REGION
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
PILOT ROCK
City considers disbanding
planning commission
East Oregonian
The Pilot Rock City
Council votes Tuesday night
on a proposal to suspend the
city planning commission.
The small town about
15 miles south of Pendleton
has not had a full planning
commission since 2014, when
the city council approved a
plan to reduce the member-
ship from seven to at least
four. Mayor Virginia Carnes
said it is difficult enough to
maintain the city council,
which is swearing in four
members, while trying to
keep a planning commission
going has been frustrating.
City reporter Teri Porter in
a memo to the council stated
the membership now stands
at four, including herself, and
another member is likely to
resign.
“Notice has been posted on
and off for the past two-and-
half years trying to recruit
another member,” according
to the memo. “The latest
notice has been posted for
two months solid without one
citizen interested in serving.”
The city council would
take on the duties of the
planning commission in its
absence. The council also
could resurrect the commis-
sion if Pilot Rock citizens
show interest.
Pilot Rock City Council
meets Tuesday at 7 p.m. at
city hall, 144 N. Alder Place.
The council also plans to
appoint officers and consider
a fleet safety program and a
volunteer policy manual.
BRIEFLY
Skateboarding teen
injured after car
hits him
HERMISTON — A
Hermiston teen was injured
when he was struck by a car
Friday night while riding his
skateboard down North First
Place between West Harper
Road and West Elm Street.
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston said that
according to witnesses,
the 15-year-old boy, Costa
Maldonado, was riding his
skateboard in the middle of
the roadway and was wearing
dark clothing when he was
hit by a vehicle, driven by
19-year-old Nicolas Magana
of Hermiston.
Maldonado was taken
to Good Shepherd Medical
Center for treatment.
Edmiston said the cause
of the crash is still under
investigation.
Free classes provide
tools for caregivers
A pair of Powerful Tools
for Caregivers classes will be
offered in the new year.
One that focuses on adults
with chronic conditions will
be presented in Mission.
The self-care sessions for
family caregivers runs for
six Thursdays from 2:30-4
p.m. starting Jan. 12 in the
Cayuse and Umatilla rooms
at the Nixyaawii Governance
Center, 46411 Ti’mine Way,
Mission. To register, call
Anita at 541-278-5664.
Sessions that focus on
family or caregivers of
children with special needs
are offered in Hermiston. The
six weekly sessions begin
Tuesday, Jan. 24 from 4:30-
6:30 p.m. at Good Shepherd
Medical Center. To register,
call 541-667-3509.
Coordinated through
Community Action Program
of East Central Oregon,
there is no charge for
either program. For more
information about classes
offered through CAPECO,
contact Helena Wolfe at
hwolfe@capeco-works.org.
Oldies Night
returns to 1957
MILTON-FREEWATER
— Was 2016 a bad year?
Don’t want to face 2017?
Why not go back to 1957
instead? Oldies Night at
Milton-Freewater starts out the
new year Saturday beginning
at 6 p.m. at Wesley United
Methodist Church fellowship
hall, 816 S. Main St., with an
expanded song list.
BJ the DJ will spin
75 songs from that year,
including hits from musicians
as varied as Elvis Presley,
Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole,
Harry Belafonte, Jerry Lee
Lewis and Margie Rayburn.
Included with the music is
background information on
the songs, artists and writers.
And The Frogs will offer light
refreshments.
Admission, as always,
is free, and the music is
suitable for all ages. For more
information, email Bob Jones
at dubuquer@charter.net or
call 541-938-7028.
Chamber seeks
award nominations
HEPPNER — The
Heppner Chamber of
Commerce is accepting
nominations for the
annual Town and Country
Community Awards.
The award categories
include Man of the Year,
Woman of the Year, Business
of the Year, Youth of the Year,
Citizen-Educator of the Year
and Lifetime Achievement.
Forms are available at the
Bank of Eastern Oregon,
Heppner City Hall,
Community Bank and the
chamber office.
Completed nomination
forms must be submitted
by Friday, Jan. 13 at Kuhn
Law Offices, the Heppner
Chamber of Commerce or via
email at heppnerchamber@
centurytel.net.
The awards banquet is
Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. at the Morrow
County Fairgrounds. Tickets
will be available at a later date.
For more information, call
the chamber at 541-676-5536.
POWERFUL TOOLS FOR THE
CAREGIVER:
Caring for Children with Special Needs: Build a toolkit for taking
better care of yourself while caring for your child, grandchild or
other child with special needs. Learn how to reduce stress and
relax, communicate effectively, reduce guilt and anger, make
tough decisions, set goals and problem solve. FREE.
Tuesdays • 4:30 - 6:30pm
Starting Jan. 24 through Feb. 28
Call 541-667-3509
GSMC Conference Room 7 (by the GS Education Dept)
includes book "The Caregiver Help"
PREVENT TYPE 2 INFO SESSION
One out of every three American adults has prediabetes - and 90%
don't know it! Learn how the Prevent T2 program can help prevent
or delay the progression to type 2 diabetes. (Prevent T2 classes will
be scheduled to meet participants needs.) FREE.
Attend one of the times listed below
4:00pm - 5:00pm OR 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Wednesday, January 11
Must pre-register, call 541-667-3509
LIVING WELL: BETTER
CHOICES, BETTER HEALTH
Have you been diagnosed with high blood pressure, heart
disease, arthritis or another long-term health condition? Find
practical ways to living well by making a step-by-step plan to
improve your health...and your life. 6 weekly FREE classes,
open to patients, caregivers/support person or both. Pre-
registration required.
East Oregonian
Madison Farms storage shed burns
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
No one was injured in a blaze that
destroyed a large storage building at
Madison Ranches in an early Saturday
morning fire.
The Echo Volunteer Fire Department
got the call at 6:09 a.m., and sent 10 crew
members out to the site, three engines
and two water tenders. Members of the
Umatilla Fire District 1, as well as crews
from other departments in both Umatilla
and Morrow counties, assisted them.
The building that burned was located
near the junction of Highway 207
and Oregon Trail Road about 9 miles
west-southwest of Echo and about 11
miles south of Hermiston.
Echo Fire Chief Delbert Gehrke said
he doesn’t suspect any foul play in the
start of the fire.
“Some type of ceiling-mounted
electric heater — that’s what we’re
guessing,” he said.
Gehrke said it took crews about two
and a half hours to get the flames under
control.
Jake Madison of Madison Ranches
said the building was not salvageable
and will have to be replaced.
“A portion of our storage building
was burned,” he said. “It was pretty
substantial. It made a steel building melt
down. Probably a 60-by-60 (square
foot) piece of the building was lost.”
Madison said the cause of the fire
is still under investigation, and he
doesn’t know yet what the cost in
damages will be, but he was relieved
Photo contributed by Echo Rural Fire Protection District
A storage building at Madison Farms near Hermiston was severely dam-
aged in a fire on Saturday.
no one was injured.
“It could have been much worse,”
he said. “We’re very grateful for
the quick response from all the fire
departments, from both Umatilla and
Morrow counties.”
———
Contact Jayati Ramakrishnan at
jramakrishnan@hermistonherald.com
or 541-564-4534.
PENDLETON
Arts center offers youth art, music classes
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
Free classes youths
starting up Jan. 11 and 12
will feature everything
from learning to play guitar
to working with clay and
collages.
Pendleton Center for the
Arts offers art and music
workshops through its
Art Rocks Teens (A.R.T.)
program. Youths ages
13-18 can participate free
of charge. In addition to
the sessions offered at the
arts center, 214 N. Main St.,
Pendleton, a satellite guitar
class will be available in
Hermiston.
Upcoming classes in
Pendleton include:
•Cut and Paste Collage:
four Wednesdays beginning
Jan. 11 from 3:30-5 p.m.
Youths will get creative with
cut out images from maga-
zines. Collage art can elicit
dreamy designs, images and
narratives that you’d never
come up with on your own
(think Hannah Höch and the
Dadaists). Participants will
make some collages that can
be used for posters, T-shirt
designs and more.
•Working with Clay:
11 Thursdays beginning
Jan. 12 from 3:30-5 p.m.
Participants can step into
the third dimension with
a workshop that provides
depth in sculpting, building
and constructing with clay.
No experience is necessary.
•Beginning Guitar: For
Contributed photo
Brian Purnell instructs a teen in a free after-school
class in the Alice Fossatti Ceramics Studio at Pend-
leton Center for the Arts. Clay, collage and guitar
classes are starting up next week through the free
Art Rocks Teens program.
Brand New Beginners:
eight Wednesdays begin-
ning Jan. 11 from 3:30-5
p.m. Participants can build
a solid foundation playing
the guitar through learning
basic chords, strumming
patterns, and how to tune
and re-string your instru-
ment.
•Guitar 2: For Expe-
rienced Beginners and
Beyond: 11 Thursdays
beginning Jan. 12 from
3:30-5 p.m. Guitarists can
meet with other musicians
to practice songs and styles
of their choice. In addition,
bass players are welcome
to join the sessions. Some
instruments are available for
student use.
Youths in the Hermiston
area can learn to play guitar
during free classes at the
Hermiston Public Library.
Beginning Guitar: For
Brand New Beginners offers
weekly sessions beginning
Wednesday, Jan. 11 from
4-5:30 p.m. at 235 E. Gladys
Ave. The weekly sessions
run through March 8.
Participants will gain a
solid foundation for playing
the guitar. A variety of music
styles will be covered,
including rock, country,
folk and blues. No music
experience is required. Both
acoustic and electric guitars
are welcome. For those who
don’t have their own guitar,
loaner instruments are avail-
able for the duration of the
class.
Parental
permission
forms are required for
participation, which can be
picked up at the first class.
For more information
about the A.R.T. program
offerings, contact Bonnie
Day at info@pendletonarts.
org, 541-278-9201 or visit
www.pendletonarts.org.
———
Contact
Community
Editor Tammy Malgesini at
tmalgesini@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4539
JANUARY
EVENTS
Oregon Truffle
Festival
FRESH TRUFFNE MARKETPNACE
With or without wine tasting
Sunday, January 22 • 11am-4pm • Newberg, OR
Sunday, January 29 • 11am-4pm • Eugene, OR
THE JORIAD™ TRUFFNE DOG COMPETITION
Thursday, January 26 • 9am-Noon • Eugene, OR
OREGON TRUFFNE M AC D OWN
Thursday, January 26 • 6:30-9pm • Eugene
6 weekly sessions
Starting Jan. 26 • 4:30-6:30pm
OR starting April 6 - 2:30-5:00pm
Must pre-register, call 541-667-3509
Information or to register
call (541) 667-3509
or email
healthinfo@gshealth.org
www.gshealth.org
Page 3A
Something fun for everyone at OTF 2017!
TICKETS & INFO: oregoutrufflefestival.com