REGION
Saturday, February 27, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
BRIEFLY
EOTEC board approves barn designs
Construction to
cause Hwy 395
lane closures
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
The Eastern Oregon Trade and
Event Center board approved the
design of three livestock barns
Friday morning, but voted to put
tZo contracts on hold Zhile it ¿gures
out where water for the facility will
come from.
The board, which included a
newly reappointed Ed Brookshier,
gave a green light to three large
barns — the swine barn and fur and
feathers barn at 15,540 square feet
each, and a barn almost three times
that size to host horses, cattle, goats
and sheep.
On the recommendation of chair
Byron Smith, the board also voted
to delay awarding a landscaping
contract that had previously been put
out to bid. The board voted to hold
off until it had a better picture of
how much water will be available for
irrigation and where that water will
come from.
Currently the EOTEC site is
served by a well, but it is not adequate
to water grassy areas across the entire
site. Smith said the board is still
in talks with various parties about
options to gain more water, including
digging more wells or leasing water
rights from the Stan¿eld ,rrigation
District.
Board member Dan Dorran said
landscaping is not critical to the
opening of the event center, but he
did think it was still important to
improve appearances out there.
³, think all of us need to be out
there pulling weeds before the grand
opening,” he said.
The board also agreed to revise
and reissue the request for proposals
for a fencing contract after a poten-
tial bidder said it was too hard to
estimate costs in its current form.
The RFP asks for bidders to provide
a cost per foot for fencing, but did
not describe the total amount of
fencing that would be needed or give
speci¿cations on things like gates or
decorative sections. The bidder said
those variables have a signi¿cant
effect on cost per foot.
On Friday the board also
approved $1,200 for Eastern Oregon
Telecom to bring ¿ber optic service
to EOTEC, plus a $199 a month
payment for ,nternet and $116 a
month for phone service throughout
the site.
Board member Vijay Patel said
in his experience in hotel manage-
ment the monthly costs were “very
reasonable.”
The board approved going
forward with a programmable elec-
tronic card key lock system on the
front door and kitchen door of the
event center, placing a transformer
to bring electricity to the sewer lift
station, planning a grand opening of
the event center for the last week in
April and reimbursing Barton Laser
Leveling an additional $76,567 for
services rendered during their work
on the project.
Dennis Barnett, chair of the fund-
raising committee, said donations
have passed the $1.5 million mark.
During the public comment portion
of the meeting BoBo McMillan, who
puts on the Sand Cup Futurity and
other barrel racing and equestrian
events at the TRAC Center in Pasco,
said she was looking forward to the
opening of EOTEC and was happy to
serve on an advisory board or help in
any way needed with making connec-
tions in the equestrian community.
McMillan said the TRAC Center
is planning to replace the dirt Àoor
in its indoor arena with concrete and
asking equine events to truck in their
own dirt. ,f that happens, she said, she
would be looking for a new venue
for some of her events and she knew
other events who would be doing the
same.
TRAC Center manager Tom
French told the East Oregonian
that the move to concrete had been
discussed, but there were no of¿cial
plans and nothing had been formally
announced.
McMillan encouraged the EOTEC
board to consider adding an indoor
arena (which the board has included
in its plans for future phases of
construction) sooner rather than later.
Smith said the board was aware
of the need and would love to have
an indoor arena as well, but simply
didn’t have the funds to include it in
the ¿rst phase of construction.
Meetings of the EOTEC board are
getting longer and more frequent as
contracts connected with the project
multiply. The board plans to meet
twice a month, instead of once a
month, starting in March. Meetings
will generally be the second and
fourth Friday of the month at 7 a.m.
at the Stafford Hansell Government
Center.
———
Contact Jade McDowell at
jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com or
541-564-4536.
HERMISTON
A few checkmates away from state competition
By JENNIFER COLTON
East Oregonian
Students will struggle for stra-
tegic mastery over their competition
Saturday in the regional “Chess For
Success Tournament” at Hermiston
High School.
The competition begins at 9
a.m. and will include more than 30
students from Umatilla and Morrow
counties. Students will compete in
elementary, middle school and high
school divisions. The top teams and
individuals will move on to the state
competition April 8-9 at the Oregon
Convention Center in Portland.
Hermiston High School has had
a chess club — off and on — for
decades. The school joined Chess
Staff Photo by Jennifer Colton
for Success soon after its creation
Freshman
Bobby
Bellinger
contemplates
his
next
move during the
in 1996. At both the regional and Chess Club practice Friday at Hermiston High School.
The Chess
state tournaments, all chess players Club is hosting the regional competition at Hermiston High.
are guaranteed ¿ve matches, win or
the team gathered for a last-minute “, love the strategy and the tension.
lose.
There’s a lot more to it than meets
“That’s an especially good part practice session.
“,t’s a strategic and mental chal- the eye.”
to the tournaments,” said Hermiston
When they aren’t playing chess,
coach Delia Wallis. “The kids get a lenge — and it’s fun,” said Joshua
Hermiston’s players tackle sports,
full day of competition, with varied Hinkley, a sophomore.
Bobby Bellinger, a freshman, has band, science club, work and other
experiences.”
strategy games like the board game
This year, Hermiston has eight played chess for seven years.
“My parents taught me, and ,’ve Risk or the card game Magic: The
high school students competing, a
record for recent years. Friday, half just kept going from that,” he said. Gathering. The chess club meets
once a week and plays in their free
time as well.
Middle school students will
compete from Armand Larive
Middle school, Sandstone Middle
School and Heppner Elementary.
The division is open to students in
sixth through eighth grades.
,n the elementary division, all
students competing will travel from
Heppner, where MaryAnn Elquez-
abal has a team of 10 students in ¿rst
through ¿fth grade. Hermiston does
not have any elementary students in
the competition.
“,t’s not so much the kids —
whether they’re interested — it’s
¿nding the adults willing to donate
their time to play with the kids,”
Wallis said. “,’m so proud of the
program’s growth, and ,’m anxious
to see it continue growing K-12.”
To work with community interac-
tion, the chess club will be hosting
community events on April 1 and
April 5. Community members will
be invited to play chess with the
students or among themselves after
school on those days.
———
Contact Jennifer Colton at
jcolton@eastoregonian.com
or
541-564-4534
Department of revenue lists most delinquent taxpayers
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
The Oregon Department
of Revenue is trying a new
tactic to collect delinquent
taxes: publishing the names
of the 50 individuals and 50
businesses that owe the state
the most money.
Together the 100 indi-
viduals and businesses owe
more than $43 million.
The biggest bill for
a
corporation
comes
from Courtesy Staf¿ng
of Boardman. The temp
agency — which appears to
no longer be in business —
owes the state $509,457 in
back taxes.
Phone numbers listed
online for the business,
and its af¿liate in Rancho
Cucamonga, California, are
no longer in service or are
no longer connected to the
business. According to the
Secretary of State’s busi-
ness registry, the company
dissolved in 2014 after
registering with the state in
2011.
One of the top delinquent
individuals listed on the
Department of Revenue’s
website is Hermiston resi-
dent Donna K. Anderson.
She comes in at number
42 with $335,385 owed,
according to the depart-
ment’s list. A message left
for her on Thursday was not
returned by Friday after-
noon.
Anderson and Courtesy
Staf¿ng are the only Morrow
County or Umatilla County
addresses on the list, which
can be accessed in full at
www.oregon.gov/DOR/
Pages/delinquent.
According to a Depart-
ment of Revenue press
release, the list reÀects
the amount of active tax
warrants, which do not
include recent payments
made or interest owed.
Chris Wytoski, collec-
tions manager for the
Personal Tax and Compli-
ance Division, said in a
news release that the public
list is a pilot project of a
“new tool” to encourage tax
compliance.
“More than 30 states use
public posting of delinquent
taxpayer information, with
positive results,” he said.
Wytoski said inclusion in
the list is a last resort after
the state has tried repeatedly
to collect the taxes. The top
delinquent taxpayers were
also given a warning and
¿nal opportunity to pay up
to avoid having their name
published.
“We tried to resolve these
debts with the taxpayers
using
other
collection
methods, but they haven’t
paid,” Wytoski said.
The names, addresses
and tax amounts listed on
the Department of Revenue
website are already public
record on tax warrants. The
department is just putting
the information all in one
place and calling attention to
it. Wytoski said the depart-
ment will still safeguard
taxpayers’ other personal
information.
The department does not
post information about delin-
quent taxpayers who have
entered into a payment plan
and are making all scheduled
payments, who have ¿led
for bankruptcy, who have an
open appeal on the debt, or
are in a situation where the
state has suspended action
Tim & Annette Terraberry’s
Dinner & Auction
Sunday,
March 13th
4:00pm
Hermiston
High School
Commons
Tim is battling Cancer, so please
help support this wonderful couple.
Doors open 4pm • Tri Tip dinner buffet 5pm
Silent Auction • Tickets $35
Tickets may be purchased at the
Hermiston Chamber, American West Properties
and Oasis Vineyard Church. A table for 8 can
be purchased for $280.
If you have any questions or would like to
volunteer, please call or text Nancy Walchli at
541-571-1723.
on collection. Names will be
deleted from the list within
10 days of full payment.
According to reporting
by Forbes magazine, 8.7
percent of United States
residents were behind on
their taxes in 2014, owing
billions of dollars.
Oregon residents or
businesses who fall behind
on their taxes can make
arrangements with the state
for a payment plan with
interest. ,n some cases they
may qualify for a “temporary
uncollectable status” if they
can prove that they can’t pay
at the moment but will be
able to in the future due to a
pending contract payment or
other means.
,f delinquent taxpayers
meet other criteria, including
being over age 60 or
receiving disability bene¿ts,
they may also be eligible
to settle with the state for
a lower amount than what
they owe.
,f
residents
ignore
repeated notices from the
state to set up a payment plan,
however, the Department of
Revenue can garnish their
wages, place a lien on their
property or seize real estate
that is not the taxpayer’s
primary residence.
Taxpayers are allowed
to appeal their tax bill if
they contact the department
within 30 days of receiving a
notice from the state.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
HERM,STON —
Traf¿c around Jennie
Avenue in Hermiston
will be affected the week
of Feb. 29 due to the
Oregon Department of
Transportation’s ongoing
$3.7 million construction
project on Highway 395.
On Monday the west
lane of Jennie Avenue
will be closed during
the day. From 7 p.m.
Tuesday night to 10 a.m.
Wednesday morning,
lanes will be closed
on Jennie Avenue and
Highway 395 to dig
conduit trenching.
Crews will also
continue to work on the
intersection Tuesday
through Thursday during
daylight hours, with
minimal traf¿c impacts.
Monday through
Thursday from 6 p.m. to
10 a.m. lanes on assorted
sections of Highway
395 between Southeast
Fourth Street and Theater
Lane will be closed
while crews work to
update pedestrian ramps
to ADA standards.
Of¿cer lays
down motorcycle
to avoid crash
PENDLETON —
Pendleton police of¿cer
John “J.D.” Lambert
suffered a leg injury
when he laid down his
motorcycle Thursday to
avoid a crash with a car.
Lambert, 32, was off
duty and riding a black
Suzuki motorcycle at
about 7:30 p.m. down
Southwest Hailey
Avenue, according to
Oregon State Police, and
saw a vehicle waiting to
pull out from the nearby
Sinclair service station at
701 Southgate. Lambert
slowed, then saw another
vehicle coming toward
him from Burger King,
601 Southgate.
The driver of that
vehicle, however, did
not signal and turned left
toward the gas station in
front of Lambert.
He tried to brake,
state police reported, but
had to lay the motorcycle
on its left side. The
machine and Lambert
slid more than 25 feet on
the street.
The bike pinned
Lambert’s left foot.
People rushed from
the service station and
helped him lift the
bike and get free. An
ambulance took him to
St. Anthony Hospital,
Pendleton, and a friend
drove the Suzuki home.
Hospital spokesman
Larry Blanc said
Lambert was treated
and released. Pendleton
police Cpl. Tyler
Reddington said
Lambert’s injuries were
minor, but he would miss
at least a few days of
work.
———
Briefs are compiled
from staff and wire
reports, and press
releases. Email press
releases to news@
eastoregonian.com
Diabetes Education Series
Diabetes Self
Management Series
March 3 rd , 10 th , 17 th & 24 th
9:30 AM to 11:30AM
Advance Registration Required
Most Major Insurances,
Medicare, Medicaid
For more information or to register
541-278-3249
Melissa Naff, RD, LD, CDE
Diabetes Educator • 541-278-3249
2801 St. Anthony Way
Pendleton, OR 97801
www.sahpendleton.org