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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2016)
WEEKEND EDITION PENDLETON HOSTS GREEN FENCING IN WHEELCHAIRS QUAKES STRIKE JAPAN WORLD/8A LIFESTYLES/1C AND GOLD INVITE TRACK/1B APRIL 16-17, 2016 140th Year, No. 131 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD MAN AT WORK Patterson pulls top public works award By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian After 28 years of plying his trade, Pendleton Public Works Director Bob Patterson was asked to keep a career honor under wraps. Patterson was pleasantly surprised to learn in late March that he been named a 2016 Top Ten Public Works Leader by the American Public Works Association, but was asked to refrain from talking about it publicly until the association was ready to make its announcement. While it was dif¿ cult to keep the news from spreading in a small town, the association made the announcement of¿ cial Thursday. “As one of the most prestigious awards presented by the association, the Top Ten Public Works Leader award is given to honor the public works professional’s career, in which he or she demonstrated excellence in public works, services and infrastructure in his or her community through advancement of public works services and technology,” the press release states. “I’m still a bit numb on the concept,” Patterson said. To commemorate his achievement, Patterson will be honored three times — once at the association’s Oregon chapter conference in Hood River April 21, again at the association’s national conference in Minneapolis in late August, and another in-town at the *reat Paci¿ c Wine & Coffee Co. May 15. See PATTERSON/14A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton Public Works Director Bob Patterson was named a 2016 Top Ten Public Works Leader by the American Public Works Association in March. ECHO Grain elevator turned into wine tasting room Echo Ridge Cellars preserves and improves local landmark By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Staff photo by Jade McDowell Kim Bales, left, and her daughter Berlyn Bales stand behind the counter at Echo Ridge Cellars’ new tasting room in a former grain elevator outside Echo. The old grain elevator north of Echo has been given new life as a wine tasting room for Echo Ridge Cellars. Since the Bales family remodeled the structure and opened the tasting room last week, it looks a little different from the silhouette many Echo residents remember from their childhood. But much has been preserved inside the building. The original wooden walls, still marked by initials carved by longtime residents in their younger days, are standing, as is the wooden À oor where trucks used to park before the building’s footprint was expanded. The furni- ture is made from original wood salvaged from the site, and the hole where trucks used to dump grain now holds wine barrels beneath a clear glass À oor. Berlyn Bales, Echo Ridge Cellars wine and event ambassador, said she has been See WINE/14A Staff photo by Jade McDowell Wine barrels can be seen in the hole where grain was once poured at the old Echo grain elevator, which has been repurposed as a tasting room for Echo Ridge Cellars. Barley trials could pave way for ‘all-Oregon’ beer Field work underway in La Grande By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Craft breweries across Oregon use local hops and local À avors to create distinc- tive beers, but one ingredient is still largely missing in the quest for a true homegrown ale: malting barley. New research from Oregon State University could help farmers ¿ ll that demand, giving them the tools and data to grow barley that meets quality guidelines for brewers and tap into the craft beer industry. The project, entering its second year, puts ¿ ve different barley varieties to the test in three different growing regions around the state, including one in La Grande. Field trials aim to demonstrate which varieties grow best under what conditions, giving farms a road map for planting the crop in their own ¿ elds. Barley from the trials will then be malted and brewed into sample beers for tasting by a panel of certi¿ ed expert judges to see which live up to the most sophisticated palates. Darrin Walenta, extension agronomist with OSU in Union, Baker and Wallowa counties, said it’s all part of building a brand for Oregon See BARLEY/14A Carnival eclipse Staff photo by E.J. Harris A basket carrying riders on a Ferris wheel passes in front of the sun on Friday at the carnival on Main Street in Pendleton.
