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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 22, 2016)
REGION Friday, July 22, 2016 East Oregonian Page 3A HERMISTON Staff photo by Jade McDowell Retired Hermiston ire chief Pat Hart shows off some of his photography prints for sale at a reception at the Hermiston Public Library. Former ire chief’s photography on display at library By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian After trading his ire chief’s uniform for Hawaiian shirts in May 2014, Pat Hart hasn’t slowed down much. “Retirement’s great, but I’m still pretty busy,” he said. The former Herm- iston Fire & Emergency Services chief was at the Hermiston Public Library on Thursday, answering questions about his photography on display there through the end of the month. Hart said he has done a senior portrait or two in the past, but his great love is landscape photography. His computer currently has 46,000 pictures on it, he said, and while quite a few are personal snapshots of his four grandchildren, thousands more feature wheat ields, trees, water- falls and lighthouses. “I’ve got pictures from all over the country, from the East Coast to the West Coast,” Hart said. He said the beauty of digital photography is that he can take 20 shots of an interesting tree to get just the right angle, but the downside is he’s not always very good about deleting the excess shots. Banner Bank commis- sioned Hart to take the photographs featured in their Hermiston lobby, and Hart’s shot of Hermiston’s welcome sign hangs in Rep. Greg Smith’s ofice. He said others have asked for a photo of a certain size to hang in their living room, or commissioned a picture of a speciic landmark that has special meaning to them, and he’s happy to do them all. Hart participates in Hermiston’s photography club, which meets at the library at 5:30 the second Tuesday of every month to head out and shoot photos at a chosen location, sharing tips and construc- tive critiques as they go. “I love talking about photography,” he said. “Any time someone wants to chat about photography, I’d love to grab a coffee with them.” Examples of his prints for sale can be found at www.hartphoto.shutterly. com or he can be reached at 541-571-3062 or hart- photo@machmedia.net. When Hart isn’t busy taking photos, traveling or spending time with his grandchildren in Olympia and Virginia, he has been working on writing Morrow County’s emergency management plan, after doing Umatilla County’s last year. He said he has also been helping out Umatilla Fire District 1. He does miscel- laneous projects, including some IT work with the phones and computers, and helped campaign for the ballot measure combining Hermiston and Stanield’s ire districts this year. When he retired he talked with current ire chief Scott Stanton about possibly shooting some photos of ires that the district was ighting, but so far he is enjoying not being on call and so has left that to the department’s current employees. “When I handed my badge over to Scott I turned my pager off and I haven’t turned it on since,” he said. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastore- gonian.com or 541-564- 4536. Umatilla rural ire chief drives new engine cross-country By ALEXA LOUGEE East Oregonian A good road trip lends itself to plenty of Facebook posts. The newly minted Umatilla Rural Fire Protec- tion District ire chief, Steve Potts, is driving across the country in the district’s new ire engine and posting the road trip on Facebook. His posts read like a captain’s log with updates from places like Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. On Tuesday, July 19 Potts wrote from Ocala, Fla., “The scenery here is quite green and when it ‘rains’ as they call it here, it’s serious. Not like the drizzles we get at home.” In November 2015, Umatilla voters narrowly passed a general obliga- tion bond of $1.8 million to assist in purchasing updated ire safety equip- ment for the district’s volunteer ire ighters and buying new ire engines. The newest addition to the ire district’s arsenal is a pumper ire engine built by Pierce Manufacturing in Bradenton, Fla. A pumper truck carries hoses, water and tools to a ire and is equipped with a pump that pushes the water out. By lying to Florida and driving the new engine back to Oregon, Potts said the district is saving about $4,000 in delivery fees. Along for the ride is Potts’ adult son Tyler. Tyler graduated from Umatilla High School in 2007 and entered the Air Force. The elder Potts said he was looking forward to spending time with his son on the eight-day journey home to Umatilla. That journey will take them through Missouri, South Dakota and into Montana, where the Potts men will visit with family and pay their own expenses. Potts believes the new ire truck, along with other planned purchases, will improve the protection of residents living within the Umatilla Rural Fire District and its corps of volunteer ireighters. Potts hopes that by sharing the adventure on Facebook he can honor his volunteers and bring them in some way along for the ride. The district’s new chief and its new engine are set to arrive home early next week. The community can follow along on the district’s Facebook page. Final Days Saager’s Shoe Shop Up to 50% Off Milton-Freewater, OR Thrill of the chase Staff photo by E.J. Harris A pair of fox squirrels chase each other across Southwest 41st Street on Thursday in Pendleton. Search and rescue adds 16 special deputies By ALEXA LOUGEE East Oregonian Umatilla County is strengthening relationships across state lines. Last weekend search and rescue teams from Walla Walla County came to Umatilla County for a joint training mission. Walla Walla County search and rescue members can often reach areas of Oregon before their compatriots in Umatilla County can. The Tiger Creek area in northeastern Umatilla County is one area where teams often respond. It is a popular outdoor recreation site that attracts hunters, snowmobilers, hikers and ATV riders. Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan said it is often faster for Umatilla search and rescue to drive through the city of Walla Walla and then over to Tiger Creek. In 2015 Walla Walla County assisted on missions in Oregon 25 times. Umatilla County assisted in Wash- ington three times. While the teams have worked together in the past, there have been some legal gray areas that the sheriffs from both counties wanted to address. One concern from an organizational standpoint was who had authority during these missions. Another concern was whether Washington Photo Courtesy of Umatilla County Sheriff’s Ofice Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan swears in members of the Walla Walla County Search and Rescue team as special deputies for search and rescue activities. volunteers were covered under their state safety plan when operating within Oregon borders. To mitigate these concerns, Sheriff Rowan, in cooperation with Walla Walla County Sheriff John Turner, used the training opportunity to swear in 16 members of the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Ofice as special deputies in Umatilla County. A bulk of both SAR teams are volunteers that complete a high volume of training. Over the course of three days, both teams worked BRIEFLY Alzheimer’s group cancels July meeting HERMISTON — The Hermiston Area Alzheimer Support Group will not meet in July. The group, which regularly meets the fourth Monday of each month, will resume in August. The upcoming meeting is Monday, Aug. 22 at 5:30 p.m. in the pavilion at Good Shepherd Medical Center, 610 N.W. 11th St., Hermiston. For more information, call Cathy Lloyd at 458-206-6337. Programs focus on aging population HERMISTON — A pair of free trainings on the topics of depression and suicide prevention in older adults, and responding to dementia-related behaviors, are being offered through Good Shepherd Medical Center. The 3 Ds: Depression, Delirium & Dementia is Tuesday from 8 a.m. to noon in the hospital’s Conference Room No. 1, 610 N.W. 11th St., Hermiston. It’s a remote site live broadcast with Dr. Patrick Arbore, director of the Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention and Grief Related Services, a program of the Institute on Aging in San Francisco. For more information or to register, visit http:// events.signup4.com/the3ds. Understanding and Responding to Dementia- Related Behavior is presented by the Alzheimer’s Association. It is Tuesday from 6-7:30 p.m. in the education department at Good Shepherd. Learn to decode behavioral messages, identify common behavior triggers and learn strategies to help intervene with some of the most common behavioral challenges of Alzheimer’s disease. For more information or to register, call 800-272- 3900. on a variety of search and rescue methods including training using ropes from a high angle and searches using canines, ATVs and horses. “The keys is for these teams to maintain a high level of readiness,” said former Walla Walla County Undersheriff and FBI agent Eddie Freyer. “Keeping teams engaged through training and exercises ensures that they are prepared for when they are needed.” Freyer is currently afiliated with the California Peace Oficer Standards and Training and helped set up the weekend’s mock search and rescue mission. In the mock mission, the teams searched for a missing mother and son. The search evolved into a crime scene providing the teams with a variety of training for real- life scenarios. Sheriff Rowan hopes that with the addition of the special deputies from Wash- ington, response times to missions in the mountainous northern area of Umatilla County will decrease while ultimately increasing efi- ciency. COMMUNITY CALENDAR FRIDAY, JULY 22 SUNDAY, JULY 24 PENDLETON MASTERS SWIM CLUB, 5-6 p.m., Round- up Athletic Club pool, 1415 Southgate, Pendleton. Fees are $5 per session coaching fee; non-RAC members pay $8 pool fee per session. (Tania Wildbill 541-310-9102). PENDLETON EAGLES LADIES AUXILIARY KITCH- EN, 6-8 p.m., Pendleton Eagles Lodge #28, 428 S. Main St., Pendleton. (541-278-2828). PENDLETON EAGLES BREAKFAST, 9 a.m. to noon, Pendleton Eagles Lodge #28, 428 S. Main St., Pendleton. Open to members and guests. (541-278-2828). UNION PACIFIC EMPLOY- EES CLUB, 1:30 p.m., Herm- iston VFW Hall, 45 W. Cherry Ave., Hermiston. All UP employ- ees, working or retired, are invit- ed to attend. Bring a main dish or dessert and table service. (541-567-5260). SATURDAY, JULY 23 MEN’S BREAKFAST, 8 am., Bethel Assembly of God Church, 1109 Airport Road, Pendleton. RETIRED UMATILLA ARMY DEPOT WOMEN’S CLUB, 9 a.m. no-host break- fast, Pheasant Cafe, 149 E. Main St., Hermiston. UMATILLA COUNTY PO- MONA GRANGE, 12:30 p.m. lunch with meeting to follow, Co- lumbia Grange Hall, Diagonal Road, Hermiston. PENDLETON EAGLES STEAK AND LIVE MUSIC, 6-8 p.m. dinner, music 8 p.m. to mid- night, Pendleton Eagles Lodge #28, 428 S. Main St., Pendleton. Open to members and guests. (541-278-2828). MONDAY, JULY 25 NATIONAL ACTIVE AND RETIRED FEDERAL EM- PLOYEES OF HERMISTON, 12 noon no-host lunch, Desert Lanes Bowling Alley. All federal employees, retirees and their spouses are welcome. IRRIGON MOOSE LODGE TACOS AND BINGO, 6-9 p.m. tacos; 6:30-9 p.m. bingo. Bin- go open to the public, 220 N.E. Third St. (541-922-1802 from noon-8 p.m.) WESTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, 6 p.m., Memorial Hall, 210 E. Main St. V.F.W. POST NO. 922 SO- CIAL, 6:30 p.m., VFW Hall, 1221 S.E. Court Place, Pend- leton.