REGION
Friday, April 3, 2015
East Oregonian
For rural Internet providers,
redundancy is necessary
cable going out.
A lack of redundancy struck
Pendleton in 2011, when a Cen-
Internet access has become in- turyLink technician accidentally
dispensable in many American disconnected Eastern Oregon Tele-
homes, making potential outages a FRP¶V¿EHURSWLFFDEOH7KHFRPSD-
ny’s 1,000 customers in Pendleton
point of consternation.
While lapses in Internet services were without Internet and phone
are more common in rural areas, service for more than six hours.
Joe Franell, the CEO of EOT,
local Internet service providers say
they have the safety nets needed to said the incident convinced the
company to invest in several types
avoid long-term local problems.
Rural areas have made head- of redundancy.
The company now has back-
lines in recent years for Internet
outages that wipe out Web access up bandwidth, access to a second
cable that comes from Seattle in
for whole communities.
According to the Associated addition to their regular line from
Press, vandals in Northern Arizona Portland, and another provider they
LQWHQWLRQDOO\FXWD¿EHURSWLFFDEOH can buy Internet services from.
Due to Seattle and Portland’s
last month, shutting down Internet
service for nearby residents for up proximity to the Cascadia fault,
to 15 hours. Two years ago, res- Franell said Telecom is also look-
idents of the San Juan Islands off ing into access to a third source of
the coast of Washington state were ¿EHUIURPWKH6DOW/DNH&LW\DUHD
All of these efforts from EOT
left without Internet for 10 days
DUH EHLQJ PDGH WR VLJQL¿FDQWO\
when an underwater cable broke.
What many of these communi- reduce the chance of Internet ser-
ties shared is a lack of redundancy vice interruption for the company’s
ZLWKWKHLU¿EHURSWLFOLQHV²WKHUH customers, which number between
was just one cable going in and one 5,000 and 10,000 across Umatilla
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
and Morrow counties.
Wtechlink is another top lo-
cal Internet service provider, with
about 2,500 accounts in Umatilla
County. Co-owner Jordan McDon-
ald said Wtechlink also has redun-
dancies in its Internet network.
Unlike other utilities, McDon-
ald said the impetus to create that
infrastructure is on the providers.
Franell said those redundancies
aren’t cheap, especially for provid-
ers in rural areas. With a proximity
to two interstate highways, Franell
said it can be cheaper for commu-
nities such as Hermiston, which are
easily connected to major lines.
Still, that’s not to say Internet
outages are a thing of the past.
While the lines going in and
out of town have reliable backups,
McDonald said most customers
don’t invest in redundancies for the
cables directly connected to their
home, which can lead to small-
scale, more personal outages.
²²²
Contact Antonio Sierra at asi-
erra@eastoregonian.com or 541-
966-0836.
Page 3A
HERMISTON
Scammers claim to be police chief
“Later in the evening, the re-
porting resident received not only
A Hermiston couple saved them- a call from someone claiming to
selves a few hundred dollars after EH D +HUPLVWRQ SROLFH RI¿FHU EXW
they realized a call from the “police they also received an additional call
from the ‘chief’ to give addition-
chief” was actually a scam.
Hermiston Police Department’s al information about getting their
actual police chief Jason Edmiston ‘winnings,’” Sandoval wrote. “The
said in an email that the couple, residents were vigilant and recog-
who wish to remain anonymous, nized the scam, stopping their in-
told him Thursday that they had volvement.”
6KH VDLG VSRR¿QJ WHFKQRORJ\
spoken on the phone with a man
makes it easy for scammers to fool
claiming to be Edmiston.
According to a press release caller ID into displaying the correct
from Hermiston’s crime prevention number of the Hermiston Police
RI¿FHU (ULFD 6DQGRYDO WKH FRXSOH Department, lending legitimacy to
the call.
was targeted by a scam.
She urged residents to be vig-
First they received a call from
a man who introduced himself as ilant and to educate friends and
Walter Simmons of the Federal Bu- neighbors about the scam as
reau of Investigations. He told them well. She said Hermiston Police
they had won more than $600,000 Department would never act as a
from Publisher’s Clearinghouse representative of Publisher’s Clear-
Sweepstakes but the money had inghouse or facilitate the transfer
been stolen while en route to them. of money unless it was something
Now the money had been recovered seized by the department in the line
at the Mexican border, he said, and of duty.
If anyone has questions or con-
the couple would be contacted soon
by Edmiston with the information cerns that they are being targeted
of how to pay the more than $900 by a similar scam, they can contact
in fees needed to get the money re- Sandoval at 541-667-5112 or esan-
doval@hermiston.or.us.
leased from Mexico.
East Oregonian
BRIEFLY
Music festival set
for Tuesday
Kids make candles
in new workshop
+(50,6721²7KH
Hermiston School District’s
annual music festival will
be Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the
Hermiston High School main
gym.
The evening will include
performances from the bands
and choirs of Hermiston High
School, Sandstone Middle
School and Armand Larive
Middle School.
The night will end with
a joint performance of
“America the Beautiful”
played and sung by more
than 500 students in grades 6
through 12.
3(1'/(721²7XUQ
any space into a medieval
castle with the old-time
practice of candle making.
In the Ye Olde
Candlemaking Workshop,
kids ages 8-12 will dip,
pour and wrap warmed
wax to create classic pieces
of functional art, adding
colorful dyes and scents to
put an updated twist on this
traditional handicraft just in
time for Mother’s Day.
The class, taught by
Ian Shadle, will be held on
three consecutive Saturdays
²$SULOWKURXJK0D\
9, from 1-2 p.m. at the
Pendleton Center for the Arts,
214 N. Main St., Pendleton.
The cost is $25 for members,
$30 for non-members plus a
$7 materials fee.
Registration is requested;
call 541-278-9201 or stop
Ribbons available for
police appreciation
+(50,6721²%OXH
ribbons are available
around Hermiston for
residents who want to show
their appreciation to law
enforcement.
The ribbons are part of an
annual tradition celebrating
National Law Enforcement
Appreciation Week May
10-16. But Hermiston Police
Department chaplain Terry
Cummings said some people
choose to display the ribbons
for more than just the
designated week.
The ribbons are provided
for free by Concerns of
Police Survivors, or COPS,
an organization for the
IDPLO\PHPEHUVRIRI¿FHUV
killed in the line of duty.
They started as something to
tie around a car antenna, but
since many newer cars don’t
have an antenna to tie around
Cummings said people have
taken to tying them around
a mirror, closing them in
DEDFNZLQGRZRU¿QGLQJ
somewhere else to display
them.
He said the gesture
brightens the day of police
RI¿FHUVDQGVKHULII¶V
deputies who are often met
with hostility in the course of
their jobs.
The ribbons can be picked
up at the Hermiston police
station, city hall, Banner
EO file photo
Hermiston High School music teacher Paul Dunsmoor directs the Hermiston High
School band during the district wide music concert last year. This year’s district
music festival will be held Tuesday, 7 p.m. at Hermiston High School.
Bank, Hermiston Drug, Ace
Hardware and Washington
Mutual. Cummings said a
variety of local churches
will also be handing them
out to members of their
congregations.
Last year more than 1,100
ribbons were distributed and
Cummings said he hopes to
beat that mark this year.
Business tips for
working with the
government
3(1'/(721²
A workshop offering
businesses advice on how
to make money by selling
items and services to the
government is planned.
The free session
introduces participants
Live
Music
at t
to who the Federal
Public Land Agencies
are, offers advice and
tools for growing their
business by selling to the
government and give the
opportunity to network
with representatives from
different state and federal
agencies.
The event is Monday,
April 13 from 8:30 a.m. to
4 p.m. at ST 214 at Blue
Mountain Community
College, 2411 N.W. Carden
Ave., Pendleton.
In addition, 30-minute
one-on-one counseling
sessions with a procurement
counselor are available
following the training.
For more information,
contact; Sue LaCroix at
slacroix@gcap.org or 541-
SATURDAY, APRIL 4
John MacBeth &
Nick Berg
9 PM - M IDNIGHT
541.278.1100
8 S.E. COURT, PENDLETON
786-7344. To register, visit
www.ptassist.com.
by the arts center.
Teacher job fair
coming to town
+(50,6721²
Prospective teachers from
Eastern Oregon will have
a golden opportunity for
networking on April 11
at the Northeast Oregon
Educator Job Fair.
Building principals and
other staff from districts in
northeastern Oregon and the
InterMountain ESD will be
on hand to meet one on one
with interested educators.
Participants’ contact
information will also be
available to the participating
school districts through 2016.
The conference is 10
a.m. to 2 p.m. April 11 at
Hermiston High School, 600
S. First St. Attendance is free
but participants are asked
to sign up ahead of time at
https://hermiston.tedk12.com/
Join us for the Relay For Life
Of Pendleton
June 19 th -20 th 6pm-7am
Sunridge Middle School Track
www.relayforlife.org/pendletonor
Sandy Morris, Event Lead
541-969-1712
smorrissgee@charter.net
Heather Farnworth, ACS Staff
509-783-1574, heather.farnworth@cancer.org
We want YOU! To join in the fight against cancer!
Join us and Sign up a Team!
Businesses!
Looking for a way to give back that is both fun and
rewarding? Join us and sign up a team to fundraise and
make a difference in your community!
Become a Sponsor for the 2015 Relay For Life
event and receive recognition for helping in the
fight against cancer!
Event
Lead: Cancer
Sandy Society
Morris,smorrissgee@charter.net,
541-969-1712
The American
Relay For Life is an
overnight
that raises
funds and awareness to fight
ACS
Staff: event
Heather
Farnworth,
How your Donations Help!
cancer. Because cancer never sleeps, dedicated teams of
friends, families, and coworkers commit to keeping at
least one member on a track or path at all times.
$20 can help connect 20 people to clinical
trials through our clinical trials matching
service, which currently lists 6,000 ongoing
studies.
Make a donation to honor or remember a loved one or
friend. All proceeds go directly to The American Cancer
Society to help save lives and create a world with less
cancer and more birthdays by helping people stay well
and get well, by finding cures, and by fighting back.
$50 can help provide 4 rides to or from
treatment for a cancer patient. Through our
Road To Recovery® program, The
American Cancer Society volunteer drivers
provided nearly 380,000 free rides to and
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Did You Know...
$1,000 can help support an early career
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