Page 10A
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
POOL: Cost $85,000 to operate last year
Continued from 1A
will provide answers about air
quality in BMCC’s pool.
Anderson
Poolworks,
of Wilsonville, inspected
the 25-meter-long pool in
February. According to the
inspector’s
recommenda-
tions, “the BMCC pool is in
desperate need of a renova-
tion,” Parker said.
The cost of repairing
the pool is only part of the
problem.
“Once the pool is repaired,
we don’t have money for
ongoing
maintenance,”
said Casey White-Zollman,
BMCC vice-president of
public relations. “The revenue
and expenses don’t line up.”
The group retired to the
bleachers in the gymnasium
and listened as BMCC
Camille Preus gave usage,
revenue
and
expense
numbers.
Pendleton and Hermiston
Swim Teams paid nothing
for a combined 488 hours of
pool use in the last year. The
swim association paid $1,125
for 360 hours of usage. Other
community groups contrib-
uted $500. Tuition and fees
brought in another $1,245. In
all, the pool generated $2,960
in direct income last year plus
a luctuating amount of state
money given for each full-
time equivalent student who
took pool-related curriculum,
estimated in the neighbor-
hood of $74,000. The pool
cost $85,000 to operate last
year.
“It’s been a pretty good
deal for the community,”
Preus said. “We have charged
nothing or a very nominal
amount.”
She threw open the loor
for brainstorming, any and
all possible solutions were
welcome. Some suggested
partnerships with organiza-
tions such as Pendleton Parks
& Recreation or St. Anthony
Hospital. Others talked about
building a pool away from
the campus, with BMCC
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A section of the pool’s water iltration system at BMCC
in Pendleton.
remaining a partner.
Many in the crowd
worried about the upcoming
swim season and the lack of
time to nail down a long-term
solution. Money to operate
the pool is available for the
coming school year, but the
air quality is still a question
mark. Some worried that
BMCC might want to get rid
of this ongoing headache.
PHS Athletic Director
Troy Jerome decided to
acknowledge the elephant in
the room.
“What beneit does BMCC
see in partnering with the
group that is sitting in front
of you?” Jerome asked. “Why
raise $2.3 million when you
can make the tough decision
tomorrow and say the pool is
closed?”
Preus answered quickly.
“Community is part of our
name,” she told Jerome. “We
feel a sense of responsibility
to do what we can do to
keep the pool. We need your
support to make it a reality.”
Allen Madril, a parent,
voiced worry about the
approaching swim season.
“What’s really holding our
feet to the ire is the short time
frame,” he said. “We need
time to give the community a
chance to mobilize.”
Fred Robinson, of the
Pendleton Swim Association,
asked the question everyone
wanted answered. Would
BMCC Band-Aid the pool if
they knew a long-term plan
was in the works? Would the
board act quickly?
“Will the college ill the
pool?” Robinson asked.
The ventilation inspection
may dictate that, but the
administrators seemed open
to anything if it penciled out.
White-Zollman
said
passion for the pool is unde-
niable.
“We know the pool is
important to the community. It
means a lot to the college, too.
It’s been here since 1974,” she
said. “But these are taxpayer
dollars and we have to be
iscally responsible.
As the two-hour meeting
wound to a close, former PSA
coach and swimmer Darcey
Ridgway offered a tongue-in-
cheek solution.
“My only suggestion is
that we each go out and buy a
lottery ticket,” Ridgway said.
A fund been started to
collect donations for pool
repairs now has a balance of
$1,575. To donate, make a
check to the BMCC Founda-
tion with pool repairs on the
memo line. Another tour will
take place 5:30 p.m., August
3.
———
Contact Kathy Aney at
kaney@eastoregonian.com
or call 541-966-0810.
Friday, July 29, 2016
Elephant sedative emerges
as threat in overdose battle
COLUMBUS,
Ohio
(AP) — A drug used to
sedate elephants and other
large animals, 100 times as
potent as the fentanyl already
escalating the country’s
heroin troubles, is suspected
in spates of overdoses in
several states, where author-
ities say they’ve found it
mixed with or passed off as
heroin.
The appearance of
carfentanil, one of the most
potent opioids known to
investigators, adds another
twist to the ight against
painkillers in a country
already awash in heroin and
fentanyl cases.
Each time authorities start
to get a handle on one type
of drug, another seems to
pop up, said Joseph Pinjuh,
chief of the Organized
Crime Drug Enforcement
Task Force and narcotics
unit for the U.S. attorney in
Cleveland.
“You feel like a kid with
his inger in the dike, you
know?” he said. “We’re
running out of ingers.”
A man suspected of
selling carfentanil as heroin
was indicted this week in
central Ohio on 20 counts,
including murder, in connec-
tion with a July 10 death and
nine other overdoses that
happened within hours of
one another.
Some of the surviving
users told investigators they
thought they were buying
heroin, but testing found
none, Franklin County pros-
ecutor Ron O’Brien said.
The suspect, Rayshon Alex-
ander, pleaded not guilty.
Investigators are trying to
track down the source of the
carfentanil. Ohio Attorney
General Mike DeWine said
he was unaware of any thefts
of the drug, which, he noted,
could be shipped from
abroad or produced here.
Switch to U.S. Cellular ® now
and get 50% off iPhone 6s.
On the network that works in the Middle of Anywhere.
STOLTZ: Was one of
650 foreign students to
come to U.S. in 1955
Continued from 1A
Dean look. He thought I’d
it in better with a crew cut. I
didn’t mind.”
Stoltz noticed other
cultural differences, too,
and made adjustments. In
Sweden, people eat with knife
in the right hand and fork in
the left, for example, while
Americans do the opposite.
Stoltz switched over.
“I was keen about adapting
to the circumstances where I
was,” he said.
His classmates welcomed
Stoltz warmly and proceeded
to get to know the personable
Swede. Bob Temple said
their foreign classmate spoke
impeccable English.
“He it right in,” Temple
said. “You wouldn’t even
know he was Swedish
because he was so luent.”
Temple had just given
Stoltz a bear hug in the
Wildhorse Resort & Casino’s
Cayuse Room. About 45 of
the original 130 classmates
had gathered. Their number
has diminished over time — a
poster near the door displayed
photos of the 53 classmates
who have passed away.
Stories lowed as they
sipped drinks, though some
of the details depended on
who did the telling. Both
Stoltz and classmate Jim
Thorne recalled one after-
noon when some members
of the track team left practice
at Washington Elementary
School and headed to the
Umatilla River to cool off.
The water was extremely
high and the current looked
strong. They dared each other
to swim across and back. The
story diverged from there.
“I was the irst one
across,” said Thorne. “Jan
was struggling. I pulled him
out.”
Stoltz, who remembers it
differently, said he rescued
Thorne.
“I was quite a good
swimmer and Jim was not,”
Stoltz said, laughing.
Stoltz was one of 650
foreign students who came
to the U.S. that year through
the American Field Service.
The Pendleton Rotary Club
covered transportation and
arranged housing for the
teen. Stoltz spoke to the club,
sharing his impressions of
life as an exchange student in
America. That led to a string
of speaking engagements —
about one every week — to
different civic organizations
in the area.
Stoltz said he felt sad
about departing as the year
drew to a close and was
reluctant to leave an all-night
party and dance on the last
day of school.
“I wanted to stay as long
as possible,” he said. “It was
my last chance to be with
friends. By the time I left, the
sun had risen.”
Stoltz brought his wife,
Magdalena, to the class’s
25th and 50th reunion, but
she stayed behind this time
for health reasons. They
celebrated their 45th anniver-
sary on Tuesday on different
continents.
“I arranged to send roses
— the reddest I could ind,”
Stoltz said.
The two met in 1968
during Stoltz’s social worker
years. Magdalena, a Jew, led
Poland during an anti-Se-
mitic campaign. Stoltz had
learned Polish from another
exchange experience in that
country during his univer-
sity years and served as a
translator at a refugee camp
where Magdalena ended up.
They married. Magdalena
became a physician and Jan
eventually traded his social
worker career for one as a
high school teacher.
Though decades have
passed since his time at PHS,
Stoltz still remembers writing
a love letter to Pendleton
that ended up in the school
newspaper in 1955. The
article started, “Pendleton,
oh, Pendleton, you wonderful
town. Just a year ago, you
were nothing to me, half a
year later, a point on the map,
now you are the center of my
world.”
Stoltz said he hopes to
return for future reunions.
———
Contact Kathy Aney at
kaney@eastoregonian.com
or call 541-966-0810.
With 3D Touch, Live Photos, 7000 series aluminum, A9 chip, advanced
cameras, 4.7-inch Retina HD display, and so much more, you’ll see how
with iPhone 6s the only thing that’s changed is everything.
Requires Retail Installment Contract, credit approval and mail-in rebate.
Things we want you to know: New Shared Connect Plan and Retail Installment Contract required. Device Protection+, Smartphone turn-in and credit approval also required. A $25 Device Activation Fee applies.
A Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee (currently $1.82/line/month) applies; this is not a tax or gvmt. required charge. Additional fees (including Device Connection Charges), taxes, terms, conditions and coverage
areas apply and may vary by plan, service and phone. Offers valid at participating locations only and cannot be combined. See store or uscellular.com for details. 50% Off Smartphones Promo: 50%-off rebate on
select Smartphone devices. Rebate shall be equal to either 50% of device price before taxes or $336, whichever is lower. Rebate fulfilled in the form of a U.S. Cellular Promotional Card issued by MetaBank, ®
Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Valid only for purchases at U.S. Cellular stores and uscellular.com. Allow 8–10 weeks for processing after final submission. Turned-in Smartphone
must be in fully functional, working condition without any liquid damage or broken components, including, but not limited to, a cracked housing. Smartphone must power on and cannot be pin locked. Cracked
screens allowed. Device Protection+: Enrollment in Device Protection+ required. The monthly charge for Device Protection+ is $8.99 for Smartphones. A deductible per approved claim applies. You may cancel
Device Protection+ anytime. Insurance underwritten by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida. Service Contract Obligor is Federal Warranty Service Corporation, except in CA (Sureway, Inc.) and OK
(Assurant Service Protection, Inc.). Limitations and exclusions apply. For complete details, see an associate for a Device Protection+ brochure. Kansas Customers: In areas in which U.S. Cellular receives support
from the Federal Universal Service Fund, all reasonable requests for service must be met. Unresolved questions concerning services availability can be directed to the Kansas Corporation Commission Office of
Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at 1-800-662-0027. Limited-time offer. Trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. ©2016 U.S. Cellular