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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 2020)
NEWS A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2020 Jobs: POLICE LOG Continued from Page A1 Health District in Heppner, added up to another 408 jobs. The C&D Drive-In, like many restaurants, didn’t show up on the list because it had borrowed under $150,000. Leighton said she was pleasantly surprised by how easy it had been to apply for the money during the first round authorized by Congress. “I filled out the paper- work on a Thursday or Fri- day, and by Monday the funds were already depos- ited in our account,” she said. The real test, she said, will be whether it is as easy to get the loan forgiven. If businesses follow the rules for the PPP loan, they can get all or part of the loan forgiven. The rules include not laying off any workers or cutting hours or wages during the 60-day period the loan covers, and only using the money for payroll, utili- ties and rent. Renee Grace of Mid-Co- lumbia Title Company also said that for her, she felt she couldn’t give a proper review of the Paycheck Pro- tection Program until she fin- ished the process by apply- ing for loan forgiveness. So far, she said, it had been a “great program” that was easy to apply for and helped keep the business running smoothly despite lost revenue caused by the pandemic. But recipients haven’t been allowed to apply for loan forgiveness yet, and there are still a lot of questions that haven’t been answered about it, including how long a business would be given to pay back the loan if it isn’t forgiven. “There are just too many variables left,” she said. She said after the busi- MONDAY, JULY 6 Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Felipe Olvera fills orders at C&D Drive-In in Boardman on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. ness received a PPP loan, she didn’t apply for other grants they might have qual- ified for because she didn’t want to use up resources that might help a business that was hit even harder. “These people who had to close down completely and have no income, I didn’t want to take away from them,” she said. Melissa Lindsay, chair- womaan of the Morrow County Board of Commis- sioners, said she was hear- ing from some hard-hit busi- nesses that were in serious need that they were strug- gling to access grants from local government or Busi- ness Oregon. Some of those businesses, she said, had gotten a very small fed- eral PPP loan or Economic Injury Disaster Loan during the first round of funding, and then regretted it after seeing how many other pro- grams were only for busi- nesses that had not been able to access the PPP before it ran out. “Now they’re saying, ‘I would give back my $2,500 if I had known,’” she said. Lindsay shared that mes- Partnership aims to create early warning system for drought By GEORGE PLAVEN CAPITAL PRESS A regional collabora- tive group wants to hear from Northwest farmers and ranchers about how drought is affecting crops and livestock. The Pacific Northwest Drought Early Warning Sys- tem includes state climatolo- gists and U.S. Department of Agriculture representatives from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Western Mon- tana. Its mission is to pro- vide timely information for communities to better antici- pate and manage drought-re- lated impacts, such as water shortages and wildfires. Part of that effort is gath- ering on-the-ground reports of drought conditions from local agricultural producers. Scott Oviatt, snow survey supervisor for the USDA Natural Resources Con- servation Service in Port- land, said feedback is cru- cial to updating the U.S. Drought Monitor, which in turn is used by the federal agencies to trigger a num- ber of emergency programs — such as crop insurance, loans and support for spe- cific commodities. “We’re just trying to get information out there, num- ber one,” Oviatt said. “That will help represent those on the ground, real-time condi- tions on the Drought Moni- tor itself.” While areas of Wash- ington and Northern Idaho have received near-average precipitation for the water year dating back to Octo- ber, parts of Oregon are in much rougher shape, Ovi- att said. The Drought Mon- itor shows a little more than 90% of Oregon is in some stage of drought, and a little more than 6% is in “extreme drought.” Gov. Kate Brown has declared drought in 11 coun- ties, mostly in Central and Southern Oregon. They include Coos, Curry, Jack- son, Josephine, Klamath, Douglas, Deschutes, Crook, Jefferson, Wasco and Gil- liam counties. Another two, GET INVOLVEDT To report local drought conditions online to the Pacific Northwest Drought Early Warning System, visit: https://survey123.arcgis. com/share/b87db006f- 28c4b4698f53ffe5942d- 9af Morrow and Wheeler coun- ties, have applied for a drought declaration. Statewide, Oregon has received 83% of average precipitation for the water year, Oviatt said. That ranges just slightly above average in Northeast Oregon river basins to 69% of nor- mal in the Klamath Basin, and 72% of normal in the Rogue and Umpqua basins. Oviatt said the DEWS is already hearing ver- bal reports of wheat fields stunted due to drought in some locations, and ranch- ers who may have to change their normal grazing rota- tions. Mountain snow melted rapidly beginning in mid-April, in some cases one to three weeks ahead of schedule, which likely will mean lower streamflows later this season. “We’re already seeing those impacts,” Oviatt said. “Some streams are very well below normal. We expect that to continue.” The U.S. Drought Mon- itor has been around since 2000, but its authors are in North Carolina or Lin- coln, Nebraska, which Ovi- att said makes it difficult to accurately reflect conditions across the country. In 2006, Congress autho- rized the National Integrated Drought Information Sys- tem, or NIDIS, combining multiple federal agencies and the National Drought Mitigation Center, which operates the Drought Moni- tor. Under NIDIS, there are nine regional Drought Early Warning System groups, including one for the Pacific Northwest that formed in 2015. sage with Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, during a recent virtual town hall, and said she has suggested to other state leaders that it would be helpful to allow businesses that had received under a certain amount of PPP or EDIL funding to still apply for state grants. Torie Griggs, director of the Boardman Chamber of Commerce, said she was seeing the same frustrations from businesses still in need of assistance as the pan- demic drags on. She said the chamber and organizations, such as the Boardman Com- munity Development Asso- ciation, were working to help people find alternatives they qualified for. Statewide, Oregon employers received 62,775 loans, according to the Small Business Administra- tion. More than 300 Oregon lenders are qualified to han- dle the loans. The Hermiston busi- nesses on ProPublica’s data- base of large PPP loans that were contacted by the Hermiston Herald either declined to comment or did not return messages Melons: Continued from Page A1 help with harvest during the summer, plus their contract labor from Atkin- son staffing, he has had the help he has needed. He said the first water- melons to ripen haven’t been as large has he was looking for, but people can still look forward to a good, quality taste. “I’ve been happy with the flavor of the seedless so far,” he said. Jade Mueller of 3rd Gen Farms said the wind storm and subsequent days of strong winds broke many of the farm’s watermelon starts, so their crop will be about half of what it has been some years. She said their smaller melons, such as Gallia mel- ons, have already been for left for them. But the list shows most businesses were agriculture-related. The list includes sev- eral farms, trucking com- panies, food processors and farm supply companies. It also includes several con- struction companies, Herm- iston’s major car dealerships and some medical and veter- inary clinics. Leighton said as peo- ple continue to patronize businesses that have been affected by COVID-19, she hopes they remember that these businesses have been hit hard by declining rev- enue and new regulations. She said some customers had been rude to employees when asked to wear a mask or follow social distanc- ing guidelines, even though the rules weren’t made by the business and those same rules make it harder on employees to do their jobs, too. “We’re working twice as hard to put out a product right now,” she said. To access the searchable database from ProPublica, visit projects.propublica. org/coronavirus/bailouts. sale at Alive and Well and said they were planning on starting to sell watermelons the week of July 13. 3rd Gen Farms also has a stand at the Maxwell Market in Hermiston most weeks. Patrick Walchli of Wal- chli farms said the uneven temperatures this summer slowed down the ripening process, and the farm plans to start harvest July 20. “I think the crop looks really good so far, it’s just been set back a little bit from normal,” he said. He said since June he has gotten plenty of peo- ple asking when they can get their hands on a Wal- chli watermelon, and it’s always a nice feeling to know people are excited for their product. “It makes you feel good that people think of it,” he said. RECYCLE! CARDBOARD • NEWSPAPER • GLASS • TIN • ALUMINUM EIGHT LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU! 9:35 a.m. — A burglary was reported on East Jennie Avenue. 1:13 p.m. — A hit-and-run was reported on Southeast Fourth Street and Highland Avenue. 4:35 p.m. — A caller reported that her ex-husband moved out months earlier and took all of his belongings with him, but continues to enter her home without permis- sion and take items. 8:37 p.m. — A disturbance was reported on South High- way 395 involving a male and female verbally fighting about underwear. TUESDAY, JULY 7 9:18 a.m. — A domestic disturbance that got physical was reported on West Juni- per Avenue. 12:09 p.m. — A hit-and-run was reported on North First Street. 2:45 p.m. — A domestic disturbance was reported on East Autumn Avenue. 3:17 p.m. — A disturbance was reported on Southeast Sixth Street. 6:38 p.m. — A hit-and-run was reported on West Harper Road. 7:04 p.m. — A disturbance was reported on East Sand- stone Avenue. 7:49 p.m. — A hit-and-run was reported on Southeast Fourth Street. 10:04 p.m. — A disturbance was reported on North First Street. was reported on East High- land Avenue. 11:21 a.m. — A fight was reported at McNary Street and East Cherry Avenue. 3:20 p.m. — A caller reported a transient lying sprawled out on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant on North First Street. 4:47 p.m. — A domestic disturbance was reported on West Highland Avenue. 5:03 p.m. — A caller re- ported a cold hit-and-run she thought might have happened at Walmart. 5:46 p.m. — A disturbance was reported on West High- land Avenue. 7:32 p.m. — A disturbance was reported on Northeast Second Street. SATURDAY, JULY 11 12:32 a.m. — A man was reportedly punching a male relative on West Orchard Avenue. 12:53 a.m. — A domestic disturbance was reported on Northeast Eighth Street. 9:47 a.m. — A bomb threat was reported on North First Street. 5:17 p.m. — A domestic disturbance was reported on Southwest Ninth Street. 6:45 p.m. — A power line was reported down on West Hermiston Avenue. SUNDAY, JULY 12 8:55 a.m. — A domestic disturbance was reported on West Hermiston Avenue. 8:59 p.m. — A domestic disturbance was reported on Northeast Third Place. 1:47 p.m. — A hit-and-run was reported on North First Street. 10:44 p.m. — A domestic disturbance was reported on Southeast Sixth Street. 12:35 a.m. — An armed sub- ject was reported on West Joseph Avenue. 9:45 a.m. — A disturbance was reported on Southeast Fifth Street. 5:39 p.m. — A disturbance was reported on North First Street. 6:04 p.m. — A drunken driver was reported on Southwest Eighth Place. 6:09 p.m. — A hit-and-run was reported on East Ridge- way Avenue. 10 p.m. — Unauthorized en- try into a motor vehicle was reported on South Highway 395. THURSDAY, JULY 9 MONDAY, JULY 13 2:13 a.m. — A hit-and-run was reported on South High- way 395. 10:42 a.m. — A disturbance involving two females was reported on Southeast Sixth Street. 11:23 a.m. — A caller advised he had been standing on street corners wearing armor, and wanted to know what his rights against tyranny were and if he saw someone burning an American flag, what rights he would have to stop that. 11:44 a.m. — A disturbance was reported at the Hermis- ton Police Department. 7:42 a.m. — A disturbance was reported on Northwest 11th Street. 9:42 a.m. — An assault was reported on West Oak Drive. 10:55 a.m. — Someone asked to speak to an officer about a crash they were involved in two days prior. They said af- ter they rear-ended another vehicle the other driver said “It happens” and drove away, but now the other party is complaining that they were injured. 3:28 p.m. — Someone reported a burglary on North First Place that happened in 2019. 5:10 p.m. — A motor vehicle accident was reported on North First Street. WEDNESDAY, JULY 8 FRIDAY, JULY 10 1:25 a.m. — A disturbance WHAT IS MY PROPERTY WORTH? Call us today for a FREE COMPARABLE MARKET ANALYSIS PROPERTIES - HERMISTON, LLC 1. Hermiston - 220 W. Harper Rd. 2. Stanfield - W. Wood (by Grange Hall) 3. Echo - across from park (at City Hall) 4. Umatilla - Hwy 730 (next to Columbia Harvest Foods) CHERYL BOLLES ART KEGLER TAMI REBMAN Principal Broker GRI, Owner 541-720-2020 realtorart@centurytel.net Principal Broker 541-720-1758 tami.rebman@gmail.com Principal Broker GRI 541-561-8615 Bolles@gmail.com SHERYL NEWTON ELVA PINTO Broker CRS, GRI, ABR 541-571-4141 sherylnewton@msn.com Broker 541-571-6476 pintoe23@gmail.com Servicio en Español ROXANNA HUNTSINGER 5. Umatilla County - Hwy 395 N. (next to transfer station) 6. Umatilla County - 81144 N. Hwy 395 7. Irrigon - 198 W. Columbia Lane 8. Boardman - SE Front Street Broker 541-272-1022 huntsinger58@yahoo.com INSTRUCTIONS FOR RECYCLING: Newspaper - loose or placed in grocery sacks. (no plastic sacks) Cardboard - flatten all boxes (sorry, no waxed cardboard) Bottles & Jars - Give ‘em a rinse (labels are OK to leave on). Separate them by color - clear, green or brown (sorry, no Pyrex, china or window glass) Aluminum - cans, TV trays, foil, etc. are acceptable. Please flatten cans to save space. Tin - Rinse cans. Remove both ends, flatten can. Lids also accepted. WE’RE OPEN! DEAN KEGLER MIKE BOYLAN Broker 541-377-6402 dkegler2002@yahoo.com Broker 541-561-7017 mikesboylan@gmail.com Sanitary Disposal, Inc. 320 South Hwy 395 Hermiston, OR 541-564-0888 Hermiston/McNary Hwy • Hermiston 541-567-8842 WWW.AMWESTPROP.COM Oregon Licensed Realtors
