WEEKEND EDITION
HEAD
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JULY 8-9, 2017
141st Year, No. 190
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Sen. Jeff Merkley congratulates Michael Shafer, son of
Athena Mayor John Shafer, at right, on his acceptance
to Harvard during a tour Friday in Athena.
Sen. Merkley tours
smallest towns of
Umatilla County
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Sen. Jeff Merkley knew
just what to order as a side for
his hamburger.
“This may be the fi rst time
a U.S. senator has had the
Senator’s Clam Chowder,”
he said. “I have to order it.”
Merkley was studying the
menu at Long Branch Cafe
& Saloon in Weston, where
he and his staff stopped for
lunch on Friday during a tour
of some Umatilla County’s
smallest incorporated cities.
Seated across from him was
Mayor Jennifer Spurgeon,
who was there to talk about
challenges facing her town of
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
E
astern Oregon emergency
workers anticipate a fl ood
of tourists seeking to witness
the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse.
Two paths to experience the
path of totality in our region are
Highway 26 and Highway 395,
which wind through rural counties.
Tom Strandberg with the Oregon
Department of Transportation
said the focus is on a safe fl ow of
traffi c over the narrow roads.
“Our two-lane highways can
only accommodate so many vehi-
cles per hour safely,” he said — a
rate of about 1,200-1,500 vehicles.
But if 40,000 or more drivers
decide to leave Grant County at
once, Strandberg said traffi c will
bog down and one crash or stalled
car would make for even longer
delays.
To counter some of that, he said
ODOT maintenance workers are
undertaking “push, pull and drag”
training.
“If it’s a stalled or stranded
vehicle that is blocking traffi c, our
See ECLIPSE/12A
less than 700 people.
Three of the city’s bridges
are not considered sturdy
enough to drive a fi re engine
across and the sewer system
needs a major upgrade. The
problem, of course, is fi nding
the money for such projects
with a small tax base.
“It’s a very common
theme,” Spurgeon said.
Indeed, Merkley had
already heard from the city
of Echo about their sewer
system and the city of Helix
about a bridge problem of
its own. Each time he asked
questions and made sure
the mayors had the contact
information to follow up with
See MERKLEY/3A
Pendleton denied
earmark funding
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
More inside
Five ways to view the eclipse in Eastern Oregon/Page 12A
The moon passed between NASA’s Solar Dynamics
Observatory and the sun. The image combines individual
frames from two wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light.
Photo contributed by NASA
For Pendleton, House Bill
2017 was passed a day early
but a dollar short.
The Oregon Legislature
passed the $5.3 billion
transportation package a
day before the 2017 session
ended, and although every
town and county in Eastern
Oregon will receive some
sort of benefi t from it, Pend-
leton was shut out when it
came to earmarked projects.
While
Hermiston,
Milton-Freewater and the
Port of Umatilla all received
multimillion dollar earmarks
for street projects, Pendle-
ton’s requests went unfi lled.
Pendleton Mayor John
Turner said he lobbied
Pendleton’s legislative repre-
sentatives — state Rep. Greg
Barreto, R-Cove, and state
Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena
— to include an Interstate
84 interchange project in the
package.
Current plans call for
the four-way intersection of
Southwest Emigrant Avenue
and Southwest 20th Street
near Exit 209 on Interstate
84 to be moved west, where
some homes and retail spaces
are now.
Instituting such a change
would require realigning
20th Street and building
a new road to access the
Southgate entrance and exit,
See ROADS/12A
PENDLETON
An unconventional manager
Beard jumps into fi rst week managing convention center
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Pat Beard opened one of the back
doors of the Pendleton Convention Center
Thursday morning, achieving two things
in the process: shedding some light in the
Happy Canyon Room, where he can’t
yet fi nd the light switch, and providing a
visual aid for one of his future ideas for the
building.
The convention center doors open up to
the Happy Canyon arena. And Beard likes
the idea of working with the Happy Canyon
Board of Directors to rent out the room
(which features a bar) and the arena as one
package for parties and celebrations.
“I’m happiest on
horseback, and that’s how I
thought I would be forever.”
— Pat Beard, Pendleton Convention
Center director
Beard is fi nishing his fi rst week as the
convention center manager and he’s already
fi lling a list with ideas.
Beard sits near the convention entrance,
wearing his ever-present cowboy hat, as
staff set up for the Linebacker’s Club Hall
of Fame ceremony on Friday in the main
hall.
See BEARD/9A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pat Beard is settling in to his new duties at the director of
the Pendleton Convention Center.