REGION
Friday, October 14, 2016
Storm’s a brewin’
Weather service says
precipitation could be
signs of things to come
Staff photo by Antonio Sierra
Senior meteorologist G.K. Hepburn points a map tracking airline lights
across the northwest Thursday during a tour of the National Weather
Service station in Pendleton.
forecast to experience gusts up to 55
miles per hour.
While Umatilla County winds
should be less powerful — Pendleton’s
gusts aren’t supposed to surpass 35
miles per hour — Weber said the strong
southern winds might not dissipate
until Monday.
“There might be hope on the
horizon: on Thursday,” said Weber,
who said temperatures might rebound
to the upper 60s and 70s by then.
Despite a potential reprieve, the
weather service is expecting winter
conditions could prove wet and snowy.
Meteorologist Mike Murphy said
there’s a 70 percent chance a La Niña
effect could occur — a cooling of the
water in the Paciic Ocean that would
mean average winter temperatures in
Eastern Oregon with above average
precipitation.
Hydrologist Marilyn Lohman said
the increase in rain and snow should
help the region improve the drought
conditions its experience for the past
few years.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@
eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836.
HERMISTON
Construction of rodeo arena begins
Lease on old fairgrounds ends Dec. 31
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Months after the Eastern
Oregon Trade and Event
Center’s irst building was
completed, dirt is moving
again on the EOTEC
grounds.
Construction of the rodeo
arena is underway, overseen
by Hendon Construction of
Umatilla.
“This is a very exciting
time for the EOTEC Board,
and for Umatilla County as
a whole,” EOTEC Board
Chairman Byron Smith said
in a written statement.
Despite some delays,
members of the board and of
Hendon Construction have
said they feel conident the
arena will be done in time
to host the Farm-City Pro
Rodeo in August 2017 — an
important deadline, consid-
ering the old arena will no
longer be available.
The Hermiston School
District
purchased
the
Umatilla County Fair-
grounds, including the land
the rodeo arena sits on,
in 2012. The $3 million
payment helped provide the
Page 3A
PENDLETON
Wicked Kitty owner
drug bust yielded
pain killers, steroids
The
“Scheduled”
charges refer to drugs
under
the
federal
Substances
Court records show Controlled
police found an opioid Act. The Schedule IV drug
pain killer and an anabolic in this case is Tramadol,
steroid in the drug bust a opioid pain medication,
and the Schedule
of
downtown
III drug is meth-
Pendleton busi-
androstenolone,
ness owner Jason
an
anabolic
Lybrand.
steroid
with
The
Blue
several
trade
M o u n t a i n
names, including
Enforcement
Dianabol, and on
Narcotics Team
the street goes by
on
Tuesday
“Dbol.”
arrested Lybrand,
Pendleton
45, at his busi-
Police
Chief
ness,
Wicked Lybrand
Stuart Roberts
Kitty Tattoo &
Piercing, 132 S. Main said information investiga-
St., Pendleton, following tors gathered on Lybrand
a
court-sanctioned from people in the local
search of his vehicles in drug scene indicated he
September. The Umatilla had a reputation as a
County District Attorney’s “one-stop shop” for illegal
Ofice on Wednesday substances. The narcotics
morning in Pendleton team during its search
charged Lybrand with the also found 11.7 grams of
and
following, according to methamphetamine
a copy of the indictment: 10.3 pounds of marijuana,
two counts of delivery of some of which was ready
methamphetamine; two for shipping.
Circuit Judge Lynn
counts of possession of
meth; delivery of 5 grams Hampton set Lybrand’s
or more of marijuana; bail at $150,000, He
possession of a Scheduled remained in the Umatilla
III substance; and posses- County Jail, Pendleton,
sion of a Scheduled IV as of Thursday. His next
court hearing is Nov. 3.
substance.
———
The court entered
Contact Phil Wright at
pleas of not guilty to each
charge, according to the pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
records.
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Every three years, the National
Weather Service in Pendleton opens its
doors to the public. It offers people the
chance to ask the region’s most qual-
iied people one of the world’s most
popular questions: How’s the weather?
High school students and weather
enthusiasts converged on the service
station for it’s open house. This one
happened to take place on the eve of a
signiicant meteorological event.
A strong storm is set to hit Oregon
Thursday night, with gusts expected
to reach up to 85 miles per hour on
the beach, 65 miles per hour in coastal
communities and 50 miles per hour in
the Willamette Valley and the Columbia
River Gorge.
From Thursday to Saturday, the
weather service is anticipating rainfall
ranging from 3-4 inches in the valley to
6-10 inches on the coast.
Although the west side will receive
the brunt of the storm, meteorologist
Douglas Weber said Eastern Oregon
wouldn’t be spared from above average
wind conditions.
Weber said a wind advisory is in
effect for much of Eastern Oregon from
6 p.m. Thursday to 6 p.m. Friday, with
Heppner-Fossil-Condon area under a
high wind warning, the latter town is
East Oregonian
seed money for EOTEC, and
since then the county has
been leasing the land from
the school district. That lease
ends on Dec. 31.
On Wednesday Umatilla
County Commissioner Larry
Givens told the East Orego-
nian the school district had
declined to extend the lease
to June in order to allow
events such as collegiate
rodeo to take place.
Mike Kay, executive
director of operations for
the school district, said the
district offered to extend
the county’s lease through
June 1, 2017, using the same
terms as the current lease,
but that was “not acceptable”
to the county.
However, he said that the
district has reached out to the
groups that were planning
to hold events there and is
working to make sure those
events continue to stay in
Hermiston. The Hermiston
Senior Center has extended
its lease to June.
Kay said the school board
would be discussing the
district’s post-lease plans for
the property during its next
meeting.
Randy Hull of the
Hermiston Horse Sale
Extravaganza said he still
planned to hold the February
and May sales at the old fair-
grounds, in cooperation with
the school district, before
moving to EOTEC as soon
as it is ready.
“I have every intention to
stay in Hermiston,” he said.
The county, meanwhile,
has until Dec. 31 to move all
of the fair’s equipment over
to the EOTEC grounds. The
county commission recently
approved $30,000 to build
a secure storage site there,
but also laid off fair manager
Don Slone and maintenance
head Ed Peterson, leaving
ofice
assistant
Angie
McNalley as the lone county
employee at EOTEC after
Saturday.
Commissioner
Larry Givens said there has
been no decision about who
will manage the 2017 fair.
As
construction
of
the rodeo arena begins,
Kay (who volunteers as a
member of the rodeo board
in addition to his job at the
school district) said the
rodeo board is grateful to
Hendon Construction for
stepping up and making it
possible to inish the arena in
time for the 2017 Farm-City
Pro Rodeo.
“We’re very excited to
be able to put these plans in
motion,” he said.
Smith said in a news
release that in addition to
starting construction on the
rodeo arena, a contract for
purchase of the barns to host
the Umatilla County Fair in
2017 should be ready for
approval during the EOTEC
board’s Oct. 21 meeting.
He said the EOTEC
project in its entirety will
result in a facility that can
meet the region’s needs
while not asking the commu-
nity’s taxpayers to shoulder
“crippling debt” to pay for it.
“Too often with the
development of large public
facilities like this, the
stakeholders get too anxious
and end up making poor
business decisions which
end up saddling the public
with major long-term prop-
erty tax debt,” he said. “The
community should be very
proud that their patience and
generosity has allowed the
EOTEC Board to develop
this project in a logical and
iscally responsible manner.”
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
HERMISTON
Music professor to
present performance
anxiety workshop
East Oregonian
The Umatilla-Morrow
District of the Oregon Music
Teachers Association, in
partnership with the Oregon
Community
Foundation
and the Nellie Tholen Fund,
will present a free workshop
for music teachers on
performance anxiety.
The event is Saturday,
Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. to noon
at the Hermiston Church of
Christ of Latter-day Saints,
850 S.W. 11th St. Diane
Baxter, professor of music at
Western Oregon University,
will present “Stepping
into the Light: Thoughts
on Performance Anxiety.”
The workshop is open
to all who are interested;
no
pre-registration,
membership or fee is
required.
Performance anxiety is a
complex topic that involves
how people think, feel and
behave. The results of it
may range from mildly
discomforting to completely
paralyzing. The workshop
will introduce some of
the causes of performance
anxiety and will offer some
tips on how to do your best
under duress.
Baxter is editor of The
Oregon Musician, a journal
for the Oregon Music
Teachers Association. The
association strives to foster
productive
relationships
with schools, organizations,
businesses and the media to
promote music everywhere.
For more information,
contact Sue Nelson at
musicdoc3@mac.com,
541-276-0346 or visit
www.oregonmta.org.
PORT: Has already invested around $50 million in infrastructure to serve the dock
Continued from 1A
“Though we are disap-
pointed for our Morrow
Paciic Project supporters, we
are very excited to commence
delivery of products to our
customers,” King said.
Though Lighthouse has
stepped aside, the Port of
Morrow will continue to
ight to build a new dock. Joe
Taylor, president of the Port
Commission, said they have
already invested around $50
million in rail infrastructure
to serve the site.
“This new dock will allow
us to ship commodities in the
same manner as our existing
facilities,” Taylor said.
“Without this dock, hundreds
of jobs and millions of dollars
are at stake for Morrow
“It’s time to turn the page on coal
exports in the Paciic Northwest.”
— Jan Hasselman, attorney for Earthjustice
and Umatilla counties, and
Oregon.”
Gary Neal, the port’s
general manager, said he
feels the state’s decision to
deny the dock permit was
politically motivated. Coyote
Island Terminal would be
built along a stretch of river
in the port’s East Beach
Industrial Park, between
two existing terminals: one
to ship grain, and another to
ship biofuels.
Neal is not sure what
commodities
might
be
handled at the new dock, but
unless they build now, he said
companies will continue to
take their business elsewhere.
“If you don’t have
something available, those
opportunities pass you by,”
Neal said. “It’s unfortunate
we lost Lighthouse for the
jobs and capital investment.
That commodity is moving.
It’s just moving through
Canada now.”
Chuck Sams, spokesman
for the Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation, said the tribes
maintain their stance that the
project would harm tribal
ishing rights guaranteed by
the Treaty of 1855.
“Again, we’re not against
economic development in
any way, unless it interferes
with or infringes on our
treaty rights, which are guar-
anteed by both the treaty and
the U.S. Constitution,” Sams
said.
Jan
Hasselman,
attorney for Earthjustice
who represents Columbia
Riverkeeper
and
other
environmental groups, said
Lighthouse’s decision to
abandon the project in the
middle of its own appeal
shows the project never had
a legitimate chance to move
forward.
“It’s time to turn the page
on coal exports in the Paciic
Northwest,” Hasselman said.
The port believes other-
wise. It purchased the land
along the shore back in
1967 from the Army Corps,
Neal said. The land had
been condemned after it was
looded by the construction
of the John Day Dam. Under
the terms of the agreement,
the now-looded land was to
be used for “port or industrial
facilities.”
The
Coyote
Island
Terminal is just one of two
remaining sites for major
industrial development in
the John Day Pool of the
Columbia River, Neal said.
Mark Your Calendars!
OCTOB
3rd Annual Crab Feed
21
Mission Longhouse
(aka Crab Shack)
October 21st @ 5pm
Tickets are $25 each (All You Can Eat!)
October 14th • 5:30 pm
• Homemade
Mac ‘n Cheese
Contact Lisa to Purchase at
541.278.7542
All Profi ts Go Toward
Building of the New
Yellowhawk Tribal
Health Center
Or email lisafusselman@yellowhawk.org
Or via PayPal by visiting
http://yellowhawk.org/crab-feed/
• Salad Bar
• Rolls and Dessert
Proceeds to benefit Pendleton Elks’ Charities
Pendleton Elks Lodge #288 14 SE 3rd, Pendleton
509-948-2163 • 541-276-3882
ER
The 3rd Annual Yellowhawk Crab Feed
will be held at the
Friday Night D inner
Fried
Chicken
The Department of State
Lands found the proposal
did not adequately consider
alternatives that would have
less impact on the river and
tribal isheries.
“We just need to convince
the (state) they were incor-
rect,” Neal said.
A hearing is scheduled
on the appeal before an
administrative law judge in
November.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
YELLOWHAWK
TRIBAL HEALTH
CENTER
Entertainment: James Dean Kindle
and the Eastern Oregon Playboys