Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
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OUR VIEW: MAY ELECTION
Fire bond shores
up one problem
A little over two years ago, this
editorial board was not inclined
to support a new fire station in
Pendleton.
We knew that Fire Station 1,
located on Southeast Court Ave.,
was far from ideal. But the city of
Pendleton and its fire and ambulance
department were scrambling to get a
replacement bond on the ballot and
neither entity was able to say where
exactly the new station would be
built. And their estimate of the cost
of the project seemed to have been
picked out of a hat. But both sides
knew that, politically, being able to
continue a bond levy was an easier
sell to voters than asking them to
take on a new one.
The ducks were far from in a row
— they were scattered so far across
the pond that the city was unable to
get the bond legally advertised in
time to get it on the ballot.
And it is a good thing they didn’t.
We were not inclined to support the
measure at that time and we don’t
think the voters were either.
But time has passed. Some things
have changed in Pendleton — there
is a new mayor and a new fire chief.
But other things haven’t changed —
the city has more needs than it has
money to tackle them.
And in that old environment, new
leadership is asking for our dollars to
build a new fire station.
First the details:
The bond has a total cost of $9.93
million. The money would be used
to purchase land and build a newer,
larger, better fire station on the old
St. Anthony site, 25 blocks east from
the current location. The rest of the
money would be used to update
some old equipment, including
the purchase of a new fire engine,
oxygen tanks and a Jaws of Life.
Now for our opinion:
A clear plan and clear leadership
have put us clearly in favor of the
fire bond. We still see many needs
throughout our fair city, and see lots
of places that $10 million could be
applied.
But the fact of the matter is that
the 1950s era fire station is a liability
to the city. Firefighters are living and
working in an unsafe environment in
a leaky, poorly-designed garage that
does no favors to the firefighters,
EMTs or the people they are serving.
The new site is not perfect, but
it is as perfect as the current one.
Most response times will improve,
while response times to the North
Hill will be delayed by only a few
seconds. And it has the added benefit
of partly filling in a massive hole
in Pendleton city limits, hopefully
helping to reinvigorate a struggling
neighborhood east of the Pendleton
Woolen Mills.
But a new fire hall cannot be
about anything other than fire
protection. And the new site allows
for safer places for professional
and volunteer firefighters to work
and rest and train, and for female
firefighters/EMTs to have the same
opportunity to succeed as their male
counterparts — as is required by
law. No longer will truck exhaust
filter into sleeping quarters, no
longer will female recruits share
shower space in a public restroom,
no longer will the public have a
difficult time visiting the station to
communicate with staff.
Perhaps it’s obvious that
something new will be better. For
$9.93 million it better be.
And you can understand why
some voters would remain skeptical
and defiant. Everyone feels tapped
out, especially in a town like
Pendleton where growth has been
stagnant and taxes continue to
increase.
But this bond offers an
opportunity to solidify a base upon
which strong communities are built:
public safety and education.
Over the course of a few years,
area voters backed an important
expansion at Blue Mountain
Community College, and Pendleton
voters gave the go-ahead to a rebuild
of our elementary schools. And
now a fire station sits ready for an
upgrade.
We understand that Pendleton
needs lots of fixing. And that fixing
will require a lot of money. The
Pendleton Fire and Ambulance
Service understands that, too.
This is a chance to fix one of
those problems at a price we believe
is acceptable. We think voters should
take the opportunity and do it.
OTHER VIEWS
Positive growth occurs
when we’re open to change
hange presents itself again as a
project spearheaded by names we all
pathway towards a community
still recognize today, such as Bryan
vision, revitalizing downtown
Wolfe, Tim Mabry and Ed Brookshier.
and becoming more efficient at
I was struck by an article in
managing the Hermiston Community
the Hermiston Herald’s special,
and Conference Center.
“Community Center Insert” on
One of the great things that I often
May 17, 1994 titled, “New center is
hear from people discussing Hermiston
big business.” An excerpt from the
is, “you’re such a progressive,
article reads, “both the (fundraising)
David
forward-looking community that
Drotzmann committee and the donors have gone
doesn’t get hung-up on name hierarchy
to great pains to stress that this is a
Comment
or past accomplishments.
community center, not a convention
You just keep moving forward
center.”
to make your community better.” We’ve
Now as the city looks to refocus the
been a successful, growing
community center back to
community because we
its original intent, we invite
embrace change as a way
the Hermiston Chamber to
toward greater opportunities.
build on our longstanding
More than 2,200
positive relationship of
community members
supporting Hermiston
participated in the “Livable
business and the needs of
Hermiston” public outreach
our community.
campaign to gauge the
The City is offering
community’s priorities.
free office space in a
Two of the top concepts
newly renovated portion
were providing added youth
of one of our only historic
and family activities while
buildings downtown. If
revitalizing downtown
the Hermiston Chamber
through projects which will
wishes, we see significant
attract visitors.
long-term opportunities to
On Tuesday, the City Council will use that
continue supporting each other by possibly
clear community message to consider bringing contracting with them to operate the historic
building as a visitor’s center which will attract
the operations of the community center under
people downtown and allow them space to
the umbrella of our Parks & Recreation
continue to support Hermiston’s fantastic local
Department.
Make no mistake; this decision is not about businesses.
I know change can be unnerving at times,
‘closing the community center,’ frankly, it’s
although it helps to remember that change and
the exact opposite. Operating the community
working together is what has made Hermiston
center through the Parks & Recreation
the community it is today.
Department will allow for increased space for
I invite you as a community to join me on
youth activities, while still being available for
Tuesday night at 6:30 to share your views
community events.
and hear our open discussion regarding
Two years ago, the Chamber provided
Hermiston’s future.
me with many historical news clippings
■
regarding the original fundraising drive for the
David Drotzmann is the mayor of
community center in 1994. I enjoyed reading
Hermiston.
about this great community fundraising
C
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of publisher
Kathryn Brown, managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, and opinion page editor Tim Trainor.
Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not
necessarily that of the East Oregonian.
Show up at the
next Hermiston
City Council
meeting,
at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday to share
your views.
LETTERS POLICY
The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues
and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper
reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and
products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must
be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number.
The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send
letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
YOUR VIEWS
New Pendleton fire station
would be point of civic pride
As a homeowner of modest means, I look
at new bond proposals carefully, weighing
the cost against the benefit to the community.
I don’t give every bond request an automatic
thumbs up. But there are projects I’ve
supported, like the one that transformed
Hawthorne into the Early Learning Center
and rebuilt and upgraded other educational
facilities, that I feel extremely proud of. That
sense of civic pride is something that I’m
very willing to contribute towards.
When I think about being able to help
upgrade Fire Station 1 from a substandard
facility that doesn’t support adequate training
opportunities to one that will better serve the
community and the firefighters who protect
us, that’s a cause I’m ready to support.
Roberta Lavadour
Pendleton
Despite your hustle,
time is always gaining
The year I entered high school we got a
new football coach. He made his entry by
telling us we would do great things if we
would hustle. He declared we would hear
that word often. Hustle. In our fundamentals,
blocking and tackling and running. In our
plays and on and off the field: Hustle!
In Echo’s small school he was also
the coach for every sport. Our basketball
prowess, our track stamina, our winning
ways in baseball all depended on whether
we had hustle. Tennis was coached by a
volunteer so I doubt tennis players ever
learned to hustle.
Coach was retired Navy and spoke Navy
blue. Because of his favorite sport his face
was flat with only cartilage for a nose.
Because of his favorite sport every football
player had to go out for boxing. Boxing
would make men of us if we would hustle.
We put on gloves, learned to feint and
weave and duck, pounded on our friends,
and hustled. He set up smokers where we
boxed mostly with our classmates since few
other coaches had his boxing enthusiasm.
Nevertheless, we had to hustle.
Last time I saw coach he came to our 50th
class reunion. He remembered more and
better stories than ever occurred. He spoke
slower and still had a flat face. In those fifty
years both he and we had lost a lot of hustle.
Don Reese
Echo
Fire Station 1 a subpar
building for firefighting
If you read my previous editorial, (East
Oregonian, March 25) you know how I feel
about the current Pendleton Fire Station 1.
I wrote it from the viewpoint of a previous
employee to give the reader a feel for what
it is like to operate out of that structure.
Now I will attempt to look at Station
1 from the viewpoint of a customer, and
attempt to show what I see as I come into
the station as a private citizen.
The chief’s office is of sufficient size,
but lacks storage. The 8x12 foot assistant
chief/ fire marshal’s office, which I
worked out of for nearly eight years, has
its limitations. The office was adequate
for a time, but was very limited during my
tenure.
There is little room to store building
plans, perform plan reviews, conduct
interviews with fire victims/suspects, or
meet with citizens or contractors. Such
meetings were held at the Oregon State
Police office, the building department at
city hall, or on site.
Privacy and room for more than three
people in the AC/FM office was not
possible. There is no view out of either
office. There is literally no place in Station
1 to hold a private conversation without the
possibility of being overheard.
The front office storage hosts straining
shelves of copy paper, tablets, and other
office supplies. A file cabinet is overflowing
with patient reports and personnel records.
The copy machine partially covers the fire
extinguisher cabinet.
There is no waiting area with seating in
the front office. ADA accessibility is with
difficulty. There is no escape from the three
offices, making employees in this area
vulnerable to attack. A very real threat.
As a citizen of Pendleton, this concerns
me. I would expect to be treated the same
in Station 1 as in any other office building
in Pendleton: ADA accessible, comfortable
waiting area, private meeting rooms, and
an expectation of safety while within the
building. Station 1 currently provides little
of this.
I urge you to visit Station 1 and take a
long hard look at how you would react if
you were to be in need of the services of
personnel in this station. Would it meet your
needs? How about your parents, children,
people you care for? Would this station
provide for you, and them, what you would
expect of a professional entity?
Jack Remillard
Assistant Chief/Fire Marshal (retired)
Pendleton
Oregon prisons continue to
cut back on healthy meals
I just read where another Two Rivers
Correctional Institution inmate passed
away unexpectedly. How many times has
this happened? I do know there is violence
in prisons, but how many have to die
unexpectedly before we find out why?
The medical care at the prisons leave
a lot to be desired. Everyone is under the
impression that they get excellent care —
not.
The prisons put off sending them to
outside doctors for as long as they can
get away with it, unless you raise holy
you-know-what.
They also are cutting food at the prisons;
at EOCI they no longer get fruit except on
Sunday night and sometimes for lunch.
They also want to cut night time snacks
for diabetics. For some this could be a
death sentence. I heard that TRCI is cutting
calories, giving smaller portions to the
inmates and for one month no one had eggs
because they were to expensive.
Legislatures need to, as I have said
before, look at reforming Measure 11.
There is a bill being presented but it will
affect only a very small portion of the
inmate population. I know, inmates are
scum, right? They don’t deserve to be
treated like humans, right? Gov. Brown
needs to cut the budget and what better way
to do it then to provide no nourishing food
for inmates or proper medical care. We
must pay for the illegals above Americans
and veterans, of which I am both, and many
in prison are also.
Barbara Dickerson
Milton-Freewater