Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current, February 19, 2020, Image 12

Hermiston herald., February 19, 2020, Page 12, Image 12

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Newspaper Page TextNEWS A12 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2020 Flood recovery draws statewide attention By ALEX CASTLE AND ANTONIO SIERRA STAFF WRITERS National Guard soldiers from Pendleton’s 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation of the Oregon Army National Guard were on a standard training mission when the news ﬁ rst broke of rising ﬂ oodwaters along the Umatilla River last week. The crew were told to go recon in an area over the river when they witnessed the disaster that was unfolding on the ground. “Once you get up there and realize how much devastation and damage there was, you see that it’s pretty signiﬁ cant,” Chief War- rant Ofﬁ cer 3 Ray Talkington said Friday. After seeing the devastation below, the crew went into res- cue mode for the next four days as ﬂ oodwaters left people stranded throughout Umatilla County. Between Feb. 6-9, three helicopters from the Oregon Army National Guard rescued 54 people, 10 dogs, one cat and one rabbit from ﬂ oods. “These Oregon National Guard members took part in the larg- est search and rescue operation in Oregon’s history,” said Stephen Bomar, director of public affairs with the Oregon Military Depart- ment. “They did an amazing job supporting the community and sav- ing lives.” Gov. Kate Brown landed at the Pendleton National Guard Avia- tion Facility on Friday morning and promptly presented Talking- ton, and six others based in Pend- leton, the Oregon Meritorious Ser- vice Medal. Three others were also presented with Oregon Commen- dation Medals. The meritorious medals are awarded to those who show out- standing individual performance in support of the state of Oregon, while the commendation medals are awarded to those who provide an act or series of acts in support of the Oregon Army National Guard. Along with Talkington, Chief Warrant Ofﬁ cer 2 Jeremiah Wil- liams, Staff Sgt. Steven Kirkpat- rick, Capt. Taylor Frye, Sgt. Joseph Ford, Sgt. Marcus Hickman and Sgt. Skylar Leasy were also pre- sented with the Oregon Meritori- ous Service Medal. Chief Warrant Ofﬁ cer 2 Steven Staﬀ photo by Ben Lonergan Staﬀ photo by Alex Castle Gov. Kate Brown shakes hands with Sgt. Marcus Hickman of Pendleton’s 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation of the Oregon Army National Guard after presenting him with the Oregon Meritorious Service Medal during a ceremony on Friday morning. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, right, speaks with volunteers from the American Red Cross during a tour on Saturday. The organization had over 100 people sign up to volunteer in wake of severe ﬂ ooding throughout Umatilla County on Feb. 6. McDaniel, Staff Sgt. Matthew Tay- lor and Sgt. Katelyn Shurts, also members of Pendleton’s 1-168th, were presented with Oregon Com- mendation Medals. distance and cut through the red tape.” Wyden started to shorten the distance in the immediate after- math of the ﬂ ood when he and his staff reached out to county leaders to offer support and check in. “Politics aside, I don’t care about right or left, the senator cares,” Umatilla County Commis- sioner John Shafer said Saturday. “I appreciate that. We all appreci- ate that.” Wyden’s visit started Satur- day with a comprehensive brieﬁ ng with leaders and representatives from local governments and orga- nizations at the Umatilla County Emergency Operations Center. Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan began the brieﬁ ng with a detailed account of the ﬂ oods and the immediate response, along with where the situation rests now. When asked by Wyden, Rowan said a rough estimate of people still isolated at their residences due to damage from the ﬂ ood is about 50. After Rowan’s presentation, municipal and county leaders rose and spoke speciﬁ cally about the devastation and ﬁ nancial costs their own communities are facing. While in town, Wyden also vis- ited the Red Cross shelter in Pend- leton, and spent Sunday morn- ing touring Pendleton’s Riverview Mobile Home Estates and speak- ing with people who had their homes damaged. Brown tours recovery zone During Brown’s visit Friday, she also toured areas of devas- tation. Although the waters had long since receded, the evidence was still there when she visited the breached levee by Keystone RV Co. and Cor-Tek. A truncated stormwater pipe once ﬁ rmly located underground sat listlessly behind Brown as she delivered remarks to Portland TV news crews. Pendleton city engi- neer Tim Simons pointed to a scraggle of gnarled trees below the heavily eroded bank and told the governor that was where the levee used to start. Ofﬁ cially known as the Pendle- ton Zone 2 levee, the city of Pend- leton is seeking $1.8 million from the state to ﬁ x the levee, at least until the Federal Emergency Man- agement Agency agrees to reim- burse the city’s costs. The Zone 2 levee is comprised of several seg- ments that start west of Interstate 84 and extends all the way to Birch Creek. After comforting a crying co-manager at Riverview Mobile Home Estates, another area hard hit by the rising river, Brown argued that the damage enacted by the ﬂ ood went beyond infrastructure. “We just had a very solid reve- nue forecast this week,” she said. “I’m conﬁ dent that we can provide the resources at least temporarily to make sure the levees get rebuilt. I think it’s important that we keep people in the (Oregon) Capitol working on solutions because hon- estly it’s not just the levees, it’s housing. These folks did not have insurance, probably this whole park. We’ve got to ﬁ gure out hous- ing for them and I’m hoping the state can step up with a solution.” Wyden visits ﬂ ood zone U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and his staff knew from early reports of the ﬂ oods in Umatilla County ear- lier this month that it wasn’t a typ- ical one. While past ﬂ oods have required quick responses and brought com- munities together in Eastern Ore- gon, the scale and impact of the disaster earlier this month was beyond what he’d come to expect. Over the weekend, Wyden got to see and hear for himself how the ﬂ oods have affected the area in a visit to Pendleton that featured meetings with local government leaders, relief organizations, vol- unteers and victims. “We’re 3,000 miles from D.C., so a lot of times folks feel like D.C. might as well be Mars,” Wyden said. “And I understand that. So it’s my job to kind of shorten the First-Class Team. World-Class Treatment You Deserve. “To be able to see this now, you can’t do this job sitting behind your desk in D.C.,” he said after the tour. “You can read reports and hear accounts of damage and all the rest, but to see someone like the gentleman we just saw who lost his house and lost his car. He had noth- ing. Just nothing.” Aid oﬀ ered Donations have also come to Umatilla County in the aftermath of the ﬂ ooding. Wells Fargo & Co. announced a $100,000 donation on Friday to aid in local relief efforts in East- ern Oregon, according to a press release from the organization. The Wells Fargo Foundation will donate $50,000 to the Amer- ican Red Cross and $50,000 to Community Action Plan of East- ern Central Oregon for immediate needs such as shelter and meals. Customers who are experienc- ing hardship due to the storms can contact Wells Fargo at the number on their credit cards, debit cards or statements to discuss their options. Affected customers can also con- tact their banker by visiting their nearest Wells Fargo branch. Other companies, includ- ing Paciﬁ c Power, have also announced large cash donations, and farms in Washington and Oregon have been collecting and donating hay for livestock dis- placed by the ﬂ ooding. GET A HISTORIC DEAL BEFORE IT’S HISTORY. BuyAToyota.com 4X4 LEASE A NEW 2019 $ 299 Integrative Oncology Services: Radiation Oncology • Patient Navigation Education & Support Services Naturopathic Clinic Survivorship Clinic • Chaplain Nutrition & Fitness Support For more details on all of these services, please visit us online at tccancer.org mo. 36 mos. 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