LOCAL
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2022
First baby of 2022
arrives right on time
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Where life is snowy and cold!
Hermiston Herald
Kadlec Regional Medical Center/Contributed Photo
Robby and Lisa Koester pose with newborn Leah on
Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022.
Kadlec Regional Medi-
cal Center welcomed its fi rst
baby of the year on Jan. 1 at
12:01 a.m. The child is Leah
Koester, weighing 6 pou-
inds, 2 ounces, at a height of
19.5 inches.
Leah was born to Lisa
and Robby Koester of
Hermiston. She joins a fam-
ily that includes Jake, 16,
and Reigh, 7.
Commenting on the child,
her mother said, “She had to
make her grand appearance
early.”
Meanwhile, the father
said they were “starting the
year off with a bang.”
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Snow blankets the town of Hermiston Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, along Highway 395 in
Hermiston.
Local police arrest two in connection with car theft
Hermiston Herald
Two Keizer residents
are in the Umatilla County
Jail, Pendleton, after local
police arrested them Sun-
day, Jan. 2, for vehicle
theft.
Kenneth Wayne Felton,
25, faces an initial charge
of vehicle theft, and Dar-
cie Noel Wetzel-Barnett,
28, faces charges of vehicle
theft and felon in posses-
sion of a fi rearm, according
to state court records.
Pendleton police in a
press release Jan. 3 reported
offi cers at 11:49 a.m. Jan. 2
responded to the Pendleton
Walmart on a report of theft
of merchandise.
An employee told police
a male and a female left the
store with a suitcase con-
taining more store prop-
erty and paid for nothing.
The employee gave police
the license plate number of
the red Hyundai Sonata the
pair were in. Police found
the car was stolen out of
Keizer.
An alert about the car
went out to local law
enforcement.
A Stanfi eld police offi cer
at about 12:16 p.m. spotted
the car at the Pilot Travel
Center, 2115 S. Highway
395, Stanfi eld.
The
officer,
with
backup from Umatilla
County sheriff’s depu-
ties, arrested Felton and
Wetzel-Barnett.
A Pendleton offi cer
arrived and secured the
property from Walmart and
added misdemeanor theft
charges against the pair.
Stanfi eld police took con-
trol of the car.
Police also arrested Wet-
zel-Barnett on a Marion
County probation violation
warrant.
State court records
show Wetzel-Barnett has
a conviction from 2019 for
misdemeanor theft.
Felton has convictions
from 2017 and 2021 for
vehicle thefts and other
crimes in Marion and
Hood River counties.
COVID-19 infections rise in Oregon CONCEALED CARRY
as pandemic moves into Year 3
PERMIT CLASS
State offi cials say they
have ordered 12 million
at-home test kits
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
Oregon is in the midst
of a sixth wave of COVID-
19 infections as the world
marked the two-year anni-
versary of the pandemic on
Friday, Dec. 31.
The Oregon Health
Authority report on Dec.
30 recorded 2,948 new
cases and 15 deaths. Hos-
pitalizations for COVID-19
climbed to 440 people, up
21 from Dec. 29.
Oregon has recorded
421,263 infections and
5,655 deaths from COVID-
19, which was fi rst reported
in China two years ago Dec.
31. The U.S. Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention
reported 488,000 new cases
nationwide, a new record.
The World Health Organi-
zation said new infections
were a “tsunami” sweeping
the globe.
The Dec. 30 report said
the seven-day daily average
of new cases in Oregon rose
to 1,532. The per capita rate
is 251.3 cases per 100,000.
Deschutes County con-
tinues to be the state’s lead-
ing COVID-19 hot spot,
with the top infection rate
of any county when adjusted
for population. Deschutes
County has a weekly aver-
age of 565.4 cases per
100,000 residents.
Sparsely populated Grant
County has a weekly aver-
age of 546.8 cases. Umatilla
County has the third highest
average, at just more than
402 cases. Crook County is
fourth with an average of
337 cases, followed by Jef-
ferson County at 331.9 cases
per 100,000.
Sherman County, with
fewer than 2,000 residents,
has the highest positive test
rate at 33.3%, based on a
rise from zero to three cases.
Umatilla County has the
second highest positive test
rate at 29.1%, followed by
Deschutes at 22.7%, Union
at 21.7%, and Tillamook at
19.8%
The seven-day average
of new infections in the U.S.
topped 267,000 on Dec. 29,
a new record.
Omicron in Eastern Oregon
There has yet to be a ver-
ifi ed case of the omicron
variant of the coronavirus in
Umatilla County, according
to Alisha Lundgren, assis-
tant director of Umatilla
County Public Health. But
she said we can be sure it has
moved into Eastern Oregon.
Lundgren on Dec. 30 said
up to 13 cases of the variant
had been discovered in Ore-
gon to that point.
“That signifi es that it is
present in our state,” she
said.
For the variant to be ver-
ifi ed, it must be sequenced,
though, she said, and
researchers do not sequence
many cases. Lundgren said,
90% of all new COVID-19
cases can be attributed to
omicron in Oregon, Wash-
ington and Idaho. This per-
centage is likely the same
in Eastern Oregon, too, she
said.
As a result of the variant,
Lundgren said she expects
to see more hospitalizations
because of how transmissi-
ble omicron is, though not
necessarily severe cases fi ll-
ing intensive care units.
While omicron is more
infectious than other vari-
ants, she said, it is poten-
tially less severe than the
delta variant. But it will take
time to research omicron
before its severity is known.
She said she expects scien-
tists will have more informa-
tion in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, she said,
people should continue to do
the same things they were
doing before the onset of
omicron, including getting
vaccinated, wearing masks,
employing social distancing
and limiting gatherings.
“I know that a lot of these
(actions) are things that
we’ve been talking about
since the beginning of the
pandemic, so it doesn’t seem
like anything new, but they
are helpful strategies and
considerations for individu-
als and families as more ill-
ness starts spreading,” she
said.
Lundgren added win-
ter weather may trouble our
eff orts, though, and people
gather together indoors.
“This has an impact,” she
said.
To deal with the dan-
ger of omicron in increas-
ing cases, Umatilla County
Public Health has made
adjustments, according to
the assistant director. It has
reached out to the Oregon
Health Authority for addi-
tional support on contact
tracing and case investiga-
tion. Umatilla County Pub-
lic Health also has tried to
interview COVID-19 cases
more effi ciently.
OHA orders 12 million test
kits
The high-speed spread of
the omicron variant is driv-
ing the spike, along with a
stubbornly slow decline of
the delta variant that peaked
in September.
Omicron now accounts
for a majority of new cases
in the United States, accord-
ing to the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention.
Cases are expected to
continue to rise in Ore-
gon, with positive test rate
at 15% on Dec. 30, which
is three times the standard
OHA says is a manageable
level of spread.
The health authority that
day said it had ordered 12
million at-home antigen
rapid test kits, which can
show results in 15 minutes.
Local public health agen-
cies and partner organiza-
tions will distribute the tests
free of charge. The fi rst kits
should arrive in Oregon this
week.
“Oregon learned during
the delta surge that we must
be prepared for the unpre-
dictable — we knew we had
to be ready for future vari-
ants so we could continue
to protect the most vulner-
able in our communities
while keeping our schools,
businesses and communities
open,” Gov. Kate Brown
said in a statement.
Pharmacies around the
state have reported selling
all available kits and mail
orders are backlogged into
next month.
SATURDAY
JANUARY 15 TH
Hermiston
Ranch & Home
9AM
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Multi-State $ 80
Oregon Included No Fee
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