NEWS
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
herMIsTOnheraLd.cOM • A3
Hermiston man’s death investigated as homicide
Law enforcement continuing
to work during cOVId-19
outbreak
By ALEX CASTLE
sTaFF WrITer
The Umatilla County Sher-
iff’s Office has opened a homi-
cide investigation after a Hermis-
ton man was found deceased near
Alpine Drive northeast of Hermis-
ton on Wednesday morning.
USCO announced that Jordan
Deloen Crandall, 28, was found
about 9:37 a.m. approximately 75
feet west of Alpine Drive, north of
Punkin Center Road and next to an
irrigation ditch.
Sheriff’s deputies and Oregon
State Police responded to the call,
and the road was blocked off for
several hours as additional person-
nel arrived to investigate the cause
of death. According to a news
release, the Umatilla/Morrow
County Major Crimes Team was
activated, and based on evidence at
the scene, the death is being inves-
tigated as a homicide.
An autopsy on Thursday
revealed he was killed by a gun-
shot wound, the Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Office.
“At this time, there is no reason
to believe the general public is in
danger due to the homicide,” the
press release said. “We will release
further information when we are
able.”
Law enforcement
efforts through COVID-19
Local law enforcement will still
respond to every call for service
and make arrests when necessary
during the coronavirus pandemic,
but Eastern Oregon police depart-
ments are adjusting and preparing
where they can.
In Hermiston, Police Chief
Jason Edmiston said the depart-
ment is discontinuing any non-
criminal fingerprinting until fur-
ther
notice.
Non-emergency
the jail.
While
some
departments
around the state and country are
limiting arrests and calls to service
in fears of both spreading the dis-
ease or bringing infected individ-
uals to jail where they will spread
it to others, local departments hav-
en’t implemented any concrete
limitations on arrests.
“We’ve started having some
talks internally about how we
can limit the impact on the jail,”
Edmiston said. “That being said,
some people belong in jail and
need to be arrested.”
Edmiston’s meeting with the
sheriffs also addressed the worst
case scenario that police depart-
ments are considering around the
nation: What happens if a police
officer were to test positive for
COVID-19?
According to Edmiston, the
contingency plan would lean on
mutual aid agreements between
the region’s departments that keep
them connected and ready to help
access to the police station can be
made by appointment by calling
541-567-5519.
Hermiston police have been
advised to follow the social dis-
tancing guidelines from the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Pre-
vention of keeping 6 feet between
themselves and others whenever
possible and to avoid entering resi-
dences unless necessary.
Edmiston said his officers have
protective gloves, though they
won’t be wearing any masks. The
department is also well stocked on
sanitation supplies because Edmis-
ton said he luckily purchased more
than 200 bottles of hand sanitizer
at Dollar Tree weeks ago when the
outbreak first began in Oregon.
With the Umatilla County Jail
in Pendleton operating as the only
location for police to house those
they arrest, Edmiston met with
Umatilla County Sheriff Terry
Rowan and Morrow County Sher-
iff Ken Matlack last week to dis-
cuss how coronavirus could impact
one another when it’s needed.
According to a press release
from the Oregon State Sheriff’s
Association, since the outbreak
of COVID-19 began in Oregon,
the organization has held con-
ference calls with sheriffs, jail
and enforcement commanders
throughout the state about devel-
oping consistent practices and
precautionary measures to protect
their communities, staff and peo-
ple in their custody.
“These changes include a care-
ful evaluation of who gets booked
into our facilities to limit intakes,
working to get low-risk offenders
out of jail as soon as possible, a
host of environmental precautions,
what calls we respond to, practic-
ing social distancing while being
visible in the public, screening of
staff and screening of individuals
in our custody,” the release said.
The organization is plan-
ning weekly calls to address any
changes in their response to the
rapidly changing situation.
Walmart hiring more associates to keep up with demand
By JADE MCDOWELL
neWs edITOr
As an increasing number
of Americans lose their jobs
to COVID-19 shutdowns,
Walmart is hiring more
associates to keep up with
demand and giving tempo-
rary raises.
The
company
has
announced a plan to hire
150,000 additional employ-
ees by the end of May,
including 1,200 in Oregon.
A news release states that
these “will be temporary
at first, but many will con-
vert to permanent roles over
time.”
Walmart is also giving
a temporary $2 per hour
pay increase for associates
working at its e-commerce
fulfillment centers, but that
does not include the Hermis-
ton distribution center.
The company is also
offering a $250 referral
HH file photo
A semi-truck enters the Wal-Mart distribution center in 2017 outside of Hermiston.
bonus to fulfillment center
associates who refer a new
hire. The newly hired asso-
ciate also receives a $250
referral bonus.
In the Hermiston Distri-
bution Center, a person can
apply online, get hired and
begin working in a fulfill-
ment center or distribution
center as soon as that same
day.
Josh Burns, manager at
the Walmart Distribution
Center in Hermiston, said
they are recruiting right now
for roughly 50 positions, that
they hope to hire “as quickly
as we can.” He said the hir-
ing process normally takes
about two weeks, but can
now be completed within 24
hours.
“Our hiring process has
been greatly streamlined,”
he said.
Worries about needing to
self-quarantine at home for
weeks, added to continuing
orders from the governor
to encourage people to stay
home, have caused a large
increase in purchasing of
groceries, paper goods and
other items, at times leav-
ing shelves bare in Umatilla
County stores.
Grocery stores and the
Hermiston distribution cen-
ter, which takes in ship-
ments of products from ven-
dors and distributes them
to Walmart stores around
the Pacific Northwest, have
seen increased workloads
as a result. Burns said the
distribution center has seen
demand “well beyond what
was forecast” for a usual
spring.
“We’re experiencing new
records for demand almost
daily,” he said.
Anyone interested in
applying for positions can
visit careers.walmart.com
online and search for the
town where they want to
work.
For those who already
work for the company,
Walmart has announced
that it will be giving $300
bonuses to all full-time
hourly workers and $150
bonuses to part-time hourly
workers employed with the
company as of March 1.
Those bonuses will be paid
on April 2.
The company has also
adjusted its leave policy, giv-
ing two weeks’ pay to those
who miss work after being
diagnosed with COVID-19
or directed to quarantine.
“Walmart associates have
gone above and beyond
the call of duty in serv-
ing our customers during
these unprecedented times,”
Doug McMillon, president
and CEO of Walmart, said
in a statement. “We want
to reward our associates for
their hard work and recog-
nize them for the work that
is in front of us.”
Tasty Tuesday a hit with Umatilla residents, businesses
The city picked up the
tab for its citizens to
enjoy a free lunch
By ANNIE FOWLER
sPOrTs edITOr
The line around G&J
Dairy Freeze in Umatilla
on Tuesday was more than
20 people long. The patrons
were waiting to pick up their
lunches that were courtesy
of the city during its first
Tasty Tuesday.
The program, with the
help of six local eateries,
provided lunch for every
citizen who wanted to par-
ticipate. Tuesday morning,
there were 2,000 orders,
with more still coming in.
Esmeralda Horn, the
city’s development and rec-
reation coordinator, had
two boxes of food in her car
from Java Junkies, which
was offering sandwiches
and chips. She made stops at
the Umatilla RV Park, sev-
eral apartment complexes,
and the weigh station, with a
plenty more to go.
“This is fun,” she said.
“I was raised in Umatilla.
When I got hired by the city
almost three years ago, it
was the greatest day of my
life. I wanted to give back.
People are hungry, the stores
are scary and people are laid
off. There is no judgement
here.”
City manager Dave
Stockdale was the master-
mind behind Tasty Tues-
day, which came to life last
Thursday.
“He came into my office
and said, ‘Let’s feed our
city,’ “ Horn said. “I said,
‘You are crazy.’ He said, ‘A
little bit.’ He ran it through
the city council, which
approved it.”
Not only was the city
feeding its residents, but it
also was helping the local
restaurants, which have seen
business decline as much at
75 percent after governor
Kate Brown restricted estab-
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
The Line at G&J Dairy Freeze in Umatilla Tuesday afternoon was tightly packed with people
awaiting food Tuesday afternoon.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Esmeralda Horn, the development and recreation manager
for the City of Umatilla, instructs those waiting in line to
maintain proper social distancing during at G&J Dairy Freeze
in Umatilla Tuesday afternoon.
lishments to takeout only
last week.
“Kids get a free lunch at
the school, but sometimes
it isn’t enough,” Horn said.
“We thought we’d boost
morale and help our busi-
nesses get some orders in.
Help them and feed our
community.”
No matter the tally, the
city is picking up the check.
City employees from all
departments were making
deliveries, while some peo-
ple chose to pick up their
own meals.
“We won’t let anyone go
hungry,” Horn said.
Horn said there are 7,400
people in Umatilla, with
1,800 of those residing at
Two River Correctional
Institution.
Not
everyone
took
advantage of the offer, but
it was available to everyone,
regardless of need.
Each eatery had a lim-
ited menu of items that were
available to order. GG’s
Smokehouse and Catering
only had pulled pork sand-
wiches, while the Acapulco
Food Truck was offering
burritos.
Rae’s Dayz Diner &
Cakery had orders for 500
lunches, with the bacon
cheeseburger topping the
charts. Orders also came
with fries, tots or chips. By
noon, they had filled one-
third of the orders, but there
was no stopping until every-
one had been fed.
“It’s been extremely nice
to be busy,” Rae’s Dayz
employee Terri Nobles said.
“We had to lay off three peo-
ple, and three people have
had minimal work. I was
one of the three laid off the
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MKT-P0108
GG’s Smokehouse Catering owner Amber Bieren assembles
sandwiches for take-out and delivery during the city of
Umatilla’s Tasty Tuesday event Tuesday morning. Bieren
capped orders at 360 in order to have enough food for all of
her customers.
past two weeks. It’s nice to
be back.”
Just down the street
at Donitas Tacos, owner
Miguel Olivera said he is
happy to have the business.
His sales have been down
MARCH 27, 2020
75% since the start of last
week.
“When they came to us,
we said yes,” Oliveras said.
“I have done at least 100
orders, and I have texts for a
least 100 more.”
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of Domestic or Sexual Violence.
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Registration available
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anytime between