REGION
Thursday, July 16, 2015
East Oregonian
Page 3A
John Day River
salmon killed
by low-flows
Die-off estimated at 109 spring chinook
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Contributed photo by Oregon Department of Transportation.
Highway dedicated to late ODOT employee
Maintenance crews with the Oregon Department of Transportation installed two signs July 9 designating a
stretch of Highway 395, between Highway 74 and Ukiah, as the Don Kendall Memorial Highway. Kendall, a
54-year-old ODOT employee and longtime Eastern Oregon resident, was killed last year in a work site acci-
dent near Echo. State lawmakers passed Senate Bill 628 during the 2015 session designating the memorial
highway, sponsored by Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, and Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove.
HERMISTON
Umatilla County Fair offers robotics camp
East Oregonian
A day camp featuring
building, designing and
programming working robots
is planned during the Umatilla
County Fair.
The fair is partnering with
the Umatilla School District
and InterMountain Education
Service District to offer
the opportunity to students
entering sixth through ninth
grades. The camp is limited to
35 participants.
The camp is Wednesday,
Aug. 12 and Thursday, Aug.
13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at
the fairgrounds in Hermiston.
Also, campers will showcase
their robots during a special
demonstration day, Saturday,
Aug. 15 at 4 p.m. on the fair’s
Coke Stage.
Cost of the Robotics Camp
is $20 per student, which
includes lunch and a T-shirt.
Fair admission is provided
for registered students for
the three days of the event.
Students will not keep the
HERMISTON
Good Shepherd ready to
open new surgical center
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
EO Media Group file photo
Four area teams compete during a robotics tournament in 2014 in Hermiston. The
Umatilla County Fair, in conjunction with the Umatilla School District and Inter-
Mountain Education Service District, are offering a Robotics Camp during the fair.
robots, but will get to enjoy
the building process and
experience the challenge of
engineering and manufac-
turing.
Registration forms are
available at the Umatilla
School District Of¿ce, 1001
Sixth S., Umatilla, and the fair
of¿ce, 515 W. Orchard Ave.,
Hermiston. Campers need to
register by Monday, July 27.
For more information,
contact 541-567-6121 or
fair@umatillacounty.net.
BRIEFLY
Meeting highlights
earthquake
preparedness
For more information or
to register, contact Sharon
Neuvirth at 541-276-3322
or sharon@dvs-or.org.
HERMISTON — A
discussion about Umatilla
County’s plans and
preparations for a major
earthquake off the Oregon
coast is the topic of an
upcoming meeting.
Jack Remillard,
manager Umatilla County
Emergency Management,
will discuss the possible
local implications of the
Cascadia Earthquake. The
meeting is Thursday, July
23 at 6 p.m. in Room 134 at
Blue Mountain Community
College, 975 S.E. Columbia
Drive, Hermiston.
The event is sponsored
by the Tour of Knowledge.
For more information,
contact 541-656-5895 or
hermistonleo@yahoo.com.
Registration for
fair day camp
Roll a strike for
domestic violence
HERMISTON — The
public is invited to knock
down pins during a
fundraiser for Domestic
Violence Services.
The Bowl-a-Thon is
Saturday, July 25 beginning
with check-in at 5:30 p.m.
at Desert Lanes, 1545
N. First St., Hermiston.
Bowling runs from 6-8 p.m.
The cost is $30 per person
or $120 for a team of four.
The entry fee includes
three games of bowling and
shoes. Also, prizes will be
awarded.
Players are encouraged
to form a team of four
or join a team and help
support the organization
in providing shelter, meals
and support services for
victims of domestic/sexual
violence.
Low Àows and high
water temperature are
proving fatal to Eastern
Oregon’s salmon runs.
An estimated 109 wild
spring chinook died last
week on the upper section of
the Middle Fork John Day
River, apparently exhausted
by the intense heat.
Like
many
rivers
throughout Oregon, the
Middle Fork John Day
is Àowing extremely low
this summer due to hot
weather combined with
historically low mountain
snowpack. That’s left water
temperatures in the mid-70s,
choking out dissolved
oxygen needed for ¿sh to
thrive.
Staff with the Oregon
Department of Fish & Wild-
life ¿rst observed die-off in
the Middle Fork John Day
on July 7, near Windlass
Creek. A survey uncovered
more dead salmon over a
17-mile reach downstream
of Highway 7.
The discovery follows
con¿rmed reports of ¿sh
die-offs on the Willamette
and lower Deschutes rivers.
Biologists are also bracing
for high pre-spawn mortality
in the Umatilla and Grande
Ronde rivers. Those surveys,
conducted by ODFW and
the Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion, should begin this week.
Brent Smith, ¿sh biol-
ogist with ODFW in John
Day, said the Middle Fork
John Day River has a wide,
shallow channel that leaves
it exposed direct sunlight.
The river also lacks riparian
vegetation where ¿sh would
otherwise depend on shade
for relief along the shore-
lines.
Smith expects to see
more salmon killed through
the rest of the summer, until
spawning occurs in early
September. It could also
make things dif¿cult for
fall chinook, steelhead and
coho runs unless the weather
begins to improve.
As a whole, the John Day
and Umatilla basins have
seen strong salmon returns
for the year, which gives
biologists hope that despite
the conditions, enough
¿sh will survive to spawn.
Recent summer rains have
also brought some relief to
the area, Smith said.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
HERMISTON — Fun at
the Fair Day Camp features
arts and crafts, science
experiments and music.
Featuring exhibits and
activities at the Umatilla
County Fair, the camp
provides a program for
students entering ¿rst
through ¿fth grades. It runs
Aug. 11-14 from 8:30 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m. at Hoeft Hall
at the fairgrounds, 515 W.
Orchard Ave., Hermiston.
Campers will perform
Friday, Aug. 14 at 3 p.m. on
the fair’s Coke Stage.
The cost is $65 and
includes a camp T-shirt, a
week-long fair admission
pass and a carnival bracelet
($30 value) that will be
handed out at the end of the
week and can be used either
Friday after camp ends or
all day Saturday.
Participants need to
bring a sack lunch each day,
sunscreen, a water bottle
and a backpack. The camp
will provide a daily snack.
For more info, contact
541-567-6121 or fair@
umatillacounty.net.
Discover your
inner clown
HERMISTON — Richard
Melendy, aka Big Top the
Clown, a former Ringling
Brothers and Barnum &
Bailey Circus clown, will
lead a clown workshop.
Discovering the Clown in
You includes clown history,
character development,
pantomime, physical comedy,
juggling, skits and applying
makeup.
The classes are July 27-31
with sessions form 9 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. or 12:30-4:30
p.m. They are held at the
Hermiston Conference
Center, 415 S. Highway 395.
Open to ages 7 and up
through adults, the cost is
$50 for residents or $63 for
non-residents.
For more information, visit
www.hermistonrecreation.
com. To register, call
541-667-5018 or stop by the
recreation of¿ce, 180 N.E.
Second St., Hermiston.
Adult program
highlights heroes
PENDLETON — A
special adult summer reading
program encourages people
to create a story about their
personal hero.
The event is Thursday,
July 23 at 6 p.m. in the
Karaoke with Ron Martin!
Pendleton Public Library
Community Room, 502 S.W.
Dorion Ave.
For more information, call
541-966-0380.
The Arc plans
free pool party
HERMISTON — The Arc
Umatilla County is splashing
into summer with a free pool
party and barbecue.
The event is Saturday,
July 25 from 6-8 p.m. at
Hermiston Family Aquatic
Center, 879 W. Elm Ave.
People are encouraged to
grab their swim trunks, a
towel, some sunscreen and be
ready for some fun. The Arc
will provide hot dogs, chips
and water.
The Arc is committed to
expanded opportunities for
people with intellectual and
development disabilities,
including inclusion with
others in the community.
For more information,
including activities offered
through The Arc Umatilla
County, visit www.facebook.
com/arcofumatillacounty or
call 541-567-7615.
The second phase of
Good Shepherd Medical
Center’s $15.3 million
surgical services expansion
is complete and the public
will have an opportunity to
tour it Tuesday.
The hospital is inviting
everyone to a ribbon cutting
at 5 p.m., followed by group
tours of the project that will
run until 7 p.m.
“This will be the only
opportunity for the public to
see this new space prior to it
being cleaned and prepped
for our ¿rst surgical case on
Monday, July 27,” spokes-
person Kelly Sanders said
in a news release.
The expansion includes
two new surgical suites,
15 day surgery rooms and
a new central processing
area for sterilizing surgical
instruments.
It also includes a sepa-
rate central utility plant
behind the hospital, which
will house the hospital’s
utilities, chilled water,
pumps and gases. At the
same time the plant was
being built Good Shepherd
also installed what Sanders
said is the largest fan wall
in Eastern Oregon on the
hospital roof.
According to Tiffany
Palmer, interim surgical
services manager, the new
surgical suites are much
larger — in some cases
twice as big — as the
hospital’s older rooms,
which will make it easier
to accommodate modern
robotic equipment used in
today’s surgeries.
She said in addition to the
$15.3 capital improvement
project, $2.3 million worth
of medical equipment will
also be used to stock the
new area.
The new building was
designed by Peterson Kohl-
berg and Associates and
construction was completed
by McCormack Construc-
tion of Pendleton.
Program screens Alcatra] ¿lms
East Oregonian
A pair of documentary
¿lms about the occupation of
Alcatraz Island by American
Indians of many tribes in
1969-1971 will be shown
during Pepsi Primetime@
the Museum.
Admission
to
the
¿lms is free Saturday
at 1 p.m. at Tamastslikt
Cultural Institute, located
near Wildhorse Resort &
Casino.
Complimentary
refreshments will be served.
On Nov. 20, 1969,
Alcatraz was occupied by
American Indians and held
for 19 months. The action
protested
government
policies designed to eliminate
tribal rights regarding land,
hunting and ¿shing.
“Alcatraz Occupation:
35th Anniversary 1969-
2004”
celebrates
the
occupation and honors the
original occupiers through
songs, stories and dance.
“We Hold the Rock,” a
documentary about the
Indian occupation, was
produced by the National
Park Service. Each ¿lm lasts
about half an hour.
The program is in
conjunction with the current
exhibit, “Alcatraz: Life
on the Rock,” which runs
through Oct. 24. It includes
the “Alcatraz: The Last
Day” photo exhibition, a
collection by Life Magazine
photographer Leigh Wiener.
For more information,
visit www.tamastslikt.org or
call 541-966-9748.
Pepsi Primetime @ the Museum
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Saturday, July 18
1pm Free Movies
A local favorite
July 18, 7 pm - 10 pm
In the Red Lion Lounge
FIRST FRIDAYS ARE FREE!
304 SE Nye, Pendleton
541-276-6111
Open Mon-Sat 10am-5pm
541.429.7700
www.tamastslikt.org