A VERY POPLAR RUN ANOTHER CRASH ON 395 Save $10 at Safeway SPORTS/1B REGION/3A COUPON/8A 62/38 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015 140th Year, No. 8 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD HERMISTON City gives EOTEC $600K By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian The Hermiston city council agreed to give the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center 600,000 0onday, on the condition that a city administrator be given a seat on the proMect’s board. The contribution is the ¿ rst step in the EOTEC board’s plan to ¿ ll a 2.2 million budget shortfall. The board also plans to ask the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners for $600,000 and board member Dan Dorran said local hoteliers were willing to contribute $1 million if the city and county stepped forward. The hotelier money would be raised through a city-sponsored revenue bond that would be paid back by the hoteliers at a rate of approximately $100,000 a year. The city’s decision came after two hours of discussion in which councilors expressed support for EOTEC but also Tuestioned how the proMect had ended up behind the previously announced 2016 completion date and more than $2 million short. Doug Smith said original talk of a $30 million or more proMect completed in time for the 2016 county fair came across as Must hype. “I hate to say it but I feel the results so far have been kind of dismal,” he said. “:hat do we have? A half-constructed building and pipes.” Other councilors asked the board why certain problems hadn’t been addressed sooner and why there had not been more work to bring in money from private donations and sponsorships. Dorran said that he took “100 percent responsibility” for encouraging the board to go with a process where See EOTEC/7A Staff photo by Gary L. West John Frew, CEO of Frew Development, talks about the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center during a joint work session between the Hermiston City Council and the EOTEC authority board. Next to Frew (left to right) are EOTEC board member David Bothum, vice chairman Dan Dorran and chairman Ed Brookshier. :est meets east during legislative excursion Hansell stresses importance of rural, conservative side of state By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Hospital’s ¿ rst drive-through À u shot clinic. 0otorists navigated through a trio of stations, getting a clipboard and information sheet at the ¿ rst and dropping off the Bill Hansell didn’t mince words when emphasizing the importance of bringing ¿ ve democratic lawmakers from western Oregon to the state’s more rural, conservative east side. “This could be historic,” said Hansell, the local Republican senator from Athena. “It’s very important they see what we’re trying to do here.” Hansell, along with Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove, invited their legislative colleagues from across the political aisle over for a ¿ eld trip 0onday to Hermiston and Boardman, where they toured Stahl Hansell Farms, the former Umatilla Chemical Depot and Port of 0orrow. The goal, Hansell said, was to give them a ¿ rsthand look at the region and better understanding of how they can help the natural resources-based economy grow. “I want them to see the potential of what we can Barreto do and how we can do it,” Hansell said. “Agriculture is key, but it spins off into all the supporting industries.” Five legislators À ew in 0onday morning to the Hermiston 0unicipal Airport, including: Senate 0aMority Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland; Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose; Sen. Chris Edwards, D-Eugene and chairman of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee; Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Spring¿ eld; and Rep. Caddy 0c.eown, D-Coos Bay. See CLINIC/7A See EAST/8A Staff photo by E.J. Harris OHSU nursing student Robert Gillespie of La Grande gives a seasonal fl u shot to Jacob Markgraf of Pendleton at a drive- through fl u shot clinic Monday in Pendleton. Drive-through clinic Free À u shots attract 800 By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris OHSU nursing student Robert Gillespie of La Grande leans into Christie Elder’s car at a drive-through fl u shot clinic Monday in Pendleton. People in this drive-through lane didn’t get spiced lattes or French fries. They received something that might be even better: A hedge against the annual misery of coughing, sneezing, body aches and chills. Hundreds of people got À u shots 0onday from the comfort of their cars. A line of vehicles snaked around the Pendleton Convention Center parking lot at 7 a.m. when St. Anthony “We haven’t yet got- ten into the thick of fl u season. We’ll have to wait and see if they got it right this year.” — Mike Rickman, director of Pharmacy Services at St. Anthony PENDLETON SUV topples historic windmill Originally located in Thorn Hollow By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian An errant driver Sunday in Pendleton took out a windmill that has stood for more than 100 years. The man who brought the windmill to the museum, though, said he was hopeful it could rise again. The windmill was an iconic 30-foot-tall, 6,000-pound feature of the Umatilla County Historical Society’s Heritage Station 0useum, 108 S.:. Frazer Ave. Society executive director Barbara Lund-Jones called the loss of the windmill a blow to the museum’s very identity. The society uses the image of the museum and windmill on its letterhead and business cards. Pendleton police Chief Stuart Roberts in an email See WINDMILL/7A Staff photo by E.J. Harris A driver crashed through the fence and into a windmill toppling the structure Sunday at the Umatilla County Historical Society’s Heritage Station in Pendleton.