Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 2017)
REGION Friday, March 17, 2017 East Oregonian PENDLETON BRIEFLY 41 years in the field Alan Kendrick retires from parks board, leaves legacy in town By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Alan Kendrick knew he had been on the Pendleton Parks and Recreation Commission for a long time. When he recently decided to retire from the advisory board, he asked a secretary to research the exact duration of his tenure. The final tally — 41 years. Since moving to Pendleton in 1970, Kendrick has spent almost his entire time on the commission. Growing up in Gooding, Idaho, a town of about 3,500 near Twin Falls, Kendrick, 76, said the only real choices for sports were basketball and skiing. Kendrick chose the former but he got a chance to learn the latter when he moved to Pendleton to work as a phar- macist at St. Anthony Hospital. At that time, the parks and recreation department sponsored bus trips to Toll- gate and Anthony Lakes and Kendrick eventually started volunteering to help lead them. Eventually a spot on the commission opened up and he was asked to join in 1975. Established in 1961 as the parks, recreation and cemetery board, the commission is tasked with creating rates of services, policies and plans for the city’s park system and recreational facilities. It wasn’t long before Kendrick faced his first challenge as a commissioner. Although McKay Creek’s Commu- nity Park is well established today, replete with two picnic shelters, two playgrounds, a tennis court, a disc golf course and a water fountain, it received some pushback when it was first proposed. Kendrick said he went on a local radio station and did a call-in segment, where a neighborhood resident called in to express worry over the traffic the park would bring to the area, preferring the land be used for housing. Kendrick argued that the city had received a significant grant to establish the park. “If it takes 20 years, it’s still going to be a park,” he recalled telling the caller. The land did become Community Park, and other major parks and recre- ation projects followed in the ensuing decades thanks to capital improvement bonds like the Pendleton Aquatic Center and the Helen McCune Gymnasium. Kendrick said these projects got done because both staff and the commission Staff photo by Kathy Aney Alan Kendrick walks over the bridge at Community Park, the first park he helped implement as a member of the Pendleton Parks & Recreation Commission. Kendrick served on the commission for 41 years. always had people willing to come up with new ideas. Kendrick said Pendleton parks and recreation also succeeds because of community support, highlighting Amy Bedford’s efforts to turn the Umatilla River levee into the Pendleton River Parkway and the volunteers from Altrusa and elsewhere that lined up to construct the Pioneer Park playground and then reconstruct it when a fire burned it down. After 33 years of working for St. Anthony, Kendrick retired from pharmacy work, having already passed down the pharmacy tradition to his children and grandchildren. Despite two knee and one hip replacement, he still golfs and skis, although a fall caused by a blocked shot during a basketball game means he’s no longer shooting hoops. “I had a fast break, but I wasn’t very fast,” Kendrick quipped. Parks and recreation director Donnie Cook remembered Kendrick as a “good man with a smart mind” during his time on the commission, a member who would check in with the department the day before a meeting to see how things were going. Whenever a member retires from the commission, Cook said it’s standard for them to get a plaque as a parting gift. For more than four decades of service, Cook said Kendrick will be honored at the commission’s next meeting. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@ eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. FAIR: EOTEC staff will handle maintenance of new fairgrounds Continued from 1A fair management duties to EOTEC’s yet-to-be-named general manager. Larry Givens, a county commissioner who also sits on the EOTEC board, said the county does not plan to hire a new fair manager. “We’re staffed now up to what we’re going to staff it,” he said. That includes admin- istrative assistant Angie McNalley and activities and sponsorship coordinator Cyndie Driscoll, who was hired for the new position in late 2016. Both have an office at EOTEC but are not EOTEC employees. Givens said since the county fair will merely be a tenant of EOTEC — albeit an anchor tenant with a $25,000 per year lease — EOTEC staff will handle maintenance of the new fairgrounds. If the current staffing structure turns out to be wrong, Givens said the county will look at what changes may need to be made. “We have not had the fair and rodeo at that EOTEC site, so there will be adjust- ments as we go through that process,” he said. Gay Newman, chair of the “We have not had the fair and rodeo at that EOTEC site, so there will be adjust- ments as we go through that process.” — Larry Givens, county commissioner and EOTEC board member Umatilla County Fair board, said the first year at the new fairgrounds will “probably double” the workload for fair board members, staff and volunteers. But once they figure out how to adapt to the new location, Newman said being a tenant at EOTEC should save them time and effort. The old fairgrounds in the center of town have caused a lot of headaches for fair staff and board members as they try to shoehorn as many things as possible into a space that the fair outgrew long ago, then get electricity and water everywhere that needs it and keep the failing infrastructure together. “It will actually be a little easier for us, because we don’t have to worry about ‘oh, there’s not enough power, there’s not enough water,’” Newman said. “Having power and having room to move things around without being on top of each other, that’s what we’re Page 3A excited about.” He said groups like 4-H are also excited that exhibits will be inside an air-condi- tioned event center. The move to the new venue also comes with some challenges, however. Newman said right now volunteers know exactly how certain halls and barns are set up, but the new space means the fair will be starting from scratch on figuring out a layout for everything. They also won’t know how many people will be needed to keep all the bathrooms stocked and cleaned, or where foot traffic will be heaviest. He said that Knerr Construction and Hendon Construction are “going to town” on the project trying to get it done as soon as possible, but the fair board still can’t count on a for-sure date when construction will be wrapped up enough to start the set-up process. “Is construction done soon enough we can do it, or are we going to have to scramble to get a lot of people in to do things at the last minute?” he asked. Driscoll is working hard to get sponsorships and also figure out everything from how many tents they will need to how many feet of fence will be needed around the entertainment areas, Newman said, but an increase in volunteers will be important to help the move up to EOTEC go smoothly this year. “We would more than appreciate any help we can get,” he said. He said the fair board is confident that construction will be finished in time for the 2017 fair, but they also know the first year could be a little rough as things come up that no one had taken into account. “I’m excited and nervous,” he said. The Umatilla County commissioners and Herm- iston City Council will meet in a joint work session Monday at 6 p.m. at EOTEC to discuss the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. Del’s Feed and Farm Supply closing its doors Heppner Ranger District recruiting teens for jobs HERMISTON — Del’s Feed and Farm Supply is closing its doors in Hermiston this fall. The store’s parent company, Tractor Supply Company, announced Thursday that it had made the decision to close the Hermiston location and all other Pacific Northwest locations later this year. John Logan, regional vice president for Tractor Supply Company, said in a statement the decision was based on “many business factors” after “much analysis.” He and Hermiston store manager Jeremy Miller both thanked customers for their support. “On behalf of the entire Del’s team, we are extremely grateful to our Hermiston customers for their many years of patronage,” Miller said. Tractor Supply Company also owns and operates Petsense, which recently opened a new location in Hermiston. Despite the loss of Del’s, and the loss of Pendleton Grain Growers’ retail store in late 2014, Hermiston will gain another “rural lifestyle” retail store in Ranch & Home, which plans to build on South Highway 395 this year. HEPPNER — Students between the ages of 15 and 18 are eligible to apply for summer jobs through the Youth Conservation Corps on the Heppner Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest. Work is hands-on and may include noxious weed removal, fence removal and construction, trail maintenance, campground maintenance, slash piling and fire line construction. Applications will be accepted through 2 p.m. April 14, and are available at the Forest Service office in Heppner and local high schools. The program will last eight weeks beginning June 19, and pays the Oregon minimum wage. No previous experience is required. To apply, teens must meet the age requirement, have a valid Social Security number and permission from their parents or legal guardian. Successful applicants will be selected via random drawing at 4 p.m. April 14. For more information, contact the Heppner Ranger District at 541-676-9187. Horse plowing competition coming to EOTEC HERMISTON — The Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center will host a horse plowing competition and exhibition March 25-26 in Hermiston. Prizes will be awarded for teams on both walking and riding plows, and members of the public can even get in on the action, walking behind one of the plows for a small donation. Event sponsor Lee Carlson said horse plowing is becoming a lost art, and he hopes the competition will help renew interest. “We’d like to get more younger people involved in this,” Carlson said. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s good people.” Carlson said at least 12 teams are already slated to participate, and more are likely to sign up. The event is open to the public. Judges will grade the teams based on how deep they plow, how straight the rows are and how well the team works together. It’s an intense job, Carlson said, and one that could use some fresh faces. “We need to promote it, to get more people involved in wanting to do this,” Carlson said. Donations are encour- aged to help raise funds for EOTEC and the event itself. The competition begins Saturday, March 25 at 10 a.m. For more information or to sign up, contact Carlson at 541-571-4045. Learn to spot storms without leaving home PENDLETON — The National Weather Service will offer storm spotter training online, on April 4 from 7 to 9 p.m. Participants can learn how to assist meteorologists in providing information about storm activity. To register for the training, go to www. weather.gov/pendleton and the “2017 Spotter Training Classes” link. Participants must have a dedicated internet connection and a phone line. Contact Dennis Hull at 541-276-7832 for more information. Indoor soccer for kids opens registration HERMISTON — Kids too young to play in local recreational soccer leagues can try the sport on for size thanks to Hermiston Parks and Recreation. Indoor soccer for ages 3 through first grade will introduce youngsters to the sport in a fun and low-key way. Practices are held just prior to each game and the season lasts seven weeks, starting on April 8 and running through May 20. Deadline to register is March 24. For more information, call the Parks office at 541-667-5018. ——— Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports, and press releases. Email press releases to news@ eastoregonian.com March 4-5-6, 2016 | Spokane Fair & Expo Center | Spokane, WA March 17-18-19, 2017 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 OVER 150 NORTHWEST ARTISANS FINE ART | HAND CRAFT | SPECIALTY FOODS TRAC Center Pasco, WA FREE PARKING H AMLEY S ALOON COURT & MAIN, PENDLETON • 541.278.1100 CusterShows.com Friday 10 AM —8 PM Saturday 10 AM —6 PM Sunday 10 AM —4 PM
