SOFTBALL/1B
56/45
WORLD/7A
FIVE DEAD IN
ATTACK AT
BRITISH
PARLIAMENT
BULLDOGS
BEAT BEND
THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017
141st Year, No. 113
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
One dollar
Irrigators
criticize
$100 water
rights fee
proposal
Argue fee is effectively
a discriminatory tax
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Bureau
SALEM — A proposed $100
annual fee on all Oregon water rights
has met with criticism from irriga-
tors who say it would contribute to
already mounting fi nancial burdens.
Farmers overwhelmingly testifi ed
against House Bill 2706, which aims
to raise money for water manage-
ment, during a March 22 hearing
before the House Committee on
Energy and Environment.
Members of the Klamath Water
Users Association, for example, are
already paying steep costs to comply
with the Endangered Species Act and
engage in water rights adjudication in
the region, said Dave Jensen, a farmer
and representative of the group.
“Would $100 break a bunch of
farmers out there? Probably not, but
there is always the straw that broke
the camel’s back,” Jensen said.
For irrigators with multiple water
rights, the bill would cap total fees at
$1,000 a year, while municipalities
could pay up to $2,500 a year.
The money raised would pay for
the administrative, technical and
fi eld duties performed by the Oregon
Water Resources Department, which
oversees 89,000 water rights in the
state.
The bill would effectively impose
a discriminatory tax on irrigators and
other water users, said Curtis Martin,
a rancher and chair of the Oregon
Cattlemen’s Association’s water
resources committee.
“There is no additional service
being delivered to the users of the
resource,” Martin said.
Opponents also argue that elec-
tricity costs have continued rising,
adding to the cost of pumping water,
and irrigators would have to pay the
management fee even if they didn’t
See WATER/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The Stanfi eld City Council held a goal-setting workshop Tuesday evening where future goals for the city were discussed. One
idea was to preserve the historic water tower in the center of Stanfi eld.
STANFIELD of TOMORROW
City council adjusts goals, big and small, for community
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The Stanfi eld public library was discussed at the Stanfi eld City
Council goal-setting workshop. The library needs new lighting,
carpet and money for staffi ng.
New
playgrounds,
new
sidewalks and new lights for the
library all fi t in city leaders’ vision
for Stanfi eld as they worked
through a goal-setting session this
week.
The brainstorming part of the
meeting went so long that city
councilors agreed to continue it
to a second workshop in April,
where they will share any last
ideas and then pare everything
down into a prioritized list of
long-term and short-term goals
to be revisited each spring before
budget approval.
“I think we had some good
discussion here, and I would love
to continue it,” said Blair Larsen,
who has been the city manager
since 2013.
The council started by
discussing the vision statement
created in 2011, which reads,
“Stanfi eld is a community known
for its responsive government,
hometown atmosphere, cultural
opportunities, quality housing and
vibrant business community.”
Larsen said a vision statement
was not meant to describe the
current state of affairs, but to
present an ideal to strive for.
“Our goals should be focused
on achieving those ideas,” he said.
After looking over the state-
ment, councilors agreed to change
See STANFIELD/8A
PENDLETON
Driven by vision
This concep-
tual design
shows the
reuse of
Pendleton’s
Eighth
Street
Bridge, as
viewed from
South Main
Street facing
north.
Grassroots groups take on downtown projects
By ANTONIO SIERRA
and PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
There’s
a
certain
approach local governments
often take to civic projects.
The government agency
commissions a plan, a
professional fi rm (often
from Portland) creates the
plan, the public is given a
chance for public input and
either the civic project gets
done or the plan sits on the
shelf.
Whether by choice or by
necessity, two community
groups comprised of Pend-
leton residents and orga-
nizations are working at a
grassroots level to bring new
civic projects to downtown
Pendleton.
These groups are not
only working with local
government, but also using
personal relationships to
help translate their plans into
reality.
Rivoli Theater Coalition
Andrew Picken is the
board president of the
Rivoli Theater Restoration
Coalition, the nonprofi t
organization working to
bring the old theater on
Pendleton’s Main Street
back to life.
“I think of the Rivoli as
the least well acknowledged
or recognized success
project in Umatilla County,”
Picken recently told the
Umatilla County Board of
Commissioners.
The coalition has raised
$411,00,
Picken
said
Wednesday, and 16 percent
of that came from the
Pendleton
Development
Commission. For every $1
from the commission, the
Rivoli group raised $6 more.
The Rivoli’s most recent
expense was the $138,000
for architectural and engi-
neering designs. Umatilla
See PENDLETON/8A
Contributed image
The Rivoli
Theater
renovation
in downtown
Pendleton
will include
a stage, fl oor
space, balco-
ny and both
a green room
and storage
area in the
basement
Contributed image