NEWS
Wednesday, august 18, 2021
HeRMIstOnHeRaLd.COM • A9
Umatilla County tax boss warns of tax scam
By BRYCE DOLE
staFF WRIteR
Umatilla County’s tax
collector is warning of a
potential tax scam to get
money from residents by
posing as the county’s tax
processing unit.
The fraudulent notice
from issuer “J.S. Brown,”
poses as a “final notice”
that says the state of Oregon
can seize assets and garnish
wages and bank accounts
due to unpaid tax liability.
It says the state can “perma-
nently revoke benefits, sus-
pend licenses, and levy any
federal tax refund gained this
year” if action isn’t taken.
But the notice, according
to Rachael Reynolds, Uma-
tilla County’s assessment
and taxation director, did
not come from the assessor’s
office and lacks the county’s
insignia.
“It’s definitely not ours,”
she said.
Also, Reynolds said, the
state of Oregon does not gar-
nish wages or bank accounts.
Officials in San Ber-
nardino, California, and Bed-
ford, Indiana, have raised
warnings over the potential
scheme from J.S. Brown.
Reynolds said people
with questions should call
her office at 541-278-6234.
People who receive the scam
should not call the phone
number on the document or
send any money.
Sondra Sundquist, a
bookkeeper in Walla Walla,
brought the notice to the
attention of the county. The
notice from J.S. Brown warns
a Milton-Freewater business
it needs to pay $10,000 in
penalties for tax liability. But
to her, it felt off.
“It looks, front and back,
all nice and formal and offi-
cial,” she said. “But when
people send me notices and
say, ‘Hey, you have a couple
days to send me $10,000,’ I
kind of pay attention.”
She added that, because it
is near the end of the quar-
ter, “this is the time of year
that those notices are being
sent out.”
NEW COACHES TAKE THE HELMS
Ashby brings breath of fresh Smith takes over Umatilla
air to Riverside football
football program
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Riverside High School head football coach
Cole Ashby leads a weight room workout for
the team Aug. 11, 2021, at the high school in
Boardman.
By ANNIE FOWLER
staFF WRIteR
It’s time for a change.
David Boor, who has coached football
at Riverside High School and at the middle
school, stepped down after last season, saying
it’s time for someone else to try and change
the culture at the high school.
“They need a change,” said Boor, who
has spent the past 20 years between the high
school and middle school. “It was hard for me
to stay positive. They need a fresh approach.
I had a hard time being positive with COVID
and all. If you can’t be positive, you shouldn’t
be coaching.”
During his tenure the past few years, the
wins have been few, and the number of ath-
letes turning out also has dipped.
“You have to get the community, the
coaches, parents and administration on the
same page, and I couldn’t make that hap-
pen,” Boor said. “Bottom line, you want to
win games. There are enough kids to field
a quality team, it’s a matter of getting them
on the same page. Hopefully Cole can get
that done.”
That would be Cole Ashby, 28, who was
an assistant under Boor the past two years.
“I’m excited to take the job,” Ashby said.
“The kids are great, they want to come out
and work. I did two years as the offensive
coordinator. Boor gave the program every-
thing he had. He did a great job.”
Ashby grew up in Pocatello, Idaho, and
played basketball at Eastern Oregon.
“I got my masters in teaching there,”
Ashby said of EOU. “I met Boor at a job
fair, and here I am. I teach weights and I
love it. It’s a great job. We got a new weight
room two years ago.”
After Boor stepped down, Ashby threw
his hat in the ring for the job.
“When I found out I had the job at the end
of the year, I had about 30 kids tell me they
were going to come out. About half of our
kids, maybe 10-15, have been showing up
and working out. They seem pretty excited to
play. A lot of them work and they put in long
hours at their jobs. They are hard workers.”
Ashby will get help from Florida native
Tyler Volpi, who will coach the offensive
line and will be the defensive coordinator.
“He played college ball and is pretty
knowledgeable,” Ashby said. “He’s great.”
Ashby will have a handful of returning
players with experience.
“I know for sure we will have two seniors,
Nate Graham (running back/wide receiver/
outside linebacker) and Nathan Ellis (safety/
running back),” he said. “They are a big
part of what we do. I have young quarter-
backs in Riley Lantis and Anthony Lopez,
and Tyrese Boyd at wide receiver. Once they
are there, they work hard. The problem is
getting them here.”
By ANNIE FOWLER
staFF WRIteR
Dan Durfey has put in his time.
From the moment his son, Trent, began
Grid Kids football, through this past season at
Umatilla High School, Durfey has been call-
ing plays on the sidelines.
Now that Trent will be a sophomore at Car-
roll College, Durfey wants to see his son play
college football.
“I decided last fall when we got done,”
Durfey said of resigning. “I tried to go watch
Trent play during the season. I thought, this
isn’t going to work. We’d leave after a game,
get to Coeur d’Alene at 2 a.m., then get up early
and just make it to his game. I decided not to
do that any more. At least until he’s done. It’s
actually pretty nice right now not worrying
about the paperwork.”
In his five years leading the Vikings, Durfey
had a 19-21 record. During that time, he was
able to coach his son and hundreds of other
kids.
“I coached Trent in Grid Kids,” Durfey
said. “In middle school I was going to kick
back and be a dad, but they didn’t have a coach
and they asked me. Then I became the defen-
sive coordinator at the high school, and that
turned into the head job. Some of these kids
have seen me since Grid Kids.”
Durfey will be replaced by Chad Smith, 34,
who has a long coaching history despite his age.
“Last year, I sat out with COVID going on,
and I was finishing my administrative license,”
Smith said. “That year off, I missed coaching
and I knew I wanted to get back into it.”
Smith also will teach at the alternative
school in Umatilla.
“I will work with kids who need to make up
credits or who are getting their GED,” he said.
Smith graduated from Sweet Home High
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
New Umatilla High School head football
coach Chad Smith directs running plays Aug.
10, 2021, during a practice at the high school.
School in 2005, and even though he didn’t play
football in college, he knew he wanted to coach.
“My first head coaching job was at La
Grande (2014, 5-4 record),” he said. “I have
been at lot of different places. As an assis-
tant, I saw things I liked and things I didn’t.
The things I liked I tried to put into my team.
I want to make this a great program here on
the eastern side of Oregon.”
Smith was an assistant at 6A Sheldon from
2005-06. He also assisted at Sprague (2008-
10) and Mercer Island, Washington (2017).
Other head coaching jobs on Smith’s resume
include Seaside (2016, 2-6 record), Siuslaw
(2018, 0-8) and Cottage Grove (2019, 0-8).
At Umatilla, Smith said he will have six
to eight seniors and a lot of underclassmen.
“I got a survey back from about 30 play-
ers,” he said. “Whether they come out Mon-
day is another story. We have some talented
players. With work schedules, we haven’t seen
everybody at the same time. We have been lift-
ing weights since the end of June. We get 12
to 15 kids lifting, then we run through some
plays. When we start on Monday, it’s all about
the fundamentals.”