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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 2016)
Page 8A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Thursday, April 7, 2016 UAS: Drone companies developing vehicles, software to address pest control, disease detection Continued from 1A Farm to attract drone compa- nies from around the world to Pendleton. Lorton describes Future Farm as a “sub-brand” of the UAS range, a project that can take advantage of the range’s e[isting infrastructure and Federal Aviation Adminis- tration authorizations to test and promote the agricultural capabilities of drones. Lorton said drone compa- nies in urban areas across the country are developing vehi- cles and software to address common crop issues like pest control and disease detection, but don’t have access to the farmlands to further develop their technology. Between a multi-billion agricultural industry, a wide variety of crop types and a group of farmers willing to e[plore new technology, Lorton said the Columbia Basin was the best place to establish the Future Farm. Future Farm’s job will be to facilitate access for drone companies to farms and rural areas, depending on what their needs are. In order to start the project, Digital Harvest will move one of its pilots and his family from Virginia to Pendleton and establish an of¿ce in town. Pilot Steve Lawn will spend the ne[t year building out UAS communication infrastructure, which coordi- nates operations between the drone and farm equipment such as soil moisture moni- tors and pivots. He will also work farm operations with a Yamaha RMAX drone, a UAV resembling a helicopter that Lorton called “the most advanced agricultural drone in the world.” Future Farm is also planning a summer “drone rodeo,” a series of demon- strations for local farmers, and a one-week “crash course” on UAS operation this winter. Lorton said all of these moves are being done to start integrating drones into the agricultural community and advertise to farmers that UASs are worth looking into. “You can’t do that in a booth at a trade show,” he said. Lorton said Future Farm will also work toward the helping the city rent the range’s facilities and services as well as increase the pres- ence of drone companies’ presence in Pendleton, a signi¿cant part of the range’s longterm goal. Steve Chrisman, Pendle- ton’s economic development director and airport manager, and Lorton gave a presenta- tion on Future Farm before the Pendleton City Council Tuesday. The council will consider paying the $10,000 match for the $150,000 SOAR Oregon grant its April 19 meeting. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. BULLY: Actors visited classrooms after performance Continued from 1A those relationships.” “This play has a lot of pranking going on,” said Shakespeare Walla Walla Director of Education Kate Beck, who orchestrated the whirlwind costume and prop changes. “It’s an illustration of what happens in the cycle of violence.” The abridged “Twelfth Night” script evolved from a collaboration between the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, the Colorado University Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence and the CU Department of Drama & Dance. This version cuts out some of the windier original dialogue in favor of a faster, kid-friendly pace. Williams and fellow actors Clint Bidwell and Cyndi Kimmel played 16 roles and used dialogue that wove modern pop culture and technology into the 400-year-old play. At one point, Duke Orsino (an eligible bachelor played by Bidwell) walks onstage wearing baggy plaid shorts. Desperately in love with Countess Olivia and seeking music to match his mood, Orsino ¿nds a song on his iPhone. “If music be the food of love, play on,” he says. “Play on Bieber.” One of the show’s bullying victims is Malvolio, the high-minded butler who becomes the victim of a plot to make him look foolish. The butler loves his beautiful employer, Olivia, and dreams of rising above his station to marry her one day. Olivia’s drunken uncle (Sir Toby Belch) and the sneaky serving lady (Maria) team up to fool the butler by sending him a fake love letter, not so far off from today’s cyberbullying. At what Malvolio thinks is Olivia’s request, he wears a goofy smile and parades around her house in bright yellow stockings. After others decide he has gone mad, Malvolio is locked up. “You locked me in a dungeon,” Malvolio tells HERMISTON Contributed by Umatilla County Fair Estefany Sanchez, a fifth grader at West Park El- ementary in School in Hermiston, won Umatilla County’s Fun at the Fair Day Camp logo contest. Fifth-grader creates winning fair day camp logo Will receive several fair passes and carnival wristband East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Ron Williams, executive director of Shakespeare Walla Walla, dances with a shawl while dressed as a woman while portraying an part in the Shakespeare play “Twelfth Night” recently at Sunridge Middle School in Pendleton. “A kid who is being bullied feels like they are by themselves, but that’s not the case.” — Ron Williams, executive director of Shakespeare Walla Walla them after his release. “People were teasing me and I did not like it. I’ll be revenged of the whole pack of you.” Squint a bit and this Shakespearean strife resem- bles the back-and-forth escalation of middle school conÀict. The production was likely the ¿rst e[posure to Shakespeare for many of the 300-or-so students sprawled in front of the Sunridge stage. Brows furrowed at such words as beguile, quaff, sepulcher, clamorous, fustian and fadge used to tell this knotty tale. One of the words, “gulling,” meaning to dupe, cheat or trick, is similar to our word: bullying. During the show, the young audi- ence members worked to grasp plot twists and turns, ¿dgeting at times. Physical humor brought intermittent relief, such as Williams, portraying Olivia, drawing raucous laughter as he pranced around the stage wearing a shawl and heels. After the performance, the actors split up and visited classrooms, using discus- sion and improvisation to help students e[amine bullying and talk about ways to diffuse conÀict and stop mistreatment. Williams said part of the goal was simply to let bullying victims know they are not alone. “A kid who is being bullied feels like they are by themselves,” said Williams, “but that’s not the case.” He made his point by asking the students, “Can anybody tell me they’ve never been bullied?” No one raised a hand. Sunridge Principal Dave Williams watched with interest as the students got their post-Shakespeare debrie¿ng from the actors. “We talk a lot about bullying here at the school,” he said, “but it was impacting for our kids to receive information from a different source.” Williams said he doesn’t see outright bullying at Sunridge. “By de¿nition, with bullying, you need a target, a power imbalance and repetitiveness,” he said. “In middle school, kids are learning about relationships. Connections get kind of messy and we see mistreat- ment. Kids don’t treat each other very well sometimes. They are learning that their behavior affects each other negatively.” Beck, Shakespeare Walla Walla’s education coordi- nator, said it another way. “We go through our lives being either the perpetrator, the victim or the bystander. In bullying, there are roles we play. They have a choice and the power to stop what is happening.” ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810. A trio of ¿fth graders from West Park Elemen- tary School in Hermiston swept the Umatilla Coun- ty’s Fun at the Fair Day Camp logo contest. The winning entry by Estefany Sanchez best e[empli¿ed the 2016 Umatilla County Fair theme “Traditions & Transitions,” according to a press release from the county. The colorful creation features carnival booths and a Ferris wheel — complete with “must be this tall” signage. Second place went to Nathalie Hoyos, and Lily Wick- strom was third. For her efforts, Sanchez will receive a pair of adult day passes, four children’s day passes and a carnival wristband for the 2016 Umatilla County Fair. In addition, her logo will be featured on the Fun at the Fair Day Camp T-shirt, which she’ll receive free of charge. As runners-up, Hoyos will receive an adult day pass and two children’s day passes, and Wickstrom will receive two children’s day passes. Sanchez’s winning logo also will be used on the Umatilla County Fair’s website, Facebook page and on all Fun at the Fair Day Camp correspon- dence. Estefany’s logo is the third theme logo created for the camp since the decision was made to hold a county-wide contest two years ago. Fair Manager Don Slone hopes to rally additional participation for the contest ne[t year, which is open to Umatilla County students in kinder- garten through ¿fth grade. In its ¿fth year, the Fun at the Fair Day Camp — which runs four days during fair week — features arts and crafts, science e[periments and music. Open to students entering ¿rst through ¿fth grades in the fall, it highlights activities and e[hibits at the fair. The camp costs $65, which includes a camp T-shirt, a week-long fair pass, daily snacks and a one-day carnival wristband. Registration forms will be available soon at www. umatillacounty.net/fair or by stopping by the fair of¿ce at 515 W. Orchard Ave., Hermiston. For more information, contact Angie McNalley at angie. mcnalley@umatillacounty. net or 541-567-6121. SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS Submit information to: community@eastoregonian. com or drop off to the attention of Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541- 966-0818 with questions. HIT THE ROAD WITH AN RV LOAN! UMATILLA: Rejected increase to tourism fee that supports marketing e[penses for EOTEC Continued from 1A of the city’s employees were at the top of their pay scale and many had been unable to receive a raise for years. Pelleberg, who acts as public works director in addition to his new role as city manager, said he worried some of them would jump ship when given the chance. “In the case of public works, a lot of these guys at the top of the scale are long- time employees, and we’d like to keep them here and not have them run off,” he said. Councilors David Lougee and Roak Ten Eyck voiced the opinion that the city needed to be willing to pay well if it wanted to recruit and retain good employees. The council also voted in favor of a $150 a month bilingual incentive for employees who could pass a test proving pro¿ciency in speaking and writing Spanish. On Tuesday the council also agreed to utility rate increases. Mike Jewett, president of Sanitary Disposal, got approval for a 7.2 percent rate increase, citing the need for more revenue to counteract inÀation, increased Department of Environmental Quality fees and the upcoming statewide minimum wage hike. Ince also gave a presen- tation on water and sewer rates and said in light of the city’s aging infrastructure and several upcoming capital improvement needs, including new pumps, she recommended the city increase the amount going into its reserve funds. To accomplish that, she recommended a 6 percent increase in water rates in 2016-2017 and a 2 percent sewer increase. The water, sewer and sanitary disposal increases combined would add about $4.70 a month to the average family’s utility bill, she said. Councilors unanimously approved the rate increases. “It’s not going to be long until we’re going to have some major e[penses for repairs and upgrades, and if we don’t plan for that it’s going to get painful,” Ten Eyck said. The council did reject a request for one fee increase on Tuesday night by voting against an increase in the Tourism Promotion Assess- ment that supports marketing e[penses for the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center. The current TPA is $1 per room per night and 50 cent per RV space. The city collects the money and passes it on to EOTEC, which requested the fees be doubled to help cover the costs of construction. After hearing from the manager of the Tillicum Inn that the increase would be a burden on the already-strug- gling inn, however, coun- cilors Mary Dedrick, Sharon Farnsworth and Mark Ribich voted against the increase and Mayor David Trott cast a tie-breaking vote with them. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian. com or 541-564-4536. 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