NEWS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2021
Silage fi re burns in
southwest Hermiston
Department says the
fi re is not hostile
Hermiston Herald
The silage fi re burning in
southwest Hermiston contin-
ues to garner attention from
Umatilla County Fire District
No. 1.
The district reported there
is little it can do to extin-
guish the silage pile that has
been burning for more than a
week but the property owner
is working toward that end
and has trucked in water and
hauled off loads of silage.
Umatilla County Fire Dis-
trict No. 1. in a press release
reported it responded to the
fi re the morning of Dec. 8.
Crews found a large pile of
corn silage that had self heated
and began to openly burn.
Firefi ghters extinguished the
fl ames and returned several
times after the fi re fl ared up.
“These types of fi res
occur when organic materi-
als begin to break down,” the
press release explained, which
releases heat, and in the right
conditions can lead to smol-
dering and open combustion.
The fi re district said this pile
has all the components for this
type of fi re — moist organic
material,
decomposition,
compression and ventilation.
And recent high winds pro-
vided the ventilation to bring
the combustion to the surface
of the pile.
“This fi re is a large smol-
dering pile of organic mate-
rial that requires the use of
heavy equipment and water
to complete extinguishment,”
according to the press release.
“To simply fl ow water on this
type of fi re as has been sug-
gested by some citizens, will
do nothing to mitigate the
smoke in a timely fashion.”
The district compared the
fi re to a fi re in a trash can
inside a residence. Flowing
water on the roof of the struc-
ture would have no eff ect on
putting out the fi re in the can.
“This is not a hostile fi re
at this time,” the press release
continued. “We are well aware
of the impact that the smoke is
having on the community, and
the land owner is taking all the
required actions to complete
extinguishment of this fi re.”
Those actions include
the use of water trucks and
heavy equipment. The district
explained it lacks that kind of
heavy equipment and does not
have operators to handle it.
The press release also
explained this fi re does not
fall under the district’s open
burning regulations and is
unintentional. It also is burn-
ing an open pit and is not cre-
ating a hazard to anything sur-
rounding that area. Therefore,
the property owner is respon-
sible for extinguishing the
fi re.
In a press release Monday,
Dec. 20, Umatilla County Fire
District No. 1 reported it con-
ducted a follow-up inspection
on the silage pile fi re, and the
property owner is trucking in
water and hauled off 15 loads
of silage during the weekend.
Umatilla County Fire Dis-
trict No. 1 also stated it has
been in contact with the city of
Hermiston, Umatilla County
Smoke Management and the
Oregon Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality regarding
the fi re and will continue to
monitor the situation until the
work is complete.
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Padawans assemble at library
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
Attendees at the Hermiston Public Library’s Teen Star Wars Party answer trivia
questions on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021. In addition to the trivia, the young Jedi
Knights played games and ate snacks.
HHS students win fourth Hermiston man
arrested following
Congressional App
shooting death
Challenge for district
and convenient way to access
some of the most popular
safety and emergency services
all in one app. Using the app,
a person can dial any num-
ber from the provided list of
emergency numbers. The user
can get an exact location with
a button click, showing data
such as latitude, longitude and
address, regardless of location.
Also, it is possible, through
the app, to connect with emer-
gency contacts and access
a map that includes nearby
emergency locations.
“The Emergency App has
been in the works for a long
time,” said Robert Theriault,
HHS computer science teacher.
“The students thought of the
Hermiston Herald
Four Hermiston High
School students recently won
the 2021 Congressional App
Challenge for Oregon’s Dis-
trict 2. Rami Hozi, Cordell
Patrick, Blake Wickers and
Zeferino Araiza were notifi ed
of their award by Congress-
man Cliff Bentz’s offi ce. The
Hermiston students are study-
ing computer science.
The students created the
Emergency App, which allows
anyone, at any time, to access
emergency services such as
phone numbers, location, con-
tacts and a map.
The premise stemmed from
an idea to give people an easy
app last year and have been
planning the best way to imple-
ment the app. It was decided
early on that they wanted it
on both Android and iOS so a
majority of mobile users could
utilize the app. However, this
meant that they needed to learn
two interfaces to get both sys-
tems working. It was one of the
largest endeavors I have seen
in the last six years at Hermis-
ton High School.”
The students are invited to
attend the House of Code next
spring.
The Congressional App
Challenge mission is to inspire,
include and innovate eff orts
around STEM, coding, and
computer science education.
Hermiston Herald
A Hermiston man is in jail after a
shooting early Sunday, Dec. 19, left
another man dead.
Hermiston police at about 1:24 a.m.
responded to a report of a man who may
have been shot in the parking lot of Metro
Mart, 1120 W. Highland Ave., according
to information Hermiston police Capt.
Travis Eynon posted on the department’s
Facebook page. Offi cers arrived and
found Kevin James Hines, 27, of Herm-
iston, unresponsive and not breathing.
Umatilla County Fire District No. 1
medics arrived shortly after and “worked
valiantly” on Hines, according to the post,
but he died at the scene.
The local major crimes team responded
with detectives from Boardman Police
Department, Morrow County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce, Umatilla Police Department, Uma-
tilla County Sheriff ’s Offi ce, Pendleton
Police Department and Umatilla Tribal
Police Department. Those detectives and
Hermiston police detectives and offi cers
worked through the night investigating
the crime.
Police at about 8:05 a.m. arrested
Ethan Matthew Bowe, 23, at his Herm-
iston residence and booked him into
the Umatilla County Jail, Pendeton, for
fi rst-degree murder, unlawful use of a
weapon and tampering with evidence.
“This was not random,” according to
Eynon’s post, “and there is no reason to
believe anyone else is in danger.”
Bowe remains in jail in lieu of
$15,000 bail. He has a probable cause
preliminary hearing Dec. 28, 8:15 a.m.
in Courtroom 5 in the Umatilla County
Circuit Court, Hermiston.
Hermiston bumps hangar rents, OKs grant for trail project
By PHIL WRIGHT
Hermiston Herald
Renting space at Herm-
iston Municipal Airport’s
open hangar is getting more
expensive.
The Hermiston City
Council during its meet-
ing Monday, Dec. 13, voted
8-0 to raise the rental rate
for “open T-hangars” from
$65 per month to $100 per
month.
The move came after
the city’s Airport Advisory
Committee on Dec. 1 asked
the council to increase the
rents. Assistant City Man-
ager Mark Morgan in a
memo to council noted, “It
is unknown when the last
time was that this rate was
adjusted, but it is assumed
to be at least 20 years.”
The open hangar has
space for 10 planes and
has seven paying tenants,
according to the memo, and
has had seven to 10 ten-
ants for the past several
years. The city estimated
the higher rent will increase
annual hangar revenue at
the airport by an additional
$2,900 to $4,200 per year.
The city will place the
additional revenue into
the Airport’s Hangar Con-
struction Reserve Fund,
although the city is uncer-
tain about building new
hangars at the airport.
“It may make sense to
simply demolish the exist-
ing open hangar Building
No. 1 and replace it with
an enclosed facility,” the
memo stated.
The council also gave
unanimous approval for
the city to accept a grant
of $266,498 from Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion’s Oregon Community
Paths program to build the
Belt Park Greenway Trail
from Southwest Seventh
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Street to the Buttercreek
Apartments at the end of
West Juniper Avenue. The
project also will improve
the trail, making it acces-
sible to wheelchairs and
scooters.
The trail — 2,822 feet
long — will meander along
Belt Creek, according to a
memo from Parks and Rec-
reation Director Brandon
Artz, with shade, rest areas,
doggy waste bags and gar-
bage cans, which the city
will maintain.
The total cost of the
project is approximately
$297,000. The city will be
responsible for the remain-
der minus the grant amount.
In
other
business,
the council voted 8-0 to
approve joining two class
action lawsuit settlements
resolving opioid litiga-
tion. Under the terms of the
deals, McKesson, Cardinal
Health and Amerisource-
Bergen will pay a maxi-
mum of $21 billion over 18
years, and Johnson & John-
son will pay up to $5 bil-
lion over no more than nine
years. Approximately $22.8
billion in the proceeds go to
state and local subdivisions.
That ekes out to about
$250,000 for Hermiston
during the span, Mayor
Dave Drotzmann said.
City Manager Byron Smith
agreed that was not much
money to start an opioid
treatment program, but
the city can look to part-
ner with other local govern-
ments also getting a share
and pool resources.
And
the
council
approved updating city
code to make unlawfully
applying graffi ti a viola-
tion with a penalty of up
to 100 hours of community
service. The new language
goes into eff ect 30 days
after passage.
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At the top of the meet-
ing, the city took a moment
to present a certifi cate of
recognition to John Per-
kins, who for 18 years has
portrayed Santa Claus at
local events. Perkins, who
suff ers from late-stage pan-
creas cancer, was on hand
to accept the recognition,
including a plaque from
Artz.
Perkins, a Hermiston
native, thanked the city and
donated the green chair he
has used as Santa to the city.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR!
Thank you for shopping
at local businesses.