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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 2016)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2016 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 LOCAL NEWS Locally grown foods featured at OSU dinner Specialty crops grown in the Columbia Basin make up creative menu educate and excite the pub- lic about what’s growing in their own community. “Just look at the diversity we have here,” said Hamm, station director for HAREC. “This is one of the best agri- cultural production regions in the world.” Thursday marked the WKLUGLQDVHULHVRI¿YHFURS up events across the state, and the only one to come to Eastern Oregon. Dinners have already been held in Aurora and Astoria, and two more are slated for Portland and Medford and Aug. 24 and Sept. 13, respectively. Modeled after the con- cept of pop-up restaurants, the crop-up series is all about showcasing Oregon-grown specialty fruits, vegetables and tree nuts. Oregon ranks sixth in the nation in special- ty crop production, accord- ing to ODA. The dinners are meant to help farmers get those products in the hands of consumers. In order to cook up some- WKLQJXQLTXHDWHDFKGLQQHU the OSU Food Innovation Center reaches out to lo- cal farms to see what crops are in season and then col- By GEORGE PLAVEN Staff Writer Phil Hamm is never one to hold back when it comes to promoting the Colum- bia Basin as an agricultural powerhouse. Farmers throughout the region grow more than 200 types of crops, Hamm said, WKDQNV WR D XQLTXH FRPEL- nation of climate, soils and clean water. The result is a bounty of nutritious vege- tables like potatoes, onions and carrots to go along with sweet treats like famous Hermiston watermelons. All those and more were on the menu Thursday during a special “crop-up” dinner hosted by Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Ag- riculture. The dinner, which was held at OSU’s Hermis- ton Agricultural Research and Extension Center, fea- tured dishes inspired by local ingredients, meant to that guests haven’t seen before, so they will feel inspired to go out support their local farms. “We have such a good diversity of ingredients,” he said. “It’s silly to not sup- port local farms and cook with local products.” Outside, guests at HAREC sat at long tables while vendors set up booths to showcase just some of what the region has to offer. When dinner was served, STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Ball provided a rundown of each course and the crops Naomi Sanchez, left, with Finley Fresh Produce hands a bag they used in each creation. of vegetables to Anna Rademacher at the crop up dinner Julia Turner, an interna- Thursday at HAREC in Hermiston. tional trade manager with Ball said they were ex- ODA, said the crop-up se- laborates with local chefs. Jason Ball, research chef pecting about 80 guests, and ries is meant to be fun and with the Food Innovation his team worked behind the educational. It was support- Center, said they teamed up scenes in a “kitchen” that ed by the federal Specialty with Walker’s Farm Kitch- was actually a conference Crop Block Grant Program, en in Hermiston to prepare room at the station. Still, which has invested $2 mil- each course they served at they pulled together to make lion in funding projects to boost Oregon’s specialty it work. HAREC. “We’re creating a really crops. The meal included fer- “We’re hoping to teach mented potato bread, baked XQLTXH GLQLQJ H[SHULHQFH with Yukon Gold potatoes; for people in the area,” Ball people a little something watermelon from Walchli VDLG³:H¶UHWRWDOO\ÀH[LEOH about specialty crops and Farms tossed with fresh cu- We can get any ingredients prepare some delicious food cumber, tomato and mint; and make something we VRWKH\FDQWDVWHWKHP¿UVW- hand,” Turner said. a watermelon-infused gaz- think is pretty tasty.” The event also honored The goal, Ball said, is to pacho; and beef tenderloin serve up something fresh T/7 Ranch, of Haines, as the served with corn relish. inaugural Farm to School Producer of the Year for the area. The Oregon Farm to School Program reimburs- es schools for purchasing products from local pro- ducers, and T/7 has been a major contributor over the years. Run by Brent and Jea- nette Thompson, the ranch has donated beef and po- tatoes to the nearby North Powder Schools, and also lent their expertise in help- ing the school of 360 kids build their own garden, growing lettuce, carrots, radish, peppers and more. “We are a farming com- munity, but not all kids have the opportunity to have hands-on learning of where their food comes from,” said Erin Thompson, Farm to School coordinator in North Powder and daughter-in-law to Brent and Jeanette. “A lot of the vegetables will be used in the school itself as part of the lunches.” The Crop-Up Dinner Se- ries and Market Showcase is set to continue next year, with DQRWKHU ¿YH HYHQWV DURXQG the state. The locations have not yet been announced. Remote-controlled aircraft take flight at first Ag Drone Rodeo Police: Little tips can be big help in solving crimes, saving lives By ANTONIO SIERRA Staff Writer 6WDQGLQJRQDVWDJHDWWKH¿UVW ever Ag Drone Rodeo, organizer Jeff Lorton compared the day’s events to those in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the site of WKH¿UVWPDQQHGÀLJKW The attendees of Thursday’s events were primarily concerned ZLWK XQPDQQHG ÀLJKW DV GR]HQV of people from across the state JDWKHUHGDW5RQ/LQQ¶VDLU¿HOGHDVW RI 6WDQ¿HOG IRU D VHULHV RI GURQH demonstrations focused on agri- culture. Hosted by the Pendleton Un- manned Aerial Systems Range and Oregon Future Farm, drone man- ufacturers and vendors like RDO, ,QVLWX DQG 0LFD6HQVH ÀHZ WKHLU UAS. Each company talked about their drone’s crop imaging capabil- ities and ease of use while piloting it on a short mission. Lorton said unmanned aerial vehicles would be a regular part of farming operations within 10 years and there was one working already on Hill Ranches near Pendleton. “This drone thing you’ve heard so much about is a reality,” he said. It’s certainly a reality for a group of students at Yamhill-Carl- ton High School, who are building a drone from scratch. A Yamhill County farmer com- missioned the drone so he could use the unmanned aerial vehicle RQ KLV EOXHEHUU\ ¿HOGV DQG RWK- er crops, Yamhill-Carlton math teacher Jordan Slavish said. The farmer agreed to pay for half of the cost to build it. A ded- icated after-school group of 6-7 students now gets a hands-on ex- perience building their own drone. Slavish was accompanied by Jeff Breazile and his son Zach, a students working on the drone. one know what they are legally allowed to do in certain circum- Local business owners stances, or helping angry neigh- learned about ways they can bors come to a compromise about help the police — and the police a nuisance, which can prevent the can, in turn, help them — during situation from escalating into a a Hermiston Chamber of Com- crime later. Osborne also shared infor- merce Business to Business lun- cheon Tuesday. mation about a free training the Sgt. Bill Osborne of Hermiston department offers, called Civil- Police Department told the group ian Response to Active Shooter that the biggest way people can Events (or CRASE), which helps help out the police department is people learn to stay calm and by helping be their eyes and ears. move away from danger in an “The best thing you can do to emergency, especially an active help keep your community safe is shooter situation. just to tell us,” he said. “If you see “This is simply a tool that saves something, report it.” lives,” he said. Osborne said a lot of times Osborne said the average po- people will notice something out lice response time in the Unit- of place or have a gut feeling ed States is three minutes. The something is wrong, but then end CRASE training teaches people up telling themselves they’re be- to act in ways that can help buy ing silly and they should just ig- them three minutes of safety until nore it. But he gave an example of police arrive. VRPHRQHZKROHWDQRI¿FHUNQRZ He gave the example of a crim- they had seen a suspicious person inal entering a building and open- behind a business, and when the LQJ ¿UH RQ WKRVH LQVLGH 3HRSOHV¶ RI¿FHUZHQWWRORRNKHGLVFRYHUHG instinct when they hear gunshots several pounds of meth stashed in is to run, but often they automati- a garbage can. cally run to the place they entered “We have solved all sorts of the building — straight toward the crimes from those little tips,” he shooter, in many cases. Training said. yourself to note where all of the If there seems to be any imme- exits are when you enter a build- diate danger, he said, call 9-1-1 ing or room can help you move and report it to a dispatcher. But away from danger instead of to- if the problem is a chronic one or ward it, Osborne said. someone is just looking for infor- He said the department holds mation they call the front lobby at classes from time to time for 541-567-5519, email one of the groups of individual citizens staff listed on the website or stop who have expressed an interest. E\WKHRI¿FH Employers can also contact the Osborne said the department department about scheduling a does a lot of “preventative main- CRASE training at their work- tenance” in the community by just SODFHRUSHRSOHFDQUHTXHVWLWIRU talking to people. Letting some- their church or other group. By JADE McDOWELL Staff Writer STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Farmer Forrest Frantz of Hood River gives a close inspection to the 6HQVHÁ\H%HH8$9RQ7KXUVGD\GXULQJWKH$J'URQH5RGHRDW/LQQ $LUVWULSHDVWRI6WDQÀHOG Breazile, an engineer at Intel, said his employer is covering the expenses of the trip to Eastern Oregon, which the contingent is XVLQJDVDQRSSRUWXQLW\WR¿QGWKH software they need to compile ag- ricultural data. Although many in the agricul- tural industry see drones as a part of the future of farming, some GRQ¶WNQRZKRZTXLFNO\LWZLOOEH integrated. Todd Thorne, a member of the Pendleton Airport Commission and a former wheat farmer, said KHFRXOGGH¿QLWHO\VHHGURQHVEH- ing used now to help growers of high-value crops like potatoes and tree fruits. But the current cost of investing in a UAS might be too cost prohibitive for a lower-value crop like dryland wheat. :KLOH D TXDGFRSWHU GURQH FDQ now be bought for well under $100, the price tag for many of the professional-grade drones being demonstrated were in the thou- sands of dollars. Don Wysocki, a soil scientist with the Umatilla County Oregon State University Extension Ser- vice, concurred with Thorne. He said he saw drone operators leas- ing out UAS services to farmers rather than growers buying drones of their own. Phil Hamm, the station director of OSU’s Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center, said there’s a great deal of potential for farmers. Hamm said UAS can pinpoint the spots where pests are destroy- ing a crop, allowing the farmer to target that spot rather than blanket a large area with expensive, unnec- essary pesticide. Hamm also thought leasing drone services would proba- bly be the most immediate way UAVs would be integrated into farming. While he did note that farmers in the Columbia Basin are progres- sive in their ability to adapt to new technologies, Hamm said drone companies will have to appeal to growers’ business sense. “You have to prove to them that they can save money,” he said. IN BRIEF Flowers • Candles Jewelry • Plants Balloons & More! Put a smile on the heart with th the power of flowers. s. HWY 395, HERMISTON 541-567-4305 Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5am www.cottagefl owersonline.com Infant dies in Stanfield at 11:09 a.m. for a unre- sponsive infant on the 400 block of East Ball Avenue. Fire District 1 battal- A month-old Stanfield infant died Thursday, ion chief Corey Gorham said the crew worked to Aug. 18. Medics from Umatil- resuscitate the child and la County Fire District called the emergency de- 1, Hermiston, and the partment at Good Shep- 6WDQ¿HOG TXLFN UHVSRQVH herd Medical Center for team responded to a call more direction. The doctor, though, Gorham said, told the ¿UVW UHVSRQGHUV WKHUH ZDV nothing they could do. The child died at the scene. “You don’t want to go out on those calls,” Gor- ham said. He said he did not know what caused the death. ROADTRIP Trip programs. There is a limit of one test drive for each program per household. The football team will scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 27, from 9-11 a.m. at the Kennison Field and a soccer game between Hermiston and Umatilla will be held at 6 p.m. land Road Two local auto deal- erships are teaming up to help Hermiston sports pro- grams. Tom Denchel Ford is bringing the Ford Motor Company’s Drive 4 UR School event to Hermiston. Tom Denchel Ford will do- nate $20 for every person who test drives a Ford ve- hicle at Hermiston High School on Saturday, Aug. 27 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Hermiston boys’ soccer and football pro- grams have the potential to raise up to $6,000 for each program. The soccer program could receive an addi- tional $2,000 for eligible test drives on a 2017 Ford Escape, meaning the soc- cer team could raise up to $8,000 on Saturday. Also on Saturday, Hermiston Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM is will be doing the Gridiron Challenge, with the potential to raise up to $5,000 for the foot- ball program. Drivers can test a Dodge RAM truck and Hermiston Chrysler Dodge will donate $20 per test drive in support of the football program. In order to do a test drive, a person must be 18 years of age or older and have a valid driver’s license. Eligible drivers can test both a Ford and Dodge to help both sports #Ric h Dealerships team up for Hermiston sports TO RICHLAND, WA 8SFRPLQJ HQWV (Y Park )HVWLYDOV ov v ie ie s s in in th th e e Park Mo 6 M August 2 26 The Tumbleweed d -4 2 t. p Se stival Music Fe stages or o td u s - Five o orkshop w 0 3 r e - Ov Market: Farmer’s Richland y a d ri F Every