County extends emergency, adds a P.S.

By Terry Murry on Thursday, May 6th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

PENDLETON – The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners has voted to extend the COVID-19 emergency declaration set to expire Wednesday to July 7. This time the declaration comes with a statement that the declaration does not weaken the county’s expressed desire that Gov. Kate Brown should restore local control.

“This does not take the place of our deep concern about keeping our schools open or about the horrible impact that closures and lockdowns are having on our businesses,” Chairman George Murdock said.

He receives emails and comments urging him to just disobey the governor’s orders and open the county up for business again. It’s not that simple. He said the county would lose millions in stimulus funds, much of which is distributed throughout the county; but that’s nothing compared to the hit businesses would take if they opened in defiance of state orders.

“OSHA and O.L.C.C. wield significant weight over the businesses,” Murdock said. “They could lose their liquor licenses. They could get huge fines from OSHA. There’s all kinds of problems that could come down on them.”

The language that was added to the declaration of an emergency is, “This action does not impact the request for more local control over the implementation of emergency measures.”