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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2015)
Oregon pot origin HERMISTON DROPS SEASON OPENER 61/36 BASEBALL/1B NORTHWEST/2A WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 139th Year, No. 109 WINNER OF THE 2013 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD One dollar PENDLETON Council approves $1.7M for airport Grants, loan will build three hangers By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris River Point Farms workers plant onion seeds in a fi eld near County Line Road on Tuesday west of Hermiston. Due to an unusually warm winter, onion producers are able to plant their crops earlier than in previous years. No tears over early start Drought declared in SE Oregon So far, so good as planting season begins for Columbia Basin onions By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian The Columbia Basin could see a bumper onion crop in 2015, so long as the bulbs don’t burn out come summer. Planting began March 4 at Riv- er Point Farms in Hermis- ton, about a Staff photo by E.J. Harris week ahead Alfredo Armenta of Irrigon pours seeds into a planter on the back of schedule. of a tractor Tuesday while planting onion fi elds west of Hermiston. That’s another week for on- North America. “If we’ve got good cover, we can ions to remain 2XWLQWKH¿ HOG7XHVGD\FUHZV sleep at night.” u n d e rg r o u n d planted rows of seeds between Since that cover is already es- and “put on For more stout, durable wheat that acts as tablished, Gehrke said it shortens leaves,” said on National Day, see a cover crop when the wind be- the window of time when new- farm manager Ag Page 9A. gins to blow. Warmer-than-usual ly planted onions are vulnerable. Delbert Geh- weather has helped the irrigated Watering and spraying schedules rke, growing wheat grow more quickly through become more predictable, and af- bigger and heartier than they would during a winter, providing enough cover to ter several months pass, the plants protect tiny onion stems from the themselves will grow big and tall shorter season. River Point Farms bills itself as light, sandy soil sent swirling in a enough to create their own wind- break. America’s largest onion produc- stiff breeze. Without cover, Gehrke said the “A warm spring usually makes er, with 5,000 acres of farmland located primarily in Umatilla and dust eats away at emerging onions for a good onion crop,” Gehrke said. “For us, it’s kind of exciting.” Morrow counties. It is well known like sandpaper. “We can lose more onions to for providing 100 percent of red See ONIONS/9A onions to Subway restaurants in wind than anything else,” he said. Mirroring the high risk/high reward nature of the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems Range, the Pendleton city council ap- SURYHG D PLOOLRQ ¿QDQFLDO package from the state at a meet- ing Tuesday night. The package, comprised of grants and loans, would be used to build three 50-by-50 foot hangars and 20 storage units at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport, which could be used for both manned and unmanned aircraft. The money will come from two different sources from the state — the strategic reserve fund and the LQIUDVWUXFWXUH¿QDQFHDXWKRULW\ $545,000 will come from the See AIRPORT/10A CDA split on role of director By HILLARY BORRUD Capital Bureau Partnership has varied views on future of Chemical Depot SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday that she declared a drought emergency in Lake and Malheur counties in south- eastern Oregon. Oregon received an aver- age amount of precipitation since the fall, but warmer temperatures caused more rain than usual. As a result, the state is headed into sum- mer with less snow than many areas need. Snowpack has already peaked for the season, and it hit record lows in many locations in the Cascades and elsewhere across the state, according to a federal report. “In a year such as this when there is limited snow- SDFN VXPPHU VWUHDPÀRZ volumes are expected be below normal and streams will likely peak earlier than normal,” the U.S. Depart- See DROUGHT/3A By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian The search for a new direc- tor for the Columbia Develop- ment Authority revealed differ- ing visions for the future of the multi-county partnership. The Army is slated to turn over the former Umatilla Chem- ical Depot land to the CDA — made up of Umatilla County, Morrow County, Port of Umatil- la, Port of Morrow and the Con- federated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation — sometime this year. But representatives IURPWKH¿YHHQWLWLHVZHUHQ¶WRQ the same page Tuesday when they discussed replacing project manager Don Chance, who plans to retire. Umatilla County Commis- sioner Bill Elfering said he en- visioned a “long-lasting, per- manent position” that would manage the land in a way similar See CDA/10A PENDLETON It’s easy being green at the Rainbow Cafe By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Everyone was Irish on Tues- day inside the Rainbow Cafe. Or so they said, whether it was true or not. The place rocked with Irish good cheer as many in the early morning breakfast crowd started their day with Irish coffee to go with their eggs and bacon. Rainbow Cafe co-own- er Steve McGee presided over the happy scene wearing a Kel- ly-green top hat, a leprechaun beard and a button emblazoned with “Kiss my Shamrocks.” “Top of the morning to ya,” he wished his rowdy patrons, whom he addressed as “laddie” and “darlin’.” This was Pendleton’s St. Paddy’s Day central. Contrary to Kermit the Frog, it was easy being green inside the popular Pendleton bar. In fact, woe to those who failed to don the icon- ic Irish hue. Even the mounted buffalo head had bright green shamrocks hanging from its horns. At 6:55 a.m., what McGee calls “the shortest parade in the Staff photo by E.J. Harris world” took off from the oth- The Rainbow Cafe owner Steve McGee walks the Irish fl ag through his bar af- See RAINBOW/10A ter retiring the fl ag at sundown Tuesday during a St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Pendleton.
