REGION
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
East Oregonian
PILOT ROCK
City looks to clean up junkers
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
On Tuesday, Pilot Rock Police Chief
Bill Caldera checked the mini junkyard
at the dead end of Southwest Third
Street and found nothing had changed.
Five inoperable vehicles and the
decrepit trailer still sported the notices
police left two weeks ago to clean up or
face the tow truck.
“A couple of months ago, we
realized we had a real problem with
not only run-down properties but also
abandoned cars,” Caldera said. “We
went around and counted 130 aban-
doned cars.”
For a community of about 1,500, he
said the situation was “ridiculous.”
Caldera has been the town’s police
chief for about a year and half, and his
statement in the city’s recent commu-
nity newsletter let residents know he
would enforce city laws to curb blight
and nuisance properties.
“Like I tell people, there’s no sense
in having a city ordinance if you’re
not going to enforce it,” Caldera said.
“Obviously, this has been allowed to
happen for quite some time.”
The city fi rst took action on 50
problem properties, places where
weeds and grass grew wild and tall.
The city council then gave its support
to tackle the vehicles.
“We’re only tagging those that
are obvious,” Caldera said, such as
vehicles on blocks or with fl at tires or
expired tags. Someone parking their car
while on vacation, for example, is not
the target.
“We’ve had voluntary compliance
from several people,” he said. “There’s
been a lot of people that have been very
happy with what we’re trying to do.”
But not everyone is on board with
the effort.
C. Moore received a notice for his
wrecked 2003 Suzuki Aerio on North-
east Douglas and East Main streets.
He said he crashed the car about two
months ago when he hit a deer and can’t
do a thing with it.
He said he generally likes how
Caldera operates the Pilot Rock
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Phil Wright
police, but the city leadership needs to
understand much of the community is
in the same boat — living on disability
or other fi xed income and lacking the
means to fi x up appearances. If the cars
are not hurting anyone, he said, neigh-
bors can just look away.
“People can’t manage to mind their
own business,” Moore said.
But Caldera countered that letting
homes and streets stay a mess does not
encourage anyone to live in that neigh-
borhood. He said cleaning up the city
encourages economic development.
Mike Staggs lives on Southeast
Cherry Street near Fourth Street. He
said police put a notice on his mother-
in-law’s faded Ford Tempo in front of
his house, but he’s more concerned with
the broken-down Pontiac in the yard.
“I don’t think its fair,” Staggs said.
“I understand the one on the street, but
when you’re on private property, why
are they making a fuss about that?”
City law, it turns out, applies to
discarded vehicles on private property
unless they are completely inside a
building.
Jake Jackson lives across from
Staggs. Jackson said Caldera has a
thankless job and police have to keep a
handle on nuisances in smaller commu-
nities. And besides, he added, “there’s
a potential sting factor” because bees
and wasps build hives in long-parked
vehicles.
Caldera said he knows some will
cast him as the bad guy in this, but the
city publicized the coming clean-up for
months, and the police department left
“courtesy notices” two weeks before
tagging vehicles.
“We don’t want to be heavy handed
at all,” he said. “We want compliance.
The last thing we want to do is take
enforcement action on these people.”
But the sand in the hourglass
is running out. The city now has a
contract with Blue Mountain Towing &
Recovery of Pendleton to haul off aban-
doned or inoperable vehicles. Getting a
vehicle back costs $150, plus the $35
per day storage fee. Caldera said the
tows could begin next week.
Moore said he would like to sell his
Suzuki and avoid any problems, but he
may not be able to make that happen in
time.
PILOT ROCK
Community Days kicks off with reunion dinner
A community church
service is Sunday, Aug.
20 at 10 a.m. in the park.
A community potluck will
follow.
The Friday night dinner
is the main fundraiser for
the Pilot Rock Education
and Community Founda-
tion, which supports school
activities,
community
projects and scholarships
for graduating seniors from
Pilot Rock. To make a reser-
vation, contact Annie Smith
Tester at 541-377-3075 or
annie_tester@yahoo.com.
In addition, tax-deductible
contributions can be sent to
Laura Byrnes, P.O. Box 174,
Pilot Rock, OR 97868.
For more information
about Pilot Rock Commu-
nity Days, call 541-443-
2811 or visit www.facebook.
com/prcommunitydays.
———
Contact
Community
Editor Tammy Malgesini at
tmalgesini@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4539
East Oregonian
Pilot Rock is gearing up
for its Community Days
event, which includes the
sixth annual Class Reunion
and Community Dinner.
Just a few days before
the total solar eclipse,
organizers said Pilot Rock
is the perfect place to make
plans before hitting the road
toward the path of totality.
The dinner is Friday, Aug.
18 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at
the Pilot Rock High School
cafeteria. The meal, which
features barbecue tri-tip
or pork loin, costs $15 for
adults and $12 for students
and those 65 and older.
Class reunion groups need
to request special seating
arrangements by Friday,
Aug. 11.
A full day of fun is
planned Saturday, Aug. 19
beginning at 8 a.m. with a
community yard sale.
Most of the activities
are held at Pilot Rock City
Park, including a horseshoe
tournament (Jason Bedard
541-377-9789), a stick horse
rodeo (Lea Van Houten
541-240-1961), wiener dog
races (Jackie Carey 541-443-
8551) a car show (Sheila
File photo
Earl Perry of Pendleton peers inside an old Dodge
pickup truck during the 2015 Pilot Rock Community
Days. The event kicks off Friday, Aug. 18 with a class
reunion and community dinner and continues through
the weekend.
Buckley 541-969-0830) and
the Great Duck Race (Nancy
Hinkle 541-379-1950).
Craft and food vendors,
along with children’s activ-
ities, start at 10 a.m. Also,
astronomer Charli Sakari
will discuss the Great Amer-
ican Eclipse at 11:30 a.m. in
the elementary school gym.
Other Saturday afternoon
activities include The Rock
Walk at 3:30 p.m., a history
poker walk, and Barnyard
Bingo at 5 p.m. For more
details about both activities,
which cost $5 each, call
Mary Ann Low at 541-379-
4972. The parade gets
rolling at 6 p.m.
The evening includes a
beer garden ($3 for singles
or $5 for a couple), which
includes live music with
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A forum about the rein-
troduction of the California
condor to northeastern
Oregon is being presented
by the Blue Mountains
Conservancy and the Nez
Perce Tribe.
The public is invited to
the free meeting Thursday
at 6:30 p.m. in the Commu-
nity Room at Cook Memo-
rial Library, 2006 Fourth
St., La Grande.
“Return of the Condor”
describes the Nez Perce
efforts to reintroduce
the species to the Pacifi c
Northwest. The California
condor is North America’s
largest land bird.
It was described by the
Lewis and Clark Expe-
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buzzard of the Columbia.”
The Nez Perce believe the
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Mosquitoes collected
last week in Irrigon have
tested positive for West
Nile virus, according to
Oregon public health
offi cials.
Residents of northern
Morrow County should
take steps to avoid infection
from mosquito bites, such
as using insect repellent,
eliminating standing pools
of water where mosquitoes
breed and wearing long-
sleeved shirts and pants in
mosquito-infested areas.
Greg Barron, manager
of the North Morrow
Vector Control District,
said crews will increase
efforts to control the local
mosquito
population
using ultra-low volume
truck-mounted sprayers,
and possibly some aerial
spraying.
“The risk of contracting
West Nile virus may be
low, but we do encourage
people to take appropriate
precautions to protect
themselves
against
mosquito bites,” Barron
said.
About one in fi ve
people infected with West
Nile virus will actually
experience
symptoms,
and most are very mild
ranging from headache
to fever and nausea. In
rare cases, more severe
symptoms may occur
including convulsions and
disorientation.
The central nervous
system may also be
affected by West Nile
virus, resulting in a
headache associated with
fever, aseptic meningitis
or encephalitis. People
with immune problems,
diabetes,
high
blood
pressure or individuals
over the age of 50 are
especially at risk. Contact
your doctor if you are
having severe symptoms,
such as high fever, stiff
neck, mental confusion,
muscle weakness, shaking,
paralysis or rash.
For more information
about West Nile virus,
contact the North Morrow
Vector Control District
at 541-481-6082 or the
Morrow County Health
District at 541-676-5421.
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SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS
Submit information to: community@eastoregonian.com
or drop off to the attention of Tammy Malgesini at 333 E.
Main St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers
Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-966-0818
with questions.
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West Nile detected
in Morrow County
Residents
encouraged to use
insect repellent
The owner of this trailer and the vehicles at the end of Southwest Third
Street, Pilot Rock, has yet to comply with notices police left two weeks
ago to move the vehicles before the tow truck does.
Page 3A
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