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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 2015)
REGION Thursday, August 27, 2015 East Oregonian Page 3A Wordsmith to research Council moves toward PILOT ROCK Spelling champ uses both sides of brain $4 million sewer project By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Ever wonder what happened to that guy? That girl? Take the case of Chris- topher Barnhart. Twenty years ago, the Pendleton boy won both district and state spelling competitions. Those who knew the precocious 12-year-old weren’t awfully surprised. From toddlerhood, Chris- topher loved words. One year, he asked for a dictio- nary for Christmas. He read the newspaper when most children were working their way through “Green Eggs and Ham” or “Goodnight Moon.” Christopher’s mother, Melinda Slatt, said Christo- pher’s brain was sponge-like and his pronunciation spot- on. She remembers asking her four-year-old son to run to the backyard one summer day to get a sprinkler for her. He returned a few moments later with a question. “You mean the oscillating sprinkler?” he asked. “I didn’t even know he knew the word,” Slatt said. “He had read it somewhere.” Christopher and his aunt often went head to head doing the daily newspaper crossword puzzle. After procuring two identical papers, they raced to see ZKR FRXOG ¿QLVK ¿UVW +H often won. So what happened to this talented wordsmith, this lover of etymology, grammar and spelling? Surely he carved out a career as a writer, maybe an up-and-coming author whose name will one day grace the New York Times bestseller list. Sit back in your chair and get ready to glide Google Earth-style slowly toward the East Coast, the state of 1HZ <RUN DQG ¿QDOO\ WKH Big Apple. The zooming continues until Yeshiva University and the Albert Einstein College of Medi- cine come into view. Inside a lab, Barnhart peers into his microscope at guinea worms grown in a petri dish. These nematodes have a starring role in the 31-year-old’s research about how an overabundance of manganese can cause cell death in certain parts of the brain. ³:H¶UH WU\LQJ WR ¿JXUH out the involvement of certain proteins that might be involved in preventing cell death,” he explains. Barnhart, it seems, has bolted from one side of the brain to the other. His love Contributed photo Christopher Barnhart, a Pendleton native and state spelling champ 20 years ago, works in his laboratory at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he is researching the brain. “The experience taught me that focusing and working hard can open a lot of doors for you.” — Christopher Barnhart, 1995 state spelling competition champion of science clicked in at Pendleton High School as he studied biology, chemistry and physics. He earned a degree in bioengineering at Oregon State University and graduated with a Ph.D. in bioengineering from Univer- sity of California Davis last March. The post-doctoral fellow now spends his days in Einstein’s state-of-the-art laboratory chipping away at biomedical mysteries of the brain. Barnhart doesn’t get much opportunity for plea- sure reading these days amid WKH DYDODQFKH RI VFLHQWL¿F papers, but when he does, the list is eclectic — every- thing from the Chinese poet Li Po to “Slaughterhouse Five,” “Watership Down” and Stephen King’s “It.” Barnhart remembers the district and state spelling competition with fondness, though he still winces at a word he missed during state. “I only missed one word ² ¿VVXUH´ KH VDLG ZLWK D laugh. “That haunted me.” That day, his mom sat among parents and other supporters awaiting the announcement of who won the competition, which was done via paper and pencil instead of out loud. She braced herself as the winner was revealed. “When they said Chris- topher’s name, I shot up,” she said. “I was the only one in the audience who knew him.” Afterwards, the mother and son celebrated by visiting an airbrushing booth at the Oregon State Fair, the site of the spelling competition. A short time later, Barnhart sported a T-shirt that proclaimed “State Spelling Champ of the Year.” “I still have it,” he said. Barnhart said he left the competition with a burst of FRQ¿GHQFH “The experience taught me that focusing and working hard can open a lot of doors for you,” Barnhart said. ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810. PENDLETON Hill Meat expansion hits hurdle Water pipes not big enough sometime in September, then the city would be able to seek funding from Pilot Rock City Council state or federal agencies gave the go-ahead Tuesday that provide grants and low-interests night for the creation of a long-term, draft plan for new waste- loans for these kinds of big water lagoons. The latest infrastructure projects. To qualify, though, the report from the engineering ¿UP RI $QGHUVRQ 3HUU\ city needs to raise its sewer Associates shows the total rate to $40.36 a month. cost of the project is about The residential rate is $28 $4 million, an increase of a month after a $10 bump about $200,000 since esti- went into effect in July. The city plans to increase mates in July. The council voted 5-0 the rate during the next on an option that includes few years until it meets the building new two lagoons mark. Construction could begin — one 23 acres and one seven acres in size — on the in spring 2017, according to north and south sides of the Anderson Perry’s project existing lagoon, which is a schedule, and wrap up in little north of the city and 2018. The new system on the west side of Birch would last at least 20 years. The lagoon project also Creek. Pilot Rock’s sewer treatment lagoon is 57 years requires the city to acquire old. In late 2013 the city about 30 acres of land from exceeded its groundwater private owners. Public bacteria limit. The Oregon works director Steve Draper Department of Environ- in the work session said the mental Quality in 2014 asking price is $125,000, warned Pilot Rock it needs but negotiations continue. to upgrade the lagoon to Baird suggested the city buy cease harming groundwater the land now. The $125,000 and avoid penalties and price, he said, is not much in the scope of the whole other actions. The council discussed project. The council in other the project during a work session before the meeting. business took no action on Anderson Perry president a request from city recorder and senior engineer Brad Teri Porter to address people Baird said at the session the on Facebook or other social draft plan would be ready media. She told the council By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian industrial park, its location development charges, a fee places it just outside the assessed to developers based boundaries of more robust on how much of an impact water lines. the development would have Patterson said east of on the surrounding infra- By ANTONIO SIERRA Northwest 49th Street structure. East Oregonian is serviced by modern, The Pendleton City The expansion of Hill industrial grade eight- and Council has discussed imple- Meat Co., a bright spot 10-inch lines, while the land menting such charges for for Pendleton’s business west of 49th Street has water water, sewer and stormwater, community, has dealt with a infrastructure composed of although an actual date for implementation hasn’t been hiccup in its planning stages. four- and six-inch pipes. Those lines were formally considered. According to Pendleton Hill Meat CEO Jim Public Works Director originally installed in the Bob Patterson, Hill Meat’s 1940s, when the airport Cheney said he felt as though southward expansion isn’t was used primarily as an the issue was resolved and currently serviced by the Army base without the same thanked the city for working city’s water utility. Addition- ¿UH VXSSUHVVLRQ VWDQGDUGV with the company. He added that the city’s ally, the four- and six-inch required for a modern devel- focus on attracting new lines that provide Hill Meat’s opment. Patterson said the needed businesses to the airport current water supply are not ODUJH HQRXJK WR VXSSO\ ¿UH improvements to the Hill industrial park would have suppression to the growing Meat expansion could have made utility upgrades an been paid for by system eventuality. business. While city staff is looking into state grants that could P ENDLETON R OUND -U P & cover the cost of upgrading these utilities, Patterson said H APPY C ANYON G IFT S HOP Hill Meat would need to cover the costs if the state NEW! doesn’t come through. H ATS , T-S HIRTS , S WEATSHIRTS The city could know the V OGT , M ONTANA , & ZPT J EWELRY total cost of the project later F LAGS , C AR F LAGS , G IFTS , & M ORE ! this week. Beat the Crowds! Shop Early for Best Selection! In addition to adding 20,000 square feet to its TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE current Northwest 50th • Kids Day - Thursday $1 - 17 under Street facility, Hill Meat • Senior Day - Wednesday $37 - RUP, HC, BBQ plans to add as many as 30 • 4 Pack - Thursday $44 - 4 RUP, 4 hotdogs, 4 sodas jobs to its workforce as its Inside Hall of Fame Building business continues to grow. 1114 SW Court Ave • Pendleton, OR While Hill Meat may be 541-276-2553 one of the most prominent www.pendletonroundup.com business at the Eastern Hours: 8:30 -5 Mon- Fri Sat 10-4 Oregon Regional Airport she deleted comments she made on Facebook in response to misinformation about police schedules. Councilman Deacon Perkins said he was OK with letting go of this, which was fraught with public records and meetings issues. “I don’t think the city should get entangled in social media, so I appreciate you backing up on that,” he said. The council also heard a pitch from Sheri and Jason Lybrand of Pendleton to open a marijuana dispen- sary in Pilot Rock to take advantage of Measure 91, the new law Oregon voters passed to allow recreational marijuana. Jason Lybrand is the owner of Wicked .LWW\ 7DWWRR 3LHUFLQJ in downtown Pendleton, which in addition to body art also sells lingerie and other items. A dispensary ZRXOG EH SUR¿WDEOH WKH\ said, and would bring more tax revenue to the city. Council members did not seem too stoked on the idea, and at the end of the meeting Perkins said he felt misled — the agenda only noted Sheri Lybrand would GLVFXVV WKH EHQH¿WV RI WKH law. He and Councilman Jim Hinkle also noted Pilot Rock voters opposed Measure 91. HERMISTON Aquatic center in need of repairs its budget. Instead of replacing the boiler Fetter proposed The Hermiston Family putting solar panels on the Aquatic Center is beginning picnic shelter roof to heat water for the showers. The to show its age. Parks and Recreation panels would cost $50,000 director Larry Fetter gave instead of the $8,500 to city councilors a tour of replace the boiler, but they the facility Monday night, would save $18,000 a year pointing out areas in need in natural gas, allowing the city to recoup its investment RIVLJQL¿FDQWUHSDLU The pool’s most in three years. The downside would noticeable defect was the boiler that heats water for be that the hot showers showers. After the boiler would be dependent on the began leaking, the city was weather, but Fetter pointed QRWDEOHWRJHWLWUHFHUWL¿HG out that the pool only for municipal pool use, operates during the sunniest causing swimmers to put up months of the year. “We get a ton of UV,” with cold showers or skip them altogether for most of he said. “Especially this summer, we wouldn’t have the summer. Fetter said the pool, had a problem at all.” Fetter pointed out a ZKLFK¿UVWRSHQHGLQ is no longer brand new and second repair he hopes the it is time that the city started city will pay for before the thinking about creating 2016 swim season. The tiles a reserve fund for large around the gutter system repairs that will inevitably for the multi-use pool are covered in rust because start cropping up. “If we had had a reserve the water has made its way we would have had showers through the tile to the rebar holding up the pool walls, this summer,” Fetter said. Fortunately, the pool causing internal damage can survive without hot that Fetter compared to showers, he said. But if a a cavity in a tooth. He maintenance problem ends proposed spending $40,000 up shutting down the pool to grind out the damage for a long period of its inside the pool lip and three-month season, that’s replace it with something going to be a major blow to that will hold up better and By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian be easier to clean than the tile. “There really is no part of this gutter system that isn’t affected to some degree,” he said. The work would take about two weeks to do and could be performed in the spring, in time for the pool to open for the next summer. Fetter also pointed out a smaller repair that will cost less than $5,000 and will be completed this fall. A VLJQL¿FDQWZDWHUOHDNXQGHU the pool deck near the water slides has been draining water from the pool and needs to be dug up and patched. “We’ve lost a lot of water, and it’s expensive water because it’s heated and chlorinated,” he said. Fetter urged the city council to consider creating a reserve fund to cover pool maintenance above and beyond routine things like new paint. He said if the city pulled $20,000 a year aside from the Transient Room Tax fund it could still meet its bond obligation, which the city will not pay off until 2033. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536.
