REGION
Thursday, November 19, 2015
PENDLETON
µ3arklets’ pitched
to make room for
outdoor dining
East Oregonian
Before the city council
decided to delay a funding
idea to repair streets, the
3endleton
Development
Commission revived an idea
for something to put atop
them.
The development commis-
sion is composed of the city
council and holds its meeting
before the second council
meeting of the month.
At the meeting, commis-
sion Associate Director
Charles Denight said parklets
have become popular in cities
across Oregon, including
Astoria, La Grande and The
Dalles.
As described by Denight,
parklets are decks located
on top of on-street parking
spaces that are built parallel
to the curb. The decks contain
outdoor seating and planters
for public use.
Installing
parklets
downtown was considered
as recently as 2007 before
the commission turned its
attention elsewhere.
With many downtown
restaurants placing outdoor
eating areas on the sidewalk,
Denight said it was a good
time to revisit parklets,
which would give restaurants
outdoor space while keeping
the sidewalk open to pedes-
trians.
Denight suggested forming
a committee to e[plore the
idea and put together a plan,
which would give concrete
recommendations on the
parklets’ size, locations,
ownership and seasonal
schedule.
Denight admitted that
parklets’ location on top of
parking spots might draw
opposition from people who
think the downtown area
already suffers from a scarcity
of parking.
The commission took no
action.
The commission did take
action on an amended budget,
which moved $45,000 from
the contingency fund for
capital improvement.
The money will cover
the costs of purchasing and
demolishing a property at
125 S.W. Byers Ave.
The Byers property is one
of several parcels of land west
of the Round-Up Grounds the
commission has purchased
since 2006 with the intention
of redeveloping them.
MISSION
Burke keeps BOT chair,
joined by 4 new faces
By TIM TRAINOR
East Oregonian
In Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reser-
vation elections on Tuesday,
four new members swept onto
the Board of Trustees, the
tribes’ governing body.
Tribal chairman Gary
Burke won re-election and
will keep his seat, but he will
be joined by a number of new
faces.
Jeremy Wolf was elected
to the vice chair position,
Rosenda Shippentower won
treasurer, the secretary posi-
tion went to David Close and
a new member at large will be
Aaron Ashley.
In addition to Burke,
trustees who remain on the
board include: Justin Quae-
mpts, Woodrow Star, Armand
Minthorn and general council
chair Alan Crawford.
Burke ¿nished with 29
votes, ahead of challenger Kat
Brigham, who ¿nished with
1 and Elwood 3atawa who
received 155 votes. Stuart
+arris, the fourth and ¿nal
candidate for chair, received
77 votes.
Wolf nipped incumbent
Leo Stewart for the vice chair
position, votes to 52.
The treasurer race was
also a close one, with Ship-
pentower edging incumbent
Aaron Hines 371-350.
In the at-large races, where
four positions were at stake,
Justin Quaempts was the top
vote getter with 455. He was
followed by Ashley with 324,
Star with 291 and Armand
Minthorn with 265. He just
nosed out Les Minthorn with
23, Ellen Taylor with 229
and David Wolf Jr. with 210.
A total of 13 tribal members
ran for the four open positions.
The only constitutional
amendment on the ballot
asked voters if they wanted to
change the status of Section
C tribal members to full tribal
members. The amendment
passed by a vote of 417 in
favor and 25 opposed.
Section C members will
now receive the same bene-
¿ts as fully-enrolled tribal
members, including gaming
dividends, elder support
checks, loan eligibility,
scholarships, job preference
and more. Currently there are
93 Section C tribal members,
according to the CTUIR.
There were 2,199 voters
eligible to participate in the
CTUIR election and 753
returned ballots, a 34 percent
participation rate. Those
elected Tuesday will take
of¿ce Dec. 2 at 9 a.m. at Ni[y-
aawii Governance Center.
PILOT ROCK
Council picks discredited
FKLURSUDFWRUWR¿OOVHDW
East Oregonian
The ¿ve members of 3ilot
Rock city council picked a
discredited chiropractor over
a former city recorder to ¿ll
a vacant seat on the council
Tuesday night.
Kacie Moss recently
resigned the seat after selling
her house, and two people
turned in applications to the
city: Jackie Carey, a former
city recorder who is active
in the 3ilot Rock commu-
nity; and Terry Womack,
a member of 3endleton’s
airport commission who is
a former chiropractor. He
lost his license in 2006 after
the Oregon Board of Chiro-
practic E[aminers found him
guilty of inappropriate se[ual
touching of at least 11 female
patients over a 15-year period.
Womack was also cleared
of charges of se[ual abuse by
a Umatilla County jury. He
revealed none of that on his
hand-written application.
Carey submitted a typed
application e[plaining her
involvement in the 3ilot Rock
community. She also told the
council the city faces chal-
lenges in hiring a police chief
and ¿nding the best option
for the city’s aging sewer
lagoons.
The city councilors — all
men — voted 5-0 in favor of
Womack, even though on his
application and at the meeting
he admitted he has no idea
what challenges 3ilot Rock
faces.
FREE THANKSGIVING MEAL
The Faith Center Church is
offering Thanksgiving meals
for families in need.
Please contact the
Faith Center Church office at
541-276-9569 to register.
Meals will be distributed to
confirmed recipients Tuesday,
November 24 from 5-6 pm in the
church foyer.
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Semi driver dies in stormy
11-vehicle wreck on I-84
Wind knocks down
trees, power lines
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
The season’s ¿rst brutal
wind storm resulted in an
11-vehicle pileup Tuesday
near Echo that killed an
Idaho man.
Oregon State 3olice
Lt. Mike Turner said ¿ve
semi-tractors
and
si[
passenger cars crashed at
about 6 p.m. on the east-
bound side of the highway
near milepost 192, about a
mile east of the turnoff for
Echo.
William Hernandez, 47,
of Caldwell, was driving
one of the semis and died
from the collision.
State
police
from
3endleton responded at
appro[imately 6 p.m. to
another crash involving
two semi-trailers and two
passenger cars on Interstate
4 eastbound near milepost
193. One person suffered
serious injuries, according
to state police.
Troopers out of Herm-
iston at 6:17 p.m. responded
to several minor crashes on
I-4 eastbound near mile-
post 192. State police in a
written statement reported
those wrecks occurred
during high winds that
limited visibility.
The National Weather
Service recorded gusts in
the area from about 4:45
to 7:30 p.m. that hit 55-60
mph. The winds kicked up a
swath of dust.
“Visibility was down to
almost nothing at times,”
Turner said.
While troopers worked
their way through the
minor collisions, they
discovered the larger crash
nearby. Emergency medical
personnel from Hermiston,
Echo, Stan¿eld, Umatilla
and 3endleton were already
on scene.
Photo courtesy Oregon State Police
Multiple crashes on Interstate 84 about 6 p.m. on Tuesday, caused by high winds
and rains and blowing dust, caused at least 11 cars and trucks to crash, killing
one person.
The wreckage trapped
several people, Turner
said, and crews spent hours
laboring to free them.
Ambulances then rushed
injured victims to hospitals
in Hermiston and 3endleton.
“The low visibility
and dangerous conditions
hampered rescue efforts,”
according to a statement
from Hermiston Fire &
Emergency Services. “But
¿rst responders worked
hard to stabilize the scene as
quickly as possible.”
Nearly 40 emergency
personnel were on-scene for
about ¿ve hours, Hermiston
Fire reported. State police
and Oregon Department
of Transportation workers
assisted with traf¿c control
and scene safety.
Turner said the wreck
closed the interstate in both
directions for several hours.
The westbound side opened
¿rst,
and
Wednesday
morning one eastbound lane
was open.
The wind started picking
up after noon Tuesday and
created problems throughout
the day, including knocking
out power for nearly 1,900
Umatilla Electric Coop-
erative customers around
Hermiston and 3endleton.
Stan¿eld police at 5:31
p.m. received a report the
wind broke off the arms
of the railroad crossing
guard at East Main Street
and North Thielsen Street,
Echo, and a little after 6
p.m. a power line fell near
Echo High School.
Lines also fell at on
3rindle Loop Road, Herm-
iston, and a tree tumbled and
blocked a lane at Umatilla
River Road and Bonney
Lane, Umatilla. The wind
also toppled a large spruce
tree at East Main and Ninth
streets, Hermiston, taking
out power for much of the
east side of the city.
The Hermiston Butte
Substation feeder, which
serves 1,762 customers,
lost power at 5:4 p.m.,
according to the co-op.
And a failure at about
4:30 p.m. at the Ordnance
Substation affected 126
members in southeast of
Hermiston, Butter Creek,
in and around the city
of Hermiston and in the
Mission area near 3end-
leton.
The traf¿c signal at
South First Street and West
Hermiston Avenue ceased
working in the winds, and
a few minutes past 6 p.m.
— around the same time
as the other crashes — two
vehicles there collided.
One passenger complained
of pain to her left shin,
according to Hermiston
police, but declined medics.
A family member took her
to Good Shepherd Medical
Center.
Emergency services at
about p.m. responded to a
downed power pole across
the road at Highways 331
and 11 on the Umatilla
Indian Reservation.
Calls for emergency
services continued late into
night, including a report
Wednesday at 12:52 a.m. of
a power pole on ¿re of Lee
Street Grade about half a
mile north of the Umatilla
River.
The
storm
passed
early Wednesday, and the
National Weather Service
reported rain Thursday for
Hermiston and 3endleton,
though there is a winter
weather advisory in effect
though the Blue Mountains.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
PENDLETON
City council delays vote on street fee
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Led by Jane Hill, the
3endleton City Council
voted to postpone a decision
on a $5 street utility fee until
the Dec. 15 meeting, while
the city conducts additional
public outreach.
The council was sched-
uled to vote on ordinance
enabling the street utility fee
at the Tuesday meeting and
a resolution setting the $5
fee on Dec. 1.
After John Brenne made
a motion to approve the
ordinance and Neil Brown
seconded it, Hill offered
a friendly amendment to
delay the vote a month
while the city stepped up its
public outreach efforts.
“I think we can all agree
there are many people that
don’t understand how this
fee works, are unsure about
whether they’ve already
been paying it or when it
will go into effect,” she said.
If the council wants to
start collecting the street
utility fee before April,
3ublic Works Director Bob
3atterson said the council
must institute the fee before
“I don’t have a problem putting it off
a little bit longer but I just don’t see the
reason. I think the education factor is
already behind us”
— Neil Brown, Pendleton City Councilor
January. The city will be
transitioning to new ¿nan-
cial software and will not
be able to add any new fees
over the ¿rst several months
of 2016.
3atterson said the vote
could be delayed until
December as long as council
invoked an emergency
clause to put the ordinance
into effect immediately and
also pass the resolution
setting the $5 fee.
To provide citizens with
more information about
the street utility fee, City
Manager Robb Corbett said
he could write an editorial in
the East Oregonian, speak
about it during the KUMA
radio program “Coffee
Hour” and at the December
“Coffee with the City” event
and brainstorm further ideas
with city councilors.
Brown
wasn’t
completely sold on the idea.
“We’ve been talking
about this since June and
its been on our agenda
numerous times,” he said.
“It’s been on the radio,
it’s been in the paper, it’s
been in articles both for
and against. I don’t have a
problem putting it off a little
bit longer but I just don’t
see the reason. I think the
education factor is already
behind us”
Brenne and Brown didn’t
accept Hill’s amendment
and withdrew their motion.
Hill made her own motion
to delay the street utility
decision, which passed 5-3,
with Brenne, Brown and
Tom Young voting against.
Less controversial was
a vote to direct Corbett to
market the old police station
at 109 S.W. Court St., which
passed unanimously.
According to estimates
the city collected, the
building’s value is between
$236,000 and $345,000.
The
council
also
unanimously approved the
publication of a notice of
elections in the East Orego-
nian.
The notice will advertise
the city council seats that
will be on the ballot —
Ward I, Ward II, Ward III,
an at-large seat and the
mayor. The incumbents
that currently hold those
seats are Becky Marks,
Chuck Wood, Tom Young,
Jane Hill and 3hillip Houk,
respectively.
Candidates must ¿le with
the city recorder by March
, 2016 and municipal elec-
tions will be held May 17. If
no candidate gets more than
50 percent of the vote in any
given race, then the top two
vote getters square off in a
run-off election Nov. .
Filing paperwork and
more information on the
elections is available on the
city website.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
Enjoy the
Jazz sounds of
Brass Fire
ALTRUSA
Sat., Nov. 21 2015
7 pm - 10 pm
In the Red Lion Lounge
SATURDAY
NOV 21
Pendleton Convention Center
9 AM-4 PM
Only $1 Admission!
APPROXIMATELY 100 VENDORS!
HOURLY RAFFLE PRIZES INCLUDING
CASH AND FABULOUS GIFT BASKETS!
Lunch & Dessert Available
304 SE Nye
Pendleton
541-276-6111
Fundraiser for Starlet
Help us
raise
money for
Starlet’s
surgery!
Nov. 20 th
10 AM - ?
Let’er Buck
Room