HERMISTON NAMES
NEW HEAD COACH
Oil industry
challenges train
rules NATION/8A
FOOTBALL/1B
62/42
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015
139th Year, No. 149
WINNER OF THE 2013 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
One dollar
Tom Insko
new EOU
president
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Eastern Oregon businessman Tom
Insko will take the reins at Eastern Oregon
University in July after the Oregon State
Board of Higher Education unanimously
appointed him as university president on
Tuesday.
Insko is the area manager of Boise
Cascade’s Inland Region, which includes
18 manufacturing facilities and plants.
His father was dean
of Eastern Oregon
University,
Insko
graduated from the
university
himself
and has been serving
on EOU’s newly
created board of
trustees, which takes
over governance of
the university from
Insko
the state board of
higher education in July.
David Nelson, president of EOU’s
board and its search committee, told
the state board of education that EOU’s
trustees were unanimous in their recom-
mendation of Insko after a very robust
search process. EOU has had six leaders
in the last 18 years, Nelson said, and the
university needed someone with deep
ties to the region to bring stability and
continuity to Eastern Oregon University.
“He has a huge personal stake in the
university,” Nelson said.
Cathy Dyck, chancellor of the state
university system, also voiced her support
of Insko after sitting in on the forum
and interviews with the university’s top
candidates. She acknowledged that Insko
would have some learning to do since
his experience is in the business world
instead of the academic one. However,
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would be important in bringing some
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university.
The Oregon State Board of Higher
Education could have chosen not to honor
the EOU board of trustees’ recommenda-
tion, but they quickly voted 8-0 to appoint
Insko as the university’s new president.
Insko told both boards he was deeply
honored by the opportunity. He said being
a student at Eastern Oregon University
changed his life and he was excited to
work with staff and students to help EOU
continue to change lives.
“I love this university,” he said, his
voice cracking with emotion.
After the meeting Senator Bill Hansell
(R-Athena) said Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity is an important part of District 29
and he looks forward to working with
Insko on matters of concern for Eastern
Oregon. He said the university’s other
administrators will continue to provide
academic expertise while Insko brings his
economic development experience.
“A skill set that isn’t always present is
business acumen, and that will compli-
ment those other skills,” Hansell said.
Insko will take over from interim
university president Jay Kenton on July 1.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Dispatcher Tabetha Koehler works a call Monday in the Umatilla County communication center at the Umatilla County Justice
Center in Pendleton.
Dispatch sticker shock
Umatilla County asks small cities to pay up for services
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Dispatcher Gordon Krom enters a warrant into the dispatch system on Monday
at the Umatilla County communications center in Pendleton.
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in Umatilla County are facing big bills from the
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Sheriff Terry Rowan said the county can no
longer subsidize the service for those cities or
use 9-1-1 funds to help cover the costs, though
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Pilot Rock and Umatilla may now have signif-
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end. Kathy Lieuallen, captain of the sheriff’s
communications division, calculated Pilot Rock’s
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more than $46,500.
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a city that has never paid for dispatch services.
So Lieuallen started negotiations with Pilot Rock
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police, which also serves Echo, and with Umatilla.
Lieuallen and Rowan also said they recognize
county taxpayers should not have been footing
the dispatch bill for the small cities, but past
See DISPATCH/8A
Fundraising flop forces fireworks-free Fourth
event, according to community
volunteer Fred Bradbury.
Last year, the Pendleton
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show will have to be personal chapter of the Fraternal Order
of the Eagles took on the effort,
this year.
That’s because no organiza- while the task was handled by
tion stepped up this year to raise Cornerstone Community Church
the $10,000 needed to pay for the in previous years.
East Oregonian
HERMISTON
City moving forward
with natural gas utility
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Hermiston is moving
forward with its own
natural gas utility.
The city council voted
Monday to hire an engineer
and begin mapping out a
strategy for creating the
utility.
“We need to seek some
expertise to help us come up
with some better numbers,”
city manager Byron Smith
said.
The city formed the
utility in name only on Aug.
25, 2014, but the move was
immediately challenged in
court by Cascade Natural
Gas, the city’s current
natural gas provider. In
March the Umatilla Circuit
Court upheld the city’s legal
right to form the utility and
on April 27 the deadline
passed for Cascade Natural
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The city’s current plan
would be to limit the utility
to serving the industrial
land south of Hermiston,
leaving Cascade Natural
Gas to continue serving
residents in town. Assistant
city manager Mark Morgan
said until a new gas pipeline
gets built the Cook Indus-
trial Site — the city’s prime
industrial land — can’t
accommodate any business
that uses natural gas.
“Right now that southern
industrial area is simply
maxed out on gas,” he said.
See GAS/8A
While early efforts were
underway to start the fundraising
effort, Bradbury said no organi-
zations signed a contract with the
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show in time for the deadline.
Bradbury said he is currently
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committee that could more
closely coordinate fundraising
efforts.
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show, Bradbury said other
Independence Day festivities like
the Fourth of July Parade will
continue as scheduled.
Volunteer program to be
retired in local counties
Sponsor can’t afford
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federal grant
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
The nationwide volunteer
network known as RSVP
(Retired and Senior Volun-
teer Program) will cease
operations in Umatilla,
Morrow,
Gilliam
and
Wheeler counties on June
30.
The Community Action
Program of East Central
Oregon (CAPECO), which
serves as the area umbrella
organization, has severed
ties with the nationwide
volunteer network, citing
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About 250 local volun-
teers, aged 55 and older,
currently deliver meals,
drive people to their medical
appointments, teach, do cler-
ical work and perform other
jobs for service-oriented
organizations and busi-
nesses in Umatilla, Morrow,
Gilliam and Wheeler coun-
ties.
The split, said CAPECO’s
Marci McMurphy, “has been
coming for a little while.”
See RSVP/8A