REGION
Thursday, April 6, 2017
New mayor to be chosen next month
The Umatilla City Council
will choose a new mayor at its
May 2 meeting.
The council approved a
plan Tuesday night to accept
applications at city hall up
until that meeting, then submit
questions to city staff that will
be asked of all candidates
during a public meeting on
May 2 at 7 p.m. Afterward,
the council will vote on a
candidate to fill the remainder
of former mayor David Trott’s
term, which expires at the end
of 2018.
Trott resigned in March,
citing “irreconcilable differ-
ences” with the council.
On Tuesday the council
appointed Kelly Nobles as
the newest member of the
city’s planning commission.
Nobles, who is recently
retired, told the council
that he applied because he
believed the commission
needed
someone
with
considerable time and energy
to devote to it.
Planning
commission
chair Boyd Sharp proposed
that his commission swap
meeting dates with the city’s
parks committee. Currently
the planning commission
meets on the fourth Tuesday
of the month and the parks
committee meets on the
second Tuesday of the month.
Because the city council
meets on the first Tuesday of
the month, councilors have
only a few days to review
packets of information that are
hundreds of pages long before
they are asked to approve land
use recommendations from
the planning commission.
The result is that they often
table the decision for the
next month’s meeting to give
them more time to get their
questions answered, causing a
delay for the developer.
Sharp said if the planning
commission started meeting
two weeks earlier in the month,
it would give councilors suffi-
cient time to read through the
packets and get their questions
answered ahead of the city
council meeting.
Councilors
supported
Sharp’s proposal, and also
supported the idea of a joint
work session between the
council and planning commis-
sion for large, complex
decisions so that developers’
applications did not get passed
back and forth between the
two bodies for months.
“We don’t want to keep
people waiting and waiting,”
council president Mary
Dedrick said.
On Tuesday the council
also approved an updated
intergovernmental agreement
with the Oregon Department
of Transportation for design
and construction of a project
to replace sidewalks along
Sixth Street between Yerxa
Avenue and the Umatilla
River Bridge.
———
The loss of one of Umatil-
la’s own weighed heavily
on Tuesday’s meeting, as
city councilors and staff paid
tribute to Staff Sgt. Austin
Bieren, 25, who died of
natural causes in northern
Syria last week while serving
as an Air Force security forces
airman.
“We lost a hero last week,”
police chief Darla Huxel said.
She said Bieren, who
graduated from Umatilla
High School, exemplified
“everything good about
our community” with his
kindness and dedication and
service. She and several city
councilors expressed their
condolences for Bieren’s
family and expressed their
sadness at his loss.
“I think in his honor, all
of us need to start building
Umatilla as a community as
he saw it, as a place he wanted
to come back to,” Dedrick
said.
On a more positive note,
councilors, city staff and
members of the public all
praised Umatilla’s annual
Slam Dunk the Junk event,
which took place Saturday.
Volunteers divided up the
city into zones and worked
to clean up yards and streets.
Councilor Mel Ray said in his
zone alone in McNary there
were seven or eight industri-
al-sized dumpsters worth of
garbage hauled away, plus
stacks of tires and “bicycles
galore” for the prison’s bicycle
recycling program. Roak
TenEyck said the city needed
to continue to find solutions to
address “problem properties”
that continue to allow junk to
stack up, but complimented
everyone who came out on
Saturday.
After Tuesday’s regular
session the council met in
executive session to conduct
the annual review of city
manager Russ Pelleberg,
but did not make any public
comments or motions after
the review.
HEPPNER
Walk to raise money for MS research
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
The tiny town of Heppner
has a big heart when it comes
to supporting events, said
Merilee McDowell, co-chair
of the Eastern Oregon MS
Walk.
“Whenever you have a
worthwhile cause in this
area, everyone steps up to
help,” she said.
McDowell, who was
instrumental in spearheading
the fundraising walk in
Heppner 19 years ago, has
lived with multiple sclerosis
for 40 years. Over the
decades, she has seen the
benefits of money raised for
research to help in treating
the disease.
During a 2016 interview
with the East Oregonian,
McDowell said there were no
therapies when she was first
diagnosed with MS. Now,
there are more than a dozen
FDA therapies for people
with
relapsing/remitting
multiple sclerosis, she said.
In its 19th year, the
Eastern Oregon MS Walk
is Saturday, April 22.
Staff photo by Tammy Malgesini
All forms of transportation were utilized during the
2015 Eastern Oregon MS Walk. This year’s event is
Saturday, April 22 beginning at All Saint’s Episcopal
Church in Heppner.
Registration and check-in
starts at 9 a.m. at All Saint’s
Episcopal Church, 460 N.
Gale St., Heppner. Coffee
and a continental breakfast
will be available before the
walk. The well-marked 5K
walk, which is wheelchair
accessible, begins at 10 a.m.
There’s also a route map for
Residents report
phone scam
UMATILLA — A
Umatilla resident said she
received a phone call this
week attempting to scam
her, and wants others to be
aware of similar calls.
Jackie Lewis said a
caller attempted to pull a
“Grandma and Grandpa”
scam on her. She said the
caller claimed he was her
grandson, and that he had
been arrested and needed
money. Lewis said she
recognized immediately
that the call was fraudulent,
and quickly ended the call.
“I said, thank you, I
know what this is about,
and hung up,” Lewis said.
Lewis said for a while,
she was receiving similar
calls every year, and that
she has heard from other
people in Umatilla and
Morrow counties that
they’ve received calls, too.
Scammers often target
older people, claiming
to be family members in
trouble. If this happens, ask
specific questions that only
real family members would
know. Hang up and call
family members to verify
their locations, and, above
all else, don’t send money.
P-TECH center to
hold open house
Community to hit
the streets April 22
a 10K walk. A lunch follows
at the church.
There is no set registra-
tion fee — donations of any
amount are welcome. Partic-
ipants raising $100 or more
can earn prizes, including a
T-shirt (while supplies last).
Those unable to partic-
ipate on April 22 can still
Page 3A
BRIEFLY
UMATILLA
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
East Oregonian
help the cause by registering
as a virtual walker. Virtual
participants can walk on their
lunch break, to and from
work or with other people on
another day.
People are encouraged to
pre-register at www.walkms.
org or by calling 855-372-
1331. Also, walk-ons are
welcome and can register at
the event.
Multiple sclerosis is a
chronic disease that affects
the central nervous system.
Symptoms vary, including
changes in sensation, visual
impairments, muscle weak-
ness, coordination problems,
speech difficulties, fatigue
and pain. In severe cases, MS
results in impaired mobility.
The 2016 Eastern Oregon
MS Walk raised a record
amount for the regional
event, which has been held in
Heppner for all but one year.
Although the turnout was
smaller than past fundraisers
for the National Multiple
Sclerosis Society Oregon
Chapter, committee co-chair
Barb Orwick said the
Heppner event raised more
than $14,000.
For more information, call
McDowell at 541-571-5853,
Orwick at 541-256-0455 or
visit www.walkms.org.
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton Technology &
Trades Center, the school
district’s hub for career
technology education
classes and its alternative
education program, opened
to students in January and
now wants the wider public
to get a closer look.
The April 13 event will
highlight the changes the
district made to the former
West Hills Intermediate
School building through
funds from a grant and a
capital improvement bond.
The remodeled facility
now houses culinary arts,
aerospace engineering and
industrial and engineering
systems classes.
The event runs from
4:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. at
1700 N.W. 15th Drive and
the district is encouraging
students and parents
attending evening parent-
teacher conferences that
day to stop by the center.
Presentations focus
on saving for college,
disability expenses
PENDLETON — Staff
from the Oregon College
Savings Plan and newly
created Oregon ABLE
Savings Plan will host a pair
of presentations Wednesday,
April 12 in Pendleton
to share how residents
can save for college and
disability expenses.
The first seminar —
College Savings 101 — will
run from 6 to 6:45 p.m.,
and the second — ABC’s
of ABLE — will follow
immediately after, from
6:45 to 7:30 p.m. Both will
be held at Blue Mountain
Community College in
Room ST-214 of the science
and technology building,
and are free to the public.
College Savings 101
will give tips on how
families can save for higher
education using the Oregon
College Savings Plan, a
state program that offers
tax advantages and lower
investing fees than found in
the private sector.
ABC’s of ABLE will
explain the new Oregon
ABLE Savings Plan, which
allows for people with
disabilities to save money
without losing government
benefits such as Medicaid
and Social Security.
Grange plans
full weekend
PENDLETON — A
variety of breakfast entrées
are available during the
all-you-can-eat breakfast at
White Eagle Grange.
If people go away
hungry, it’s their own
fault. The menu features
pancakes, French toast,
ham, sausage links, hash
brown potatoes, eggs any
style, ham and cheese
omelet, ham scrambled,
biscuits and sausage gravy,
and beverages.
The meal is Saturday
from 6-10 a.m. at 43828
White Eagle Road, located
off Highway 395 between
Pendleton and Pilot Rock.
The suggested donation
is $7 for ages 8 and older,
$4 for ages 5-7 and free
for ages 4 and under.
For $1 off, donate two
nonperishable food items,
which will be distributed
through local food banks.
Also, the grange accepts
hearing aid batteries and
aluminum can tabs for other
nonprofit organizations.
On Sunday, the grange
will host a potluck dinner (5
p.m.) and meeting (6 p.m.),
also at the hall. Everyone
is invited to learn more
about the grange, which is
making plans for a 150th
birthday celebration.
For more information,
contact Gail Wilson at
541-310-9655, 541-276-
3778 or gail11wilson@
gmail.com.
———
Briefs are compiled
from staff and wire reports,
and press releases. Email
press releases to news@
eastoregonian.com
Committee to take first look at county budget, seek to bridge $1.7M shortfall
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Umatilla County is bracing
for painful cuts as department
heads seek to bridge a $1.7
million shortfall in this year’s
budget.
Commissioner
George
Murdock, who oversees the
county budget process, said
they have come up with
a balanced proposal that
reduces total employees from
317 to 307 and trims full time
equivalent hours from 177.94
to 166.85.
The
county
budget
committee will take its first
look at the proposal Thursday
before meeting again April
19-21. Murdock said the
committee has the authority
to make changes, but needs to
be presented with a spending
plan that matches revenue
with expenses.
“There was a lot of
pencil-sharpening going on
with our department heads,
but I applaud them for making
the cuts necessary to get where
we need to be,” Murdock said.
The two biggest budget
hurdles,
according
to
Murdock, are insurance and
Public Employees Retirement
System, or PERS. The county
will need to find $3 million
over the next four years just to
make up for the added cost of
PERS, he said.
“In the meantime, we’re
required to have a balanced
budget every year,” Murdock
said.
Crafting this year’s budget
proposal began Oct. 1, and
Murdock said department
heads were asked to prepare
their projections months in
advance. Right off the bat,
Murdock said departments
were told they would not be
accepting any requests for
additional staff.
“I wouldn’t want to suggest
our process has been a bed
of roses, because all of our
departments are faced with a
greater demand for services
and less money with which to
do the job,” he said. “Anytime
you have to ask people to do
more with less and actually
have to eliminate people’s
jobs, it is an unpleasant thing.”
In its proposal, the overall
county budget comes in at
just more than $74 million,
with about $28.4 million
in the general fund. Some
staff reductions would come
from eliminating positions,
Murdock said, while others
would come from shifting
employees to other agencies.
For example, Umatilla
County has already sent four
clerical workers to Oregon
State University Extension
Service, and is in negotia-
tions to shift its watermaster
division to the state Water
Resources Department.
Umatilla County isn’t
the only local government
having to deal with these cuts,
Murdock said.
“The $1.8 billion shortfall
facing Oregon is based upon
many of the same issues
which have been facing the
county,” he said. “We are
all being hit with the same
issues.”
In the long run, Murdock
said the county will need to
consider alternative ways of
funding services, “or we may
end up looking like counties
in southern Oregon which
are teetering on the brink of
bankruptcy.”
Already,
the
county
announced it will be cutting
drug court due to a lack of
state funding, and inability
to backfill $516,000 to keep
the program going. The Local
Public Safety Coordinating
Council will hold a meeting
Tuesday, April 11 to consider
alternatives for the service.
Jerry Baker, chairman for
the county budget committee,
said Thursday’s meeting
will help members become
acquainted with the shortfalls.
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———
Contact George Plaven at
gplaven@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0825.
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