NEWS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
City of Umatilla to buy Big River Golf Course
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Big River Golf Course in
Umatilla will be under new
ownership in 2021.
The owners announced
on Wednesday, Nov. 25, that
after 13 years of ownership,
they are planning to sell to
the city of Umatilla.
“This golf course has
been a labor of love for
over a decade and we are
truly grateful for the experi-
ence, the tremendous friend-
ships made, and the endless
amount of support we have
received from members
and patrons throughout the
years,” they wrote.
City Manager David
Stockdale told the Hermis-
ton Herald before its print
deadline that the city coun-
cil was planning to vote on
offi cial approval of the sale
during their Tuesday, Dec. 1,
meeting. He said the coun-
cil was already aware of the
city’s negotiations with the
golf course and he didn’t
foresee any dissenting votes
Tuesday night.
“If the council approves
it, we will be signing that
immediately,” he said.
According to the sale
agreement, the city will pur-
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File
Lyle Brown, 88, tees off at Big River Golf Course in Umatilla on March 26, 2020. The golf course
owners plan to sell the course to the city of Umatilla.
chase the golf course, its
water rights and all of its
equipment for a total of $2
million. The city plans to
take over operations on Jan.
1, 2021.
Stockdale said there were
several reasons for the city
to invest in the course when
its collection of partners
decided to sell. First and
foremost, he said, the course
generates economic benefi ts
for the community by draw-
ing visitors, and serves as an
amenity for area residents.
While a golf course may
go out of business if its pri-
vate owners are not success-
ful in turning a profi t, Stock-
dale said the city would
have more fl exibility to sup-
plement the course from its
general fund during a bad
year if needed.
“Big River Golf Course
is one of our premier recre-
ational features in the com-
munity, and we wanted to
make sure it will stay there,
and will always be here,” he
said.
The golf course also
comes with a valuable water
right and an already estab-
lished point of diversion in
the Columbia River, which
Stockdale said will be help-
ful for the city’s overall
efforts to expand its water
infrastructure. The course
also adds value to the unde-
veloped property the city
owns adjacent to the course,
where they hope to see hous-
ing built someday.
One of the city’s goals
is to create more “destina-
tion” events for Umatilla,
and Stockdale said the golf
course could possibly be
used for a concert or other
event during the “shoulder
season” when fewer people
are using the course but it is
not too cold to hold an out-
door event. He said as the
city looks to expand its recre-
ational offerings, ownership
of the course also opens up
opportunities, such as golf
classes and tournaments.
According to Stockdale
and the statement by Big
River Golf Course, during
2021 the city plans to con-
tinue the course’s current
business model, including
honoring membership fees,
rentals, book money and
other arrangements already
in place before they take
ownership.
Stockdale said once the
city owns the course it does
plan to make some improve-
ments to the irrigation sys-
tem to increase effi ciency
and automation, and add
some other improvements,
including some additional
hazards.
“There will be some nice
changes out there that I think
will be welcomed by the
golfers,” he said.
The Oregon Secretary of
State’s business registry lists
10 partners for the course.
Megan Olsen, who manages
the course, said the state-
ment from Nov. 25 is a good
refl ection of how they feel
about the years they have
enjoyed running the course.
They stated that the city of
Umatilla shares “the same
love for the course that we
will always have” and they
believe the course will be in
great hands.
“We will walk away
from this experience with
full hearts and gratitude,”
they said. “Thank you
again for all of your sup-
port throughout the years.
The friendships made
during our time at Big
River will always be cher-
ished. If we aren’t able to
see you in person before
the end of the year, then we
will see you out golfi ng!”
New COVID-19 restrictions will keep gatherings small
After the current ‘freeze’
is over, diff erent limits
still will be in place
CITY OFFERS OUTDOOR SEATING
OPTIONS
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Umatilla County res-
idents hoping to see
COVID-19
restrictions
lifted after the state’s two-
week “freeze” ends on
Dec. 3 will instead see a
new slate of restrictions —
some less restrictive, some
more.
On Wednesday, Nov.
25, Gov. Kate Brown
announced the state would
be moving away from the
previous “phase” sys-
tem of restriction and
instead place counties into
four categories of risk —
extreme, high, moderate
and low.
According to a list
released by Brown after
her news conference, as of
Nov. 25, Umatilla Coun-
ty’s metrics put it in the
extreme risk category,
while Morrow County fell
into the moderate cate-
gory. However, the gover-
nor’s offi ce stated that the
Oregon Health Author-
ity would be reevaluating
each county right before
the new system starts on
Dec. 3. Once the system
starts, counties will spend
at least two weeks in each
category before possibly
being moved up or down
the list based on factors,
such as the number of
COVID-19 cases and what
percentage of cases contact
tracers were able to trace to
a known source.
Brown said the restric-
tions were in response to
dwindling hospital beds
in the state, in the hopes
that no Oregonian will die
because a hospital did not
have room for them.
“Not everyone dies
from COVID-19, that’s
true, but trust me, this
is not a virus you want
to get,” she said. “Even
young people’s lives can
be devastated by the virus.
We continue to learn more
about the longterm impacts
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
The parking lot adjacent to The Pheasant Blue Collar Bar & Grill in Hermiston is among several
the city of Hermiston is off ering to restaurants for outdoor dining while Umatilla County
restaurants are banned from indoor dining under a new system of COVID-19 restrictions.
of the disease — extreme
tiredness and fatigue, loss
of taste and smell, perma-
nent lung damage.”
During the city of
Hermiston’s Nov. 23 city
council meeting, Mayor
David Drotzmann said he
had been in conversation
with Brown and other offi -
cials about hospital capac-
ity in the state, and was
concerned.
During
the
sum-
mer, when Hermiston’s
COVID-19 cases were by
far the highest of any ZIP
code in the state, Good
Shepherd Health Care Sys-
tem did not have to deny
anyone a hospital bed due
to lack of availability.
However, Drotzmann
said, when other commu-
nities had lower numbers
of hospitalizations, hospi-
tals, such as Oregon Health
& Science University in
Portland and Kadlec Med-
ical Center in Richland,
Washington, were able to
take transfers from Good
Shepherd.
“That’s not an option
for us when those beds
are full,” he said. “And so
even though our numbers
are not where they were in
July, they’re still increas-
ing, and there are impacts
from what is happening in
the rest of the state on us.”
According to OHSU,
that hospital has accepted
69 total transfer patients
from Good Shepherd, St.
Anthony Hospital in Pend-
leton, Grande Ronde Hos-
pital in La Grande and
Saint Alphonsus Hospital
in Boise since May.
Dr. David Zonies, the
medical director for the
intensive care units at
OHSU, said at the gover-
nor’s press conference that
Portland hospitals weren’t
turning away patients yet,
but it was a concern that
was coming.
He said he was also con-
cerned by the fact that he
was meeting patients who
were in the intensive care
unit of OHSU because of
COVID-19 but told him
they still did not believe
the virus exists.
Extreme risk restrictions
Since the state initially
placed Umatilla County
in the extreme risk cate-
gory, the county’s COVID-
19 cases have continued to
rise, making it unlikely the
county’s status will be low-
ered in time for the end of
the two-week freeze. In the
seven-day period from Nov.
24-30 the county reported
134 new cases and one
new death, of a 72-year-old
woman who tested positive
Nov. 16 and died Nov. 22 at
Good Shepherd.
Restrictions
under
the “extreme risk” level
include:
• Gatherings with people
outside of your household
will be limited to a max-
imum of six people with a
recommended limit of two
households.
• Restaurants, bars, and
other eating and drink-
ing establishments will be
limited to a maximum of
50 people for outdoor din-
ing only, with six or fewer
people per table. Takeout is
strongly encouraged.
• Indoor recreation, fi t-
ness and entertainment
establishments, including
gyms, will remain closed.
• Outdoor recreation,
fi tness and entertainment
activities, including out-
door gym activities, will be
For restaurants interested in off ering outdoor seating
while Umatilla County is restricted to outdoor dining and
take-out only, the city of Hermiston is off ering the use of its
parking lots to downtown restaurants.
Restaurants near municipal lots will be able to use portions
of those lots to set up seating, fencing, canopies, space
heaters and other amenities for outdoor dining. While they
will be required to sign a rental agreement to use the space,
they will not be charged a fee, according to a news release
from the city.
The city is also donating $15,000 to the Hermiston Down-
town District to help businesses with the cost of setting up
outdoor seating, and is working with the district to make
all restaurant owners in the downtown district aware of the
opportunity.
“Our downtown businesses and restaurants are part of what
makes this community special, and it’s our priority to make
sure they have every chance to succeed in these diffi cult
times,” Mayor David Drotzmann said in a statement. “As they
get creative and fi nd new ways to serve their customers,
I encourage residents to make an eff ort to shop local and
support our friends and neighbors.”
Available lots near restaurants are on East Gladys Avenue
and Hurlburt Avenue, adjacent to restaurants, including
The Pheasant Blue Collar Bar & Grill, Golden Palace and La
Palma.
allowed, with a maximum
limit of 50 people.
• Retail stores, grocery
stores, pharmacies, and
indoor and outdoor shop-
ping centers and malls will
be limited to a maximum of
50% of capacity, with curb-
side pickup encouraged.
• Faith institutions,
funeral homes, mortuar-
ies, and cemeteries will
be limited to a maximum
of 25% of capacity or 100
people indoors (whichever
is smaller), or 150 people
outdoors.
2
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5 th
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nnu
• Offi ce workplaces will
be required to utilize remote
work to the maximum
extent possible, with offi ces
closed to the general public.
• Personal services busi-
nesses will be allowed to
continue to operate with
health and safety measures
currently in place.
• Long-term care facili-
ties can allow limited out-
door visitation, following
current rules.
Capital Bureau reporter
Gary Warner contributed to
this report.
CHRISTMAS
KICKOFF
D ecember 7 th - 13 th
Morrow County
Health Department
Departmento de Salud del
Condado de Morrow
541-676-5421
541-676-5421
Drive-Thru Flu Vaccine
Vacuna de la gripe desde su carro
December 4, 2020 • 10:00am-6:00pm
4 de Diciembre, 2020 • 10:00am-6:00pm
Morrow County
Strong!
There will be
FREE masks and
hand sanitizers!
AC Houghton Elementary - Parking lot
1105 N. Main Ave NE, Irrigon, OR 97844
El Condado de
Morrow Fuerte!
Habra mascarillas y
desinfectante para
manos GRATIS
Estacionamiento de la escuela AC Houghton
1105 N. Main Ave NE, Irrigon, OR 97844
• Our first 100 customers will receive a gift bag (1 per family)
• The 20th customer purchase gets a free smoothie
• Daily Drawings for Door Prizes (end of day)
• Every $25 purchase gets a ticket for our daily drawing to win a gift!
• 25% OFF Christmas Gifts & Décor, Home Decore, Clothing, Baby
Items, Jewelry, Kitchen Items, Prints, Wall Décor, Purses, Lamps, Luxury
Lite Candles, E-cloth, Toys, Andalou Products, Books, Bibles, Children’s
Books, CDs & DVDs and more. *excludes doTERRA, Produce & Deli items
• 30% OFF Melissa and Doug toys and Clothing
• Spend $30 to purchase a valued item for just $10 (while supplies last)
• 10% OFF Health Foods, Bulk Foods & Supplements
• Daily “Find the bluebird” for a prize
• Free gift with $20 purchase (while supplies last)
• $1 OFF Soyberry Delight Smoothie and $6.95 for our Daily Lunch Special
Season of Savings thru Dec 24
WEEKLY SALES AND SPECIAL BUYS
Social Distancing: Limit 24 customers at a time in the store,
6’ distancing and please wear a mask.
541-567-0272
2150 N. First St. • Hermiston