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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2017)
Thursday, July 6, 2017 OFF PAGE ONE TRANSPORTATION: Bill lists $3 million each for HEALTH: Many rural Heppner, Irrigon and Milton-Freewater improvements area patients tend to put surveys show there is scarce tion of a road at the Port of said. Continued from 1A off care because of time Among projects specified support for that method of Umatilla that will increase Page 8A East Oregonian when we invest in public infrastructure, private invest- ments follow,” he told his colleagues as he urged them to vote for the bill. Projects from Umatilla and Morrow counties specif- ically listed in the bill are: • $1.1 million for paving Ott Road and improving Airport Road to provide better access to the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center in Hermiston • $4.5 million for widening and improving North First Place in Herm- iston, including the addition of traffic signals at Orchard Avenue and Highland Avenue • $7 million for improving access to the former Umatilla Chemical Depot, including a re-design of its interchange with Interstate 82 • $6.55 million for the Port of Morrow’s East Beach Industrial Park rail expan- sion project • $2 million for construc- access to industrial land there • $3 million each to Heppner, Irrigon and Milton-Freewater for “pedestrian safety and road improvements” In a statement, Smith called District 57 a “trans- portation reliant” region with two interstates, five ports, a Union Pacific Mainline and thousands of miles of road. Rep. Caddy McKeown, D-Coos Bay, a chief architect of the plan, said the package is based on overwhelming feedback from Oregonians that they need congestion relief on Portland thor- oughfares and more public transportation options. “When cars and trucks grind to a standstill prod- ucts take longer to get to market, workers are less productive and quality of life is degraded. Today, we can take steps to help Oregon businesses get their goods to market while also improving quality of life,” McKeown in the plan are congestion relief on Highway 217, widening northbound Interstate 205 from Powell Boulevard to Interstate 84 and initial investment in adding new lanes to Inter- state 5 through Portland’s Rose Quarter. The plan also includes other projects around the state. It will be up to the Oregon Transportation Commission to prioritize some of those projects. Rep. Susan McLain, D-Forest Grove, said the plan maintains and modern- izes roads and bridges and increases funding for seismic upgrades and repairs by 462 percent. She said it will give the state a long-term and short- term economic boost, with 16,000 more short-term construction jobs. Rep. Julie Parrish, R-West Linn, who voted no on the bill, said she opposed the launch of a tolling program on freeways, given that funding road projects. “Maybe it’s just deep in our DNA,” Parrish said of respondents’ dislike of tolls. The plan hikes the state’s existing 30-cent gas tax gradually over seven years to 40 cents. Registration fees would climb by $13 and title fees by $16 in 2018. Beginning in 2020, the state would move toward a tiered system of registration and title fees based on a vehicle’s gas mileage. The plan also levies a 0.5 percent tax on the purchase of new vehicles. About $12 million of the revenue from the proceeds of the vehicle excise tax would be used for rebates on the purchase of electric vehicles. A $15 flat fee would be charged on the purchase of new adult bicycles with a price tag of more than $200. The proceeds of that would go toward paying for commuter bicycle and pedestrian paths. RUG: Full class of 15 signed up for the workshop Continued from 1A closely with weaving. Stevenson said her mom, who died six years ago, was the inspiration for her to start weaving again. An unfinished rug still hangs in the loom they built together, and now Stevenson said she is filled with ideas for how to finish what her mother started. “Even though she’s gone, I still feel her presence,” Stevenson said. “She’s a spiritual guide, so to speak.” For Deborah Barrett, the connection she felt to weaving came from her father. Barrett traveled more than 500 miles to Mission from her home near the Pend Oreille River in Washington for the Navajo rug work- shop. Though Barrett is an avid beadworker and potter, she said this was her first experience with textiles. Barrett said she has a barrel full of yarn left to her by her late father, who was a talented spinner. Barrett said her plan is to use that yarn to make a blanket of her own. “It will give me an opportunity to feel close to him and feel him in my life,” she said. “I loved him very much.” Karl Davis, executive director for Crow’s Shadow, said they had a full class of 15 women sign up for the workshop, including several locals, Navajo members and residents of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in central Oregon. The workshop comes one year after Hathale, who lives on the northern edge of the Navajo Nation in Mexican Hat, Utah, arrived for a pair of rug weaving demonstra- tions at Crow’s Shadow. Davis said the sessions were so popular that when the workshop was announced in March, registration filled almost immediately. “We’ve had a great turnout,” he said. “We’ve never done this style of weaving before.” Staff photo by E.J. Harris Andrea Mann of Pendleton works on a blanket during a Navajo rug weaving workshop at Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts on Friday outside of Mission. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Cherie Simpson of La Grande beats down the weft on her loom with a comb-styled instrument during a Navajo rug weaving workshop at Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts on Friday outside of Mission. The women worked dili- gently at their tables, weaving on relatively small looms measuring roughly 24 inches tall by 15 inches wide. Most agreed the most difficult part is getting started, and they spent Friday practicing how to line up the warp strings in a figure-8 pattern. The looms were built and donated by wood shop students at Sunridge Elemen- tary School in Pendleton, based on measurements taken by teacher Ken Jacobs of Hathale’s own portable loom she brought for the demonstrations last year. Hathale, who learned rug weaving from her mother and grandmother, said she was excited to share her art and her culture with the class. “It makes me happy to see a diverse people learning how to weave,” she said. “It’s my art, and a gift from my parents. I just want to share it with the world.” Navajo weaving is July 7th-9th Athena Caledonian Games Featuring the Celtic folk rock band Guess When & Michael Mullen’s Trio of One Friday July 7 Saturday July 8 5:30-7:30pm Caledonian Dinner in the City Park 8:00am - 8:00 pm 7:30pm Candle lighting ceremony and the blessing of clans, family and the festival. Parade, Vendors Entertainment in the Park Dancing, Piping & Scottish Athletic Competitions Kids’ Games Story Tellers Caledonian Tattoo Sunday July 9 Beginning at 9:30am Kirkin’ O’ the Tartan Wool Demonstrations Pipe Band Horseshoe Tournaments A Family F am mi l y Event Even with Scottish Music, Dancing & Sport www.athenacaledoniangames.com influenced by a mix of their own tribal traditions as well as from the Pueblo Indians, Hathale said. Rugs were traditionally used for utilitarian purposes such as dresses and saddle blankets, before later being sought after for trade. Hathale still remembers the first rug she completed when she was 12 years old — a Third Phase Chief’s Blanket, which took her all summer to finish and later sold for $50 at a trading post in Arizona. Chief’s blankets were the first to be woven by the Navajo people, Hathale explained. The first phase features only horizontal stripes, while the second phase incorporates rectan- gular patterns and diamond shapes in the third phase. Hathale said she was pleased how well the workshop did, and how the women who participated seemed to have a good grasp of it by the end of the week. “I’m proud of them. All of them,” she said. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0825. Continued from 1A in Hermiston it’s easier to get them to stay, but they compete with bigger medical groups that can offer a more flexible schedule and work-life balance. He said while Good Shepherd is fairly small, that sometimes help with the recruiting process. And he hopes combining Gifford with Good Shep- herd will right-size the search for some applicants. “The plan with Gifford is to expand upon the legacy they have of excellent care,” he said. “Many physicians want to work for a group — it’s more like working for an employer versus starting your own business.” Judith Mitchell, a physician assistant at the Hermiston Urgent Care clinic, said there are certain health issues specific to rural areas, especially those where agriculture is an economic driver. She said many of the patients they see in rural areas tend to put off care because they don’t have time, or feel they should be doing other things. “So we have to figure out how to make it work for them,” she said. “We have patients that haven’t been seen in 20 years, so you’re getting hyperten- sion, diabetes, eyes and feet problems. When you live in urban areas with a lot of access, people are more aware of their health and what they should be doing.” She added that part of her job as a provider in a rural community is making medicine work for those who haven’t always had access to care. “We’re picking up a lot of people that have fallen through the cracks,” she said. Mitchell said it’s common for providers to travel from hub cities to rural areas, instead of living there. She lives south of Portland and travels to and from Hermiston twice a week. Mitchell said she has been commuting to her job in Hermiston for about three years and loves the job, but has no plan to move closer. “It kind of depends on each person’s preference,” she said. “It depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re a brand-new PA and you’re looking to get your foot in the door, you may like it and decide to stay. But you may be a person who may want to work with the ‘big dogs,’ and then you have to go to the cities.” She added that the decision can be financial- ly-driven, as well. “Sometimes in big cities, companies can offer larger financial packages to providers, and rural communities can’t compete,” she said. “When you’re facing $150,000 to $200,000 of student loans, that has a tendency to factor in.” Hermiston has an urgent care clinic, which has three primary care practitioners, and Mirasol Family Health Center, which has nine. The Morrow County Health District also has clinics in some of its communities, Bejarano said. He said Good Shep- herd sees patients from all over the county, as well as Morrow, and even as far away as Arlington. Dennis Burke, the president of Good Shepherd, said he hopes to expand Gifford Medical Center’s urgent care from six days to seven and expand hours. ——— Contact Jayati Ramakrishnan at jramakrishnan@eastore- gonian.com or 541-564- 4534 BUILDING: Was once the old Pendleton High School Continued from 1A Landis also dismissed with prejudice all counter- claims from the Gartons and ruled they “are not entitled to recover any amount on any alleged counterclaim.” The McClintocks’ lawsuit named other defen- dants who might have a claim to the property. Kal and Silva Garton, according to the documents, deeded some interest in the property to Nickola A. and Alla Mae Hicks and Shane, Travis and Joshua Garton. The city of Boardman also is on the list of defendants, along with the Fraternal Order of Eagles Pendleton No. 28 and local attorney Henry Lorenzen. Those three parties have liens against Kal Garton’s properties after prevailing against him in civil court cases. The McClintocks can purchase the property at the auction. Pat McClintock referred questions to their attorney, Tim O’Hanlon of Pendleton, who did not immediately return a call. The John Murray Building was once the old Pendleton High School, then a junior high school. It now provides office space for professionals and the United States Department of Agriculture. Umatilla County tax records show the lot at 626 S.E. Second St. has a real market value of $23,510, while the John Murray site has a real market value of $437,500. The auction will take place Aug. 10 at 10 a.m. in the lobby of the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, 4700 N.W. Pioneer Place, Pendleton. ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0833.
