WEEKEND EDITION PROGRAM OFFERS VISIONS OBAMA WARNS OF CYBER OF HOPE RETALIATION NATION/9A THIS WEEK IN PHOTOS 6B LIFESTYLES/1C DECEMBER 17-18, 2016 141st Year, No. 45 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD BOARDMAN PGE ponders new resources at Carty Possibilities include gas plant, solar farm By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian FREEZE FRAME Staff photo by E.J. Harris Tia, a four-year-old German Shepherd and Belgian Mali- nois mix, leaps into the air to catch a fl ying disc for her owner Connie Macomber of Beaverton on Friday in Pend- leton. Macomber used to live in Pendleton before moving west and is in the process of moving back into town. Portland General Electric is chasing permits to build new power facilities in Boardman by 2020, the year the existing Boardman Coal Plant is slated to close. Options on the table include a 315-acre solar farm near Carty Reservoir, or additional natural gas units at the recently completed Carty Generating Station on Tower Road. The proposals are included in PGE’s 2016 Integrated Resource Plan, fi led Nov. 15 with the Oregon Public Utility Commission. The plan is essentially a roadmap for how PGE will satisfy future demand, and calls for increases in energy effi ciency, renewable energy and “fl exible capacity resources,” like natural gas, that can be ramped up and down quickly. Steve Corson, PGE spokesman, said the utility is in the process of obtaining site certifi cates and air quality permits for two new units at the Carty gas plant — one that would generate up to 530 megawatts, and another that would add up to 330 megawatts. Just because they have permits in hand doesn’t necessarily mean the projects would move forward, Corson said. Still, See PGE/12A PENDLETON Biz partners ready to try out city’s process for pot shops Angie Treadwell, second from right, with the Oregon State University Extension Offi ce, helps students measure ingredients for a pumpkin breakfast cookie recipe Tuesday during the Cooking Matters for Families cooking class in Umatilla. By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Pendleton history could be made at a non-descript strip mall on Court Avenue. Brandon Krenzler, a marijuana advocate who lives in Pendleton, said he and a business partner with experience running a bar are in the process of opening a recreational marijuana shop at 1733 S.W. Court Ave. If the owners of the store — Kind Leaf Pendleton — pass through both the state and city regulatory processes, their facility would be the See MARIJUANA/11A SHIRLEY MEADOWS Staff photo by E.J. Harris Kin in the kitchen OF PENDLETON Visit the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce for a free charm trail starter bracelet Class teaches families about cooking and nutrition By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Turkey tacos were on the menu for dinner Tuesday night as Jasmine Martinez and Alexia Martinez sat side by side chopping tomatoes. “Don’t squish the tomato,” Jasmine told her eight-year-old daughter, demonstrating the light grip she had on hers. Next to the Martinez duo, other mothers and daughters grated cheese and shredded lettuce. At a nearby table children scooped balls of pumpkin raisin breakfast cookie dough onto a cookie sheet, while their mothers worked on frying the ground turkey for the tacos. Another group made homemade granola and scooped out pome- granates in preparation for making yogurt parfaits. The food was all provided by Cooking Matters for Families, a free six-week course offered at McNary Heights Elementary School through a partnership between Umatilla School District, Umatilla Morrow County Head Start and the Oregon State University Extension. “My daughter wants to learn how to cook,” Jasmine said. “I’m See COOKING/12A PENDLETON Six-year-old gets snowmen surprise Strangers respond to mother’s online plea to cheer up son By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Billy Larsen, 6, knocks fresh snow off the hat of one of two snowmen in his front yard Friday in Pendleton. A dozen-or-so strangers braved the cold Thursday night to build snowmen in Billy Larsen’s front yard. Thursday evening had been tough for six-year-old Billy, who has autism. He learned that school was canceled the next morning because of weather and that meant his Christmas party at Sherwood Heights Elementary School wouldn’t happen either. Change is often diffi cult for children with autism and the fi rst-grader took it hard. After her son and husband went to bed, Holli Larsen tried to think of ways to cheer up her son. See SNOWMEN/12A