(Shared by Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock.)
Note: Due to the Memorial Day holiday, the Weekly Public Officials Update will next appear on June 2
To: Public Officials
From: George Murdock
Subject: Weekly Public Officials Update – Providing Information, Advocacy and Commentary
Date: May 25, 2021 – Volume 57
Total Cases – 8,316
Deaths – 86
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 33 – 59 (including 4 from the Department of Corrections
Week 34 – 43 (including 3 from the Department of Corrections)
Week 35 — 27
Week 36 – 33
Week 37 – 54
Week 38 – 60 (including 1 from the Department of Corrections)
Week 39 – 60
Week 40 – 52 (including one from DOC)
Week 41 – 98 (including one at DOC)
Week 42 – 92
Vaccinations Last Week – 1,352
Medical Report
I had intended to try including the latest COVID guidelines from the Governor’s Office but they are both long and subject to change. They are also being published through a variety of sources including the Chamber of Commerce.
Our numbers for last week are slightly improved from 98 down to 92 cases. Again, our information is telling us that gatherings and people without vaccinations are driving the numbers. Unfortunately, we also had two deaths last week which remind us that COVID is extremely serious.
We did see some movement focused on student athletes and forthcoming regulations which are designed to address the wearing of masks during competition for young people who are fully vaccinated.
I also noted in an update published yesterday the Governor is tip-toeing back into events in large venues. The Portland Trailblazers will be playing apparently with sections for those who are vaccinated. I’ve had a sneaking hunch something like this might happen although we have stopped trying to hammer the message about vaccinations and are leaving it to individuals to make the choice for themselves and live with any consequences.
That does not mean, however, that we won’t continue to make the opportunity readily available.
Tribute
At a time when the media are under fire, it is a pleasure to recognize a local journalist who epitomizes the ideal of keeping a community informed by reporting the news – not shaping or defining it.
Butch Thurman, news director and operations manager at KUMA, is stepping down at the end of May after 41 years on the air. He’s not retiring, something he is quick to point out. Instead he is going to be helping his son with his growing roofing business. And while he is still spry, he will be doing the books and marketing, not the actual installation.
Under his leadership, KUMA and its parent CAPPS Broadcasting, have become a valuable regional source of news. The addition of My Columbia Basin has further enhanced the impact.
For many years, Thurman has also co-hosted The Coffee Hour which gives the community regular access to elected officials, agency and school leaders, non-profit heads, and those behind major activities and events.
Throughout his years in Pendleton, Thurman has been a visible presence beyond his news shows, his work as operations manager, and having once been the voice of rodeo for 200 radio stations. He also served as president of the Pendleton Round-up and received the first honorary degree ever awarded by BMCC. Ironically, his studies at the college were never quite completed because his classes conflicted with a new job at the radio station about four decades ago.
As a public entity, there are occasionally stories that are not necessarily good news and which we would rather have overlooked. That doesn’t happen much with KUMA which is always vigilant. So, in the end, our measure is whether they are reported thoroughly, fairly, and accurately. That statement alone captures the depth of our respect for his entire body of work and the reputation he has earned in this community.
From Umatilla County, thank you for what you have done and Happy Trails.
Take a Shot for a Million Dollars
Governor Kate Brown announced the launch of the Take Your Shot Oregon Campaign for all vaccinated Oregonians. Oregonians 18 and older will have the chance to win $1 million or one of 36 $10,000 prizes–– with one winner in each county in Oregon. Oregonians age 12 to 17 will have a chance to win one of five $100,000 Oregon College Savings Plan scholarships. All Oregonians who have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by the draw date in late June will be entered to win.
Legislature
Oregon’s Legislature is just a little over 30 days from sine die and recent reports suggest they will be pressed to finish their work. According to our observers in Salem, tensions are growing. The Republican senators have signaled they aren’t averse to walking out but have also made it clear they would much rather participate in the intended agenda of the 2021 Legislature which is to deal with the budget, COVID, and wildfires which should be more than enough to occupy their time and which are issues much more critical to Oregonians than a wide array of other issues that keep popping up year after year.
The good news is that they have approved the education budget although with a revenue report that adds a billion dollars to the coffers, a feeding frenzy has broken out and the education community is part of it. Their original ask was $9.6 billion and that will likely become a reality. Right now they already have $9.3 billion. Rocky Dallum, lobbyist for the Eastern Oregon Association of Counties reports they are dealing with a $1.2 to $1.4 billion surplus. During his Monday morning call, he was a little short on specifics to date, but did note he thinks the fairs bill will pass which provides $35,000@. He also noted we are headed toward the largest kicker in history.
State economists are busy trying to figure out their next round of projections in part, to avoid yet another record kicker in an economy which currently defies much predictability.
So, in addition to wading through the remaining bills, the Legislature will be considering what to do with the extra revenue. If we were in charge, we would certainly include reasonable funding for justice reinvestment and community corrections as well as public health modernization. To that we would also add sufficient funding to seriously address mental health.
We are hearing word that both the jail renovation and FARM II are still in good shape and have gotten positive reviews from the people that count. Fortunately, with respect to those two issues, the Leadership is very familiar with both, they have visited here to gain more information, and they have signaled support in the past.
Another target was the East Umatilla County Fire Station and that too, is on the road to reality, thanks to Sen. Hansell and Rep. Levy who used their capital projects allocation to make that much-needed request a reality. Umatilla County has agreed to help with any Public Works issues that are likely to arise to provide access to and from the station.
I haven’t gotten a complete report, but I understand that Representative Greg Smith has committed half of his $2 million to CTE programs.
Ground-Breaking
Commissioner Shafer represented the county at a ground-breaking ceremony held at the Pendleton Airport to celebrate the impending construction of three new hangars to accommodate UAV activity which continues to expand.
At the same time, they also recognized the construction of a new 73-room hotel and news of a new BMCC program focused on training workers for the UAV industry.
Out of the event also came a reminder of the critical importance of new housing. A lot is happening all over the county in terms of economic growth, but with that comes a demand for housing.
Senator Merkley
Senator Jeff Merkley held a town hall meeting in Umatilla County last Wednesday. It was his 16th town hall of the year and his 448th overall.
Local residents were happy to have a chance to visit with the Senator about a long list of local events including COVID, two floods, fires, a windstorm and impacts to the local economy. Merkley is a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee.
During the call he was complimented for his national leadership regarding Payment in Lieu of Taxes which brings over a million dollars a year to the county, and which, in our case, is used to offset the rising cost of PERS.
The PILT program has required constant attention from our lawmakers because while the western portion of the United States includes heavy federal ownership, the Eastern United States is the opposite. Therefore many Eastern representatives do not fully understand the impact of having so much public land off the tax rolls.
For example, in Connecticut, New York, and Iowa federal ownership is just .03%. Illinois, Maine and Nebraska are 1.1% while Ohio is 1.2%. The federal government owns 52% of the land in Oregon. Nevada is the highest at 84.9 percent while Utah is 64.9 percent and Idaho is 61.9%.
Now a measure is floating around called the 30-30 plan because although the government controls 20 percent of the land, they want 30%. And they are eyeing the West. If they truly believe in equity in all matters, the remaining ten percent would come from the east although the whole idea is questionable.
West End Lobbying Efforts
“From My Columbia Basin – The west end of Umatilla County is looking for more clout when it comes to lobbying for issues in its best interest in the Oregon Legislature. The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners voted to become a part of the West End Community Development Group in order to achieve that goal. In addition to the county, the intergovernmental agreement includes Hermiston, Umatilla, Stanfield, and Echo.
Hermiston Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan said the idea for the group came from Commissioner Dan Dorran about six months ago. He was looking to form a group to identify shared goals and objectives and raising those to a higher level with folks in Salem,” Morgan said.
The group began to meet informally after the November election. This agreement basically just formalizes an informal group that had been working over the past several months, Morgan said.
The group will work on those issues under an existing contract between Pac/West, a lobby group for government affairs services, and the city of Hermiston. Under the new agreement, the city of Hermiston and Umatilla County will pay $12,000 a year to Pac/West; Umatilla will pay $6,000; and Echo and Stanfield will each pay $3,000.”
Dorran will represent the County as a member of the new group. The new West End group is similar to an East End group formed in Pendleton several years ago to lobby for FARM II, the Jail Renovation, and a new hangar at the airport as well as enlarging the urban growth boundary. All four of those projects appear to be nearing reality and the members are prioritizing their next targets. Commissioner Murdock is a member of that group.
Vaccination Count Accuracy Support
We appreciate the support of all three of our legislators regarding the fact our vaccination rates are grossly under-counted. We are hopeful this can lead to resolution. It won’t get us to 70% but is can get us a whole lot closer.
Governor Brown,
As we move closer and closer to a post Covid-19 Oregon we understand that vaccination statistics of the population are a significant factor. We are writing you today concerned about the vaccination statistics goal you had outlined for requirement to remove most of the Covid-19 restrictions. We have some concerns with the vaccination statistics and recording of those statistics we would like to highlight. We believe Umatilla County is being unfairly impacted, because of inaccurate information which skews the results.
Firstly, as you know our districts border the state of Washington with thousands of residents that live in the border communities. A common occurrence for many of those residents is to get their medical services across the border communities such as Walla Walla, Washington or the Tri-Cities. We know of many who have received their vaccination(s) across the border including Sen Bill and Margaret Hansell.
Secondly, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) is located within Umatilla County. The CTUIR provide vaccinations through their Yellowhawk Clinic and held mass vaccination events at the Wildhorse Resort & Casino. CTUIR reported in their “Confederated Umatilla Journal” May 2021 publication, that their Yellowhawk Clinic has provided 5252 doses to individuals seeking vaccination. At present these vaccinations are not counted in the Umatilla County vaccine statistics.
Thirdly, we have many Veterans in our community who access health care through the Veterans Affairs (VA) Health System, such as the VA Hospital in Walla Walla, Washington. At this point the VA Vaccination eligibility has been extended to All Veterans, spouses and surviving spouses of Veterans, caregivers of Veterans, and VA health care workers. None of these individuals are counted in Umatilla County.
Lastly, we know that reservist and Oregon National Guard members have had the opportunity to receive their vaccination in a military facility to which they are assigned. We have National Guard soldiers assigned to units outside Umatilla County. It is not fair to Umatilla County (or any other county) to have all these county citizens, who have been vaccinated, not counted as vaccinated simply because they received their vaccinations either in Washington, or through the CTUIR, or through the military service. By not counting them, it makes it much more difficult, if not impossible, for Umatilla County to progress through, to reach the State’s required vaccination levels. They are counted on one side of the equation as citizens, but not on the other as being vaccinated.
Thank you for your consideration.
Editorial
It’s time to stop the conversation about voting. Just take a look at Oregon which has been leading the way for two decades.
It seems there is quite a conversation going on across the country regarding voting and efforts to federalize the guidelines.
Voting is certainly a right and privilege but it doesn’t seem too much to ask that people put forth a small amount of effort to complete the task.
We know the dates of elections, months and even years before they take place. It should allow time to register in advance. The next election will be May 22, 2022. The next general election will be November 1, 2022.
New voters must register 20 days before the election. Returning voters including those who didn’t receive a ballot for some reason, can come in up to the close of the polls for a ballot.
For most voters who have kept their address up to date, the ballots are mailed out 21 days in advance. Umatilla County mailed out 47,000 ballots for the election that just took place. Less than one in five was returned.
In Oregon, voting basically involves going to the mailbox, filling out the ballot, and then mailing it back postage-free. Or, for our local voters, it could mean going to any of nine locations to drop it in a ballot box.
Any citizen who has a driver’s license is automatically registered.
In Oregon, it couldn’t be easier to vote. And yet in last week’s election, only eighteen percent of the voters in Umatilla County bothered to take part. Our county was 35th out of 36. Crook County was last. Normally, Umatilla County is last.
If voting is such a problem, then why did four out of five people with ballots in hand, not bother to simply fill them out and mail them or drop them in one of nine convenient drop boxes?
Of even more concern is the fact that nowhere in this debate is there talk about also carefully reviewing all of the issues that are on the ballot because it would seem to me that, philosophically, the privilege of voting includes both marking the ballot and taking the time to make an informed decision.
In the end, I wonder what this is really all about because in Oregon, it isn’t that hard to use our system which has worked wonderfully for twenty years.
In the debate over the validity of the last election, Oregon was on the sidelines. In fact, I don’t recall the efficacy of our outcome ever having been in question or part of a conversation that still exists.
New Approach
As I noted earlier we are working with several other entities to take a different direction in our vaccination efforts. It appears the more aggressive ads have run their course and now we need a different approach to simply remind people what they are missing and how we can get there. You will see these in print media and visual clips that will come out on Facebook and other platforms.
Normal
The Choice Is Yours
