Tuesday, July 26, 2016
OFF PAGE ONE
PARKS: Hermiston delaying skate park
DATA: Program helps students build
contacts with companies looking to hire construction while the law is debated
Page 8A
East Oregonian
Continued from 1A
for jobs as data center techni-
cians.
The program, which
currently holds its classes at
BMCC’s Hermiston campus,
was positively received in
its irst year. Instructor Pete
Hernberg said at least 12 of
the 14 graduates went on to
secure jobs or paid internships.
Now in year two, Hernberg
said demand for technicians
is only getting stronger as the
industry continues to grow.
“So much of our software
lives in the cloud now,”
Hernberg said. “What we’re
really talking about is the
software being run and hosted
somewhere in a data center.”
To get an idea of that
growth, Hernberg said large
data centers require “tens of
megawatts” to power tens
of thousands of servers. The
Semiconductor
Industry
Association, a trade group
based in Washington, D.C.,
has reported that computers
will outpace global energy
production by 2040, based on
current trends.
BMCC developed the
technician training program
in partnership with a local
employer, though Hernberg
couldn’t specify due to a
nondisclosure agreement with
the company.
“We
developed
this
program so that we could train
students to meet the extraordi-
nary demand in the industry,”
Hernberg said. “I don’t know
of any other similar program
in the area.”
Kim B. Puzey, general
manager at the Port of
Umatilla, said there are now
ive data centers either oper-
ating or under construction at
McNary Industrial Park. Gary
Neal, general manager at the
Port of Morrow, said they
have four centers operating
with two more under devel-
opment. Both were bound
by the same nondisclosure
agreement.
However, a search of
Morrow County tax records
shows the centers are
owned by Vadata, which
is a subsidiary of Amazon.
Data specialist Rackspace
owns two other lots near
Boardman, but they have yet
to be developed.
Steve Meyers, spokesman
with
Umatilla
Electric
Cooperative, said they have
upgraded the electrical substa-
tions at both ports to handle
the increase in power loads.
Data centers got another break
in 2015 when the Oregon
Legislature passed Senate
Bill 611, which changed how
companies were previously
taxed on their brand value and
other intangibles.
Neal said he expects data
centers to continue showing
interest in the region, and is
excited to see BMCC’s new
program ill that niche.
“I think it’s going to be a
tremendous opportunity for
people who sign up and go
through the class,” Neal said.
In addition to attending
their regular classes, students
in the technician program
operate a free computer repair
clinic on Fridays as a service
to the college. Hernberg said
ixing PCs is not too different
from the servers inside a data
center.
Hernberg said the program
not only prepares students
for the technical elements of
the job, it helps them build
contacts with companies
looking to hire. A starting
technician can make more
than $20 per hour, he said.
“My goal has always been
to get our students good jobs,”
he said.
Charnellius Massey is one
of those students who gradu-
ated from the program in its
irst year. The 32-year-old
had previously worked as
a manager for GameStop
in Hermiston before he
stumbled across the class on
BMCC’s website.
Massey said he’s been
taking apart and building
computers since he was 10 or
11 years old, and wanted to
go back to school so he could
pursue a career in information
technology. After completing
the program, he landed a
paid internship at a local
data center that turned into a
full-time position after a few
months.
“The demand is really
high right now,” Massey
said. “This area is just really
expanding. There are more
and more (data centers)
coming in on a yearly basis.”
Massey said the class was
like a year-long job interview,
networking with potential
employers. He now works 60
hours per week monitoring
and repairing servers, and
enjoys the hands-on aspect of
the job.
“You just have to make
sure you’re conident in what
you’re doing,” he said.
Taylor Nedrow, 21, was
also drawn to the class for its
real-world applicability. He
moved to the area from Salem
this year to take advantage of
gaining practical job experi-
ence.
Like many others, Nedrow
said he’s using the cloud more
and more as part of his daily
life.
“People like to talk about
the cloud like it’s some
mystical thing. It’s not. It’s
a computer, somewhere,”
he said. “Someone has to be
working on it, and making
sure it’s running.”
BMCC plans to shift the
data center program to its new
Workforce Training Center in
Boardman after the facility
opens late next year.
———
Contact George Plaven at
gplaven@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0825.
Continued from 1A
that employee in court and
possibly forced to pay for
negligent actions they took
while on the clock.
The ruling affected
communities across the state
and how they approached
their parks.
Urged by the its insur-
ance company to evaluate its
safety procedures and parks
system, Pendleton ended
up closing playgrounds at
Aldrich Park, Vincent Park
and May Park in June.
Built in the 1950s, Pend-
leton Parks and Recreation
Director Donnie Cook said
the play equipment at those
parks was simply too old to
use.
“You can’t say we didn’t
get our money’s worth,” he
said.
Already on the lookout
for potential risks, Cook said
park staff are being extra
cautions after the ruling,
taking more pictures, placing
more barriers and signs
when they notice something
that could cause harm.
“The risks aren’t just a
hole in the park or a bad
playground,” he said. “They
come in all shapes and
forms.”
Pendleton city staff don’t
plan on closing any other
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
An orange fence blocks ditch access to an irrigation
system at Community Park in Pendleton.
playgrounds or parks.
Across Umatilla County,
Hermiston has no immediate
plans to close any parks or
remove any equipment.
Hermiston Parks and
Recreation Director Larry
Fetter said he’s taking a
“wait and see” approach
while the issue is sorted out.
“It’s not unusual to see
the pendulum swing one
way before it swings the
other way and corrects
itself,” he said.
Hermiston
isn’t
completely unaffected by
the ruling.
The city decided to delay
construction of a planned
skate park while the law is
debated at the state level.
One group taking part in
that debate is the League of
Oregon Cities.
League lobbyist Scott
Winkle said the member
organization will try to
convince the Oregon Legis-
lature to pass a bill that will
expand recreational immu-
nity to include employees
and general contractors.
Between cities, counties,
park districts and schools,
Winkle expects a large
coalition behind changing
the law and the league has
already been in contact with
legislators about the issue.
The Legislature’s next
session starts Feb. 1, 2017.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS
Submit information to: community@eastoregonian.com or drop off to the attention of
Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers
Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-966-0818 with questions.
Diabetes Education Series
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August 4 th , 11 th , 18 th & 25 th
1:30 PM to 3:30PM
DNC: Three of Oregon’s 13 superdelegates
have endorsed Bernie Sanders
Continued from 1A
gates are pledged to Sanders,
who won almost 57 percent
of the vote during the state’s
primary election in May.
Oregon was also to take
the national spotlight Monday
evening, when U.S. Sen. Jeff
Merkley and state House
Speaker Tina Kotek address
the convention along with
Sanders, Michelle Obama
and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Oregon state Rep. Shemia
Fagan, a pledged Clinton
delegate, said Wasserman
Schultz’s resignation should
help bring Sanders’ supporters
back into the party’s fold.
“They just want their
candidate to be given credit
for the impact he’s had
on the Democratic Party,”
Fagan said. “It helps them
feel like they were heard
and like someone was held
accountable, so I’m really
optimistic about party unity
... This convention isn’t about
Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
It’s about defeating Donald
Trump.”
Oregon also has 13 super-
delegates, a term for those
who are free to vote however
they please — a powerful role
that Sanders supporters failed
to get abolished Saturday
during a DNC meeting but
instead reached an agreement
to scale back their inluence in
future elections.
Three of those 13 super-
delegates — Merkley, Lupita
Maurer and Larry Taylor —
have endorsed Sanders, while
nine are backing Clinton. The
only uncommitted super-
delegate is U.S. Rep. Peter
DeFazio, whose staff has not
responded to AP’s several
requests for comment since
late last week.
Taylor, an outspoken critic
of the superdelegate system,
said Wasserman Schultz’s
resignation was a good step
toward party unity. But “if
they would start putting
people in places at the DNC
that conducted themselves
with some kind of integrity,
that’s what they need to do,”
he said.
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541-278-3249
Melissa Naff, RD, LD, CDE
Diabetes Educator • 541-278-3249
2801 St. Anthony Way
Pendleton, OR 97801
www.sahpendleton.org
COSSACKS: Must complete
one-year apprenticeship to join
Continued from 1A
decidedly ground bound,
although no less entertaining.
Performing in front of
a few dozen people by the
Pendleton Convention Center
Saturday, the Cossacks
contorted themselves into
pyramids and blossoms,
all on the backs of moving
motorcycles.
Started in 1938, the
Cossacks were named after
the Russian cavalry famous
for their horsemanship.
Today, they have 14 active
members that perform 20-30
shows a year across the
country.
The Seattle Cossacks are
a nonproit organization, and
its members work in ields
like law enforcement and
education when they’re not
doing handstands on moving
motor bikes from the 1930s
and 1940s.
The Cossacks maintain
their bikes and travel at their
own expense, and whatever
money they get from their
performances goes back into
operations or a charity.
“What does it take to
become a Cossack?” said
member Todd “Mr. T”
Tressler during the show.
“First you have to be crazy
enough to build a bike like
this and have someone walk
all over it.”
With his long, wispy beard
and exuberant personality, it’s
hard to miss Andrew Nich-
olson among the performers.
A
longtime
Boeing
employee, Nicholson said he
treats Cossack performances
like vacations, the smiles
from the crowd enough
compensation to keep on
going.
Even though the Cossacks
aren’t seeking a fortune for
their talents, the threshold to
join their ranks remains high.
Prospective
Cossacks
have to audition and complete
a one-year apprenticeship to
earn a spot on the team.
Even then, if the appren-
tice doesn’t get 100 percent
support from the Cossack
membership, they’ll have to
try again. Anything less than
a unanimous vote the second
time around means the appli-
cant is barred from trying out
again.
Although
Saturday’s
performance went without a
hitch, that doesn’t mean the
Cossacks don’t take their fair
share of bumps and bruises.
“There’s only two kinds of
bikers in this world,” Tressler
said. “Those that are down
and those that will be down.
And we’ve been down a lot.”
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
Fri. Aug 12 • Starts at 8pm
Also Featuring:
Tormenta De Durango
Domador De La Sierra