NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021
Friends, colleagues pay tribute to deputy
NEWS BRIEFS
Hermiston to break
ground on $2.5 million
project July 7
The city of Hermis-
ton will break ground on a
new industrial park project
on Wednesday, July 7.
The $2.5 million proj-
ect will add roads, water
and sewer to the South
Hermiston
Industrial
Park. According to a press
release, construction is
expected to last about four
months and create 16 new
parcels of shovel-ready
industrial land.
The work by the
city will coincide with
development of a new
179,000-square-foot ware-
house for Meyer Distrib-
uting, which plans to hire
approximately 70 full-
time employees in the fall,
according to the city.
Funding for the infra-
structure project at SHIP
comes from a $1.46 mil-
lion U.S. Economic Devel-
opment
Administration
grant, a local improvement
district made up of adja-
cent property owners, the
city and Umatilla County.
“These new shov-
el-ready lots will make it
much easier for small light
Industrial operations to set
up and provide support
services to our other large
agricultural and industrial
operations in the region,”
Assistant City Manager
Mark Morgan said in a
press release.
The
groundbreaking
is scheduled for July 7 at
12:15 p.m. on East Penney
Avenue.
ODOT holding curb
ramp open house
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation is
collecting feedback ahead
of a project to increase
accessibility
to
side-
walks along state high-
ways, according to a news
release.
Starting in 2022, ODOT
will repair and upgrade
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A11
hundreds of sidewalk curb
ramps along state high-
ways in several commu-
nities in Umatilla, Mor-
row, Wallowa and Baker
counties.
The work is part of a
statewide eff ort to bring
curb ramps into compli-
ance with Americans with
Disabilities Act standards
to improve mobility and
safety. In 2018, a report
found that only 3% of curb
ramps on Oregon High-
ways were completely in
compliance with the ADA.
The rest had problems that
included missing ramps,
overly steep inclines and
telephone poles or other
obstructions too close to
the ramp.
To provide updated
information and collect
feedback, ODOT is cur-
rently holding an online
open house through Fri-
day, June 18. During this
time, residents can visit
https://tinyurl.com/East-
ernOregonADA2022
to
review project informa-
tion, maps, photos and
videos or submit questions
and feedback after review-
ing the information.
Most projects are being
designed this year, with
construction
beginning
in 2022. Eastern Ore-
gon communities that
have planned upgrades
are Pendleton, Pilot Rock,
Ukiah, Milton-Freewater,
Helix, Athena, Wallowa,
Lostine, Joseph, Heppner,
Ione, Lexington and Baker
City.
ODOT to chip seal
13-mile section of
Highway 207
Travelers can expect
delays, loose rock, fl ag-
gers and single-lane traf-
fi c as the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation
begins chip sealing a
13-mile section of High-
way 207 through the end
of the month, according to
a press release.
Work crews will be
resurfacing roads and
repainting markers and
highway lines, ODOT
reported in the press
release. The department
expects the work to wrap
up by the end of June.
Travelers can expect
loose rock on the road-
ways for several days
after the chip seal, which
requires spreading rock
chips onto emulsifi ed oil
and pressing rocks in with
rollers. Work crews will
sweep the roads, the state
transportation department
also reported, which could
cause minor delays in the
night and early morning
hours. The route will be
restriped after the project
is complete.
The crews will be
working on Highway 207
from Exit 182 on Interstate
84 (at the Space Age sta-
tion) to the intersection of
Madison Road and Butter
Creek at milepost 17, the
press release said. They
will also be working on
the 320 Lexington-Echo
Highway between Butter
Creek at milepost 27 and
the Morrow County line at
milepost 19.
ODOT said travelers
also can expect delays up
to 20 minutes, reduced
speeds, fl aggers and pilot
cars directing single-lane
traffi c through work zones.
The project will cause two
short-term closures of the
eastbound off ramp at Exit
182.
Offi cials are asking
travelers to watch for con-
struction crews and equip-
ment in these areas and
to plan extra travel time.
Cyclists should prepare to
travel behind a pilot car on
sections of highways cov-
ered in rock chips with no
usable shoulders.
To avoid work zones,
offi cials are asking travel-
ers to use alternate routes
or delay their plans, the
press release said. To view
state road conditions, visit
www.tripcheck.com.
Hermiston Herald
Photos by Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Law enforcement offi cers salute the casket of Umatilla County Sheriff ’s Offi ce deputy Jason
Post during his funeral service Sunday, June 13, 2021, at the Pendleton Round-Up Grounds.
The service drew more than 300 people, including roughly 100 law enforcement personnel
from throughout the region. At the conclusion of the service, a parade of emergency vehicles
escorted the casket to a private interment ceremony at Skyview Memorial Park in Pendleton.
Umatilla County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce vehicles escort the
body of deputy Jason Post
from his funeral service on
Sunday, June 13, 2021, at
the Pendleton Round-Up
Grounds.
House delays start of paid family leave
By PETER WONG
OREGON CAPITAL BUREAU
Oregon’s new program of
paid family leave would be
delayed under a bill that has
cleared the House.
A vote of 33-19 on Tues-
day, June 8 moved House
Bill 3398 to the Senate.
The starting date for con-
tributions by employers and
employees would be put off
by one year, from Jan. 1,
2022, to Jan. 1, 2023. The
starting date for benefi t pay-
ments would be Sept. 3,
2023, instead of Jan. 1.
The 2019 Legislature
approved the program. Eight
other states and Washington,
D.C., have started or are pre-
paring similar programs.
Employers would con-
tribute 40% and employees
60% of a new fund based on
payroll deductions. Work-
ers who earn at least $1,000
during the previous year
would qualify for up to 12
weeks of paid family leave,
the maximum benefi t set at
$1,215 per week.
Oregon’s program is
more generous than a pro-
posal by President Joe Biden
for a federal program, which
would off er up to $4,000
per month. Congress has
not acted on the federal
program, which is part of
Biden’s American Families
Plan.
Acting Director David
Gerstenfeld
said
the
Employment Department
sought the delay because
it intends to integrate col-
lections of employer and
employee contributions into
its computer modernization
project, which will start its
long-awaited fi rst phase in
July.
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