NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Umatilla County Sheriff ’s Offi ce mourns loss of deputy
hired as a full-time patrol
deputy. He was a fi eld train-
The Umatilla County ing offi cer and a mentor to
Sheriff ’s Offi ce identifi ed many offi cers.
Jason Post as the deputy who
“He was well respected
drowned Saturday, June 5, in and loved throughout the
Wallowa County.
entire law enforce-
Post was 34 and
ment community,”
leaves behind a wife
the press release
and baby girl.
stated.
The
sheriff ’s
Umatilla County
offi ce reported Post
Parole and Probation
and three other
in mid-April hired
adults entered a craft
Post as a probation
Post
on the water near
offi cer.
the Minam Store at
“He was known
Minam State Park and an for his devotion to his fam-
accident threw them into the ily,” according to the press
water.
release, “and he was very
“Deputy Jason Post did open about making the
not reach shore and his body career change so he could
was found shortly after- focus on family and spend
ward,” according to a press more time with them.”
release from the sheriff ’s
Umatilla County sher-
offi ce.
iff ’s deputies and other
Post began his career in law enforcement agen-
2010 as a reserve offi cer for cies escorted Post’s body
the Umatilla County Sher- from the Loveland Funeral
iff ’s Offi ce and in 2013 was Chapel, La Grande, to
HERMISTON HERALD
Phil Wright/Hermiston Herald
A Umatilla County Sheriff ’s Offi ce vehicle drives Saturday, June 5, 2021, along Adams Avenue,
La Grande, in a procession with state and local law enforcement to escort the body of Umatilla
County Parole and Probation deputy Jason Post to the county line. Post drowned earlier that
day on the Minam River.
home in Pendleton, where
local law enforcement and
fi rst responders gathered to
honor him.
“Thank you for the over-
whelming support that was
demonstrated by so many of
our extended law enforce-
ment family yesterday as
we brought him home,” the
sheriff ’s offi ce stated. “We
express our deepest condo-
lences to his entire family.
We are your family and our
hearts are broken.”
Umatilla County sheriff ’s
Lt. Sterrin Ward on June 7
reported staff from the sher-
iff ’s offi ce and parole and
probation met that morning
for a debrief of the events
from the weekend.
The Wallowa County
Sheriff ’s Offi ce, Umatilla
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce or
other law enforcement agen-
cies have yet to provide
details on the accident that
led to Post’s death.
Ashly Lehman, wife of
Pendleton police Sgt. Jon
Lehman, set up a fundraiser
at www.gofundme.com for
the benefi t of Post’s wife,
Rosana, and baby, Dalilah.
Funeral services for Post
will be Sunday, June 13, at
10 a.m. at the Pendleton
Round-Up Grounds. After
the service, a funeral pro-
cession will lead to a pri-
vate burial service at Sky-
view Memorial Park with
friends and family. A recep-
tion will follow at the Let
‘er Buck Room at the Pend-
leton Round-Up Grounds.
The funeral and reception at
the Round-Up Grounds are
open to the public.
Lifeways protests decision
denying it contract for mental
health, addiction services
By BRYCE DOLE
STAFF WRITER
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File
State leadership of the Veterans of Foreign Wars revoked the charter for Hermiston VFW Post
4750, leaving its members at large and without a post to call their own.
VFW post’s charter revoked
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Local members of Vet-
erans of Foreign Wars Post
4750 of Hermiston said
the state VFW leadership
revoked the post’s charter.
The decision means mem-
bers of the post are now “at
large” members of the VFW
and must have someone
sponsor them if they want to
join an adjacent post in Ione,
Kennewick or Pendleton.
According to Harold Roberts,
a former post commander,
the post has about $600,000
in assets, including its build-
ing, cash and equipment.
Roberts said all of that now
belongs to the VFW Depart-
ment of Oregon.
“That money was raised
by local veterans, for local
veterans, and it needs to stay
in the community,” he said.
The state post did not
respond to multiple requests
for comment, but a mem-
ber of Post 4750 provided
the Hermiston Herald with
a copy of a letter dated May
17 from State Commander
George Carroll, stating the
charter had been revoked and
the Hermiston post was no
longer an offi cial VFW post.
“If you have kept abreast
of the evolving situation at
the Post, it should not come as
a surprise to you,” he wrote.
In February 2020, David Earl
Bosley, the post’s quarter-
master in charge of fi nances,
was charged with six felony
theft charges and two misde-
meanors after the Hermiston
Police Department investi-
gated allegations of embez-
zlement of tens of thousands
of dollars from the post.
Afterward, state leader-
ship put the post on proba-
tion. According to the let-
ter from Carroll, the team
“weeded out” members who
had been “grossly negligent”
and worked hard to fi x past
errors. The post briefl y came
out from under its probation,
but, according to the letter,
afterward the post struggled
to keep leadership positions
fi lled and have a quorum at
meetings.
“Sadly, this indicates the
Post is not able to sustain
a healthy membership that
will work together,” the let-
ter stated.
Roberts disagrees. He
said after the post’s proba-
tion ended, he brought in
eight new members — an
8% increase in membership.
Their February 2021 meeting
had about 20 members pres-
ent, he said, which was more
than enough for a quorum,
and all leadership positions
were fi lled.
“I got a call yesterday
from a guy wanting to join,
because one of my fl yers was
still existing at Les Schwab,”
he said. “This is an active
VFW.”
Roberts said Carroll and
other state leaders did not like
American Legion Post 37,
another veterans organization
that has many of the same
members. According to Rob-
erts, after he allowed some
American Legion members
to speak at the VFW’s Feb-
ruary meeting, he was noti-
fi ed by Carroll that the post
was going back on proba-
tion and American Legion’s
lease agreement to meet
in the VFW building was
terminated.
At that point, Roberts
resigned his position as post
commander and Marvin
Hamilton stepped into the
role.
Hamilton said he had been
a member of the VFW for 12
years but had not been very
active for a while until Rob-
erts reached out to him. He
said he and other younger
veterans had big plans and are
disappointed they were never
able to put in place, includ-
ing coff ee gatherings for vet-
erans, help getting counsel-
ing, and work with CAPECO
to provide food and other
assistance.
“We tried to get that going
but they shut us down before
we were able to get started,”
he said.
Jose Ortiz, the post’s
quartermaster, also said it
felt like the state leader-
ship pulled the rug out from
under them right as they
were trying to get resources
together that would have
helped local veterans.
AFTER 45 YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE TO RDO
Equipment Company and the local community, Reinhold
"Reinie" Fischer, is setting his sights on a well-deserved
retirement and spending more time with his wife, Judie.
Reinie joined Pioneer Implement in 1976, bringing with him more than
a decade of experience as a baler expert. Two years later, he became
Service Manager and held that position for the next 28 years. He then
transitioned to Customer Service Advisor, where he has enjoyed working
directly with the customers that he has dedicated so many years to.
All of us here at RDO will miss Reinie dearly
and his contributions will not soon be forgotten!
Lifeways, a commu-
nity mental health pro-
vider that has served Uma-
tilla County for 14 years,
is protesting the coun-
ty’s decision to award a
contract to a new mental
health and addiction ser-
vices provider.
The Ontario-based pro-
vider, which operates in
much of Eastern Ore-
gon and Idaho, sent a let-
ter to Umatilla County on
Wednesday, June 2, pro-
testing the county’s move
to appoint Community
Counseling Solutions as
its new provider. Life-
ways and CCS were the
only two organizations
that responded to the coun-
ty’s request for a proposal
for a new provider to han-
dle both mental health and
addiction services.
In an email to the East
Oregonian, Liz Johnsen,
chief operating offi cer for
Lifeways, did not answer
questions about the appeal,
but said, “Lifeways will
be issuing a formal press
release regarding the pro-
test.” She added that Life-
ways’ protest “is based on
our review of the proposal
CCS submitted.”
The county board of
commissioners voted on
May 26, in agreement with
a unanimous recommen-
dation from a fi ve-person
committee, to award the
contract to Community
Counseling Solutions, a
Heppner-based behavioral
health provider serving
four counties, over Life-
ways. The committee was
made up of an educator,
law enforcement staff and
county employees, includ-
ing Umatilla County Com-
missioner John Shafer.
County offi cials are in
the process of reviewing
the letter from Lifeways.
Shafer referred all ques-
tions about the protest to
Doug Olsen, the county’s
legal counsel. Olsen did not
respond to multiple calls
requesting comment.
Lifeways employs more
than 120 people in the
county, most of whom are
county residents, Johnsen
has said. She has voiced
concerns over how the
change in providers will
aff ect Lifeways employ-
ees and patients but so far
has declined to comment
on how the change will
impact the several facilities
Lifeways operates in the
county, including Aspen
Springs in Hermiston and
McNary Place in Umatilla.
Kimberly Lindsay, exec-
utive director for CCS, has
said Lifeways employees
have been reaching out to
her to discuss their employ-
ment options.
The move makes Com-
munity Counseling Solu-
tions the county’s central
provider for mental health
and substance abuse ser-
vices. Those services used
to be divided between the
county’s own alcohol and
drug treatment provider
and Lifeways, which han-
dled mental health.
The
change
came
through a growing consen-
sus that patients in crisis
often fall under both cat-
egories at once, prompt-
ing the county to put out a
request for proposals for a
community mental health
provider to combine these
services.
In
May,
Lifeways
reopened the former Aspen
Springs Psychiatric Hospi-
tal in Hermiston as a secure
residential treatment facil-
ity after closing in April
due to staffi ng challenges
made worse by the pan-
demic. The facility, which
housed patients in need
of acute psychiatric care,
was open for seven months
before the change in care.