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.
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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
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Small fire at Keystone RV
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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.
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