REGION
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
New reporter joins Wintry roads a headache for drivers
highways
Hermiston office Multiple
closed Tuesday
She was drawn to Umatilla
County for its proximity to
Reporter
Jayati the Columbia River and its
Ramakrishnan joined the plethora of hiking opportu-
Hermiston Herald and East nities.
A lifelong Oregonian,
Oregonian on Monday as
a reporter in the Hermiston Ramakrishnan was born in
Portland and graduated from
office.
She will cover education the University of Oregon in
Eugene,
studying
and public safety
journalism
and
for the two publi-
psychology.
She
cations, as well as
said she is eager to
general assign-
explore a new part
ment duties.
of her home state,
Ramakrishnan
and get used to the
comes to Eastern
extreme weather.
Oregon
after
“I like the idea
spending
two
of getting to be a
years as a reporter
true
Oregonian,”
at the biweekly
she said. “I’ve expe-
Curry
Coastal Ramakrishnan
rienced urban and
Pilot in Brook-
ings, the southernmost town coastal Oregon, but there’s
on the Oregon Coast. She much more to see in this
has covered education, ports, state. I’m looking forward to
city and county government the new adventure.”
Ramakrishnan fills the
and worked as a copy editing
assistant. She also enjoyed position most recently held
writing feature stories and by Alexa Lougee, who
profiles of the town’s resi- accepted a teaching posi-
tion with Umatilla School
dents.
After two years on the District earlier this fall.
coast, Ramakrishnan wanted Ramakrishnan can be reached
to broaden her experience by email at jramakrishnan@
and learn about the issues in hermistonherald.com or by
a different part of the state. phone at 541-564-4534.
East Oregonian
BRIEFLY
Volunteers serve
free Christmas meal
HERMISTON — In the
spirit of giving, the public
is invited to a free holiday
meal on Christmas Day.
The last Community
Fellowship Dinner of the
season is Sunday from
12:30-3:30 p.m. at the
Hermiston Senior Center,
435 W. Orchard Ave.,
located on the Umatilla
County Fairgrounds. In
addition to the on-site meal,
delivery service and to-go
meals can be packaged for
pick-up.
The menu includes ham
and all the fixings. There is
a limited amount of turkey
for those that can’t eat ham.
Also, there will be cookies
and pies.
Volunteer shifts are still
available during the meal.
While the meals are free,
financial donations to help
with the Thanksgiving and
Christmas dinners can be
given to local churches,
dropped in a donation
basket at the meal or mailed
to CFD, P.O. Box 1551,
Hermiston, OR 97838.
For meal delivery service
or a ride, call 541-303-5886.
On Christmas Day, call the
senior center at 541-567-
3582 or 541-303-5886.
Wildhorse accepts
grant applications
MISSION — There’s
still time to apply for the
next grant cycle through the
Wildhorse Foundation.
Established by the
Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation, the foundation
board considers grants
that cover the areas of
public health, public safety,
education, the arts, historic
preservation, gambling
addiction services, salmon
restoration, environmental
protection and cultural
activities. Grants are
awarded quarterly.
The upcoming deadline
is Sunday, Jan. 1. For more
information or to apply
for funding, visit www.
thewildhorsefoundation.
com. For questions, contact
Tiah DeGrofft at 541-966-
1628 or tiah.degrofft@
wildhorseresort.com.
morning
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
A potpourri of winter
driving hazards wreaked
havoc on Eastern Oregon
highways Tuesday morning,
prompting a slew of road
closures across the region.
Interstate 84 was closed
in both directions between
Pendleton and Baker City
due to blowing snow, ice
and flooding. About 8
inches of snow fell Monday
night in Meacham, which
later turned to rain and made
for slippery conditions over
the Blue Mountains.
The Oregon Department
of Transportation shut
down I-84 once from 8 a.m.
to 2:20 p.m. due to weather,
then closed the highway a
second time from Pendleton
to La Grande due to a crash.
Spokesman Peter Murphy
said ODOT crews worked
throughout the day to drain
water off the roadway, espe-
cially with below-freezing
temperatures
forecasted
overnight.
“We’ll be plowing and
sanding, trying to make sure
the highways stay clear,”
Murphy said. “Otherwise,
you have water everywhere
and it re-freezes.”
Photo contributed by ODOT
Crews with the Oregon Department of Transportation
are working to clear an avalanche blocking Highway
204 at milepost 30, near Elgin.
Snow drifts also forced
the closure of Highway 334
in Umatilla County, and an
avalanche left Highway 204
closed at milepost 30, near
Elgin, for several hours
until ODOT could clear the
blockage. No injuries were
reported.
Finally, Highway 395
was closed through early
afternoon between Ukiah
and Long Creek due to
heavy freezing rain at Ritter.
With so many elements
straining ODOT resources,
Murphy said help did
arrive in the form of four
snowplows sent over from
Hermiston, which were
able to assist getting roads
reopened.
“Obviously with condi-
tions like this, it puts our
equipment to the test,”
Murphy said.
Temperatures
were
expected to drop below
freezing Tuesday night in
the Columbia Basin, and
down to single-digits in
the mountains. Wednesday
should be colder, with
highs of 35 degrees in
Hermiston and 37 degrees
in Pendleton, though there
shouldn’t be any additional
precipitation until Thursday
afternoon, according to the
National Weather Service.
Murphy said ODOT will
continue to plow and sand
the roads to make sure they
stay clear heading into the
holiday travel season.
“We’ll have everybody
standing by,” he said.
Murphy
recommends
drivers give themselves
plenty of time when
heading out on trips, or
avoid traveling altogether
if they can, until conditions
improve. Families should
also have water, blankets
and supplies handy in case
they become stuck in the
middle of a closure.
For the latest informa-
tion on closures and travel
conditions, visit www.
tripcheck.com.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
HERMISTON
Party features
gift exchange
EOTEC met $2 million fundraising goal in 2016
HERMISTON — A gift
exchange is planned during
the Hermiston Elks White
Elephant Christmas Party.
Those who attend should
bring a wrapped gift. Upon
arrival, be sure to get a
ticket for the gift exchange.
The party is tonight at
7 p.m. at the lodge, 480 E.
Main St., Hermiston. Dinner
will be available beforehand
at 5:30 p.m.
For more information,
call 541-567-6923.
Still taking donations
Town of Echo offers
holiday gift ideas
ECHO — Gifts for
history buffs or those who
like to promote the town of
Echo are available for a 10
percent discount through
Saturday.
The city of Echo has
duffel bags, aprons and
Echo Pictorial Cards. In
addition, publications
include “Echo Story Vol. 1
& 2,” photocopies of Bennie
Tolar’s “Echo’s from the
Past,” “The Fort Henrietta
Days Cookbook” and Echo
Cultural Inventory.”
For more information,
call 541-376-8411 or stop
by 20 Bonanza St., Echo.
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
If anyone is looking to
squeeze in one more tax
write-off before the end of
2016, the Eastern Oregon
Trade and Event Center
fundraising committee is
happy to help.
Committee chair Dennis
Barnett said the committee
did meet its goal of raising
$2 million for the new fair
and rodeo grounds outside
of Hermiston, but since bids
came in higher than antici-
pated there are still plenty
of needs that could be met
with more donations.
“I will take money any
time,” he said.
Barnett
said
the
committee raised “a little
over” $2 million through
2016, and recently two
anonymous
donors
announced they will
match up to $200,000 of
new donations to EOTEC
through the nonprofit
Friends of the Fair and
Rodeo. The project needs
an extra $400,000 to add
lighting to the rodeo arena
and restore the seats that
were cut when bids for the
project came in over budget.
Barnett also said that there
were a few $25,000 grants
that the committee applied
for that will be awarded in
the first part of 2017, so there
might be some more money
coming in through that.
Several of the largest
donations made in 2016
came from corporations,
Barnett said, but there was
also an individual who
donated $100,000. Many
of the year’s donations
were in $25,000 increments
from businesses and private
citizens.
“It was really a cross
section,” he said.
One thing most of
EOTEC’s donors have in
common is geography.
Barnett estimated 98 percent
of them were from the west
end of Umatilla County. He
said it was disappointing that
there wasn’t more support
from the other end of the
county for a project that will
benefit 4-H and FFA kids
from all over the county, not
just Hermiston.
Barnett said somewhere
between a third and half of
the dollars donated will be
financed through Banner
Bank, allowing donors to
make multiple payments
instead of handing over all
the cash up front. Barnett
said the community should
feel proud of the generosity
showed this year toward
EOTEC.
“Any time you can raise
$2 million in five months,
that’s pretty amazing,” he
said.
For more information call
Dennis Barnett at 541-567-
5215.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
TM
12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS!
30% OFF
select items
each day!
Wed., Dec. 21st
Kitchen
(Towels, Timers, Travel Mugs,
Measuring Cups, Utensils)
Thur., Dec. 22nd
Wall Art
(Pictures, Frames, Signs)
Fri., Dec. 23rd
All
Collectables
Sat., Dec. 24th
All
Christmas
Excludes all fresh and plants. Watch for our After Christmas Sale Dec. 26-31!
Put a smile on the heart with
the power of flowers.
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