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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2016)
REGION Saturday, October 1, 2016 East Oregonian Page 3A MILTON-FREEWATER ‘Hard choices’ ahead as groundwater levels declining Agency recommends mandatory metering By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Faced with declining ground- water levels across the Walla Walla subbasin, the Oregon Water Resources Department is looking to convene a local Resource Advi- sory Committee to ind solutions for stabilizing aquifers. The department laid out a number of options during two public meetings Thursday and Friday in Milton-Freewater, ranging from mandatory water metering to designating a Critical Groundwater Area, specifying how much water can be used within the boundaries. About 40 people attended Friday’s meeting at the Milton-Free- water Community Building, where Ivan Gall, administrator of the OWRD Field Services Division, called on a major groundswell of support and backing in order to make the groundwater system work. “Folks have got to be willing to make some hard choices,” Gall said. Ideally, Gall said the committee would include representatives from a variety of backgrounds, including city oficials, large farms, small farms, tribes and the Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council. The goal is to have rule changes developed and ready to present to the state Water Resources Commission by May 2017. “We want to get these rules prepared, and go through the process,” Gall said. Data from the Water Resources Department shows one sedimentary well in the Walla Walla subbasin has declined 15 feet over the past 80 years, and water levels are now declining basin-wide at rates ranging from 2-4 feet per year. Hydrogeologist Jen Woody spent the irst half of the meeting explaining the basics of the region’s basalt aquifers, and how ground- water levels can change over time. “We know that use is exceeding recharge,” Woody said. To better quantify recharge, the department is proposing to establish what’s known as a Serious Water Management Problem Area. That would put a halt to issuing new groundwater permits in the area, and require meters be installed with regular readings. Gall said the designation wouldn’t change how the subbasin is managed now, but would memorialize the current practices under law. The Water Resources Commission would irst have to conduct a public hearing before declaring a Serious Water Manage- ment Problem Area. “This whole thing is about data collection,” Gall said. “We need PENDLETON Council to consider ining old city hall owner for lack of repairs East Oregonian The Pendleton City Council will act as both judge and jury in the case of the old city hall. City Manager Robb Corbett wrote a letter to old city hall owner Jose Quezada Sept. 23 informing him that his building was in viola- tion of the nuisance ordinance because it had not been repaired within a year of it catching ire after a July explosion. Quezada was given the option of either making the necessary repairs within ive days or appealing the city’s decision to the council. Quezada and his family decided to ile an appeal, which will be heard by the council at a meeting Tuesday. The Quezadas could face stiff penalties if Corbett’s decision stands — a ine of up to $500 for every day old city hall isn’t in compliance or an abatement initiated by the city that would charge the Quezadas for the cost of repairs plus a 10 percent administrative overhead fee. Corbett said which route the city takes is based on the council’s decision and whether their swayed by the Quezadas’ arguments. City council gets another go at gravel path decision Given more time to walk the area where a proposed gravel path that would replace the closed Southwest 13th Street stairs, the Pendleton City Council will take another crack at approving the idea at a meeting Tuesday. The council tabled the proposal at their last meeting, where several residents who live in the area said the path would be too steep for children navigating the bluff as they go to and from the bus stop at the Pendleton Early Learning Center. Under city staff’s proposal, the path would be 335 feet long with a 16 percent slope. There is no current cost estimate for the path, but the council is also considering adding a handrail, paving the path and demolishing the old staircase, which isn’t structurally sound. The council will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the council chambers in city hall, 500 S.W. Dorion Ave. this data to manage the system.” State law also allows the Water Resources Commission to formally withdraw unappropriated waters from further development — as was done in the Pomonoa and Priest Rapids basalt aquifers near Mosier in 1988. And then, there is the designation of a critical ground- water area, such as the Ordnance Basalt, Ordnance Gravel, Butter Creek and Stage Gulch areas near Boardman and Hermiston. Those areas have curtailed nearly two-thirds of their water rights, yet Gall said groundwater levels are still declining at a reduced rate. “Those folks have been searching for 20 years for alterna- tive water supplies,” he said. “It was a signiicant impact.” What Gall said he would like to see is voluntary agreements come out of the Resource Advisory Committee that would empower local users to be part of the solu- tion. Examples might include farms switching to less water-intensive crops, fallowing land or improving irrigation eficiency. But, in order for that to happen, Gall said any agreements need to have broad backing and support. He said the department will continue to have a series of meet- ings with residents and water users in Milton-Freewater, including two more meetings at the Community Building scheduled for Oct. 24 and 25. Tom Byler, director of the OWRD, said it is the department’s ultimate responsibility to manage groundwater for the good of the overall public. “We have a charge to help communities get on a more sustainable path with regards to groundwater,” Byler said. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0825. Sand Station Area closes to overnight camping Saturday By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian On Saturday, Sand Station Recreation Area will close to overnight camping until further notice. Bruce Henrickson, public affairs specialist for the Army Corps of Engineers, said the recreation area off Highway 730 about 10 miles east of Umatilla will still be open to day use. Closure of the camping area is necessary, however, to redesign the RV camping area and restore or remove campsites that have eroded. “It will remain closed until further notice because we don’t know how long the work will take,” he said. Henrickson said waves from the river have severely eroded the camping spots closest to the beach in recent years. Staff will try to restore as many as possible but may have to remove some. He said Corps staff will perform the work themselves because of reduced federal recre- ation budgets, which have forced the Corps to shorten recreation seasons and cut services. He said they saved the work for the off-season to minimize the impact on the public. Michael Nathan said he and his family have been living at Sand Station, along with four other homeless families. He said notices about the Oct. 1 closure had been posted at his campground and on Friday someone came to speak to them in person. He said the closure essentially puts those families out of a home, forcing them to ind somewhere else to park the vehicle they live in during the winter months. Two families have already left, he said, and he and his wife are assisting the other two in moving their belongings to a new location since they do not have a car. “We all go through the same thing together,” he said. Henrickson said the Corps was aware that there were homeless families that frequently camped at Sand Station, and they would be able to do so again once the work was complete. Camping is allowed at the site for up to seven days at a time. But he said for safety reasons the Corps could not allow overnight camping there during the construction period. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@ eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536. BRIEFLY Heppner man killed in crash on Highway 207 A 63-year-old Heppner man died in a head-on crash Friday morning after a potato truck crossed in front of his vehicle on Highway 207. Mervin Grubaugh was driving north on the highway in a 1996 Subaru Legacy about nine miles south of Hermiston and Maria Bautista Lucas, 60, from Yakima was heading south in a 1996 Mack truck. Lucas turned left at the Echo Highway turnoff, according to Oregon State Police, crashing nearly head-on into the Subaru at highway speeds. Grubaugh died at the scene and Lucas was taken to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston where she was treated and released. The crash took place near the intersection at mile marker 27B at about 7:45 a.m. and the highway was closed for about ive hours while investigators reconstructed the crash scene. OSP was assisted by Hermiston Fire and Ambulance, Echo Fire and Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation. The investigation is ongoing and more information will be released when available, according to OSP. FFA food drive runs through October PENDLETON — Oregon FFA, Les Schwab Tires and the Capital Press are teaming up to help Drive Away Hunger with a statewide food drive through the month of October. According to a press release from the FFA, the Oregon Food Bank has seen demand for emergency food boxes increase by 40 percent since 2008. To help keep the food bank full, brown paper bags are being distributed, including in today’s East Oregonian, and can be dropped off at any Les Schwab Tire Center or FFA Center. The 2015 initiative raised more than 633,000 pounds of food, according to the press release, enough to provide 528,227 meals. There are nearly 6,000 FFA members from 103 FFA chapters in the state. Fire detected near Olive Lake A small wildire is burning on the Umatilla National Forest several miles southwest of Olive Lake. Andrew Stinchield, ire management oficer for the North Fork John Day Ranger District, said the 1-acre blaze is located in a remote area of the Vinegar Hill-Indian Rock Scenic Area. No structures or private land are threatened. The cause of the ire is unknown. Due to the rugged terrain, predicted rainfall and cold weather in the forecast, ireighters will not attack the ire directly in order to keep them safe. The ire will be visible from Forest Road 10 and other vantage points within the forest. No forest closures will be implemented, though hunters and hikers should be cautious when entering the area — particularly along the Blue Mountain Trail 6141. FALL DISNEY DAYS AT AAA OCTOBER 3-14, 2016 AAA Pendleton 1729 SW Court Ave 541.276.2243 Enjoy special AAA booking incentives October 3-14 on Disney vacations, compliments of AAA Travel! Visit or call your local AAA Williams to lead EO advertising department East Oregonian for the EO Media Group since 2004, and has been a publisher since 2009. She is currently the Marissa Williams has been treasurer of Oregon Newspaper named Regional Advertising Publishers Association. Director for EO Media Group’s Editor & Publisher, a monthly publications in Eastern Oregon. magazine covering the news Williams will manage adver- industry, picked Williams as one tising for the East Oregonian, of its “25 under 35” in 2011, an Hermiston Herald, Eastern annual feature that highlights Oregon Real Estate & Home- the best young innovators in the builders Guide, Eastern Oregon Williams business. That was the same year Marketplace and Eastern Oregon Parent publications. She will continue as the Blue Mountain Eagle under Williams’ publisher of the Blue Mountain Eagle in leadership was nominated for a Pulitzer John Day and Wallowa County Chieftain Prize for its coverage of the Aryan Nation in Enterprise. She will divide her time white supremacist group planning to move its headquarters to John Day. between these locations. Williams and her husband, Zach, coach She was born and raised in Grant County and her family owns the Broken Leg Ranch youth sports including softball and volley- near Monument, where she learned to ride ball. “I’m looking forward to working with the horses. At Grant Union High School she qualiied for the National High School staff at the East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald, the community and businesses,” Rodeo inals in team roping. She and her husband, Zach, have three Marissa said. “I am honored to be a part of a children and spend much of their free time team that strives every day to help meet the needs of our customers through effective coaching youth softball and volleyball. Williams has worked in Eastern Oregon advertising plans in our many products.” PLEASE SAVE THE DATE! Fr ee Adult Flu Shots Pendleton Convention Center Parking Lot Drive Through Clinic Monday, October 3rd 11am - 6pm Tuesday, October 4th 7am - 2pm and let us customize a Disney vacation that’s just right for you and your family. For more information, contact Tracy 541-278-3262 2801 St. Anthony Way Pendleton, OR 97801 www.sahpendleton.org As to Disney artwork/properties: ©Disney. Disney Cruise Line Ship’s Registry: The Bahamas. Booking incentive applies October 3-14, 2016 at all AAA Travel locations in Oregon and the Southern 34 counties of Idaho.
