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Thursday, June 9, 2022
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Drone
testing
range is
buzzing
Despite activity, Pendleton still
waiting economic boom
By KRISTIAN FODEN-VENCIL
Oregon Public Broadcasting
PENDLETON — Ten years ago, Pend-
leton’s Eastern Oregon Regional Airport
was an albatross: an expensive relic left over
from World War II.
“It was a pretty sleepy little regional air-
port, to be honest,” Pendleton Mayor John
Turner said.
Back then, the airport had only 20
employees, and there wasn’t enough eco-
nomic activity to justify a regular fl ight to
Portland.
But the Pendleton airport did have two
massive runways that date back to World
War II and carry a storied history. This is
where the so-called Doolittle Raiders — the
pilots who fi rst bombed Tokyo, taking off
from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS
Hornet in the middle of the Pacifi c Ocean
— trained for that mission.
In 2012, Pendleton hired a new economic
development director, Steve Chrisman, and
one of his top priorities was fi guring out a
better use for the airport. On his fi rst tour,
he met Oregon National Guard Lt. Col.
Alan Gronewald, who was overseeing a
drone test.
Chrisman said the offi cer had a simple
message for him: “He said, ‘Listen I don’t
want to tell you your job, Mr. Economic
Development Guy, but this world is coming
fast.’”
Gronewald was talking about drones. So
in partnership with the University of Alas-
ka-Fairbanks, the city applied to become a
federally approved drone test range. It was a
long shot; Oregon had neither a long history
of working with drones nor as much money
as others states. But in 2013 the Pendleton
Unmanned Aircraft System Range was
granted federal permission.
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Carrie Lowe, community science coordinator, helps students measure the water pH levels while attending the Qapqápnim Wéele/Grande Ronde
Community Science Project on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, at Bird Track Springs.
Going outdoors for
SCIENCE
Grande Ronde Community Science Project makes an impact on local students
By ISABELLA CROWLEY
The Observer
L
A GRANDE
— Local
high school
students traded their
science classroom and
textbooks for the great
A popular site
The concept of a federal commercial
drone testing range was relatively new, so
initially, Pendleton offi cials weren’t entirely
sure how to proceed. Gradually, city leaders
collected enough state and city money to
build new hangars so visiting drone compa-
nies could test and tweak their vehicles in
private.
Then, using an Oregon Innovation
Council grant, the airport bought laser cut-
ters, 3D printers and high-tech lathes, so
companies could remake broken drone parts
on-site and quickly resume testing.
The airport bought several mobile
air-command centers too, so companies
could drive out into the countryside to fl y
their drones over varied terrains, like can-
yons, forests, pastures and rivers. Most
recently, with the help of a $3 million fed-
eral grant, the airport built a 100-acre
industrial park with lightning-fast internet.
The result of all this work and spending:
outdoors and waders.
Thirty juniors from
La Grande High School
boarded buses Wednesday,
June 1, for Bird Track
Springs Campground,
about 14 miles from La
Grande, to participate in the
Qapqápnim Wéele/Grande
Ronde Community Science
Project. The students, who
were taking Brandon Gal-
vez’s environmental science
class, waded into the water
for a hands-on learning
experience.
“Kids deserve the oppor-
tunity to learn outside, and
we’re in the perfect place
for that,” said Carrie Lowe,
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Students learn about riparian zone vegetation while attending the Qapqápnim Wéele/Grande Ronde
Community Science Project on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, at Bird Track Springs.
MORE INFORMATION
To learn more or get involved
in the Qapqápnim Wéele/
Grande Ronde Community
Science Project, email
communityscience@grmw.org.
community science coor-
dinator contracted through
the Grande Ronde Model
Watershed.
Lowe said the pro-
gram encourages students
to pursue their scientifi c
interests.
“I want kids to know that
no matter what your gifts
are, what your passions are,
there is a place for you in
science,” she said.
Throughout the spring a
total of 330 students from
Union and surrounding
counties took part in the
community science project,
Lowe said. The project aims
to build awareness about the
importance of the watershed
by engaging young people in
monitoring projects.
Each group visited a dif-
ferent part of the Grande
Ronde watershed — an area
of land that channels rain-
fall and snowmelt to creeks,
streams and rivers before
eventually connecting to
outfl ow points, like reser-
voirs, bays or an ocean —
where they learned at three
workstations: water quality,
aquatic macroinvertebrates
and riparian vegetation.
While working at the
water quality station, stu-
dents measured water tem-
perature, pH level, channel
width and stream fl ow.
At the aquatic macro-
invertebrates station, they
See, Science/Page B2
See, Drones/Page B2
New women’s clothing boutique to open in July
Owners Reyna and
Craig Moschkau
say store will bring
more retail options
to downtown
By TRISH YERGES
For The Observer
LA GRANDE — New
business owners Reyna
and Craig Moschkau
will be hosting a grand
opening on Thursday,
July 7, of their new retail
women’s clothing store,
Bout Time Boutique, 109
Depot St., La Grande.
The Moschkau couple
moved back to La Grande
in 2020 from Gresham
and founded Bout Time
Boutique LLC last Feb-
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Craig Moschkau, left, and Reyna Moschkau stand outside their new
shop, Bout Time Boutique, in downtown La Grande on Monday, June
6, 2022. The store features women’s clothing.
A selection of clothing at Bout Time Boutique on Monday, June 6,
2022, is ready for the new shop’s July 7 grand opening on Depot
Street in downtown La Grande.
ruary in response to a
need they noticed for
more retail options in
downtown La Grande.
“I serve on the Union
we go and talk to people
they say they want more
retail, so we’re trying to
fill a need for women in
Union County and sur-
County Chamber board
and La Grande’s Eco-
nomic Vitality Committee
for Downtown Main
Street, and everywhere
rounding counties,” Craig
Moschkau said.
The store will be open
Thursdays through Sun-
days and will carry
clothing inventory for
everyday wear for women,
including jeans, leggings,
sweatshirts and hoodies.
“We’re also going
to have a lot of stylish,
updated clothes, dresses,
T-shirts, anything women
can wear any day of the
week,” he added. “We
will be inclusive of all
sizes so that people
coming into the store feel
that they can find some-
thing they can wear.
There will be a limited
selection of footwear
there too.”
Moschkau said the
store window display will
be changed out frequently
so that customers can see
a variety of the store’s
inventory. Customers
See, Boutique/Page B2