PENDLETON â The Oregon State Police had a busy weekend responding to car crashes, including four where people were hospitalized with injuries.
On Thursday, July 29, a driver lost control while attempting to stop his car and rear-ended another vehicle near milepost 24 on Highway 207, OSP reported. Robert Alan Shaffer, 21, from Lexington, was injured and had to be taken to Good Shepherd Medical Center, Hermiston.
Then, July 30, three vehicles crashed near milepost 179 on Interstate 84. The crash occurred when a car merged onto the interstate from exit 177 and another car failed to yield to the right of way, police reported. The cars sideswiped another vehicle traveling east.
Police respond to multiple crashes over weekend hermistonherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hermistonherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
MILTON-FREEWATER â What started as a grass fire on the south end of Milton-Freewater Wednesday, July 7, grew quickly to about 800 acres and burned wheat fields and multiple structures. As of July 8, the fire was contained, officials said.
Milton-Freewater City Manager Linda Hall said the latest information indicates the fire started near Highway 11 and Sykes Boulevard.
It very quickly spread to Main Street.
Of the 800 acres burned, Hall said some was in the city limits, but most of the fire was just outside the city.
Hall said multiple structures, including one farm shop and several outbuildings, were lost in the fire. There were no injuries and no residences involved.
WESTON â Money from the American Rescue Plan could be a game changer for East Umatilla Fire & Rescue, according to Fire Chief David Baty.
As money from the federal stimulus package comes to Oregon, state senators are being given $4 million to allocate to a project in their district and state representatives are given $2 million. Baty said Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, and Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo, are on board with allocating a portion of their funds to build a new fire station for the district.
The money should be enough to build the new station in Weston without going to taxpayers for more.