AUTOMATION TRUMP:
THE THEME AT ‘BLAME ON
FARM EXPO BOTH SIDES’
REGION/3A
88/57
Oregon makes
drug possession
a misdemeanor
NORTHWEST/2A
NATION/7A
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2017
141st Year, No. 217
WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
One dollar
PENDLETON
Housing developer buys 45 lots
City council approves deal for Sunridge Estates subdivision
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The concrete foundation for a new home sets in the
afternoon sun Tuesday in the Sunridge Estates housing
development in Pendleton.
Pendleton’s Sunridge Estates could
welcome as many as 45 homes over the
next few years.
The unfi nished southern Pendleton
subdivision off Tutuilla Road was part
of a $660,000 deal with local developer
Dusty Pace that the Pendleton City
Council unanimously approved Tuesday.
Under the deal, Pace would rede-
velop 13 of the 17 lots and purchase all
of them within seven years. Pace plans
to re-plat the land into 45 lots and buy
them each individually from the city
for $15,000 per lot.
The $660,000 acts as both a fl oor
and a ceiling. If he spends $660,000
but hasn’t purchased all the lots yet,
he’ll automatically acquire the rest
of the land. If he has spent less than
$660,000 by the end of the seven-year
period, he must make up the difference
to close out the deal.
In a previous interview, Pace said
he intends to build three-bedroom,
two-bathroom homes and sell them in
the range of $180,000 to $300,000.
The city was forced to play the role
of real estate agent when Umatilla
County foreclosed on the properties,
which had city liens on them through a
See HOUSING/8A
SIR HOPPY’S
HARVEST
How to
safely view
the eclipse
Sir Hoppy perches on Jake Hales’ knee one recent day in the cab of
the wheat farmer’s combine. The grasshopper showed up on the fi rst
day of harvest and stayed for the duration. Contributed photo
Tips for protecting your
eyes and our forests
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
fi eld he was harvesting. On the
fourth day of harvest, Hales
realized the grasshopper hadn’t
yet hopped out.
“I realized he needed food,
so I jumped out and ripped some
As eclipse viewers prepare to look toward
the sky on Aug. 21, local public safety agen-
cies and medical professionals are urging
caution.
From special glasses to staying safe on the
roads to preventing forest fi res, here are some
tips to enjoy the best viewing experience for
yourself and those around you.
Eye Safety
Several local groups have been selling
eclipse glasses, but it’s important to under-
stand why viewers need to protect their eyes
during the eclipse.
“The sun is never good to stare at, but
during the eclipse, it’s almost like it creates
a
magnifying
effect,
almost
like if you were
burning leaves
or ants,” said
SOLAR
Hermiston
ECLIPSE
mayor
David
2017
Drotzmann,
a
doctor at Lifetime
5 days left
Vision Source.
He compared it to
getting a sunburn on your eyes — but with
everlasting effects.
“If you burn your skin, it’ll repair itself,”
he said. “But retina tissue is neurological
tissue, like in the brain. If you kill neurolog-
ical tissue, it doesn’t regrow.”
He noted that looking directly at the
eclipse can cause lasting damage to a person’s
eyesight.
Eclipse glasses, he said, have an intense
tint that allow viewers to safely look at
the sun. They are so dark, he said, viewers
shouldn’t be able to see anything but the sun
through them.
He also said the glasses need to be
approved and stamped with the certifi cation
ISO-12312-2.
He said some eclipse glasses being sold
have been found to be fake, and people
See HOPPY/8A
See ECLIPSE/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Jake Hales of Adams drives a combine while fi nishing up with the wheat harvest in a fi eld outside of Adams. Hales says he
has shared the cab of his harvester with a grasshopper for nearly a month.
Grasshopper rides shotgun in Helix farmer’s combine
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
Grasshoppers and farmers
don’t generally become friends
— the leggy insects have a nasty
reputation for chewing through
crops and causing severe damage.
Defying tradition, wheat
farmer Jake Hales has a grass-
hopper named Sir Hoppy Legs
riding shotgun in his combine.
The unusual partnership started 28
days ago on the fi rst day of harvest
when a grasshopper jumped into
the cab of the huge harvester.
“I was out adjusting the
combine,” Hales said. “I got
back in and saw him hopping
around in there.”
The creature wandered
around the air-conditioned
cabin from which Hales had an
unobstructed view of the wheat
When disaster strikes, Red Cross is there
Organization short on local
early response volunteers
By EMILY OLSON
East Oregonian
As Carol McCall watched a fi re
destroy her Pendleton home back in
January, all she could do was worry.
She worried about her fi ve dogs,
three of which did not escape the blaze.
She worried about her possessions, all
of which would be lost to fl ames or
smoke damage. And she worried about
her children and grandchildren, who lost
a place imbued with memories.
She didn’t even think to worry about
where she and her husband would stay,
or what she’d eat or how she’d brush her
teeth. But someone did.
Two volunteers with the American
“It was just nice to have a
friendly face and someone
acknowledging you’ve
been through a disaster.”
— Joy Goubeaud,
lost her RV to a fi re during
a stop in Pendleton on July 21
Red Cross’s Disaster Action Team
greeted her at the scene of the fi re.
They brought her a pre-paid debit
card, a reservation for a nearby hotel
room and an emergency kit containing
not just a toothbrush, but other
hygienic necessities.
“All the stuff you need immediately
— they were there to take care of that,”
See RED CROSS/8A
EO fi le photo
A fi re-damaged banjo and case sits atop other belongings
from the burned-out motor home of Pete and Joy Goubeaud.
The Goubeauds were traveling though town on July 21 when
the couple’s motor home caught fi re leaving them stranded.