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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 7, 2017)
TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE HEADS TO GOVERNOR TRUMP VISITS POLAND WORLD/6A NORTHWEST/2A FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017 141st Year, No. 189 Your Weekend One dollar WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Wildhorse plans $85M expansion Additions include second hotel tower, bowling alley and parking garage Confederated Umatilla Journal • • • Cool Rides Car Show, Funfest in Hermiston Pendleton Community Flea Market, Saturday Athena Caledonian Games all weekend For times and places see Coming Events, 5A Weekend Weather Fri Sat Sun 98/60 96/63 93/63 MISSION — With the intent to re-invent itself, Wildhorse Resort & Casino is adding a second 11-story hotel tower, a 32-lane bowling alley, four more screens in the cineplex and fi ve new restaurants. Those amenities and more are expected to be completed by the summer of 2020. On June 5, the Board of Trustees for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation authorized a team to begin exploring fi nancing for a loan not to exceed $85 million. Gary George, CEO at Wildhorse, said banks have indicated willingness to loan up to $137 million. However, based on what the resort currently is earning, the number was reduced to $85 million to ensure there would be no impact to the current distribution to tribal members. George said he believes the Phase II expansion is a “very solid project that will generate additional discre- tionary revenue” for the CTUIR and its programs. Further, he said, based on the feasibility study, it will increase allocations (divi- dends) for current and future CTUIR tribal members or, as George calls them, share- holders. The expansion is expected to create at least 100 new jobs, which would bring the total employment up to 860 during peak summer months. Even in the slower winter months the number of employees would be around 760 to 800, George said. Here’s a list of some of the main expansion items: Hotel Although another tower See WILDHORSE/8A Hospital offi cials try to keep up with policy changes By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian President Trump acknowledged at a meeting of the nation’s governors in February that health care is complicated. “It’s an unbelievably complex subject,” Trump said. “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.” Two local health care leaders, Harry Geller and Dennis Burke, dispute the latter statement. The two hospital administrators are enmeshed daily in the intrica- cies of delivering health care and dealing with government involvement in it. Geller is president at Pendleton’s St. Anthony Hospital and Burke is president and CEO at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston. The men sat down with the East Oregonian editorial board this week to chat about a U.S. health care system in fl ux and how ongoing health care reform affects hospitals. They said passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 brought positive change to hospitals, at least in the begin- ning. Thousands more people had access to insurance through Medicaid expansion and the insurance exchanges. Hospitals began to see fewer uninsured people coming into See HOSPITAL/2A Flipping over the heat Staff photo by E.J. Harris Adam Urbina, 9, of Pendleton is all smiles as he performs a backfl ip off a diving board Thursday at the Pendleton Family Aquatic Center. New laws hit the books as legislature winds down Facebooking while driving will be illegal in October By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Another legislative session is almost in the books, and with it comes hundreds of new laws. Many of the more than 850 bills passed won’t have a noticeable impact on the average citizen’s day-to-day life, but others could result in a stranger smashing in your car window or fi nally having to learn how to pump your own gas. Starting October 1, it could also result in a $2,000 fi ne for checking sports scores on your phone while driving. Previously it was only illegal to text and drive, but House Bill 2597 outlaws all hands-on use of a mobile electronic device while driving, including but not limited to posting on social media, taking photos, inputting a desti- nation on GPS or scrolling through a playlist on your phone. The maximum fi ne for violations is $2,000, and third-time offenders will be charged with a misdemeanor instead of a traffi c violation. Before the legislature Staff photo by E.J. Harris House Bill 2746 passed in April increased the deposit on cans and bottles from fi ve cents to 10 cents. adjourns on Monday, here is a small sampling of other new rules that might affect you: In your vehicle • For everyone who wishes they could pump their own gas in Oregon, House Bill 2482 allows self-service fueling at gas stations 24 hours a day in counties with a population of less than 40,000 east of Multnomah County, including Morrow County, starting January 1. Stations with a retail space such as a mini-mart must still provide an employee able to dispense fuel between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. • If you spot a toddler or pet locked in a dangerously hot car with no parent in sight, House Bill 2732 allows you to break into a car to remove them if the person acts in good faith believing that the child or animal is in immediate danger. The person must have fi rst confi rmed that the doors were all locked, proceeded to do the least amount of damage needed and called law enforcement as soon as “reasonably practical.” The bill took effect immediately upon passage. • It’s not just police cars you’ll be required to move over for starting on Jan. 1. Senate Bill 34 requires drivers on roads with more than one lane in the same direction to move to a lane non-adjacent to any vehicle pulled over with hazard lights fl ashing, fl ares set out or other indications of distress. If there is only one lane, passing drivers must slow down by at least fi ve miles per hour instead. • If you get into a crash, Senate Bill 35, effective immediately, increases the threshold for reporting motor vehicle crashes to law enforcement from $1,500 to $2,500 worth of damage. The legislature also passed House Bill 2403, requiring drivers to exchange insurance infor- mation after all crashes. If leaving a note for a vehicle owner who is not present, the note must include the insurance carrier and policy number. • Anyone who fancies themselves an amateur detective will have to forgo the old “Tracking device on the car” trick. Senate Bill 483 makes it illegal to attach a GPS device to a person’s vehicle without their knowledge. The misdemeanor offense becomes a felony if the perpetrator has previously been convicted of stalking or has a restraining order against them. It does not apply to law enforcement. At school • Students in Oregon will be learning more about the historical contribu- tions of social and ethnic minorities — including women, people of color, immigrants, people with See LAWS/8A
