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