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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2015)
REGION Friday, February 6, 2015 ECHO Wind farm says transmission route would be permitted locally Refutes county’s claim of trying to ‘game the system’ By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian The developer of a pro- posed 500-megawatt wind farm in Umatilla and Mor- row counties has asked Umatilla Electric Cooper- ative to own the project’s transmission lines and deter- mine the best route to avoid impacting local landowners, especially farmers. Wheatridge Wind ener- gy LLC wants to build up to 292 turbines on 50,000 acres of private land, though its preliminary application to the Oregon Energy Facil- ity Siting Council does not address where transmission lines would be located to connect onto the power grid. On Wednesday, Umatil- la County Planning Direc- tor Tamra Mabbott said the wind farm and transmission system should be consid- ered together under the same proposal and not treated as separate developments. She accused the Ione-based company of trying to “game the system” and leaving po- tentially affected landown- ers in the dark. But Jerry Rietmann, who owns Wheatridge Wind En- ergy with his business part- ner, Andrew O’Connell, said they reached out to UEC be- cause the cooperative would be more sensitive and under- standing of landowner con- cerns, as opposed to estab- lishing a transmission route in their site application with an unknown third party. “I don’t think that’s gam- ing the system. I think that’s being transparent,” Riet- mann said. According to the wind farm’s preliminary site cer- WL¿FDWH DSSOLFDWLRQ :KHDW- ridge plans to use 230-kilo- volt lines connecting to one of two proposed substations in the region: one near Stan- ¿HOGRUDQRWKHUQHDUWKH3RUW of Morrow. The lines would be owned by UEC, possibly in partnership with the Co- lumbia Basin Electric Coop- erative based in Heppner. UEC spokesman Steve Meyers said they are still having conversations about owning the lines. No deci- sions have been made about possible routes. Wheatridge does not intend to start building tur- bines without the transmis- sion plan in place, Rietmann said. In fact, he anticipates they are still another year away from obtaining state approval for the wind farm. Construction wouldn’t begin until late 2016 or early 2017. “I don’t think anyone is asking we put a project in the ground without the transmission resolved,” Ri- etmann said. Rietmann is himself a farmer in Morrow and Gil- liam counties and said he understands the impacts transmission lines can have on farms. Locally owned electric cooperatives have been responsive to his con- cerns in the past, he said, and KH LV FRQ¿GHQW WKH :KHDW- ridge project will be no dif- ferent. “I would like to think we are being smart developing this, and making sure we have a credible partner,” Ri- etmann said. Mabbott said the county would never permit an en- ergy facility without con- sidering transmission. She is in the process of drafting comments to the state De- partment of Energy, and hopes they will defer to the county’s interpretation. “We don’t want to sup- port the project at the ex- pense of landowners that will have a transmission line running over their property,” Mabbott said. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-564-4547. PENDLETON White-Zollman hired at BMCC as Vice President of Public Relations dent Camille Preus. “Her communications and mar- Blue Mountain Com- keting experience, as well munity College has hired as her knowledge of edu- Casey White-Zollman as cational partnerships within Vice President of Public our district and across the state, are import- Relations. ant attributes for The position the public rela- was recently tions position.” created to help White-Zoll- BMCC better man earned a promote its pro- bachelor’s of sci- grams and events ence degree in and provide inter- journalism from nal and external the University communication. of Portland. She White-Zollman will oversee White-Zollman has served on the board of directors communications related to BMCC’s capital for the Oregon School Pub- construction bond, which lic Relations Association will appear on the May 19 since 2011, including serv- ballot. She will also provide ing as president in 2013- strategic direction for the 2014, and is a member of the National School Public BMCC Foundation. White-Zollman, current- Relations Association. She ly the Director of Commu- co-chairs the Pendleton nications at the InterMoun- Round-Up’s Tough Enough tain Education Service To Wear Pink breast can- District, starts her new po- cer campaign and serves on the boards of directors sition on Feb. 19. “We are very excited to for Tonya’s House and the have Casey join the BMCC Education Foundation of team,” said BMCC Presi- Pendleton. East Oregonian East Oregonian Page 3A Man arrested for murder of Boardman man Yakima Valley Herald YAKIMA, Wash. — Ya- kima County sheriff’s de- tectives say a Washington man arrested on suspicion of murder lured a Boardman man to the Lower Valley with an offer to buy his car then shot him. The body of Antonio Her- nandez-Ledezma, 24, has not yet been found, accord- ing to investigators. The victim was facing rape charges in Yakima County Superior Court af- ter allegedly impregnating a 13-year-old relative of the suspect, according to court records. Investigators say Yoset Dominguez-Serrano offered to buy Hernandez-Ledez- ma’s car as a pretext to lure him from Oregon. Photo contributed by Yakima County Sheriff’s Office This 2009 Ford Mustang belonging to Antonio Hernan- dez-Ledezma, of Boardman, was found abandoned with blood and a fired bullet inside near Zillah, Wash- ington. Hernandez-Ledezma is presumed dead. Hernandez-Ledezma was last seen Tuesday getting into the passenger seat to al- low a potential buyer to test drive the car, sheriff’s Detec- tive Sgt. Mike Russell said in a news release. A witness later identi- ¿HG WKH ZRXOGEH EX\HU DV Dominguez-Serrano, ac- FRUGLQJWRDQDI¿GDYLW Later Tuesday, deputies were asked to check on an abandoned vehicle near a Zillah-area orchard. The green Ford Mustang had a broken window and a signif- icant amount of blood on the passenger seat, detectives VDLG$¿UHGEXOOHWZDVDOVR found inside during a later search. 2I¿FLDOVVD\WKH\DUHVWLOO searching for Hernandez-Le- dezma’s body. Dominguez-Serrano ap- peared in Yakima County Superior Court Thursday where bail was set at $1 mil- lion. He is being held on sus- SLFLRQRI¿UVWGHJUHHPXUGHU DQG¿UVWGHJUHHDVVDXOW PENDLETON Community theater stages courtroom drama ‘Twelve Angry Jurors’ opens with pay-what- you-can preview “I am thrilled with my cast, comprised of men and wom- en of all ages, as they each bring a unique dynamic personality to their character.” East Oregonian Tempers are short and arguments are heated as College Community The- atre presents “Twelve Angry Jurors.” The play begins after closing arguments have been presented in the mur- der case of a 19-year-old man accused of stabbing his father. The jury begins deliberations where a guilty verdict means an automatic death sentence. It looks like an open and shut case, un- til one of the jurors begins to sow a seed of reasonable doubt. The story quickly be- comes a study of the jurors’ complex personalities and prejudices as they are forced to re-examine the murder, separating fact from conjec- ture. A special “Pay-What- You-Can Preview Night” is Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m. in Bob Clapp The- atre in Pioneer Hall at Blue Mountain Community Col- lege, 2411 N.W. Carden Ave., Pendleton. Subse- quent performances are Feb. 13-14, 19-21 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinées Feb. 15 and 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets — Venessa Hawkins, director Photo contributed by Debbie McIntosh John Scanlan, Gary Ferguson, J.J. Hill and Murray Dun- lap rehearse a scene from “Twelve Angry Jurors.” The production opens with a pay-what-you-can preview night Thursday, Feb. 12 at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton. are $10 for adults and $5 for students and children 3 and older. Adapted by Sherman L Sergel and based on an Emmy Award-winning TV movie by Reginald Rose, director Vanessa Hawkins is a fan of the original tele- play for “Twelve Angry Men” and is excited to bring the production to the stage in Pendleton. “I am thrilled with my cast, comprised of men and women of all ages, as they each bring a unique dynam- ic personality to their char- acter,” she said. “Despite the intense drama of the script, we have enjoyed a lot of fun and discovery along the way.” The twelve jurors are Gary Burnett, Karen Case, Murray Dunlap, Chris Fer- guson, Gary Ferguson, Re- becca Foster, Matt Henry, J.J. Hill, Joshua King, Aus- tin Larsen, Marge Norming- ton-Jones and John Scanlan. The guard is played by Aar- on Bennett and the part of the judge is spoken by Steve Bowen. Backstage, Bowen serves as stage manager and prop master; King is production manager, technical director and set designer; Gary Fer- guson designed the lighting; and Sharon Hill supervised the costumes. Tickets are available in WKH 3LRQHHU +DOO ER[ RI¿FH Monday through Friday from noon to 2 p.m. be- ginning Feb. 9, by calling 541-278-5953 or at the door prior to performances. For more information, contact Craig McIntosh, CCT ar- tistic director, at 541-278- 5928 or cct@bluecc.edu. Universal health care coalition planing rally at Capitol building East Oregonian Health Care for All Orego- nians, a coalition that advo- cates for universal healthcare, will be coordinating a rally on the steps of Oregon capitol building Wednesday. While praising the in- creased insurance coverage created under the Affordable Care Act, a press release pro- moting the rally states 5 per- cent of Oregonians are still uninsured and many more have insurance that isn’t suf- ¿FLHQWWRWKHLUQHHGV The rally will feature live music, personal testimonials and a speech from Sen. Mi- chael Dembrow, D-Portland. Dembrow introduced a bill in 2013 that mandated a study of the best way to fund insurance for state citizens. Although it won passage, the study went unfunded. After private funding was raised to partially fund the study, Dembrow plans to sub- mit a bill to secure the rest of the funding. The release states that Dembrow also plans to intro- duce an universal healthcare bill. The coalition anticipates 2,500 people at the rally, with buses and carpools expected to come from Portland, Eu- gene, Corvallis, La Grande, Ashland and the Oregon coast. BUCKAROO BOOSTER CLUB FUNDRAISER Dinner and Auction Over $30,000 in auction items up for bid Cracked Crab • Baked Salmon • Tri-Tip Steak • Complimentary Beer Wednesday, February 11 th • $ 25 per person Dinner 6-7:30 pm • Auction 7:00 pm Pendleton Convention Center Limited to first 500 tickets sold Tickets available at Big John's Pizza, Pendleton Athletic and Dave's Food Mart. Must be 21 & over to attend Robert Alan Pratt DMD, PC Presented by: Save the Date SATURDAY, FEB. 14 M AKE Y OUR R ESERVATIONS T ODAY ! Bleu Cheese Topped Sirloin Fire Roasted Salmon with Pineapple Salsa Live Music AT 10:00 P IN THE SALOON WHISKY BARREL ROCKER F R E E SALOON OPENS AT 4 PM DINNER BEGINNING AT 5 PM - N O C O V E R R E S E R VAT I O N S 541.278.1100 H AMLEY S TEAK H OUSE COURT & MAIN • DOWNTOWN PENDLETON Love Notes Tell The World How You Feel, Send A Message To Your Special Someone For Valentine's Day! ONLY $ 25 15 words + picture ONLY $ 20 15 words only February 14th in the Hermiston Herald & East Oregonian Your Name: Daytime Phone: Address: Person's Name: Message: Mailed check or money order I would like to pay with my credit card Circle one: Visa or Mastercard Cardmember Name: Card Number: Cardholder's Address: Expiration Date: Emailed photo to classifieds@eastoregonian.com Entries must be received by Feb. 6th at noon Fill out this form and send to: PAULA SMOOTZ 541-278-2678 211 SE Byers Ave, Pendleton
