Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 2015)
REGION Wednesday, January 7, 2015 East Oregonian Page 3A Residents encouraged Port, city nearing resolution on zoning to test for radon gas UMATILLA saying they are still addressing issues By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian The port and city of Umatilla have reached an agreement to resolve their year-old zoning dispute. Unless they haven’t. Port Manager Kim Puzey said there is an agreement in principle, though cer- tain “legal, jurisdictional and contractu- al implications” still require additional - ment. Until then, neither side is willing to recently met with a moderator behind closed doors, and made enough progress to postpone a hearing that was sched- uled for Dec. 23 before the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. The port commission met Tuesday afternoon, and Puzey issued a statement and future implications.” He did not pro- vide further comment. port property west of Bud Draper Road, adjacent to the Big River Golf Course. City maps show the land is zoned indus- trial and the port planned to build a $1.5 million freight warehouse on the site. But the city maintains the zoning - hensive plan map — the one that hangs on display in City Hall — was the result of an error more than 10 years ago, and the property was always planned for res- idential development. The city planning commission denied a site plan application for the warehouse, which was upheld by the city council upon appeal. The port then appealed to LUBA in Salem, before sides agreed to a series of meetings moderated by Joe Franell of Eastern Oregon Telecom. Franell attended the port meeting Tuesday, and said both sides have been easy and good to work with. City Man- ager Bob Ward is also optimistic a deal will get done soon, though he expects one more meeting later this month to iron out the details. “Just the fact that everyone is singing off the same sheet is cause for celebra- tion,” Ward said. The city previously offered for the on the property, which would have brought the issue back before city coun- cilors. The port rejected that option, insisting the city must acknowledge its ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@ eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4547. Open house Jan. 8 on city charter Area students will have an opportunity - cates to local businesses during a pair of scholarship and FAFSA events this week- end. Sponsored by Eastern Promise, trained volunteers will assist students in com- pleting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form during events - the FAFSA form, as well as making plans to earn college credits while still in high school through Eastern Promise. College credits through the program cost $10 per credit. The event for Mac-Hi and Weston-McE- wen students is Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at McLoughlin High School, 120 S. Photo courtesy of Oregon State Police Crash leaked oil into creek Sometime early Monday morning, a vehicle crashed off Interstate 84 about 10 miles east of Arlington, nearly ending up in Willow Creek. About 10 a.m., believed to be hours after the vehicle crashed, Or- egon State Police located a 1997 Chevrolet Blazer submerged in the waters off the westbound lanes. No one was inside the vehicle, but oil and gas was leaking into the creek and a roughly 300-foot slick had formed atop the water. Emergency and environmental cleanup crews were on scene for approximately seven hours investigating the crash and cleaning up the spill. The driver is unknown, but it is believed the person walked away from the crash before emergency personnel arrived. PENDLETON School could start before Round-Up in 2015 By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian This summer could be among the shortest ever for students and teachers in the Pendleton School District. At a special meeting Tues- day, Superintendent Jon Peter- son said the Pendleton School Board will decide next week whether to start the next school year on Aug. 31, almost two weeks before Round-Up. This school year ends on June 16, about 10 weeks before class would start again. Students would get nine days of instruction before re- ceiving a week-long break for Round-Up. The rest of the school year would proceed with the usual holidays and breaks before ending June 8. participants in the district’s calendar survey preferred starting school before Round- Up. The survey comes several years after the district delayed after the rodeo. If the district out of 10. Other Umatilla County and Morrow Coun- ty cities have been tested in and have not been given a score. In an effort to get a better understanding of the radon potential across the state, Oregon’s Radon Program is offering a free radon test kit to residents whose homes are in ZIP codes with fewer than 20 radon test results. Pendleton residents, who are not eligible, can still purchase the kits for between $15 and $25 at a hardware store. If dan- gerous levels of radon are found in a building, the owner is advised to hire a contractor to mitigate the problem. For more information, or to order a test kit, visit healthoregon.org/radon or call 971-673-0440. BRIEFLY East Oregonian Eastern Promise is growing a col- lege-going culture and increasing access to affordable college credits in high school for all students. For more information about the program, visit www.eastern-promise.org. For questions regarding the Scholarship and FAFSA Fairs, contact Eastern Promise K-12 Director Kris Mulvihill at kmulvi- hill@eou.edu or 541-571-5705. Most Eastern Oregon residents are eligible for free radon test kits from the state in recognition of National Radon Action Month. Radon is an invisi- ble, odorless radioactive gas that can rise from the ground and become trapped in buildings. The Environ- mental Protection Agency estimates it is responsible for 20,000 lung cancer deaths a year in the United States. According to the Oregon Radon Program, the risk of having dangerous levels of radon in a Pendleton home The program tested 28 lo- cations in Round-Up City. Seven locations in Hermis- ton have been tested, result- ing in a risk rating of four Scholarships available during FAFSA fairs and Echo students, the event is Saturday - ary School, 1120 N. Main St. Trained volunteers recently assisted 25 percent of all seniors from Boardman’s Riverside High School and Irrigon High School in completing FAFSA forms during an event held Jan. 3 in Boardman. Irrigon High School student Von Groves and Riverside High School students Alisha Sorensen and Aristotle Rockwell each won $500 scholarships at the FAFSA Fair in Boardman. In addition, Darin Hauner, Er- ica Goodwin and Alisha Sorensen all won East Oregonian maintained the current cal- endar, the 2015-2016 school year wouldn’t start until Sept. 21. Dave Fishel of the Wenaha Group was on hand to discuss - going changes to the district — the projects related to the $55 million capital improve- ment plan. Fishel said designs for new Washington and Sherwood Heights elementary schools were “95 to 99 percent” completed. He said contrac- tors plan to break ground on Washington in March and Sherwood Heights in April. As construction gears up, Fishel said Wenaha will hold another slew of public meet- ings for neighborhoods sur- rounding the schools. Fishel said he’s also interested in setting up opportunities to explain the process to school staff and students. While crews get ready to start work on two major projects, Fishel delivered a progress report on another centerpiece of the bond that’s W e appreciate your trust in our care. 27 SW Frazer, Pendleton, OR 97801 Kevin Andrews, MD, L.L.C. Internal Medicine (General Medical Care for Adults) • Preventative Care • Sports Physicals • Accepting Most Insurances Mon. - Wed. 7:30 AM - 5 PM Open Late Thursday - Appointments Until 6:30 Closed Fridays • 541-276-6244 already ongoing. Fishel said the Pendleton Early Learning Center, for- merly known as Hawthorne School, is still on-budget and on-schedule and may have just avoided a large obstacle to keeping it that way. At a meet- ing last month, Fishel said workers found a 20,000-gal- lon tank buried on the cen- ter’s campus. Given the tank’s proximity to the structure, extracting it would have been costly and time-consuming. Since that meeting, Wen- aha discussed the issue with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, which decided to allow the tank to remain in the ground if crews clean it properly. Security upgrades at Pend- leton High School and Sun- ridge Middle School also went off without a hitch, with con- tractors installing a gate for the high school and a staging area for the middle school. - HERMISTON — Hermiston residents curious about the city’s proposed charter are invited to an informational open house Thursday, Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the Hermiston Conference Center board room. The charter, similar to a constitution, lays out the city’s form of government. After 50 years without a major revision, the city council has been working to update the charter and put those updates in front of voters during the May election. Many of the revisions merely modernize the charter’s wording and close legal loopholes, but two major changes are being considered. The new charter, if adopted, would change the mayor’s term from two years to four years and would change the municipal judge from an elected position to one appointed by the city council. The city is looking for feedback on the provisions before measure. New AA group meets in Pendleton PENDLETON — A new meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous will gather weekly in Pendleton. The meeting is Thursdays from 5:15- 6:15 p.m. at St. Anthony Hospital, 2801 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton. The group meets in the conference room near the cafeteria. AA is a fellowship of men and women whose primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety. For more information, visit www. aa.org. Local bird club plans potluck PENDLETON — Raptor recovery and education programs at Blue Mountain Wildlife is the topic of a presentation for the Pendleton Bird Club. The public is invited to the meeting, which starts with a potluck Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the First Christian Church, 215 N. Main St., Pendleton. Those attending are asked to bring food to share, as well as their own table service (plates, silverware, cups, serving utensils). Coffee will be provided. For more information, contact pendletonbirdclub@ gmail.com or visit www. pendletonbirders.org. ——— 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. I’ve told Mom the same thing three times …but she seems to keep forgetting. IT’S NOT LIKE HER. come in the summer. That in- cludes security cameras and a key card system for the high school, air conditioning for Sunridge and a new telephone and intercom system for the entire school district. STUDENT OF THE WEEK Stacy Fitzpatrick N IXYAAWII H IGH S CHOOL Stacy Fitzpatrick is a sophomore, three sport athlete in volleyball, basketball and softball. She applies herself to her studies and has maintained all A’s throughout this year. She is a natural peer mentor who connects with students in a helpful and friendly manner. She has only missed a half day of school all year, and that was to take her drivers test. Nixyaawii is happy to have Stacy as a student athlete. Proudly Sponsored by WE CAN HELP. Call us with questions about aging and Alzheimer’s. 1-855-ORE-ADRC HelpForAlz.org 2801 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton, OR • 541-276-5121 OREGON DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAM
