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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 2015)
REGION Saturday, February 28, 2015 BRIEFLY Police chase zooms through town MILTON-FREEWATER — A police chase Thursday sped through Milton- Freewater neighborhoods and ended with the arrest of a Pendleton man. Milton-Freewater police Chief Doug Boedigheimer reported Abel Ramirez Matamoros Jr., 34, is in the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton, on misdemeanor and felony charges. Boedigheimer in a written statement said an off-duty Milton-Freewater RI¿FHUDWDERXW p.m. was southbound into Milton-Freewater on Highway 11 when he saw Matamoros driving a maroon 2005 Dodge Durango northbound at a high speed “and in an HUUDWLFPDQQHU´7KHRI¿FHU called an on-duty Milton- )UHHZDWHURI¿FHUDERXWWKH driver. 7KDWRI¿FHUUHVSRQGHG onto South Main and saw the Durango speeding into town off Milton Hill. The cop changed directions to northbound and hit his patrol car’s overhead lights, but the Durango kept going and the chase was on. Boedigheimer reported the pursuit exceeded 50 mph in a residential zone, traveled onto South Mill Street and ended in the parking lot of Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza, 137 S. Columbia St., Milton-Freewater. The chase lasted no more than ¿YHPLQXWHV Two off-duty cops also responded, as did a police supervisor. The group ordered Matamoros from the Durango, according to the chief, and took him into custody without further incident. Matamoros faces charges of felony eluding police in a vehicle and misdemeanors of reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person. He also is in MDLOIRUIDLOXUHWRSD\¿QHV Power failure caused by tree trimming HERMISTON — 7UDI¿FZDVEDFNHGXSRQ Highway 395 at noon on Friday after power was cut WRWUDI¿FVLJQDOVKRPHV and businesses across Hermiston. Umatilla Electric Cooperative announced the failure was caused by “an individual cutting tree limbs” near Northwest Ninth Street and West Madrona Avenue. %\SPHOHFWULFLW\ was restored to all but 16 customers around the source of the outage. The cooperative urged people to use caution when trimming trees near power lines. Customers can call UEC or Hermiston Energy Services to determine if it is safe to cut the limbs themselves. If it is not, UEC or HES will perform the work. Page 3A PENDLETON Water summit comes to Eastern Oregon By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian the class hosts a tour of the SURJUDP¶V¿UVWKRXVHRQ Monday. Tours of the house, located at 895 West Angus Court next to Armand Larive Middle School, will UXQIURPSP High school students from Hermiston, Umatilla DQG6WDQ¿HOGEURNHJURXQG on the house in August 2014 and have been working with mentors from the homebuilding industry all year to learn the skills of the trade while building a house that will be sold to fund construction of another house during next year’s class. 6WXGHQWVMXVW¿QLVKHG working with Mr. Insulation Co., Hermiston, to insulate the home, and deputy superintendent Wade Smith said in a news release that the house is at the “perfect stage” to showcase the students’ work. “Visitors will be able to see the care, craftsmanship, and top-shelf design and components put into the house before they are covered by the wall, ceiling, DQGÀRRUFRYHULQJV´KH said. City considers library, dispatch agreements PILOT ROCK — The Pilot Rock City Council will consider a new agreement for library services when it meets Tuesday night. The council also will vote on DGHDOIRUSROLFHDQG¿UH dispatch service. The Pilot Rock Public Library’s revenue comes from its own taxing district and not from city funds. An agreement between the two ensures the library continues to operate in the city, according to a memo from library director Susan Hilliard to the city council. Hilliard also called WKHOLEUDU\DEHQH¿WWRWKH community. The council also will consider a proposal to pay $6,000 to Umatilla County to provide dispatch services. That amount came after the police department negotiated with the county WRORZHUWKH¿JXUHIURP $7,000. Pilot Rock, like most cities in Umatilla County, does not have its own dispatch center and relies on the county for the service. The council also will hear a presentation about WKHFLW\¶V¿QDQFLDO audit. The council will meet at 7 p.m. at the council chambers, 144 N. Alder Place. ——— Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports, and press releases. Email press releases to news@ eastoregonian.com Student-built home open to tours on Monday HERMISTON — Anyone interested in Hermiston School District’s homebuilding program is invited to see the students’ handiwork up close when East Oregonian Sat. 9-6 • Sun 9-4 SEE US AT THE TRI-CITIES GREAT OUTDOOR EXPO www.SCIShows.com PENDLETON MUSIC CO. Locally owned & family operated Manager Angela Thompson welcomes accredited instrument technician JOSHUA FREEMAN to our team of professionals. Come see what else is new! We are ready to serve you! Mon. - Sat. 11-6 541-276-6621 340 S. Main St. From Dr. Hibbert, Lacee, Jessica, Bailey, Heather, and Sarah 541-612-3707 It’s no secret that water is a pretty big deal in Eastern Oregon. Faced with growing demand and economic reward, local farmers have been trying for years to secure new wa- ter supplies for irrigation from the Co- lumbia River. But the answer isn’t that VLPSOHHQGDQJHUHG¿VKDOVRQHHGZDWHU to survive, and hydroelectric dams need water to keep the power grid in balance. The result is a complicated maze of laws, regulation and compromise. It’s against that backdrop the agricultural WHDP IURP 'XQQ &DUQH\ ODZ ¿UP RI Portland held a water summit Friday in Pendleton. About 40 people gathered at the Slickfork Saloon to hear a brief presen- tation from Tom Byler, director of the Oregon Water Resources Department, as well as a panel discussion about the future of water availability for agricul- ture. 'XQQ&DUQH\²WKHVDPH¿UPWKDW represented an area farmer in the myste- ULRXVFDVHRIJHQHWLFDOO\PRGL¿HGZKHDW in 2013 — has hosted a number of agri- cultural summits in the past, but never one east of the Cascades. The timing is appropriate, with potentially millions of dollars in state funding for water proj- ects working its way through this year’s legislature. Newly appointed Gov. Kate Brown has said she will pursue a $51.6 mil- lion water development fund that John Kitzhaber proposed before his resigna- WLRQ)ULGD\DOVRPDUNHGWKH¿UVWGD\RI rules advisory meetings for Senate Bill 839, which was approved by the 2013 EO file photo In this Sept. 2013 file photo drag tubes are used on irrigation pivots for land application of Hermiston Foods wastewater in alfalfa fields. legislature and authorizes a $10 million Water Supply Development Account. Agriculture already accounts for 85 percent of the state’s water use, yet fore- casts show it will need another million acre-feet to keep up with demand. One acre-foot is equal to 326,000 gallons of water. “We know there’s new demand on the horizon,” Byler said. “However we solve our problem is going to take time, it’s going to take energy and it’s going to take money.” SB 839 is the horse they’re riding to get there, Byler said. A four-member panel talked in great- er detail about how to get projects off the ground, from navigating complex laws WREXLOGLQJDV\VWHPWKDWFDQHI¿FLHQWO\ pump water to the farm. Any water taken from the Columbia River must be mitigated through buck- et-for-bucket replacement, said Kate Moore, environmental attorney with Dunn Carney. It must also remain in stream between April 15 and Sept. 30, ZKHQLW¶VQHHGHGIRU¿VKUXQV ³'HVSLWHDOOWKHVHGLI¿FXOWLHVWKHUH¶V a lot of opportunity here,” Moore said. Craig Reeder, board chairman for the Northeast Oregon Water Association, believes they have a balanced solution. Their project calls for up to 500 cubic feet per second of new water into three distinct critical groundwater areas, in exchange for mitigation work farther upstream. Last November, a top resources aide for Kitzhaber said they were “weeks away” from a deal between NOWA and environmental groups that would clinch a smaller chunk of water to get the proj- ect started. That was before all the dra- PDLQWKHJRYHUQRU¶VRI¿FHDQG5HHGHU said they have been reassured the sup- port is still there under new Gov. Brown. “We’re closer than we have ever been,” Reeder said. “We’ve got a shot. So be involved, and ask how you can participate.” PENDLETON City to add more eyes to review airport plan By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian The city of committees plans to add two more to its ranks, but one will be short- lived. The Pendleton City Coun- cil will consider appointing seven people to an airport master plan advisory com- mittee. Mayor Phillip Houk said the committee is tem- porary and is a requirement under the city’s 20-year com- prehensive plan. Pendleton has 20 committees, commis- sions and boards, according to the city website, not in- cluding ad-hoc committees. A memo about the advi- sory committee said it would provide input to the city on a multitude of topics concern- ing the Eastern Oregon Re- gional Airport, which the city owns, including an inventory of existing conditions, facili- ties, airport needs and opera- tional issues. The Pendleton Airport Commission already looks at the master plan, Houk said, but the advisory committee is meant to provide fresh eyes and ideas. The com- mittee has no voting power, and Houk said it would meet DURXQG ¿YH WLPHV RYHU WKH course of a year. Mike Short has applied to serve on the committee. He is the only applicant who now serves on the Airport Commission, according to the city’s website. Other ap- plicants include Mary Lemm Davis with Eastern Ore- gon Nutrition Services; Jeff Holmes, a recent member of the city’s Solid Waste Advi- sory Board; and attorney Will Perkinson, who also serves on the city library board. The city council also will consider creating a tree commission, one of four standards the city needs to achieve Tree City USA rec- ognition. A memo to the council from parks director Donnie Cook said the city meets the RWKHU WKUHH UHTXLUHPHQWV having a tree care ordinance, an Arbor Day observation and a spending at least $2 per capita on buying and caring for trees. And among other issues, the council will vote on in- creasing the daily rates of three meetings rooms at the Pendleton Convention Cen- ter from $55 to $110, which would generate about $1,000 a year. The Pendleton City Council will meet at 7 p.m. at the council chambers in city hall, 500 S.W. Dorion Ave.
