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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2016)
61/41 HEARING SET FOR POACHING CASE REGION/3A PENDLETON SHUTS OUT MAC-HI Sheriff intends to sue city SOFTBALL/1B JOHN DAY/2A WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016 140th Year, No. 128 WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD HERMISTON One dollar Oregon ed plan to get rework Eastern Oregon gives input to help formulate new plan By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Stephanie Hughes, chair of Altrusa’s International Relations Committee, hold something that most Americans take for granted: a glass of clean tap water. Hughes is challenging Hermiston residents to drink only tap water for two weeks and donate the money they would have spent on other beverages to the nonprofi t The Water Project. Take the water challenge Altrusa to pour funding into African well-digging project By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Ignoring the relentlessl\ beating sun and the thorns that stab at their bare feet, millions of \oung girls in Africa trudge miles each da\ with a heav\ jug of water. The\ give up their education and their childhood, risking attacks from predator\ animals and men along the trail, for a da\¶s suppl\ of mudd\ water that might harbor diseases. Meanwhile in America, girls their age access unlimited clean water with the turn of a faucet handle. That stark contrast is being thrown into relief b\ the +ermiston Altrusa Club¶s water challenge, which kicks off Saturda\. The two-week challenge asks +ermiston residents to onl\ drink tap water during that time, then give the mone\ the\ would have spent on sodas, coffee, tea or alcohol to the Water Project, a nonpro¿ t that digs wells in Africa. The point is to allow people to donate without having to stretch their budget, and help people be more aware of Take the challenge Kickoff is noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 16 at McKenzie Park, Hermiston. The challenge: From April 16-30, drink only tap water, and donate the money you save to Hermiston Altrusa’s fundraising page at thewaterproject.org to help build a well in Africa. Recent federal legislation gives states more À exibilit\ to create their own education plans, and the Oregon Department of Education took input from Eastern Oregonians as it formu- lates its own. Salam Noor, Oregon¶s deput\ superintendent of public instruction, led a discussion of the Ever\ Student Succeeds Act and its implications at a public forum at the Pendleton Earl\ Learning Center Monda\. Noor explained to the dozens of teachers, administrators and students in attendance from around the region that the Ever\ Student Succeeds replaces the controversial No Child Left Behind Act. While maintaining the standardized test requirements established under No Child Left Behind, Ever\ Student Succeeds gives states more authorit\ to make their own accountabilit\ standards, which will affect the wa\ Oregon approaches assessments and underperforming schools. As with an\ broad discussion about education, standardized testing and the Smarter Balanced assessment were hot topics. “The SBAC is not the end-all, be-all,´ Armand Larive Middle School teacher Jennifer Cox said. Noor agreed that the context of the See EDUCATION/10A HERMISTON Staff photo by E.J. Harris Linda Hughes holds a pair of The Water Project bracelets she will be handing out to participants in the tap water challenge. just how present clean drinking water is in their lives. “For us, it just comes out of the tap. We don¶t even have to think about it here,´ Stephanie +ughes, chair of Altrusa¶s Inter- national Relations Committee said. “These kids are risking their lives for it.´ The idea for the challenge started after a member of the committee read “A Long Walk to Water´ b\ Linda Sue Park. The book, based on a true stor\, presents alter- nating viewpoints of a bo\ and girl growing up in Sudan. One hundred and ¿ ft\ copies are currentl\ being distributed around the See WATER/10A “They don’t just build the well and walk away, they continue to work with the community.” — Stephanie Hughes, Altrusa’s International Relations Committee PENDLETON Bring out your hazardous waste Last cit\ collection was in June 2004 By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Pendletonarea reVLdentV ¿ nall\ can get rid old batteries, paint and more — for free. The Oregon Department of EnYironmental 4Xalit\ is holding a hazardous household waste collection Saturda\, a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pendleton Conven- tion Center, 1601 Westgate, Pendleton. And small businesses, government agencies, ranches and the like can get rid of their hazardous waste, from pesticides to old printer cartridges, on )rida\ at the same location. The state environmental department collected hazardous waste in 0orrow Count\ and Milton-Freewater in 2014, but the last collection in Pendleton was back in June 2004. The DEQ at the time reported more than 700 people turned in 6,000 pounds of hazardous household waste, plus 16,000 pounds of waste from small businesses and farms. The environmental depart- ment holds a few of these events each \ear throughout the state. *ina Miller, 8matilla Count\¶s code enforcement coordinator, explained local governments must appl\ for a grant for the waste See WASTE/9A What can you drop off? The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s free hazardous household waste collection is Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pendleton Convention Center, 1601 Westgate, Pendleton. Here is a partial list of what you can get rid of: aerosol cans, antifreeze, engine cleaners, fl uorescent tubes, herbicides, household batteries, mercury products, motor oil, paint, pesticides, solvents, thermometers, weed killers and wood preservatives. Keep items and materials in their original containers if possible. Do not bring explosives or products that contain radioactive waste, such as smoke detectors. Cit\ deals with rising solid waste Sewage lagoon filling up faster with better filtering By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian The cit\ of +ermiston needs 1 million to empt\ the plant¶s sewage lagoon — and time is of the essence. “If we have two months (before it begins to overÀ ow, \ou¶re luck\,´ plant supervisor Bill Schmittle told the council at a work session Monda\. The lagoon was last cleaned in 2014, when 855 tons of sewage were pulled out and taken to a land¿ ll. But a growing population and better ¿ ltering means it alread\ needs cleaned out again, at a cost of about 1,000 per ton. A proposed new project at the Rec\cled Water Treatment Plant could reduce the cost and freTuenc\ of empt\ing the lagoon, as well as the odor that emanates from it, but it would cost the cit\ some cash upfront. Cit\ councilors discussed purchasing new biosolids handling equipment during a work session Monda\, before directing staff to explore how to come up with the roughl\ 750,000 for new equipment. The function of the Rec\cled Water Treatment Plant is to separate liquids from solids in the cit\¶s wastewater, then dispose of each separatel\. Brett Moore of civil engineering ¿ rm Anderson Perr\ and Associates told the council that the cit\¶s recent 20 See LAGOON/10A
