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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2015)
Color Dash GREB PLACES returns THIRD AT STATE GOLF/1B 77/53 REGION/3A WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2015 139th Year, No. 154 WINNER OF THE 2013 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD 2015 SPECIAL ELECTION One dollar PENDLETON BOND PASSES City turns up noses at pot stink By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Voters in Umatilla and Morrow counties passed the Blue Mountain Community College bond measure during a special election Tuesday. Incomplete count supportive of BMCC BMCC Bond Passed (Yes 53%, No 47%) By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian The second time is a charm. A bond measure for Blue Mountain Commu- QLW\ &ROOHJH XQRI¿FLDOO\ passed Tuesday in Umatilla and Morrow counties, a year-and-a-half after a similar bond was soundly rejected. This time around, 52 percent of Umatilla County voters approved the $23 million bond to add workforce develop- ment programs, update technology and renovate deteriorating infrastructure. Morrow County had not reported full results by press time, but yes votes led 875 to 794. Tuesday evening, supporters waited in the college agricultural center for election results, eating dinner and sipping wine to take the edge off their anxiety. President Camille Election results* Hermiston charter revision Passed (Yes 73%, No 27%) Hermiston judge appointment Failed (Yes 45%, No 55%) Pendleton school bond Passed (Yes 60%, No 40%) Port of Umatilla √ Jerry Imsland (61%) Joseph Franell (38%) Staff photo by E.J. Harris BMCC President Cam Preus reads the voting results for their bond measure off of the cell phone of BMCC Vice President of Public Relations Casey White- Zollman during an election-night party Tuesday at BMCC in Pendleton. Preus couldn’t hide her nervousness. Board of Education Chair Ed Taber looked tense. At about 8:15 p.m., Umatilla County posted returns online. Preus took the mic to share the good news, a smile illuminating her face. Her announcement elicited an extended whoop that ricocheted off the ag center’s metal walls. “It’s overwhelming,” Preus said. “It’s so nice to live in a community that really values education. BMCC Board √ Susan Plass (70%) Bryan Branstetter (29%) Hermiston School Board √ Joshua Goller (58%) James T. Leach (41%) √ David W. Smith (67%) Rob Lovett (33%) Milton-Freewater School Board √ Tina Kain (56%) McKenzie M. Marly (44%) Pilot Rock School Board √ Joey A. GrosJacques (43%) Terry Corwin (41%) Var Rigby (16%) See BMCC/8A *Results as of May 19, 10 p.m. Hermiston updates charter, keeps judge on ballot By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Hermiston voters approved a new charter Tuesday but shot down the idea of allowing the city council to appoint the municipal judge. The new charter was winning 73 percent of the vote as of 8 p.m. but a companion amendment that would have changed the judge from an elected position to an appointed one was losing 45 percent to 55 percent. The last time Hermiston voters approved a new charter — the municipal version of a constitution — was more than 50 years ago. Last year the city council decided the language of the charter and some of its provisions had gotten so out of date that it was time to draft a new charter using the League of Oregon Cities model charter as a guide. City Manager Byron Smith said having an updated charter will be a plus for the city. “It gives us a more clear document that’s up to date and ready to last another 50 years,” he said. The new charter modern- izes legal language and clears up ambiguities that could have opened the city to legal challenges, but it also contains a few new provisions. Most notably, the mayor’s See HERMISTON/8A Depending on its source, a skunky smell could EHSXQLVKDEOHE\¿QHLQ3HQGOHWRQ The Pendleton City Council approved an amendment to the city’s nuisance ordinance that prohibits marijuana odor from leaving a person’s property. Police Chief Stuart Roberts said there are several marijuana grow sites across the city that elicit complaints from neighbors. While offensive odors are already a part of the nuisance ordinance, Roberts said the amend- PHQWZLOOJLYHRI¿FHUVPRUHOHYHUDJHWRHQIRUFH compliance. According to Roberts, the police department’s previous encounters with violators have escalated into physical and criminal situations. The arguments for and against the amendment were epitomized by two neighbors on S.W. Marshall Avenue. Mike Arbogast said the pungent odor of his neighbor Bobby Woods’s medical marijuana grow — six plants under a ventilated car port — was negatively affecting his quality of life. Arbogast said Woods has been drying his See MARIJUANA/8A HERMISTON EOTEC board picks design for event center Project still on track for a March 2016 completion date By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian The details are in place for a major piece of the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center after the project’s board approved a design for the event center Tuesday. &KRRVLQJ D ¿QDO GHVLJQ WKLV ZHHN NHSW EOTEC on track for a March 2016 completion date. The building will include a more than 12,000-square- foot exhibition hall, three large meeting rooms, a ERDUGURRPDNLWFKHQRI¿FHV and storage. Heather Cannell, who was the Hermiston Conference Center’s facilitator before Cannell becoming EOTEC’s busi- ness manager in February, said the center will offer about 3,000 square feet more space than the city’s conference center and more meeting rooms. She said EOTEC is intended to bring in See EOTEC/8A Courting the Rose Court Pendleton Round-Up President Bill Quesenberry pets a Belgian draft horse named K.C. with Portland Rose Festival Court Princess Tabitha Ivan from Lincoln High School on Tuesday during a social event at the Round-Up Pavilion in Pendleton. The Pendleton Round-Up Court and the Rose Festival Court have spent the last two days together hosting tours of their respective cities. Staff photo by E.J. Harris