UMATILLA & MORROW COUNTIES
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2022
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A11
OHS seeks $800,000 to help Boardman
Morrow County
Commissioner
pushes back on
claims about what
the state is doing
BY PHIL WRIGHT
Hermiston Herald
Boardman residents needing
better water filters and more
well testing due to nitrate con-
tamination could get state help
this fall.
The Oregon Health Author-
ity plans to ask the Legislature’s
Emergency Board in September
for $800,000 to help address the
water crisis in northern Morrow
County.
Morrow County Commis-
sioner Jim Doherty, however,
sought a bigger contribution
from the state.
Doherty on Aug. 11 sent a let-
ter to Rep. Greg smith, R-Hep-
pner, to ask the governor and
Emergency Board for $4 million
in the Oregon Health Author-
ity or Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality budgets
to “implement an in-depth and
culturally relevant community
outreach, education and com-
munications strategy to address
immediate, short term and on-
going public health efforts in the
Lower Columbia Basin as a re-
sult of high and extremely high
nitrate levels in domestic wells.”
Doherty said since he made
that request, Smith reported
Gov. Kate Brown requested
$800,000 for well water moni-
toring and better filters.
THE NEED FOR BETTER FILTERS
Erica Heartquist is the com-
munication officer for OHA’s
Public Health Division. She ex-
plained Morrow County and
its partners have distributed
point-of-use water filters —
that is, systems that attach to a
drinking water tap in the home
— that don’t filter out enough
nitrates.
“Post-installation testing
of several systems by Morrow
County found that all systems
reduced nitrates, but some did
not reduce levels below the En-
vironmental Protection Agency
health advisory level of 10 mil-
ligrams per liter of water,” ac-
cording to Heartquist. “Such
systems may also reduce other
common domestic well water
contaminants, such as bacteria
and lead. OHA’s request to the
legislative Emergency Board
will be for point-of-use water
filtration systems that are spe-
cifically certified to reduce ni-
trates to levels at or below
10 mg/l.”
The Oregon Legislature
convenes Sept. 21-23 for leg-
islative days. Heartquist said
OHA expects the Human Ser-
vices Subcommittee of the Joint
Emergency Board to consider
the request on Sept. 21. If the
subcommittee gives the OK, it
goes before the full Emergency
Board for consideration
Sept. 23.
Doherty said most of the fil-
ters the county has installed are
doing the job, with more than
90% of homes testing at below
10 mg/l two weeks after instal-
lation. The kinds of filters the
state is looking at buying cost
Doherty said while the state
needs to help, it could be a
while before those better filers
are in the homes of Boardman
residents.
Morrow County Emergency
Manager Paul Gray on Aug. 8
sent an email asking about the
filters to Curtis Cude, manager
of OHA’s Environmental Pub-
lic Health Surveillance Pro-
gram. Cude in response stated
OHA continues “to make
progress towards our plan to
support delivery of outreach
and education, lab testing of
domestic wells and point-of-
use reverse osmosis treatment
systems to households im-
pacted by high domestic water
nitrates in the Lower Umatilla
Basin Groundwater Manage-
ment Area in Morrow and
Umatilla counties.”
He said he and staff were
contacting local water profes-
sionals potentially interested in
installing the filters and devel-
oping a contract template for
this purpose.
“It will likely be a few weeks
before the first contract has
passed review and we are ready
to start work,” he said. “That
contract will give local profes-
sionals flexibility in terms of
what products they use, pro-
vided they are NSF-certified to
reduce nitrates. That flexibility
is important because filters are
added or removed from time
to time.”
But Cude also told Gray he
believes there is emergency
funding available to bridge the
gap from when the first con-
tract is issued and legislative
funding becomes available.
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald, File
Tory Uskoski, Blue Mountain Plumbing plumber, adjusts a newly in-
stalled filter July 14, 2022, in a Boardman home. The new filters, how-
ever, might not remove enough nitrates from contaminated wells to
reach the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard of 10 milligrams
per liter of water. Two weeks after initial installations, more than 90%
of the filters are meeting the standard.
$1,500-$1,800 each, he said,
and he has some concerns if the
filters can get to a stricter level
of milligrams per liter require-
ment in the Lower Umatilla Ba-
sin Groundwater Management
Area in Morrow and Umatilla
counties.
“We’re worried a little bit be-
cause in the LUBGWMA, the
trigger is 7,” he said.
Oregon Health Authority
has estimated there are approx-
imately 4,500 domestic wells in
the area serving about 12,000
household members.
INSTALLATION IS WEEKS AWAY
Republican Sen. Bill Hansell
of Athena serves on the Emer-
gency Board as does Rep.
Smith. Hansell explained the
board does just what its name
says — address emergencies
state agencies could not have
planned for.
“A way to describe it is this
is the state of Oregon’s contin-
gency fund,” he said.
Hansell also said he recently
spoke with the governor, and
she also is working on allo-
cations for Echo due to the
flooding there and for Wallowa
County because of the sudden
storm Aug. 11 that damaged
property, injured people and
killed livestock.
The requests for emergency
funds come from the gover-
nor’s office or state agencies, he
said, not from legislators.
“They have to come from a
budgeted agency,” he said.
DOHERTY CALLS OUT THE STATE
Doherty also said he is con-
cerned that state agencies
could use the crisis in Morrow
County to seek funds from the
Emergency Board and then use
that money for additional staff
outside the county. And he
said he took issue with OHA in
a July 7 letter to the EPA claim-
ing it was ramping up efforts
to help Morrow County, in-
cluding with “linguistically ap-
propriate outreach and educa-
tion to low-income households
about nitrate contamination; a
detailed hazard assessment of
nitrate data and demographic
analysis of impacted commu-
nities; domestic well water test-
ing; and, for well users with el-
evated nitrate concentrations,
alternative drinking water or
drinking water treatment op-
tions.”
Doherty said that letter
raised his hackles.
“Frankly, they’ve done none
of the above,” he said.
Likewise, the state’s claims
it is working with Morrow
County and its partners don’t
carry much water with him.
“I sure as hell don’t know
where they’ve been,” he said. “I
haven’t seen them.”
Doherty also said it was time
for the state to “Get your butts
out there and do something,
and pay us back.”
By the time the Emergency
Board meets, he estimated
Morrow County will have
spent at least $500,000 since
June 9, when the county board
of commissioners declared an
emergency due to the water
contamination.
Suspect, bystander shot in attempted casino robbery
BY ANTONIO ARREDONDO AND
MARCO GRAMACHO
Hermiston Herald
The suspect in the robbery
and shootout earlier this week
at Wildhorse Resort & Casino
near Pendleton tried to steal $1
million.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for
the District of Oregon in a press
release Friday, Aug. 19 reported
Javier Francisco Vigil, 51, a local
man, walked straight to the ca-
shier cage in the gaming area on
Aug. 17 and handed the cashier
a note demanding $1 million.
“Vigil then drew a holstered
pistol,” according to the press
release, “pointed it at the cashier
and threatened to ‘bathe every-
one in blood.’”
Instead of the $1 million,
Vigil got almost $70,000 in cash
before making his exit, when he
then pointed his gun at a Uma-
tilla Tribal Police Department
officer who was responding to
the robbery and fired.
Vigil suffered injuries in an
ensuing exchange of gunfire
before police took him into cus-
tody.
He made his initial appear-
ance in federal court in Portland
on Aug. 19 before U.S. Magis-
trate Judge Jolie A. Russo. Fed-
eral prosecutors charged Vigil
with committing a Hobbs Act
robbery and using and carrying
a firearm during and in relation
to a crime of violence.
The Hobbs Act is a federal
law from 1946 that further
criminalizes robbery or extor-
tion. A conviction under the
Hobbs Act can mean a prison
sentence of up to 20 years.
The court ordered Vigil to
remain in custody pending fur-
ther court proceedings. He now
is an inmate at the Multnomah
County Jail, Portland.
CAUGHT IN THE GUNFIRE
Wildhorse is on the Umatilla
Indian Reservation several miles
east of Pendleton. The Confed-
erated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation reported the
Umatilla Tribal Police Depart-
ment at 1:04 p.m. responded to
a report of a robbery in action
at Wildhorse. Vigil was not the
only one to take a bullet.
The Pendleton School Dis-
trict reported some of its staff
were at Wildhorse and a school
event.
“Several members of our staff
witnessed the incident,” accord-
ing to the district, “and one staff
member was injured.”
The district did not identify
the staff member.
CTUIR Board of Trustees
Chair Kat Brigham in a state-
ment the morning of Aug. 19
reported the bystander is ex-
pected to make a full recovery.
WITNESSES RECOUNT EVENTS
Matt Waggoner was one of
the people standing by the en-
trance to the casino on a video
call with his son when he saw
a police car roar up to the en-
trance of the food court hun-
dreds of feet away. He said an
officer stepped out of the vehicle
and began yelling for everyone
to get down and put their hands
up.
“It was all so sudden,” Wag-
goner said.
The Athena resident said he
saw the robber emerge from the
doors, firing away at the offi-
cer. After exchanging gunfire,
Waggoner said the gunman ap-
peared to be hit on his right side
before crumpling to the ground.
He also captured about 20
minutes of footage of the shoot-
ing and subsequent action on
his phone.
Danielle McClelland said
she was on her way to an after-
noon work retreat when she
witnessed the shooting. At the
time, she was waiting for her fa-
ther to pick her up.
“The shooting happened so
fast. I couldn’t see much. I heard
so many shots,” she said.
There were 13 bullet casings
in the area behind the officer’s
car and at least three bullet cas-
ings on the gunman’s side.
Along with Waggoner, other
bystanders filmed the shooting.
Police asked one to stay back
to provide evidence. The man,
who wanted to remain anony-
mous, said he was waiting for a
transfer bus to Hermiston for an
appointment when the shooting
happened. His statement cor-
roborated at least part of Wag-
goner’s recount.
“(The gunman) came to-
wards the officer shooting,” the
man said. “It was surreal to see
that and being able to film it.
Luckily I had my phone in my
hand because I was shaking.”
The man also said he posted
the video to Facebook.
All three witnesses com-
mented on how quick the vi-
olent encounter was and how
fast police arrived. Waggoner
said three police cars were at the
scene in short order and Uma-
tilla County Sheriff’s Office and
Oregon State Police also arrived.
CTUIR OFFICIALS REACT
The confederated Umatilla
tribes reported approximately
20 police were on site after the
shooting, including tribal police
and FBI.
Wildhorse in a statement re-
ported ambulances took both
the suspect and the bystander
to St. Anthony Hospital, Pend-
leton.
“We are grateful no one else
was physically injured with all
that took place,” according to
Wildhorse CEO Gary George.
“Security personnel and Tribal
Police were quick to act and the
situation was controlled in a
swift manner.”
He also credited Wildhorse
staff, saying, “The way the ca-
shiers and everyone handled the
situation was exemplary.”
Members board of trustees
were at the casino attending a
lunch with a guest when the
robbery attempt and shootout
occurred. Brigham in her state-
ment said the “scary event has
been far ranging for everyone
involved,” and the tribes’ policy
and procedures are there to pro-
tect people.
“Our staff, the tribal police,
our casino security and our
gaming commission did a great
job in making sure everyone
was safe,” she said.
Brigham also stated Yellow-
PENDLETON — Investiga-
tors continue working to de-
termine what sparked the fire
more than a week ago that tore
through the Grain Craft flour
mill in Pendleton as well as
plans for the future of the burnt
out building itself.
Assistant Chief Anthony
Pierotti with the Pendleton Fire
Department said a structural
engineer came Wednesday, Aug.
17, a week after the fire, and
Grain Craft “is going to find a
demolition company.”
Pierotti also said an investi-
gation is ongoing as to the cause
of the fire. The fire department
continues to keep a firetruck
on-site to “knock down” the
smoke and combat any poten-
tial flare-ups.
“All is status quo,” he said.
Although the situation has re-
mained unchanged, roads sur-
rounding the mill have steadily
reopened, and Grain Craft
dispatched members of its
leadership team to walk the
site last week.
James Reeder, owner of the
Outlying Perspective, a drone
operator from Athena, flew a
specialized drone on Aug. 17
on behalf of Grain Craft into
and over the mill to create a 3D
model of the building to help
determine its structural integ-
rity and to find any remaining
hot spots.
A timeline for demolition has
yet to be established, but there
are discussions of opening an
on-site asbestos testing facility,
according to Pendleton Build-
ings Official Ty Woolsey.
curity, emergency response and
communications to protect our
tribal members, community,
employees and guests.”
CTUIR also reported Uma-
tilla Tribal Police is leading the
investigation with the assistance
of the FBI and local and state
law enforcement agencies.
— East Oregonian news editor Phil
Wright contributed to this report.
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Investigation continues seeking
cause of Pendleton flour mill fire
BY DAKOTA CASTETS-DIDIER
Hermiston Herald
hawk Tribal Health Center is
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who may need it.
“We understand how trauma
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