REGION
Friday, June 5, 2015
East Oregonian
Drowning victim recovered from river
Sheriff Chris Humphreys said Frech
was wading in a stretch of the river along
SPRAY — Authorities have recov- Highway 19 near mile marker 86 when
ered the body of a 30-year-old Fossil he was pulled underwater by the current.
Frech was found within a mile from
man who was swept away and drowned
0D\LQWKH-RKQ'D\5LYHUZHVWRI where he went under.
Crews from the Wheeler County
Spray.
7KH PDQ ZDV LGHQWL¿HG E\ WKH Fire and Rescue, Grant County Sheriff’s
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Rescue, Crook County Search and
Damian Scott Frech.
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
Council passes
master plans
without funds
Rescue, Spray City Fire Department and
Volunteer Ambulance Association all
assisted with the search effort.
Alcohol was not a factor in the
drowning, Humphreys said on
Wednesday.
While the John Day River might not
look like much at this time of the year,
Humphreys said it can be deceiving with
fast-moving water and deep holes.
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Jason Terry talks about the construction of the cafeteria at the new Washington Elementary School building site
as a group of fourth graders take a tour Thursday in Pendleton.
Students get outline of new school
went on a heavily guided tour of the
construction site, stopping several
time for Kirby Nagelhout employees
to explain glue laminated beams,
scaffolding and the cement hardening
By ANTONIO SIERRA
process.
East Oregonian
Plans for the tour were put in motion
when staff noticed that the construction
At a tour of the Washington Elemen- was visible from Washington’s play-
WDU\ 6FKRRO 7KXUVGD\ RI¿FLDOV IURP ground, but the actual activity was
Kirby Nagelhout Construction Co. had obscured.
students use their imagination.
“You really couldn’t tell what’s
Employees told students the bare going on,” Washington Principal Curt
wooden frame would soon be the Thompson said.
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Thompson said there are already
made of concrete bricks would be plans for several more student tours
transformed into a new gym while a throughout construction, which has an
concrete base with a tarp over it would expected completion date of Fall 2016.
eventually turn into a two story struc-
Eventually, Kirby Nagelhout will
ture that would contain 18 classrooms. install a webcam to allow the public to
This exercise in projection was keep track of the construction process.
organized by Kirby Nagelhout and
The new school should be a signif-
the Pendleton School District to icant upgrade to Washington’s current
teach Washington students about the facilities.
construction process.
In addition to an improved heating
Coinciding construction crews’ and cooling system, Thompson said
lunch break, Washington students the new school will offer more space,
Webcam will allow
public to view progress
Land Trust tour
highlights peas
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— The public is invited to
learn the fascinating history
of the green pea industry in
the region with a tour of the
H.T. Rea Farming Company.
Peas on Earth: A brief
history of vines is Saturday,
June 13 from 10 a.m. to 3
p.m. beginning at the Rea
residence, 84224 Spofford
5RDG0LOWRQ)UHHZDWHU7KH
cost is $10 for adults and free
for youths.
Lunch is planned after
visiting the Rea Ranch
and then a visit at Smith
Frozen Foods, located just
outside Weston. Originally
established by the Lamb
Weston Company, the plant
is owned by Gordon and
Sharon Smith. Tour guests
are required to wear closed-
allowing staff to permanently retire
Washington’s “gymeteria.”
Thompson didn’t know the exact
age of Washington’s current building,
but said some bricks on the structure
date back to 1904.
With more space comes more
responsibility. Due to the consolidation
of Lincoln Primary School and West
Hills Intermediate School, Washington
is being built to accommodate 525
students, an increase from the school’s
current population of 375.
Both Washington and Sherwood
Heights Elementary School are getting
entirely new buildings as a part of the
district’s $55 million bond.
Other projects including the
conversion of Hawthorne Alternative
High School into the Pendleton Early
Learning Center, Lincoln into the
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into the new alternative school and
career-technical center.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@
eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836.
BRIEFLY
toed shoes and long pants for
safety.
This is the third event
of Learning on the Land,
a 14-program education
VHULHVWKDWEHJDQLQ0D\
and runs into October.
The goal of this series is
to provide the community
with an understanding and
appreciation of our natural
resources.
For more information
about other tours sponsored
E\WKH%OXH0RXQWDLQ/DQG
Trust or to register for Peas
on Earth, visit www.bmlt.org
or contact 509-525-3136 or
bmlt@bmlt.org.
Lexington to show
‘American Sniper’
LEXINGTON —
Donations from a screening
of “American Sniper” will
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American Legion auxiliaries.
The movie night is
Thursday, June 18 form
6:30-9 p.m. at the Lexington
*UDQJH0DUTXDUGW
Road. Admittance is by
donation. In addition, candy,
popcorn and drinks will be
available for purchase.
Everyone is welcome to
attend. For more information,
contact 541-240-1761 or
sputman@co.morrow.or.us.
Discover China
+(50,6721²,I\RX
have wanted to visit the
Great Wall of China, tour
the Bund in Shanghai or
take a boat ride on the West
Lake — now is the time to
make plans.
The Umatilla and
Hermiston chambers of
commerce are hosting an
informational meeting about
a 10-day, all-inclusive,
H AMLEY
S TEAK H OUSE
& S ALOON
Happy 5 th
Birthday, Kynlee!
Celebrate your
fabulous day with lots
of cake and family!
We love you very much and
think of you all the time.
Love, Grandpa and
Grandma Powell
MEMBERSHIP LUNCHEON
Thursday, June 11
June 5
Party starts at 4p
Dinner Service at 5p
Live Music
CALE MOON
5-7:30p
T
ELEVENTH ST 8- R 11 E p E
INCIDENT
FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS
“on the lawn”
The Pendleton City
Council passed an ambi-
tious set of master plans for
the water, sewer and storm-
water utilities at a meeting
Tuesday, but without the
means to fund them.
This irked Councilman
Al Plute who not only
provided the sole no vote
for all three master plans,
but also voted against
adopting the city’s budget.
According to the master
plans, Pendleton should
spend
$56.9
million
over the next 10 years to
improve and maintain the
city’s water and sewer
system and $7.5 million
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to cover the costs of the
city’s stormwater drainage
system.
To cover the increased
activity, the consultants
also suggested creating 11.5
jobs to handle maintenance
duties.
In order to cover those
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that helped put the master
plan together suggested
a series of rate hikes and
system
development
charges.
Plute said that the plans
would not be effective if
the council didn’t enact the
suggested fee increases,
which need to be adopted
in separate votes.
“I think we’re voting
for stuff we can’t do,” he
said. “I don’t like voting for
plans that we’re going to
put on the shelf.”
Public Works Director
Bob Patterson said earlier
in the week he expects
public discussion of utility
rate increases and system
development charges won’t
take place for another six
months to a year.
Plute’s disdain carried
over to the city’s $53.2
million budget for the
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which was also adopted.
Finance
Director
Linda Carter said staff
added $29,000 to the
proposed
budget
the
budget committee adopted
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informed the city that they
wouldn’t be done with the
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WKHHQGRIWKHFXUUHQW¿VFDO
year on June 30.
Budget
highlights
include creating a new
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and three new paramedic
positions.
Ultimately, the master
plans and budget were all
passed on a 6-1 voted, with
Plute voting against.
Other news from the
meeting included:
• An awkward disagree-
ment marred a $1,000
donation from the city to
the Sister City Exchange
program.
During
the
public
comments portion of the
meeting, trip chaperon
Roberta Lavadour and two
Pendleton High School
students presented a letter to
the city council requesting
$2,000 to cover the cost
of sending six Pendleton
School District students to
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gone to Japan since the
2011 earthquake.
At multiple points
during Lavadour’s presen-
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expressed his discomfort
in the city donating any
money to the exchange
program, saying he would
prefer the students raise it
themselves.
Despite
Houk’s
concerns, the council unan-
imously voted to donate
$1,000 to the exchange
program. This year’s trip
will be from July 14-28.
• The council unan-
imously
approved
appointments to the library
committee and the newly
formed tree commission.
The council appointed
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nity College tutor Karen
Willis to replace Jane Hill
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the library commission,
respectively.
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married.
Joining the tree commis-
sion are Alan Kendrick,
retiree, Jonathan Staldine,
Umatilla Basin Watershed
Council executive director,
Andrew Leisinger, land-
scape architect, David
Powell, retiree from the
U.S.
Forest
Service,
Christopher Johnson, U.S.
Forest Service employee,
Dick Prouse, retiree, and
Donnie Cook, Pendleton
Parks Director.
The commission was
formed to meet a require-
ment for the title of Tree
City USA, which is deter-
mined by the Arbor Day
Foundation.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
NIXYAAWII CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Friday
Sponsored in part by
¿YHVWDUWULSIURP2FW
19-28 for $2,399 per person.
The fee includes round-trip
airfare from Seattle,
accommodations in four- and
¿YHVWDUKRWHOVWKUHHPHDOV
a day, land transportation,
gratuities, taxes, deluxe bus
tours, English-speaking tour
guides and seven of China’s
10 wonders of the world.
The Discover China
2ULHQWDWLRQ0HHWLQJLV
Thursday, June 18 at 3 p.m.
at the Hermiston Conference
Center, 415 S. Highway 395.
For more information,
contact Debbie Pedro at
541-567-6151 or debbie@
hermistonchamber.com.
Page 3A
COURT & MAIN, PENDLETON
11:45am-1pm
Pendleton Center for the Arts
Speakers from ODOT, OMWESB, and ORPIN will
speak on government contract opportunities.
FREE one-hour workshop follows.
Tickets are $15 members; $17 non-members
Advance reservations required by email
to nixyaawiichamber@live.com.