REGION
Saturday, November 14, 2015
East Oregonian
UMATILLA
PENDLETON
Sipe is
picked as
Oregon’s
top super
Windmill stands tall again
Heidi Sipe, the super-
intendent of the Umatilla
School District, was chosen
as the 2016 Oregon Super-
intendent of the Year at
this week’s Oregon School
Boards Association annual
conference in Portland.
Sipe has been the
Umatilla
superintendent
since 2007 and is now in the
running
for
the
National
Superin-
tendent of
the Year.
The state
h o n o r
is given
by
the
O r e g o n Sipe
Associa-
tion of School Executives
and the Confederation of
Oregon School Administra-
tors.
“Heidi is an outstanding
educational leader with a
deep commitment to equity
and a strong belief in the
promise and potential of
each and every child,” said
Salam Noor, Oregon Deputy
Superintendent of Public
Instruction. “Her passion,
dedication, and vision make
her a true asset not just to her
district and region but to the
whole state. I cannot think
of anyone more deserving
of this honor.”
Nearly 90 percent of
Umatilla’s 1,400 students
qualify for free or reduced
meals and about one-third
are active English Language
learners.
“When others look at the
demographics of our school,
they see barriers to college,
including limited ¿nancial
resources, lack of college-
going role models, and citi-
zenship status,” Sipe said at
the conference. “But inside
our schools, our students no
longer accept those barriers.
Umatilla
students
are
college material, and in fact
are college success stories.
They see themselves for the
stars they are.”
Sipe led the creation
of the STEM Academy
of Umatilla and serves
as volunteer coach of the
district’s
award-winning
FIRST Robotics team. She
has also been a prominent
education leader in Oregon
for nearly a decade. Among
her
many
leadership
roles: OASE President in
2014-15; COSA Board of
Directors, 2013-15; and
Teacher Standards and
Practices
Commissioner,
2013-present.
She also assisted the
Oregon Department of
Education during a time
of transition by serving as
interim assistant superinten-
dent in 2012-13.
Sipe and her husband,
Kyle, a middle school
teacher in Umatilla, have
two children. Their son,
Caden, is a freshman at
Washington State Univer-
sity. Her daughter, Cameron,
is a junior at Umatilla High
School.
———
Information provided by
the Confederation of Oregon
School Administrators.
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Less than three weeks after a
driver crashed into a century-old
windmill in Pendleton, hard
work stood it back up.
An errant driver on Oct.
26 crashed an SUV through a
fence at the Umatilla County
Historical Society’s Heritage
Station, 108 S.W. Frazer Ave.,
and wiped out the galvanized
steel support beams that kept
the windmill aloft in Eastern
Oregon for a hundred years.
The nearby display barn saved
the 30-foot-tall windmill from
crashing all the way to the
ground.
Bob Vance, 71, of Walla
Walla, saw a news report about
the windmill and Àew into
action.
Vance and his wife, Sharon,
own and operate a miniature
horse business, and as it turns
out he is something of a wind-
mill fanatic.
Bob Vance was a bit too busy
Friday to talk while overseeing
the windmill’s set-up at Heritage
Station, but Sharon Vance said
her husband has been putting up
windmills for years and realized
he had just the ¿x — an old
windmill of his own that was
O'): Fon¿rPs
IPnaha 'iYiGe FalI
attaFNeG b\ ZolI
By STEVE TOOL
Wallowa County Chieftain
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The windmill at Heritage Station in Pendleton is transferred
from a flatbed trailer onto the museum grounds Friday using
a crane from Anderson Construction.
the perfect size for the historical
society’s.
Rod Anderson, owner and
operator of a local construction
company, had his crew haul the
battered windmill to his shop
near Rieth. Anderson said they
had to remove the wooden water
tank from the old windmill
and attach it to the one Vance
provided. Vance also repaired
and replaced some of the fan
blades the fall also damaged,
and Anderson’s workers made
other ¿xes, including to the top
of the water tank.
Anderson said they were
ready to put it back into place
Friday
afternoon.
Vance,
Anderson and a handful of
others attached the 12-foot fan,
and a boom crane lifted the
6,000-pound windmill while the
men danced the structure into
place.
The whole process took
about an hour.
Society executive director
Barbara Lund-Jones watched it
all. She said she was so pleased
to see the museum’s iconic piece
back up and at full height, and
considered it a record for how
fast the project came together.
She also said insurance will
cover the tab, including to ¿x
the fence and repair the barn’s
roof.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.com or
541-966-0833.
The Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife con¿rmed a Nov. 10 wolf attack on
a 600-lb. calf that was grazing on a Forest
Service allotment on the Imnaha Divide. The
calf was seriously wounded but survived the
attack. The attack follows a con¿rmed wolf
depredation of another calf Oct. 27 in the
nearby Harl Butte area.
ODFW wildlife biologist Mike Hansen
con¿rmed the incident Friday.
“The stockgrower was able to ¿nd it
and bring it in the vet’s of¿ce the Double
Arrow clinic), and they’re taking care of it,”
Hansen said. “They clinic staff) think the
calf might make it.”
Hansen said there was little doubt the
attack involved the Imnaha Pack, as it was
reported in the area about two days before.
“It’s part of their territory,” Hansen said.
Wallowa County Chief Sheriff’s Deputy
Fred Steen said the affected rancher noti¿ed
him of the attack late in the afternoon of Nov.
10. Hunters in the area had discovered the
profusely bleeding calf and its mother. They
shot video footage of the affected animal as
well as tracks and signs of a struggle in the
area. The hunters noti¿ed a nearby home-
owner, who noti¿ed the affected rancher.
The rancher located his calf the next
day, although the search failed to turn up
the calf’s mother. The rancher brought the
calf to the clinic, where it was examined by
Hansen, Steen and a veterinarian. All the
examiners agreed that the injuries were the
result of a wolf attack.
According to Steen, the affected rancher
has been gathering cattle from the area since
mid-September and was short about ¿ve
cows and two calves as of Nov. 11.
PENDLETON
Marijuana sales ban gets another shot
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
A ban on marijuana sales
in Pendleton could hinge on
the vote of City Councilor
Chuck Wood.
At the Nov. 3 Pendleton
City Council meeting, coun-
cilors Becky Marks, John
Brenne, Tom Young and
Neil Brown voted for a ban
while councilors Jane Hill,
Al Plute and McKennon
McDonald voted against it.
Without the reTuisite ¿ve
votes to pass an ordinance,
the council was forced to
extend its deliberations to
its next meeting, which is
scheduled for Tuesday.
Wood was absent from
the Nov. 3 meeting while
on a month-long vacation,
but Mayor Phillip Houk said
Friday that Wood will be in
attendance for the upcoming
meeting.
The last time Wood voted
on a marijuana-related issue,
it was at the Oct. 20 meeting,
when he joined Marks,
Brenne, Young and Brown
in a vote to direct City
Attorney Nancy Kerns to
draft a marijuana sales ban.
At the time, Wood said
there hadn’t been a great
deal of public input at city
meetings despite numerous
discussions on the issue.
That trend was reversed
Nov. 3 when 14 people
spoke at the public hearing
— 10 people against a ban
and four people for it.
Despite a majority of
the speakers opposing a
marijuana ban, the four
pro-ban councilors weren’t
convinced to change their
opinions.
Only needing a simple
majority, the same four
councilors
also
voted
against a motion by Plute
to consider referring the
issue to the November 2016
ballot.
If Wood joins the majority
in approving a sales ban,
Pendleton voters won’t see
it on a ballot unless someone
successfully petitions the
decision.
But if Wood or any other
pro-ban councilor changes
their vote, a 4-4 tie would
force further consideration
at the next meeting.
While the mayor can
break a council tie in certain
situations, Houk said the city
charter prohibits him from
casting the tie-breaking vote
on an ordinance.
Although
polarizing
votes on the council aren’t
common,
they’re
not
unheard of.
When allowed to do so,
Houk said he’s broken a tie
three times in his 11 years
as mayor and has been
involved in 12 to 15 votes
on ordinance that haven’t
garnered enough support
and have been referred to the
next meeting in his 22 years
on the city council.
Houk said the conten-
tious debate among council
members is a positive
development, a sign that
they’re representing the
varying viewpoints of their
constituents.
“It’s not always going to
be unanimous vote,” he said.
The council has until
Dec. 27 to opt out of mari-
juana sales, after which any
sort of prohibition on sales
will have to go to a ballot.
The council will also
take the next step in putting
the old police station on the
market.
According a report
written by Kerns to the city
council, the council must
pass a resolution directing
City Manager Robb Corbett
to market the property
to comply with the state
statute.
Based on real market
value and opinions from two
local real estate agents, city
staff estimated the property
is worth between $236,000
and $345,000.
“Uncertain maintenance
needs may affect price,”
Kerns wrote about the
property, which hasn’t had a
physical inspection.
The building is located
at 109 S.W. Court Ave. and
previously housed Umatilla
County Alcohol and Drug
Treatment after the police
department
moved
to
Airport Road in 2010.
The council will also
consider an ordinance
enabling the street utility
fee, although the actual
fee amount will be recom-
mended at a later meeting.
Staff has recommended
that the council consider a
$5 per month fee at the Dec.
1 meeting, along with water
and sewer rate increases
and system development
charges.
The $5 utility fee will
raise $481,000 per year for
street maintenance.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
PRESENTS
Are you an artist?! Show your
art in a real gallery setting, win awards,
and be the guest of honor at the Artists
Reception! You still have time to create
your best work - a drawing, a painting,
a scupture, blown glass, traditional
handwork - all forms are accepted.
Get the details then get it done!
2016
JUNIOR ART SHOW
& COMPETITION
• Open to tribal and non-tribal youth
• Age categories: 10 & Under, 11-14, 15-18
• No entry fee
• Competitive & non-competitive categories
• Lots of prizes
• Submissions accepted
Nov. 2, 2015 - Jan. 18, 2016
• Public showing Jan. 23 - Feb. 27, 2016
• Artists Reception
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016 1pm
• Very Important Rules available at
Tamástslikt Cultural Institute or
online at www.tamastslikt.org
24 TH ANNUAL
East Oregonian
Walla Walla windmill
fanatic helped repair
historic icon quickly
Page 3A
F R I D AY
DECEMBER 4
2015
PENDLETON
CONVENTION CENTER
TICKETS ARE $30
EVENING CELEBRATION | 6:00 PM
FIRST FRIDAYS ARE FREE!
Exhibits, Museum Store
Open Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm
47106 Wildhorse Blvd.,
Pendleton, OR 97801
541.429.7700
www.tamastslikt.org
• Heavy hors d’oeuvres
• Live and silent auctions
• Mingle with community members
and enjoy the festivities!
FAMILY DAY | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• Free admission thanks to
Wildhorse Resort & Casino
• Lunch with Santa and his elves
• Make ornaments and playdough
• Letters to Santa
For more information, please contact St. Anthony Hospital Foundation at (541) 966-0528
A L L P R O C E E D S B E N E F I T T H E P I O N E E R R E L I E F N U R S E RY | $5 off ticket price if you bring diapers or wipes