LOCAL 

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Monday, May 17, 2004

Most residents trust U.S. Army

By AMYJO BROWN of the East Oregonian
ajbrown@eastoregonian.com


Bill Meade, a McNary resident, said he isn’t worried about living near the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

“I think it bothers the media types a whole lot more than the people here,” he said, when asked how he feels about the 7.5 million pounds of nerve and blister agents stored so close.

“I moved here 11-and-a-half years ago knowing that the depot was here,” he said. “The only question I have is how soon are we going to start getting rid of them?”

Meade’s thoughts echoed the vast majority of residents in eight communities surrounding the depot, according to a survey conducted on behalf of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency.

It found most residents support destroying the chemical weapons stored at the depot as soon as possible. The survey also reported that eight out of 10 residents generally trust the Army and most know about the facility and that incineration is the method of disposal that will be used for the weapons, possibly starting in July.

Genni Bennett, a Hermiston resident, said she agrees with the survey’s findings.

“The depot’s never bothered me,” she said. “I’ve lived near it for six years and there’s never been a problem.”

Vanessa Keller, on the other hand, said she tries not to think about the depot.

“It is kind of scary, especially because my boyfriend just got a job out there,” said Keller, a Umatilla resident. “But I don’t mind it. As long as we have people out there who know what they’re doing.”

The survey questioned 402 residents living nearest the depot, including Hermiston, Umatilla, Irrigon, Boardman and Stanfield. It was conducted randomly by telephone by a market research firm in Lubbock, Texas.

Other key findings of the survey include:

•Eighty percent of the residents said they trust the Army because they or a family member are serving or have served in the military, the Army has done a good job so far, or because the people working at the depot want the weapons destroyed and are putting their lives on the line.

•The approximately 12 percent of residents who said they do not trust the Army said it was because either they believed the Army had lied, withheld information and covered up information in the past, or they said it was because of a general distrust of the government.

•Educated respondents were more likely to distrust the Army while wealthy respondents were more likely to trust the Army.

Results of the survey are intended to assist the Chemical Materials Agency Public Affairs Office in assessing community attitudes and opinions about outreach efforts,s said Mary Binder, spokesperson for the Army’s operations at the depot.