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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2015)
REGION Thursday, April 16, 2015 East Oregonian HERMISTON Paint job on city’s to-do list By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Page 3A Transmission bill gets House hearing Work session scheduled Thursday Replacing the heavi- ly-criticized paint job on Hermiston’s water tower is one of the Community En- hancement Committee’s top priorities for making the city a more attractive place. The water tower is one of seven projects on a priority list unveiled by the commit- tee this week. The group now wants input from the public on the list. “We’ve come up with a great list of ideas that we think are valuable to the com- munity, but we also want to hear more from the commu- nity on what they think of the value of those ideas,” Mayor David Drotzmann said. Assistant city manager Mark Morgan told the city council on Monday that cre- ating a priority list of projects that have already been vetted and researched will make it easier to budget and to pounce on funding opportu- nities when they come along. “The city gets suggestions all the time ... A lot of times they’re very good recom- mendations but they come maybe at an inopportune time or maybe out of the bud- get cycle,” he said. He said the list, which is in no particular order, will be By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Staff photo by Jade McDowell Residents have complained that the paint job on the city’s water tower looks bland and unfinished. tackled as funding becomes available: 1) Redesign the junction of Southeast 2nd Street and Highway 395 in front of the Hermiston Conference Cen- ter to address safety con- cerns. Add a decorative arch and landscaping, water fea- ture and art to create an aes- thetically pleasing entryway to downtown. 2) Create more pedestrian pathways through the city. 3) Plant shrubs and other low-maintenance visual buf- fers at the city’s eight cross- ings of the Hinkle-to-Umatil- la rail spur to limit the visual impact of the railroad. 4) Repaint the south water tower. 5) Add attractive direc- tional signs pointing visitors to various sectors of the city. 6) Take over, downsize and clean up the Hodge Park train display and remove fencing around it. The care- takers have expressed inter- est in transferring the dis- play, which, according to the committee’s report, “gives the appearance of abandoned industrial machinery, rather than an inviting historical display.” 7) Upgrade and maintain plants in the median along South Highway 395. The full report and a link for providing feedback on the list can be found at www. hermiston.or.us. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. PENDLETON State prepares for BMRC demolition By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian The Oregon House of Representatives is one of the last things standing in front of a bill that would transfer the Blue Mountain Recovery Center and Eastern Oregon Training Center properties to the city of Pendleton. Widely expected to pass with little opposition, the bill was approved by a near unanimous vote in the Senate and has since been referred to the House Committee on Rules. Regardless of the Legis- lature’s activity, the state De- partment of Administrative Services is preparing for the impending demolition. Department spokesman Matt Shelby said an architect was hired to create a scope- of-work project, which is “90 percent complete.” $IWHUWKHDUFKLWHFW¿QLVKHV his work, the department will go out to bid for the demoli- tion and abatement services, a process Shelby estimates will last until mid-May. Shelby said until the Leg- islature approves the bill, GHSDUWPHQW RI¿FLDOV ZRQ¶W be sure when they can start demolishing BMRC and eight buildings on the former EOTC campus. In addition to asbes- tos and lead paint removal, Shelby said the department will search both sites for sal- vageable material before the buildings are demolished. Afterwards, the sites will EH¿OOHGLQDQGWXUQHGRYHUWR the city for future industrial and housing projects. “At the end of the day, our goal is to turn over land that is usable,” he said. The city wants to use the BMRC property to attract in- dustrial business. While one building on the EOTC cam- pus will remain with the Ore- gon Health Authority, the city hopes to turn the rest of the space into housing develop- ments for Pendleton residents and Blue Mountain Commu- nity College students. City Manager Robb Cor- bett said no developers have expressed interest yet. BRIEFLY Memorial account set up for teacher UMATILLA — A memorial account has been set up to help cover funeral expenses for Elisabet Flores, the Umatilla teacher who died in a car crash on April 11. )ORUHVZDVD¿UVW grade teacher at McNary Heights Elementary. She GLHGDW*RRG6KHSKHUG Medical Center in Hermiston after her car went off Westland Road QHDU+HUPLVWRQ¶VUXUDO¿UH station and hit a fence. Her husband and son who were in the car with her were not injured. The cause of the crash is still under investigation. Donations to Flores’s family can be made at any Banner Bank in Washington or Oregon to the account titled “FBO Elisabet Flores in care of Zulema Murguia.” All proceeds will go to funeral expenses and other costs relating to her death. Memorial services for Flores will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at New Hope Church in Hermiston. The Umatilla School District published a statement on its website thanking a list of people for their support after the loss of their coworker, including the InterMountain Education Service District crisis team for providing grief counselors and the staff from West Park Elementary and Desert View Elementary for providing support to the staff at McNary Heights. City recycling day on April 25 HERMISTON — The city is ready to take paint, appliances and other hard-to- recycle items from citizens during Hermiston’s Clean Sweep event on April 25. Volunteers provided by the city’s Faith-Based Advisory Committee will be on hand from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Umatilla Electric Cooperative parking lot, 750 W. Elm Ave. Parks and Recreation director Larry Fetter told the city council that they plan to make the event an annual one. He said next year they would like to align with Sanitary Disposal’s spring cleanup week so people can get rid of their trash and recyclables at the same time. Next year the group also plans to organize teams of volunteers to do neighborhood cleanups. The April 25 event will accept aluminum, appliances, car batteries, computers, concrete, electronics, paint, paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, tin, tires, scrap metal, yard debris and clean wood. Items need to be sorted before they are brought in. Anyone with questions about whether one of their items will be accepted can call 541-667-5018 before the day of the event. A bill that would require energy companies to study where and how they can build their transmission lines away from high-value farmland is getting a second look in the Oregon House. After running into a roadblock in the Senate, the Northeast Oregon Water Association and Oregon Farm Bureau are now attempting to steer their proposal through the House Committee on Rural Communities, Land Use and Water. House Bill 2508 has taken the place of Senate Bill 873, DQGFRPHVDWDWLPHZKHQ,GDKR3RZHULVWU\LQJWR¿QDO- ize plans for a 305-mile transmission line stretching from Boardman to the Hemingway Substation near Boise. The company’s preferred route would run above at least one ORFDOGDLU\LUULJDWHG¿HOGVDQGWKHPDVVLYH*UHHQ:RRG Resources Boardman Tree Farm. )DUP PDQDJHUV WHVWL¿HG LQ IDYRU RI +% GXULQJ a hearing Tuesday in Salem, while lobbyists for some of the state’s largest utilities pushed back against the legisla- tion. A work session for the bill is scheduled for Thursday, ZKHUHLWFRXOGEHFDUULHGRQWRWKH+RXVHÀRRURUOHIWWRGLH in committee for a second time. “We’re still alive, and that’s the important thing now,” said J.R. Cook, founder and director of NOWA. Cook had initially hoped to pass the bill through the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee, with support from both Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, and 5HS*UHJ%DUUHWR5&RYH+DQVHOOKRZHYHUZDVWROG by the committee’s chairman, Sen. Chris Edwards, D-Eu- gene, that he had no plans to move the legislation forward. Instead, NOWA and the Farm Bureau worked out a series of amendments and inserted the bill into another stagnant proposal in the House — a practice known by lawmakers as “gut and stuff.” It was taken up Tuesday by a skeleton crew of the Rural Communities, Land Use and Water Committee, with only Reps. Brian Clem, D-Salem, DQG9LF*LOOLDP56LOYHUWRQDYDLODEOHWRKHDUWHVWLPRQ\ ,QDGGLWLRQWRIDUPV+%ZRXOGGH¿QHOLYHVWRFN feedlots and dairies as highly productive farmland, sub- ject to the same protections. Utilities say they oppose legislation that would make LW PRUH GLI¿FXOW WR EXLOG ELJ WUDQVPLVVLRQ OLQHV :KDW¶V more, the legislature’s emphasis on lowering carbon and integrating more renewable sources of energy is driving the necessity to build such lines as Boardman to Heming- way in order to swap dependable power between regions. 3RUWODQG *HQHUDO (OHFWULF ,GDKR 3RZHU DQG 3DFL¿F Power opposed the bill at Tuesday’s hearing. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-564-4547. Forest Plan poised for more public meetings East Oregonian The U.S. Forest Service is reaching out to com- munity groups in Eastern Oregon for another round of public meetings on the much-maligned Blue Mountains Forest Plan Re- vision. Supervisors on the Umatilla, Wallowa-Whit- man and Malheur national forests say collaboration is WKH EHVW ZD\ WR ¿QG FRP- mon ground in the plan, which has been criticized for everything from closing off access to slashing tim- ber jobs and heightening ULVNIRUODUJHZLOG¿UHV Last year, the USFS rolled out its proposed re- vised land management plan and draft Environ- mental Impact Statement for the Blue Mountains National Forests. The mas- sive documents provided a vision for how the forests would be managed for the next 10-15 years. The agency received more than 1,100 comments from groups and individu- DOV GXULQJ WKH ¿UVW SXEOLF comment period that ran for 150 days beginning in March 2014. Anyone interested in hosting the Forest Service at a local community meet- ing can contact Melissa Wilson, acting spokes- woman for the Blue Moun- tains Forest Plan Revision, at 541-523-1231 or email mwilson04@fs.fed.us. Columbia United Soccer Club AYSO Region #887 Emily Ann Smith PO Box 472 • Hermiston, OR • 541-701-9128 REGISTRATION WILL BE CLOSED ON JULY 6, 2015 2015 Registration Dates! Players must be at least 4 and no older than 13 by July 31, 2015 All Registrations (player and volunteer) MUST be done online starting this year. You can also pay online if you choose to. ALL registrations need to be brought to an onsite registration so you can also choose uniform sizes and get player photos for player cards in U10, U12 and U14. ALL REGISTRATIONS WILL BE HELD AT BUTTE SOCCER FIELDS CONCESSIONS STAND. There will be internet access available for those that do not have it. Saturday, May 9 - 12pm Monday, May 11 - 5pm-7pm Wednesday, May 13 - 5pm-7pm Tuesday, May 19 - 5pm-7pm Thursday, May 21 - 5pm-7pm Saturday, May 23 - 9am-12pm Registration Fees: P ILOT R OCK H IGH S CHOOL Congratulations! We are so very proud of you. Love Mom & Dad 00 $ 25 . Private Party Only FEE: $65 1st child; $60 each additional child FEE AFTER J UNE 1ST : $75 1st child; $70 each additional child Fee includes: Uniform (jersey, shorts, socks); Participation Medal at end of the season; AYSO accident insurance for duration of season VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Volunteer registrations are also being accepted for many positions, no experience necessary, free training is provided. Your Name: Phone Number: Graduate's Name: NEW THIS YEAR - SOCCER FEST! April 18 for 4 year olds • April 25 for 5, 6 and 7 year olds Registration starts at 8am, kickoff will be at 9am Visit us on the web: www.hermistonayso.org ~ SIX PHILOSOPHIES OF AYSO ~ everyone plays ~ balanced teams ~ open registration ~ positive coaching ~ good sportsmanship ~ playe r development Graduate's School: Message to Graduate: Tell your favorite graduate how proud you are in our Graduation 2015 special section in the East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald & share their "Then" & "Now" Photos! Publishes: May 30 th Send in your text and photos to psmootz@eastoregonian.com or bring to Paula at the East Oregonian office by May 18 th . Mailing address: Attn: Paula Smootz 211 SE Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801
