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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 2017)
52/46 BASKETBALL/1B RYAN PUSHES FOR UNITY ON HEALTH BILL NATION/7A BEAVERS BOUNCED FROM TOURNEY Lawmakers consider limiting biodigester tax credits OREGON/2A THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017 141st Year, No. 103 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD PENDLETON HERMISTON Murdock supports city ownership of EOTEC Umatilla County Commissioner sees proposal as long-term goal By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Artist Chuck Close’s unique approach to painting uses a collection of small, abstract patterns that come together to create the subject. Close’s work is on display at the Pendleton Center for the Arts. CLOSE UP Work of world-famous artist Chuck Close on display at art center Staff photo by E.J. Harris Detail of the Chuck Close portrait above. “Chuck Close is the master portrait art- ist of our time. For tens of thousands of years, artists have drawn faces, but no one has taken the art of portraiture to the same level as Chuck Close.” By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Viewing a Chuck Close exhibit can be a mind-blowing experience. Some of his pieces, seen from across the room, appear as huge photographic portraits, but move closer and they morph into collections of abstract shapes. The viewer steps back, steps forward and steps back again in a quest to understand this mysti- fying trick of the eye. The artist, in a mesmerizing way, weaves together reality and abstraction. A dozen Close pieces are currently on display at the Pendleton Center for the Arts, on loan from Portland art collector Jordan Schnitzer. PCA executive director Roberta Lavadour traveled to Portland last spring to join colleague Greggory Dallas to select art for the exhibit. The pair pored over about 50 three- ring binders fi lled with images of Staff photo by E.J. Harris This Chuck Close portrait is refl ected on a metal cylinder and can only be seen from a specifi c angle. artwork belonging to Schnitzer and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation. Chuck Close’s work capti- vated Lavadour and Dallas. “He’s very iconic,” Lavadour said. “He is a big deal — a rock star in the art world.” Yet, she said, Close’s art is so accessible. “His work is a gateway for people who might not think they like abstract art,” she said. Close focuses on the human — Jordan Schnitzer, Portland art collector face, a fascinating thing consid- ering that he reportedly suffers from a neurological condition called prosopagnosia, or face-blindness, which keeps him from easily recognizing faces. The artist’s body of work See CLOSE/8A PENDLETON ArcticShark takes fl ight at UAS range Drone will collect climate data in Alaska By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Dark clouds and drizzle did not hinder test fl ights Wednesday of the largest drone ever to fl y at the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems Range. The ArcticShark, a 625-pound behemoth with a 22-foot wing- span, is destined to prowl the clouds over the Arctic coast of Alaska carrying more than a dozen instruments to gather some of the most sophisticated climate data ever recorded. But fi rst, researchers must See DRONE/8A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Beat Schmid, associate director of the Atmospheric Sciences & Global Change Division at PNNL, talks about the payload of the ArcticShark unmanned aerial vehicle to a group of Pendleton dignitaries on Wednesday at the Pendleton UAS range. Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock said Wednesday that the county should consider handing full ownership of the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center to the city of Hermiston. “I believe that in the long run we need to be a tenant of EOTEC and neither an owner or a manager,” he said during the board of commissioners meeting in Pend- leton. The county “This is a po- and city of Herm- sition I’ve held iston currently share ownership for some time of the event relative to the center. Murdock said the two local ultimate future governments are of EOTEC.” already working on an operating — George Murdock agreement Umatilla County dealing with the Commissioner future of EOTEC and his ownership proposal should be part of the discussion. The city and county next meet March 20 to discuss EOTEC management. The county’s primary interest in the See EOTEC/8A PENDLETON Council, CTUIR Board of Trustees discuss housing and economy By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian The Pendleton City Council and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees used their fi rst joint meeting in a few years to fi nd common ground. Meeting at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport in Pendleton on Wednesday, the two governing bodies discussed the their respective goals and areas where they could collaborate. The city council went over its 2017- 2019 goals — improving infrastructure, economic development, housing and land development — and the board shared it’s own. The board’s 2016-2017 list spans 15 priorities organized under six subjects — language, health and human services, education, housing, treaty rights protec- tion and organizational excellence. Housing was one of the fi rst common threads the two sides discussed. Like Pendleton, board secretary Kat Brigham said a lack of housing on the Umatilla Indian Reservation pushed many of the tribes’ employees to commute from cities like La Grande, Walla Walla and Hermiston. Board Vice Chairman Jeremy Wolf said that both the city and tribes should focus on building mid-level housing, noting that many tribal members living in low income housing on the reservation have few options in working their way up to better living spaces. With both entities are working on compiling an inventory of available land for housing, Mayor John Turner said he would extend an invitation to the tribal government to a housing summit he wants See PENDLETON/8A