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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2017)
REGION Saturday, February 18, 2017 East Oregonian ECHO Page 3A PENDLETON Coffeehouse, mercantile opening downtown Commission considers $3.5M line of credit for downtown projects By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Echo residents will be able to buy groceries locally starting in March. Dana and Pam Reese plan to open the Buttercreek Coffeehouse and Mercantile on March 10 in the former Wheat and Barley Pub space on Main Street. They plan to serve locally sourced coffee, food and wine but also to offer a selection of basic groceries and fresh, seasonal produce. “The community hasn’t had a grocery store in decades,” Dana said. The couple said they want to tailor the coffeehouse to the community’s needs, and to create a friendly gathering space that complements rather than competes with other local businesses. Adjustments will be made as needed, but for now the plan is to be open from 5:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with special openings during downtown events or when people want to rent out the space. Pam said eventually she would like to see the shop offer a selection of books for sale as well, and they plan to add outdoor seating during the summer. She said the menu will include breakfast foods such as muffins, breakfast burritos and bagels while lunch will include soup and pepperoni rolls. “We’ll mostly be about grab-and-go,” she said. “People are welcome to eat it here but we want it to be convenient.” She teaches middle school and high East Oregonian Staff photo by Jade McDowell Dana Reese, left, and Pam Reese stand near a historic photo of the building they are renovating to create the Buttercreek Coffeehouse and Mercantile. school English at Echo School, and said her students have served as volunteer taste testers for the menu. The Reeses plan to use coffee from Buckin’ Bean Coffee Roasters in Pendleton, wine and beer from the local wineries and sell produce in the grocery store from local growers. The building at 201 W. Main St. was built in 1920 and still has much of the original brickwork and hardwood flooring. It was originally a butcher shop, then a grocery store. Dana said they have enjoyed working on the historic building. They plan to do a trial run opening with a limited menu on March 4 during the Red 2 Red bike race, then open officially on March 10. For more information call 541-376-5540 or email buttercreek10@gmail.com. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536. BRIEFLY PSD lifts brief lockout at Washington PENDLETON — Wash- ington Elementary School went into lockout Friday morning from 7:55 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. because of “an outside threat,” a Pendleton School District press release states. At approximately 7:40 a.m., two Washington students reported to staff that they saw a man with a gun on the levy several blocks south of the school. As staff notified police, Washington and the rest of the district went into a lockout, and buses were diverted from the school. Police found the man shortly after 8 a.m. and told the district to take schools out of lockout. Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts said the man was carrying a BB gun and didn’t break any laws. Roberts added that the man was spotted by the students at the intersection of Southeast Byers Avenue and Southeast Third Street and never got closer than nine blocks to the school. Unlike a “lockdown,” which confines students and staff members to classrooms while police secure a facility, a lockout seals school entry ways but does not interrupt school activities. While noting his frus- tration with having security situations two days in a row following a lockdown at Pendleton High School Thursday, superintendent Andy Kovach praised high school principal Dan Greenough, Washington principal Aimee Van Nice and Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts for their quick response. ODOT holds public meetings The Oregon Department of Transportation, and the North East and South East Area Commissions on Transportation will host public meetings in eight Eastern Oregon communities on Feb. 27, where they will discuss proposed transportation. All members of the public interested in learning more about the projects, or providing their own input, are encouraged to attend. The Statewide Transportation Improvement Program will be discussed, and includes several proposed transportation projects to be completed between 2018 and 2021. More than 80 projects have been proposed for the Eastern Oregon area. The program is developed by ODOT, Area Commissions on Transportation, federal, local and tribal governments. Those unable to attend the meeting can link to it through Eastern Oregon University’s video conference system, Zoom.com. Meetings will take place in Baker City, Boardman, Burns, Enterprise, John Day, La Grande, Ontario and Pendleton. Kiwanis offer scholarships HERMISTON — The Hermiston Noon Kiwanis Club is accepting applications for its Perry Johnson and Russell Dorran post-secondary education scholarships. Current seniors at Hermiston High School or graduates of Hermiston who are attending college in academic programs are eligible to apply for the scholarship awards. Applications are avail- able at the HHS counseling office or the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce, 415 S. Highway 395. Important factors in the evaluation of applicants includes academic record, commu- nity service, leadership qualities and financial need. The scholarships are given in memory of a pair of past Kiwanis members. Johnson also was a Baptist minister, who championed youth services and supported education. Dorran was a charter member of the club, as well as the Hermiston Elks Lodge, Hermiston Devel- opment Corporation and Blue Mountain Community Thank You for Being Such a Strong Community Presence! College board, and served on many other area boards and committees. He was recognized at the chamber awards banquet in 1963 and again in 1990. The applications must be submitted by Friday, March 31. Interviews with poten- tial scholarship recipients will be scheduled. For more information, contact George Clough at 541-567-6024 or Hermiston Noon Kiwanis Club, P.O. Box 375, Hermiston, OR 97838. ——— Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports, and press releases. Email press releases to news@ eastoregonian.com The Pendleton Devel- opment Commission has ambitious plans for the last six years of the urban renewal district and wants more money to make those plans happen. The members of the Pendleton City Council are also the members of the commission, and both bodies will meet Tuesday to discuss their financial options. At the commission meeting, members will look at opening a $3.5 million line of credit. City manager Robb Corbett, who also serves as the commission’s executive director, wrote in a report to the commission that applying for a line of credit would be different than the financing measures the commission has taken in the past. Instead of applying for a large loan and using the revenue the urban renewal district collects from taxing increments to pay it back like the commission has in the past, Corbett is recommending the commission use the line of credit to borrow money on an as-needed basis. Any debt the city incurs would be paid back by 2023, the same year the urban renewal district will expire. Commission officials have projected $3.36 million in expenses through the 2023 fiscal year, including $1.2 million for the second- story improvement program, $300,000 for a festival area and a 3 percent bump in oper- ating costs each year that would see its budget rise from $70,960 in 2017 to $84,730 in 2023. To help execute all of these projects, the city council will consider giving a raise to the only employee solely dedicated to commission business — associate director Charles Denight. When the commission created Denight’s position two years ago, Corbett wrote that city officials were unsure how much work the position would need. Corbett recommends boosting Denight’s salary from $21,400 to $31,400 and expanding his work week from 20 hours to 27 hours. He is also proposing that Denight’s operations budget grow from $35,000 to $44,968. If the council decides against the new budget, Corbett wrote that Denight would have to drop some of his responsibilities. In other council busi- ness, the council will also consider an ordinance that imposes interest and penal- ties for marijuana stores that don’t pay their taxes on time. The ordinance is required by the Oregon Department of Revenue, which has an agreement with the city to collect the local 3 percent tax on the city’s behalf. Four recreational marijuana businesses have applied for licenses since voters legalized cannabis sales in November, although none have opened yet. The commission meeting is on Tuesday at 6 p.m. while the council meeting immediately proceeds it at 7 p.m. Both meetings are in the council chambers at city hall, 500 S.W. Dorion Ave. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0836. 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