REGION
Saturday, May 14, 2016
PENDLETON
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
EOCI work ban back on council agenda Alan Keown named
East Oregonian
Having failed a few times
before, the Pendleton City
Council will try Tuesday to
lift the city’s ban on Eastern
Oregon Correctional Institu-
tion work crews.
The council enacted the
ban in 1987, and although
oficials have tried to reverse
it a few times since then,
public opposition was strong
enough to table the idea.
EOCI Superintendent Jeri
Taylor has made two presen-
tations to the council asking
members to lift the ban, and
each time the council was
highly agreeable.
“Previous
testimony
was that the risk of inmates
walking away from work
crews was very low and
in those instances where
it
occurred,
re-capture
was routinely quick and
uneventful,” City Manager
Robb Corbett wrote in a
report to the council. “Council
also heard from leading law
enforcement oficials who
have no concerns.”
Council members also
said they’ve heard from
constituents who are in
support of allowing work
crews to work outside EOCI
walls.
At the previous meeting,
Councilor Chuck Wood
said ElRae Wells, a retired
educator
and
longtime
proponent of the ban, has
reversed her opinion and is
now supports lifting it.
Under the proposed reso-
lution, prisoners would be
allowed to work in city limits
for one year. Afterwards, the
council would evaluate the
program and decide whether
to reimpose the ban or not.
Plute leaves seat
While Tuesday is the
day candidates will ind
out whether they’ll join the
council, Councilor Al Plute
will use Election Day to
leave it.
With Plute already having
submitted his resignation
letter, the council will vote
to declare a vacancy on the
council and begin searching
for a replacement for the
at-large seat.
In previous instances, the
council has solicited letters
of interest in the vacated
council seat and held inter-
views for the position before
voting on a replacement.
Plute’s term runs through
2018.
The council meeting
will be held Tuesday at the
council chambers in city hall,
500 S.W. Dorion Ave.
BRIEFLY
the arts center, 214 N. Main
St., Pendleton. Those who
would like more in-depth
information can attend from
9 a.m. to noon.
Participants may bring
marketing materials,
including brochures,
programs, social media posts
or annual letters to practice
applying the Creating
Connection message in a
small group setting.
Those interested in
attending the May 16
training or to be notiied of
future sessions can contact
ltaylor@metgroup.com.
For more information,
call Roberta Lavadour at
541-310-7413.
Rep. Smith
to address
Heppner chamber
HEPPNER — The guest
speaker for the upcoming
Heppner Chamber of
Commerce meeting is Rep.
Greg Smith.
The no-host luncheon
is Thursday, May 19 at
noon in the conference
room at Heppner City Hall,
111 N. Main St. Catered
by Bucknum’s, the meal
includes chicken fajita salad,
cheese breadsticks and a
dessert. The cost is $10.
To ensure there’s enough
food, those planning
to attend are asked to
RSVP by Tuesday. For
more information or to
reserve a meal, contact
heppnerchamber@
centurytel.net or 541-676-
5536.
Port of Morrow, 2 Marine
Drive, Boardman. There is
no charge to attend. Families
are invited to bring their kids
and have fun and learn about
Morrow County resources.
More than two dozen
booths will provide
information and activities,
including face painting,
button-making, a story time,
hand-washing, health tips
and safety information.
For more information,
contact Tiah Sanderson
Devin at sadeproject@gmail.
com or 541-980-5436.
Shari’s pies receive
gold medals
North Morrow Co.
women unite
on projects
Business lunch
promotes building
bridges
HERMISTON — Greg
Block, president of
Sustainable Northwest, will
discuss building bridges
to promote a healthier
and more self-reliant rural
Oregon during the upcoming
Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce B2B Luncheon.
Block will share about
his work with for the Oregon
Business Council and Craft
3, a nonproit inancial
institution dedicated to
investing in people, their
communities and healthy
natural systems.
The no-host luncheon
gathering is Tuesday,
May 24 with networking
starting at 11:45 a.m. at
the Hermiston Conference
Center, 415 S. Highway 395.
The meal, which is catered
by Country Gentlemen, is
$10 for members and $13 for
non-members.
For more information
or to RSVP, contact
541-567-6151 or kelly@
hermistonchamber.com.
IRRIGON — An effort to
promote a spirit of unity in
community service projects
in Boardman and Irrigon will
be discussed at an upcoming
meeting.
The Community
Women’s Club of Irrigon
and Boardman invites
anyone interested to attend
Tuesday at 7 p.m. For more
information, including the
location of the gathering, call
Judy at 541-571-6117.
Children’s Fair
highlights area
resources
BOARDMAN —
Vendor booths and kids’
activities are featured
during the Morrow County
Children’s Fair.
Sponsored by Community
Counseling Solutions,
the event is Thursday
from 3:30-6 p.m. in the
Riverfront Center at the
Shari’s Cafe & Pies,
formerly known as Shari’s
Restaurant, received a
record 14 gold medals
during the 2016 National Pie
Championships held April
29-30 in Orlando, Florida.
The West Coast restaurant
chain, which irst opened
in Hermiston in 1978, has
competed in the contest six
times. In 2015, seven of
Shari’s’ pies placed irst.
The pies receiving top
honors in 2016 were: banana
cream dream, Oregon
marionberry, sweet Montana
cherry, black forest cherry,
lemon meringue, fresh
pecan, Ghirardelli triple
chocolate cream, no-sugar
added apple, cookies &
cream, sour cream lemon
blueberry, chocolate cream
supreme, tropical coconut
cream, peach perfection
and fresh strawberry with
chocolate ganache.
Kevin Bechtel, Shari’s
senior vice president, said
most of the ingredients
in the company’s pies are
made with products from the
Paciic Northwest.
Amateur pie makers,
Put a smile on the
heart with the power
of flowers.
Group looks to
create connections
PENDLETON — An
advocacy group interested
in creating a shift in the way
audiences think about arts
and culture will present a
free training at Pendleton
Center for the Arts.
Businesses and
organizations that want
to learn to make better
connections with audiences
regarding arts and culture
programs, events and
activities are encouraged to
attend. Creating Connection
is a national initiative
designed to advance the
position of arts and culture
as a recognized, valued,
and expected part of our
everyday lives.
People interested in a
brief overview are invited
Monday from 8-8:45 a.m. at
Agricu ltu ral heritage tou r/
bricks, barns and farm s
• Tour through northern Umatilla County
•Visit historic barns, Century Farms, oldest nursery in the
Pacific Northwest, and
produce farm est. 1922
•Lunch at Frazier
Farmstead Museum
•Zerba Cellars – tour and
wine tasting
Saturday, May 21 st
9:00 - 4:00
Tickets: $55 Members; $60 General Admission.
Call Heritage Station
Museum at
541-276-0012
for information
CONCEALED CARRY
PERMIT CLASS
Oregon - Utah - Valid 35 States
PENDLETON
Red Lion Inn: 304 SE Nye Ave.
May 20 th • 1:00 pm & 6:00 pm
Walk-Ins Welcome!
OR/Utah: (Valid in WA) $80.00 or Oregon only: $45
www.FirearmTrainingNW.com • FirearmTrainingNW@gmail.com
360-921-2071
professional baker/chefs and
commercial pie companies
from across the country and
Canada have competed at the
National Pie Championship
since 1995.
Ag tour features
historic farms,
wine tasting
MILTON-FREEWATER
— Tours of historic farms
and barns in the Milton-
Freewater area, lunch at the
Frazier Farmstead Museum
and a visit to Zerba Cellars
are featured in Bricks,
Barns, and Farms: The 2016
Agricultural Heritage Tour.
Presented by the Umatilla
County Historical Society,
the event is Saturday, May
21 with a departure time of
9 a.m. at Heritage Station
Museum, 108 S.W. Frazer
Ave., Pendleton. The
cost is $55 for historical
society members and $60
for non-members. The
ticket includes charter
bus transportation, lunch
and wine tasting. The tour
concludes at approximately
4 p.m.
Also included in the tour
is a history of the Weston
Brickyards.
For more information or
to purchase a ticket, call the
museum at 541-276-0012.
Distinguished Alumnus
East Oregonian
Alan Keown, a 1975
Hermiston High School
graduate, was picked as
the 2016 Hermiston High
School
Distinguished
Alumnus.
Keown
is
a well-known
percussion
teacher
and
a r r a n g e r
throughout the
Paciic North-
west. In 1989
he founded the
Alan
Keown
M a r c h i n g Keown
Percussion
Camp, held in
Eugene, and has taught at
the University of Oregon,
Oregon State University
and various high school
programs, along with
Ted Turner’s Goodwill
Games ceremonies and the
competitive tour sponsored
by Drum Corps Interna-
tional.
The
Distinguished
Alumnus award recognizes
former HHS graduates who
went on to serve in critical
roles within business,
industry, academia and
government
throughout
the United States and the
world, and who will inspire
current students
to
pursue
excellence and
achievement
in their own
endeavors.
Keown is a
1980 graduate
of the Univer-
sity of Oregon,
where
he
earned a bach-
elor’s
degree
in
percussion
performance. He publishes
marching band music
with Matrix Publishing
Company, concert percus-
sion literature with Alfred
Publishing and Tapspace
Publications, and indoor
drumline shows with
Marching Show Concepts.
Keown is married to
Denise, and they have two
sons, Matt and Chris
Lightning sparks irst wildire
on North Fork John Day
East Oregonian
Wildire season has
begun on the Umatilla
National Forest.
Andrew
Stinchield,
ire management oficer
on the North Fork John
Day Ranger District, said
lightning has sparked a
one-acre blaze in a remote
area of the forest about
seven miles northwest of
Granite. No structures or
private land are threatened
at this time.
With rain in the forecast
and numerous hazards to
ireighters, Stinchield said
they will monitor the ire
indirectly unless it gets out
of hand. Ian Reid, district
ranger, said that decision
weighs the forest’s need to
protect property and keep
ire crews safe.
“Given
the
ire’s
location deep in the
wilderness, rugged terrain,
distance from private
property and hazards with
limited medical evacu-
ation options, directly
suppressing this ire would
create unnecessary expo-
sure to our ireighters,”
Reid said.
The ire is believed to
have started during a storm
that rolled over Eastern
Oregon on April 29,
scattering 2,000 lightning
strikes throughout the
region. Forest personnel
will continue to monitor
for additional ires that
might be left smoldering in
the wilderness.