LOCAL NEWS
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2022
Investigation continues into Shearer’s explosion
Piping system failure may
have contributed to cause, but
testing continues
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Fire Marshal Scott Goff
reported a piping system fail-
ure may have played a role in the
Feb. 22 explosion at the Shearer’s
Foods plant in Hermiston.
But Goff , of Umatilla Fire Dis-
trict No. 1, said it will be months
yet before he has a report ready
on what happened that resulted
in the fi re and destruction of the
facility.
Since the emergency, Goff
said he and other investigators
have been searching through the
wreckage for answers.
“There’s still some testing
going on,” he said.
Representatives from Shearer’s,
insurance and equipment compa-
nies have joined him in his eff orts,
he said, which has contributed to
delays in results. But he said inves-
tigators have found “a failure in the
temporary piping system for the
thermal fl uid that was heated by the
temporary boiler.”
According to Goff , the boiler
was brought in at the end of 2021
to replace a boiler that was down
for maintenance. As Shearer’s
was having diffi culty obtaining
parts for the regular boiler, the
company had not returned it to
operation.
There are Oregon state codes
and standards related to the instal-
lation of boilers and pressure ves-
sels. Goff said state offi cials had
not run inspections or issued per-
mits about the temporary boiler
while it was operating.
He said nearly 80 interviews
were conducted after the fi re,
and he was “several months out”
from completing a report. Such
a report, he said, would contain
witness testimony.
As for lab test results, Goff said
on May 2 that he had no dates for
when they would be completed.
Kathy Aney/Hermiston Herald
The remains of Shearer’s Foods sit quietly on Thursday, May 5, 2022, after an explosion and fi re more than two
months ago destroyed the Hermiston business. Fire Marshal Scott Goff said investigators have found “a failure
in the temporary piping system for the thermal fl uid that was heated by the temporary boiler,” but any report on
what happened is months away.
Hermiston man arrested for fatal attack in Kennewick
By CAMERON PROBERT
Tri-City Herald
A Hermiston man is
accused of the violent attack
that killed a well-known
Kennewick musician.
Christopher R. Calvert,
44, was caught in rural Ska-
mania County, Washing-
ton, driving Clayton “Clay”
Wick’s car about 3 p.m.
Thursday, May 5, Kenne-
wick police Lt. Jason Kiel
said during a media briefi ng
May 6.
Wick was a former bass-
ist for the Walla Walla
Symphony.
Calvert was an acquain-
tance of Wick’s, police said.
Police think Calvert took
the 2012 Honda CRV after
killing the man inside Wick’s
Buchanan Street home.
A housekeeper discov-
ered Wick’s body two days
earlier, according to Kenne-
wick police. Investigators
suspect the 76-year-old, who
lived alone, had been dead
for three to fi ve days before
she found his body.
Police said it appears Wick
died after a “violent assault
and blunt force trauma.”
The results of an autopsy
conducted May 5 have not
returned, said offi cials.
Washington State Patrol
crime lab technicians spent
two days documenting and
gathering evidence from the
“violent encounter,” said a
news release.
Many of the details about
Wick’s death remain under
investigation, including the
reason for the attack and
how they knew each other.
“The motive is not com-
pletely known at this time,”
said the release.
They had been seen
together at the house at least
one other time, Kiel said.
Missing car
When police began
investigating, they noticed
Wick’s CRV was missing
and thought Calvert had
stolen it, Kiel said. A war-
rant for car theft was issued
for his arrest May 3.
After more investigating,
detectives were able to link
him to the murder investi-
gation and a judge agreed
to issue a nationwide, $1
million fi rst-degree murder
warrant for his arrest.
Police tracked him to
Stevenson, Washington, a
small community about an
hour east of Vancouver, on
May 5.
Skamania County Sher-
iff ’s deputies along with
the U.S. Marshals Fugitive
Task Force and Kennewick
detectives found Calvert
driving around that area
around 3 p.m. May 5.
When police tried to
pull him over, Calvert sped
away, starting a fi ve-min-
ute chase that ended when
offi cers forced the car into a
ditch in a rural area of Ska-
mania County.
Calvert was arrested and
taken back to the Benton
County jail were he was
booked on suspicion of
auto theft and fi rst-degree
premeditated murder with
the aggravating circum-
stances of invasion of pri-
vacy, lack of remorse and
excessive injuries.
Calvert has a lengthy
criminal history, mostly
from Oregon that includes
convictions for eluding
police, possession of meth
and manufacturing a con-
trolled substance.
H ermiston
Happenings
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