REGION
Saturday, January 14, 2017
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
BRIEFLY
Fire station gets PAC support
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
The Pendleton Fire Depart-
ment hasn’t been shy about
their primary fire station’s
shortfalls, and its supporters
are willing to raise $25,000 to
fix them.
Whether its been through
discussions at public meetings
or tours of the fire depart-
ment’s 911 S.W. Court Ave.
station, staff has highlighted
the station’s awkward location
that leads to slower response
times, aging facilities rife
with carcinogens and deferred
maintenance and a building
without the space and proper
accommodations for female
firefighters and new volun-
teers.
While emergency services
staff have been vocal about
the need for a new fire station,
they’ll have to convince the
public to support something
it hasn’t done in more than 20
years — pass a city bond.
The city is currently
proposing a $9.93 million
bond to build a new fire
station on Southeast Court at
the old St. Anthony property,
in addition to purchasing new
emergency equipment, for the
May ballot.
Entrusted with leading
the campaign is firefighter/
paramedic Jeff Perry, who
is the listed director for the
fire bond’s political action
committee Pendleton Public
Safety PAC.
Perry said he has been
passionate about securing a
new fire station for the city and
was approached by some of
his co-workers about running
the PAC.
In addition to creating a
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A PAC has been formed to support a bond to replace the Pendleton fire station.
website and a Facebook page,
early campaign efforts include
a series of presentations
from Mayor John Turner and
Fire Chief Mike Ciraulo to
community groups and city
committees.
The presentation includes
a city tax rate comparison
between Pendleton and Herm-
iston.
Because of retiring bonds,
the fire bond’s 62 cents per
$1,000 in assessed value
would result in a net increase
of 15 cents and a total city
property tax rate of $6.73.
In comparison, Hermiston
utilizes a fire district rather
than operate its own municipal
fire department.
The combined tax rates
for the city of Hermiston and
Umatilla County Fire District
1 is $7.84.
Perry said the PAC will
ramp up its campaign with a
kick-off event in February.
From there, the PAC will
start to engage in the hallmarks
of most local bond campaigns:
volunteer coordination, door-
to-door campaigns, yard signs
and reader board messages.
Perry said the PAC will
focus its message not only on
the condition of the current
fire station, but also share the
importance of providing new
equipment for a department
with an ambulance service
area covering 2,000 square
miles and 20,000 people.
The bond includes money
for an ambulance, heart moni-
tors and the “Jaws of Life”
extraction equipment.
Mounting successful bond
campaigns typically requires
raising significant amounts of
money.
The last successful tax
measure campaign — the
2009 gas tax to extend Airport
Road — raised $13,816
through its PAC.
The Pendleton Public
Safety PAC has set its sights
even higher, its members
looking to bring in $25,000
in contributions to support the
campaign.
So far, the fundraising has
gotten off to an auspicious
start.
On Dec. 14, Ciraulo, his
wife Gilda and Turner all
donated $500 followed by a
$1,000 contribution from the
Round-Up City Development
Corp. on Jan. 7.
The campaign has until
May 16 to convince voters that
a new fire station is worthy of
their tax money.
PENDLETON
Arts center hosts MLK Day of Service
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
As part of Maintenance
Month at Pendleton Center for
the Arts, the organization is
participating in the MLK Day
of Service.
Each year, the arts center
staff sets aside January to
spruce up the building. While
it’s still open for students to
begin winter term classes
and people can shop in the
Pendleton Foundation Trust
Fine Craft Gallery, there are
no main exhibits, said Bonnie
Day, education and outreach
coordinator.
“We patch holes and
repaint walls,” she said. “We
do a little of everything with
cleaning and dusting off the
lights.”
The public is invited to
Contributed
A copy of an ink and cof-
fee portrait of Martin Lu-
ther King Jr. by Pendle-
ton artist Sofi Smith will
be given to a participant
in Monday’s MLK Day of
Service at Pendleton Cen-
ter for the Arts.
help by joining the work crew
Monday from 10 a.m. to noon
at 214 N. Main St. The arts
center will provide supplies,
equipment and coffee.
Roberta
Lavadour,
executive
director,
said
activities include everything
from painting and patching
to polishing and transporting
recyclables. Volunteers are
encouraged to show up in the
morning wearing comfortable
clothes they don’t mind
getting dirty and a willingness
to work.
A national effort, the
MLK Day of Service was
sparked from words King
spoke to an audience in 1957
in Montgomery, Alabama,
“Life’s most persistent and
urgent question is, what are
you doing for others?” The
initiative, which according
to the Boston Globe began
in 1994, urges people to treat
the Martin Luther King Jr.
holiday as “A Day On, Not a
Day Off!”
Volunteers at the arts
center’s MLK Day of Service
will have an opportunity to
win a copy of a portrait of
King created by Pendleton
artist Sofi Smith. Lavadour
called the ready-to-frame
artwork “amazing.”
The ink and coffee piece
includes the text from King’s
“The Quest for Peace and
Justice” Nobel Lecture —
which he delivered when
he received the 1964 Nobel
Peace Prize — embedded
within the image. The drawing
will take place at noon.
For more information about
the MLK Day of Service, visit
www.nationalservice.gov and
search under “Special Initia-
tives.” For questions about the
project at Pendleton Center for
the Arts, call 541-278-9201.
Commissioners stand take stand for vets
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Property tax relief is
coming in Umatilla County
for the surviving spouses of
fire service personnel, police
officers and reserve officers
who died in the line of duty.
Senate Bill 1513, out of
the 2016 Oregon Legislature,
allows counties to exempt
up to $250,000 of assessed
value of each homestead a
firefighter’s or police officer’s
surviving spouse owns and
occupies. Umatilla County
commissioners plan to adopt
the policy when they meet
Wednesday at 9 a.m. in room
130 at the county courthouse,
216 S.E. Fourth St., Pendleton.
County attorney Doug
Olsen said he was not aware
of any property owners that
would fall under the exemp-
tion. Any who do, though, can
fill out a form in the county
assessor’s office and make a
claim.
Tax year 2017-18 is the
first year someone can claim
the exemption.
The county board also
will consider an resolution
showing its opposition to
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s
proposal to cut $10 million in
funding to veterans services in
the upcoming two-year state
Page 3A
budget.
According to the resolu-
tion, which the Association
of Oregon Counties drafted,
Oregon receives $1.3 billion
in federal funds for veteran
non-health care benefits and
$1.1 billion in health care
benefits, both about double
the amount from a decade
ago. Yet “one in three of our
veterans access their earned
benefits and two-thirds of
our veterans need assistance
to effectively access their
medical, disability, education
and other federally funded
benefits.”
The $10 million decrease
to veteran services, according
to the county’s language, also
undermines the will of Oregon
voters, who in November
approved Ballot Measure
96, the law that dedicates
1.5 percent of state lottery
proceeds for veterans services.
In other business, the board
will consider an update to the
joint management agreement
between the county and
the cities of Umatilla and
Hermiston to allow Umatilla
to oversee land use within the
urban growth boundary. And
county commissioners also
will hold a public hearing on
the co-adoption of Weston
and Pilot Rock transportation
system plans.
Air stagnation
warning in effect
through Monday
PENDLETON — The
National Weather Service
has issued an air stagnation
warning in effect until
Monday afternoon.
The warning covers
northeastern Oregon and
southeastern Washington
east of The Dalles and as
far south as John Day.
Air quality is expected
to be moderate Friday
evening and continue to
deteriorate until Monday
at 5 p.m. Winds of less
than 10 miles per hour
combined with other
weather factors mean
pollution “has the potential
to increase to dangerous
levels” near the ground,
according to the advisory.
Persons with respiratory
illness should follow their
physician’s advice for
dealing with high levels
of air pollution. Outdoor
burning is discouraged and
residential wood burning
devices should be “limited
as much as possible.”
Lead found at
P-Tech school
PENDLETON — Less
than a month after its
opening, the Pendleton
Technology and Trades
Center found lead in its
water.
The Pendleton School
District announced Friday
that it had tested eight
water sites at the former
West Hills Intermediate
School, which resulted
in two sites testing above
20 parts per billion, the
Environmental Protection
Agency’s action level.
Between the two sites,
a press release states that
the district removed a
water fountain in a spare
room and is retesting a
water source in the new
kitchen that has been
installed.
The center opened
last week and houses
Hawthorne Alternative
High School and some
of the district’s career
technical education classes.
Council could
adopt new goals
at next meeting
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton City Council’s
goals for the 2017-2019
biennium could be passed
as soon as Tuesday, but
figuring out how the city
will achieve them might
take longer.
Although the city
council will consider
adopting these new goals
at its Tuesday meeting,
Mayor John Turner said
he doesn’t expect to have
objective measures for
each goal for several more
weeks.
Turner said city
councilor Dale Primmer
and city manager Robb
Corbett have been working
on the measurements and
will report their progress at
a city council work session
Monday at 3 p.m.
Shortly after Turner
was elected in May, he
convened a committee to
create new goals for the
city.
After the committee
compiled a draft list of 12
goals, the public was asked
to prioritize their top goals
for the city, which would
then be adopted by the
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council.
245 ballots were
returned and the top
goals were determined,
including:
• Develop sustainable
infrastructure funding (67
percent of the vote)
• Increase economic
development activities (66
percent)
• Facilitate quality
development of lands and
properties (54 percent)
• Increase housing
availability (53 percent)
At 47 percent, “maintain
public safety” was just
outside the top four. “Work
with the Round-Up and
Happy Canyon to expand
capacity” (20 percent) and
“build a sports complex”
(22 percent) were the
lowest vote-getters.
While the top four will
be the primary focus of the
council, Turner has said
the rest of the goals will
still remain priorities for
the city.
During the meeting, the
council will also consider
adopting new manufac-
tured home standards.
Both the work session
and the council meeting
will be held at the council
chambers in city hall, 500
S.W. Dorion Ave. The
work session will be held
at 3 p.m. Monday and the
council meeting will take
place at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Pilot Rock council
to hear sewer
lagoon update
PILOT ROCK — Pilot
Rock City Council plans
to hear the latest update on
the progress of upgrading
the city’s old sewer
lagoons.
The council meets
Tuesday at 7 p.m. at city
hall. Brad Baird and Jadon
Herron of the engineering
firm Anderson Perry
& Associates, Inc., are
going to review the $5.2
million project and discuss
the status of the city’s
application to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture
for project funding, as
well as the project’s
environmental report.
The council will also
consider awarding a
$63,600 contact to Steve
Lindley Contracting, Inc.,
of Union, to replace the
stairs to the school.
Shuttle running
for HHS events
HERMISTON — With
multiple events going on
at Hermiston High on
School Saturday evening,
the school district will
make extra parking
available at West Park
Elementary, and will
provide a shuttle between
the two schools.
The basketball game
and the Dancing with the
Hermiston Stars event will
both take place Saturday
night, and with the snow
accumulation in the
parking lot, parking space
will be limited at the high
school.
The district will provide
a free shuttle between West
Park and the high school
for those two events.
Shuttles will start running
at 5 p.m. and go until the
end of both events. The
girls’ varsity game starts
at 5:45 p.m., and the boys’
varsity game starts at 7:30
p.m. The Dancing with
the Hermiston Stars event
starts at 7 p.m.