NEWS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
COVID-19 cases reach 2,188 in Umatilla County
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Umatilla County’s new
COVID-19 cases are still
high compared to the rest of
the state, but increasing less
rapidly.
On Tuesday, Aug. 11,
the county had announced
27 new confi rmed cases of
COVID-19, bringing the
county’s total to 2,188 since
the pandemic began — an
increase in 183 confi rmed
cases from the Tuesday
prior.
Deaths announced over
the past week between Aug.
4-11 included a 76-year-old
man who tested positive July
17 and died Aug. 10 at Good
Shepherd Medical Center;
an 85-year-old woman who
died at Kadlec Regional
Medical Center; an 83-year-
old man who died at Good
Shepherd Medical Center;
and a 71-year-old woman,
a 93-year-old woman and
94-year-old man who all
died at Regency Hermiston
Nursing and Rehabilitation
Center.
According to an Aug.
5 report from the Oregon
Health Authority, Regency
had 80 cases of COVID-19
linked to its facility through
residents, staff or close con-
tacts of staff getting sick.
Umatilla County also
announced its youngest
death so far, a 47-year-old
man who died July 14 at
his residence. While it can
be complicated in elderly
patients
to
determine
the relationship between
COVID-19, the individual’s
underlying conditions and
their death after their diag-
nosis, the news release from
Umatilla County announc-
ing the 47-year-old’s death
specifi cally noted that
“the death certifi cate listed
COVID-19 disease or
SARS-CoV-2, as a cause of
death or as a signifi cant con-
dition that contributed to his
death.”
Morrow
County
announced its third death
so far of an individual with
COVID-19 — an 85-year-
old female resident who
died at an out-of-state hos-
pital on July 21.
“This is an incredibly
sad announcement and we
encourage everyone to be
respectful as a family in
our community grieves,”
the news release from the
county stated. “If you are in
need of support during this
diffi cult time, please con-
tact Community Counseling
Solutions at 541-676-9161.”
Options for COVID-
19 testing are avail-
able throughout Umatilla
County, including local
medical clinics, such as
Family Health Associates.
Jolene Horning, prac-
tice manager at Family
Health Associates in Herm-
iston, said when a patient
calls with any symptoms or
exposure to COVID-19, the
offi ce schedules a telehealth
visit. If the provider who
speaks with them during the
call recommends that the
person be tested, they can
drive to the offi ce for a curb-
side test.
The virtual chats and
drive-up testing reduce the
amount of exposure within
Family Health Associates’
offi ces at the Good Shep-
herd Health Care System
plaza and their satellite
clinic in Umatilla. Horning
said they introduced tele-
medicine this spring and
have conducted 3,000 tele-
health visits so far.
She said insurance pro-
viders seem to be covering
100% of the cost of the test
in most cases, and the sam-
ples collected are sent to
Interpath for testing.
“We were getting a
24-hour turnaround (on
results) but with the out-
breaks in places like Flor-
ida and Texas supplies ran
low, and now it’s been more
like 72 hours,” she said on
July 31.
The Oregon Health
Authority releases a weekly
report on worksite outbreaks
of COVID-19, defi ned as
workplaces with more than
30 employees that have had
at least fi ve cases linked to
the workplace.
Lamb Weston remained
in one of the top spots on
the workplace list with 167
cases linked to its Hermis-
ton plant between June 16
and July 18. But the compa-
ny’s Boardman facilities are
now reporting outbreaks as
well. OHA’s weekly report
for Aug. 5 lists 31 cases at
its Lamb Weston East site,
22 cases at its Lamb Weston
Boardman Pac Center and
21 cases at Lamb Weston
West.
Shelby Stoolman, a
spokeswoman for the com-
pany, said in an email on
Aug. 5 that so far the Board-
man sites had not been shut
down and a mass testing
event has not been planned
— both of which happened
at the Hermiston site in July.
“We’re closely monitor-
ing the cases and sharing
information with OHA, and
we’ll adjust our approach if
needed,” she said.
Hermiston Herald to distribute masks
Staff photos by Ben Lonergan
At left, Summer Wildbill folds masks in preparation for insertion into the Wednesday, Aug. 12,
edition of the Hermiston Herald at the offi ces of the East Oregonian in Pendleton on Aug. 11.
The mask distribution, a partnership between the Hermiston Herald and Umatilla County, will
distribute roughly 15,000 masks across Hermiston and the surrounding area. Above, Lindsey
Pasemalittlesky inserts folded masks into packets of COVID-19 information.
Four candidates running for Hermiston City Council so far
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Three incumbents and
one newcomer are in the run-
ning so far for four seats on
the Hermiston City Council.
Candidates for the four,
at-large positions on the
council have until Aug. 25 at
5 p.m. to fi le for candidacy.
All candidates who fi led will
appear on the November
2020 general election ballot,
and the top four vote-get-
ters will take offi ce in Janu-
ary 2021.
Nancy Peterson, an
accessibility specialist for
Columbia Basin College, is
running for the fi rst time, but
she said it has been a dream
of hers to run for offi ce since
she was a teenager licking
stamps to help candidates
that her parents were sup-
porting. She said she is now
in a place in her life where
she feels prepared to serve.
Peterson has lived in
Hermiston for 11 years
and the Umatilla/Morrow
County area for 20 years,
she said, and she hopes to
focus on listening to com-
munity members’ concerns
and helping the city under-
stand their needs.
“If people don’t feel
heard, they’re not going to
listen,” she said.
Primmer
Peterson
She said she has lived
through a wide range of
experiences that other peo-
ple in the community have
also faced, from spending
time as a single mother to
putting herself through col-
lege. She hopes to put those
experiences to use repre-
senting the residents of
Hermiston.
David McCarthy, sales
manager for KOHU/The Q
radio stations, was appointed
to fi ll the remainder of the
year in John Kirwan’s seat in
May after Kirwan resigned
due to a career change. He
said his experience so far on
the council hasn’t dampened
his enthusiasm to run for a
full term in November.
“They couldn’t scare me
away that easily,” he joked.
He said he likes looking
at situations the city faces
and fi guring out how they
might do a better job of
responding, and he is pas-
sionate about improving the
community for children and
local businesses.
Rod Har-
din
has
already
served 28
years on the
city council
and said he
Hardin
considered
not running
again. But previous health
problems he had been facing
have been resolved, he said,
and his retirement as princi-
pal of Hermiston Christian
Center has given him more
time to devote to the city,
so he decided he can put
his experience to use on the
council for what he believes
will likely be his last term.
“I guess I’m not ready to
give it up yet, if the public
will let me,” he said.
Hardin said he is proud
of the decisions the coun-
cil has made over the past
three decades that have got-
ten Hermiston to where it
is today, from building the
Regional Water System
to buying the electric util-
ity that is now Hermiston
Energy Services. He has
served on various commit-
tees over his years of ser-
vice, but said he has always
stuck with the Public Safety
Committee because it is a
topic he is passionate about.
Doug Primmer is running
for a third term, and said his
motivations are the same as
the fi rst time he ran.
“I’m still trying to make a
difference,” he said. “Like I
said when I fi rst started, the
world is run by those who
show up.”
Primmer grew up in
Hermiston and has had a
career in law enforcement
and corrections, including
more than 30 years as a res-
cue diver with the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Offi ce. His
brother, Dale Primmer, is a
Pendleton city councilor.
Manuel Gutierrez cur-
rently holds one of the
at-large seats on the coun-
cil, but said he doesn’t plan
to run again.
THANK YOU
TO MAYOR
DAVE DROTZMANN
for the letter that you sent
to Governor Kate Brown
regarding your concerns
on the Umatilla County
shut down.
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