REGION
Saturday, January 28, 2017
HERMISTON
EOTEC requests
marketing plan
from subcommittee
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
The Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center board has
directed a subcommittee to
come up with a marketing
and staffi ng plan for the
project.
The decision during
Friday’s meeting came at
the request of the project’s
two managing partners —
the city of Hermiston and
Umatilla County — after
the city council and county
commission met for a joint
work session on EOTEC
Monday.
Board member Dan
Dorran said he agreed that
the time was right to build on
the discussions about opera-
tions that took place during a
November work session, and
requested that the marketing
subcommittee come back to
the full EOTEC board for a
“full-throated
discussion”
before sending it on to the
city and county.
Byron Smith, board chair
and Hermiston city manager,
noted that the board has been
“hesitant to spend more than
we have and trying not to
be a burden on the city and
county” but said it sounded
like the two entities were
willing to consider kicking
more than their $45,000 per
year each if that’s what’s
needed to help fi ll the center
with events.
He said it was important
to start on a plan with no
specifi c people in mind for
the positions.
“Just ‘these kind of posi-
tions doing these things,’” he
said.
The event center has
had 43 events so far since
it opened last May. During
a budget discussion Friday,
city fi nance director Amy
Palmer broke down revenue
and costs by event so the
board could see how the fee
structure was working out.
She reported that so far in
the 2016-2017 fi scal year
EOTEC’s operations costs
had been about $100,000 for
a net loss of $4,645.
Dorran reported to the
board that the sign committee
had been working with
the Oregon Department of
Transportation on directional
road signs pointing the way
to EOTEC, and those should
be ready in a couple of weeks.
He also shared the brick and
stucco designs for a large,
decorative entryway sign.
The fundraising committee
is also working to design
the donor wall that will
thank major contributors to
EOTEC, and the board asked
that there be some conti-
nuity of color and materials
between the two signs.
Carl Hendon of Hendon
Construction reported that
the cold, snowy weather had
pushed the expected comple-
tion date for the rodeo arena
from June 1 to June 15.
John Eckhardt of Knerr
Construction reported that
the bid for concrete for the
barns had been awarded
and other subcontractor
bids are not far behind. He
said prolonged freezing and
snowy weather — which
his company is considering
a once-every-75-years event
— has caused some “real
issues” staying on schedule.
“We’re a little nervous,
but we’re going to get
through that and fi nd some
solutions,” he said.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
BRIEFLY
Asher’s Army sets
fundraiser
HEPPNER — Blazer
tickets, a market steer and pig,
a saddle, an AKC Labrador
puppy, a custom fi shing rod
and more are among the silent
auction items offered during a
fundraiser by Asher’s Army.
Money is being raised
to help fi nd a cure for
leukodystrophy, a disease
that is affecting Asher
Schonbachler, the son of Eric
and Rachel Schonbachler of
Heppner.
The event is Saturday Feb.
11 at 6 p.m. at the Heppner
Elks Lodge, 142 N. Main
St. The meal is $20 for ages
11 and up, or $10 for 10 and
under.
For more information or to
make a donation to the event,
visit www.facebook.com/
asherarmy.
Heritage
commission offers
museum grants
SALEM — Grants are
available for museums for
collections projects, heritage
tourism and education
and interpretation projects
through the Oregon Heritage
Commission.
Typically awards of
$2,000 to $10,000, the
projects can include
cataloging/storage, museum
marketing and promotions,
training museum staff, online
education, workshops and
camps. Museums may partner
with other organizations for
projects.
A free two-hour grant
workshop on project
planning and grant writing
is Wednesday, March 15 in
Salem. A shorter webinar
will be available Thursday,
March 16.
For more information,
contact Kuri Gill at kuri.gill@
oregon.gov, 503-986-0685
or visit www.oregonheritage.
org.
———
Submit information to:
community@eastoregonian.
com or drop off to the
attention of Tammy Malgesini
at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston
or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E.
Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call
541-564-4539 or 541-966-
0818 with questions.
BUCKAROO BOOSTER
CLUB FUNDRAISER
Dinner & Auction
Over $30,000 in auction items up for bid!
Cracked Crab • Baked Salmon • Tri-Tip Steak • Complimentary Beer
Wednesday • February 15th • $25 Per Person
DINNER: 5:30-7pm • AUCTION: 6:30pm
Pendleton Convention Center
Limited to fi rst 500 tickets sold
Tickets available at Big John’s Pizza, Pendleton Athletic
and Dave’s Food Mart. Must be 21 & over to attend.
Dr. Robert Alan Pratt, DMD PC
Hill Meat Company
Wheatland Insurance • Thews Sheet Metal • Papa Murphy’s Pizza
McLaughlin Landscaping • McDonald’s of Pendleton
Dean’s Pendleton Athletic • D.A. Davidson & Co. • Amerititle
East Oregonian
Page 3A
MILTON-FREEWATER
Portland photographer
focuses on soldiers’ stories
Conversation Project
encourages dialogue
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
Jim Lommasson has
noticed
a
disconnect
between the American
public and soldiers who
have fought in the recent
confl icts in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
The
Portland-based
freelance photographer and
writer is on a mission to
change that. Lommasson’s
2015 book, “Exit Wounds:
Soldiers’ Stories — Life
After Iraq and Afghani-
stan,” is about United States
soldiers who served in the
wars. The book features
Lommasson’s photographs
and interviews, as well as
photographs by the partici-
pants. The project includes
a traveling exhibit.
In addition, Lommasson
has been active with
the Oregon Humanities
Conversation Project. He
will facilitate a discussion
titled “Life after War:
Photography and Oral
Histories
of
Coming
Home.” The free event
is Friday, Feb. 3 at 6:30
p.m. at Frazier Farmstead
Museum, 1403 Chestnut
St., Milton-Freewater.
Lommasson
shares
about the words of a
Marine scrawled on a wall
near Baghdad: “America
is not at war. The Marine
Corps is at war; America is
at the mall.”
Statistics,
he
said,
indicate 100 percent of
the American people knew
a soldier who fought in
combat during World War
II. And, nearly 100 percent
knew someone who fought
in Vietnam. As far as
the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars, Lommasson said the
statistics are staggering —
maybe two or three percent
know someone who was
involved in combat.
“We don’t know the
soldiers that we send to
war,” he said. “They need
to tell their stories and we
need to hear their stories.”
More than 60 years after
the Battle of the Bulge —
the bloodiest battle experi-
enced by U.S. forces during
World War II — Lommas-
son’s father fi nally began to
share more in-depth about
his painful experiences on
Contributed by Jim Lommasson
“Growing up, my dream was to be in the Army. All I ever wanted to do was to be
in the Army and lead men into combat. I got 30 seconds of my dream, I’d give my
other leg to live it again.” – Lucas Wilson
“We don’t know
the soldiers that
we send to war.
They need to tell
their stories and
we need to hear
their stories.”
— Jim Lommasson,
Portland-based freelance
photographer and writer
Contributed by Jim Lommasson
Photographer Jim Lommasson will discuss his book
“Exit Wounds: Soldiers’ Stories — Life After Iraq and
Afghanistan” during an Oregon Humanities Conver-
sation Project — titled Life after War: Photography
and Oral Histories of Coming Home — Feb. 3 at the
Frazier Farmstead Museum in Milton-Freewater.
the battlefi eld. Lommas-
son’s conversations with
his father the last couple
years of his life served as
motivation to document
oral histories of recent war
veterans.
Conversations
with
veterans, he said, need to
take place sooner rather
than later. It provides a
better opportunity for
soldiers to move forward
in their lives, Lommasson
said.
Starting the project
in 2007, Lommasson
connected with soldiers
at Veterans of Foreign
Wars meetings, college
campuses
and
social
media.
“Sometimes one vet
would lead me to a pool of
veterans,” he said. “I didn’t
know what to expect when
I started this — it started
with a basic interest.”
Initially, Lommasson
envisioned the project
as focusing on veterans’
homecomings. However,
as
the
conversations
progressed, the soldiers
kept coming back to
sharing about their war
experiences, even showing
him and giving him
pictures.
“I thought, ‘I just need to
shut up and start listening
better.’ The stories and
photos fl ooded in — that’s
when the project took off,”
Lommasson said.
During the Conversation
Project event, Lommasson
will show slides and share
stories. The audience is
invited to join the dialogue
and share their thoughts
and experiences.
“I try to make it so that
we sit in a circle instead
rows of seats,” he said.
“We want to encourage
conversation.”
For
more
about
Lommasson’s
project,
visit www.lifeafterwar-sol-
diersstories.blogspot.com.
For a calendar of Oregon
Humanities events, go to
www.oregonhumanities.
org/calendar. And, for more
about Frazier Farmstead
Museum, contact Kristin
Williams at 541-938-4636
or
frazier1868@gmail.
com.
———
Contact
Community
Editor Tammy Malgesini
at tmalgesini@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4539