REGION
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
Transit committee
will help plan free
city bus system
$2 taxi program for
seniors will continue
to be available
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Photo courtesy InciWeb
An aerial view of the Rail Fire Saturday morning in Baker County. The blaze shot up a noticeable column of
smoke, due to wind and intensely burning heavy fuels on the ground.
Wildire erupts along Imnaha River
Blaze reported opening day of bow hunting season
East Oregonian
A new wildire has started
in Eastern Oregon about
15 miles north of Halfway
in Baker County, along the
Imnaha River near the Indian
Crossing Campground.
The
Indian
Creek
Crossing Fire was reported
shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday,
the opening day of bow
hunting season. It is currently
90 acres in size and 20
percent contained.
Fireighters were able to
safely evacuate the Indian
Crossing
Campground,
as well as the Cloverdale
Campground, Hidden Camp-
ground and several others
along Forest Service Road
3960 and the Upper Imnaha
Road. Oficials with the
Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest are asking the public
to stay clear of the area for
safety precautions.
The cause of the ire
remains under investigation.
A total of 120 personnel
have responded to the scene,
including three hand crews,
four engines, the La Grande
Interagency Hotshot Crew
and Sled Spring Rappellers,
along with single-engine
air tankers and helicopters
assisting from the air.
Also in Baker County,
the Rail Fire has now topped
39,000 acres and is 60 percent
contained. The blaze shot
up a noticeable column of
smoke on Saturday, as wind
combined with intensely
burning heavy fuels on the
ground.
A spot ire crossed
containment lines Sunday
near the southeast corner of
BRIEFLY
MISSION
Authorities search
for missing hunter
in Wheeler County
FOSSIL — Multiple
agencies are looking for
a missing 75-year-old
bow hunter in the Ochoco
National Forest of
southern Wheeler County.
Wheeler County Search
and Rescue was alerted at
approximately 10:30 p.m.
Sunday to a missing man
who had been hunting in
the area. The hunter was
not immediately identiied.
The Grant County
Sheriff’s Ofice, Crook
County Sheriff’s Ofice,
Oregon Air National
Guard and Mountain
Wave Emergency
Communications are
assisting in the search.
Pendleton library
lures patrons with
PokeStop
PENDLETON — The
public is invited to a special
Pokemon Go event at the
Pendleton Public Library.
The fun includes a
Pokemon Cosplay Contest
and prizes, prizes and
more prizes. Head to the
PokeStop Wednesday at 6
p.m. at 502 S.W. Dorion
Ave., Pendleton.
For more information,
call 541-966-0380 or visit
www.pendletonlibrary.
weebly.com
EO ile photo
Lewis Allen dances during the 2015 Kidz Pow Wow at
the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute. This year’s event,
which is open to all youths up to age 12, is Saturday.
Regalia isn’t required.
Kidz Pow Wow celebrates
youth, outdoor village
East Oregonian
The public is invited to
enjoy the beat of drums and
American Indian singing
as Tamástslikt Cultural
Institute hosts the Kidz
Pow Wow.
Celebrating the end of the
Naamí Nisháycht outdoor
living
culture
village
season, the event is Saturday
from 1-4 p.m. behind the
museum,
located
near
Wildhorse Resort & Casino
at Mission. There’s no entry
fee to participate or watch.
Open to all youths up
to age 12 — including
both native and non-native
— regalia isn’t required.
Dancing contests and awards
are included for different
age groups. In addition, each
participant will receive a
prize. Indian tacos will be
available for purchase.
the main ire’s perimeter,
prompting
immediate
evacuations of a handful of
residents and hunter camps.
A portion of Forest Road
16 will remain closed as
ireighters use it to access
the area where the spot ire is
burning.
The Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest has entered
Phase B public use restric-
tions to minimize human-
caused ires amid hot and dry
conditions. For a complete
list of local regulations
and designated recreation
areas where campires are
permitted, contact the forest
ofices at 541-523-6391.
The Kidz Pow Wow is a
popular event that includes
fun and pageantry. In addi-
tion, there will be traditional
games and tribal dancing.
The village offers visitors
a view of full-size replicas
of traditional and prehistoric
structures of Plateau Indian
people.
The museum is open
Monday through Saturdays
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The
last day of the living culture
village is Saturday from
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Regular
admission to the museum,
which includes the outdoor
village, is $10 for adults,
$9/seniors, $6/ages 6-17
and free/5 and under. Also,
a family of four is admitted
for $25.
For more information
about the Kidz Pow Wow,
call 541-966-9748 or visit
www.tamastslikt.org.
CASA fundraiser
to sizzle at
Sundown
PENDLETON —
Sundown Bar & Grill is
cooking up a fundraiser
for the Court Appointed
Special Advocates (CASA)
and Blue Mountain Healthy
Families programs.
The menu includes
smoked beef brisket,
barbecue beans and
penne pasta with fresh
chopped vegetables. The
event is Tuesday, Sept. 20
from 5:30-8 p.m. at the
restaurant, 233 S.E Fourth
St., Pendleton. Tickets
are $20 if purchased in
advance. They are $25 at
the door.
For more information
or to buy tickets, contact
Jesus Rome at 541-667-
6091, jrome@umchs.org,
Jessica Britt at 541-667-
6091, jbritt@umchs.
org or stop by Umatilla
Morrow County Head
Start at 110 N.E. Fourth
St., Hermiston.
Happy Canyon
seeks 2017
princesses
PENDLETON — The
Happy Canyon board
of directors is accepting
applications for 2017
Happy Canyon princesses.
The Happy Canyon
Indian Pageant and Wild
West Show represents 100
years of history, tradition
and thousands of hours
of volunteerism. The
princesses have many
responsibilities and the
rewards can be great,
said Kipp Curtis, Happy
Canyon court director.
The princesses
often build life-long
relationships with the
Pendleton community and
beyond, Curtis said. In
addition, they travel many
places.
Because of the
required commitment and
dedication, it is critical
that candidates have a
strong support system.
Family and a support
network of people are
crucial in the commitment
to the position.
The irst step to
becoming a Happy
Canyon princess is to
complete an application. It
is due by Friday, Sept. 30.
The selection committee
will review applications
and determine who will
be selected for a personal
interview.
The application is
available at the Pendleton
Round-Up & Happy
Canyon Hall of Fame gift
store, 1114 S.W. Court
Ave., Pendleton.
———
Briefs are compiled
from staff and wire
reports, and press
releases. Email press
releases to news@
eastoregonian.com
The irst meeting of
Hermiston’s new Transit
Planning Committee is
Sept. 13.
The
temporary
committee
has
been
created to help plan for a
free ixed-route public bus
system through the city.
Kayak Public Transit,
operated by the Confeder-
ated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian
Reservation,
already runs between 17
cities, stopping in two
Hermiston
locations.
The tribes have agreed
to expand that service to
include a bus that runs a
ixed loop around Herm-
iston during the day in
exchange for funding from
the city.
Assistant city manager
Mark Morgan said the
cost to the city will greatly
depend on how many stops
the bus makes and the
hours it runs.
“It’s a system that is
relatively scalable,” he
said.
Creating a recommen-
dation for the city council
about that scale will be
city councilors Rod Hardin
and
Doug
Primmer,
Dean Fialka of the city
planning commission, Juli
Gregory of Good Shep-
herd Health Care System,
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston repre-
senting the Hermiston
Chamber of Commerce
board, Kristi Avery of
Eastern Oregon Support
Services Brokerage and
Barb Martin and Jennifer
Roberts representing the
general public. Morgan,
J.D. Tovey of the CTUIR
and Laura Slater of the
Oregon Department of
Transportation will partic-
ipate in the meetings in a
staff capacity.
Morgan
said
the
committee’s irst meeting
will be mostly discussing
background information
on the city’s current
public
transportation,
the current Kayak Public
Transit program, the costs
and funding available.
Committee members will
also be asked to mark on a
map where they think the
most important places will
be for the bus to stop.
He said the city has
had “pretty good luck”
with online surveys and
will likely put out a public
survey about potential bus
stops as well.
During the committee’s
second meeting sometime
in October members can
give feedback on a route
put together by the tribes
based on the results of
the survey and committee
members’ input. They
will then take a tour of the
proposed route and look
for potential problems
with buses pulling off or
with pedestrian safety.
Morgan said a third
meeting to study an
updated proposal and
inalize costs will likely
take place in time for
the committee to give a
recommendation to the
city council during its
November 14 meeting. If
the council approves the
proposal at that meeting
it will give Kayak Public
Transit the time it needs to
hire bus drivers and make
other arrangements to
begin the bus route on Jan.
2, 2017.
Morgan said it will not
replace the city’s $2 taxi
ticket program for senior
and disabled residents,
which will continue to be
available.
The committee will
meet Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. at
city hall, 180 N.E. Second
St.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at
jmcdowell@eastore-
gonian.com or 541-564-
4536.
Fall chinook season opens
Thursday on Snake River
East Oregonian
The
Snake
River
will open to ishing for
hatchery fall chinook on
Thursday, Sept. 1.
The river will be open
from the Oregon-Wash-
ington border to the dead-
line below Hells Canyon
Dam and will remain open
through Oct. 30, unless
a closure is announced
earlier. In addition, the
reach from Cliff Mountain
Rapid upstream to the
deadline at Hells Canyon
Dam will be open from
Nov. 1-17.
Snake
River
fall
chinook migrate more than
800 miles and pass eight
mainstream dams to reach
Hells Canyon, which is the
farthest any salmon will
travel in Oregon.
“Fall chinook runs
in the Snake River have
been impressive for the
past several years,” said
Jeff Yanke, district ish
biologist for the Oregon
Department of Fish &
Wildlife in Enterprise.
“Current run projections
indicate a very strong run
in 2016 that will provide
fantastic opportunity to
“Current run pro-
jections indicate
a very strong run
in 2016 that will
provide fantastic
opportunity to
catch salmon.”
— Jeff Yanke,
district ish biologist for
ODFW in Enterprise
catch salmon.”
The daily bag limit
will be six adult hatchery
chinook, and anglers
can keep an unlimited
number of hatchery jacks
measuring 15 to 24 inches
long. Anglers are not
allowed to keep ishing for
jacks after they reach the
limit for adults.
Wild chinook must be
released immediately and
unharmed. Only barbless
hooks are allowed on this
stretch of the Snake River
while ishing salmon,
steelhead and sturgeon.
For a complete list of
rules, anglers should check
the 2016 Oregon Sport
Fishing Regulations.
HERITAGE
LUNCHEON 2016
A Walk Through Oregon
K ERRY T YMCHUK • Executive Director
Oregon Historical Society
Saturday • October 1st •12-2 pm
Pendleton Convention Center
$40 UCHS M EMBERS
$50 G ENERAL P UBLIC
Tickets available at Heritage Station Museum & Pendleton Book Company