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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 2015)
REGION Thursday, November 5, 2015 East Oregonian PENDLETON Page 3A UMATILLA Council approves match for $1.5M radar; county stalls By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian &ontinued development of the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport and the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems Range is still on Pendleton &ity &ouncil radar, if not as much as the Umatilla &ounty Board of &ommissioners The city of Pendleton wants to apply for $15 million from an Oregon Department of Transporta- tion grant to install a radar system at the airport control tower and proposed the $450,000 match be split evenly between the city, Umatilla &ounty and the Port of Umatilla The Port &ommission agreed to pay its $150,000 share contingent on approval from the city and the county board The Pendleton &ity &ouncil approved its share at a meeting Tuesday, but the county board didn’t complete the local match at its meeting :ednesday, instead deciding to put it under review A lack of commitment from Umatilla &ounty could muddle plans to acquire the radar system, which Pend- leton economic development and airport director Steve &hrisman said would be an asset for the airport “In addition to improving the overall safety of the air¿ eld and airspace around it (15-25 miles), radar is a critical component to safely integrating manned and unmanned aerial vehicles,” he wrote in a report to the city council “Other UAS test sites have already installed radars This marketable asset keeps us on par with those other test sites It also raises the comfort level of our already e[isting commercial and general aviation traf¿ c/ tenants Lastly, it could help attract more corporate EO fi le photo The Umatilla Old Town site was closed to the public since the 1960s and only recently reopened for tours. &ity to remove non-native plants from Old Town Site By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian EO fi le photo The Eastern Oregon Regional Airport in Pendleton. traf¿ c to the airport, which is one of our primary goals All of those could help raise the number of operations at the airport and subse- quently raise our perceived importance to the (Federal Aviation Administration)” Although the Pendleton UAS Range has yet to sign its ¿ rst customer, &hrisman said the city and state’s investment in the range has signi¿ cantly raised its pro¿ le “The idea that we’re going to grow this city without investing back into the city is just not logical,” he said at the meeting As evidence, &hrisman shared a heavily redacted email from a “well-known defense contractor” that e[pressed interest in the range &hrisman admitted there was risk in establishing the UAS range but e[pressed the utmost con¿ dence in its success &ouncilor Tom <oung was less enthusiastic about the prospects of e[pending $150,000 on the local match, saying constituents were going to criticize the city for investing in a radar system instead of streets <oung was joined by &ouncilor Neil Brown in voting against the grant match, which passed by a vote of 5-2, with &ouncilor &huck :ood absent <oung also asked what would happen if the county didn’t join the city and the port in the local match Mike Short of the Round-Up &ity Develop- ment &orp, which is helping the city solicit funds for the grant, said he was con¿ dent the county would match That, however, proved not to be true at a meeting :ednesday In other city council news: The council also agreed to contract grant writing services to Gregory Smith & Associates, which is owned by state Rep Greg Smith, R-Heppner If the grant application is successful, Gregory Smith & Associates will receive 2 percent of the grant award The council also unan- imously agreed to lease more than eight acres east of Newly :eds Foods to 4ueen B Storage Queen B will pay $21,899 per year and $262,792 over the life of the 12-year lease, not including consumer price inde[ increases &hrisman wrote in a report that Queen B plans to store recreational vehicles at the site and sublet the rest of the space for other purposes The council also voted to enable system development charges for water, sewer and stormwater drainage, which is the ne[t procedural step for the city to create a one-time charge for developers based on the building’s impact on utilities The council voted 6-1 to enact the ordinance, with <oung voting against The charges won’t be implemented until the council adopts rates at a later date ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. Most local classes smaller than state average But Pendleton elementary above median number By SEAN HART East Oregonian The latest report shows class sizes locally are similar to statewide numbers The Oregon Department of Education recently released data gathered in May pertaining to the number of students per classroom for school districts across the state Elementary numbers were broken down by grade level, and middle and high school numbers were compiled by subject Most local districts were at or below the state average of 25 students per class Pendleton elementary classes, however, were consistently higher than state numbers by grade level E[cept for ¿ fth grade, all classes were at or Median class sizes K 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Hermiston Pendleton State 23 25 22 23 24 28 21 26.5 24 22 26 26 23 31 26 25 26 27 MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL English 24 24.5 24 Math 26 23 24 Science 28 24.5 26 ———————————————--- OVERALL: 24 25 25 above the state average At 31 per class, the fourth-grade number deviated most from the state average, which was 26 At the middle and high school levels, the district’s math and science classes were below the state average, and its English classes were just above the state average of 24 In Hermiston, e[cept for kinder- garten, all elementary grades were lower than the state averages At the middle and high school level, however, English classes tied the state average of 24, and there were two more students per Hermiston class in math and science Morrow &ounty School District elementary classes were all below the state average e[cept for the ¿ fth grade at 30 students per class Middle and high school English, math and science classes were below state averages Milton-Freewater kindergarten classes were a half student higher than the state average, but all other elemen- tary and secondary English, math and science classes were less than the state numbers Kindergarten and grades 3-5 in Umatilla had larger classes than the state averages, but core secondary classes were below the state numbers BRIEFLY First Saturday Breakfast this weekend STANFIELD — Homemade breakfast food is available during the First Saturday Breakfast at the Stan¿ eld &ommunity &enter The meal is Saturday from 10 am at 225 : 5oosevelt Ave, Stan¿ eld People can order what they like, including everything from pancakes, French toast or biscuits with “real gravy” to eggs, bacon or sausage The cost for a large breakfast is typically $5 or so and smaller portions may be as little as $ For more information, call &heryl Tucker at 515101 Oldies Night features ‘70s hits 0ILTONF5EE:ATE5 — Forty¿ ve years ago “Bridge Over Troubled :ater” was the biggest hit of the year In addition, Elton -ohn was enMoying his ¿ rst chart hit Hits from the ‘70s are featured during Oldies Night in 0iltonFreewater More than 600 records found their way onto that chart in 1970 — and BJ the DJ will spin about four dozen of them Saturday beginning at 7 pm at :esley Methodist &hurch, 16 S Main St, Milton Freewater The free event is appropriate for all ages For more information, contact Bob Jones at 541-938-7028 or dubuTuer#charternet Inland Musicians seeks chorale, orchestra members PENDLETON — :hat better way to get in the holiday spirit than making a joyful noise? Additional voices are needed for the Inland Northwest &horale Rehearsals are Mondays from 7-9 pm at Harris Junior Academy, 3121 S: Hailey Ave, Pendleton The Inland Northwest Orchestra begins its rehearsals Thursday, Nov 12 from 630-930 pm, also at Harris Junior Academy The combined &hristmas concerts are Dec 11-13 No auditions are required to participate in the ensembles For more information, contact 541-289-4696 or inwm@ machmedianet Hospital auxiliary hosts book sale HERMISTON — A book sale will help pay for hospital equipment and nursing scholarships The Good Shepherd Medical &enter au[iliary is hosting its :inter Book Sale :ednesday, Nov 11 and Thursday, Nov 12 from 730 am to 4 pm in the hospital’s pharmacy lobby, 610 N: 11th St, Hermiston Items available include books, games, gifts and toys The au[iliary also welcomes new members For an application, stop by the hospital gift shop ——— Submit information to: community@ eastoregonian.com or drop off to the attention of Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-966- 0818 with questions. The city of Umatilla took another step toward its goal of opening the Old Town Site to the public, authorizing the mayor to sign an agreement for non-native plant removal there The agreement is with the Army &orps of Engineers, which owns the land, and the &onfederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, which has an interest in the burial site and former Umatilla village site &ity manager Bob :ard told the council Tuesday that normally it would be the Army &orps of Engineers’ responsibility to handle the eradication process, but the city volun- teered to take the lead on vegetation management for the ne[t ¿ ve years because the &orps is “bureaucracy heavy and revenue light” “One of the primary concerns for both the tribes and the city is invasive species, and that has been a concern of the &orps of Engineers too,” :ard said The land was the site of the original city of Umatilla before predic- tions of À ooding from construction of the John Day Dam forced the city to move Before that it was a prehistoric settlement and later an Indian village and burial site :ard said the burial site will be the city and tribes’ primary focus to start Other areas of the old town site/Umatilla village will be more complicated because “the wildlife habitat down there people have come to enjoy is primarily invasive species” :ard said it will take si[ months to a year for the vegetation management permit to be approved On Tuesday the council also authorized the mayor to sign a second agreement with the Army &orps of Engineers, in this case a renewal of a ¿ ve-year lease of the Third Street soccer ¿ eld property The city is looking to add a second soccer ¿ eld there and wanted to upgrade to a longer lease before going ahead with improvements However, :ard told the council after meeting with the &orps he felt it was better to stick with the ¿ ve-year lease because a longer time frame would open the property to a right of ¿ rst refusal from another government agency He said adding a second soccer ¿ eld would also require additional parking, restrooms and an e[tension of the irrigation system already in place ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536 UMATILLA Student OK after being struck by vehicle Wednesday East Oregonian A &lara Brownell Middle School student struck by a vehicle :ednesday is reportedly home and doing well Umatilla School District Superintendent Heidi Sipe said emergency personnel responded after a male student was struck by a vehicle early :ednesday morning First responders e[amined the student, who was then taken to the hospital by his parents as a precaution, she said At 1:30 pm, the district announced the student was home and doing well “He is resting at home today, but the last report we had from the family indicated that he plans to attend school tomorrow,” Sipe said :ednesday afternoon Sipe didn’t know the e[act location of the incident As of :ednesday afternoon members of the Umatilla Police Department were unavailable for comment