REGION
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
East Oregonian
Page 3A
PILOT ROCK
Staff photo by Jonathan Bach
Jaymes Buchanan, of Boise, Idaho, takes off the line at the 2015 Pilot Rock
Community Days lawn mower races on Saturday.
Smoky skies don’t
halt community days
By JONATHAN BACH
East Oregonian
%UXFH +LOGH RXW¿WWHG
himself and his grandchil-
dren with protective masks
while they watched the lawn
mower races at the Pilot
Rock Community Days on
Saturday.
“It was clear as a bell
here yesterday,” he said,
standing along the makeshift
racetrack by Pilot Rock High
School. Racers ripped by
drag-race style at up to 80
miles an hour.
%XW QRZ WKDQNV WR ¿UHV
burning throughout Eastern
Oregon, he said he could
not see too clearly in town.
And he wasn’t going to bring
his grandchildren out to the
festivities without masks.
At one point, his grandson
asked if he could take the
mask off, to which Hilde
said, “No.”
Smoke clung to Pilot
Rock during the 2015
Community Days event,
during which yard sales, a
parade, wiener dog races and
lawn mower races all took
place.
The smoke was in what
is called an inversion,
where it is trapped close to
the ground and is unable to
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Smoky air expected all week in Umatilla County
Staff photo by Jonathan Bach
Earl Perry, of Pendleton, peers inside an old Dodge
pickup truck at the 2015 Pilot Rock Community Days
event on Saturday.
dissipate in the atmosphere,
said Pendleton Fire Captain
-RKQ 5LFKDUGVRQ :LOG¿UHV
continue to burn near John
Day, Warms Springs and
Baker City, to name a few.
Jaymes Buchanan, 48,
is a lawn mower racer from
Boise, Idaho. Buchanan, in
3LORW5RFNIRUWKH¿UVWWLPH
said, “I didn’t even know
where it was until I got
here,” of the small town.
The racer of around
12 years drove from Soap
Lake, Washington, to attend
Saturday’s event. “I haven’t
seen blue skies for more
than a week,” he said of the
Staff photo by Jonathan Bach
Bruce Hilde, of Pilot Rock, wears a protective mask
against smoke as he watches the lawn mower races
with his grandchildren during Saturday’s Community
Days event in Pilot Rock.
northwest’s weather.
Despite the poor air
quality, community members
attended the festivities,
shopping for wares from
street vendors like Marion
Schuening, of Pilot Rock.
Schuening was also at
WKH HYHQW IRU WKH ¿UVW WLPH
peddling wooden cows,
sheep and pigs her late uncle
crafted. She said she found
them in his attic, and was
selling them on Main Street
as the executor of his estate.
She sold around 10-15 items
on her street-side table. But
she said she was glad her
daughter, who works with
Pilot Rock Fire Department,
did not have to go out on
DQ\ ¿UHV DV RI 6DWXUGD\
afternoon.
Earl Perry, of Pendleton,
peered into the cab of an old
Dodge pickup parked for
display nearby. He lived in
Pilot Rock in the 1960s, and
has come to the Community
Days event for the last
several years. He was a
regular at the lawn mower
races, too.
“It’s amazing what they
can do with those little
devils,” he said.
———
Contact Jonathan Bach
at
jbach@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0809.
The sun sinks in a smoky sky Sunday over Pendleton Grain Growers’ Rew
Elevator. Smoke from multiple wildfires affected air quality and limited visibility
in much of the state over the weekend.
The Umatilla County Public Health department is urging residents to limit out-
door activity when air quality is visibly poor. Residents should take precautions
as smoke from northwest fires continues to drift into this part of the state. Un-
healthy smoke levels will occur throughout the week, and likely into the weekend.
Umatilla County’s air quality fluctuates throughout the day from “Unhealthy
for Sensitive Groups (orange)” to “Good (green).” When the Air Quality Index
is yellow or orange, the elderly, children, and those with respiratory health ail-
ments may experience adverse health effects such as coughing, wheezing, or
headache, thus they should limit time spent outside.
To monitor air quality levels, residents can follow UCo Health on Facebook or
visit the Department of Environmental Quality’s Air Quality Index site at www.
deq.state.or.us/aqi/index.aspx.
HERMISTON
City releases survey
about community brand
East Oregonian
The city of Hermiston and Chamber of
Commerce are asking for input on the city’s
brand.
Answers on the anonymous survey will
be collected by an independent consultant
and used to assess perceptions of the “You
can GROW here” brand developed by
Hermiston’s Future Task Force Branding
and Community Promotion Committee.
According to a news release, the purpose
of developing a cohesive “brand” for
Hermiston is to give Hermiston an identity,
promote Hermiston’s livability, remain the
largest city in Eastern Oregon, attract more
businesses and families to the area and
increase tourism.
The city’s attempt to adopt the “You can
GROW here” brand, promoting the idea
that Hermiston is a prime place to grow
everything from produce to businesses,
IHOO ÀDW ZLWK VRPH FLWL]HQV 7KH FRXQFLO
heard criticisms last year from people who
didn’t like the paint job on the water tower
that replaced a watermelon image with the
tagline, and others said “You can GROW
here” opened the city up to jokes about
marijuana cultivation.
The stated purpose of the survey is to
“determine if any changes should be made
before moving forward further with the
community brand.”
The survey is available online at www.
KHUPLVWRQEUDQGFRP DQG FDQ DOVR EH ¿OOHG
out by hand at Hermiston’s Saturday Market
at McKenzie Park Saturday from 8-10:30
a.m. or at Wal-Mart Saturday from 11 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m.
BRIEFLY
Fire at Foxwood
Apartments
displaces one
+(50,6721²$¿UH
at the Foxwood Apartments
on Orchard Avenue in
Hermiston early Sunday
morning displaced one
person.
Hermiston Fire & Emer-
gency Services responded
to a report of a residential
¿UHDWDPWKDWKDG
started on the porch of a
one-story apartment in the
1000 block of Orchard
Avenue.
Fire marshal Tom Bohm
VDLGWKH¿UHVWDUWHGLQWKH
vicinity of an ash tray
sitting on the porch. He
said the resident woke up
to the sound of a smoke
detector going off, saw the
¿UHRQWKHIURQWSRUFKDQG
exited out the back.
Bohm said the front
of the apartment was
“severely damaged,”
there was smoke and
water damage inside the
apartment, the attic was
damaged and the depart-
ment had to cut a hole in
a wall. Two apartments on
either side also sustained
some smoke damage.
The Red Cross provided
lodging, food and clothing
to the man displaced by
WKH¿UH
There were no injuries
and mutual aid was
SURYLGHGE\6WDQ¿HOG)LUH
District and Umatilla Fire
Department.
According to a post on
the department’s Facebook
page the call came in on
a busy night when the
department was in the
process of responding to
a car crash, but personnel
still responded in nine
minutes and “C-Shift did a
fantastic job handling these
emergencies and stopping
WKH¿UHEHIRUHLWFRXOG
spread to other units.”
Fire contained on
Cabbage Hill
PENDLETON — A
¿UHEXUQHGQHDUWKH2OG
Emigrant Hill Road on
Monday east of Pendleton.
Tribal police blocked
Old Emigrant Hill Road
near exit 224 and at
the bottom of the hill,
according to Umatilla
7ULEDO3ROLFH2I¿FHU&KDV
Koenig.
Emergency responders
contained the blaze by
mid-afternoon, according
to Umatilla Tribal Police
Chief Timothy Addleman.
7KHVL]HRIWKH¿UHZDV
not reported.
IMAC cooks
up fundraising
breakfast
IRRIGON — For a
hearty homemade breakfast,
Irrigon Multicultural Arts
Center volunteers have just
the deal for you.
The regular fundraising
breakfast is Saturday from
7:30-10:30 a.m. at Stokes
Landing Senior Center, 195
N.W. Opal Place, Irrigon.
The cost is $4.50 per person.
The group is dedicated to
the preservation of Irrigon’s
1921 school building. For
more information, call Peggy
at 541-567-3806.
Potluck event
invites widows,
widowers
PENDLETON — Area
widows and widowers are
invited to a potluck gathering
to enjoy the company of
others.
WW.Friends meets
Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 5:30
p.m. at 511 N.W. Eighth St.,
Pendleton. Those attending
are asked to bring a salad or
dessert to share. The hostess
will provide a main dish.
All widows and widowers
are invited to attend.
Although not a support
group, the participants meet
monthly for friendship and
an opportunity to share
positive experiences.
For more information,
call 276-4708 or 276-2790.
‘Hotel Hell’
seeks Oregon
establishment
As it prepares for its third
season of “Hotel Hell,” FOX
RI¿FLDOVDUHVHHNLQJDKRWHO
in Oregon to be featured in
the series.
They are looking for
an independently owned
and operated hotel, motel
or resort that needs help
from Gordon Ramsey.
6KRZRI¿FLDOVORYHXQLTXH
businesses that need
some help in marketing
themselves, or 2-3 star hotels
that would like to move up in
the rankings. To be eligible,
Wednesdays
in the Park
Concert Series
Dakota Brown
Band
Aug. 26, 2015 • 6 PM
Roy Raley Park
www.pendleton
parksandrec.com
the hotel must have an onsite
restaurant.
Ramsay attempts to
help turn around failing
establishments — making
changes to meet his
impeccable standards.
To submit a hotel
establishment, contact
Jeanette Ochoa at
jeanetteocasting@gmail.com
or 323-203-1337. For more
about the show, visit www.
fox.com/hotel-hell.
SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS
Submit information to: community@eastoregonian.com or drop
off to the attention of Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main St.,
Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendle-
ton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-966-0818 with questions.
The Center for Excellence
in Dermatology
welcomes
Heidi Tate, PA-C
to our satellite clinic
in Pendleton, Or.
She is located in the Family Medicine building,
behind the Interpath building at
2450 SW Perkins Ave, Pendleton, OR.
Services related to the diagnosis and treatment of
skin cancers, moles and sun damage. General services
including the evaluation and treatment of acne,
psoriasis, warts and eczema will also be available.
Stop by the new office and meet the medical staff
dedicated to taking care of all of your skin needs.
Appointments
are available
Mon-Thurs 8am-5pm
Call toll free:
1-855-525-4677
Pendleton Office:
541-276-6936