REGION
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Rail Fire nearly
doused, restrictions
eased in forests
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Management of Eastern
Oregon’s largest wildire,
the Rail Fire, will transition
back under local control at
6 a.m. Thursday.
The blaze, which has
grown to 41,716 acres
since it started July 31, is
now 90 percent contained.
Fireighters
with
the
Wallowa-Whitman
and
Malheur national forests
will continue mopping up
the area while also burning
slash, repairing roads and
restoring ire lines to mini-
mize erosion.
Some areas around the
ire will remain closed
for safety. Forest Road 16
remains closed south and
east of the ire, along with
Forest Road 2652 between
roads 2640 and 13. The
roads will reopen after
hazard trees are removed
and ire crews leave the
scene.
Some
smoke
will
continue to rise from
the interior of the ire as
daytime
temperatures
reach 80 degrees by later
this weekend. How much
smoke will depend on
several factors including
temperature, humidity and
the amount of fuels still left
to burn.
Meanwhile, other forests
across northeast Oregon
are easing up on their
public restrictions as rain
and cooler weather have
lowered the ire danger.
Public use restrictions
have dropped back down
to Phase A on the Umatilla
National Forest, meaning
seasonal campire restric-
tions are back in place and
chainsaws will be allowed
during approved hours.
Campires are once
again allowed in ire pits
surrounded by dirt, rock or
commercial rings located in
areas that have been cleared
of lammable vegetation
within a 3-foot radius.
Anyone tending a campire
must have a shovel or
similar tool on hand, along
with one gallon of water,
and make sure the ire is
completely extinguished
before leaving. Seasonal
restrictions will remain in
effect through Oct. 31.
Chainsaws are allowed,
but only between the
hours of 8 p.m. and 1 p.m.
Operators will need to have
an ax, shovel and minimum
8-ounce ire extinguisher,
and are required to watch
for ires for one hour after
inishing. The restrictions
do not apply to people with
commercial or personal
use irewood permits, since
those fall under a separate
set of regulations.
Phase A restrictions also
limit smoking to enclosed
vehicles, buildings or
cleared areas, and prohibit
off-road vehicle travel on
roads with standing grass
or anything else that could
catch on ire.
Public use restrictions
are phased in and out
collectively as ire condi-
tions warrant, and may
differ between forests.
The
Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest remains
in Phase B restrictions,
which prohibits chainsaws
and limits ires to approved
campgrounds and recre-
ation sites.
In addition, the Oregon
Department of Forestry
has lowered its restrictions
from Phase 2 to Phase 1 for
private land in the Northeast
Oregon District, covering
Umatilla, Union, Baker
and Wallowa counties.
However, the ire season
remains in effect and Mitch
Williams, wildland ire
supervisor in La Grande,
cautioned that conditions
can still change rapidly.
“We’re just at a point
where we feel easing our
ire restrictions is justiied.
However, there’s still a
need for caution when
out enjoying the woods,”
Williams said.
Phase 1 regulations
prohibit open ires, except
at designated locations.
Debris burning is also not
allowed, except in burn
barrels with a valid burning
permit.
The same hours also
apply to chainsaw use, as
well as cutting, grinding or
welding metal.
So far, there have been
65 human-caused ires that
have burned 29,478 acres
in the region, according to
the Blue Mountain Inter-
agency Dispatch Center.
That compares to 54 light-
ning-sparked ires burning
just 386 acres.
To report a ire, contact
the BMIDC at 541-963-
7171 or call 9-1-1.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
BRIEFLY
Pendleton
runaways returned
PENDLETON — Two
Pendleton middle-
schoolers were back with
their families Tuesday
evening after running away
the night before.
Zacchaeus Otto-Allen,
14, and Destiny Fletcher,
11, went missing sometime
after 9:30 p.m. Monday.
Zacchaeus’s mother,
Cynthia Rickett, said
one of her adopted sons
found the boy at a trailer
home on Southeast 10th
Street, Pendleton, near the
Umatilla River levee. She
and her husband, Jerry
Rickett, the boy’s father,
went there at about 5:30
p.m. and brought the boy
home.
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts reported
a citizen found Destiny
at 6:01 p.m. near the
intersection of Southeast
First Street and Isaac
Avenue, and oficers
brought her home.
He also stated Pendleton
police notiied the Oregon
Department of Human
Services about the
situation.
Class of 1966 to
hold reunion
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston High School
Class of 1966 will hold
its 50-year class reunion
September 23 and 24. The
fun begins both nights at 6
p.m. at Stet’s Steakhouse
(formerly Stetson’s), 1619
N. First St.
Saturday’s activities
include a prime rib or
salmon dinner and live
music by Brass Fire. Both
nights feature an open bar.
Cost to attend is $50
per person, and RSVPs
are due by Friday, Sept.
16. Checks may be mailed
to Danice McBee, 28420
Highway 730, Umatilla,
OR 97882.
For more information,
call Terry Williams at
253-381-2198.
Kiwanis hold
harvest fundraiser
BOARDMAN — The
Kiwanis Club of Boardman
is hosting its annual
harvest fundraiser. Funds
raised help support the
Kiwanis Club’s services
to children and families in
the Boardman community,
including high school
scholarships, dictionaries
for third graders, Key
Club support, and annual
functions such as the Easter
egg hunt, Harvest Festival,
Halloween party and
Breakfast With Santa.
Local producers have
donated Russet and red
potatoes, yellow and
dehydrated onions and
raw fresh garlic for the
fundraiser. Order forms are
available from any Kiwanis
member or by contacting
Debbie Radie at 541-945-
7001 or debbieradie@
boardmanfoods.com
Deadline to order
is Sept. 20 to ensure
processing. Orders may
be picked up Saturday,
Oct. 1 from 9-11 a.m. at
the SAGE Center, 101
Olson Road, Boardman,
during the Morrow County
Harvest Festival.
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Nonproit to study irrigation
upgrades on Catherine Creek
Goal to conserve
water for ish
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
A Portland-based nonproit
organization is studying
whether
more
eficient
irrigation equipment could
ultimately beneit salmon on
upper Catherine Creek in the
Grande Ronde Valley.
The Freshwater Trust was
recently awarded $114,265
from the Oregon Water
Resources Department to
come up with ways farms and
ranches can conserve water in
order to boost lows in stream
for ish.
Ideas
include
lining
leaky irrigation canals and
converting
neighboring
farms and ranches from lood
irrigation to sprinklers. Caylin
Barter, low restoration
director for The Freshwater
Trust, said those steps could
add up to hundreds of millions
of gallons of water savings
every year.
“Nobody wants to see the
creek go dry,” Barter said.
“That goes for agricultural
producers, as well as the
restoration organizations.”
Catherine
Creek,
a
32-mile tributary of the
Photo contributed by The Freshwater Trust
The Freshwater Trust of Portland is looking into more
eficient irrigation equipment to conserve water and
boost lows in Catherine Creek, a tributary of the
Grande Ronde River.
Grande Ronde River, is home
to three species of threatened
or endangered ish, including
chinook salmon, steelhead
and bull trout. It is one of the
highest priorities for salmon
and steelhead recovery in the
Columbia Basin, in particular
the nine-mile stretch from
Catherine Creek State Park to
the town of Union.
Farmers and ranchers also
rely on the creek to grow
crops and water their pastures,
which has placed a strain on
the resource. Barter said it
wasn’t long ago that fresh
lowing water practically
disappeared every summer
out of the creek during irriga-
tion season.
The goal, Barter said, is
to maintain at least 10 cubic
feet per second of live lows
in Catherine Creek through
summer to aid ish. The
Freshwater Trust has worked
with some landowners to
lease senior water rights and
leave about 3 cfs of additional
water in stream. Barter said
irrigation upgrades could
potentially add another 5 cfs
or more, depending on how
much they can accomplish.
“If (the upgrades) are
cost-effective, it’s a great way
to increase lows while also
increasing productivity for
farmers,” she said.
Funding for the study
comes from the OWRD’s
Water Conservation, Reuse
and Storage Grant Program.
The Freshwater Trust will
spend the next 18 months
identifying current irrigation
infrastructure in the area, and
piecing together the greatest
opportunity for upgrades,
Barter said.
The Freshwater Trust
isn’t the only group involved
in rehabilitating Catherine
Creek. The Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation recently
completed the fourth and inal
phase of a project to recon-
nect four miles of creek to its
natural loodplain upstream
of Union.
Improved habitat, along
with more water in stream,
should ensure the creek is suit-
able for future generations of
ish, Barter said — especially
as low snowpack and hotter
summers create another layer
of challenge and urgency.
“You’ve got a lot of
different strains on the stream
right now,” she said. “We’re
looking forward to expanding
our approach and discovering
how modernizing some
of the infrastructure here
can further increase lows
while improving agricultural
productivity.”
BOARDMAN
Hyder featured at annual quilt show
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
Kathy Hyder laughs when
she thinks back to the irst
time she made a quilt.
The Boardman woman
knew a couple in Longview,
Washington, who both had
cancer and she wanted to
give them something special.
Hyder went to Millie Baker,
a charter member of the
Boardman Quilt Group.
When Baker asked when
she needed the quilt, Hyder
responded, “A week or two.”
“I didn’t realize what all it
involved,” Hyder said with a
laugh.
The seamstress now knows
that spending months, if not
years, on projects is the norm.
Hyder often enjoys giving
quilts to family members or
friends for special occasions.
She recently completed her
irst commissioned quilt.
After being asked several
times to be the featured
quilter during the Boardman
Quilt Show, Hyder inally
agreed. She is honored to step
into the role a year removed
from when the late Marge
Shankle was featured.
Hyder said it was special
to work with others in the
group to complete a number
of quilts that Shankle had
Photo contributed by Sandy Moroney
Kathy Hyder poses by her quilt that won the people’s choice award during the 2015
Boardman Quilt Show. The Boardman woman is the featured quilter for this year’s
show, which is Oct. 7-8 at the Boardman Senior Center.
started. Also a charter
member of the group,
Shankle died unexpectedly in
April.
“I’ve said no all the other
years,” Hyder said. “This
year was different, it’s special
and an honor.”
Hyder will share tips and
examples of her creations
during the Boardman Quilt
Show. In its 12th year, the
event is Friday, Oct. 7 and
Saturday, Oct. 8 from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. at the Boardman
Senior Center, 100 Tatone St.
Admission is $3. In addition
to the quilt displays, the event
includes fabric and quilting
supply vendors, hourly door
prizes, rafle quilts and show
awards. Lunch will be avail-
able for purchase.
Boardman Quilt Show
welcomes
all
entries,
including keepsake heirloom
quilts, contemporary quilts,
wall hangings and other
quilted items. There is no fee
to display quilts.
Entry forms must be
pre-registered by Wednesday,
Oct. 5. The quilts will be
accepted Thursday, Oct.
6 from 3-5 p.m. at the
Boardman Senior Center or
up until 4:30 p.m. at Aunty
Ida’s Quilt Shop, 435 W.
Hermiston Ave., Hermiston.
For more information
or for a registration form,
contact 541-481-9426 or
tlkranch@centurytel.net.
Forms can also be picked up
at Aunty Ida’s.
STANFIELD
Development fees untouched to promote growth
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Stanield’s city council
voted not to raise its fees for
new development on Tuesday
despite a report justifying
charges more than twice as
high.
The city commissioned
a report by Anderson Perry
& Associates to examine
its methodology for setting
system development charges.
Cities commonly impose
system development charges
on new homes or businesses
to help cover the cost of
expanding infrastructure such
as water lines to accommo-
date new development.
In Stanield, developers
have been paying $5,399 per
“equivalent residential unit.”
The report by Anderson Perry
& Associates calculates a
need of $13,190 per unit. The
city council, however, took
the public works committee’s
recommendation to impose a
rate of $5,400.
“We didn’t want to be the
most expensive city in Eastern
Oregon,” City Manager Blair
Larsen said. “Around here it
would really stile things.”
He said in places where
housing is in high demand
and developers are making
good proits, high system
development charges are a
good thing that helps the city
keep up with the demand for
new water lines, wastewater
treatment plants, roads and
more. But councilors felt that
in Stanield it would only
serve to discourage potential
developers.
Despite keeping the cost
the same, the city is changing
how the money is used.
Before, system development
charges went only to water
and wastewater upgrades.
Now a percentage of the
revenue is also earmarked
for transportation improve-
ments, and for residential
development some money
will also go toward park
improvements.
When someone in Stan-
ield builds a new house and
pays the $5,400 system devel-
opment charge, 12 percent of
the fee will go toward paying
off the city’s debt service on
its recent upgrades to its water
system. Thirty-three percent
of the fee will go toward
reimbursing the city for recent
upgrades to its wastewater
treatment system. Ten percent
will go toward construction of
new parks projects including
sports ields, walking paths
and playgrounds.
The remaining 45 percent
will go toward projects
listed in the Transportation
System Plan, including street
upgrades, new multi-use
trails, trafic signals, new
roads and increased access to
Highway 395.
Larsen said growth costs
cities, and those that don’t
implement system develop-
ment charges end up inding
the money for infrastructure
improvements through other
methods, such as higher
taxes. He described the
charges as “latecomer fees,”
which attempt to make sure
that people who have been
in the community a long
time don’t get stuck with a
disproportionate part of the
bill for upgrades caused by
new development.
“We’re not trying to stick
it to anybody,” he said.
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