REGION
Saturday, August 15, 2015
East Oregonian
HERMISTON
UMATILLA
Council could
send pot ban
to the ballot
Windy weather blows fair wares away
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Umatilla County Fair vendors were
forced to get creative Friday when high
winds started to steal the show.
Buckets of water, tent stakes, ladders
and even a four-wheeler were called
into service to keep booths from Àying
away, but holding down individual
wares was trickier.
“The little kid tattoos we had blew
all the way to the front gate,” West
Umatilla Mosquito Control District
booth worker Jake Flyg said. “It’s been
a mess.”
He and Ashli Roberts said they
had to collect rocks to keep all of their
stacks of Àiers from being whisked
away as gusts of wind whipped through
the fairgrounds.
“We had to put up our awning,”
Roberts said. “It was like a kite.”
By the afternoon food vendors
around the fairgrounds had given up on
their awnings, too, and the service clubs
were rolling up the tarps they had been
using to shade the picnic tables near
their stands.
Other booths, like the one selling
Àags, had battened down the hatches
and put up a sign announcing they had
gone to get more supplies and would
be back. Liisa Schrank said she was
watching the Walk on the Wild Side
display of exotic animals for her friend
Julie Moore, who had run to the store to
get more stakes.
She said earlier in the day some of
the big cats had seemed agitated by the
hearty gusts that caused the tent to Àap
and shake but they were settling down.
“The tiger was walking around a
little upset, but now she seems to be
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
A ballot measure to ban
marijuana dispensaries from
Umatilla could be headed to
the voters this fall if the city
council fails to act unani-
mously Tuesday night.
The city’s temporary
moratorium on dispensaries
runs out on Thursday, and
the council has yet to pass a
permanent ban.
Under House Bill 3400,
passed by the Oregon Legis-
lature this year, cities and
counties can ban marijuana
dispensaries within 180
days of the passage of HB
3400 if at least 55 percent
of voters in that jurisdiction
voted against legalizing
recreational marijuana last
year and the council votes
unanimously.
An ordinance banning
marijuana dispensaries in
Umatilla is on the agenda
again Tuesday night after
being tabled by a city council
that has shown split opinions
on the issue.
The council also rejected
a set of commercial zone
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Customers at the Umatilla County Fair are asked to stand back as a
food vendor goes to get a ladder and remove a set of banners whipping
dangerously in the high winds on Friday.
taking it in stride,” Schrank said.
Moments later she jumped up to grab
a tent pole as the top of the tent began
whipping back and forth violently.
Yesica Castillo was selling jewelry
and hair accessories at the fair, and
she said she had to jump up and chase
things sometimes when a particularly
hard gust of wind came through.
“After putting my display up, I took
and turned it on different sides,” she
said, showing how she had moved some
of her racks of accessories so that they
faced inward instead of hanging outside
the tent to draw in passerby. “That’s just
the way it is. There is nothing I can do.”
Ashley Wheeler and Barb Martin
Page 3A
from the Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce said they had lost a few
watermelon slices as the wind caught
the paper plates they were sitting on.
“We had a couple Ày away,” Martin
said.
She said the wind didn’t seem to
deter fairgoers, though, who generally
know that the occasional windy day is
“just part of living in Eastern Oregon.”
Like most people working a booth,
Martin and Wheeler just removed their
shade covering, added a few buckets of
water as weights and kept going.
“You just kind of laugh at the things
that come up and then come up with
creative ideas to ¿x it,” Martin said.
regulations earlier in the
summer that the planning
commission put forth. The
regulations would have laid
out speci¿c rules for siting
various businesses, including
adult entertainment and
marijuana dispensaries. City
manager Bob Ward said in a
memo to the council that the
issue of dispensaries could
head to a city-wide vote if
the council doesn’t approve
Ordinance 805 unanimously.
“With no zoning regu-
lations in place for these
types of businesses, any
commercial area in Umatilla
could potentially be vulner-
able to the establishment
of such businesses, subject
only to state law, considering
the way commercial zones
are currently constructed,”
he wrote. “A vote to ban
marijuana is revocable in the
future.”
The
council
meets
Tuesday, August 18, at 7 p.m.
at city hall, 700 Sixth St. in
Umatilla.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
Pulling Royal family of the county fair
power
HERMISTON
By SEAN HART
East Oregonian
Abraham Stahl, 4,
of Stanfield brac-
es his arm on the
steering wheel for
extra leverage while
competing in the
RDO Kid’s Tractor
Pull on Thursday at
the Umatilla County
Fair in Hermiston.
Stahl took home the
first place trophy
of a John Deere toy
tractor in the four
and under category.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
BRIEFLY
Aerial spraying to
target Hermiston
mosquitoes
HERMISTON — The
West Umatilla Mosquito
Control District will
conduct aerial spraying
after sunset Monday, Aug.
17 over several areas near
Hermiston.
A twin engine airplane
will Ày over a target area
of 20,000 acres, including:
Diagonal Road between
East Townsend Road and
the Highway 730 junction;
portions of the Power Line
Road area; and the Power
City area. Spraying is being
done to protect against
mosquitoes carrying West
Nile virus in the county.
The district now has
seven con¿rmed positive
samples of West Nile
virus and is awaiting word
on three more samples
collected Thursday and sent
to the Oregon State Univer-
sity Veterinary Diagnostic
Lab in Corvallis. So far, no
humans have become sick.
Residents in the target
area can expect to see
low-Àying airplanes that
will spray Dibrom, a type
of insecticide widely used
for mosquito control. The
spray rate is 0.7 ounces per
acre, or 30 percent below
the amount approved for
safe application by the
Environmental Protection
Agency.
While Dibrom is
considered safe with little
to no risk of toxicity, the
Umatilla County Health
Department recommends
children and pregnant
women avoid exposure
if possible by remaining
inside or avoiding the area
until about 30 minutes after
spraying.
West Nile is primarily
a disease of humans, birds
and horses. Only one
in ¿ve people infected
with the virus will show
symptoms, and less
than 1 percent of those
patients come down
with potentially serious
complications.
For more information
about West Nile virus,
contact the West Umatilla
Mosquito Control District
at 541-567-5201 or the
Umatilla County Health
Department at 541-278-
5432.
Council to consider
airport lease
PENDLETON — After
a spate of meetings with
drawn-out discussions on
hot topics like infrastructure
and marijuana, the
Pendleton City Council will
pull back the reins for its
next meeting Tuesday.
The meeting agenda has
only one action item —
consideration of a ground
lease to WCCL Trucking &
Repair for a property at the
Eastern Oregon Regional
Airport.
Immediately preceding
the 7 p.m. meeting will be
a Pendleton Development
Commission meeting at 6
p.m.
The council recently
decided to move
commission meetings from
the second Tuesday of the
month to the third Tuesday
of the month before the city
council meeting.
The council will use the
commission’s old time slot
for work sessions.
———
Briefs are compiled
from staff and wire reports,
and press releases. Email
press releases to news@
eastoregonian.com
Eagle Cap Excursion Train
Train Ride & Lookingglass
Hatchery Tour
Saturday, August 29
Departs from Elgin
at 10 a.m.
From handing out ribbons
to riding 2,300-pound long-
horns, the 2015 Umatilla
County Fair court participated
in almost every aspect of the
fair, while forging strong
relationships with the other
princesses.
“I didn’t know these
three girls,” princess Catie
Krumbah Kuhar said. “I was
kind of scared and skeptical
to begin fair court, but as the
year has gone over, I have
enjoyed their presence ... As
a team, we work better, but
separate, we’re not quite the
same.”
The 17-year-old from
Milton-Freewater said all
the activities at the fair have
brought the group even closer
together than the previous
events in which they partici-
pated.
Being on the court, she
said, is far different than
only participating in FFA,
providing experience in public
speaking and meeting people.
“It’s just been an amazing
experience,” she said. “I’ll
never forget it.”
Princess
Kaleigh
Waggoner, a 17-year-old
from Pilot Rock, said working
with the other princesses and
meeting so many people was
a great experience.
“It’s been an awesome
opportunity to be a fair court
princess and a huge honor,”
she said. “I really like handing
Corn
Staff photo by Sean Hart
From left, 2015 Umatilla County Fair court princesses
Sevana Patrick, 16, Hermiston, Kaleigh Waggoner, 17,
Pilot Rock, Elizabeth Olsen, 17, Pendleton, and Catie
Krumbah Kuhar, 17, Milton-Freewater, pose in front of
the Legendary Longhorns of Sweet Home Friday.
out the livestock ribbons.
It’s really cool to support the
4-Hers and FFA kids and see
all the hard work that they’ve
been doing.”
She said she enjoyed
participating in the jalapeño
eating contest with princess
Sevana Patrick, a 16-year-old
from Hermiston. Together,
they placed third and won a
piñata.
Patrick said she enjoyed
supporting the FFA and 4-H
participants and riding on
the Legendary Longhorns of
Sweet Home, 2,300-pound
steers with “horns that are as
big as your body.” She said it
also felt great making people
smile just by walking by or
waving.
“The fair court has been
such a great opportunity,” she
said. “You get to have your
personality bursted throughout
the whole county and then on
top of that you spend a year
with girls that you’ve never
met in your life, turn around
and leave as family,” she said.
“It’s so great to know that, no
matter what, they’re there for
you.”
Princess Elizabeth Olsen,
a 17-year-old from Pendleton,
said each of the other prin-
cesses “has a fantastic person-
ality.” She said they worked
well together and participated
in many interesting activities.
“To represent the fair has
been an honor this year,”
she said. “Introducing the
entertainment has been really
fun. We got to go to the rodeo
last night, and that was a blast.
And just being around the fair,
helping out where needed, I
really enjoy that.”
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
800.323.7330 eaglecaptrainrides.com
See the fall season schedule online.
Seeing Patients in Pendleton
Starting September 8
Also Seeing Patients in La Grande