REGION
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
PENDLETON
EZ Mini Storage adding 195 units
Big bail in new cases
keeps Lybrand in jail
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Finding a storage unit to rent in
Hermiston should be easier soon.
EZ Mini Storage is in the process
of adding 195 units to their 479-unit
facility at 2315 S. Highway 395 across
from the Wal-Mart Distribution Center.
And another storage project by a
different developer is in the works in
southwest Hermiston.
Owners Bill and Mary Cole of Bend
said storage is in very short supply in
Hermiston, and their business has a
waiting list.
“We’re turning an average of two to
four people away every day,” Bill said.
People’s reasons for wanting to
rent some extra storage are varied, he
said. Many of the larger units house
a boat or RV, or are used by commer-
cial contractors to store equipment.
Some businesses use the units to store
filing cabinets full of records they are
required to keep but don’t have room
for in-house.
Smaller units might keep camping
gear and bicycles during the winter,
then skis and snow blowers in the
summer. Some baby boomers choose
to store items after downsizing to a
more manageable one-story house.
Or the storage units often hold family
heirlooms, such as the hand-carved oak
furniture that the Coles are storing in a
unit of their own because it doesn’t fit
with their current house.
“When it’s been in the family for
so long, people want to hold onto it,”
Mary said.
Bill said the delinquency rate on
units is fairly low, despite what televi-
sion shows would have you believe.
“Don’t believe everything you see
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Owners Mary and Bill Cole (left) and on-site manager Pamela Minton
stand outside some of the units at EZ Mini Storage in Hermiston.
on TV about ‘Storage Wars,’ ” he said.
“It’s not like that. We have a great
clientele.”
EZ Mini Storage offers a manager
who lives on site and a number of other
security measures, plus it is in the city’s
urban growth boundary and is served
by Umatilla County Fire District 1.
Bill said with mini storage units in
high demand, it felt like a good time to
expand. Work has already been done to
pour concrete pads and erect fencing
over the new 2.5-acre expansion,
and construction of the actual units is
expected to start June 19 and last less
than 60 days.
Units will range in size from 5 feet
by 10 feet to 12-by-30.
Another mini-storage project for
Hermiston is also in the works, separate
from what the Coles are doing. Steve
Richards of Eastern Oregon Devel-
opment has applied for a conditional
use permit to construct a mini storage
facility at 1330 Highland Avenue south
of Northwest 11th Street that will
include more than 300 units.
A public hearing in front of the
Hermiston Planning Commission on
Richards’ application will be held
June 14 at 7 p.m. at city hall, 180 N.E.
Second St.
———
Contact Jade McDowell at
jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com
or
541-564-4536.
Plane searching for fault lines, geological clues
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
A Cessna 180 airplane
will spend the next few
months flying over Pend-
leton and the Umatilla
Indian Reservation as part
of a project by the U.S.
Geological Survey to study
the region’s geothermal
resources and earthquake
hazards.
Residents should not
be alarmed if they spot the
low-flying plane, which will
be recording measurements
of the Earth’s magnetic field
to glean information about
fault lines and geological
formations deep under-
ground.
Flights may begin as
early as Thursday. The plane
will be flown by specially
trained pilots following
all guidelines established
by the Federal Aviation
Administration.
Rick Blakely, a research
associate emeritus for the
USGS, said similar surveys
have
been
conducted
around eastern and central
Washington since 2008.
Photo contributed by USGS
A Cessna 180 will log 21,200 miles flying over Pend-
leton and the Umatilla Indian Reservation as part of a
project to study the region’s geothermal resources and
earthquake hazards.
This latest examination will
encompass a 5,000-square-
mile
area
including
Pendleton, La Grande
and portions of the Blue
Mountains and Wallowa
Mountains.
The Cessna will be flying
just 200 meters off the
ground, making passes back
and forth along parallel
lines spaced a quarter mile
apart. All told, the plane
is expected to log roughly
21,200 miles — the equiva-
lent of four round trips from
San Francisco to New York.
“It will take several
months to complete the
flying,” Blakely said. “When
we put it all together, we
will have a map of the area
that shows the magnetic
field and attraction coming
from the Earth’s crust.”
One-tenth of the magnetic
field humans experience
on Earth actually comes
from the ground, Blakely
explained. This is created
by differences in the under-
lying geology; for example,
basalts tend to have a much
stronger magnetic signature
compared to sediments.
The plane will be fitted
with a device known as
a magnetometer to read
magnetism and USGS
researchers will use the
data to learn more about
faults, changes in rock type
and pockets of geothermal
energy not previously
recorded.
“We can learn something
about the geology beneath
the ground,” Blakely said.
“It’s part of the framework
that I hope will be useful
for the area long after I’m
gone.”
The study is being done
in cooperation with the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion. The plane will be oper-
ated by a company based in
Lakewood, Colorado.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
PENDLETON
City council approves $74.6 million budget
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
The Pendleton City
Council officially budgeted
money for improvements to
the fire department, parks and
recreation, the airport and
more at a meeting Tuesday.
The council unanimously
approved a $74.6 million
budget, which includes a
$16.8 million discretionary
budget.
Other significant expen-
ditures include money for
police department repairs
and vehicles, improvement
to the city hall complex and
$7 million for water utility
work and repairs.
The council also unani-
mously approved re-entering
negotiations with the Mack-
enzie group of Portland to
provide final design work
and engineering services
for the new Southeast Court
Avenue fire station. The fire
station was approved by
voters in May as part of a $10
million bond.
Public Works Director
Bob Patterson explained that
since Mackenzie was already
familiar with the project
through earlier design work,
it could mean cost savings
for the city.
Assistant Fire Chief
Shawn Penninger said city
staff would compare Mack-
enzie’s design proposal to
similar fire station projects
across the Northwest to
determine if their contract
price was fair. He added that
any design contract would
come before the city council
before going forward.
On the campaign trail
leading up to the ballot
measure election, Mayor
John Turner said some citi-
zens were dissatisfied with
Mackenzie’s previous work.
“One of the comments
that was heard fairly often
was that the design of the
new station was too elegant,
too costly, too grandiose, if
you will,” he said.
If Mackenzie was awarded
the contract, Turner said the
cost should reflect the money
the city has already invested
into the initial design work.
Penninger said a bond
oversight committee is being
formed and could have a
citizen representative as one
of its members.
Design is only one part of
some of the early work being
done on the new fire station,
which is projected to open
within the next 20 months.
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Turner said the city is also
in the process of selling
the bonds and negotiating
with St. Anthony Hospital
to acquire the Court Street
property.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
Umatilla County pros-
ecutor Jacklyn Jenkins
claims Jason Lybrand told
the victim in his sex crimes
case to lie to police or duck
the grand jury.
Lybrand
sent
the
message in a letter, the
deputy district attorney told
the court Tuesday, telling
the 17-year-old girl her
testimony was crucial to
obtaining an indictment.
Lybrand, 46, appeared
via video from the Umatilla
County Jail, Pendleton.
The Pendleton business
owner faces two counts of
witness tampering and four
of second-degree sexual
abuse, all class C felonies
in Oregon. And the state
charged him Tuesday in
three new drug cases:
• Using a minor on May 8
to manufacture or distribute
marijuana items and for
delivery and possession of
meth;
• Using a minor on
May 12 to manufacture or
distribute marijuana items
and for delivery and posses-
sion of meth;
• Conspiracy to deliver
methamphetamine on April
12 and May 3.
All of the crimes
allegedly took place after
Lybrand pleaded guilty
April 4 to possession and
delivery of drugs.
The minor is the same
girl the state alleges is the
victim in the sex crimes
case. Attorneys for Lybrand
entered not guilty pleas
to all charges, which are
felonies.
Michael Breiling of
Pendleton
represented
Lybrand on his original
drug case from 2016, and
he is representing him on
the drug cases involving the
girl. But Breiling said he was
not taking the others. Public
defender Jody Vaughan of
Pendleton handled those for
Tuesday’s proceeding.
Circuit
Judge
Jon
Lieuallen presided and set
Lybrand’s total bail for the
four new cases at $790,000.
Breiling told the court he
doubted Lybrand has the
money to make bail. But if
he does, the judge prohib-
ited contact with the girl.
The next hearing in all
cases is June 27.
MILTON-FREEWATER
Man charged with rape
of ‘incapacitated’ victim
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Jakob Raymond Kerby,
18, faces a charge of
first-degree rape.
Circuit court
records show the
district attorney’s
office on Friday
arraigned Kerby
on the single
count. The state
alleged
Kerby
on
May
22
committed
the
crime when he Kerby
had sex with “a
person who was incapable
of consent by reason of
mental incapacitation.”
District Attorney Dan
Primus said that applies
when someone cannot
give consent because of a
mental defect, for example,
or physical helplessness.
Primus said he would not
say how that element of the
law applies in this case.
Jacklyn Jenkins, chief
deputy district attorney, is
prosecuting the
case, which has
a hearing Friday
in
Pendleton.
Judge
Christo-
pher Brauer will
preside over that
matter.
Jakob Kerby
has been in the
Umatilla County
Jail, Pendleton,
since Thursday in
lieu of $50,000 bail. Court
records show if he bails out,
he is not to have contact
with the victim or others
associated with the case.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
ODOT to invest in road sign
upgrades along Highway 395
East Oregonian
Road
signs
along
Highway 395 between
Ukiah and John Day are
getting some much-needed
attention.
The Oregon Department
of Transportation will
spend roughly $525,000
replacing several hundred
signs along the route,
including speed, road and
informational signs.
Work will take place
from the junction of
Highway 244 near Ukiah,
south to Highway 26 at
Mount Vernon. From there,
signs will also be replaced
from Mount Vernon roughly
seven miles to the western
city limits of John Day.
The project is expected
to go to bid in August, and
all work will be completed
by summer 2018. Traffic
impacts
will
include
shoulder and lane closures
with flaggers, and possible
delays up to 20 minutes.
Construction
activities
will take place during
daylight hours, Monday
through Friday.
Some signs along the
highway have degraded
due to typical wear and
tear, while others may be
damaged due to weather or
vandalism. The project is
part of a multi-phase effort to
ensure all signs meet current
standards in Eastern Oregon.