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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2017)
WRESTLING/1B OIL PIPELINE PROTESTERS LEAVE CAMP 39/23 NATION/7A HERMISTON HOPING FOR ANOTHER STATE TITLE Trump lifts transgender bathroom guidance 8A THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017 141st Year, No. 93 WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD One dollar PENDLETON Proposed pot shop faces heat Tutuilla residents worry about proximity to school bus stop By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Opposition is mounting to a proposed recreational marijuana store on Tutuilla Road in Pendleton. Thur’s Smoke Shop, which is currently located at 34 S.W. Emigrant Ave., requested a conditional use permit from the Pendleton Planning Commission to open a dispensary at 1292 S.W. Tutuilla Road. Julie Chase of the city’s planning department said there was a signifi cant amount of public testimony at the planning commission meeting Thursday, most of it in opposition to Thur’s. Given the large amount of testimony, Chase said the commission decided to hold off on a decision until its next meeting March 9. Sunridge Middle School principal Dave Williams said he was one of the people who testifi ed against the store. Williams said Thur’s met the zoning requirements — it’s more than 1,000 feet away from Sunridge and Grecian Heights Park — but that doesn’t mean its right for the area. Williams said there are more than 600 students who See MARIJUANA/8A Staff photo by E.J. Harris A sign warming about a proposed marijuana dispensa- ry being “not a good fi t” sits at the corner of Southwest Tutuilla Road and Nye Avenue on Tuesday in Pendleton. PENDLETON PENDLETON Bike week makes deal with Harley- Davidson Motorcycle company to sponsor event in its third year By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian “Despite the treacherous treatment regiment and many complications and surgeries, Ruth shows up to work daily, ready and excited to serve our clients.” Pendleton Bike Week rides into its third year high on the hog. Eric Folkestad, bike week co-founder, confi rmed Harley-Davidson Motor Company inked a deal as the rally’s title sponsor. “We just signed the contract [Tuesday],” he said. “We’ve been working on this since last August.” Folkestad said he, Pat Beard of Travel Pendleton and representatives from the city of Pendleton met with Harley-Da- vidson offi cials Jan. 25 at the company’s headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company found Pendleton and its annual Round-Up share Harley-David- son’s values, Folkestad said, and would be a good fi t for the brand. “It’s the only event they’re going to do on the West Coast,” Beard said. Folkestad and Beard said Harley-Da- vidson expect to issue an offi cial statement March 1. The inaugural bike week in 2015 had about 6,000 attendees, and last year that ramped up to around 16,000 across four days. Beard said the deal with Harley-Da- vidson legitimizes Bike Week in a big way for motorcycle enthusiasts. Given Harley-Davidson’s brand recognition, its marketing power and social media reach, Beard estimated 20,000 or more could attend this year. And the door is open for the rally to morph into the annual “Harley-Da- vidson’s Pendleton Bike Week.” Folkestad said the American motor- cycle maker will send a team with two semitrailers of demonstration bikes, which people can ride for free, to the rally at the Pendleton Convention Center. He also said local sponsors, including Hill Meat Co., Oxford Suites, and Les Schwab Tires, — Amy Ashton-Williams, director of Umatilla County Human Services See BIKE WEEK/8A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Ruth Silva fi les paperwork at her job with the Umatilla County Human Services offi ce on Wednesday in Pendleton. Silva refused let her third bout with cancer keep her from coming into work. Human Services employee won’t let cancer keep her from work By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian After Ruth Silva was diagnosed with cancer, she decided she wasn’t going to let her illness stand in the way of doing her job. Silva, who has stage three ovarian cancer, works as support staff for Umatilla County Human Services offi ce in Pendleton. She has kept working through three different battles with cancer, emergency surgery and a grueling schedule of chemotherapy. “I don’t want it to get me down,” she said. “Sometimes I feel lousy when I come into work but I try not to let people see it.” Her coworkers are supportive, and tell her not to feel guilty if she needs to go home and rest before the work day is over. This week they surprised her at a staff lunch by wearing matching T-shirts with teal ribbons (the symbol of ovarian cancer awareness) and the slogan “I wear teal for Ruth.” Silva said while she appre- See SILVA/10A Day 180: Recovery Hurricane Katrina’s aft ermath off ers some lessons on what a Cascadia recovery eff ort might look like By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian AP Photo/David J. Phillip A man moves items damaged by fl oodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on Sept. 9, 2005 in Slidell, La. near New Orleans. Emergency responders look to the disaster as a guide for what to expect in the months after a potential massive earthquake and tsunami in the Pacifi c Northwest. As those in charge of emergency prepared- ness try to understand what the aftermath of Cascadia might look like six months after the quake, Hurricane Katrina can offer some lessons. The hurricane hit New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, breaching levees and fl ooding 80 percent of the city. An estimated 1,800 people were killed by the hurricane and its aftermath and more than 1.3 million evacuees from the region submitted aid applications to FEMA Editor’s note: This is part four of a fi ve-part series about a possible 9.0 Cascadia subduction zone earthquake in the Pacifi c Northwest. from new addresses across all 50 states. Six months later, the Tulsa World reported only 38 percent of New Orleans residents had returned to the city. Half of the 60 million cubic yards of debris had been removed from the city, and only one third of the city’s structures See CASCADIA/10A