REGION
Thursday, March 16, 2017
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
Page 3A
UMATILLA
Barrier to resolve airport dispute City will appoint
Shipping containers
interim mayor
to prevent ag pad
closure for now
East Oregonian
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
The manager of Pend-
leton’s Unmanned Aerial
Systems Range says a strate-
gically placed barrier should
help alleviate any safety
concerns between drones
and traditional crop dusting
pilots at the Eastern Oregon
Regional Airport.
Darryl Abling, who was
hired as UAS range manager
last year, recommended last
week temporarily closing
the airport’s northernmost
agricultural pad, citing the
potential for planes to kick
up rocks and debris that
could damage nearby drone
equipment.
The Pendleton Airport
Commission tabled that
request after it was met with
resistance, and asked for
stakeholders to brainstorm
other solutions. About 20
people gathered Wednesday
at the airport, where they
came up with the idea of
using shipping containers as
a makeshift blast wall that
would protect drones and
allow the ag pad to remain
open.
Abling said a barrier would
be feasible in the short term,
and the airport commission
will hold a special meeting at
6 p.m. Wednesday, March 22
to vote on approval.
“It’s just a matter of
orchestrating the logistics,”
Abling said.
The issue centers on the
northernmost ag pad at the
airport, which lies in close
EO file photo
The Eastern Oregon Regional Airport in Pendleton.
proximity to UAS operations
— including the ArcticShark,
an $800,000 drone owned
by the U.S. Department of
Energy ultimately bound for
Alaska to gather climate data.
Flight tests and training
will take place next week
and throughout the month
of April for the ArcticShark,
Abling said. At the same
time, local wheat farmers are
trying to get fertilizer applied
to their fields ahead of this
year’s growing season.
Andrew Kilgore, owner
of K2 Aerial Application,
expressed interest in leasing
the pad but was denied as the
airport cited safety concerns
at the UAS range. The pad
itself has not been used since
the Forest Service gave up its
lease two years ago.
Time is of the essence,
Kilgore said. Farmers are
fertilizing now, and the
longer he is grounded, the
more work he will lose.
Abling said the container
barrier should be effective,
and he was pleased by the
outcome of Wednesday’s
meeting. The purpose of the
UAS range is to integrate
drones with manned flights at
the airport, he added, and not
to advance the UAS industry
ahead of agriculture.
“It’s all about working
together,” Abling said.
Over the long term,
Abling said he would like to
see access improved at the
range’s other UAS launch
pads, which would allow
them to permanently close the
pad in conflict with ag pilots.
That may take several years,
but Abling said the range is
starting to turn a profit which
will lead to infrastructure
improvements.
Eventually, the goal is to
move all UAS operations to
the north end of the airfield.
Kilgore said he was also
satisfied with Wednesday’s
meeting, where agricultural
pilots like himself had a
chance to make their voices
heard.
“Now, hopefully, we can
work something out between
all the local operators,
including myself,” he said.
There was some further
discussion at the meeting
about making the vacant
pad available for public
use, rather than leasing it
to one operator. The pads
have historically been leased
to individual owners, and
changing the terms of that
lease may require additional
review from the city.
———
Contact George Plaven at
gplaven@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0825.
BOARDMAN
Chamber luncheon focuses on rail safety
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
A spokesman for Union
Pacific Railroad and the
general manager of a
controversial
proposed
oil terminal in Vancouver,
Washington were guest
speakers Wednesday at
a Boardman Chamber
of Commerce luncheon
focusing on rail safety and
energy independence.
Aaron Hunt, director
of public affairs for Union
Pacific in Portland, kicked
off his presentation with
a look at how the railroad
is working to improve its
safety measures, especially
after last year’s derailment
of an oil train near Mosier.
Oregon legislators are
mulling a pair of bills to curb
oil-by-rail disasters — one
that would require Union
Pacific to develop oil spill
prevention and emergency
response planning, and
another that would prohibit
the state from funding new
bulk coal or oil terminals.
Hunt did not specifi-
cally discuss either bill
on Wednesday, though
according to an Associated
Press report, he submitted
testimony to the Legislature
arguing that a bill setting
time frames for emergency
response is invalid under
federal laws.
Instead, Hunt highlighted
a number of statistics
illustrating strides Union
Pacific is making in safety.
Between 2005 and 2015,
employee injuries have
gone down 53 percent, he
said. There has also been
a 25 percent reduction in
incidents involving railroad
equipment.
Faulty lag bolts were
the cause of the Mosier
derailment, which Hunt
acknowledged during his
talk. Since the fiery crash on
June 3, 2016, Hunt said the
company has replaced all lag
bolts with traditional rail-
road spikes on eight miles
of curved track through the
Columbia River Gorge.
Hunt added the railroad
has increased the amount
and frequency of its rail
safety inspections. Walking
inspections of track curves
now happen every 90 days
in Oregon, with visual
hi-rail inspections twice per
week.
Track geometry cars —
which use lasers to take
precise measurements of
track level and spacing —
run three times per year as
well.
“All of these technologies
fold together into a set of
data that we are constantly
analyzing to prevent inci-
dents on the railroad,” Hunt
said.
All of that together has
helped make railroads
the safest mode of trans-
portation for hazardous
materials, Hunt said. Trains
are 20 times less likely to be
involved in an accident than
trucks, according to data,
and Union Pacific has spent
$430,000 training 51,000
first responders since 2005
as part of its crude-by-rail
program.
“We are safer than the
alternative,” Hunt said.
Jared Larrabee, general
manager for the proposed
Tesoro Savage oil terminal
in Vancouver, Washington,
was also on hand to discuss
their project, which has been
contested by environmental
groups as well as local
residents.
If
approved,
the
Vancouver terminal would
be the largest such facility
in the U.S., handling up to
360,000 barrels of crude
oil per day. Larrabee said
the terminal would be able
to bring in four oil trains
every day when operating at
maximum capacity.
Speaking to business
owners and community
leaders
in
Boardman,
Larrabee said railroads are
imperative for the West
Coast to access booming
Midwest
oil
supplies.
By itself, he figures the
Vancouver Energy terminal
could displace up to 30
percent of crude oil imported
by the region from foreign
sources, thereby increasing
energy independence.
“One of the really
important elements of this
is the ability to use oil
we produce in the United
States, and displace some of
that foreign oil,” Larrabee
said. “That’s really what our
project is all about.”
Vancouver Energy also
anticipates the terminal will
kick in $7.8 million annu-
ally in local tax revenue, and
create 176 direct jobs once it
is fully operational.
Safety is paramount
to that economic output,
Larrabee said. That’s why
Burlington Northern Santa
Fe Railroad, which will
carry the volatile oil from
the Bakken Formation in
North Dakota, will also
inspect each loaded unit oil
train either in Pasco or else-
where in Washington before
it is sent down the Gorge.
The facility will only
accept trains that use tanker
cars meeting the latest
federal standard, Larrabee
added.
Still, the project has
faced stiff opposition while
officials have spent more
than three years trying to
obtain permits. Opponents
argue it would increase
the risk of another oil train
derailment and spill, as well
as harm tribal fisheries and
increase pollution from
burning more fossil fuels.
The Port of Vancouver
recently voted 2-1 to extend
the company’s lease.
TWO
HOURS
every
morning
paid off
my credit
Umatilla is taking
applications for its next
mayor.
City manager Russ
Pelleberg said interested
citizens can visit city
hall, 700 Sixth St., to fill
out a form signaling their
interest in being appointed
by the city council.
Former Mayor David
Trott resigned March 1,
citing
“irreconcilable
differences” with the city
council. His resignation
came too late to place the
mayor’s position on the
May ballot.
At the city council’s
March 7 meeting a citizen
urged the council to
appoint an interim mayor
until the city could hold
an election in November,
but council president
Mary Dedrick stated the
city’s bylaws called for
the council president to
preside at meetings until
the election could be held
in November.
She later contacted the
East Oregonian to correct
that statement and note
the city council could and
would, in fact, appoint an
interim mayor.
The council’s next
regular meeting is sched-
uled for April 4.
Umatilla has dealt with
a series of unfinished
mayor’s terms over the
past seven years. Trott was
elected in 2014 to replace
Pat Lafferty after Lafferty
died while in office.
Lafferty had been elected
during a special election
in 2011 after Karen Steen
served only three months
in office before announcing
she was resigning due to
“bullying” from city staff
and elected officials.
Steen had been elected
to finish out a term vacated
by Trott, who served as
Umatilla’s mayor from
2005 to 2010 before
resigning to pursue the
open city manager’s posi-
tion that was eventually
filled by Bob Ward.
Several school boards
without candidates
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
The deadline to file for
school board elections is
today, and several local
positions — including
a seat on the Hermiston
School Board — are still
open.
In order to file, candi-
dates must go to the
Umatilla County Court-
house, 216 S.E. Fourth
Ave., Pendleton. There is
a $10 filing fee, and candi-
dates must provide some
personal information.
This year, the trend of
low turnout for school
board
positions
has
continued in Umatilla
County, with most races
uncontested, and several
open seats with no candi-
dates.
In Hermiston, four seats
will become available.
Incumbents Bonnie Luisi,
Jason Middleton and
Karen Sherman have filed
for their current seats. Don
Rankin has not filed for
re-election, and said he
plans to retire at the end of
his term.
“After 12 years, that’s
enough,” said Rankin,
who will be 83 this year.
“I enjoyed my time on
the school board. It’s been
interesting. We passed the
bond in ’08, and that was
good.”
Board chair Sherman
said this is the first year
she can remember where
no one filed for an open
position, and that if no one
ends up running, it will
become an appointed seat.
The board will nominate
and select someone, and
the term will be shortened
from four years to two.
In Pendleton, three
positions are up for
election, including one
contested race — between
Debbie McBee and Chris
Roop.
Several other districts
in Umatilla County have
seats open, for which
no one has filed. Ukiah
currently has no filings
for any of its three vacant
school board positions, and
of the five open positions
on the Echo School Board,
only three have been filed.
Pilot Rock School
District has two contested
races, including a race
between Janice Schreiner
and Jennifer Humphreys
Gourlie for Position 2, and
between Joan Harrison and
Carla Callahan for Position
6.
———
Contact
Jayati
Ramakrishnan at 541-564-
4534 or jramakrishnan@
eastoregonian.com
St. Patrick’s Day BASH
Friday, March 17
Saloon Open Early at NOON
STEAKHOUSE DINNER STARTS AT 4 PM
Corned Beef & Cabbage
Special Irish Drinks
Green Beer
LIVE MUSIC
H AMLEY S ALOON
COURT & MAIN, PENDLETON • 541.278.1100
card debt.
CONCEALED CARRY
PERMIT CLASSES
F RIDAY , M ARCH 24 TH • 1:00
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Red Lion
304 SE Nye Ave. Pendleton, OR
Multi-state: $80 or Oregon only: $45.00
Required class to get an Oregon or multi-State
permit. Class includes:
• Fingerprinting & photo
• Oregon gun laws
• Washington gun laws
• Interstate travel laws
• Interaction with law enforcement
• Use of deadly force
• Firearm / ammunition / holster selection
360.921.2071
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Become an
East Oregonian
Carrier.
211 SE Byers Ave.
Pendleton
or call:
541-276-2211
1-800-522-0255
March 17th, St. Patricks Day • 7:00pm
541-276-6111
Red Lion Lounge • 304 SE Nye, Pendleton