NEWS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2021
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
2020 census: Hermiston tops 19,000
By ANTONIO SIERRA
STAFF WRITER
UMATILLA COUNTY — Hermiston’s
population surpassed the 19,000 mark. And
in defi ance of national trends, Umatilla and
Morrow counties grew in the 2020 census.
In Umatilla County, Pendleton and Herm-
iston were neck-and-neck for the title of the
largest city in Eastern Oregon in 2010. The
U.S. Census Bureau released city and county
population data Thursday, Aug. 12, revealing
Hermiston turned its slight advantage into a
solid lead, its 19,354 people edging out Pend-
leton’s 17,107. Hermiston’s 15.6% population
increase prompted a celebratory email from
Hermiston Assistant City Manager Mark Mor-
gan to the Hermiston City Council.
“From the raw population perspective, the
(data) means that 62% of all growth in Uma-
tilla County since 2010 has occurred within
the City Limits of Hermiston, and 73% within
Hermiston and Umatilla,” he wrote. “My guess
is that if we could run ZIP-code level numbers
yet and include growth outside of city limits,
the percentage attributed to the entire “west
side” is probably well over 80%.”
Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzmann in a
written statement said elements abound that
contribute to the city’s growth, such as “a
can-do spirit, a supportive business commu-
nity, strong schools, proactive housing devel-
opment, an investment in infrastructure and a
united sense of purpose.”
“This city has always been a welcoming
and inclusive community with an eye on the
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
The population of the city of Hermiston has
grown 15.6% over the past decade, from
16,745 residents in 2010 to 19,354 in 2020,
according to data from the 2020 Census.
future,” he continued. “We celebrate our diver-
sity, and I’m happy to see so many people
enjoying success in growing their families,
businesses and lives here.”
Around Umatilla County, many small cit-
ies saw solid growth.
While the city of Umatilla’s growth slowed
from the previous decade, it still grew at a 6.6%
clip, while Stanfi eld also posted a growing pop-
ulation. Both Athena and Weston rebounded
to post positive growth after the fi rst decade of
the 21st century had them losing people, while
Milton-Freewater’s growth slowed consider-
ably to 1.4%. Just north of Pendleton, Helix and
Adams posted successive decades of growth.
Most of Umatilla County’s population strug-
gles lay south of Interstate 84. Echo, Ukiah and
Pilot Rock all lost people compared to 2010
and, for the latter two, it represented the sec-
ond decade in a row that they shrunk.
But Umatilla County overall grew by 5.5%
between 2010 and 2020 and Morrow County
by 9.1%. George Murdock, the chair of the
Umatilla County Board of Commissioners, said
Umatilla County’s 80,075 population was less
than he expected.
“I would have to attribute it to the housing
problem,” he said, adding he would expect
Umatilla County to post similar numbers to the
Willamette Valley once it adds more homes.
The north-south divide is even more stark
in Morrow County, which now has a popula-
tion of 12,186.
Boardman and Irrigon recorded strong
growth from 2010, while Heppner, the county
seat, lost population for the second consecutive
decade. Lexington’s population stayed fl at at
238, while Ione gained eight people.
Still, Morrow County’s growth percentage
was the highest growth in Eastern Oregon.
Given all the activity in Boardman and
the Port of Morrow, Morrow County Board
of Commissioners Chair Don Russell said he
wasn’t surprised by the census’ fi gures.
Census shows continued demographic shifts
Charles Rynerson, the coordinator at the
Oregon State Data Center at Portland State
University, also didn’t fi nd the growth in Uma-
tilla and Morrow counties surprising.
He attributed their growth to existing trends,
mainly their status as a commercial and trans-
portation hub in the region, in addition to its
growing Latino populations.
When studying 2020 census data, age demo-
graphics stood out to Rynerson. Morrow and
Umatilla counties have the highest share of res-
idents under 18 in Oregon. But, like the rest of
the state, the share of children fell from 2010
to 2020. Across the state and across demo-
graphics, birth rates are down.
“In a world where people are getting sick,
and the forests are burning and fl oods are
destroying things, I got to believe that it has
some impact on young people’s decision about
bringing a child into the world,” he said.
Umatilla and Morrow counties also are con-
tinuing to see their Latino populations rise.
More than 1 in 4 residents now is Latino in
Umatilla County, while 41% of Morrow Coun-
ty’s population now is Latino, the highest in
the state.
Four out of the fi ve top Oregon counties
with the highest share of Latino residents are
outside metropolitan areas, and most of the
rest of the top 10 are in suburban counties
rather than urban.
No county in Eastern Oregon matched the
state’s 10% growth rate, and Grant County lost
population. But by mostly staving off popu-
lation decline in 2020, the region and the rest
of Oregon defi ed the national trend. Accord-
ing to the census, hundreds of rural counties
nationwide lost population, including in Ala-
bama, Indiana and Kansas.
COVID-19 surge threatens to overwhelm local hospitals
By BRYCE DOLE
STAFF WRITER
PENDLETON — In many
parts of Eastern Oregon, the
pandemic never has been
worse.
COVID-19 infection is
spreading at an unprecedented
rate in Umatilla and Morrow
counties. Week after week,
both counties report COVID-
19 case counts that dwarf pre-
vious pandemic surges. And
as the latest surge continues
unabated, commissioners in
the two counties declared
a state of emergency last
week, opening the door for
state help as area hospitals fi ll
with patients.
“With the new delta vari-
ant, it’s much more transmis-
sible and many more people
are getting sick with COVID
than we’ve ever seen in the
past,” said Morrow County
Commissioner Don Russell,
who added, “There’s a lot of
people who have been vaccine
resistant. With the new delta
variant, they have to recon-
sider that. You need to put
your personal biases behind
you and look at the science.”
Hospitals in both counties
are facing a serious infl ux of
patients and are fi nding it
nearly impossible to trans-
fer patients to other medical
facilities for a higher level of
care, offi cials say.
“Plainly put, there are little
to no beds to transfer patients
to,” Caitlin Cozad, a spokes-
person with Good Shepherd
Medical Center in Hermiston,
said in an email.
And if the surge doesn’t
diminish soon, offi cials are
worried the hospitals could
be overwhelmed.
Umatilla County Pub-
lic Health Director Joe Fiu-
mara pointed to Jackson and
Josephine counties, where
COVID-19 patients are
exceeding hospital capacity
and health care workers are
treating people in the hall-
ways because they’ve run out
of beds. Fiumara said he is
worried the same could hap-
pen in Umatilla County.
“We could end up with
people who need care and
can’t get in to receive it,
whether it’s a vehicle accident
or a heart attack,” Fiumara
said. “I’m dreading when we
get to the point when some-
body dies in the parking lot
or the waiting room because
there wasn’t anywhere for
them to go. We’re not there
yet. I just don’t want to get
there.”
As of Thursday, Aug. 12,
only two intensive care unit
beds were available in hospi-
tals across Region 9, an area
that encompasses Morrow,
Umatilla, Union, Wallowa,
Baker and Malheur counties,
according to the state.
Stare down with delta
Last week, 17 people were
hospitalized with COVID-19
at Good Shepherd, a sharp
uptick from the five who
were hospitalized earlier this
month. Every day, the hospi-
tal is using a month’s worth of
oxygen due to the latest surge
and will “carefully monitor
our usage while working
closely with our (oxygen)
supplier to keep up with the
demand,” Cozad said.
As of Aug. 12, 40% of
Good Shepherd’s 30 patients
had COVID-19.
As hospitals across the
Northwest fi ll with COVID-
19 patients, hospitals in Uma-
tilla and Morrow counties
are sending some patients to
facilities further and further
away for higher levels of care,
including Bend, Boise, Reno
or San Francisco.
“The strain is tremendous
on hospitals in our region due
to this surge,” Cozad said.
All this is taking a toll on
health care workers, offi cials
say.
“This pandemic has waged
on far longer than many of us
thought it would,” Smith said,
“and at the point when we felt
like it was starting to get bet-
ter, it has only gotten worse.”
Fiumara said public health
employees are similarly
exhausted and was sympa-
thetic for what hospital work-
ers are experiencing.
“It has got to be extremely
frustrating to see people com-
ing in for what is a prevent-
able situation,” Fiumara said.
“Because they chose not to
take the steps needed to avoid
it. This is a preventable dis-
ease now.”
The dire conditions at
hospitals come as the coun-
ties report some of the high-
est COVID-19 infection
rates statewide. Umatilla
County reported more than
400 cases for three straight
weeks — totals that are far
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higher than any of the coun-
ty’s previous surges, accord-
ing to state data.
Morrow County last week
expected to report its high-
est weekly COVID-19 case
count since the pandemic
started, with more than 100
cases, according to Russell.
The two ZIP codes encom-
passing Irrigon and Board-
man reported the most new
COVID-19 cases per capita
in Oregon during that week,
The Oregonian/OregonLive
reported.
Cases rise among youth as
vaccinations increase
Fiumara said young peo-
ple are increasingly making
up the majority of cases, and
many are falling seriously ill,
a national trend that bucks
previous understandings of
how the pandemic affects
youths. Regional hospitals,
he added, are reporting that
more young people are falling
seriously ill than ever before
during the pandemic.
The state last week
reported a 35-year-old Mor-
row County woman with
COVID-19 died in her home.
In Union County, a 19-year-
old woman became Oregon’s
fourth resident younger than
20 to die with COVID-19
since the pandemic began.
The Umatilla County Pub-
lic Health Department has not
recently combed through data
to determine how case rates
compare among vaccinated
and unvaccinated people.
Recent data from the Ore-
gon Health Authority shows
the percentage of vaccinated
people contracting COVID-
19 is increasing as the delta
variant spreads, but the vac-
cines still are highly eff ective
against preventing severe ill-
ness and death, health offi -
cials say.
In July, 50 out of Oregon’s
55 COVID-19 deaths were
among people who were either
unvaccinated or partially vac-
cinated, according to the state.
The state also reported more
than 90% of Oregonians hos-
pitalized within two weeks
of their positive tests weren’t
fully vaccinated.
But amid the latest surge
comes a glimmer of hope, Fiu-
mara said. For four straight
weeks, Umatilla County
reported increased COVID-
19 vaccinations.
In mid-July, the county saw
less than 600 people vacci-
nated in a single week. Last
week, that number jumped to
nearly 1,000 people, according
to county health data.