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THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016
140th Year, No. 204
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
One dollar
BOARDMAN
Farmworker housing proposal nixed
Threemile Canyon Farms withdraws applications after hearing
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
In a surprising turn of events,
Threemile Canyon Farms has
decided to abandon its farmworker
housing proposal on Tower Road
near Boardman, saying it will
consider other options to fi ll their
labor needs.
The announcement came after
two hours of public testimony at
a hearing Wednesday before the
Morrow County Court in Heppner,
where opponents of the development
raised concerns about everything
from public safety to transparency in
the planning process.
Marty Myers, general manager of
Threemile Canyon, said he did not
want to jeopardize the farm’s stature
in the community and withdrew the
application. Had the project gone
forward, it would have housed up to
800 seasonal workers from outside
of the country.
“Obviously, this site has resis-
tance from the community. I respect
their issues,” Myers said. “We will
come back with a better plan in the
future.”
Wednesday’s public hearing was
not about the building itself, but
rather to discuss a zoning change for
66 acres along the east side of Tower
Road where the housing would be
built. Commissioners also needed to
approve a legal exception that would
have allowed the Port of Morrow to
take wastewater from the site.
However, opponents argued that
it was impossible to consider this
preliminary groundwork without
also reviewing the proposed
development. Threemile Canyon
See HOUSING/8A
“Obviously, this site
has resistance from
the community.
I respect their issues.
We will come back
with a better plan in
the future.”
— Marty Myers, general
manager of Threemile Canyon
New UmCo
detective
to focus on
absconders
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Offenders absconding from parole and
probation in Umatilla County will soon
encounter an additional hurdle.
The county’s Community Justice Department
and the sheriff’s offi ce are partnering to hire a
new detective dedicated to hauling in offenders
who skip out on court dates
and other court-ordered
requirements.
Community
Justice
director Dale Primmer said
he fi rst approached Sheriff
Terry Rowan with the
idea during county budget
hearings in May.
“What I want to do
is embed a detective
Primmer
or deputy in our
offi ce to deal with
“What I want
absconders
right
up front,” Primmer
to do is embed
said.
a detective or
His department
is using a similar
deputy in our
model to provide
offi ce to deal
drug and alcohol
treatment to people with absconders
in the county jail.
right up front.”
Primmer said it
made sense to apply
— Dale Primmer,
it to absconders.
Community Justice director
From the start of
2006 through the
end of 2009, Primmer said the county had 238
“absconds” and 135 of those resulted in a new
arrest. That included 82 for failure to appear, 17
for theft and 12 for drug possession.
The 2013 Legislature’s passage of House
Bill 3194 established the Justice Reinvestment
Grant Program, and Umatilla County used the
funds it received to “front-load” programs that
help offenders get drug and alcohol treatment
as soon as they leave jail, for example, and to
provide daily monitoring and life skills training
to people at high risk for re-offending. But he
See DETECTIVE/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Andy Clarys of Riverton, Wyo., rides White Lash in saddle bronc riding Wednesday at the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo in
Joseph. Clarys failed to mark up out of the chute and did not receive and points for his ride. For more on the rodeo
see Sports 1B.
Chief Joseph Days kicks off
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A fl ag bearer jockeys her horse during the opening ceremo-
ny at the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo Wednesday in Joseph.
The setting sun shines through the north grandstands at
the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo.
Budgeting for back to school supplies
Community comes together to support
students as new school year draws near
By ALEXA LOUGEE
East Oregonian
Fourth of July is in the rear-view
mirror and August is almost here.
That means it’s back to school season.
Local stores are already displaying
aisles of spiral-bound notebooks,
glue sticks and scissors. Some
parents have begun buying school
supplies for their kids.
Marisela Rubio is one of those
parents and has two kids at McNary
Heights Elementary School, a third
grader and a fi fth grader. She plans to
spend less than $100 for supplies for
both. As she perused the suggested
supply list she said “it seems pretty
reasonable.”
According to the National Retail
Federation, families can expect to
spend an average of $107.76 on back-
to-school supplies, not including
clothing or electronics.
The East Oregonian looked at
supply lists for third graders from
area schools and calculated costs of
supplies, using prices for products
that fell in the middle range for
cost — not the cheapest, not the most
expensive. Parents of third graders in
Pendleton School District can expect
to pay $29.51 for supplies this school
year. Pendleton has one supply list
per grade for all classes in the district.
Each elementary school in the
Hermiston School District has a
different list of supplies. On average,
a parent of a third grader in Hermiston
can expect to spend $44.58 on back-
to-school supplies, with Highland
Hills Elementary having the most
expensive supply list and Sunset
Elementary the least expensive.
Parents with a third grader at
McNary Heights Elementary should
plan to spend $31.56 on supplies,
while third graders at Stanfi eld will
need $51.96 worth of supplies to
start the year. None of these averages
included the cost of a new backpack,
lunch box or gym shoes.
Umatilla County’s poverty rate is
above the national average, putting
pressure on families each fall.
Community partners understand the
hardships and work to ease them
each year.
Altrusa of Pendleton holds an
annual school supply drive, setting
up at the entrance of local stores.
All collected donations go directly
to local schools and are disbursed
through school counselors to students
in need. This year’s drive is Aug. 6.
Pendleton businesses like The Dollar
Tree and Wal-Mart also fi ll in the
supply gap.
“If a ... staff member fi nds
a student needing supplies we
discretely connect those students
with an opportunity to obtain them,”
See SUPPLIES/8A