REGION
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
New subsidized
options for taxi
service in town
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Stanfield heroes
Addalynn Berry, 9, and her brother Nathaniel Berry, 6, sit in the back of a Stanfield fire truck on Tuesday in
Stanfield. The Berrys were taking part in the Stanfield Public Library’s summer reading program “Be a Hero”
where each week focuses on a different type of hero.
MISSION
Pow wow highlights American Indian culture
East Oregonian
Little Island Cree, an
award-winning
drumming
group from Island Lake
Saskatchewan, Canada, will
serve as host drum for this
weekend’s Wildhorse Pow
Wow .
Hailing from Island Lake
First Nation, the group has
been nominated for a JUNO
Award in the best music of
Aboriginal Canada recording
category. JUNO Awards,
which honor outstanding
achievements in the music
industry, are the Canadian
version of the Grammy
Awards in the United States.
Little Island Cree has been
together for more than 20
years.
In its 21st year, the Wild-
horse Pow Wow features 25
drum groups and more than
300 native dancers, who will
EO file photo
In its 21st year, the dancing and drumming competition
runs Friday through Sunday at the Pow Wow Grounds
at Wildhorse Resort & Casino in Mission.
compete for cash and prizes.
The event begins Friday
with a grand entry at 7 p.m.
at the Pow Wow Grounds at
Wildhorse Resort & Casino,
located off Highway 331,
Mission. Grand entries also
kick things off Saturday and
Sunday at 1 p.m. The event
runs until midnight Friday
and Saturday and until 9 p.m.
Sunday. There is no admission
charge.
The event showcases
the traditions and culture of
American Indians. The grand
entries feature participants
parading into the grassy pow
wow arena in their colorful
regalia, including youngsters,
tribal elders and men and
women of all ages.
In addition to the dancing
and drumming competitions,
vendors offer American Indian
arts and crafts, beadwork,
apparel and jewelry. Also,
food and beverage booths
will be plentiful, including the
popular Indian fry bread.
For
more
infor-
mation,
contact
Tiah
DeGrofft,
community
relations Wildhorse Resort
& Casino, at 541-966-1628,
tiah.degrofft@wildhorsere-
sort.com or visit www.
wildhorseresort.com.
For
reservations at the hotel, RV
Park or Tipi Village, call
800-654-9453.
PENDLETON
Hail Mary to save BMRC falls incomplete
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
In a history littered with
eleventh hour saves and last
minute extensions, it was
¿tting that the Blue Moun-
tain Recovery Center was the
subject of one last attempt at
a reprieve.
Unfortunately for the
group of local business
owners trying to save the
former mental hospital from
demolition, the Pendleton
City Council declined their
request to buy the property
at an emergency meeting
Tuesday.
The group was led by
Prodigal Son Brewery and
Pub owner Tim Guenther and
J & B Automotive owner Jim
Swearingen, who asked the
city council for three months
while the group put together
a business plan.
Guenther said the group
was still brainstorming ideas
for a repurposed BMRC
and wanted turn it into a
tourist destination similar to
the Pendleton Underground
Tours.
In the short time they
put together a campaign to
save BMRC, Guenther and
Swearingen put together a
group of staunch supporters,
including
former
state
senator Mike Thorne.
Thorne believed the city
could successfully appeal
to the Legislature, citing his
own work in contributing
to a last minute decision
that staved off the closing
of the Eastern Oregon State
Hospital so it could become
the Eastern Oregon Correc-
tional Institution in 1983.
Although
expressing
admiration for the project’s
ambition, the council wasn’t
sold on the group’s proposal.
Councilman
Chuck
Wood gave a brief history of
BMRC’s closure, recounting
the city’s unsuccessful
attempts to try to sell the
facility to Greater Oregon
Behavioral Health Inc. or
have it absorbed into EOCI.
After BMRC was shut-
tered last year, the city was
able to lobby the Legislature
to allocate more than $1
million to demolish BMRC
and the nearby Eastern
Oregon Training Center and
convey the land to Pendleton
for economic development.
Besides the expensive task
of turning a blighted building
into a viable business, Wood
said reneging on the deal
with the state could create
signi¿cant liability issues for
the city.
“It’s a great, white
elephant,” he said.
Wood reminded the
group that they received no
input from them before the
eleventh-hour appeal despite
multiple public meetings and
extensive media coverage.
One by one, almost every
councilor echoed Wood’s
opinions, leading to a unan-
imous decision to proceed
with the demolition.
Senior and disabled
residents of Hermiston now
have another option for the
city’s subsidized taxi ride
program.
Umatilla Cab Company
is licensed to operate inside
Hermiston and approved to
accept riders from the Senior
& Disabled Taxi Ticket
Program after the city’s
exclusive franchise with
Hermiston Transit Services
expired June 30.
In March the city council
voted unanimously to end
the practice of granting an
exclusive franchise to Herm-
iston Transit Services and
instead create a taxi licensing
system open to any company
that meets the requirements.
assistant city manager Mark
Morgan said there would
probably be a few kinks to
work out as the new system
was implemented but in the
long run he believes allowing
some healthy competition
between taxi companies will
be of bene¿t to residents.
Umatilla Cab Company
has been in operation for
almost a year and owner
Sundi
Marquez
said
business has been steady.
She expects it to increase
now that the taxi company
can legally transport riders
within the Hermiston city
limits and can accept the
subsidized ride tickets.
She said the company’s
two full-time and three part-
time drivers have passed
the necessary background
checks to operate within
Hermiston starting July
1. The company has a
wheelchair-accessible van.
It operates between 6 a.m.
and 2:30 a.m. seven days a
week and Marquez said she
is willing to pick up riders
outside of normal operating
hours if they make arrange-
ments ahead of time.
The company also does
food deliveries and can pick
up things like medications.
As for the city-run Senior
& Disabled Taxi Ticket
Program, Morgan said the
city plans to leave pricing
and other aspects the same
after adding Umatilla Cab
Company. Users must be
Hermiston residents and
register at City Hall. The
cost of a one-way ticket will
still be $2 each and can only
be used within city limits.
Umatilla Cab Company
can be reached at 541-567-
6055
BRIEFLY
Two arrested after
chase in Blues
PENDLETON — A
high-speed chase in the
Blue Mountains turned
into a wilderness search
Tuesday, but ended with
a man and woman from
Washington behind bars in
Umatilla County.
The pursuit began at
12:40 p.m., according to
Oregon State Police, when
a trooper spotted a 1989
Nissan 240Z going 91 miles
per hour westbound on
Interstate 84 near Meacham.
When the trooper tried to
catch up, the driver, Jacob
Ross, 25, of Des Moines,
Wash., sped away, going
faster than 120 mph.
When the trooper turned
on the patrol vehicle’s
lights Ross pulled into the
westbound truck scales,
turned around and drove
the wrong way on the
interstate in an attempt to
elude the trooper. The stunt
worked temporarily, as the
of¿cer ended the pursuit,
but minutes later the of¿cer
spotted the vehicle near the
Deadman’s Pass rest area.
Ross drove his 240Z
away again, Àeeing onto the
Umatilla Tribal Reservation
on Kanine Ridge Road,
but after about eight
miles on the rough road
broke down. Ross and his
passenger Whitney Johns,
22, of Tacoma, Wash., left
the vehicle behind and ran
down a ravine.
Troopers from
Pendleton, Hermiston, La
Grande, an OSP aircraft
from Baker City and
Umatilla Tribal Police
established a perimeter and
began a search. They found
Ross and Johns at about 2
p.m. hiding in the brush.
Ross was arrested for
felony attempt to elude,
reckless driving, reckless
endangerment and criminal
trespass and His passenger,
Whitney Johns, 22, of
Tacoma, was charged with
criminal trespass.
Hermiston water,
sewer rates increase
HERMISTON —
Hermiston residents will see
their water and sewer bills
go up by 4 percent starting
Wednesday.
The rate increase is the
¿nal step in a series of four
increases that started in
2014.
The series of increases,
totaling 16 percent, were
approved by the Hermiston
City Council to help pay
for the city’s new recycled
water treatment plant.
For residential users
the new sewer rates will
be $23.56 per month plus
$1.30 per 1,000 gallons over
5,000 gallons used. Water
rates will increase to $17.14
a month for the ¿rst 3,000
gallons, $1.30 for every
1,000 gallons over 3,000
gallons and $1.08 for every
1,000 gallons above 13,000.
AUGUST 11-15, 2015
Tuesday, Aug. 11 DUSTIN LYNCH
Wednesday, Aug. 12
JOHN MICHAEL MONTGOMERY
Thursday Aug. 13  (7:00pm) ANTIFAZ &
(9:00pm) LA-MAR-K DE TIERRA
CALIENTE
Friday, Aug. 14 HINDER
Saturday, Aug. 15 WARRANT
Place a Yard Sale Ad
25 words, 3 days, private party only
$20.00 East Oregonian & Hermiston Herald
Yard Sale Kits - $5.00
Includes 2 signs, stakes
& price stickers.
Call Paula
541-278-2678
Reserved Tickets
On Sale Now!
$12
(does not include
admission)
CARNIVAL WRISTBANDS
$23 (until August 10)
($30 after fair starts)
Call or stop by the Fair Office,
515 W. Orchard, Hermiston
800-700-FAIR (3247)
www.umatillacounty.net/fair
~Visa & Mastercard Gladly Accepted~