OFF PAGE ONE
FUNDING: CAPECO employs about
56 people, and 8-12 could lose their jobs
East Oregonian
Page 14A
Continued from 1A
The nonprofi t uses
some of the federal money,
she explained, to apply
for grants from big utility
companies to give the
program a boost.
Randy Moulton is the
president of Mr. Insulation
Co., Hermiston. He said the
business handles about 20
CAPECO projects a year,
often during the slack time
of winter when crews are
not on bigger construction
projects.
“I would hate to see it go
bye-bye,” he said. “It keeps
about four or fi ve guys
busy.”
Justin Stewart is the resi-
dential installation manager
for Thews Sheet Metal,
Pendleton. He installs
heating, ventilation and air
conditioning systems and
equipment. He said he prob-
ably put in bids on 20-25
CAPECO projects and won
a third or more of them.
“For residential, it’s been
a good chunk of the pie,”
Stewart said, and cutting
the income would affect the
company.
“It’s all trickle down,” he
said.
Trump’s budget also
calls for wiping out the
Community Services Block
Grant. CAPECO receives
about
$155,000
from
the program, which Hall
described as “grassroots
funding for community
action organizations.”
Most grants comes with
restrictions on the how to
use the money. LIHEAP, for
example, only can provide
for energy assistance. But
the Community Services
Block Grant is fl exible, Hall
said, and organizations can
use that money to address a
variety of needs.
CAPECO uses some
of the money to pay for
four affordable housing
projects, and a big chunk
goes to food services, which
includes distributing food
throughout the region and
operating a food bank on
Pendleton’s Airport Hill.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Solar eclipse to darken
Oregon skies in August
Pendleton
Portland
La Grande
Lincoln
City
Baker
City
Newport
Prineville
Eugene
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Sources: www.eclipse2017.org;
www.greatamericaneclipse.com
Jim Barnes, CAPECO’s warehouse coordinator,
organizes the warehouse’s walk-in freezer on Friday
afternoon. The community action program loses
approximately $2 million in President Trump’s pro-
posed budget.
Heating and weatherization
program local numbers
President Donald Trump’s proposed budget eliminates
the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program and the Weatherization Assistance Program. The
nonprofi t Community Action Program of East Central
Oregon administers the federal funds for Umatilla,
Morrow, Gilliam, and Wheeler counties. CAPECO
reported the following fi gures for the two programs for
fi scal year 2015-16:
• 2,755 households received LIHEAP.
• 7,319 people received LIHEAP. Of those, 42 percent
were children and 16 percent were seniors.
• CAPECO’s budget for LIHEAP was $1,392,295; 5.9
percent of that was for administrative costs.
• The aggregate value of direct-client payments in
LIHEAP was $1,065,109.57.
• 34 households received weatherization.
• 86 people received weatherization.
• CAPECO’s budget for weatherization was $383,013.
(CAPECO has additional funding sources for weatheriza-
tion services but are not part of the federal budget.)
• CAPECO used 5.6 percent for administrative costs.
• CAPECO paid $199,843.05 to local contractors and
vendors for the weatherization work.
Killing off the LIHEAP,
the Community Services
Block Grant and others
would save the federal
government $4.2 billion
annually, according to the
Trump budget, and elimi-
nating the Weatherization
Assistance Program and the
State Energy Program to
would save about $2 billion.
Hall said the potential
cuts amount to a loss of
about $2 million a year for
CAPECO. Less money also
means less staff.
The nonprofi t employs
about 56 people, Hall said,
and eight to 12 employees
could lose their jobs. She
said many of those are the
people providing services
right to clients.
And
the
people
CAPECO serves is who this
comes down to, Hall said,
and they are who will feel
any budget cuts the deepest.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
Ontario
Bend
Path of total eclipse
Prairie
John Day will experience
more than 2 minutes of
darkness during the total
eclipse when it peaks at
10:23 a.m., Aug. 21.
Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
ECLIPSE: Rooms and campgrounds
are booked solid in the path of totality
Continued from 1A
clear skies and low light
pollution, and there may be
no better place in the world
for people to catch a glimpse
of the cosmic ballet. A total
solar eclipse will not happen
again in Oregon until Oct. 5,
2108, making this a once-in-a-
lifetime event.
“Most likely, they are
going to have a great view
of the event,” said Elizabeth
Farrar, solar eclipse coordi-
nator for the Eastern Oregon
Visitors Association.
Farrar was hired by the
visitors association last year
to help counties plan for the
crush of incoming tourists.
While the path of totality is
90 miles wide, Farrar said she
expects the eclipse will affect
the entire region.
“I think it’s just a matter
of time before folks in
Pendleton, Hermiston and
Boardman start getting calls
for reservations,” Farrar said.
Travel Pendleton is already
in discussions with the visitors
association about making the
Round-Up City a gateway
to the eclipse farther south.
Event recruiter Pat Beard said
they are considering hotel
packages that would include
a charter bus to carry tourists
down Highway 395 to the Fox
Valley, in the path of totality.
“There are a lot of logistics
that have to be dealt with,”
Beard said.
Pendleton is no stranger
to big crowds, hosting the
annual Pendleton Round-Up,
Pendleton Bike Week and
Pendleton Whisky Music
Festival. The city has the most
lodging and restaurants of
anywhere in Eastern Oregon,
Beard said, with 1,200 rooms
including Wildhorse Resort &
Casino.
“We’re used to being good
hosts,” Beard said. “Pendleton
really is the hub of hospitality
in Eastern Oregon.”
Debbie Pedro, director of
the Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce, said the eclipse
is not yet on their radar but
added there is plenty of time
to plan. A new Holiday Inn
Express recently opened in
the heart of the city, adding
93 rooms and 18 suites for
potential travelers.
“The chamber would
absolutely promote seeing
the eclipse,” Pedro said.
“If people are going to be
coming our way, of course we
will welcome them into our
community.”
Already, Farrar said rooms
and campgrounds are booked
solid in the path of totality.
Numerous parties are also
being planned throughout
the area, including Oregon
Eclipse 2017, a week-long
festival at Big Summit Prairie
in the Ochoco National Forest.
That event will feature seven
stages and 300 acts.
The Eastern Oregon Visi-
tors Association is working
with counties to help them
brace for the impacts of having
so many people, as well as
distribute information to let
visitors know what to expect.
Planning efforts are underway
to account for things like
public safety, traffi c, parking
and wildfi re safety.
“We’re trying to make sure
we’re giving them the tools
to come in and have a great
time,” Farrar said.
Conversations with Travel
Pendleton and Umatilla
County are still preliminary,
Farrar said, but reiterated it
would only be a matter of
time.
“Those communities can
really expect some direct
economic benefi t, even if
they’re not in the path of
totality,” she said.
———
Contact George Plaven at
gplaven@eastoreognian.com
or 541-966-0825.
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