OFF PAGE ONE
Friday, October 16, 2015
QUAKE: Most injuries are from falling lights, broken windows
Continued from 1A
who registered last year.
“We have really seen
a spike in the number of
people taking this seriously
and who are taking valuable
steps to be more prepared,”
said Geologic Hazards
Coordinator Althea Rizzo,
of Oregon Emergency
Management.
At Grove Elementary
School in Milton-Free-
water, ¿rst-grade teacher
Bob Veitenheimer talked
earnestly with his students
about
earthquakes
on
Thursday morning. Some
of the 18 children had never
felt the ground shake before,
so he described the feeling
of the earth moving under
one’s feet and impressed
that earthquakes can be
dangerous.
“But there are things we
can do to stay safe,” Veiten-
heimer told them.
He advised his pupils to
stay calm, drop to their knees
and keep one arm over their
heads as they crawl to a shel-
tered spot under a desk or a
table. Then, “hold on tight.”
Drop, cover and hold on.
That’s just right, Rizzo
said. She said the strategy
comes out of scienti¿c
studies about how to survive
earthquakes.
Collapsing
buildings don’t cause the
most human harm, rather
“most injuries are from
falling lights, bricks, broken
windows — the stuff in our
buildings.”
“Crawl under a desk or
table and hold on,” she said.
“It will be jumping around
so you’ll need to move with
it.”
Rizzo painted a grim
picture of the damage
a 9.0 earthquake could
wreak on the Northwest
if one happens before the
state can retro¿t buildings
and bridges and increase
resilience of transportation,
energy, communication and
water systems. She cited
the Oregon Resiliency Plan,
a document developed by
the Oregon Seismic Safety
Policy Advisory Commis-
sion after being tasked by
the Oregon Legislature.
“If (an earthquake)
happens tomorrow before
we’ve mitigated our vulner-
abilities,” Rizzo said, “we
could be without power and
water and sewer for possibly
a year. If Mother Nature is
kind to us and gives us time,
the downtime could be a
few weeks.”
She said the quake would
likely affect a huge area.
“We’re used to seeing
California-style
earth-
quakes,” Rizzo said, “but
this will affect Oregon, Cali-
fornia, Washington, Alaska
and Hawaii. They will feel
it in Idaho. The impacts are
mind-boggling.”
Eastern Oregon would
likely sustain light damage,
according to the report, and
would serve as a critical hub
for the rest of the state.
During the ShakeOut,
the focus was localized
and basic — the idea was
to stay alive and uninjured.
At 10:15 a.m., the Grove
students reacted to a
rumbling sound coming
through
the
school’s
intercom system. They
dropped
and
quickly
crawled under their desks.
In the tiny space, they held
on tight. No one laughed.
For almost a minute, no one
spoke.
When the rumbling
sound stopped, they crawled
out.
If all goes well, these
students will never have to
experience the big one. But,
if it comes, they have been
taught what to do.
———
Contact Kathy Aney at
kaney@eastoregonian.com
or call 541-966-0810.
TRANSIT: Explored how to create more cycling opportunities
Continued from 1A
College, Eastern Oregon
Correctional Institution and
Eastern Oregon Regional
Airport are also uncovered
by Kayak. St. Anthony
Hospital has a Àag stop,
meaning passengers can
only stop there by request.
CTUIR
Planning
Director J.D. Tovey said the
tribal government estimates
104,000 riders will use
Kayak this year.
While Kayak’s focus on
inter-city travel has meant
a limited coverage area in
Pendleton, the whole city
is covered by the city-spon-
sored Let’Er Bus system.
Let’Er Bus is an umbrella
for seven programs, but
three on-demand programs
get the most usage — senior
and disabled taxi ticket
vouchers, daily van service
and Elite transit tickets.
The daily van service, a
dial-a-ride taxi service that
costs $1 per one-way trip,
proved so popular that the
city contracted with Elite
Taxi in 2013 to create an
additional taxi service with
an increased ticket price of
$3 and a six-trip limit.
The Let’Er Bus system
has grown in popularity
since its inception in the
mid-1990s, going from
1,500 in 2000 to 36,600 in
2015.
With increased demand
comes increased cost —
from $9,609 in 2000 to
$226,847 in 2015, although
the Oregon Department of
Transportation’s
Special
Transportation Fund covers
most of that cost.
A
consultant-created
map showed Pendleton’s
transit dependent population
was concentrated in the
downtown, South Hill and
Sherwood Heights areas.
Wright said the city
would need public input to
decide whether public transit
should be a priority, and if
so, whether a ¿xed-route or
on-demand transportation
would be preferable.
To gather input, the
city will hold several open
houses and is distributing a
survey.
If community members
wanted more ¿xed-route
options, Wright suggested
working with Kayak.
Since the bus system
relies mostly on state and
federal funds, Tovey said
one of Kayak’s longterm
goals is to “graduate” from
CTUIR governorship to a
regional transit board that
would oversee both local
and intercity routes.
The committee also
continued to explore how
to create more cycling and
pedestrian opportunities.
Consultant Kittelson and
Associates measured the
best and worst streets using
a metric called Level of
Traf¿c Stress (LTS), which
evaluates roads on a 1-5
scale based on speed limits,
travel lanes, and bicycles
lanes to gauge the level of
comfort a cyclist would feel
on that street.
Unsurprisingly,
high-
traf¿c streets like Westgate,
Southgate and Southeast
Court Avenue were rated the
worst for cyclists.
“If I could put (South-
gate) at a LTS 6, I would,”
said Evan MacKenzie,
Pendleton city planner and
avid cyclist.
Kittelson
associate
planner Matt Hughart said
the presence of bike lanes
didn’t always spare streets
from poor assessments,
citing Southgate and Tutuilla
Road.
Some streets had so
much car traf¿c, in addition
to being positioned on
steep inclines, that Hughart
suggested it might just be
better to ¿nd a parallel street
for cyclists to travel on
instead.
Before the meeting, the
city’s consultant team met
with Pendleton High School
and Sunridge Middle School
students to ¿nd places in
need of more sidewalks.
Some of the roads the
students identi¿ed were
Riverside Avenue and
Highway 11.
Hughart also presented
some potential extensions
of the Pendleton River
Parkway to the east, west,
south and a parallel dirt or
gravel path on the north side
of the Umatilla River.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
Altrusa plans
informational
Harvest Party
PENDLETON — The
public is invited to enjoy
dinner, have fun and
learn more about Altrusa
International of Pendleton.
A Harvest Party is
planned Wednesday, Oct, 21
at 5:30 p.m. at NEIGH-bors
Barn, 543 N.W. 21st St.,
Pendleton. The event is
free.
Founded in 1917,
Altrusa is an international
club whose members are
interested in creating better
communities.
For more information,
call 541-969-1095.
Church, downtown
plan day of service
MILTON-FREEWATER
— Volunteers are invited
to participate in A Day of
Service, which is sponsored
by the Walla Walla Stake
of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day
Saints in conjunction with
the Milton-Freewater
Downtown Alliance.
The event is Saturday,
Oct. 24 from 8 a.m. to noon.
Interested parties should
meet at Central Middle
School gymnasium, 306
S.W. Second Ave., Milton-
Freewater.
Projects include Main
Street clean-up, Pioneer
Cemetery restoration, tree
removal and ¿rewood
preparation, Walla Walla
River clean-up, curb
painting, tree planting,
preparation of hygiene kits,
making blankets and more.
Participants should
bring yard tools of all kinds
(shovels, rakes, pruners,
etc.), gas weed eaters/
trimmers, sidewalk edgers,
brooms, wheelbarrows,
trucks and work gloves.
Child care will be available
and a lunch will be served.
For more information
or to sign up for a project
in advance, visit www.
justserve.org.
Milton-Freewater
church hosts
bluegrass concert
MILTON-FREEWATER
— A Gospel Blue Grass
Festival is planned at the
Milton-Freewater First
Christian Church.
The First Christian
Church, 518 S. Main St.,
Milton-Freewater, is hosting
a Gospel Blue Grass
Festival at 7 p.m. on Oct.
24. The concert will feature
some of the best bluegrass
musicians in the region.
The free event is Saturday,
Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.. A time of
fellowship and refreshments
will follow the concert.
For more information,
contact mfjjcollins@q.com.
Missionary to
share about Africa
HERMISTON — Gail
Andreas, a missionary to
Africa, will share about
her experiences during a
program at the Hermiston
Church of the Nazarene.
Sponsored by the
church’s 50+ Ministry,
everyone is invited Friday,
Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. at 1520 W.
Orchard Ave., Hermiston.
Those in attendance are
encouraged to bring a
dessert to share with others.
For more information,
call 541-567-3677.
Page 7A
BOND: Would run for up to 21 years
Continued from 1A
Heppner City Manager
Kim Cutsforth said it’s an
all-or-nothing proposition;
both measures need to pass
or the project fails. Election
ballots are due Tuesday, Nov.
3.
“The community needs a
new ¿re hall,” Cutsforth said.
“We’re getting by, but it’s not
a good situation.”
Twenty ¿re¿ghters work
for Heppner’s all-volunteer
department. The current
station, located on Willow
Street, was originally built in
1960. An of¿ce, locker room
and bathroom were added in
1994.
Fire Chief Rusty Estes
said the facility is no longer
big enough to meet their
needs. Some of their emer-
gency equipment, including
a rescue boat and trailer,
has to be kept at a separate
building two miles outside of
town, and there is no space
for training at the hall.
Space is so tight, Estes
said they can’t even open the
doors to ¿re trucks inside the
cramped bays.
“It’s de¿nitely a safety
issue to get everybody in
and out of a rig safely and
quickly,” Estes said.
The new hall would be
large enough to keep their
equipment in one place,
Estes said, while providing
a much-needed training
room, two of¿ces and two
restrooms.
The station still would not
have living quarters for the
volunteers, as the city and
district will try to keep the
cost under $1 million.
“We don’t want the Taj
Mahal. We just want a ¿re
hall (residents) can use after
we all retire,” Estes said.
In addition to protecting
the city, the Heppner Rural
Fire Protection District
“We don’t want
the Taj Mahal.
We just want a
fire hall (residents)
can use after we
all retire.”
— Rusty Estes,
Heppner fire chief
contracts with the depart-
ment to respond to ¿res on
neighboring farms and ¿elds.
Years of drought have led to a
sharp increase in calls, rising
from roughly 90 per year to
more than 200 in 2014.
“We do everything,”
Estes said. “We have the only
rescue equipment in all of
south Morrow County.”
Heppner City Council
formalized an agreement in
January to assist the depart-
ment in building a new ¿re
hall. Land for the develop-
ment was donated by Morrow
County Grain Growers, with
easements provided by both
the Morrow County Soil and
Water Conservation District
and Devin Oil Co.
If passed, the bond
measures would run for up to
21 years at a rate of 88 cents
per $1,000 of assessed value
in the city, and 41 cents per
$1,000 in the rural district.
That is a conservative
estimate, Cutsforth said.
With low interest rates and
fair construction costs, she
said there’s no cheaper
opportunity to build a new
¿re hall than now.
“There’s a huge need for
this. It’s desperate,” Cuts-
forth said. “We expect this
will be something the ¿re
department uses for the next
50 years.”
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
Church
Directory
s h i
r
o
W
p w i t h u s !
OPEN HEARTS – OPEN DOOR
BRIEFLY
East Oregonian
www.graceandmercylutheran.org
585 SW Birch, Pilot Rock, OR 97868
(541) 443-2500
prbconline.blogspot.com
Sunday School: 9:30 am
Worship Service: 10:45 am
Wednesday Services:
Kids’ Club: 6:00 pm
Youth Group: 7:00 pm
Sunday Worship 9:00 a.m.
Sunday School 10:00 a.m. (Nursery Provided)
Fellowship, Refreshments & Sunday School
Check Out our Facebook Page or Website for
More Information
541-289-4535
Tom Inch, Pastor
Grace and Mercy Lutheran Church, ELCA
164 E. Main St. / P.O. Box 1108
Hermiston, Oregon 97838
Gladys Ave & 7th Hermiston
Fr. Dan Lediard, Priest. PH: 567-6672
“Proclaiming God’s word,
growing in God’s grace”
FIRST SERVICE 8:30 AM
SECOND SERVICE 10:30 AM
712 SW 27 TH ST.
541-276-1894
www.fcogpendleton.com
FAITH LUTHERAN
CHURCH
Living Word
Christian Center
in Mission for Christ LCMC
Sunday Worship Service
10:00 AM
Wednesday Bible Study 7:00 PM
401 Northgate • Pendleton
278-8082
www.faithpendleton.org
www.livingwordcc.com
Community
Presbyterian Churc h
-Presbyterian Church (USA)-
201 SW Dorion Ave.
Pendleton
Service of Worship - 10:00 am
Children’s Sunday School - 10:20 am
Fellowship - 11:00 am
www.pendletonpresbyterian.com
Open Hearted...Open Minded
241 SE Second St. Pendleton
(541)276-3809
www.pendletonepiscopal.org
Sunday Morning Worship 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday Worship Noon
Wednesday Evening Prayer
and Pot Luck 6:00 p.m.
All Are Welcome
Come meet Jesus at
PENDLETON BAPTIST
CHURCH
3202 SW Nye Ave Pendleton, OR
541-276-7590
Sunday Morning Worship 11:00 AM
Sunday Bible Classes 9:45 AM
Sunday Youth Group 6:00 PM
Mon. Community Women’s Study
9:30 AM & 6 PM
Awana Kids Club (K-6th grade)
Wed Men’s Study 6 PM
MOPS meeting the 1st Thur of the Month
6 PM
P eace L utheran C hurch
210 NW 9th, Pendleton ELCA
Join us Sundays
9:30
Sunday
Worship
9:30 am am
Sunday
Worship
10:30 am Fellowship
11:00 am Sunday School & Adult Class
Sharon Miller, Pastor
( Oregon Trail Room )
Red Lion Hotel
Family service 9am Sunday
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH
555 SW 11th, Hermiston
567-9497
Nursery provided for all services
Bible Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 AM
Sunday Worship . . . . . . . . . . . 10:30 AM
All People
Are Welcome
Scripture, Tradition
and Reason
Grace Baptist Church
Sunday School - 9:30 AM
Worship - 10:45 AM
6:00 pm
Wed Prayer & Worship - 7:00 PM
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
~Come and be at Peace~
on 1290 KUMA noon each Sunday
Faith Center Church
NEW HOPE
COMMUNITY CHURCH
Worshiping God • Loving People
108 S. Main • 276-9569
1350 S. Highway 395, Hermiston
Sunday Worship Services
English- Pastor Dave Andrus
9:00 & 10:45 am
Spanish- Pastor Genaro Loredo
9:00 & 10:15 am
Classes for kids during all services
For more information call
Sunday Worship
10:30 am
14 Martin Drive,
Umatilla, OR
922-3250
Praise, Prophecy & Prayer
Worship: 10 AM Sunday
School at 11:30
pendletonfaithcenter.org
Sr. Pastor, Ray O’Grady
541-567-8441
T HE C OUNTRY C HURCH
Seventh-Day
Pastor James Becker
Adventist Churc h
32742 Diagonal RD
Saturday Services
Pendleton
1401 SW Goodwin Place
276-0882
Sabbath School 9:20 am
Worship Service 10:45 am
BAHA’I FAITH
“The Unity of All
Mankind”
Pendleton Baha’i Center at
1015 SE Court Place
Devotions Sundays @
11:00am; Everyone invited!
(541) 276-9360 visit us at
www.pendletonbahais.org
Hermiston OR 97838
Sunday School 10 am
Worship 7 am
Evening Service 7 pm
Bible Study Wednesdays 7 pm
Firestarter Youth Ministry
(Ages 12-17)
Monday @ 6 pm
First United
Methodist
Church
352 SE 2nd Street
Pendleton, OR
541-276-2616
Sunday Worship 9am
Open Hearts, Open Hands, Open Doors
Facebook: www.facebook.com/
FUMCPendleton
Services are broadcast every Sunday
on KUMA-1290 AM @ 11am
Rev. Dr. Jim Pierce, pastor
To share your worship
times call
Amanda Jacobs
541-278-2683