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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 2020)
NEWS/OPINION A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 COLUMN Community offers a fl ood of support By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR When a natural disaster the size of last week’s fl ood hits, the information comes fl ooding in as fast as the water. It started slowly on Thursday morning, with my Pendleton colleagues cover- ing two rescue efforts out- side of town. East Orego- nian editor Andrew Cutler called to let me know that our planned front page cen- terpiece — the home-based business story in today’s Hermiston Herald — would likely be pushed off the front page by dramatic photos of a boat rescuing a homeless man who had been stranded with his dog on an island in the Umatilla River. He also let me know that since one Pendleton reporter was on vacation and another was out sick, he would Staff photo by Jade McDowell A truck drives through fl ood water at the intersection of Hoosier Road and Stanfi eld Meadows Road in Stanfi eld. need to borrow Hermiston reporter Jessica Pollard for the afternoon. By Thursday night, the emails and Facebook updates were coming faster than we could type — road closures, evacuation notices, safety warnings, shelters opening and more. Staff were running around photographing col- lapsing bridges and homes sitting in feet of water, inter- viewing people who had escaped the destruction and using their phones to fi re off social media updates from the fi eld. About 9 p.m., as I mon- itored and shared updates online, a coworker tweeted that the levee behind the EO’s Pendleton offi ce had sprung a hole, and the paper’s parking lot was fi lling with water. I texted Andrew, ask- ing if they needed help, and he told me it would be “all hands on deck” in Pendleton by 8 a.m. the next morning. When the next morning dawned, however, it quickly became clear that we would need one hand to stay on deck in Hermiston, as the fl ooding had reached this side of the county. I threw on a pair of boots and went to work for the next 11 hours. My parents in The Dalles, who have the Hermiston Herald liked on Facebook, texted to make me promise I wouldn’t take my Corolla through any fl ood waters, so I did a lot of parking and walking. And every- Manslaughter defendant denied bail reduction HERMISTON HERALD A Hermiston woman charged with fi rst-degree manslaughter and fi ve other counts related to a fatal car crash in December 2019 was denied a bail reduction this week. Attorneys for Michelle Fry, 45, requested the court consider a $50,000 reduc- tion in bail to the minimum amount required for Mea- sure 11 crimes like fi rst-de- gree manslaughter. Accord- ing to the motion issued on the topic, Fry said she believed her family could raise the $5,000 bail needed to be conditionally released in order to return to her job in Stanfi eld and spend time with her children and grandchildren. The motion was denied on Monday. Police arrested Fry in December after she was traveling northbound on Highway 395 in Hermiston and failed to stop at a red light at the intersection of East Punkin Center Road. Fry was reportedly driv- ing from the Panda Inn restaurant when she crashed into a vehicle driven by Eli- dio Salas De La Paz, 77, of Hermiston. His wife Alicia Salas, 75, also of Hermiston, was a passenger in the vehicle and died at the hospital. Fry was reportedly under the infl uence of alcohol at the time of the accident. The district attorney’s offi ce obtained medical records for Alicia Salas and Elidio Salas de La Paz in connection with the case. In December, the court also approved a motion from Deputy District Attorney Daniel Pachico to subpoena 21 different witnesses. The witnesses include emergency responders who provided aid during the incident, a doctor who provided care to Salas, an employee at the Panda Inn who reportedly asked Fry not to drive and the man- ager, as well as a woman whose car was allegedly damaged by Fry’s driv- ing in the parking lot of the A Umatilla County woman reported missing on Saturday was found dead Sunday, according to a press release from the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Offi ce. Janet Tobkin Conley, 62, was located on Sun- day morning on the Bar M Ranch property by search- ers and neighbors from the area. It appears she was swept away by rush- Volunteers from ing water, the release the Umatilla County said. Search and Rescue, “Our sympathies as well as resources go out to the family from the Oregon and friends of Ms. Air National Guard, Conley in this diffi - began searching the Conley cult time,” said Sgt. area for Conley on Dwight Johnson, Saturday. Umatilla County Sheriff’s Conley was reported Offi ce incident commander. missing from Bobsled Lane Her death is the only in the Bar M Ranch area reported fatality associated of rural Umatilla County. with the fl ooding. She last seen around 7 p.m. HERMISTON HERALD restaurant that night. A pre-trial conference hearing for the case will be held next Tuesday. Fry waived her right to a trial within 60 days of arrest in mid-January. The twelve-person jury trial was originally scheduled for the end of that month. First-degree manslaugh- ter and second-degree man- slaughter are Measure 11 crimes, and carry manda- tory minimums of 10 years and more than 6 years respectively. Fry is accused of one count of each, as well as third-degree assault, reckless driving, DUII (alcohol) and inabil- ity to perform the duties of a driver. Thursday in the Bar M Ranch area. Neighbors dis- covered she was miss- ing Friday morning around 7 a.m. and she was reported missing to UCSO on Satur- day morning. Damage to transpor- tation systems hindered many east Umatilla County residents’ ability to evacu- ate, and dozens were pulled out by helicopter over the weekend. Drotzmann endorses partnership on PERS By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann is voicing sup- port for a proposed pub- lic-private partnership that will help local lead- ers around Oregon develop solutions for the state’s bud- get shortfalls. According to a news release, the Oregon Funders’ Fiscal Health & Equity Cir- cle was formed to “foster the civic knowledge and capac- ity to address Oregon’s fi s- cal realities in ways that cultivate trust in civic insti- tutions, build bridges across cultural divides, and lead to equitable solutions sup- ported by data.” The participating founda- tions include Meyer Memo- rial Trust, North Star Civic Foundation, Northwest Health Foundation, United Way of the Columbia Wil- lamette and The Wom- en’s Foundation for Ore- gon. They have invested $300,000 in the past two years to fund research and One solution for oxygen at home, away, and for travel Introducing the INOGEN ONE – It’s oxygen therapy on your terms No more tanks to refi ll. No more deliveries. No more hassles with travel. The INOGEN ONE portable oxygen concentrator is designed to provide unparalleled freedom for oxygen therapy users. 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According to a news release from the district, BBT Architects has “exten- sive experience working with early childhood cen- ters, elementary, middle and high schools.” The were the fi rm that designed the Pendleton Early Learn- ing Center, Sherwood Heights and Washington Elementary Schools, Pend- leton High School, Irrigon and Boardman elementary schools and the Confeder- ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Educa- tion Center. The fi rm will work with the Wenaha Group out of Pendleton, which the dis- trict has hired as its con- struction manager. “We are very fortunate that 11 fi rms submitted a proposal to help build our schools, and were all top notch,” board chair Karen Sherman said in a state- ment. “BBT Architects was selected because during the interview process they demonstrated commit- ment to teamwork, fos- tering relationships, and innovation.” $ H100 Add High Speed Internet Offer ends 1/13/20. 2,249 Promo code N7017 1-855-839-0752 CALL TODAY - For $100 Gift Card FROM $ 13 days, departs year-round TM Call Inogen Today To Request Your FREE Info Kit their ability to increase their revenue in the face of rising costs of the Public Employ- ees Retirement System. Drotzmann said it has “become clear that the fi scal challenges facing rural com- munities cannot be solved only in Salem. We must engage leaders from local governments, school districts, Tribal communities, and cul- turally specifi c organizations to collectively develop the tools necessary to avoid 20 years of budget crisis. Our future depends on it.” BEST OF HAWAII FOUR-ISLAND TOUR or bringing in donations unprompted. It mirrored the response across the region over the past few days — a refrain of “How can I help? What can I donate? Where should I sign up to volunteer?” Our staff may have spent their week- end and evenings putting in hours of overtime in the past week, but other mem- bers of the community have given just as many hours of their time for free as res- cue, reporting and cleanup efforts have unrolled. Kudos to everyone who has responded to calls for assistance. We’ve tried to keep up on reporting oppor- tunities to help as they come in, but I’m sure there are efforts we’re not aware of yet. As recovering efforts continue, I’d echo the sen- timents of the rest of the county: Let us know how we can help. School district selects architects Flooding kills woman in Umatilla County HERMISTON HERALD where I walked I saw water — brown, muddy water stretching as far as the eye could see over what used to be fi elds and roads. Seeing muddy water rush- ing into your home or wash- ing away your RV would not be easy. And yet nobody I approached was any- thing less than friendly and upbeat, whether they were telling me about how high the water was when they left their home or carting belongings through thigh- high water. It was clear they had been through a rough time, but they weren’t going to take it out on anyone else. I spent most of my time in Echo, fi rst on Friday and then returning again on Sat- urday, and the community pulled together in a magnif- icent way. People gathered at the church and the school and the fi re station, asking what they could do to help SENIOR LIVING ADVISOR INDEPENDENT LIVING • ASSISTED LIVING • MEMORY CARE A Place for Mom has helped over a million families find senior living solutions that meet their unique needs. There’s no cost to you! (888) 651-5669 ! We’re paid by our partner communities URGENT CARE Sports & Dot Physicals • Minor Injuries • Family Care • Minor Surgeries We accept Medicare & some Advantage Medicare plans NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY HOURS: Mon.-Sat. 7:30am-7:00pm 541-567-1137 236 E. Newport, Hermiston (across from U.S. Bank) LET US BE THE ONE THAT HELPS! • Adult, Child and Family Therapy • Psychiatric Evaluation and Treatment • Mental Health and Crisis Services • Confidential and Professional Care LIFEWAYS PENDLETON Crisis Phone: LIFEWAYS HERMISTON 331 SE 2nd St., 595 NW 11th St., 866-343-4473 Pendleton, OR 97801 Hermiston, OR 97838 Office: 541-276-6207 WWW . LIFEWAYS . 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