BUSINESS
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
herMIsTOnheraLd.cOM • A7
Grace period given to counties that fall to ‘extreme’ risk level
By GARY A. WARNER
OreGOn caPITaL BUreaU
Counties that might fall
back into the state’s most
restrictive extreme risk level
for COVID-19 spread will
be given a two-week grace
period on heightened restric-
tions, Gov. Kate Brown
announced Thursday, March
4.
The
announcement
brought added certainty for
restaurants and other busi-
nesses in Umatilla County,
which moved down from
extreme risk for the first
time on Feb. 26. The county
ended up qualifying to stay
in the high risk category,
and Morrow County moved
down from moderate risk to
low.
Jackson and Malheur
counties, however, were
given a reprieve after Jack-
son County would have usu-
ally moved up to extreme
risk and Malheur County
Jade McDowell/Hermiston Herald
A sign outside Hale’s Restaurant in downtown Hermiston
advertises indoor dining on Monday, March 1, 2021.
would have moved up from
moderate to high risk.
Brown said the state’s
low overall infection rates
and its steep trend down-
ward since the winter holi-
days allowed for “a bit more
time” for some state trou-
ble spots. The state currently
ranks 49th of the 50 states in
new infections per 100,000
people — only Hawaii
scores better. With a positive
test rate of 3.9%, Oregon is
firmly on track for numbers
to continue downward state-
wide, and 1 million vaccine
shots have been adminis-
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Hermiston Walmart
working on remodel
The Hermiston Walmart
is working on a remodel of
the store that is expected to
be complete in early sum-
mer 2021.
According to the com-
pany, the remodel has
already added new flooring
and will eventually include
new signage and paint for
“better line of sight and eas-
ier navigation,” expansion of
some departments including
beer and wine, expansion of
the online grocery service
and remodeled restrooms.
A final completion date
will be announced when it
gets closer.
Boardman farmers
named state corn yield
contest winners
Two Boardman-area resi-
dents were among 506 state
winners in the National Corn
Yield Contest, sponsored
annually by the National
Corn Growers Association,
according to a news release.
Nolan Mills of Board-
man, placed first in the state
in the H:Strip Till, Minimum
Till, Mulch Till and Ridge
Till Irrigated classes with a
yield of 267.4469 bushels
per acre. The hybrid used in
the winning field was Pio-
neer P1089AMTM.
Vern Frederickson of
Boardman placed first in the
state in the I:Conventional
Irrigated Class with a yield
of 249.4356 bushels per
acre. The hybrid used in the
winning field was Pioneer
P1077AMTM.
“Although the past year
posed numerous tests for
all sectors of the American
public, farmers continued
to drive agricultural produc-
tion in the face of incred-
ible obstacles,” the news
release stated. “Through
their efforts, NCGA mem-
bers contributed valuable
data that will help all grow-
ers face current challenges
and those still to come.”
The 2020 contest par-
ticipation included 7,844
entries from 48 states. Of
the state winners, 27 grow-
ers — three from each of
nine classes — were named
national winners, represent-
ing 12 states.
tice Manager at OCBHJI
said in a statement. “Nobody
was talking about what was
working. We want this pod-
cast to shine a light on part-
nerships that are moving
the dial, leading to better
solutions and outcomes for
people who may become
involved with the justice
system due to experienc-
ing behavioral health, intel-
lectual/developmental dis-
abilities, or neurocognitive
concerns.”
The podcast can be
found on major streaming
platforms, ocbhji.org/pod-
cast and Oregon Center on
Behavioral Health and Jus-
tice Integration’s social
media pages.
New podcast focuses on
behavioral health
Commercial rent grants
A division of Greater
Oregon Behavioral Health, available
Inc. has launched a new
podcast exploring the inter-
section of behavioral health
and criminal justice.
The podcast, titled “The
Center Collaborative: Cre-
ative Solutions in Behav-
ioral Health and Criminal
Justice,” aired its first epi-
sode March 3. It is pro-
duced by the Oregon Cen-
ter on Behavioral Health
and Justice Integration, a
specialized division within
GOBHI, a nonprofit serving
rural Oregon.
The podcast series will
feature guests from govern-
ment, public safety, health
care, the judicial system
and the broader community,
according to a news release.
“One serious issue led
to us creating this podcast,”
Chris Thomas, podcast host
and Behavioral Health Jus-
The state’s Commer-
cial Rent Relief Program
opened on Monday, March
8 for small businesses and
their landlords affected by
COVID-19.
Landlords with tenants
that are businesses with 100
or fewer employees that
have fallen behind on rent
for a commercial property
can jointly apply with their
tenant for up to $100,000
in rent relief per tenant,
with a cap of $3 million per
landlord.
The funds come from the
$100 million allocated for
landlord relief by the Ore-
gon Legislature’s Emer-
gency Board in January.
For more information visit
the Business Oregon web-
site at oregon4biz.com/
Coronavirus-Information/
CRR.
House wants fast track for
foreclosure moratorium
By PETER WONG
OreGOn caPITaL BUreaU
House Speaker Tina
Kotek says she wants to
see a legislative fast track
for an extension of Ore-
gon’s moratorium on resi-
dential foreclosures.
An overall moratorium
ended on Dec. 31. House
Bill 2009, which the House
Business and Labor Com-
mittee heard last week,
would be retroactive to
Dec. 31 and extend the
moratorium to Sept. 1.
But the new version would
apply only to a set num-
ber of residential proper-
ties — the bill proposes
five, although an amend-
ment would raise it to 10
— and commercial prop-
erty would be excluded.
Kotek, a Portland Dem-
ocrat, is a chief sponsor of
the bill along with commit-
tee Chairman Paul Holvey,
D-Eugene.
Kotek said lawmak-
ers should have passed the
extension during the Leg-
islature’s third special ses-
sion on Dec. 21, 2020. The
original moratorium, first
imposed by an executive
order of Gov. Kate Brown,
was passed in a special ses-
sion on June 26, 2020.
“From my point of
view, we should have done
it during the third special
session to extend it. It’s
been well-worked,” Kotek
told reporters during her
weekly availability on
Monday, March 8.
“We are pushing Chair
Holvey to move it as soon
as possible. It is something
people need certainty on in
terms of how their mort-
gage payments will be han-
dled in the situation we are
in right now. We need to
keep people housed, so it
is a priority.”
Kotek’s call coincided
with near-final congres-
sional action on Presi-
dent Joe Biden’s $1.9 tril-
lion pandemic relief plan,
which includes $10 billion
nationally for homeowner
assistance.
Rep. Julie Fahey, D-Eu-
gene, said she isn’t sure
what Oregon’s share would
be, although it is likely to
exceed $100 million if it
is distributed according to
population. “That federal
aid would be in addition
to $30 million for home-
owner assistance contained
in a $500 million state plan
unveiled Monday, March
8,” Fahey said.
Fahey sits on the Busi-
ness and Labor Committee
and also leads the Housing
Committee.
The state bill would
allow one extension by
Brown to Dec. 31, through
an executive order, but
only if she gives notice by
Aug. 16.
Banks and credit unions
oppose or question the
need for state legislation,
given that 70% of Ore-
gon mortgages already
fall under a federal mora-
torium that is scheduled to
end June 30.
But housing advocates
in support of the bill men-
tioned the Household
Pulse survey conducted by
the U.S. Census Bureau,
which ranks Oregon 17th
among the states in terms
of people reporting they
are behind on rent or mort-
gage payments and are at
risk of eviction or foreclo-
sure within two months.
Oregon’s 38.1% of
153,402 surveyed online
put it below Idaho (15th)
but ahead of Nevada
(19th). California and
Washington ranked lower.
The margin of error is 12.4
points, which means that
the actual ratio of people at
risk could be as low as 1 of
4 — or as high as 1 in 2.
tered to residents.
The governor said she
made the decision to waive
the restrictions “recogniz-
ing the challenges busi-
nesses encounter when fac-
ing a switch back and forth
between extreme risk and
other risk levels,” Brown
said.
The drop to the higher
risk level meant that restau-
rants could offer limited
indoor dining, a key change
during the cold, wet winter
months that have stretched
into March.
Higher numbers would
have required a return to the
tighter restrictions on busi-
nesses, dining, and activi-
ties. Brown’s message did
not include any changes
to rules covering counties
already in the extreme risk
level.
Brown had announced
Feb. 23 that 10 counties had
dropped out of the extreme
risk level, the highest of
the four-tier rating system
that also includes high risk,
moderate and lower. The
higher the risk level, the
more restrictions are in place
on businesses, dining and
activities.
It was a dose of good
news after a period in which
most of the state had been in
extreme risk at one point or
another.
“For the second time in
a row, we are seeing great
progress in stopping the
spread of COVID-19 across
Oregon and saving lives,”
Brown said on Feb. 23.
Risk level adjustments
are made every two weeks.
But measurements are taken
every Friday and analyzed
each Monday. The numbers
are published weekly, with
the period between reassign-
ments called “the warning
week.”
With the next assign-
ment of risk levels set to be
announced March 9 and go
into effect March 12, state
officials evidently saw some
counties trending back up to
extreme risk.
Brown’s office did not say
what counties were of con-
cern. The “warning week”
numbers indicate trends, but
the final status would also
be determined adding in the
as-yet unknown statistics of
this week through March 5.
The drop in infections
was part of the recent good
news that has seen over-
all new infections down
their winter holiday period
highs. A third vaccine,
made by Johnson & John-
son has arrived in the state
and the first 100 doses sent
to each county, with a total
of 34,000 expected to imme-
diately follow.
But there was caution-
ary news as well. Two
potentially more virulent
and easier to spread ver-
sions of the virus showed
up in Oregon.
New doctor joins Good
Shepherd Urgent Care
herMIsTOn heraLd
Good Shepherd Health
Care System has wel-
comed Dr. Stewart Swena
to Good Shepherd Urgent
Care.
Swena joins several
other doctors at the urgent
care clinic, located at 1050
W. Elm Ave. in Hermiston.
The clinic is open seven
days a week for urgent
care, and also provides
primary care Monday
through Thursday.
According to a news
release, Swena had already
been working in medicine
in Hermiston for “many
years,” most recently in
Good Shepherd Medical
Center’s emergency room
for the past 10 years. He
originally came to Herm-
iston to work with Dr.
Douglas Flaiz at Family
Health Associates.
The release states he is
board certified both in
Swena said in a state-
ment that primary care
medicine is important to
the health of a community,
and seeing how most of
the patients who have died
of COVID-19 had chronic
diseases or other risk fac-
tors helped inspire him to
get back into primary care.
“With
the
recent
COVID-19
pandemic,
when you look at the risk
factors for severe disease
and chronic diseases such
as diabetes, hypertension,
GSHCS/Contributed Photo coronary disease, COPD;
Dr. Stewart Swena
all of those can be helped
significantly and in some
Family Medicine and Life- cases reversed with Life-
style Medicine, with more style Medicine,” he said.
than 20 years of primary
To schedule an appoint-
care experience. He com- ment, call 541-567-2995
pleted his residency at or visit www.gshealth.
Florida Hospital Medical org/good-shepherd-medi-
Center in Family Practice cal-group/good-shepherd-
after obtaining his Doctor urgent-care.
Good Shepherd Urgent
of Medicine from Loma
Linda University School Care also accepts walk-in
patients.
of Medicine.
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