NEWS/FROM PAGE ONE
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021
Umatilla County moves back to high risk on Friday
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Umatilla County
is
headed back to high risk sta-
tus for COVID-19 a week
earlier than expected after
COVID-19 hospitalizations
in the state surpassed 300.
Gov.
Kate
Brown
announced on Tuesday,
April 27, that counties were
losing their two-week warn-
ing period out of concerns
over hospital capacity and
that the much more conta-
gious B117 variant is now
the dominant strain in the
state.
“If we don’t act now, doc-
tors, nurses, hospitals, and
other health care providers
in Oregon will be stretched
to their limits treating
severe cases of COVID-19,”
Brown said in a statement.
“Today’s
announcement
will save lives and help stop
COVID-19 hospitalizations
from spiking even higher.”
The decision moves 15
counties to extreme risk,
and nine to high risk, includ-
ing Umatilla County. Becky
Hultberg, president and
CEO of the Oregon Associa-
tion of Hospitals and Health
Systems, released a state-
ment in support.
Port:
Continued from Page A1
to do what it can to promote
more housing development so
that employees of port busi-
nesses have a place to live in the
county.
John Kilkenny
John Kilkenny is running
against Stokoe and Tallman for
position 1.
Kilkenny said he is a life-
long Morrow County resident,
other than a brief stint in Pasco,
Washington, and has been farm-
ing in the area for 40 years. He
has served on a number of local
boards, including 12 years on
the Morrow County Planning
Commission and time on the
Morrow County Rodeo Board.
“The port has done a tremen-
dous job of growing and diversi-
fying ... and I’d just like to con-
tinue that,” he said.
While Kilkenny praised the
port’s growth, he said there are
some areas he would like to
focus on improving if elected,
including recruiting more small
and medium-sized locally
owned businesses.
He said he feels the port
and county could work bet-
ter together than they currently
do, and would like to see more
“synergy” in that relationship.
He also would like to see a
stronger emphasis on job train-
ing locally, to retain more young
people who grew up in Morrow
County and are ready to start
their careers. He said he knows
the port can only do so much
when it comes to housing devel-
opment, but he would like to see
the port commission fi nd more
ways to expand housing options
in the county.
“Unfortunately, a lot of
people who work in Morrow
County don’t live in Morrow
County,” he said.
Jerry Healy
Jerry Healy is running for
reelection to position 3 on the
Port of Morrow Commission.
Healy was born and raised in
Morrow County and lived there
most of his life, other than col-
lege and a stint in the Peace
Corps. He said he has now been
on the Port of Morrow Commis-
sion for about 27 years, but is
ready to continue his service.
“It’s a dynamic position,”
he said. “It keeps you excited
about what you’re doing. There
are tremendous things we have
accomplished for our commu-
nity and for the county.”
Healy said one of the most
important things the port com-
mission needs to continue to
focus on is how to provide train-
ing and opportunities for peo-
ple already in Morrow County,
to encourage them to stay
after high school graduation or
come back after pursuing their
education.
“For decades, our number
one export from the county was
our young people,” he said.
He said the port has already
been improving on that through
the workforce training center,
internships and other programs.
He said during his service on the
commission, the port has also
“Oregon has among the
lowest overall case counts
and deaths of all states, but
our cases are now growing
faster than almost any other
state. We can’t let our guard
down now. We support the
Governor in making tough
choices to control the virus
in our communities and get
us safely through this pan-
demic,” she said.
Moving from moderate to
done a good job of diversifying
its economic base, and of strate-
gic planning — something it is
important to continue.
“There are a couple of ports
in the state of Oregon that have
run out of property, and we
don’t want to be there,” he said.
Rick Weiss
Rick Weiss is one of two can-
didates challenging Healy for
position 3 on the commission.
Weiss is the pastor of First
Baptist Church in Boardman.
He said while that wouldn’t
seem to lend itself to serving
on the port commission, past
experience would, including
time working in public policy in
Arizona, experience as a small
business owner and his bache-
lor’s degree in political science.
Weiss and his wife moved to
Boardman about 18 months ago,
he said, and jumped into com-
munity involvement, including
their instrumental work in start-
ing the Boardman food pantry.
He said the Port of Morrow is
a signifi cant part of the commu-
nity, and “it just seems if I’m
going to be involved in the com-
munity, that is an area where I
could have some infl uence.”
He said as someone newer
to the county who doesn’t own
a local business aff ected by
the port’s decisions and who
doesn’t work for a local gov-
ernment entity, he feels he can
bring an objective voice to the
port commission, focused on
what’s best for the community
as a whole.
“I’ve got fresh eyes,” he said.
He said if elected he would
work to bring additional trans-
parency and communication
with the public to the port’s
high risk means many Uma-
tilla County establishments
— including gyms, restau-
rants, museums, churches
and indoor youth sporting
events — will have to move
from 50% capacity to 25%
capacity. Indoor social gath-
erings are reduced from a
maximum of eight to a max-
imum of six, and retail stores
move from 75% capacity to
50%.
proceedings.
Chandler Schaak
Chandler Schaak is the third
candidate running for position
3, but did not return calls and an
email sent to the contact infor-
mation listed on the fi ling form.
According to the fi ling form,
Schaak lives in Boardman and
is an insurance agent.
Joe Taylor
Joe Taylor, a local farmer
who grew up in Morrow
County, has served as a Port of
Morrow commissioner for 16
years, and is running unopposed
for another term.
He said he was actually a
little disappointed no one ran
against him, as contested races
help bring up good ideas and
areas for improvement.
Taylor said he was motivated
to run again by projects the port
has been working on that are not
yet complete, that he would like
to see through. If reelected, he
will also represent the port on
the Columbia River Enterprise
Zone board for the fi rst time,
which he said he looks forward
to.
Taylor said he is proud of the
work the port has done in recent
years, including the transition
to a new port manager and the
port’s strong growth — a trend
he said is likely to continue.
“That’s going to take some
planning and foresight,” he said.
Taylor said he wants to see
the port continue to do what it
can to help bring more housing
options to Morrow County.
“It’s not a big input we have,
but we have a little bit and I
think it helps,” he said.
Morrow County will stay
in low risk, although Com-
missioner Melissa Lindsay
said she hopes that people in
the county get vaccinated as
soon as possible and remain
vigilant about safety mea-
sures so the state’s “fourth
wave” doesn’t reach Mor-
row County.
“It doesn’t take much to
go backward,” she said.
Umatilla
School District
off ers summer
learning
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Umatilla School District has opened
registration for summer learning oppor-
tunities, including a six-week summer
school.
Students in kindergarten through eighth
grade can participate in a mix of tradi-
tional summer school and STEAM Camp
(science, technology, engineering, art
and math) from June 21 to July 29, Mon-
day through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to
3:30 p.m. Meals and busing are provided.
Superintendent Heidi Sipe said they
will be emphasizing a “screen free sum-
mer school” experience, with plenty of
hands-on learning, fi eld trips and outdoor
activities.
Child care for students from kindergar-
ten through fi fth grade is available from
June 21 to July 29 from 3:30-7 p.m. Mon-
day through Thursday and 7:30 a.m. to
7 p.m. on Fridays. It is also available Aug.
1-13 from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday
through Friday. Meals are provided.
High school students can participate
in credit recovery classes throughout the
summer and have an opportunity to apply
for summer internships for credit, some of
which are paid. High school students inter-
ested in applying for an internship should
email williamss@umatillasd.org.
Summer learning opportunities are
being funded by several grants, Sipe said,
and there is room for all of the district’s
students who would like to participate.
Registration forms and more informa-
tion can be found at umatilla.k12.or.us/
live-feed#1477972.
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