NEWS
A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2019
Fatal crash blocks Highway 39 Man gets 7-plus years for
domestic violence crimes
HERMISTON HERALD
A Stanfi eld man died
Tuesday morning in a crash
on Highway 395 just south
of Hermiston.
Dustin Scott, 48, died at
the scene after being ejected
from his truck.
According to Herm-
iston Police Department,
Jose Ascencion Torres, 70,
of Hermiston, was driv-
ing a 2017 Subaru Legacy
south on the highway when
he attempted to turn left
into a driveway across from
Kelli Boulevard. He turned
in front of Scott, who was
northbound in a 1992 Chev-
rolet truck.
The vehicles collided at
7:25 a.m. and Scott’s truck
rolled, ejecting him and
injuring his 14-year-old pas-
senger, who was wearing a
seven felonies, including
fi rst-degree assault and
attempted murder consti-
tuting domestic violence.
Dungan, 39, signed
a plea deal on Oct. 18,
admitting he was guilty
of six crimes. The most
serious was second-de-
gree assault, which car-
ries a mandatory min-
imum sentence of fi ve
years, 10 months. State
court records show Cir-
cuit Judge Christopher
Brauer sentenced Dungan
to a total of seven-and-a-
half years in prison for the
assault and related crimes.
Dungan is at the state’s
intake center for new
prison inmates at Coffee
Creek Correctional Facil-
ity, Wilsonville.
HERMISTON HERALD
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
A white truck sits upside-down after a crash south of Hermiston on Tuesday morning.
seatbelt and not ejected. The
child and Torres were both
taken to Good Shepherd
Medical Center and released
later Tuesday.
Offi cers arrived on scene
and began performing CPR
until they were relieved by
Umatilla County Fire Dis-
trict 1 EMS personnel. Scott
was pronounced dead on
scene. Traffi c was blocked
for several hours, with vehi-
cles rerouted down Shan-
non Way while investigators
examined the scene. The
crash is still under investi-
gation, but speed or intoxi-
cants did not appear to be a
factor. Torres has been cited
for careless driving.
Jason Eugene Dun-
gan of Hermiston is going
to prison for more than
seven years after pleading
guilty to crimes of domes-
tic violence.
Hermiston police the
night of Feb. 21 responded
to a domestic disturbance
on Northwest 13th Street
and found a 47-year-old
woman on the ground and
suffering multiple injuries.
An emergency aircraft fl ew
her to a Portland hospital.
The ensuing investiga-
tion resulted in Dungan’s
arrest.
The Umatilla County
District Attorney’s Offi ce
charged him with 12 counts
— fi ve misdemeanors and
Operation Christmas Child opens the door to holiday joy
National Collection Week
is Nov. 18-25
NATIONAL COLLECTION WEEK
New Hope Community Church, 1350 S. Highway 395,
Hermiston
•Monday, Nov. 18, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
•Tuesday, Nov. 19, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. & 5-7 p.m.
•Wednesday, Nov. 20, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
•Thursday, Nov. 21, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. & 5-7 p.m.
•Friday, Nov. 22, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m
•Saturday, Nov. 23, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m
•Sunday, Nov. 24, 12-2 p.m.
•Monday, Nov. 25, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m
Contact: Paul or Barb Wattenburger at paulandbarbw@
gmail.com, 541-567-8650 or 541-626-3159.
By TAMMY MALGESINI
COMMUNITY EDITOR
The warmth in Ernie
Holmes’ voice readily
reveals his passion about
Operation Christmas Child.
A member of the United
Methodist Church, the
Arlington man joyfully
talks about the project that
assists in spreading Christ-
mas cheer around the globe.
But even more import-
ant, Holmes said Operation
Christmas Child opens the
door to share about the love
of Jesus Christ.
An outreach ministry
of the international Chris-
tian relief organization
Samaritan’s Purse, which
is headed by Franklin Gra-
ham, shoebox-sized boxes
are fi lled with toys, personal
hygiene items, school sup-
plies and other gifts. In addi-
tion, people are encouraged
to include a personal note
of encouragement, a photo,
Bible verses or faith-based
messages. The boxes are
then shipped to disadvan-
taged children in war-torn
and poverty-stricken nations
Photo contributed by Barb Wattenburger
Ernie Holmes delivers shoebox gifts collected by the United
Methodist Church of Arlington as part of the 2018 Operation
Christmas Child. National Collection Week for the faith-based
outreach ministry is Nov. 18-25.
around the world.
Holmes said there are
many worthy causes and
charities to get involved
with. He decided to help
with this project because it
includes an opportunity to
share his faith.
“One reason I got
involved in this is we live
out here in the sticks and we
see all the needs going on in
the world,” Holmes said. “I
can’t go where the need is
but I can do my part in it by
sharing.”
While Christmas is still
seven weeks away, the proj-
ect is a huge undertaking
with a 2019 goal of pro-
viding shoebox gifts to 11
million children. Last year,
more than 10.6 million
shoebox gifts were created
worldwide, with more than
8.8 million distributed from
the United States.
Operation
Christmas
Child is launching National
Collection Week Nov.
18-25. People can drop
shoebox gifts off at local
relay centers, including New
Hope Community Church in
Hermiston. From there, the
boxes are taken to Bethel
Church in Richland, Wash-
ington, before heading to the
West Coast Processing Cen-
ter near Los Angeles.
Barb Wattenburger, who
along with her husband,
Paul, are the local drop-off
location leaders, said the
local goal is to collect 2,019
shoebox gifts. The Arlington
United Methodist Church,
she said, ordered 300 boxes
this year. Over a handful of
years, the church averaged
18 donations before deliver-
ing 164 last year.
Wattenburger said the
response is amazing when
people become really pas-
sionate about the project —
her husband included. While
she said Paul has been sup-
portive and helped over the
years, he really got on board
when he found out Opera-
tion Christmas Child is more
than just dropping off a box
of gifts and that’s it.
“He used to think it was
a cute little project … then
he learned about the fol-
low-up,” Barb said.
Recipients of shoebox
gifts are invited to partici-
pate in The Greatest Jour-
ney. The discipleship pro-
gram features a 12-lesson
course that includes Bible
stories, scripture memori-
zation and how to follow
Christ in their daily lives.
Shoebox gifts can include
small toys, clothing, stuffed
animals, toothbrushes, soap
and washcloths. Prohibited
items are anything that is
breakable or liquid as well
as toothpaste, aerosol cans,
war-themed toys, food,
snacks, drink mixes, medi-
cations and vitamins.
Anyone can contribute a
box for Operation Christmas
Child.
For uniformity in pack-
aging and distribution, items
must be placed into a shoe-
box-sized container. Also,
a $9 per box donation is
requested to assist with pro-
cessing fees, shipping costs
and providing gospel mate-
rials that are written in the
child’s language.
More
information,
including gift guidelines, an
option to track your shoe-
box and an opportunity to
virtually “Build a Box” is
available at www.samari-
tanspurse.org/occ.
Senate committees allocate funding to benefi t Eastern Oregon
By KATY NESBITT
FOR THE HERMISTON HERALD
The U.S. Senate’s 2020
appropriation bill approved
last week includes ben-
efi ts for Eastern Orego-
nians, from increased wild-
fi re spending to expanded
barge service on the Colum-
bia River.
Last week, four of the 12
Senate committees approved
budgets for the U.S. govern-
ment’s fi scal year 2020 bud-
get. A press release from
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore-
gon, said the Senate’s Inte-
rior bill includes $1.394 bil-
lion for fi re suppression,
primarily managed by fed-
eral agencies like the U.S.
Forest Service, Bureau of
Land Management, National
Park Service and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
Fiscal year 2020 is also
the fi rst year that the bipar-
tisan “fi re-borrowing fi x,”
authored by Merkley and
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon,
comes into effect, resulting
in $2.25 billion in additional
funds available for fi re sup-
pression and other priorities
within the Interior Depart-
ment’s bill.
“This bill invests in
both recovery and preven-
tion efforts to save our for-
ests, our communities, and
our farms, ranches and other
businesses from devastating
losses,” said Merkley, who
serves on the Senate Appro-
priations Committee.
To benefi t the Columbia
River Basin Restoration Pro-
gram, the Interior Appropri-
ations bill gives the Environ-
mental Protection Agency
$1.2 million to grant money
to business owners, farmers,
ranchers, local governments
and others in the Columbia
Basin to clean up and reduce
toxins for a healthier basin.
The Interior funding
also includes $500 million
for the Payment in Lieu of
Taxes program that funds
services for rural communi-
ties, including public safety,
social services, transporta-
tion and housing. Around
11% of lands in Morrow
County and 9% in Umatilla
County are publicly owned
and federally managed.
The Port of Morrow will
see some of the $7 million
included in the Transpor-
PET OF THE
W EEK
Henry is a sweet boy who is under a year
old. No cats or goats as he tries to chase
them. He is good with other dogs and
people and possibly other farm animals.
Needs a tall fence. Does not do well yet on
hard floors, but can run fast when outside so
needs very secure fence.
HENRY
Mark Sargent, DVM • Brent Barton, DVM
Eugenio Mannucci, DVM, cVMA • Jana von Borstel, DVM, cVMA
Small and Large Animal Care
Mon: 8-6
Tue - Fri: 8-5
Sat: 8-12
Emergency Service
541.567.1138
MEET
80489 Hwy 395 N
Hermiston
www.oregontrailvet.com
PLACE
YOUR AD
HERE!
Contact Audra at
541.564.4538
Today!
If interested please go to fuzzballrescue.com and fill out an application.
If you are not able to adopt, but would like to foster or donate, visit fuzzballrescue.com
or you can mail in donations to Fuzz Ball Animal Rescue, PO Box 580, Hermiston, OR 97838
tation, Housing and Urban
Development
Appropri-
ations bill for the Marine
Highways Program that sup-
ports the nation’s water-
way transportation system.
According to the Port of
Morrow’s website, port-re-
lated businesses employ
8,452 people and provides
an economic output of $2.77
billion. More than $500 mil-
lion of that total is labor
income, $118 million goes
to local and state tax revenue
payments and $142 million
is paid out for federal taxes.
“The barge expansion
would create family wage
jobs in the region, reduce
transportation costs, and
alleviate highway and rail
congestion,” said Ryan
Neal, executive director of
the Port of Morrow.
A healthier basin bene-
fi ts humans as well as strug-
gling salmon populations.
The Commerce, Justice and
Science Appropriations bill
provides $56 million to sup-
port the Mitchell Act, a pro-
gram that funds fi sh hatcher-
ies, and the Pacifi c Salmon
Treaty that provides the
framework for the U.S. and
Canada to jointly conserve
and manage Pacifi c salmon.
The Pacifi c Coastal
Salmon Recovery Fund
received $65 million to
address declining Pacifi c
salmon
and
steelhead
populations.
The agriculture bill
includes a $35 million
increase for the Watershed
and Flood Prevention Oper-
ations that supports irri-
gation districts in need of
improving water effi ciency
and conservation or other-
wise improve fi sh and wild-
life habitat.
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