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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2016)
Page 8A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Tuesday, December 13, 2016 TRADE: Cafeteria doubles as an event space TRIAL: Government asked for a 60-day delay Continued from 1A Continued from 1A to the old district office across the street while the old Hawthorne School was renovated into the Pendleton Early Learning Center. The Pendleton Tech and Trade Center will be the last major project completed from the district’s $55 million bond. Thompson sees the center as an extension of the high school campus that will allow students from both schools to move freely between them. Besides the alternative high school classrooms, Thompson showed Hawthorne students some of the CTE spaces they could inhabit with their Pend- leton High peers, like the labs with the 3-D printer and the milling machine. Perhaps the most compre- hensive section of the center was the wing for the culinary program, which has risen in prominence over the past few years. The center’s cafeteria also doubles as an event space for community meetings or open air cafe (the room has retract- able, wall-length windows) catered by the culinary program. Once culinary students learn a new recipe in a Monday’s filing in U.S. District Court in Portland indicates that the govern- ment is not backing down despite the Oct. 27 acquittal of the occupation’s leaders, brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy, and five others. Both groups faced the same charges: felony conspiracy to impede federal officers from doing their job and possession of a firearm in a federal facility. But prosecutors appear to be padding their luck with the misdemeanor counts. Those plans make sense, legal experts said, particularly in light of how the first jury saw the case. “I think one of the diffi- culties of this case always was that the actual felony charges didn’t exactly fit what the government theory was and, in an odd way, the misdemeanor charges might,” said Laurie Levenson, a law professor and former federal prose- Staff photo by E.J. Harris Principal Curt Thompson talks to Hawthorne students in a remodeled classroom Monday at the Pendleton Tech and Trade Center. customized classroom with a stove and live video feed, they can jump into the profes- sional-grade kitchen with a walk-in refrigerator and an industrial dishwasher that can wash a load in 30 seconds. “This kitchen is as nice as you’ll see anywhere,” Thompson said. “Even in a big fancy hotel in Vegas.” Thompson assured students that they would be able to access the high- level culinary and robotics classes that will be held at the center. Although those classes usually have lower-level prerequisites at Pendleton High School that conflict with the Hawthorne schedule, Thompson said those requirements would be waived for alternative students. Although the tour was accompanied by the usual wisecracks, Hawthorne students also characterized the new facility as “sick” and “legit.” Even as work crews continue to put the finishing touches on the new school, Thompson said further expansion could be in the cards for the Pendleton Tech and Trade Center. BOND: District’s last survey indicated that 46 percent of likely voters supported the bond Continued from 1A Heights and Highland Hills are not safe schools. We owe it to our students to have safe schools.” Right now the district is using 34 modular classrooms to handle overflow and super- intendent Fred Maiocco said that number could be as high as 50 in two years. The district was using 20 portable class- rooms when voters approved a $69.9 million bond in 2008 to replace and expand multiple schools. Since then the district has grown by an additional 600 students, beating Port- land State University’s most aggressive projections for yearly growth. The district’s last survey indicated that 46 percent of likely voters supported the bond and 48 percent did not, leaving about 6 percent undecided. Maiocco said waiting until May 2019 could give the district more opportunities to educate those undecided voters, but could also make the district lose the momentum it has built after a three year process putting together an in-depth facilities master plan. From a financial stand- point, waiting two more years would mean more of the district’s previous bonds would be paid off. On the other hand, Maiocco said, construction costs are rising at about 1 percent a month with no end in sight, so delaying construction by two years would raise the cost of building the schools. Another consideration is the Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching Program, which has provided $4 million matching grants to several other Eastern Oregon schools that recently passed bonds. The May election would be the last time the money would be available, although Maiocco said even that is not a sure thing anymore after Governor Kate Brown’s recent budget proposal recommended that program be ended early. If legislators listen to pushback from schools and keep it for one last election cycle, however, Hermiston would be eligible for $5.76 million under the current matrix. If Hermiston does not get those matching funds, Maiocco said the district would still be able to build the schools but would not have the $5 million it has built into the bond to purchase new property that would be kept in reserve for the next time the district needs to build a new school. Board member Dave Smith said that there is “no doubt” the district has done its homework, and that the need is there. Waiting two years to go for the bond, he said, would only make it more expensive. Board member Josh Goller agreed, and added that it would also mean two more years of less-than-ideal class- rooms for students. “Our students get one shot at those grade levels,” he said. Sherman also pointed to the maintenance problems of the older schools, and the recent analysis showing $846,075 in cost savings over five years thanks to the energy efficiency of the district’s new schools. On Monday the board discussed one example of a maintenance problem in the part of the high school built in 1992, which would be replaced during the proposed expansion. Freezing tempera- tures caused a water line in the school’s fire suppression system to burst on Thursday, flooding the math and science classrooms, hallways, kitchen and commons area. The school was evacuated for 14 minutes due to safety concerns about the mixture of water and electrical fixtures, then the gym was cleared for use by students waiting for a bus to take them home. Maiocco had high praise for the response of the district’s custodial staff, which rushed to answer the “all hands on deck” call, and O So Kleen, which responded within 20 minutes to begin cleanup. All classrooms were back in use by Monday morning. “Within two and a half hours all the water was picked up ... It was just absolutely amazing how fast that whole team came together and got things done,” Maiocco said. He said insurance adjusters had examined the damage, and there was still extensive cosmetic work that would need to be done over the winter break. The board approved the emergency funding request, with an abstention from Smith, who owns O So Kleen. cutor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “It gives the jury more options and room to compromise — and it still sets them up for a convic- tion,” she said. Those charges also would allow the govern- ment to seize any property used in the crimes if the defendants are convicted, said Tung Yin, a criminal law professor at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland. The provision is more commonly used in drug cases to go after prop- erty purchased with drug proceeds, he said. In this case, the prop- erty could include guns, personal vehicles and other belongings the defendants used during the takeover, said Andrew M. Kohlmetz, lawyer for defendant Jason Patrick. The government also asked for a 60-day delay for the trial, which was to begin in February, a request opposed by all the defense attorneys, Kohlmetz said. The heavily armed occupiers seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2 to protest the imprisonment of two Oregon ranchers convicted for setting fires on public land and demand the federal government turn over public lands to local control. Federal prosecutors took two weeks to present their case against the first seven defendants, finishing with a display of more than 30 guns seized after the standoff. During trial, Ammon Bundy testified that the plan was to take ownership of the refuge by occupying it for a period of time and then turn it over to local officials to use as they saw fit. He also said the occupiers carried guns because they would have been arrested immediately otherwise and to protect themselves against possible government attack. RIVER: Annual salmon returns around 16M fish Continued from 1A toxins in the river,” Merkley said. “Now, Congress is finally doing something about it.” The Columbia River is the largest river in the Northwest, with a drainage basin roughly the size of France. It is historically the largest salmon-producing river system in the world, with annual returns peaking at around 16 million fish. However, the basin is the only large aquatic ecosystem in the U.S. that receives no dedicated funding to clean up and monitor toxic chemicals. The EPA has identified numerous toxins in the basin, including arsenic, lead, pesticides and flame retardants. High levels of pollutants can build up in the fatty tissue of fish and lamprey, which are consumed by people and can cause significant health problems and birth defects. “Preserving and protecting the river is a must to ensure the river remains the clean and healthy lifeblood of our region,” Wyden said. The program does not add any new EPA regulations. The bill was supported by the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission — repre- senting the Umatilla, Yakama, Warm Springs and Nez Perce tribes — as well as the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership and Salm- on-Safe. Local tribes also praised another bill contained within the Water Resources Development that will ensure the return of the Kennewick Man, or Ancient One, for a proper burial. “Thanks to the support of almost the entire Pacific Northwest delegation, it now looks like the Ancient One will soon return home,” said Aaron Ashley, member of the Confeder- ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees and chairman of the CTUIR Cultural Resources Committee. “When he does, we will both mourn and rejoice as he is finally laid to rest with our ancestors. After a very long time, this is a hopeful moment for our people.” Remains of the Kenne- wick Man were discovered in 1996 on federal land near the Columbia River. In 2015, new genetic evidence determined the remains were closer to modern American Indians than any other population, according to a report by the Associated Press. The Umatilla, Yakama, Nez Perce and Colville tribes, along with the Wanapum Band, will lay the Ancient One to rest at an undisclosed location. The remains must first be trans- ferred from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, which is handling repatriation. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0825. Sun Terrace Hermiston At Sun Terrace Hermiston we engage in a philosophy that is centered on Bringing Independence to Living and Quality to Life for the residents we serve. Sun Terrace Hermiston offers retirement and assisted living options with compassionate care in a professionally managed, carefully designed retirement community. Our focus on wellness and enabling residents to remain as independent as possible provides the perfect alternative for seniors who can no longer live on their own. Whether the search is for a short-term respite stay or a long-term living option, we invite you to learn more about our community. To schedule a tour, call us today at (541) 564-2595 or visit us on the web at www.regency-pacific.com. Sun Terrace Hermiston 1550 NW 11th Street Hermiston, OR 97838
