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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2017)
OFF PAGE ONE Tuesday, August 15, 2017 East Oregonian Page 9A HERMISTON Both Korean leaders, U.S. signal turn to diplomacy amid crisis Voters will have say on OSU Extension district SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Tuesday presented leader Kim Jong Un with plans to launch missiles into waters near Guam and “wring the windpipes of the Yankees,” even as both Koreas and the United States signaled their willingness to avert a deepening crisis, with each suggesting a path toward negotiations. The tentative interest in diplomacy follows unusually combative threats between President Donald Trump and North Korea amid worries that Pyongyang is nearing its long-sought goal of accurately being able to send a nuclear missile to the U.S. mainland. Next week’s start of U.S.-South Korean military exercises that enrage the North each year make it unclear, however, if diplomacy will prevail. During an inspection of the North Korean army’s Strategic Forces, which handles the missile program, Kim praised the military for drawing up a “close and careful plan” and said he would watch the “foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees” a little more before deciding whether to order the missile test, the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said. Kim appeared in photos sitting at a table with a large map marked by a straight line between what appeared to be northeastern North Korea and Guam, and passing over Japan — appar- ently showing the missiles’ flight route. The missile plans were previously announced. Kim said North Korea would conduct the launches if the “Yankees persist in their extremely dangerous reckless actions on the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity,” and that the United States should “think reasonably and judge properly” to avoid shaming itself, the news agency said. Lobbing missiles toward Guam, a major U.S. military hub in the Pacific, would be a deeply provocative act from the U.S. perspective, and a miscalculation on either side could lead to a military clash. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said the United States would take out any such missile seen to be heading for American soil and declared any such North Korean attack could mean war. Hermiston voters will see an Oregon State University Extension taxing district on their ballot in May. The city council voted Monday to allow OSU to include Hermiston in the district being proposed to voters. “I’m all for letting the citizens decide what they want to do with their tax dollars,” Councilor John Kirwan said. City Manager Byron Smith said that agriculture is an important driver of Hermiston’s economy, and the 33 cents per $1,000 of assessed value would provide a steady funding stream for the research and other support for local growers. However, he also noted that the new district would pull away about $87,600 from the city’s general fund due to compression. Since 1991 Oregon has capped property taxes at $5 per assessed value for schools and $10 per assessed value for other services. When voters pass more taxes than the $10 rate, through a new taxing district or a rate increase for a current district, each piece of the existing pie shrinks a little to fit in the new tax. Hermiston’s general fund is By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian now losing about $291,000 per year to compression. Supporters of the district testified the benefits to Hermiston’s economy would outweigh the loss. “Continued growth in agri- culture will support continued growth in our economy,” Steve Williams said. Compression also came up during the 6 p.m. work session, where assistant city manager Mark Morgan presented the public infrastructure commit- tee’s proposal to raise fran- chise fees on electricity, cable, internet and other utilities to help pay for $11.75 million in major street projects around town. Morgan said under the city’s current general fund trends, it would take about 59 years to earn the money for the projects if the city stopped other road maintenance alto- gether. Projects the committee has prioritized in the capital improvement plan include paving Gettman Road, paving East Theater Lane, re-aligning the intersection of Harper, Geer and First Place, widening and improving NE 10th Street near Sandstone Middle School and revamping North First Place, including better traffic control at its intersections with Orchard Avenue and Highland Avenue. PERRY: Will visit Hanford on Tuesday Continued from 1A will harm individuals and businesses, divert capital needed for further infra- structure investment in the Northwest, and undermine regional utility coordination,” the letter reads in part. “BPA has helped to develop and administer the complex elec- trical system that powers the Northwest, now providing affordable and reliable power to over 12 million people and the businesses that help the region thrive.” Still, Perry was mum when asked where he stood on the issue, saying only that they should not be afraid to have that conversation before moving on to another topic. Walden, on the other hand, was more direct in his defense of the agency. He expressed confidence that the BPA will remain public, adding that the notion of privatization has united just about every member of the Northwest delegation. “(BPA) does its job. And it has a darn important job in our region,” Walden said. On the subject of hydro- electricity and renewable energy as a whole, Perry said he is an “all-of-the-above guy,” pointing to the devel- opment of wind power and fracked natural gas during his time as governor of Texas. Hydroelectricity will play If the city raised all franchise fees on utilities (currently 3 to 5 percent) up to 7 percent, that would raise about $413,000 per year. Added to the legislature’s transportation package, which will give Hermiston the money for the North First Place project in 2022, Morgan said the city could finish all projects on the list in roughly 11 years, not counting routine maintenance. He said the committee felt a gas tax would just drive more people to buy their gas outside city limits, and a flat $5 fee on water and sewer bills would not catch the more than two thirds of Hermiston workers who live outside the city limits but still drive on Hermiston roads on their way to work in town. The city council said they were willing to formally discuss and vote on the proposed franchise fee increase at their Aug. 28 meeting. During the regular session, residents on Gettman Road testified to the need to pave the road as the southwest portion of town grows and more people use it. The discussion came as the council voted to annex 13 acres along Gettman Road into the city and zone it for low-density housing. The GRADUATION: HSD spent about $10,000 on this year’s ceremony Continued from 1A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Secretary of Energy Rick Perry speaks at a press conference with Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., at McNary Dam on Monday in Umatilla. an important role moving forward Perry said, and he commended the work done at McNary Dam. “My hat’s off to every different part of this oper- ation to make sure it runs smoothly,” he said. McNary Dam is just the first stop for Perry as he arrived in northeast Oregon and southeast Washington. On Tuesday, he will travel to the Tri-Cities for a visit to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, HAMMER Federal Training Center and Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Perry said security at Hanford is “as good as there is in the world,” despite a partial tunnel collapse in May that contained highly radioac- tive waste. “We never like to have surprises, but we have them from time to time to time,” he said. “The long-term cleanup of that site is what’s important. That’s what I wanted to see.” While at Hanford, Perry will visit the site’s Plutonium Finishing Plant, the 2268 Building, the WTP facility and the PUREX tunnels. He described both Hanford and McNary Dam as examples of American strength and ingenuity. “This is a fascinating part of America’s story,” Perry said. “There’s extraordinary history.” ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0825. vote was based on an appli- cation by developer Frank Gehrig, who said he plans to build 46 large homes worth $275,000 to $325,000 in a new subdivision there over the next four years. Three neighbors said they appreciated the need for more housing in Hermiston but they worried about traffic and dust caused by the increase in people using the road. They said since Armand Larive Middle School was built nearby there have been prob- lems ranging from frequent wrecks to constant clouds of dust. “I think the traffic will be unsustainable,” Gary Stolz said. When they noted school buses traversing the dirt road, city planning director Clint Spencer said part of the school district’s conditional use permit for Armand Larive was a stipulation that no buses use that route, so if that were the case he would send a warning about the violation. Councilors said they were aware Gettman needed paved, and hoped to get it done in the next few years using the plan Morgan presented. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian. com or 541-564-4536. are required for family members, and it has hand- icap accessibility. Hermiston School District spent about $10,000 on its graduation ceremony this year. Spoo said renting the Toyota Center would cost between $3,500 and $4,000 per year. That cost doesn’t include the sound system, or the cost of transportation for students and staff up to the center — for both a practice and the actual ceremony. Spoo said the district would need about seven buses to transport students, and one for staff — at $185 per bus. Board members were interested in the idea, acknowledging some of the recent problems the current venue has had. But some wondered about the feasibility of getting family members to travel out of Hermiston for a graduation ceremony. “We need to provide that option (of transportation) for people,” said Board Chair Karen Sherman. “Not just parents.” Spoo noted that many districts of comparable size in the Portland area hold their graduations at larger venues like the Memorial Coliseum, where they may have to travel 45 minutes to an hour. Usher and Spoo showed the board a few photos from this June, when they attended Richland High School’s graduation at the Toyota Center to check out the venue. They were impressed, they said, by the efficiency of the cere- monies there. “They graduated 550 kids in one hour and 15 minutes,” Usher said. Board members said while the move made sense from a logistical stand- point, it might be difficult to convince Hermiston residents to hold their grad- uation somewhere else. “It will come down to a lot of emotion,” said board member Bonnie Luisi. The board will discuss the issue again at their work session on Aug. 28. They plan to vote on the issue at their Sept. 11 board meeting. –—— Contact Jayati Ramakrishnan at 541-564- 4534 or jramakrishnan@ eastoregonian.com. HASH: Randy never once saw his father lose his temper, even when provoked Continued from 1A “He only gave them his name, rank and serial number,” Randy said. Hash was imprisoned for 561 days. Randy said many of the prisoners died from dysentery, and his father had lingering digestive problems for the rest of his life from going more than a year and a half with a barely adequate amount of food. “They were both starving to death and freezing to death,” he said. At one point George was being held in a building where some of the floorboards had been torn up to burn for warmth. As the Germans began to load men into cattle cars to move them to a new camp, George and another man hid under the floor and got some of their fellow prisoners to help cover them back up. “The other guys didn’t want to do anything (to try and escape), because they knew they would get shot if they were caught,” Randy said. He said his father told him that he and the other prisoner waited until they didn’t hear any more movement in the camp and then split up and left on foot. George crossed on foot into Poland, where the Polish army helped hide Photo contributed by Randy Hash George Hash, right, and his wife Alice Weaver Hash on their wedding day. him from the Germans, until he was able to stow away on a Merchant Marine vessel and eventually make his way back to the United States, where he was sent to California to recover and train. “They were preparing to ship out to Japan, but the atomic bomb put an end to that,” Randy said. He said when he was a kid he had no idea that his father had led such an adventurous life before he settled down with a family. There were flashes of the tough POW, though, such as the day that Randy and his friends were lazing around the gym at Hermiston High School and his dad came in and started doing one-handed pull-ups. “He said something like ‘You guys should use this equipment’ and walked out,” Randy said. “Boy, my friends were sure impressed with how strong my dad was.” Randy said his dad was also known as a talented boxer who sometimes stepped into the ring to compete, but despite his dad’s strength and fighting skills he never once saw his father lose his temper and use physical force on anyone, even when provoked. Some of George’s children and grandchildren followed his footsteps into military service, including Randy, who served in the Coast Guard. Photo contributed by Randy Hash George Hash, left, with brothers Billand John Hash at the opening of Hash Park in McNary, named in his honor. The Hash family moved to Umatilla County in the 1950s, when George got a job as a teacher at Umatilla High School. He then taught shop and business classes — “career technical education” in today’s terms — at Herm- iston High School. “He was a fine furniture builder and just a very fine craftsman,” Randy said. “He taught a lot of people to love woodworking.” He served as a Umatilla city councilor from 1989- 1990 and mayor from 1991 to 2004, and Hash Park in McNary is named after him. Randy said his father was always traveling on Salem, unpaid, to lobby on behalf of the area, and he worked hand in hand with politicians like Congressman Greg Walden to bring federal grants and economic development to Umatilla, particularly the port. After suffering a stroke he is in Regency Hermiston Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. His family celebrated his birthday with him over the weekend. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian. com or 541-564-4536.
