REGION
Saturday, June 27, 2015
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Howard Johnson comes to
EOTEC adopts $12M budget
Pendleton in franchise swap
HERMISTON
contributions from Umatilla
County and the city of
Hermiston.
Project manager Gary
The 2015-2016 budget
for the Eastern Oregon Trade Winsand of Frew Develop-
and Event Center includes ment said storm, sewer and
money to staff the center water mains are all installed
when it becomes operational at the site and Umatilla Elec-
tric Cooperative and Eastern
next March.
The
EOTEC
board Oregon Telecom should be
adopted a budget just shy of done installing electric and
$12 million for the coming telecommunications infra-
¿VFDO \HDU LQFOXGLQJ structure by the end of the
million for operations and month.
In July the project
$8.4 million for construction.
Funding for the project will transition to vertical
comes from a mix of grants, construction, with G-2
money from the sale of the Construction scheduled to
current Umatilla County begin placement of footings
Fairgrounds, the Tourism for the event center building
Promotion Assessment and within two weeks. The
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
exterior of the event center
is scheduled to be completed
Nov. 1.
Business
manager
Heather Cannell told the
board she has been working
on interior details, including
the layout of the event center
kitchen, the placement of
electrical outlets, selection
of furniture and selection of
event-scheduling software.
She said at the city’s
request she has applied for
EOTEC to host the 2017
Oregon Mayors’ Confer-
ence.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
By JONATHAN BACH
East Oregonian
Pendleton’s hospitality
scene is seeing marked
changes this summer.
The Travelers Inn at 310
SE Dorion Ave. will reopen
as a Knights Inn in July
after the former Knights
Inn at 105 SE Court Ave. a
few blocks away became a
Howard Johnson on June 3.
Travelers Inn owner
Barry Buehler said he and
Howard Johnson owner
Surya Das have been in
talks about changing fran-
chises since last winter.
For Das, the move
comes as a means by which
to raise his establishment’s
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“Most Americans know
Howard Johnson (better)
than Knights Inn,” he said.
Instead of charging
$49-$59 for a room with a
single bed, he said he can
now charge $69-$79.
“In that way, this town
generates more revenue,”
he said.
He said he expects a
thirty to 40 percent increase
in yearly revenue. He said
his hotel made $350,000
last year.
Das passed the Knights
Staff photo by Jonathan Bach
New Howard Johnson owner Surya Das, 50, checks
in (Left) Rhonda Reed and (Right) Kathy Ward, who
are in town for family. The Howard Johnson was a
Knights Inn until June 3, when Das finalized a move
to become part of the international franchise.
Inn name onto Buehler,
who said he expects
a “moderate” gain in
incoming customers from
the move, with a 15 to 20
percent increase in revenue.
He said the Travelers
Inn used to be a Rodeway
Inn, and that he wanted to
return to those franchise
days.
Das managed a Days Inn
and a Ramada in California
before becoming a hotel
owner in Pendleton.
With recently opened
vegetarian Indian restau-
rant Govinda’s Garden
under his purview, too, Das
said he does not plan to
expand any further for the
time being.
He said he does not want
to “orphan” the Howard
Johnson and enjoys having
one-to-one contact with
customers.
Buehler, however, said
he bought the Sunset Inn
at 425 North First St. in
Hermiston and plans to turn
it into a Knights Inn, too.
———
Contact Jonathan Bach
at jbach@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0809.
Library district hires interim director
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hot-daka days
A man rides a Hodaka motorcycle down south 3rd Street on Friday in Athena.
Hundreds of Hodaka motorcycle enthusiast from all over the county have con-
gregated in Athena for their annual Hodaka Days celebration. The three-day
event offers races, food and festivities and runs through Sunday.
Irrigon mechanic crushed, killed by truck
East Oregonian
An Irrigon man died
near Boardman in what the
Morrow County Sheriff’s
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dent. Lenard “David” Aber-
crombie, 57, was crushed
while working under a truck
bed.
Undersheriff Steve Myren
said Abercrombie was some-
thing of a mechanic and
Wednesday morning set out
on a job. He did not return
Public art
rules drafted
PENDLETON —A new
ordinance creating rules for
public art will be consid-
ered by the Pendleton City
Council in July.
At an art commission
meeting, Mayor Phillip Houk
said the ordinance will have
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7 meeting and will receive a
vote from the city council at
the July 21 meeting.
Because of the consid-
erable backlash to two
privately-funded
bronzes
after they were approved,
the commission drafted an
ordinance that formalizes the
public art approval process.
All public art requests would
require public hearings and
approval at both commission
and council meetings.
The commission also
discussed the costs of
building a sidewalk around
the Esther Motanic statue
at the convergence of Court
Avenue and Dorion Avenue.
Since the statue is meant
as a gateway art project, the
commission has been focused
on how to make the bronze
more inviting and accessible.
Commission
member
Keith May presented a rough
sketch of the horseshoe-shaped
walkway, which would allow
pedestrians to view the bronze
from the front.
May also included rough
estimates of the sidewalk’s cost
— $378 for regular concrete,
$756 for a stamped or colored
design. Some members wanted
to solicit artists from the
Umatilla Indian Reservation to
create the design.
At the end of the meeting,
commission member Susan
Plass announced that she
would be leaving the commis-
sion. She cited her election to
a seat on the Blue Mountain
Community College Board
of Education as the reason for
her departure.
that night, and Thursday his
family contacted the sher-
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The
family
called
Abercrombie’s customers,
Myren said, while the sher-
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his steps. Then a person
Thursday night at 9:26
p.m. called 9-1-1 to report
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under a vehicle and possibly
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Boardman police and others
responded.
Abercrombie
died
between the partially raised
tilt-bed of a truck and the
vehicle’s frame, according
to a written statement from
WKHVKHULII¶VRI¿FHDQGWKHUH
was “nothing in the investi-
gation to indicate this was
anything more than a tragic
accident.”
Myren said the it appeared
Abercrombie was working
on the vehicle’s hydraulic
system and there is no way
to determine when he died.
Spaghetti Feed & Raffle
Fundraiser for
Doug Marquardt
Sunday, June 28 th
4:00 - 7:00 pm
Eagles Lodge
$8.00 for adults, $5.00 for children 12 & under
Family $25.00
Need volunteers to help with dinner and
donations for the Raffle or food items.
Contact Stacey Beaver
541-969-7110
Earn While
You Learn Program
At Community Bank we recognize the importance of
education and would like to encourage our student-
customers in their academic success.
Find out how your kids can
earn money for their good grades!
The annual program is available through July, ask your
banker about it today or see details online.
Local Money Working For Local People
www.communitybanknet.com
Pendleton
157 S Main St
541-278-9000
Hermiston
50 E Theater Ln
541-289-4480
Member FDIC
Milton-Freewater
504 N Main St
541-938-6361
The Oregon Trail Library
District hired a part-time
interim director through
July 31 during a lengthy
meeting Wednesday night
in Boardman.
Kathy Street, school
librarian
at Arlington
Community
Charter
School, will work 20 hours
per week for the district
after Marsha Richmond
leaves the position Tuesday.
Richmond, who has
worked for the district 21
years, resigned in April to
become Umatilla County
Special Library District
coordinator. The OTLD
board, however, retained
Richmond on a part-time
basis through June.
The board voted 3-1
to hire Street from among
four candidates. Barb
Huwe was the lone vote
against, instead favoring
Sue Oliver, an Irrigon
resident and retired analyst
for the Oregon Department
of Energy.
In the end, the board
opted for someone with
library experience. Street
holds a master’s degree
in library science from
Emporia State University
in Emporia, Kansas.
Meanwhile, the board
agreed to work through the
Local Government Training
Institute to hire a new full-
time director.
In other business, the
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the board seat left open by
Alice Ellis’ resignation.
Board members are elected
at-large from the library
communities in Boardman,
Irrigon and Heppner.
The board also approved
its 2015-16 budget and
hired
a
professional
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on payroll, none of whom
work more than 40 hours
per week.