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TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017
141st Year, No. 171
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Columbia River bridge
begins long-term repair
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Interstate 82’s Oregon-bound
bridge into Umatilla will be closed for
more than a year for construction.
Travel over the Columbia River
will be reduced to the newer Wash-
ington-bound bridge, which will
have one lane dedicated to eastbound
traffi c and one lane for westbound
traffi c starting on or shortly after July
4. Work on creating the detour for
eastbound travelers started Monday,
reducing the Oregon-bound bridge to
one lane of travel for the remainder of
the month before full closure.
The Washington State Department
of Transportation plans to replace the
patch-fi lled deck of the steel truss
bridge, built in 1955, and do small
upgrades to lighting and drainage.
The bridge is expected to re-open
sometime in the fall of 2018.
“We do frequent closures
throughout the year to fi x potholes,”
WSDOT spokeswoman Summer
Derrey said. “This will alleviate that.”
See BRIDGE/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
South bound traffi c is reduced to one lane at the Umatilla bridge
over the Columbia River on Monday in Umatilla.
HERMISTON HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
PENDLETON
A CLASS ABOVE
Air taxi
project
clear for
takeoff
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Standing at a podium in the Pend-
leton Unmanned Aerial Systems Range
new hangar, Mayor John Turner told
the audience about the Oregon Trail
and the pioneer transportation made
possible by wagon and livestock.
“We can only imagine how the
United States will be changed by a new
way of transportation called UAS,” he
said.
Turner, politicians and aviation offi -
cials convened at the new, 9,600 square
foot hangar Saturday to celebrate the
facility’s fi rst tenant — A 3 , a Silicon
Valley affi liate of French aviation giant
Airbus.
A 3 plans to use the hangar and the
test range to develop Project Vahana
— an automated, electric-powered
personal aircraft capable of vertical
take-off and landing.
The A 3 website states it “can be an
air taxi, but it can also be used as a cargo
delivery platform, ambulance, search
and rescue, mobile hospital, limousine,
or even as a tool to deploy modular
infrastructure in disaster sites.”
A 3 Project Manager Herve Hilaire
said Project Vahana would be a better
short-range transportation option than
cars or trains.
He showed the audience a video
with 3-D animated scenes of the Vahana
concept fl ying around cityscapes as
text fl ashed across the screen touting
its features, like radar, cameras, senors,
GPS and an emergency parachute.
“We’re not just talking about a
dream here,” he said. “We’re ready to
fl y.”
Hilaire said they expect to begin
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Members of the 2017 Hermiston High School graduating class and their family and friends listen to one of the speakers during
Saturday’s graduation ceremony in the gym.
Class of 2017 largest in high school’s history
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
An hour before the largest class
in Hermiston High School’s history
graduated, the halls and sidewalks
teemed with family and friends ready
to celebrate the special day.
“This is my second grandchild
to graduate from Hermiston High
School,” said Linda Johnson, a
grandmother of HHS graduate
Gabriela Rosales. “I’m so excited for
her future and for her.”
Johnson, who traveled from
Moses Lake, Washington, was not
alone. In the room next door, the 332
almost-graduates waited — some
giddy and some nervous about the
changes to come.
For some, the moment represented
years of hard work.
“Traveling here was kind of
a big move for me,” said Emilio
Landin, who came to the area from
Ontario when he was in fourth grade.
“Getting that diploma, I’ve had to
fi ght through a lot of obstacles. Every
student has.” He smiled. “Ah, I’m
getting all choked up now.”
Landin said he plans to attend
Eastern Oregon University or Blue
See HERMISTON/8A
332
286
$4,354,440
Hermiston High School
graduates
Scholarships awarded
(119 local)
In scholarships awarded
(as reported by students)
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Blayne Benham adjusts Lillie Wheeler’s mortarboard
shortly before the two friends and their class proceeded
in to their school’s 107th annual commencement at Herm-
iston High School.
See HANGAR/8A
PENDLETON
March for equality
draws large crowd
Estimated 150 gather in
support of LGBT rights
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
John Thomas of Pendleton, carrying a full-sized fl ag, chants with marchers
during an the Equality March for Pride and Unity on Sunday in Pendleton.
More than 130 people participated in weekend march.
In a fi rst for Pendleton, more
than 100 people gathered in the
downtown area in support of
LGBT rights.
The local chapter of PFLAG,
an organization that supports
members of the lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and
queer community, organized
the Sunday march in support of
More online
For video from
the march visit
eastoregonian.com
the National Equality March on
Washington.
Besides the occasional
gawker, Pendleton PFLAG
founder Vickie Read said as
many 150 people marched
down Main Street without
attracting insults, rude gestures
or any other disturbances.
See EQUALITY/8A