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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 2, 2016)
REGION Saturday, July 2, 2016 PENDLETON City council to look at bids for streets, hangars First round of major repairs paid for with street utility fee By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian With construction season in full swing, the city of Pendleton is preparing to begin street repairs. The Pendleton City Council will consider accepting a $588,373 bid from Pioneer Asphalt at a meeting Tuesday. The bid covers overlay projects on Southwest 16th Street, Southwest 19th Street, Southeast Third Street, Southwest Olsen Avenue, Southwest Perkins Avenue, Southeast Goodwin Avenue and Southeast 17th Street. This is the irst round of major street repairs paid for with the $5 street utility fee. In a report to the city council, Public Works Director Bob Patterson wrote the city has $300,000 from the state surface transportation program and $480,000 from the street utility fee. Funds not used for the overlays will pay for street crack and slurry seals. The council will also be asked to approve another bid long in the making. In March 2015, Gov. Kate Brown traveled to the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport and announced a $1.1 million inancial package of grants and loans from the state’s Infrastruc- tural Finance Authority to be used for new hangars. Well over a year after Brown’s announcement, city staff members now say that McCormack Construc- tion’s $892,500 base bid to build two hangars gives them room to consider additional possibilities. The irst possibility is to build ofice space inside one hangar, and the other is to put some of the additional money toward a third new hangar. Airport Manager Steve Chrisman wrote that he would prefer having three hangars, but the city would have to ind additional resources to foot the extra $200,000 cost. According to Chrisman, two hangars would bring in $54,774 to $109,548 per year in revenue while three hangars would generate between $82,416 and $164,832. Council considers marijuana ballot issues The Pendleton City Council will consider adding three marijuana-related questions to the November ballot at a meeting Tuesday. The council agreed to refer the issues to voters after temporarily banning marijuana sales in December. But there has recently been some confusion over whether the council should pose two or three questions to voters. The council settled on three questions — one question on legalizing recre- ational marijuana sales, a second question on medical marijuana sales and a third question on assessing a local 3 percent tax on recreational sales. Upholding the ban on either recreational or medical marijuana would prevent the city from collecting the 3 percent tax or its share of the state tax. Council could declare properties as surplus The Pendleton City Council will consider declaring 13 city-owned properties across the city as surplus, which would allow the city to sell them. City Attorney Nancy Kerns wrote that the city- owned Blue Mountain Recovery Center and Eastern Oregon Training Center are not included. The council meeting will be held Tuesday at the council chambers in city hall, 500 S.W. Dorion Ave. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0836. BRIEFLY Vets swim free on Sunday HERMISTON — As a “thank you” to those serving in the military, the city of Hermiston is offering free passes to the Hermiston Aquatic Center to all current and retired service members on Sunday. Service personnel showing a current military ID will swim for free during regular swim hours, 11:10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the aquatic center, 879 W. Elm Ave. more information call Ana Pineyro at 541-256-0514. ——— Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports, and press releases. Email press releases to news@ eastoregonian.com East Oregonian Page 3A Heat hurries wheat harvest By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Wheat harvest is starting uncharacteristically early across parts of Eastern Oregon. Don Wysocki, a soil scientist with Oregon State University Extension Service in Umatilla County, said farmers are already cutting wheat in ields west of Pend- leton, which is about two weeks earlier than normal. In years past, Wysocki said it was unusual to see anyone harvest winter wheat before the Fourth of July. But following a particularly mild winter, he said this year’s crop matured well ahead of schedule. Three straight years of drought haven’t helped, either. “It’s really the heat that drives maturity,” Wysocki said. “Things are just early because of the winter we’ve had.” Temperatures around Pendleton averaged about 5 degrees higher than usual in February and 3 degrees higher than usual in March, according to the National Weather Service. Another major heat wave arrived at the beginning in June, with temperatures in the high 80s to 100 degrees that turned wheat from green to gold. Wysocki said it’s too early to predict what yields will look like, and it will depend on where exactly the ield is located. Areas west of Pendleton — with less annual rainfall and shallower soils — might come in below average, while farms farther north and east appear to be doing much better. “I think some people will cut an above-average crop this year,” Wysocki said. Larry Lutcher, who works with OSU Extension Service in Morrow County, said harvest is running about 10 days ahead of schedule near Ione and north of Lexington. He igures more farmers will ire up their combines after Monday. “It was the heat earlier in the growing season,” he said. “That, and four years of less- than-average rainfall.” The county did, however, receive an inch and a half of rain in May, which Lutcher said has gone a long way toward saving this year’s wheat. Without it, he said yields could have been as low as they were a year ago, when some farms struggled to cut even half their usual crop. As it is, Lutcher said it appears they’ll have anywhere between 28 and 35 bushels per acre, which is close to average for local growers. “I think it will be better than last year,” Lutcher said. The concern now is that there’s little moisture left stored in the soil for next year, Lutcher said. In order to buck the trend, they need ample winter precipitation and timely May and June rains. “That just hasn’t happened in recent years,” he said. “That’s why we’re struggling.” ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0825. Board members for new ire district inaugurated By ALEXA LOUGEE East Oregonian The newly-formed Umatilla County Fire District 1 ire board met Friday. After Umatilla County Commissioner Bill Elfering swore in the new board, they went right to work nomi- nating oficers. Ric Sherman was voted in as board presi- dent, Eldon Marcum as vice president, Mike Hawman as secretary/treasurer and Reta Larson as the board clerk. Directors Bruce Naugher and Spike Piersol were also in attendance. The ire board discussed a new meeting schedule, choosing the second Wednesday of every month, with the budget committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. and the general board meeting beginning at 7 p.m. Chief Scott Stanton was appointed by the board as the Umatilla County Fire District Fire Chief. Members of the board then created a budget committee comprised of Rick Rankin, Monte Ellis, Luanne Wolfe, Cindy Meyers and Bob Schroth. Tom Martin was selected as an alternate. Another matter discussed during the meeting was whether to allow new board member Eldon Marcum to continue as a paid on-call ireighter. Marcum said that he’d rather just remain a non-compensated volun- teer in order to avoid any conlicts of interest or the appearance of one. The board voted in support of Marcum’s preference, with Marcum abstaining from the vote. Other administrative business was handled by the board, including reviewing the current Staff photo by E.J. Harris New decals adorn the door of a Umatilla County Fire District 1 engine at the main station downtown Thursday in Hermiston. Staff photo by Alexa Lougee New Umatilla Fire District 1 board director, Spike Piersol (left) is sworn in by Umatilla County Commissioner Bill Elfering (right). budget. As of June 30, the former Hermiston Fire and Emergency Services had a budget balance of $729,068, while the former Stanield Fire District had a budget of $424,416. The process of combining budgets and accounts will take a few years in order to follow all relevant laws. The board stated it could take up to four years before the two district budgets are fully incorporated. All board members concluded the meeting by expressing that they thought uniication of the districts was a positive step for the community. Before he adjourned the meeting, Sherman expressed grat- itude to all in attendance and encouraged people to continue to come to the meetings. “It’s not quite as exciting as a Trump rally, but all meetings are open to the public,” he said. The next meeting will be July 13 at the Hermiston Safety Center, 320 S. First Street. Items of business will include discussing the capital improvement priorities and needs for the new district. Registration open for new MoCo preschool program The Morrow County School District will be providing new educational opportunities for preschoolers in the 2016- 2017 school year. As a part of the newly announced “Ready for Kindergarten” program, the district will offer four preschool classes with the goal of offering quality education to all 4-year-olds in Heppner, Irrigon and Boardman. Classes will be held twice a week for two and a half hours at Head Start’s Irrigon Early Learning Center, Sam Boardman Elementary and a location in Heppner that will be announced later this summer. The preschool classes are free and will over a snack each day. Registration is happening now through the UMCHS website. Classes will run from September 6, 2016 to May 18, 2017. For Express Delivery y F Full Service Menu u I Items Made to Order ( $ 10 Minimum) Burger Special Bacon Cheeseburger Curly y Fries 32 oz Soda $ 7 50 2012 NW Carden Avenue Pendleton 541-276-1522
