature. “You’re putting them at risk for heat stroke and pos- sibly death,” said Umatilla County Public Health dep- uty director Alisha South- wick. “Rolling down the window is not enough. It doesn’t help.” Hermiston Police Depart- ment Chief Jason Edmis- ton said that in Hermiston, calls about animals in cars increase in the summer. This year, the depart- ment has handled nearly 300 dog-related calls but that it’s hard to say how many of those calls were caused by owners leaving pets in cars. He said the depart- ment prefers to have police officers, rather than code enforcement, handle these calls. In 2017 it became legal in Oregon to break into a motor vehicle to rescue a child or domestic animal. Anyone who does so is required to stay at the scene until law enforcement arrives. But it must first be determined that the vehicle is locked, and that there is no way for the child or animal to escape the vehicle. It must also be determined that the entry is necessary because the subject is in imminent harm. But what does imminent harm look like? Dogs suffering from heat stroke can be found panting more than usual, drooling and acting drowsy, and pos- sibly even vomiting, accord- ing to the American Society for the Prevention of Cru- elty to Animals. They might have gums and tongues that look redder than normal, too. 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