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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 2015)
REGION Tuesday, November 10, 2015 PENDLETON Families reconnect to river Pendleton River WalN celebrates 30 years Umatilla County OKs $150k for Pendleton radar By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Staff photo by Kathy Aney Richard Bertram, of Blue Mountain Fly Casters, gives tips to a young, aspiring fly fisherman Saturday during the Reconnecting to the River event at Roy Raley Park. Staff photo by Kathy Aney Richard Gabriel, original designer of the Pendleton River Walk, poses on the Bedford Bridge during Saturday’s Reconnecting to the River event. of the Pendleton River WalN opened to the public in 15, and the entire trail now runs from Highway 3 east to just past the Little League ParN It has become a popular spot for joggers, biNers, bird watchers, ¿shermen and anyone who enjoys being in nature Richard *abriel, a 6alem architect, conducted the original parNway study and sNetches that helped the project to become reality On 6aturday, he returned to Pendleton for the ¿rst time to see how the River WalN has been embraced by the community “I thinN it’s just wonderful,” *abriel said “Nature heals, and being here has to be a healing event, whether we Nnow it or not” Different groups hosted activity booths along the parNway, teaching every- thing from the life cycle of salmon to the names of native plants that grow along the stream banNs Jon 6taldine, director of the Umatilla Basin Watershed Council, said they wanted to give people a greater under- standing of these resources and how they are all inter- connected in the ecosystem “We hope they taNe away an understanding that these resources are all around them,” 6taldine said ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0825. PENDLETON Dinner with Friends, mini-auction raises money for arts center East Oregonian A 10-course tasting meal is featured during a fundraiser for Pendleton Center for the Arts Featuring the signature dishes of some of the staff and board members of the arts center, Dinner with Friends also includes a mini-auction Roberta Lavadour, arts center director, is looNing forward to some tasty entrpes ³Most of us cooN for our friends and family and everyone has that one dish that’s always a winner,” she said ³,t should be eclectic and delicious” Dinner with Friends is Monday, Nov 1 beginning with no-host cocNtails and the mini-auction at 50 pm at Virgil’s at Cimmiyotti’s, 1 6 Main 6t, Pendleton The meal will be served at 0 pm TicNets are 0 per person or 5 for a couple :ith seating limited to 0 guests, people are encouraged to reserve ticNets in advance by contacting 51-2-201, director#pendletonartsorg or stopping by the arts center at 21 N Main 6t, Pendleton The idea for the event came about during a conver- sation at a recent worN party at the arts center “While we were putting labels on postcards for the last e[hibit, we noticed that between us we Nnew every Page 3A Commissioners also seeN more oversight, input over EOTEC ¿nances By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Fall colors decorated the 8matilla River 6aturday as friends and families gath- ered for the 30th anniversary celebration of the Pendleton River WalN at Roy Raley ParN The event, named “Reconnect to the River,” featured a variety of activity stations along the parNway highlighting the river’s many plants, animals and natural functions Children huddled up to tables where they made pine cone bird feeders, colored pictures of salmon and even held a live cocNroach Event planners included East Oregonian Publisher Kathryn Brown; Betty Klepper, a retired scientist and member of the former group 6tewards of the Umatilla River Environ- ment; Deb WhittaNer and Donny CooN of Pendleton ParNs Recreation; and Jon 6taldine and Colleen 6anders of the Umatilla Basin Watershed Council “We are so fortunate to have this beautiful river Àowing through town,” Brown said “The wildlife here is telling us the river is a safe and healthy place to live” It wasn’t always that way Urban development in the 20th century resulted in poor water practices that left the stream all but dry and wiped out salmon runs for nearly 0 years 6almon have since returned, thanNs in large part to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, which has spearheaded restoration projects and run a successful hatchery program *ary James, ¿sheries program manager with the tribes, spoNe at the event 6aturday and described the CTUIR’s vision for a healthy river system “Everybody bene¿ts from a healthy river,” James said “6o much development in the past century has been Nind of tunnel vision” Of course, farmers need water for irrigation, James said But resources such as clean water and abundant wildlife also depend on a natural Àowing river corridor That’s why the tribes are worNing to restore historic Àoodplains and improve habitat for ¿sh and animals — part of their cultural and ceremonial First Foods, he said The ¿rst half-mile stretch East Oregonian EO file photo Marquelle Barfuss works on a paper mache bird during a past Arts Have Class program at Pendleton Center for the Arts. The upcoming Dinner With Friends event will help raise money for free art classes at the center. one of our 500 members,” Lavadour said That sparNed a discussion to have the staff and board host a get-together for a nice meal — while at the same time raising some money to support the center’s free art classes The event, Lavadour said, is an off-year alternative to the big, gala auction event that the organization hosts during even-numbered years Items up for bid include artworN by a couple of regional artists, 6eaPort Airlines Àights and a private tour of Harriet Isom’s art collection and dinner at her home at her family ranch in Echo Lavadour was pleased at the support of Virgil’s at Cimmiyotti’s Owner Jennifer Keeton donated use of the facility for the event For more information about activities and classes at Pendleton Center for the Arts, visit wwwpendletonartsorg CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT CLASS Oregon - Utah - Valid 35 States PENDLETON Red Lion - 304 SE Nye Ave. Nov. 11 th • 1:00 pm or 6:00 pm Umatilla County Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 to provide 150,000 to help the city of Pendleton get a radar system at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport And the board is moving to have more input and control over the ¿nances of the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center The money is a third of a 50,000 local match the city needs to qualify for a 15 million Oregon Department of Transpor- tation grant to install the radar system and boost the appeal of the remotely manned aerial vehicle range at the airport The city, Port of Umatilla and now Umatilla County plan to split the match evenly County commissioners approved giving the funds in 30,000 chunNs over ¿ve years, the same deal the Port Commission made The vote came Monday morning after commissioners tooN a few days to review the request that came last weeN from MiNe 6hort, president of the Round-Up City Devel- opment Corp, which solic- ited money for the grant on behalf of Pendleton Commissioner Bill Elfering, who participated via phone, said the county’s economic development budget did not have the 150,000 up front, but it could give 30,000 a year The action came in the waNe of commissioners voting last weeN to have the county give 00,000 to the ongoing creation of the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center in Herm- iston After the meeting, 6hort said the funding date arrives August 201, and by then the city will have one or maybe two of the payments in hand The grant also allows for “some” leeway on when the city needs to have the money, he said, and it will not all be due until after the radar is in place and worNing “It would have been better to have it up front,” he said, “but not everyone has the capacity to do that” Funding gaps for these types of grants are not uncommon, 6hort said, and e[pressed optimism the money would worN out County commissioners also discussed having the county budget of¿cer Robert Pahl serve as a non-voting member on the EOTEC board and as its treasurer Pahl said he used to handle the EOTEC booNs for about a year *ivens said the county would gain some “internal policy standing” *ivens and Port of Umatilla general manager Kim Puzey would remain as the county’s voting members on the board MurdocN said he would liNe to see the county budget of¿cer serve as a voting member if there was an opening, and he wanted a county policy specifying a sitting commissioner must serve on the board *ivens also said the county wants EOTEC to provide a comprehen- sive business plan, and MurdocN added that should include a rainy day fund Elfering said the EOTEC would be self-sus- taining and a rainy day fund would be good business MurdocN said the issue is EOTEC has nothing in writing to establish such as fund County counsel Doug Olsen said he would draft proposals for commis- sioners to consider ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0833. BRIEFLY Family Care Health sets open house PENDLETON — An open house is planned at Family Care Health, a Medicare Advantage Plan, which recently moved to its new oI¿ce location Family Care members and anyone curious about what a Medicare advantage plan is, and how it differs from standard Medicare or a Medicare supplement, is encouraged to stop by This is especially timely with the current Medicare open enrollment period, which ends Dec The open house is Thursday from pm at 6 Main 6t, Pendleton The of¿ce is open weeNdays from am to 5 pm For more information, call 512 Fitness studio hosts Woman’s Day HE5M,6TON — Fashion, food and fun are planned during :oman¶s Day at Higher Power Fitness The free event is 6aturday beginning at am with NicNbo[ing The rest of the fun, which includes several vendors, runs from noon to pm at 1055 6 Highway 5, 6uite 202, Hermiston Donations of gently used clothing, coats and shoes will be accepted on behalf of the local women¶s shelter For more information, contact 5125 or info# higherpower¿tnessllccom Fully Digital Enya 3 Series Hearing Aid Now $ 950 Only • Enhances Speech • Reduces Noise Call 541-276-3155 Ruud’s Hearing Aid Service Sale price valid on the Resound Enya 3 series. Limit two at the promotional price. No other offers or discounts apply. Discount does not apply to prior sales. Offer expires November 25, 2015. Brian Pilmer Thank You for Your Service! Walk-Ins Welcome! OR/Utah: (Valid in WA) $80.00 or Oregon only: $45 www.FirearmTrainingNW.com • FirearmTrainingNW@gmail.com 360-921-2071 509 SW Frazer Pendleton, Oregon 97801 Office 541-278-4963 farmers.com