NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
County commissioner candidate arrested
BY ALEX CASTLE
STAFF WRITER
Dan Dorran said Fri-
day, Oct. 2, that he is stay-
ing in the race for Umatilla
County commissioner after
he was arrested on accusa-
tions of driving under the
infl uence of intoxicants in
Umatilla on Saturday, Sept.
26.
Dorran, 65, gave a state-
ment to the East Oregonian
about the arrest on Oct. 2
but declined to answer fur-
ther questions.
“I’m
defi nitely
in
the race,” he said. “The
amount of support has been
incredible.”
D o r -
ran said his
actions after
a golf out-
ing
were
“foolish.”
“I take
Dorran
full respon-
sibility for
my decision to get behind
the wheel of a vehicle after
consuming alcohol,” he
said. “It’s been a hard awak-
ening for me and it’s some-
thing I’m addressing with
my family.”
According to the Face-
book page of Big River
Golf Course in Umatilla,
Dorran was a participant in
the Sherrell Chevrolet Farm
City Open held at the course
on Sept. 26.
“I can express nothing
but remorse and the prom-
ise that I’ll work hard to
make amends and rebuild
trust. I also deeply regret
the potential distraction this
may cause from the import-
ant issues confronting our
community,” he said in a
statement.
Local law enforcement
is being tight-lipped about
the details surrounding Dor-
ran’s arrest.
The
Walla
Walla
Union-Bulletin fi rst reported
the arrest on Oct. 1. Accord-
ing to the report, Dorran
was involved in a two-vehi-
cle collision near the inter-
section of Highway 730 and
395, or “Buck’s Corner,”
in Umatilla at 4:57 p.m. on
Sept. 26. No injuries were
reported.
The report quoted Sgt.
Bill Wright with Uma-
tilla police, who said Dor-
ran was cited and released
after offi cers determined
during their investigation
that he was driving while
impaired.
When Umatilla Police
Chief Darla Huxel was
contacted by phone, she
said she wasn’t respond-
ing to inquiries because she
wasn’t working Oct. 2 and
referred requests for infor-
mation to an on-duty Uma-
tilla police offi cer.
Sgt.
Natalia
Tovey
with Umatilla police said
she didn’t have additional
details, such as how police
determined Dorran was
impaired, and directed fur-
ther questions to the Uma-
tilla County District Attor-
ney’s Offi ce.
Umatilla County District
Attorney Dan Primus said
he was aware of Dorran’s
arrest but his offi ce had yet
to receive the case fi les from
Umatilla police.
“When we receive that,
we’ll review it in due course
just as we would in any
other matter and follow
through with the appropri-
ate steps at that time,” the
district attorney said.
Tovey said those fi les
should be sent to Primus on
Monday, Oct. 5.
Dorran, a Hermiston resi-
dent who’s spent time on the
county fair board and other
local committees, fi nished
fi rst with roughly 34% of
the votes in May’s primary
that featured fi ve candidates
for county commissioner.
On Nov. 3, voters can
choose between Dorran and
Three Percenter HollyJo
Beers of Milton-Freewater,
who fi nished second with
roughly 24% of the primary
vote.
Free help available for
Medicare open enrollment
Reopen schools rally
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Jade McDowell/Hermiston Herald
Almost 20 people stood along Elm Avenue in Hermiston with signs promoting the reopening
of local schools on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, with slogans, such as “Classrooms not chatrooms”
and “Give us a choice.” According to Oregon Department of Education rules, most schools
cannot open until the county they are in has fewer than 10 new confi rmed COVID-19 cases
per 100,000 people for three weeks in a row, or about eight cases a week for Umatilla
County. Umatilla County reported 116 confi rmed cases for Sept. 26-Oct. 2.
Medicare open enroll-
ment starts Oct. 15, and
Good Shepherd Health Care
System is offering area resi-
dents free help in fi nding the
right plan.
Jessica Reker, director of
education for Good Shep-
herd, said the hospital won’t
be able to offer its usual
Medicare events because
of COVID-19, but people
can sign up for one-on-one
appointments in person, over
the phone or via video chat
through Senior Health Insur-
ance Benefi ts Assistance.
Trained counselors can
help people sign up for
Medicare for the fi rst time
or check to see if they would
benefi t from any changes to
the coverage they have.
The open enrollment
period, which runs from
Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, is the only
time of the year people can
make changes to their cover-
age. Darla Irwin, senior ser-
vices coordinator for Good
Shepherd, said every year
new plans come on the mar-
ket, coverage and pricing
for existing plans changes,
and patients often have
changes in their medications
that might be better covered
under a different plan.
This year, for example, the
federal government is rolling
out changes to Medicare to
offer more affordable options
for people on insulin. And
Eastern Oregon residents
will have a new Medicare
Advantage option through
Summit Health, which was
recently formed by several
hospitals in the region.
“This is a good time to
check what’s new,” Irwin
said. “I know a couple of the
new plans available this year
are a little cheaper.”
To get help fi guring out
what coverage works best
for them, patients can call the
hospital’s education depart-
ment at 541-667-3509 to
schedule an appointment.
“If someone does not
want to come into the
offi ce, they can do it vir-
tually or by phone,” Reker
said. “We will mail them
everything they need.”
For their appointment,
patients should have their
Medicare card and a list of
their current medications
with them. If they have let-
ters from the Social Secu-
rity offi ce or Department
of Human Services regard-
ing their coverage, those
are helpful as well. It will
also save time if they have
already created a login for
www.medicare.gov
and
have their password and user
name ready, but counselors
can assist with that if needed.
Reker said they expect a
rush of appointment-mak-
ing near the end of the open
enrollment period, and rec-
ommended that people make
their appointment soon to
avoid a backlog.
For people who wish to
sign up for Medicare on their
own or want to be better pre-
pared for their appointment
with a counselor, a “Medi-
care 101” video is avail-
able on the Good Shepherd
Health Care System You-
Tube page at youtube.com/
watch?v=giwh0C-zIsc.