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
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Pendleton
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