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MARCH 4-5, 2017
141st Year, No. 100
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PENDLETON
City plans
to revive
convention
center
manager
position
Full-time position was
eliminated in 2013
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The roar of the crowd
Western Mennonite sophomore Terry Jiang watches the Pioneers in their 53-33 loss to Santiam while wearing an infl atable
T-Rex costume on Friday at the class 2A state championship basketball tournament in Pendleton. For more on the game
and the tournament see Sports, 1B.
What to do about ‘megafi res’
Presentation highlights risks,
actions to fi ght growing threat
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Wildfi res are getting bigger and hotter
across the West, threatening communities
and causing billions of
dollars in damage as
forests become more
cluttered and prone to
disease.
That’s according to
a presentation by Paul
Hessburg,
research
landscape ecologist with
the U.S. Forest Service,
documenting how the
landscape has changed Hessburg
and what effect humans
are having on fi re behavior.
Hessburg’s talk, titled “Era of Megafi res,”
is equal parts cautionary tale and call to action,
mixing decades worth of research with short
video clips to show how and why large fi res
erupt, the devastation they cause and what
See FIRE/12A
Courtesy of Jennifer Walmsley
The Canyon Creek Complex wildfi re is seen from downtown John Day, during the
dark days before hundreds of fi refi ghters wrestled it into submission. That did not
happen, however, until 44 homes were lost to the fi re.
After eight months of experimentation,
the Pendleton City Council could go
back to a more conventional setup for its
convention center manager position.
Already the city’s airport manager and
economic development director, Steve
Chrisman started overseeing the Pend-
leton Convention Center in July.
City manager Robb Corbett is now
recommending the city council recreate
a full-time manager position, which
would effectively relieve Chrisman of his
convention center duties.
In an interview, Corbett said he initially
thought the convention center only needed
a part-time director.
Pat Kennedy was the manager for 17
years before the city eliminated the posi-
tion in 2013 and rehired him on a contract
basis over the next few years.
Given
Chrisman’s
experience
marketing the Chinook Winds Casino
Resort in Lincoln City, Corbett thought
he could handle the convention center
assignment when Kennedy announced his
retirement.
What convinced Corbett to reverse
course was an increase in activity among
all of Chrisman’s departments.
Although day-to-day management
of the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport
was handed off to associate engineer
Wayne Green when Chrisman was named
convention center director, Chrisman’s
role as airport manager and economic
development director means he spends
much of time focusing on the Pendleton
Unmanned Aerial Systems Range.
The range has seen a recent uptick in
customers and Chrisman has predicted
that the revenues would help the airport
become self-sustaining in 2017.
At the same time, the convention center
has also seen growth.
According to a report from Corbett to
the city council, the convention center has
gone from a $182,000 defi cit in 2010 to a
$83,289 surplus at the end of the last fi scal
year. The convention center is currently
on track to exceed $200,000 in surplus at
See PENDLETON/12A
PENDLETON
PHS, Stanford grad to lead
reborn Water Coalition
Nonprofi t group to focus
on education, outreach
Marika Sitz
has returned
to Eastern
Oregon to
revive the
Oregon Water
Coalition and
will help
promote
water
resources and
coordinated
education
and outreach.
Staff photo
by E.J. Harris
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Marika Sitz knew she wanted to return
to Eastern Oregon. Her timing couldn’t be
better.
After graduating from Pendleton High
School in 2011, Sitz moved to Silicon
Valley where she earned her bachelor’s
degree in human biology from Stanford
University. Her focus was predominantly
on food and agricultural systems, which
led to an interest in water development and
sustainability.
Now, as local farmers fi nd themselves
on the cusp of new irrigation supplies that
could mean hundreds of millions of dollars
for the basin, Sitz has come home to revive
the dormant Oregon Water Coalition, a
nonprofi t group formed 25 years ago to
promote water resources.
Sitz, 24, was offi cially hired in January
as coordinator for the coalition. She will
serve at the recommendation of an eight-
member board of directors, including
longtime irrigators and irrigation district
managers.
“It’s nice to be able to come back to a
small town like this and have an opportu-
nity like this,” Sitz said.
See WATER/12A