(Shared by Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock.)
To: Public Officials
From: George Murdock
Subject: Weekly Public Officials Update – Providing Information, Advocacy and Commentary
Date: June 22, 2021 – Volume 61
Total Cases – 8,592
Deaths – 87
Recent Counts:
Week 1 – 333
Week 2 – 237
Week 3 – 155
Week 4 – 96
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Week 23 – 435 – (including 170 at EOCI & TRCI)
Week 24 – 466 (including 198 at EOCI & TRCI
Week 25 – 456 (including 154 at EOCI & TRCI)
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Week 40 – 52 (including one from DOC)
Week 41 – 98 (including one at DOC)
Week 42 – 92
Week 43 – 73 (including 1 from DOC)
Week 44 – 66
Week 45 – 49
Week 46 — 41
Week 47 — 76
Vaccinations Last Week – 769
Medical Report
Our source suggesting a quicker reopening turned out to be wrong based upon a surprise change in the vaccination trend. Vaccinations had been going up at the rate of one percent a day which was the basis for the prediction. It has now dropped to two-tenths of a percent so it will take longer for the state to get to 70 percent. As of this morning, 68.7% of Oregonians have received at least one shot meaning the state still needs 44,606 shots to get to 70%.
That being said, on my most recent call with Governor’s Office the tone was “everyone wants to get out of this by the end of the month including the Governor herself.” In Umatilla County, our vaccinations had been running about 800 plus per week until last week when the Pendleton zip suddenly became the highest in the state with the addition of 1,429 new instances. That brought the total for the week in the county to 2,271.
The surge was the result of continuing efforts to get a more accurate picture of how many people in the county who have truly been vaccinated. In this case, Public Health Director Joe Fiumara said most of the 1,429 new vaccinations came from the state reporting out on doses administered at Yellowhawk.
OHA reports a current vaccination rate statewide of 13,484 people per day. Last spring the number peaked at around 50,000. Sometimes we get frustrated with our brethren west of Troutdale but in this case, it is likely they will be the ones dragging us over the line when the state average is sufficient to reopen. Even having discovered more new cases locally, we are still quite a ways from 70% — more like somewhere in the mid-forties.
That’s a number the concerns Fiumara as we head into the 4th of July weekend and a widespread belief we are now post-COVID. The pandemic is still a threat to those who have chosen not to be vaccinated or are unable to get a vaccination.
Rockit Program – Mental Health
Several times we have reported on what has been called the Rockit Program. Utilizing grant funds provided to the Association of Oregon Counties a special team has been involved in helping guide the county through a serious examination of how to address new strategies for mental health services in Umatilla County.
As a result, more than thirty individuals representing a wide variety of entities plus interested local citizens have donated hours of their time to a comprehensive review. Many of the outcomes will be available on a website which is nearing completion.
Umatilla County’s interest came about after it engaged a consultant to look at whether or not it makes sense to combine mental health and substance abuse as well as whether or not these services should be combined under a single providers since in many cases there are co-occurring disorders.
The County and many agencies, but in particular law enforcement, have been struggling since the Blue Mountain Recovery Center was closed. Now, far too many mental health patients are ending up in the county jail rather than in a facility specifically designed to serve them effectively. As Undersheriff Jim Littlefield has noted, we shouldn’t be in the mental health business because our training has been limited in that area.
The Rockit project as well as a joint meeting with the Morrow County Commissioners are both processes designed to help relieve law enforcement officers of the responsibility of dealing with individuals in crisis and create alternatives.
As part of the process, Umatilla County Commissioners Murdock and Shafer, who also were participants in the Rockit study, created a list of initiatives that are geared to receive immediate focus. Some have already been completed such as the decision to contract Community Counseling Solutions rather than Lifeways to oversee the new arrangement that combines mental health and substance abuse.
Umatilla County Mental Health Initiatives
- Explore the idea of a new mental health provider for Umatilla County
- Consider the idea of combining mental health with SUB services
- Set aside funds for mental health initiatives
- Explore and implement new models for crisis intervention including programs such as CAHOOTS
- Work with Senator Wyden’s Office to secure funding as a model program
- Explore and implement new models for pro-active approaches to dealing with mental health issues prior to crisis situations
- Explore implications of potential Measure 110 funding from the State
- Continue to examine the intersection between mental health, SUB, and law enforcement
- Evaluate and make necessary changes in youth services
- Explore the possibility of retaining interested ROCKIT participants in an advisory capacity to meet periodically to review progress with mental health initiatives in order to assure progress
- Explore racially—sensitive and appropriate responses in the area of mental health and SUB services and opportunities
- Continue to explore additional partners and assets within Umatilla County with respect to mental health and SUB
Job Openings
Lt. Sterrin Ward of the Sheriff’s Office has gone to Facebook in order to advertise openings for corrections officers and dispatchers. Check out the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook for more information.
For the life of me, I can’t figure out why people in law enforcement in Metro areas across the country aren’t fleeing to Rural counties where they are still appreciated, but so far it hasn’t become a trend except in some suburbs where commuting is more feasible.
Drought
The good news is that, although later than usual, we finally have managed to truck our cows to their summer home at Albee. The bad news is that thirty of them had to stay behind. They are still at home eating hay and whatever tidbits of grass they can find while my son scrambles to find pasture. We already fed too much hay this spring after the grass petered out before we could get to the mountains.
Every time we’ve gone to check the condition of the Albee pastures, the assessment has been the same—conditions are terrible. We certainly aren’t alone – agriculture across Oregon is in deep trouble this year and there is little relief in sight. It wasn’t all that great last year and this year it is worse.
Today, drought conditions in Umatilla County range from extreme on the far west to severe in the middle, and moderate on the east side. Temperatures for the next two weeks will exacerbate the problem ranging from the mid-nineties next week to over a hundred by the weekend offering no relief and no rain is on the horizon.
On June 8 the Board of Commissioners declared a non-agricultural burn ban. On June 16 a general burn ban went into effect including agriculture. That declaration has since been forwarded to the Governor’s Office. As of June 3, the Governor has declared a drought in Baker, Douglas, Gilliam, Jackson, Klamath, Lake, Morrow, and Wheeler counties with additional counties under consideration including Umatilla.
Legislative Update
It is challenging to provide a Legislative Update knowing that an hour after this is published the landscape could change. The Legislature is trying very hard to leave Salem and it could accomplish that goal this week. Speculation now says sometime between today and Sunday at which time they have no choice. They did take a long weekend for Father’s Day and made some provisions to streamline their actions.
This session was no lovefest, but because of some early commitments to the agenda, at least everyone pretty much kept on track. The primary agreement was the idea of focusing on COVID, wildfires, and the budget plus attention to police reform. Capital Insider reports the session has been the most hotly-partisan in recent memories but important comprises formed by small contingents from either side have cleared the path to getting the critical work done.
Some senators are now taking heat for not walking at several points during the current session but walking out should not be taken lightly and they chose to remain so they could speak on the issues and ultimately cast a no vote. Getting through a long session sans a walkout reserves that event for very major disagreements.
Capital Insider reported on Friday that Sen. Lynn Findley is among those being threatened by a recall effort. Personally, if it materializes, it would be a huge loss to Eastern Oregon. Sen. Findley is becoming a strong voice in the Legislature and I, for one, deeply appreciate the leadership he has provided throughout both this session and the pandemic. The Legislature was faced with thousands of bills this session – it is short-sighted not to focus on a senator’s entire body of work rather than one or two issues. On the Senate side, both Sen. Findley and Sen. Hansell have worked closely with the Eastern Oregon Counties Association well beyond the norm.
We certainly don’t know the final outcome, but one victory is the signing of an urban growth boundary extension for the city of Pendleton. In addition, we are getting positive signals about FARM II and the regional jail renovation project. We are also hoping that maybe funds could be provided to replace the Mac Hoke Bridge. It is located off Reith Road and is important to those who use. At the moment, it has been closed.
We were very pleased to see the Legislature is committing $32.7 million to community corrections. Justice Reinvestment is a part of the funding. It is program to reduce the inmate population across the state because of the high cost or incarceration. Individuals who might otherwise be housed in a state facility are instead in their local communities where they are supervised by community corrections at a fraction of the cost.
It is one of those good ideas that sometimes fall victim to a shiny new object rather than continued, adequate support. This time around the Legislature stepped up in a big way to acknowledge the huge amount of savings that can be attributed to justice reinvestment in terms of not having to build new prisons.
The increase makes a major difference to Community Corrections in Umatilla County.
Editorial Comment – Conundrums
In watching the political and policy scene there are some interesting conundrums out there that defy common sense.
- At the same time there is pressure to adopt electric cars, a proposal is on the table to breach four Lower Snake River dams that produce 3,000 megawatts of carbon-free power. Hydropower is a renewable resource and produces virtually no greenhouse gas emissions.
- Oregon has the highest addiction rate in the nation while passing Measure 110 which helps us be a national leader in access to most drugs.
- At least we haven’t adopted the Washington plan sponsored by the cannabis industry called joints for jabs. Individuals getting a COVID shot become eligible for a free joint.
- Addicts are responsible for about 70 percent of all property crimes – why make the problem worse.
- One of the biggest priorities for Oregon is a housing shortage – for those needing low cost housing, for economic development purposes, and for individuals coming into the market. At the moment there are about five homes on the market in Pendleton and about 30 in Hermiston. As our economy continues to grow, this spells doom
There are several problems here. In the same way that a good many city kids think milk comes from the store, there doesn’t seem to be much understanding that wood, a basic ingredient in homes, comes from trees. If you don’t cut them, there is a shortage of lumber. Someone who knows a lot about the subject also pointed out that what Americans want from their forests has changed…instead of managing forests as tree farms, federal forests are producing timber as a byproduct of management.
- At the same time we shut down the Keystone Pipeline which employed thousands of people and would have reduced the cost of transmission, the United States waived the sanctions imposed on Nord Stream 2 in order to court favor abroad. In addition, multiple sources identify pipelines as the safest, and in many cases most economical, form of oil and natural gas transmission.
The price of gasoline is up dramatically, but, in fairness, that isn’t the result of Keystone, or a new administration, according to reliable sources. That’s the product of supply and demand and the pandemic reduced demand while there was plenty of supply. Now that is going the other direction.
