Praying for Those in Authority: Umatilla County

Athena house, Umatilla County, Oregon
Photo: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives 

Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31:8-9

Hermiston is the largest city in Umatilla County, but Pendleton is the county seat. We are still in the Northeast region of Oregon, part of the eight counties considered “eastern Oregon.” The population is 80,075 over 3,231 square miles of land. The Umatilla Indian Reservation was established in 1855 before the county itself was created in 1862. Located to the southeast of Pendleton, the Umatillas, Walla Wallas, and the Cayuse were settled there. The Wild Horse Casino is a tribe-owned casino and resort that has been prospering and expanding. It is located near Pendleton. 

The Hermiston city motto is, "Where Life is Sweet," and includes a slice of watermelon. The area is famous for its watermelons, among other agricultural products. 

Umatilla County, Oregon

Measure 110 is a state-wide bill passed in 2020 that decriminalized illegal drug use and put funds into prevention and treatment.

A few days ago, OPB published an article by Jonathan Levinson on the results of that measure, focusing on Umatilla County. Results are mixed, as some county sheriffs in Oregon have reported, with few to no takers on voluntary treatment, with offenders having no incentive, without the consequence of jail time, to make positive changes. Also, the bill was put into effect so quickly that there was no time for the additional services that needed to be put in place. The bill passed in November of 2020 and went into effect Feb 1, 2021 leaving service providers without time to beef up the systems that were to replace arrest and jail. A lot of people needing treatment fell through the cracks, not being forced into treatment by the legal system, and the social services needed for voluntary treatment in short supply.

And this happened at a bad time. Drugs were decriminalized just as there was a huge surge in cheap, illegal fentanyl. According to the article, in 2017 1,483 people were arrested in Oregon on drug possession charges. In 2022, two years after Measure 110 passed, the number dropped to 176 arrests. During that same five years, 2017-2022, seizures of fentanyl increased from 27 doses to 32 million doses.

Serving jail time was an opportunity to get treatment and detox, but the system had major issues, leaving addicted people with prison records and not really addressing the underlying issues for addiction in the first place. Many see the old system as not effective, but the new system isn’t working either.

Umatilla County, like other Oregon counties, is slowly getting up to speed. Measure 110 programs have taken the last two years to get fully staffed, and for other issues to be worked out, but there has been some gradual improvement.

Pray for the counselors, social workers, and probation and parole officers of Umatilla County, who often go above and beyond their required duties to help those who make their way under their care. Pray for wisdom concerning Measure 110, the fentanyl epidemic, and those who have fallen into addiction.

The three county commissioners are Dan Dorran, John Shafer, and Cindy Timmons.

Umatilla County Sheriff is Terry Rowan. He plans to run for reelection in 2024. 

Fire season has officially begun in Umatilla County, as of June 22. Pray for firefighters and residents over the summer months. Two fires have already been contained this spring, including the 16,000-acre Hat Rock fire.