REGION
Saturday, February 11, 2017
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
Page 3A
HERMISTON
Winter misery hits historic levels City to bundle
$6.45 million bond
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Pendleton has been recog-
nized around the country for
its rodeo and its blankets,
but 2017 has brought a new
thing to garner national
attention — winter misery.
According
to
the
Midwestern
Regional
Climate Center’s Accumu-
lated Winter Season Severity
Index, which The Weather
Channel has re-dubbed
the “winter misery index,”
Pendleton has had one of the
of most severe winters in the
U.S. compared to the type of
cold weather it usually gets.
The climate center is
a partner of the National
Weather
Service
and
compiles the index by
measuring intensity and
persistence of cold weather,
the frequency and amount
of snow and the amount and
persistence of snow on the
ground.
Pendleton is one of 13
cities, mostly clustered
in the Northwest, that the
index rated as “extreme,”
the highest among five
ratings. Other communities
classified under the extreme
category include Walla
Walla, Spokane and Boise.
Weather service hydrol-
ogist Marilyn Lohmann
elaborated on what has made
Pendleton’s weather so
“extreme” this winter.
Pendleton has had 43
days of snow on the ground
compared to the 15 days
the city experiences in an
average year. The all-time
record is 52 days, which was
set during the 1985-1986
winter season.
Lohmann said the 29
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Drifting snow caused road closures in the Athena area last December.
days Pendleton spent below
freezing is much higher than
the average (17) and has
already broken the record
(28) with more than half a
month left in February.
And the 40 inches of
snowfall Pendleton has
received this winter is almost
10 times the amount the city
received last winter, when it
got only 4.1 inches. Pend-
leton’s average snow fall is
12.3 inches.
The impact of such
a miserable winter goes
beyond an index.
Besides long hours for
road maintenance crews and
a school district struggling
to make up for snow days,
other industries are feeling a
financial chill from the cold
weather.
Hoteliers, restaurateurs
and merchants across Pend-
leton have felt adverse effects
from wintry conditions, said
Pat Beard, event recruiter for
Travel Pendleton.
Beard said he couldn’t
cite any figures or statistics,
but his discussions with
local business owners have
led him to believe that all
the snow and ice has led to
emptier cash registers.
Beard said the hotels near
the freeway might benefit
when Interstate 84 closes
and downtown hotels see
the usual business travelers
they see every winter. But in
general, locals and tourists
alike have stayed away from
hotels, restaurants and stores
when the weather gets bad.
“I’m in favor of a lodging
tax for everyone who wishes
for a white Christmas,” he
said with a laugh.
It could be worse, Beard
said, noting his discussions
with Baker City hotels that
have been hit hard during
a winter when the Oregon
Department of Transpor-
tation has often closed the
I-84 between Pendleton and
Ontario.
Business and Pendleton
residents alike can take
solace in what the National
Weather Service is predicting
for the next few months.
Although future winter
systems are still a possi-
bility, Lohmann said the
longterm forecast calls for
the rest of February, March
and April to have above
average temperatures while
maintaining higher levels of
precipitation.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
The Hermiston city
council will consider the sale
of $6.45 million in bonds on
Monday.
The sale would include
$1.75 million for construc-
tion at the Eastern Oregon
Trade and Event Center,
issued on behalf of local
hoteliers and RV park owners
who will pay for the bonds
through a tourism promotion
assessment of $1 per room/
RV space per night.
Another $1.5 million
would go toward creating
a festival street along
Southeast Second Street
next to city hall, which will
be paid off using property
taxes collected by the urban
renewal district.
The city would also use
$1.7 million — paid for by
increased water rates — to
install “smart meters” that
are read remotely instead of
by paying staff to go from
home to home. The final
$1.5 million would upgrade
the city’s solids-handling
equipment at the wastewater
treatment plant, and would
be paid for by increased
sewer rates.
City manager Byron
Smith said although each
project has its own revenue
source to pay them off,
issuing them in one package
backed by the full faith
and credit of the city saves
money on fees and interest.
Monday’s city council
meeting will also include
approval of new bylaws for
the Hermiston Public Library
board, an audit report and a
resolution urging the state
legislature to restore recre-
ational immunity to cities.
Previously, the Public
Lands Use Act had given
cities and other entities
immunity from lawsuits
when people were injured
while using their land
for free for recreational
purposes. However, an
Oregon Supreme Court
ruling recently interpreted
the law to only apply to the
landowner, meaning while
the city itself could not be
sued it could be forced to
defend its employees in
court if someone was injured
while using a city park.
The council will also
consider adopting an updated
version of the Hermiston
Planning Area Joint Manage-
ment Agreement with
Umatilla County regarding
land use planning for land
that is outside the city limits
but inside the city’s urban
growth boundary. A memo
in the council’s agenda
packet notes that substantial
changes to the agreement
include recognition of the
Lower Umatilla Basin
Ground Water Management
Area, application of city
street standards to county
development in the UGB
and city maintenance of new
storm drainage improve-
ments installed upon request
of the city on a county road.
The 7 p.m. meeting at city
hall will be preceded by a 6
p.m. work session featuring
a presentation by Hermiston
School District about its
upcoming bond campaign.
HERMISTON
HERMISTON
EOTEC approves contract for maintenance, janitorial
Officer nabs three wanted
men, recovers stolen vehicles
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
The Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center board
approved a contract Friday
for maintenance and janito-
rial services.
The contract is with
Mabel Largaespada Dean’s
Services, which will provide
janitorial services for $22 per
hour per person, and mainte-
nance/lawn care for $40 per
hour per person. The board
previously voted to seek out
a contractor to handle those
services after concerns that
business manager Heather
Cannell was devoting time
to cleaning bathrooms and
setting up tables that she
should be spending on
marketing the event center.
As members of the
EOTEC board continue
to work on a marketing
and operations plan for the
project, Cannell and city of
Hermiston finance director
Amy Palmer have been
working on financial reports
that give the board a clearer
picture of the costs and reve-
nues associated with each
event.
A report presented Friday
of event revenue and direct
expenses for those events
was not a full picture because
it only showed revenue that
has actually been received,
EO file photo
The Hermiston Farm Fair in November was one of several
events at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center in
2016. EOTEC brought in $26,444 in revenue since July 1.
Palmer said. However, the
report showed $26,444 in
event revenue since July 1
and $6,779 in direct costs
for those events. It did not
include general overhead
costs for running the event
center or personnel costs.
Money for marketing
EOTEC comes from a $1
per room per night tourism
promotion assessment on
hotels and RV parks in west
Umatilla County, and the
hoteliers last year added a
second dollar that will be
used to pay off construction
bonds the city of Hermiston
agreed to issue on their
behalf. Board chair and city
manager Byron Smith said
the city council will be asked
to approve multiple construc-
tion bonds, including $1.75
million for EOTEC, on
Monday.
Board member Vijay Patel
noted that TPA revenue is
down slightly from the year
before. He said hotel revenue
in Hermiston has taken a hit
in part because an increase in
hotel rooms in the Tri-Cities
has decreased the amount
of overflow to Hermiston
hotels.
On the construction side,
John Eckhardt of Knerr
Construction predicted they
will start breaking ground
on the barns on Tuesday,
although he cautioned that
estimate was somewhat
dependent on weather since
there are some surveying
activities they can’t do with
snow on the ground. In
December Eckhardt said they
hoped to begin construction
by the end of January.
Carl
Hendon
from
Hendon
Construction
reported that work is going
well on the rodeo arena, and
he anticipated concrete work
would be finished by the end
of March so that they can
start working on installing
things like bleachers and
pens.
In January he reported
that weather delays had
pushed the project’s expected
completion date from June 1
to June 14, but said Friday
that since then “we’ve
probably actually picked up
time.”
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
East Oregonian
An officer who stopped
to help motorists Thursday
afternoon near Hermiston
instead
arrested
three
suspects who led to the
recovery of three stolen
vehicles.
Umatilla County under-
sheriff Jim Littlefield said
Loren Westmoreland, an
officer with the Umatilla
County Community Justice
Department, was driving on
South Cabana Road near
Johnston Lane, Hermiston,
when he saw a Honda Civic
and a Chevrolet Celebrity
with their hoods open. West-
moreland stopped to see if he
could help, Littlefield said.
Three men were in the
Honda, and Westmoreland
ran the licenses plates of
the cars and discovered the
Honda was stolen several
weeks ago from Atkinson
Staffing, 80796 N. Highway
395, Hermiston. The officer
also found the license plates
on the Chevrolet belonged to
another car.
Jesus Pantoja, 26, of 1230
Ridgeway Ave., Hermiston,
was behind the wheel of the
Honda, so Westmoreland
arrested him for possession
of a stolen vehicle and for
outstanding warrants.
The other men, Rigo-
berto Tena Rosales, 22,
of 230 E. Dogwood Ave.,
Hermiston, and Luis Alberto
Roman, 21, 423 E. Gladys
Ave., Hermiston, also had
warrants, and Rosales faces
a charge of possession of a
stolen vehicle for the Chev-
rolet, which also was from
Hermiston. Littlefield said
all three men had metham-
phetmine, so Westmoreland
added a drug possession
charge to each.
And that license plate
belonged to a third stolen
vehicle, Littlefield said,
which deputies found at
Pantoja’s residence.
Littlefield said it was
good police work. Pantoja,
Rosales,
and
Roman
remained in the Umatilla
County Jail, Pendleton, as of
Friday.
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Balloons • Jewelry • Purses & More!
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541-567-4305
Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5am
www.cottagefl owersonline.com
BUCKAROO BOOSTER
CLUB FUNDRAISER
Good Shepherd Com munity Health
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applications are now being accepted
from qualified local students
through February 28th.
The Foundation is again p leased
to partner with Tualatin Imaging
to offer an additional $4,000 in
scholarships for students who have
expressed interest in pursuing a
diagnostic imaging career.
Please call 541-667-3419 for
requirements and application form.
The Place for Lovebirds
T UESDAY , F EBRUARY 14
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.
Bleu Cheese Topped Sirloin - $29.95
Fire Roasted Salmon with Mango Salsa - $26
Special Homemade
Valentine Desserts
by Pastry Chef Rory
CALL FOR
RESERVATIONS
Saloon Opens at 4 PM • Dinner beginning at 5 PM
M
541.278.1100
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
H AMLEY S TEAK H OUSE
COURT & MAIN • DOWNTOWN PENDLETON
RAYMOND JAMES
FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.
Member FINRA/SIPC
Serving Eastern Oregon & Washington for over 24 years
Chrissy Woollard has joined John
Cimmiyotti as a new Financial Advisor
for Raymond James Financial Services
in the Pendleton offi ce. Chrissy has
been with Raymond James for 9 years
and currently she holds a series 7 &
66 and Life, Health, Variable insurance
licenses. Chrissy graduated from the
University of Wyoming with a BS in Science and a minor in Busi-
ness. Chrissy is a native of Pendleton and a Pendleton High
School graduate. Chrissy enjoys helping individuals, families
and businesses to attain their fi nancial goals. Chrissy can
be contacted by calling the local offi ce at 541-276-9184.
305 SW Dorion Ave. ~ Pendleton, OR 97801
8797 W. Gage Blvd., Ste. C-103 ~ Kennewick, WA 99336
541-276-9184 • 800-276-9184
Web Site: www.RaymondJames.com