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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2017)
WEEKEND EDITION TRIBAL YOUTH CREATE AT CROW’S SHADOW LIFESTYLES/1C TRACK STARS RUN AND JUMP TO TITLES SPORTS/1B MAY 20-21, 2017 141st Year, No. 155 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD ECHO Outdoor theatre, hotel proposed Could seat 10,000 and also include restaurant, RV park, light industrial By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian A project being cooked up by Kent Madison could double the city of Echo’s tax base and solve its sewer problems in one fell swoop. That’s what Madison told a stand- ing-room only crowd at Echo’s city council meeting Thursday afternoon. He and his wife Laura are looking to create a development along Thielsen Road between Echo and the Interstate 84 interchange near Stanfi eld that would include an RV park, 10,000-person amphitheater, hotel, restaurant, laundromat, light industrial project and green space. It would be quite the growth spurt for Echo, population 704. “It’s going to be different,” Madison said. “I can’t tell you Echo is going to be the same. You may have to wait in line at the H&P Cafe.” Since the development at full build-out would likely double Echo’s water and sewer needs, overwhelming its current system, Madison said he would be willing to pay to build a new system and hand it over to the city after it was complete. Echo has been struggling for about 12 years to get a wastewater treat- ment project going after the Depart- ment of Environmental Quality put the city on notice that the recycled water it has been discharging into the Umatilla River does not meet stan- dards for biological oxygen demand. The city is on its sixth extension of an interim agreement with the agency after running into roadblocks on everything from shifting regulations to a lack of viable funding sources. The city notifi ed Echo resident Michael Yunker in December that if he did not voluntarily sell 10 acres of his 65-acre ranch north of Echo, the city could use eminent domain to force the sale so that it could build a pond and irrigation fi eld to take in the water currently being released into the Umatilla River. Yunker has voiced strong opposition to selling. Madison said he would be willing to take that water and process it which, in conjunction with a well he Staff photo by E.J. Harris Leona White reacts after receiving a Bronze Star won by her father, World War II veteran Willard Nanegos, from Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read as her children David Close and Alana Nanegos look on Friday at the CTUIR fl ag day ceremony in Mission. Willard Nanegos won seven Bronze Star medals for his service in the U.S. Army in the European theater in WWII. Bronze Star returned to family Presentation part of Flag Day ceremony Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reserva- tion Flag Day ceremony. Oregon Treasurer Tobias Read While being treated at Percy Jones was on hand to give the medal back Army Hospital in his native Michigan, to Nanegos’ daughter, Leona White, Pfc. Willard Nanegos shared with grandson David Close and grand- a local newspaper his experiences daughter Alanna Nanegos, who live in serving overseas in the European Mission and are all enrolled members of the CTUIR. Theater during World “Your father’s sacri- War II with the famed fi ces to this country 3rd Infantry Division. will not be forgotten,” “It seems as if I was Read said as he handed killed 10,000 times,” the Bronze Star over to Nanegos was quoted in White. the article. “I’ve been in Nanegos, who died that many tight places in 1967, was a member and thought I’d never of the Odawa Indian live through them.” — Tobias Read, Tribe hailing from Nanegos was not Oregon treasurer, as he Charlevoix, Michigan. killed in the war, but handed the medal to According to Close, his he was injured twice in Willard Nanego’s grandfather came to the combat — once while daughter, Leona White Pacifi c Northwest prior driving multiple vehi- to WWII to work on the cles out of a burning forest to safety. He fought in eight of Grand Coulee Dam in Washington. Nanegos joined the Army the day the 3rd Infantry Division’s nine major campaigns, including the harrowing after the attack on Pearl Harbor in Battle of Anzio that resulted in 43,000 1941. After the war ended, he settled back in Oregon, where Close said he Allied casualties. For his heroism on the battlefi eld, had developed a bond with the Umatilla Nanegos received seven Bronze Star people. It was here he married his wife, medals from the Army, one of which Margaret White, daughter of Cayuse was fi nally returned to his family See MEDAL/12A Friday during the annual Confederated By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian “Your father’s sacrifi ces to this country will not be forgotten.” Staff photo by E.J. Harris The Bronze Star was recovered from a safe deposit box of a bank and it was transferred to the Oregon Deportment of State Lands. The department of state lands maintains unclaimed property for the state. See ECHO/12A Eastern Oregon hoping for dollars from transportation package $8.2B funding package to focus on traffic congestion in Portland By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Legislators may be talking about relieving Portland traffi c jams as they design an $8.2 billion transportation funding package, but Eastern Oregon cities are looking forward to what they anticipate will be some extra cash for their communities too. “We’re curious how it will all fall out,” said Bob Patterson, Pendleton’s public works director. The plan that is shaping up would raise $8.2 billion over 10 years via a combination of gas taxes, fee increases and other revenue streams. The money would be used for transportation infrastructure projects across the state ranging from bridge repairs to widening highways. Patterson said Pendleton currently gets $32,000 for every penny of the gas tax, and the package lawmakers are considering would raise the gas tax by 14 cents. If the current gas tax formula holds — 20 percent to cities, 30 percent to counties and 50 percent to the state — Pendleton could get a helpful boost in funds for repairing and preserving its streets. “(Street maintenance) adds up to $2.4 million a year we should be spending,” Patterson said. “We’re currently at $800,000. We’re a third of the way there. So anything will help.” Hermiston Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan said in the past, funding for transportation projects has fl uctu- ated unpredictably from biennium to biennium depending on the whims of the legislature. The result, he said, is that cities have to go begging for money every two years with no idea of what they might get. “If we can plan fi ve, six, seven years down the road, we can be a lot more effective,” he said. Morgan said whatever the fi nal formula ends up being, cities hope it will provide some more stability in funding. Hermiston’s top priority for what- ever funding comes the city’s way is a multi-million dollar project to widen and improve First Place from See TRANSPORTATION/12A Hermiston Offi ce: Pendleton Offi ce: GLENN SCOTT JENNIFER OLSON Veteran's Service Offi cer • 435 E Newport Ave. Veteran’s Service Offi cer • 17 SW Frazer Ph: 541.667.3125 • Cell: 541.848.8120 Ph.541.278.5482 glenn.scott@umatillacounty.net jennifer.olson@umatillacounty.net VETERANS SERVING VETERANS NS LET US ASSIST YOU WITH YOUR BENEFITS LE
