County, cities to share opioid settlement

By Terry Murry on Monday, April 17th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

UMATILLA COUNTY – The state of Oregon is giving opioid settlement funds to some municipalities to be used for treatment and prevention. Umatilla County, Hermiston, and Pendleton have decided to pool their funds to hire a full-time navigator to help the opioid dependent with both addiction and legal issues.

Umatilla County Commissioner John Shafer said the three governments have decided they can do more with one pot of money. The idea for that came from Umatilla County Community Corrections Director Dale Primmer.

“It’s one of those ideas that we think is going to be copied statewide,” Shafer said. “This is that good of a program and we were very impressed that he had that foresight.”

The navigator will be contracted out by Community Counseling Solutions, the county’s mental health and addiction service. Shafer said instead of getting lost in the municipal court system, the navigator will guide them through the process.

“Instead of going to municipal court, the judge will tell them to see the navigator to let you know where you need to go from there,” he said. “That’s a step that’s been missing all along, because they get lost in the cracks and they don’t report to where they’re supposed to report.”