REGION
Thursday, October 6, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Annual Frenchtown Rendezvous Ag retailers to remain exempt
to feature discussion with authors from fertilizer safety regulations
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
Federal court invalidates OSHA standard
An annual gathering celebrating the
history of the French Canadian and American
Indian communities of the Inland Northwest
is planned in Walla Walla.
The Frenchtown Rendezvous will feature
a round table discussion of “Songs Upon the
Rivers” by authors Michel Bouchard and Rob
Foxcurran, and Sam Pambrun (preface). The
publication examines the alliances between
early French settlers and voyageurs and the
indigenous nations. The keynote address is
Saturday at 4 p.m. at Assumption Church
Parish Hall, 2098 E. Alder St., Walla Walla.
The Rendezvous begins earlier, with the
doors opening at 1 p.m. for silent auctions,
history displays, coffee, cookies and conver-
sation. A tri-tip dinner at 5 p.m. is catered by
Marty Bray. The evening also features a rafle
for a “Shared Spirits” Pendleton blanket,
donated by the Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation. Tickets are $35
and can be purchased at tinyurl.com/french-
townrv or by contacting any Frenchtown
Historical Foundation board member. Also,
beer and wine will be available for purchase.
The event serves as a fundraiser for the
Frenchtown Historical Foundation. The group
is committed to maintaining and developing
the Frenchtown Historic Site.
Opened Dec. 11, 2010, the historic site
includes the original sites of the St. Rose
of Lima Mission and the St. Rose Mission
Cemetery, as well as a key location for the
historic Battle of Walla Walla, also known as
the Battle of Frenchtown. Interpretive signage
provides family histories and burial records as
well as information on the Oregon Trail, the
fur trade, the interactions between local tribes
and settlers, and more. Frenchtown Historic
Site is located eight miles west of Walla Walla
on Old Highway 12.
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Contributed book cover
A round table discussion of “Songs
Upon the Rivers” by authors Michel
Bouchard and Rob Foxcurran and Sam
Pambrun (preface) is featured during the
Frenchtown Rendezvous Saturday in
Walla Walla.
The maintenance and development of the
site is made possible by contributions to the
Frenchtown Historical Foundation, as well as
by the volunteer efforts of local historians and
descendants of the original families.
For more information, contact Judy
Fortney at 509-529-8210, jafortney@q.com,
Rich Monacelli at 509-522-3763, richnan@
charter.net or visit www.frenchtownwa.org.
———
Contact Community Editor Tammy Malge-
sini at tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com or
541-564-4539
Agricultural retailers will
remain exempt from federal
safety regulations designed
to keep workers safe around
highly hazardous chemi-
cals, including anhydrous
ammonia, a widely used
farm fertilizer.
The U.S. Occupational
Safety and Health Admin-
istration requires facilities
with 10,000 pounds or more
of anhydrous ammonia to
develop rigorous inspection
guidelines and emergency
plans as part of the so-called
Process Safety Manage-
ment Standard. Retail busi-
nesses, however, have been
exempt from the standard
since it was created in 1992.
Last
year,
OSHA
narrowed the scope of its
retail exemption to lump
more
facilities
under
the rules. That came in
response to a catastrophic
chemical explosion at
a West, Texas fertilizer
company in 2013 that killed
15 people and injured more
than 160 others. The facility
had been exempt from the
standard.
Industry
groups
including The Fertilizer
Institute,
Agricultural
Retailers
Association
PENDLETON
BRIEFLY
Convention center,
hangar building
getting new roofs
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton City Council
approved two bids from
All-Surface Rooing of
Spokane, Washington, to
provide new roofs at the
Pendleton Convention
Center and a hangar
building at the Eastern
Oregon Regional Airport.
The $134,351 bid for the
convention center is already
covered in the city’s budget
while the $34,270 bid for
the hangar will be paid for
with the remainder of a
state grant.
The council also
declared a piece of Airport
Hill property vacant and
subsequently sold it for
$50,000.
The city sold the
1.68-acre parcel, which
is currently occupied by
Keylock Storage, to the
business owner.
Dinner, auction to
beneit Stanield
woman
STANFIELD — A
beneit event for Susan
Hawley is planned in
Stanield.
Hawley is relocating to a
new home and re-building
her life after an Aug. 1
house ire resulted in the
death of her husband, Eldon
Hawley.
A spaghetti dinner
is planned Friday from
5:30-7 p.m. at the Stanield
Community Center, 225 W.
Roosevelt Ave. Donations
will be accepted at the door.
Also, the event features
a dessert auction and
additional auction items,
including a 40-inch lat
screen TV, antiques, a
hunting package, a cord
of wood, a homemade
quilt and a beef package.
Everyone is invited to
provide community
support.
For more information,
contact Cheryl Tucker at
cheryltucker@q.com.
Fall brings
community
campire, hayrides
HERMISTON — With
the crisp fall air setting in,
it’s the perfect time for a
Community Campire and
Hayride.
Sponsored by Hermiston
Parks & Recreation, the
event is Friday at Riverfront
Park, Orchard Extension
Loop, Hermiston. The
hayride is from 6-8 p.m.
and the campire is from
7-9 p.m.
To help offset costs,
the hayride is $2 per
person or $8 for a family.
Marshmallows and hot
chocolate will be provided.
All ages are welcome.
For more
information, visit www.
hermistonrecreation.com,
call 541-667-5018 or stop
by the recreation ofice, 180
N.E. Second St., Hermiston.
Oregon Zoo offers
free admission
PORTLAND — River
otter activities, a reptile
encounter and swamp
monkey, penguin and bat
feeding are among the
activities planned during a
free admission day at the
Oregon Zoo.
The public is invited
to enjoy a day at the zoo
free of charge Saturday
from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
It’s located off Highway
26, ive minutes from
downtown Portland. Due
to an increased number
of visitors, people are
encouraged to take public
transit
For more information,
visit www.oregonzoo.org.
Schools to take
part in Great
Oregon ShakeOut
HERMISTON —
Hermiston schools are
participating in the Great
Oregon ShakeOut, an
activity to promote safe
behavior in the event of an
earthquake.
The drill will take place
at 10:20 a.m. on Monday,
Oct. 10. Schools, businesses
and families across the state
are encouraged to hold their
own drill at the same time.
In the event of an
earthquake, everyone
should drop to the ground,
take cover under something
sturdy, cover their head and
neck with their arms and
hold on until the shaking
stops. Those who are
already indoors should stay
indoors. Those who are
outdoors should stay on the
ground away from trees,
buildings, power lines or
other items that could fall
on them. Anyone in a car
should pull over in a clear
area and stay in the car with
their seatbelt on until the
shaking stops, then proceed
with caution over any
bridges or ramps that may
have been damaged.
For more information,
or to register to participate
in the Great Oregon
ShakeOut, visit www.
shakeout.org.
Film screening
spins some yarn
PENDLETON — Fiber
enthusiasts will have a full
weekend of activities to
enjoy.
Pendleton Center for
the Arts’ monthly Spin-In
is Saturday from noon to
4 p.m. at 214 N. Main St.
Spinners, knitters, weavers,
felters, iber enthusiasts
and folks who are just
iber-curious are invited to
drop in for conversation and
creativity.
Then, on Sunday, a
screening of “Yarn,” a new
ilm by Una Lorenzen,
will be shown Sunday at 4
p.m. at The Prodigal Son
Brewery & Pub, 230 S.E.
Court Ave., Pendleton.
The independent ilm
features iber artists who are
redeining the tradition of
knit and crochet — bringing
yarn out of the house and
into the world. An $8
donation is requested, but
no one will be turned away.
Food and beverages are
available for purchase.
For more information
about either event, call
541-278-9201.
Parking lot sale
beneits Agape
House
HERMISTON —
Clothing, furniture and
knick-knacks are available
during a parking lot sale at
Agape House.
The event is Saturday
from 8:30-11:30 a.m. at 500
Harper Road, Hermiston.
Clothing will be priced at
three items for a dollar,
furnitures is priced as
marked and knick-knacks
are you name the price.
Donations for the sale are
welcome through Friday.
Agape House serves
individuals and families in
need. For more information,
call 541-567-8774.
Dads take the cake
HERMISTON — An
annual tradition at West
Park Elementary School has
dads assisting their kids in
the kitchen.
and several individual
businesses challenged the
decision in federal court,
arguing OSHA did not
follow proper notice-and-
comment procedures in
making the change.
On Sept. 28, the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia ruled
in favor of the plaintiffs,
ensuring retailers will keep
their exempt status.
“Of course, nothing in
our decision necessarily
calls into question the
substance of OSHA’s deci-
sion to narrow the exemp-
tion for retail facilities,”
the ruling reads. “We hold
only that, insofar as OSHA
does so, it must follow the
notice-and-comment proce-
dures for standards set forth
in the (Occupational Safety
and Health) Act.”
Chris
Leason,
an
attorney with the Phoe-
nix-based Gallagher &
Kennedy, represented The
Fertilizer Institute during
the case, which he said
will help prevent adverse
economic impacts on local
farmers and consumers.
Compliance costs for 3,800
retailers that would have
gone under the OSHA stan-
dard were estimated at $100
million, Leason said, which
would have forced some
businesses to go under or
raise their prices, which
would have rippled down
the supply chain.
“This obviously keeps
ammonia, the most cost-ef-
fective and readily avail-
able source of nitrogen, in
the market for farmers,”
Leason said.
When the Process Safety
Management Standard was
established, Leason said it
was originally intended for
large manufacturers — not
small retailers, where the
regulations are costly,
burdensome and unneces-
sary.
“Many of the facilities
are small businesses with
only a few employees,
and could not handle the
burden of complying with
the (standard) in the tight
time frame requirement,”
he said.
Farmers used 28,649
tons of anhydrous ammonia
in 2012, Leason said, which
ranked 19th in the country.
With the exemption in
place, he said retailers will
be able to continue distrib-
uting fertilizer to the farms
both timely and effectively.
It is not yet certain
whether OSHA will try to
appeal the court’s decision.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
In its 58th year, the
Dad’s Cake Bake &
Auction is Monday at 6
p.m. in the school’s multi-
purpose room, 555 S.W.
Seventh St., Hermiston.
Dads need to drop cakes
off between 3:30-5:30 p.m.
The public is invited to
look at the cakes, as well
as bid on them. Ribbons
will be awarded for the
most humorous cake, most
original, best theme and
the most elaborate cake. In
addition, ive honorable
mention prizes will be
awarded.
Money raised from the
event will be used by the
West Park PTO Group. For
more information, contact
mary.gorham@hermiston.
k12.or.us.
Tot Time provides
fun environment
PENDLETON — Fun
music and lots of play
things are available during
Tot Time.
Sponsored by Pendleton
Parks & Recreation, the
environment is provided
and parents provide the
creativity. The program is
open to little ones not in
school.
The fee is $1 per
participating child. No
registration is required;
the activity is on a drop-in
basis Mondays from 10-11
a.m. at the Pendleton
Recreation Center, 510
S.W. Dorion Ave.
For more
information, visit www.
pendletonparksandrec.com
or call 541-276-8100.
County readies to auction
off Sunridge Estates
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
The 21 lots in foreclo-
sure at Sunridge Estates in
Pendleton are going up for
auction.
The Umatilla County
Board of Commissioners
met Wednesday morning
in Pendleton and set the
auction for Nov. 1 at 10 a.m.
in room 130 at the Umatilla
County Courthouse, 216
S.E. Fourth St., Pendleton.
The lots are part of a
failed local improvement
district off Tutuilla Road in
Pendleton’s southern end.
Paul Chalmers, county
tax assessor and Pendleton
city councilor, told the
county board the intent is to
offer the lots as a package.
If that fails, though, the
county would auction
individual lots.
The county is seeking
minimum bids equivalent to
the real market value of the
property. Lots range from
$36,050 to $110,250.
Chalmers said he expects
some of the lots to go for
their market value. But for
those that don’t sell, the
county can wait 30 days and
accept offers for 15 percent
of the market value.
The board also approved
a half-time specialist posi-
tion for suicide prevention.
Umatilla County Public
Health Department received
the Garrett Lee Smith
Suicide Prevention Grant
that provides $65,000 a
year for three years to
support suicide prevention
work. Alisha Southwick,
the county’s wellness and
school health supervisor,
told the board suicide is the
leading cause of death for
15- to 35-year-old males
(although statistics from the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention cite other
causes) and the county has
seen an increase in suicides
since 2011.
She also said the new
position will deal with how
to prevent “contagion” —
the spread of suicide or
suicidal behaviors.
And in other business,
the board reviewed the
new county law to set
fees for the on-site septic
inspection program, which
the county planning and
environmental
health
departments are assuming
from the state. The fees go
into effect Nov. 1.
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.
300 Block of Main Street
Music: Kupenga Marimba
Market kids: BMCC Early Childhood Education
Market Kitchen: St. Anthony Hospital
First Friday - Fun Friday
Join us weekends
400 block hosting a
Children’s Museum Block Party &
the Great Pacific Beer Garden.
to view the fall colors and
enjoy the crisp fall air
OCTOBER 21 ST is the
Th ank you for another great season!
in October
SEE YOU AGAIN 2017 SEASON: MAY 20 thru
OCTOBER • 5 DAYS A WEEK
NEXT YEAR
Pedal through the beautiful Wallowa Valley
Book now at www.jbrailriders.com
E-mail jbrailriders@gmail.com
LAST MARKET of 2016!!!!