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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2015)
REGION Saturday, August 1, 2015 East Oregonian Page 3A PENDLETON Business Oregon hoSing drones Ày soon By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Several months after contributing to a 1 million ¿nancial SacNage for the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems Range, Business Oregon seems haSSy Zith its investment The Business Oregon Commis- sion reacted Sositively to a Sresentation by Steve Chrisman, the Pendleton airSort manager and economic develoSment director, at a meeting in Pendleton Friday. Chrisman touted Oregon as a “federally sanctioned regional monoSoly´ because of its status as the only Federal Aviation Admin- istration-aSSroved test site on the Zest coast. To bacN uS his Soint, Chrisman cited an Oregon State University study that Sredicted 1 neZ Mobs as a direct result of test range activity. According to the study, those Mobs Zould have a Zage range of $45,000 to $150,000 and a total economic imSact of $. million. John Stevens, Chrisman the chief oSera- tions of¿cer of SOAR Oregon and the former range manager in Pendleton, curated a list of several do]en Mobs that could be created by the range, Zhich included emSloyment in sales, engineering, Siloting and technical Sroduction. Chrisman also included testi- monials from SeoSle in the UAS industry, including Andy +icNl, the senior director of innovation for 9ulcan ,nc., a comSany oZned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen that uses drones to tracN Zildlife herds in Africa. “Pendleton Srovides us Zith both a great Slace to Ày comSle[ mission and the technical suSSort to NeeS them safe,´ +icNl Zrote. “:e are e[cited about Àying ² and basing neZ UAS focused businesses ² in Oregon and the great Paci¿c 1orthZest.´ Chrisman said the Pendleton UAS Range has aSSroval from the FAA to Ày three drones from tZo different comSanies, Zith seven comSanies seeNing authori]ation to begin testing in Pendleton. Although he couldn’t identify the comSanies because of signed non-disclosure agreements, he said they Zere “household names.´ +e also said he Zas con¿dent the range could attract Vulcan Inc. and the Paci¿c 1orthZest 1ational /abora- tory in the future. Business Oregon Director Sean Robbins bemoaned the lacN of state investment in the UAS industry, Zhich he called Sitiful. :hile the $1. million SacNage to the Pendleton range remains the biggest state investment in drones, Oregon trails AlasNa, 1evada Te[as and Virginia in ¿nancial suSSort for test sites. All states Zith test sites are Zell behind 1orth DaNota, Zhich has sSent $24 million. “1obody really Zants to be in 1orth DaNota,´ Robbins said. “But they’re NicNing our butt. Their governor is on TV talNing about UAS and they are out there selling their Sosition in the marNetSlace.´ Another economic area Business Oregon has helSed Pendleton address is a lacN of ZorNforce housing. The grouS helSed ¿nance the Pendleton Heights housing develoSment. State Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-ScaSSoose, an e[-of¿cio member of the commission, noted the /egis- lature’s focus on affordable housing and said the challenge is sSreading that money across the state and not Must unloading it all in Portland. Johnson said the state also needed to focus on building as many affordable housing units as Sossible. Recalling a triS to visit a 10-unit affordable housing develoSment in Boardman, Johnson said she Zas surSrised to ¿nd out it cost $150,000 to $175,000 to build each unit. “/et’s sNiS the granite counter toSs and let’s build a couSle more units,´ she said. ²²² Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. ECHO City offers to help replace dead trees after bad freeze By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Pendleton firefighters knocked down a small blaze Friday at Keystone RV. The fire occurred in a sawdust collection system in a manufacturing plant on the site’s east end. Firefighters were en route at 10:53 a.m. and wrapped up just after noon. Firefighter Kevin Coleman said Keystone workers hit the fire with extin- guishers early, but there were still flames when firefighters arrived. The Pendleton squad extinguished the fire and kept it from spreading to the rest of the building. Coleman also said no one was injured in the fire. UMATILLA Pot shops: to regulate or to ban By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Hammer Toe Bunion Diagnosis & Treatment: • Ingrown/Fungal Toenails • Bunions/Bone Spurs • Ankle & Foot Injuries/Fractures • Ulcers/Skin Disorders • Warts • Corns/Calluses • Hammertoes • Ankle Pain & Instability • Routine Toenail Care • Orthotics/Arch Supports Special Services: • Board Certified Care • X-rays - In Office • Sports Medicine • Hospital & Office Based Surgery S TACEY J. C LARKE , DPM & T RAVIS T. H AMPTON , DPM Pendleton Medical Center Suite 11 • Pendleton, OR 97801 (541) 963-0265 • (888) 843-9090 Seeing Patients in Pendleton Starting September 8 Also Seeing Patients in La Grande in Arizona Zhen the SicNuS he drove Zent off HighZay 5 and doZn a steeS draZ near mileSost on HighZay 5, about 20 miles south of Pilot RocN and 15 miles from UNiah. ThomSson Zas the lone occuSant. The crash eMected him and he died at the scene. BanNs said sSeed nor imSairment Zere factors in the crash. OFF OFF OFF F F O Corn from the last three years, and alloZ the Umatilla Police to insSect surveillance footage “at any reasonable time´ if there are susSicions a crime tooN Slace. The ordinance Zould also imSose a set of regulations on disSensaries oSerating Zithin city limits, including restricting the oSerating hours from 10 a.m. to 7 S.m., Srohibiting any mari- Muana Sroducts from being consumed or inhaled on the Sremises, banning logos or illustrations from the building’s signs, installing a ¿ltration system to limit odors escaSing the SroSerty and con¿ning all business transactions to inside the building. The city council meets Tuesday at 7 S.m. at city hall, 700 Si[th Street in Umatilla. ²²² Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. U.IAH ² Oregon State Police have not Sinned doZn Zhat caused the crash Tuesday morning near UNiah in Zhich a 7-year-old man died. Ronald Elmonte ThomSson Zas from Anchorage, AlasNa, according to information from his family. State Solice Sgt. MarN BanNs said Friday morning ThomSson Zas on his Zay to visit friends F F O As the end of Umatilla’s moratorium on mariMuana disSensaries aSSroaches, the city council Zill be asNed to consider tZo ordinances ² one regulating the disSen- saries and one banning them outright ² on Tuesday. City manager Bob :ard said the council could maNe a decision Tuesday if they Zanted to, but he e[Sects after the Sublic hearing they Zill Zant to consider the ordinances and do some research before maNing a decision. “I Zould e[Sect the action Zould be made on August 1th so there’s not a rush to Mudgment,´ he said. The city’s temSorary ban on the disSensaries ends on Aug. 20. The original Slan Zas to include medical mari- Muana disSensary regulations in a Slanned overhaul of the city’s entire commercial code, but the council ended uS sending the Slanning commission bacN to the draZing board last month. Since the city is running out of time before the end of its ban :ard said he thought it Zould be best to have tZo ordinances “teed uS´ at once. One ordinance Zould ban all mariMuana disSen- saries and Srocessing sites, as alloZed by the Oregon legislature for communities Zhere a maMority of residents voted against legalization of recreational mariMuana. The other ordinance, Zhich runs eight Sages long, Zould reTuire medical mari- Muana retailers to get a sSecial business license. The license Zould be granted on condi- tion that the license holder go through a bacNground checN and alloZ the city manager to insSect the Sremises, including the business’ booNs Cause of deadly crash still unknown F F O Small fire at Keystone RV $ $ $ F F O Staff photo by E.J. Harris The city of Echo is offering to helS Say for reSlacement trees after e[treme temSeratures over the Zinter Nilled foliage around the city. City manager Diane Berry said younger trees and shrubs around the region Zere hit hard Zhen the temSerature Slummeted from almost 70 degrees to beloZ ]ero last 1ovember. The city’s ornamental cherry trees in Sarticular Zere irreversibly damaged, esSe- cially around the arboretum and golf course. The city, NnoZn for its decades as an of¿cial Tree City U.S.A., does have a tree budget and Zhen the city orders neZ trees for city SroSerty it Zill Say half the cost for residents Zho Zant to order neZ trees at the same time. Costs generally run betZeen $17 and $24 deSending on the tree, and anything Surchased must be Slanted in the city limits. Berry said the city hasn’t decided yet Zhether it Zill get the trees in time for fall Slanting or sSring Slanting. Residents can get a list of suggested trees that do Zell in Echo’s climate from city hall. Berry said the list hasn’t been uSdated yet to remove ash trees, Zhich the U.S. Forest Service is currently advising against Slanting due to an invasive insect sSecies called the emerald ash borer that is Nilling ash trees around the United States. Residents interested in sSlitting the cost of a tree Surchase Zith the city can stoS by city hall or call 541-7-411. ²²² Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@ eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536. $ $ F F O O F F F F O fan on off auto 78
