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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 2019)
NEWS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2019 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 Woman charged with DUII had previous record By JESSICA POLLARD STAFF WRITER Michelle Dawn Fry’s 2009 Toyota Camry became a dangerous weapon in the eyes of the state Friday night. Oregon State Police arrested 45-year-old Fry, of Hermiston, on multiple charges including third-de- gree assault and second and fi rst-degree manslaughter in the wake of a crash that left Alicia Salas, 75, of Hermis- ton dead and her husband, Elidio Salas de la Paz, 77, injured. At the time of the crash, Fry allegedly failed to stop at a red light along Highway 396 and East Punkin Center Road while headed north- bound at about 10 p.m., col- liding with Salas de la Paz who, headed southbound, was preparing to make a left turn. Alicia Salas, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was declared dead at Good Shep- herd Medical Center. In addition to assault, manslaughter and hit and run charges, Fry was also charged with a DUII. Court documents say she was under the infl uence of alco- hol while driving that night. It wasn’t the fi rst time. In 2005, Fry pleaded guilty to DUII in Washing- ton County. An inactive, related court case states her license was suspended at the time of that incident. Then last December, Ore- gon State Police stopped Fry near Highway 395 for displaying fog lights while approaching traffi c. When the offi cer asked for her driver’s license, she said she didn’t have one, and received Contributed photo from Oregon State Police A fatal two vehicle crash occurred on Highway 395 near East Punkin Center Friday night. a citation. When Hermiston local Tony Loveday heard about Friday’s fatal crash, he sent a thank you note the very offi cer who initially arrested him for his own DUII back in 2012. Unbelievably, he said, the two are on friendly terms. It’s not a relationship that Loveday thought he’d ever entertain. His experience with driv- ing while intoxicated began at 14 in Idaho, when peo- ple would carry him out to the driver’s seat after a bout of drinking. Loveday didn’t think then that the alcohol would disrupt his focus, and neither did his friends. “I had a holier-than-thou feeling that I could handle anything,” Loveday said. Later in life, among the strenuous demands of an $80,000 a year job with UPS Loveday would develop that same attitude in regards to stimulants and narcot- ics. Caffeine was no longer a match for the long nights driving to and from Hermis- ton and Portland, three trail- ers in tow. Being intoxicated on the clock led to damaged equip- ment, and even a fl ooded residence in Portland after Loveday struck a fi re-hy- drant while driving for UPS. “I was disregarding all the signs,” Loveday remem- bered. “I guess I almost hit a few people. I was questioned by the company.” In 2012, police pulled Loveday over for swerving in the road near Hood River, but let him go with a warn- ing. He said that exactly a month later, he failed sobri- ety tests when Oregon State Police pulled him over at a rest stop in The Dalles. He was on the clock. Loveday said he was sur- prised that following the arrest he was handed back his driver’s license. But it would seem he lost almost everything else. Loveday was no longer employed by UPS. His late wife eventually got her own apartment. He started rely- ing on food donations from Agape House and money borrowed from family. But he made it through hours of community service, coun- seling and treatment classes stipulated by the court fol- lowing his DUII. Today, he’s in the highest rank of his department at a new trucking job. It’s been years since the DUII, and even longer since he’s taken out a fi re hydrant or guardrail while driving. “I really think that we need to look out for people that have issues and prob- lems like that. We need to not be scared to get in their face, do whatever it takes to keep an eye on each other,” Loveday said. In 2014, a report released by the National Highway Traffi c Safety Administra- tion showed that 21% of people arrested for driving while impaired in Oregon between 2007 and 2009 had been arrested for the same offense in the past. Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston said he can’t speak to how frequently peo- ple who get DUIIs in Herm- iston end up getting them again, but he knows that recidivism exists in the area. The number and rate of alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes has decreased since 2002 accord- ing to the 2014 National Highway Traffi c Safety Administration report. But the percentage of fatalities caused by drunk driving remained the same. Fewer arrests were made in 2010 for driving while intoxicated, but there were EOTEC neighbors petition county to vacate part of Airport Road By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR Residents of East Air- port Road are petitioning Umatilla County to vacate a portion of the road’s right-of-way. The county is planning a $1.2 million rebuild of the road leading to the East- ern Oregon Trade and Event Center, adding an extra lane and other improvements that would better handle traffi c during the Umatilla County Fair and other high-volume events. The plan would impact 13 feet of county-owned right-of-way along the south side of the road that neigh- bors had previously believed was part of their prop- erty, based on a decades- old “witness corner” that was recently discovered to be off from true property lines. County commission- ers and staff have met with the neighbors to offer rem- edies, such as granting con- ditional use licenses, but the petition’s signers are asking that the county give them the land outright. “I think we came up with a good solution, within the confi nes of the law, some- thing the county can do,” said Chris Waine, who emailed a copy of the completed appli- cation to the county Wednes- day afternoon. Waine, the president of HH fi le photo The proposal from Umatilla County is to widen Airport Road to 66 feet to accommodate increased traffi c fl ows. The project could call for the relocation of utility poles and the removal of trees from property along the road. the Hermiston Airport Road Neighborhood Association, is one of those affected. If the county builds the road’s shoulders and swales as wide as planned, he said, he would likely have to move his septic system. Umatilla Electric Cooperative would have to move relatively new power poles and other neighbors could lose trees. He said the county is fol- lowing the Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation’s standards for widths on fea- tures, such as the road’s shoulders, but state statute allows counties to set their own standards instead. He hopes the county will con- sider adopting its own stan- dards for road construction in order to create a narrower project that doesn’t need the additional 13 feet. The area around East Air- port Road is a patchwork of property within Hermis- ton city limits and unincor- porated parts of Umatilla County. The application only asks for a vacation of the portions of the right-of-way that abut county properties, which Waine said makes the request a bit “chopped up” but allowed him to get the needed signatures. “We’re essentially this island of county within the urban growth boundary,” he said. According to state stat- ute, at least 60% of prop- erty owners along the pro- posed vacation would need to sign the petition ask- ing the county to vacate the road. Waine said the county originally said he didn’t have enough signatures, but he successfully argued that each individual person on the property deeds should be counted as a property owner. He was able to collect sig- natures from 22 of the 27 affected property owners. County counsel Doug Olsen said the request would be forwarded to the Board of Commissioners, which will decide what action, if any, to take. Waine said he appreci- ated that Olsen, along with Matt Kenny from the survey- or’s offi ce, have been help- ful and fair to him during the process despite ongoing clashes he has had with the county and city of Hermis- ton regarding EOTEC. The county even waived the $500 application fee. “That was a gesture of good faith, so we appreciate that,” he said. He said if the county declines the request to vacate the right-of-way, he plans to pursue an appeal. likely still 112 million alco- hol-impaired driving epi- sodes that year. The U.S. Department of Transporta- tion attributed the decrease in arrests to burdened law enforcement agencies that can only keep so many eyes on the road at a time. Edmiston corroborated that suggestion. The Hermiston Police Department made 101 DUII arrests in 2016, according to department data. This year, police have made 50 such arrests. But calls for service have increased by almost 1,500 within those three years. “We’re getting to a poten- tial saturation point,” Edmis- ton said. He said the department plans to propose the addi- tion of another traffi c offi cer to crack down on intoxicated driving. If the police have rea- sonable grounds to believe someone driving is intox- icated, that person can be taken into custody for a breath test on the intoxi- lyzer in Hermiston, which is used by multiple agen- cies. Because Oregon is an implied consent state, refusal to take a test can result in license suspension. After that, according to Edmiston, the police will attempt to locate someone that can safely take the intox- icated driver home. This doesn’t always happen, he said, and sometimes the per- son will leave with their car keys in hand. “Those are the types of people that just don’t get it and they need to sit in jail,” Edmiston said. But the department can’t always make that happen either, he said, with the jail being half an hour away. For fi rst-time offenders, fi nes for DUII can range from $1,000 to $10,000 and suspensions can last for a year. Being convicted of a DUII also means proba- tion, drug or alcohol treat- ment, attendance of a victim impact panel and jail time as well. According to Oregon law, someone with a blood alco- hol level of 0.08% is liable to be charged with a DUII. But someone who exhibits signifi cantly impaired driv- ing, regardless of their blood alcohol level, could get a DUII. The United Methodist Church presents The 27th Annual Living Nativity Saturday, Dec 14th • 6-8pm Sunday, Dec 15th • 4-6pm 191 E Gladys Ave • Hermiston, Oregon This adventure will take you through a beautiful setting featuring live animals and characters so you can experience first hand the birth of our Savior. Then come inside for warm drinks and cookies. Please bring your friends and family and enjoy this special event. Christmas Eve Worship is at 7:00pm Thurs. Dec 12 th To Sat. Dec 14 th 30 OFF 60 OFF % % Storewide including jewelry, purses, housewares, clothing, hats and more! Clearance with items being added daily Pendleton Round-Up & Happy Canyon Gift Store M-F 8:30-5 and Sat 9-5 1114 SW Court Ave • Pendleton • 541-276-2553 Shop online www.leterbuck.com PET OF THE W EEK Buddy is looking for his forever home. He is approximately 13 years old and has really blossomed. He loves cuddling and rolling in his blanket. He’s a silly old man that LOVES attention. He does get jealous of other dogs when they get attention, however, he barely attempts to bite them at all, it’s actually pretty funny. He does have a weak back and his rear legs give out sometimes. MEET BUDDY 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 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
