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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 2016)
Page 8A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian STOVES: ‘Pendleton has been really proactive’ Continued from 1A flame dancing over realis- tic-looking imitation logs. He said family gravitates to the fireplace these days to relax in its cozy ambiance. “It simulates a regular fireplace quite nicely,” Oja said. “It heats the whole (2,500-square-foot) house and supplements the forced air heat.” Oja said he stumbled on the stove replacement program. “I looked around for incentives,” he said. “I came across the city’s program through a Google search.” He learned he could borrow up to $3,500 and pay the interest-free loan back over five years. The city website listed all the condi- tions. He must apply, select an approved heating system, select a contractor, get a mechanical permit, undergo an inspection and provide a certificate from Pendleton Sanitary Service verifying disposal of the old stove or insert. The to-do list might seem daunting, he said, but in practice it was simple. “The contractor came and took the old stove out, hauled it to the transfer center and got a certificate of disposal to prove it was out of circula- tion,” Oja said. “They did all the paperwork and it couldn’t have been easier.” That’s music to the ears of regulatory specialist Klaus Hoehna, who works with Pendleton’s Air Quality Commission to educate the public about air quality, oversee the stove replacement program and generate daily air quality forecasts during the winter. The commission consists of volunteers from the healthcare community, the National Weather Service and other areas of interest. Hoehna came out of retirement after a military career several years ago to become the city’s regulatory specialist. He estimated that the number of polluting wood- stoves in the city has dropped from about 900 to 400 – 188 were replaced using city loans. The air got steadily clearer since the program’s launch in 2000 until 2007 when it hit a plateau after use of the program slowed. Air quality still dives period- ically when the air becomes cold and stagnant. In June, the commission recommended that the city council expand the program geographically to three miles outside city limits. “The commission felt there was still an issue with particulate matter coming in from the south and south- west (Reith and McKay Creek areas),” Hoehna said. “Everyone will benefit — both city and country dwellers. The council saw the wisdom in that.” He said the three-mile increase isn’t a hard and fast rule and allows for some professional judgment to determine eligibility. He said going outside city limits meant involving non-city agencies and getting the blessings of Umatilla County, the state Building Codes Division and the DEQ. Sakata, of the DEQ, described Pendleton’s program as unique, innova- tive and self-sustaining. “Nationally, lots of folks look to what Pendleton is doing,” Sakata said. Statewide, she said, two cities — Klamath Falls and Oakridge — are considered “nonattainment areas,” meaning they aren’t meeting EPA standards. Eight more cities, she said, are on the bubble. Pendleton isn’t one of them. “Pendleton has been really proactive,” she said. ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810. PERKINSON: Will be sworn in at council’s Dec. 20 meeting Continued from 1A bench in the past, Perkinson said he was compelled to apply for the job after receiving encouragement from some of the colleagues and judges he works with. Jeff Wallace resigned the bench in November. Perkinson said one of the municipal court’s greatest weaknesses is that it isn’t a court of record, which means cases can be appealed to the circuit court and receive a different ruling. But he added that the municipal court still plays an important role in city government. “Part of the beauty of having a municipal court is the fact that it enables local management of local issues by a local person,” he said. Perkinson also addressed concerns from Mayor Phillip Houk about his ability to juggle an active law practice with his judicial duties. The municipal court is in session three times a week, mostly in the mornings, with the occa- sional day-long jury trial. “Planning far enough in advance eliminates that issue,” he said. The triumvirate competing with Perkinson for the position was a group of judge pro tems who have filled in for the municipal judge when he wasn’t avail- able. The group was comprised of Tim O’Hanlon of the Mautz & O’Hanlon law firm in Pendleton, former Umatilla County district attorney Dave Gallaher and Hermiston attorney Tom Ditton. Under the group’s plan, O’Hanlon would act as the presiding judge while Gallaher and Ditton would regularly rotate in to handle duties. The goal would be for each judge to handle one day each week. In a letter of to the city council, O’Hanlon wrote that he proposed the plan because of the scarcity of lawyers willing to take the job. “One of the biggest problems is that the higher qualified attorney attorneys in town generally have busy, lucrative practices or, if retired, have busy, active lives,” he wrote. “(Retiring municipal court) Judge (Jeff) Wallace is no exception. His criminal practice grew after he retired as Circuit Court Judge to the point he could not dedicate the time neces- sary to serve as municipal judge.” In an interview after the meeting, Houk said the group proposed billing the city at an $150 per hour rate, using the municipal judge’s $27,900 salary as a budget they could draw from. If the salary ran out before the year ended, the trio would work the remainder of the year for free until they could negotiate higher pay. Despite the novel concept, councilor Tom Young said he preferred the judge’s seat be occupied by only one person. “I’m a traditionalist,” he said. “I definitely prefer having (one) judge. I think there’s consistency that’s beneficial.” Councilor McKennon McDonald said she like the idea of a shared bench because it gave the city a chance to keep the seat filled for a longer period of time. The council voted 5-2 to appoint Perkinson to the municipal judgeship, with McDonald and councilor Jake Cambier voting against. Councilor Neil Brown recused himself from the discussion and vote, saying that Perkinson was handling a lawsuit that could affect his family. Despite their defeat, the group agreed to stay on as judge pro tems. Perkinson will replace Wallace at the beginning of the year and will be sworn in at the council’s Dec. 20 meeting. Perkinson will earn the same $27,900 salary in addition to health benefits and $1,150 city contribution to a health savings account. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. TRUMP: Gen. Kelly has a reputation as a border hawk Continued from 1A tainment, Linda McMahon, to head the Small Business Administration. Trump’s long presidential campaign was in large part defined by searing rhetoric and his steadfast promises to build an impenetrable wall on the border with Mexico and crack down on immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. But he struck a softer tone in an interview published Wednesday after he was named Time Maga- zine’s “Person of the Year.” “We’re going to work something out that’s going to make people happy and proud,” Trump said. “They got brought here at a very young age; they’ve worked here, they’ve gone to school here. Some were good students. Some have wonderful jobs. And they’re in never-never land because they don’t know what’s going to happen.” He offered no details about a policy that would make that clear. During the campaign, Trump’s tough comments — including a vow to overturn President Barack Obama’s executive orders on immigration — have led to fears among immigrant advocates that he will end Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Hundreds of thou- sands of young immigrants have gained work permits and temporary protection from deportation under the 2012 program, which aides to Trump have said would be revisited. Others continue to press the immigrants’ case. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel presented Trump a letter Wednesday from 14 big city mayors urging him to keep the program intact. “They were working hard toward the American dream,” Emmanuel told reporters in lobby of Trump’s skyscraper. “It’s no fault of their own their parents came here. They are something we should hold up and embrace.” Though some immigrant advocates hope Trump’s words were an olive branch, others were skeptical. Meanwhile, Trump moved toward making another addition to the collection of generals in his Cabinet, settling on Kelly to head Homeland Security, according to people close to transition. Gen. Kelly, who joined the Marine Corps in 1970, retired this year after a final command that included oversight of the Guantanamo Bay detention center. He has a reputation as a border hawk after a time in the Southern Command, which is based in South Florida and regularly works with Homeland Security on missions to identify and dismantle immigrant smug- Holiday Remembrance Program Please Join in our our 8th 4th annual annual remembrance remembrance program in program honoring honoring and and celebrating the loved loved ones ones we we have have lost lost celebrating the the special special lives of the Tuesday, December 2016 • 7:00 Tuesday, December 13th, 13, 2011 • 7:00 pm pm 131 SE Byers Ave • Pendleton, Oregon Please call us and we will place the name of your loved one on an ornament for you to place on the tree. (541) 276-1221 Fellowship and refeshments following gling networks. Trump also picked Pruitt, a longtime critic of the EPA, to head that same agency, according to person close to Pruitt who was not authorized to speak publicly about the choice before it was announced. The move comes just after Trump met with former Vice President Al Gore, who is an environ- mental activist, and said he had “an open mind” about honoring the Paris climate accords. That gave hope to some environmentalists, but on Wednesday Trump’s apparent decision was denounced by Democrats. Thursday, December 8, 2016 UMATILLA: This week marked 100-year anniversary of the Petticoat Revolution Continued from 1A on the plat, is public or private. request for a zoning change. Wick’s revised proposal before the council on Tuesday would expand the lots to 10,000 square feet and leave the eight lots facing Willamette Avenue zoned for commercial use, resulting in a housing devel- opment with 24 new homes paired with sizable yards. “We’re capable of providing whatever it is the community needs and what everyone feels good about,” Wick said. “It’s better these things are discussed.” Councilor Mary Dedrick said she wasn’t sure that people looking for high- er-end homes would be interested in a home next to a mini-mart and said she would like to see the whole property zoned residential now that Wick had agreed to build on larger lots. Wick said the strip of commercial property along Willamette Avenue could always be turned into a residential zone later if the council wanted to revisit it, but approving his request for a rezoning of the rest of the property would let him get started. “This decision tonight is going to keep Arnie going,” city manager Russ Pelleberg told the council. “I think he’s been held up long enough.” The council agreed, voting 5-0 to direct the planning department to draw up an official ordi- nance rezoning most of the property to residential. 100 year milestone Property dispute On Tuesday the council also heard an appeal for a property dispute between two Umatilla landowners on Riverside Avenue, but decided to put off a deci- sion until Dec. 20 to give councilors time to digest the extensive testimony they heard from both parties and their attorneys. Tom and Janis Carey applied to the city this summer for a replat of their property that would erase a 20-foot-wide easement on their land that currently allows the neighboring property owners vehicle access to the shop at the back of their property. City planner Bill Searles granted the request. Neighbors Teri and Kevin Petersen appealed the decision to the city’s planning commission, which reversed it. The Careys are asking the city council to uphold Searles’ original decision. Under Oregon law city staff can erase a public ease- ment during the replatting process but not a private one. A central question in the case is whether the easement, which is merely marked “access easement” This week marked the 100-year anniversary of one of the city of Umatilla’s most famous events, a political coup known as the Petticoat Revolution that made national headlines. It was four years before the 19th Amendment would guarantee women the right to vote, but in Oregon that right had already been extended to them. Fed up with the way the men were running the tiny town, on Dec. 5, 1916, the women of Umatilla quietly staged a write-in campaign against their husbands. When the votes were counted and recounted, Laura Starcher had beaten her husband Mayor E.E. Starcher by 26 votes in a town of 198 residents. She was joined by female city councilors Anna Means, Florence Brownell, Stella Paulu and Gladys Spinning (two male city councilors who had not been up for re-election retained their seats) along with city recorder Bertha Cheney. Some newspapers of the time mistakenly called Starcher the country’s first female mayor, but Argonia, Kansas, had a female mayor in 1887 and the town of Kanab, Utah, elected a female mayor and all-female town council in 1912 after no men expressed interest in running. According to the Oregon History Project, after Umatilla’s Petti- coat Revolution “the council improved water and electrical services, approved funds for street and sidewalk projects, and organized city Cleanup Weeks. Additional accom- plishments included new railroad crossing signs, the founding of a town library, replacement of the city’s American flags, institution of monthly garbage collec- tion, planning for future community projects, and the appointment of a city health official during a 1918 smallpox epidemic.” Starcher resigned from her post a year early due to health reasons and was succeeded by two more female mayors. Umatilla continues its century-old history of female city councilors today with Mary Dedrick and Sharon Farnsworth. Dedrick said Tuesday after the council meeting that she enjoyed being a part of that tradition. “Women rule!” she said, summing up her feelings on the subject. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536.
