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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 2017)
Page 8A East Oregonian HERMISTON: Conference center hosts over 500 events per year Continued from 1A of Commerce.” “Our chamber members will continue to be our main focus,” said the release. “In the meantime the chamber will continue to manage the conference center with assistance from the city.” Morgan said the city is in the process of a $125,000 renovation of the basement of the old Carnegie Library located at 215 East Gladys Avenue across from city hall. He said that space will be available to the chamber to use for free starting January 1, 2018 if they are interested in it. “The chamber has done an excellent job operating the city-owned conference center facility for us over the past two decades, which is why the city is offering to continue to look at future partnerships with the chamber,” he said in an email. According to informa- tion from the chamber, in 1994 community members decided to pursue creation of a venue for community events, meetings and other activities. The city purchased the conference center — which had previously been a Safeway — and the chamber helped raise donations of more than $600,000 of private funds to renovate the building at no cost to taxpayers. Now the building hosts more than 500 events per year. The city has contracted with the chamber to run the center in the past, with profi ts split between the city, the chamber and maintenance of the confer- ence center. Morgan said the city has felt that it would be diffi cult to continue that arrangement now that the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center is competing for events that might have previously been held at the conference center. In the contract between the city and chamber, both parties are required to give six months’ notice if they plan not to renew the contract for the next calendar year. Morgan said that timeline was sped up when the chamber’s conference center facili- tator Barb Martin recently gave her two weeks’ notice. He said city staff did not want to see the chamber hire someone new only to fi nd out shortly after that they did not need the position anymore. “That’s not good for the chamber, or good for the (facilitator),” he said. The chamber’s news release encouraged people to stay tuned for more information as the process moves forward. “Many folks associate the chamber and confer- ence center as one and the same and we have enjoyed working with all the groups who have utilized the conference center over the years,” the statement said. “We have developed many friendships and part- nerships at the conference center and you are assured that you will have the same great customer service you have enjoyed as we transi- tion.” The Hermiston city council meets the second and fourth Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at city hall, 180 Northeast Second Street. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. PERS: Reforms were reversed by Oregon Supreme Court in 2015 Continued from 1A The pension system is a perennial political fl ashpoint because future obligations are at least $22 billion more than the system could pay for today. Although that bill is not immediately due, advo- cates of reform say that legislative inaction would increase fi nancial pressure on local governments and school districts. Many legislators are also wary of making changes to the pension system for fear of a legal challenge. In 2015, two years after the Legislature passed certain reforms to PERS, the Oregon Supreme Court reversed most of them, ruling that benefi ts already accrued by public employees cannot be changed. In addition to the legal parameters, Taylor said Wednesday, because a number of factors are in play every proposal needs to be carefully vetted for secondary effects “The interplay between the proposals makes a big difference,” Taylor said. Meanwhile, legislators are also wrestling with balancing the state’s budget in the face of an approximately $1.6 billion gap between what the state is expected to realize in revenue and what budget writers say is necessary to pay for the existing level of services. Many Democrats, such as Taylor, and Speaker of the House Tina Kotek, D-Portland, say that while public employee benefi ts do cost the state money, they are not the only “drivers” of the budget. COMMISSION: Also approved extension of ambulance service area franchise agreements Continued from 1A the mercantile area, where they are paying to construct a mercantile building. The county approved the leases on condition that two minor legal changes be implemented to bring them in line with what type of lease the county can legally enter into. “It’s really starting to take shape,” commissioner Larry Givens said, noting that construction on the barns had begun recently. During Wednesday’s meeting the commission approved a request from emergency manager Tom Roberts to update the coun- ty’s emergency operations plan to include a procedure for handling Chempacks, which are stockpiles of nerve agent antidotes the Centers for Disease Control has placed in strategic loca- tions around the country. Roberts said Umatilla County has one of the CDC’s Chempack containers and, as such, needed plans for retrieving and distributing the mate- rials to be included in the county emergency opera- tions plan. The Chempacks could be used in the event of a terrorist attack or large- scale fertilizer poisoning. On Wednesday the commission also approved an extension of the coun- ty’s ambulance service area franchise agreements, approved a supplemental budget, approved purchase of new HVAC systems for two county-owned build- ings in Milton-Freewater, approved purchase of two trailers, approved a request for proposals on a new stage for the fair, approved renewed franchises with multiple companies for solid waste disposal and passed resolutions recog- nizing National County Government Month in April and supporting the Hidden Heroes program honoring caregivers of veterans. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. Thursday, April 6, 2017 OFF PAGE ONE New hurdle proposed for solar on high-value farmland By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Bureau SALEM — Solar power facilities on high-value farmland in Oregon would have to clear a new hurdle under a bill being consid- ered by state lawmakers. Commercial developers would fi rst have to demon- strate that alternative sites aren’t available under House Bill 3050, a require- ment that currently applies to solar facilities larger than 12 acres. Proponents of the bill, including the Oregon Farm Bureau and the 1,000 Friends of Oregon conservation group, say the new test would discourage conversion of the state’s most productive land. An uptick in commercial solar power proposals in Oregon’s Willamette Valley has raised concerns that clusters of developments will change the agricultural character of affected areas, supporters say. Such close groupings of solar facilities effectively undermine the current 12-acre exemption to the alternative analysis, according to proponents. The growing popularity of long-term leases of farmland for commercial solar projects has prompted the Oregon Board of Agri- culture to ask for a review of land use regulations for such sites. Supporters of HB 3050 say that solar developments drive up rent prices for farmland even while long- term leases for solar panels may permanently take land out of agriculture. The Oregon Farm Bureau was alerted to the problem by “mass mailings” from solar companies to farmers, said Mary Anne Nash, public policy counsel for the group. Developers should fi rst look for other options before seeking to lease high-value farmland, she said. Wind turbine projects are already subject to the alternatives analysis requirement, so it should also apply to commercial solar facilities, said Meriel Darzen of 1,000 Friends of Oregon. Critics of the bill coun- tered that the new require- ment is overly broad and ignores existing rules that protect farmland. Marty Dozler, a farmer near Aumsville, Ore., said some of his property is considered high-value farm- land even though the soils aren’t of the highest quality. It’s tough to break even fi nancially on this land, so solar development provides a new revenue source that makes the farm viable for the next generation, he said. “We believe every farmer should be allowed to place solar facilities if they choose, regardless of where they live in the state,” Dozler said. Dozler said he’s installed solar panels in the corners of fi elds and other areas that don’t interfere with farming practices. “It’s a steady income with very little impact to our land,” he said. MCGEE: Spent decades as a successful drag racer Continued from 1A boisterous parade that started across the street. He would stride through the bar carrying an Irish fl ag and wishing a “top o’ the morning to ya” to his rowdy patrons. On a recent day off, Adair sat at the Rainbow’s long wooden bar, sipping a cock- tail and letting memories of McGee come. McGee’s presence is embedded in the place as much as the neon shamrock on the ceiling, the mounted buffalo head or the sign that informs patrons how many days until the next St. Paddy’s Day bash. The man permeates the bar — photos of a bearded McGee at hunting camp, a favorite racing car and the self-styled McGee family crest that bears the image of a dodo bird or maybe a fl amingo. When McGee and cronies rolled dice for drinks, Adair said, he would raise the dice cup to the crest and rattle it before letting the cubes clatter onto the bar. His drink of choice? Usually Laphroaig single malt Scotch, a shockingly non-Irish whiskey. Despite his playfulness, McGee worked hard, Adair said. When not bantering with customers, he used his mechanical abilities to main- tain cranky appliances and attend to the unglamorous parts of running the business he operated with his wife Joanne. Adair said McGee also felt responsible for preserving the 1883 bar and its history. “Steve used to say, you don’t own the Rainbow, you’re just the caretaker,” Adair said. People who knew McGee say his personality roamed. The lovable jokester who adored children, underdogs and animals also got down- right ornery sometimes. And he was a guy who chased his dreams. Before the Rainbow, he spent decades as a successful drag racer. During his racing career, he set West Coast records with his dragsters and funny cars. With $250,000 in sponsor- ship money from Sunshine Pizza, an unheard of sum in 1983, he burned up the track in a Z-28 Camaro. “He was on top of the world in the early ’80s,” said Ron Huegli, curator of the World of Speed museum in Wilsonville. Huegli, a funny car racer, considered McGee a mentor. “In 1996, he was unde- feated. Everywhere he went, he set a track record,” Huegli said. “He had an incredible career doing what he wanted to do.” Huegli said he tried to emulate McGee. The racer “was a fi erce competitor, but was always nice to people. He showed up to win, but he’d buy you a beer at the end of the night.” The drag racing commu- nity honored McGee in January by inducting him into the Northwest Division Hall of Fame. McGee also loved to restore classic cars and started working on his last project — a 1953 Chevy — eight years ago. He never fi nished. A group of car friends known affectionately as the Dirty Dozen will fi nish the job. “Originally, the Chevy belonged to his high school Staff photo by E.J. Harris The Rainbow owner Steve McGee walks the Irish fl ag through his bar after retiring the fl ag at sundown during a St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Pendleton in 2015. “Steve used to say, you don’t own the Rain- bow, you’re just the caretaker.” — Betty Adair, longtime Rainbow employee Contributed photo Steve McGee stands with his hotrod at a car show near the beginning of his successful racing career. buddy,” said son-in-law Ryan Krusee, who is one of the Dirty Dozen. “They used to cruise it in Pendleton. It sat in storage for years and years.” McGee stripped the car down to metal and rebuilt the motor, while his friend Dale “Metal Master” Withers worked on the body at his Estacada hot rod shop. The Chevy, missing its fi nal paint job and pin striping, was almost fi nished when McGee died. “His friends will fi nish the car and show it,” said McGee’s daughter, Nixie Krusee. “He knew at the end of his life that his friends would continue his dream.” The car will appear in the June Cruisin’ Car Show in Pendleton on June 3. After that, Ryan Krusee and Withers will drive the car to a number of West Coast car shows. McGee would have loved the trip, Ryan said. He recounted an excur- sion he took with McGee to the Portland International Car Show three weeks ago. Krusee, of West Linn, drove to Pendleton to fetch McGee and then delivered him home. McGee was weak from his six-year battle with cancer, but he and Ryan stopped for a couple of chocolate milkshakes and an order of onion rings in Arlington. They listened to classic rock together on Pandora. McGee got into it. “Here was this 76-year-old rocking out to Kid Rock and AC/DC,” Ryan said, laughing. Nixie Krusee will miss her dad’s encouragement to follow dreams. “He dreamed big,” she said. “He was a go-getter. He always had goals for himself and he’d fi gure out a way to get them accomplished.” She said his dreams evolved. About 17 years ago, he and Joanne got tired of the hustle and bustle of Lake Oswego, where McGee also ran an auto electric shop. They had both grown up in Pendleton and wanted to go home. They saw that the Rainbow was for sale and headed back. It would be Steve’s fi nal destination. He made it, though, to one fi nal St. Patrick’s Day celebration at the Rainbow. Adair said McGee didn’t have the strength to do the reading he had chosen this year, so he called on friend and customer Randy Brandson. “Let’s all put on our dancing shoes,” read Brandson, “and wear our shamrocks green and toast our friends both here and there and everywhere between.” ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810. LENT April 7th from 5 to 7:00 p.m. @ the St. Anthony Hospital Blue Mountain Cafe Cedar Wrapped Salmon - $7.50/Adults - $7.00/Children & Seniors with Rice Pilaf & Buttered Green Beans Baked Potato Bar - $4.00/with toppings All you can eat. Salmon/Potato Bar Combo - $11.50 Clam Chowder Bread Bowl - $4.25 Single Cup $1.25 2801 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton, OR 97801