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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 3, 2016)
REGION Saturday, September 3, 2016 PENDLETON East Oregonian Page 3A WHEELER COUNTY Fire bond could go Morley appointed to serve as judge on May 2017 ballot By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian City council to consider request at Tuesday meeting East Oregonian While most of the country focuses on the elections in November, the Pendleton Fire Department is looking ahead to May 2017. That’s the month Fire Chief Mike Ciraulo and his staff want to present a $9.93 million bond proposal to voters that will include a new ire station at the old St. Anthony Hospital property, and new vehicles and equipment. The Pendleton City Council will consider granting Ciraulo’s request at a meeting Tuesday. The big ticket item is $9.3 million for the cost of building a new ire station, which includes a new street for improved access and acquiring the land from St. Anthony. The city and St. Anthony have agreed to an option that determines the property’s price based on an independent appraisal to be conducted if the bond passes. Besides a new facility, the ire department is also proposing: • $140,000 for an ambu- lance/transfer rig • $270,000 for a breathing apparatus • $130,000 for heart monitors • $35,000 for safety equipment/turnouts • $30,000 for medical equipment • $25,000 for “Jaws of Life” extrication equipment In a report to the city council, Ciraulo explained why he included the extra expenditures in addition to the ire station. “There are insuficient funds in the public safety capital reserve fund to pay for these items,” he wrote. “By including these costs in the bond, the reserve fund will once again be able to fund necessary expenditures for the immediate future (1-3 years) and this will allow the council to look at options at addressing the sustainability of this fund. If these items are not included in the bond, and measures are not taken to address the growing deicit of this fund, the general fund will need to support these critical costs.” The council will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the council chambers in city hall, 500 S.W. Dorion Ave. I-84 work underway in Pendleton area East Oregonian Construction crews will repair asphalt on the shoulder of the fast lane of Interstate 84 in the Pend- leton area next week. The work takes place Wednesday through Friday on the highway’s westbound side from about milepost 190 to 202, which will result in shoulder and lane closures, reduced speeds and minor delays, according to the latest update on road work from the Oregon Department of Transportation. Starting Sept. 12 and until the end of the month, crews will repair concrete along that stretch of the interstate. The work will take place at night and reduce lane width to 14 feet. Pavement striping and construction of rumble strips along shoulders is likely to take place in October, according to ODOT, with the project to inish in November. Pavement work is underway on I-84 east- bound and westbound slow lanes from mile point 203.65 to 217.75, including repaving interchange ramps at exits 207, 209, 210 and 216. The work will cause temporary ramp closures through September, as well as single-lane travel through work zone, slower speeds and some delays. Most of the paving work takes place from 6 p.m. until 8 a.m. and no work will occur Sept. 10-18 during the Pendleton Round-Up. ODOT esti- mated the project will inish in October. And pavement grinding and inlay work from mile- post 238-240 starts Sept. 12 and ends in October. Again, drivers can expect slower speeds, delays and closures. Pendleton police blow out tires to end chase East Oregonian Pendleton police arrested a 51-year-old woman from Goldendale, Washington, after a Thursday chase that ended when her vehicle’s tires gave out. Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts reported an oficer around 9:45 p.m. tried to stop a vehicle on the Southeast Third Street inter- change for trafic violations consistent with an impaired driver. The oficer turned on his car’s lights and siren, but Athena Annette Antelope kept driving to the interchange and headed westbound on Interstate 84. Another Pendleton oficer set spike strips near milepost 208, Roberts reported, and Antelope drove right over them and kept going at speeds of 35-60 mph. “Eventually, the delated tires came off the wheels,” the chief said in an email. Antelope came to a stop in the middle of the interstate near milepost 206, and police arrested her for driving under the inluence of intoxicants and felony attempt to elude/ lee. Court records show her blood-alcohol level was .15 percent, almost twice the .08 percent legal limit. She is in the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton. Jim Eric Marcus, 55, of Washington, was a passenger in the car. Police arrested him on a warrant. Gov. Kate Brown appointed Wheeler County Commissioner Lynn Morley to serve as county judge for the remainder of 2016. Morley’s appointment comes after voters recalled former judge Patrick C. Perry during a special election Aug. 15. “Lynn Morley is a lifelong resident and active member of the Wheeler County community, and I appreciate his willingness to serve,” Brown said in an announcement Friday. “His experience and knowledge will ensure stability and consistency of services to the public during this transition in county leadership.” Since the recall of Perry took place more than 62 days before the general election, the position has also been placed on the November ballot for a six-year term. Morley will run for the seat against Candy Humphreys, a Spray city councilor and longtime coor- dinator of Wheeler County Community Transportation. The iling deadline was Tuesday. Morley was elected commissioner in 2014. Prior to joining the Wheeler County Court, he was a Morley contract logger and ran his own logging company for 35 years. During his tenure as a commis- sioner, Morley has led the county Department of Economic Development and served on the Executive Board of the Mid-Columbia Council of Govern- ments. He has also been involved on the Ochoco-Umatilla National Forest Collaborative Committee. Moving forward, Morley said his goal is to continue to build relation- ships and support for county projects ENTERPRISE Alpine Meadows staff rescues fawn from pond EO Media Group Courtesy photo Mack Huff might be safe now, but he took a few kicks when he and Greg Overson saved this fawn from the irrigation pond at Alpine Meadows Golf Course. Flowers • Candles Jewelry • Plants Balloons & More! Put a smile on the heart with the power of flowers. HWY 395, HERMISTON 541-567-4305 Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5am www.cottagefl owersonline.com There was a life or death struggle last weekend at Alpine Meadows Golf Course in Enterprise. Greg Oveson, “kind of a superintendent” for the golf course, was out doing the normal mowing and rolling August 28 when he spotted a whitetail doe on one side of the irrigation pond and her fawn on the other. As he watched, the fawn decided to jump in the pond and swim to mom — but it was clear the baby wasn’t going to get to the other side. “I watched for about 10 minutes and then I called Mack Huff and asked him to bring some rope,” Oveson said. The two men made a big loop behind the fawn and managed to drag it to the edge and lip it onto the bank. “Then, Mack made a dive for the legs and I made a dive for Mack’s legs and we got (the fawn) hauled away from the pond,” Oveson said. “Mack got kicked a couple of times.” The little fawn was pooped out by then and just lay still for a while before getting up and rejoining mom. BRIEFLY Crews make progress on Grifin Gulch Fire BAKER CITY — Evacuation notices have been reduced to Level 1 in the Grifin Gulch area near Baker City as ireighters made progress containing a 27-acre wildire. The blaze was 50 percent contained as of Friday morning. Full containment is expected by the end of the day Saturday. The cause of the ire is under investigation. The Oregon Department of Forestry and Greater Bowen Valley Fire are coor- dinating on the ireighting effort. Cooler weather is in the forecast over the holiday weekend, though public use restrictions remain in effect on state-protected lands to minimize the risk of new ires. For a list of current restrictions, visit the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch website at www. bmidc.org or call the center at 541-963-7171. Latest lead tests meet EPA limit PENDLETON – The latest batch of lead test results in Pendleton School District are in. 25 sites at Pendleton Early Learning Center fell within the acceptable EPA limit for schools – 20 parts per billion. In addition, 32 sites tested at Sherwood Elementary school were at acceptable levels. PSD expects test results from the new Washington Elementary school to be in soon, according to a press release. “We are pleased that sites tested at these two schools indicate no problems with lead levels in the water,” district superintendent Andy Kovach said in the release. All water testing results can be viewed at the district’s ofice at 1100 Southgate, Suite 8 or www. pendleton.k12.or.us. For more information about the district water testing, contact Kovach at 541-966- 3251 or andy.kovach@ pendleton.k12.or.us. Library friends prep for book sale PENDLETON — The Pendleton Friends of the Library is gearing up for its annual book sale. People who would like to make donations for this year’s sale need to drop them off by Friday. Due to preparations for the event, book donations will not be accepted between Saturday, Sept. 10 and Monday, Oct. 17. The sale kicks off Thursday, Oct. 6 with a members-only preview from 7-9 p.m. at the Pendleton Convention Center, 1601 Westgate. Memberships can be purchased in advance or at the door. The sale’s regular hours are Friday, Oct. 7 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 8 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The inal two hours will feature a $1 bag sale. For more information, contact 541-966-0380 or heather.culley@ ci.pendleton.or.us. TRCI gets new superintendent UMATILLA – A new superintendent will soon take over at Two Rivers Correctional Institution. On Sept. 15, Brigitte Amsberry will replace acting superintendent Steve Franke at TRCI, a minimum security prison located in Umatilla since 2000. Amsberry has worked at 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. and economic development — such as the current effort to bring in iber optics for the county. “It’s a real important project for Wheeler County,” Morley said. “It could bring in a lot of jobs and really help us out.” In addition, Morley said he wants to rebuild funding for the county road department. A road shop in Spray recently closed, and the department as a whole is down to two employees. “I just want to help any way I can,” he said. The vacant commissioner seat created by Morley’s appointment will be illed through another appointment by the county court. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@ eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0825. HERITAGE LUNCHEON 2016 A Walk Through Oregon Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, Pendleton since 2000, where she started as a prison nurse. She served as interim superintendent in 2013 before returning to assistant superintendent in 2014 when Jeri Taylor took over. Amsberry began her most recent role — assistant superintendent of security — in July of this year. Colette S. Peters, Oregon Department of Corrections director, announced the change. In addition to Amsberry, Peters appointed three other new superintendents at Oregon correctional facilities: Brad Cain at Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, Brandon Kelly at Oregon State Penitentiary and Mill Creek Correctional Institution in Salem and Kimberly Hendricks at Santiam Correctional Institution in Salem. Stanield oficer to graduate police course STANFIELD — Stanield’s newest oficer is about to graduate from the Oregon Public Safety Academy, Salem. Tristan Walker joins 39 other new oficers that will leave the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training’s basic police course on Friday, Sept. 9 to join agencies throughout the state. Walker, 27, was a reserve oficer for several years and in February 2015 was part of a crew of volunteer ireighters that used ropes to rescue a dog that fell over a 30-foot cliff. Locals make governor’s list for state service PENDLETON — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown recommended ive Eastern Oregonians to serve on state boards and commissions. Three are reappointments and two would replace outgoing members. Modesta Minthorn of Adams would serve out the rest of a four-year term in place of Angela Bowen of Coos Bay. Eric Quaempts, also of Adams, would replace Dennis Doherty of Hermiston on the state’s Water Resources Commis- sion. That term expires at the end of June 2017. The governor pegged Gary Humphries of Pend- leton for another term on the Fair Dismissal Appeals Board; reappointment for Hanley Jenkins II of Union to the Energy Facility Siting Council; and another go on the Apprenticeship and Training Council for Patrick Davis of the small community of Wamic in Wasco County. The Senate will consider the nominations for approval during September legislative days. Express Delivery y F Full Service Menu u I Items Made to Order ( $ 10 Minimum) Burger Special Bacon Cheeseburger Curly y Fries 32 oz Soda $ 7 50 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 2012 NW Carden Avenue Pendleton 541-276-1522
