REGION
Friday, August 18, 2017
Kristen Dollarhide takes the
helm of Travel Pendleton
By EMILY OLSON
East Oregonian
Kristen Dollarhide took
the reins of Travel Pendleton
on Monday.
As director, she’ll steer
the town’s growing tourism
industry, expanding on
a Pendleton tradition of
hospitality that predates
Round-Up.
“Tourism in Umatilla
County brings in $136
million a year in direct
spending,” said Pat Beard,
who left the helm of Travel
Pendleton in July to manage
the Pendleton Convention
Center. “And Pendleton is the
base of tourism in Umatilla
County with the majority of
restaurants, attractions and
events. Financially, it’s very
important, and we’ve just
barely scratched the tip of
the iceberg.”
One job is created in
the community for every
$58,000 in tourism dollars
spent, the equivalent of
roughly 170 overnight
visitors.
The budget for Travel
Pendleton, which falls under
Chamber of Commerce
oversight, is somewhat
self-sustaining. It is funded
by an 8 percent transient
room tax and tourism
promotion
assessment
charge of $1.50 per night per
paid room.
In addition to the 60,000
to 70,000 Round-Up visi-
tors, Pendleton’s various
attractions see regular
traffi c throughout the year,
according to the Pendleton
Development Commission.
The Pendleton Woolen Mills
see 28,000 visitors per year,
and the Underground Tours
host 25,000. The Pendleton
Convention Center hosts
100,000 through its range
of events and the Wildhorse
Gaming Resort is the biggest
draw in the county, bringing
in 400,000 to 500,000.
“There’s been a great
foundation laid. It’s just a
question of ‘Where do we
go from here?’” Dollarhide
said of Travel Pendleton.
Her initial goal is to immerse
Staff photo by Emily Olson
On Tuesday, Kristen Dollarhide (center) discusses potential plans to include the
Round-Up Grounds as a stop for a bus tour for travelers from The Netherlands.
herself in Pendleton culture
and get to know locals in the
hospitality industry.
“I need to familiarize
myself with Pendleton’s
customs and traditions and
history before I come in and
make any changes,” Dollar-
hide said, who most recently
lived in Union County. “It’s
important to me. If I lived
here and had someone came
in who was new, I’d want
them to understand what
we’re all about.”
She plans to continue the
new events Pendleton has
seen in recent years such as
Bike Week and Whisky Fest,
both of which have been
community-wide
efforts.
Pendleton’s
Economic
Development
Director,
Steve Chrisman, thinks
there’s room for growth.
“Tourism is far and away
the lowest hanging economic
fruit in Pendleton,” he
said. “The Cowboy-Indian
experience plays beautifully
in Asian and European
markets. If they knew it
was here, they’d be here in
droves.”
Dollarhide said she is
open to ideas for new events,
and would love to partner
with local organizations to
make them happen. She will
also work to make Pendleton
a stop on domestic and
international tour routes.
One of her duties as director
is to visit trade shows and
seminars to spread the word
about what Pendleton has to
offer.
“We want to make sure
we’re at the table when
tour operators are having
those discussions,” she
said. Dollarhide will have a
leg-up on her role thanks to
her pre-existing connections
with Travel Oregon and the
Eastern Oregon Business
Association.
She worked with those
organizations as Executive
Director of Union County’s
Chamber of Commerce,
a position she left in
September 2016 for family
reasons.
“Her favorite part was the
tourism efforts,” said Bob
Kavanaugh, who worked
with Dollarhide as a member
of Union County’s Chamber
of Commerce and stepped in
as the new executive director
this February.
He describes Dollarhide
as dynamic and full of
energy.
“She has a magnetic
personality,” he said. “When
it comes to someone who
can be up front and speaking
to an audience, she is just
electrifying.”
Prior to her three years
with the Union County
Chamber of Commerce,
Dollarhide worked for Saint
Alphonsus in Baker City
as an executive assistant
for the vice president of
nursing. Her résumé also
includes membership on the
board of directors for the
McMinnville Chamber of
Commerce; she was named
director of the year in 2012.
Dollarhide is originally
from North Bend, Wash.,
and currently lives near
North Powder.
She is on the search for
a Pendleton apartment,
and can’t wait to call the
Round-Up town her home.
Pendleton has been her go-to
for weekend amusement and
nights out while living in
Eastern Oregon.
“But what I know about
Pendleton is just the tip of
the iceberg,” she said. “I’m
most excited to learn more.”
———
Contact Emily Olson at
eolson@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0809
John Day airport booked during eclipse
Hermiston, Pendleton runways open
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Those looking to bypass
Eastern Oregon’s clogged
roads by fl ying into the solar
eclipse’s path of totality
might have trouble fi nding a
place to land.
Haley
Walker,
the
manager of the Grant County
Regional Airport in John
Day, said the airport has been
booked solid for months.
Pilots from Oregon, Cali-
fornia, Washington, Montana
and across the West will
stream into Grant County
over the weekend ahead
of Monday’s astronomical
event. Walker said the airport
charged pilots $100 for a
“special event” parking fee
and easily fi lled the airport’s
16 tie-downs and the six
additional spaces they made
available.
Walker said the airport
got a call from as far away
as Ohio from a pilot looking
for a spot. By the time they
inquired, the John Day airport
was already booked up.
Demand for aircraft
parking services isn’t the
same outside the path of
totality.
The airport managers for
Pendleton and Hermiston
both reported that they’ve
received minimal interest
from pilots seeking use of
their airports.
“We’re in the path of
partiality, as I like to joke,”
Pendleton Airport Manager
Steve Chrisman said.
More than 98 percent of
the sun will be obscured by
the moon in Pendleton, but
Chrisman said Pendleton’s
Eastern Oregon Regional
Airport has received only
two inquiries about pilots
looking to land there for the
eclipse.
If Pendleton is unexpect-
edly inundated with planes
on Monday, Chrisman said
the Pendleton airport’s 200
tie-downs give it plenty of
parking capacity.
Hermiston will experi-
ence an eclipse just under
98 percent and its regional
airport isn’t expecting an
increase of takeoffs and
landings. Airport Manager
Susie Rawe said she has
received only two inquires
about landing the day of the
eclipse.
The airport’s fuel supplier
warned local airports that
they should stock up on
extra plane fuel to meet
increased demand from
traveling pilots. But because
of the expense and logistical
concerns, Rawe declined to
buy more.
With various warnings
from government offi cials
about the crush of people
that could descend on rural
Oregon not matching up with
the reality in Hermiston up to
this point, Rawe compared it
to Y2K, the theory that the
calendar change from 1999
to 2000 would cause massive
problems in computers.
On the other hand, Rawe
said, Hermiston Regional
Airport is an uncontrolled
airport where pilots can
arrive without prior notice.
She hopes that isn’t the case.
If eclipse watchers don’t
mind a deep dimming
compared to the total dark-
ness, there are a few local
events for Umatilla and
Morrow County residents
who don’t want to brave the
road congestion in the path
of totality.
The Umatilla Chamber
of Commerce is hosting the
Path of “Almost” Totality
Tailgate Party in the city of
Umatilla.
The festivities, which
include music and a beer
garden, will begin on 11 a.m.
Sunday at Marina Park, with
tent and recreational vehicle
spots available for overnight
stays.
Tailgate attendees will
wake up to an eclipse around
97 percent.
At 99 percent, the eclipse
at Heppner is practically on
the edge of totality. The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers
and the city of Heppner are
opening Willow Creek Dam
to eclipse viewers from 8
a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
The fi rst 250 visitors will
receive free eclipse viewing
glasses.
Stare up at the sky in
Boardman, and residents will
see a 97 percent eclipse.
But go inside the SAGE
Center, and the museum’s
free showing of a NASA
livestream means they’ll
get to see the eclipse in its
totality.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
Pendleton’s past includes nods to the Confederacy
By EMILY OLSON
East Oregonian
Unlike Charlottesville,
Pendleton has never had a
monument to the Confed-
eracy. But the town does have
a few Confederate-resonant
names and fl ags in its distant
and not-so-distant past.
The fi rst is the city’s
namesake, George H. Pend-
leton, an Ohio senator who
opposed measures to ban
slavery in the west during
the 1850s. A member of the
Democratic Party, Pendleton
ran as George McClellan’s
vice presidential candidate
in an unsuccessful attempt
to unseat President Abraham
Lincoln in 1864.
Many of the early
pioneers living in Umatilla
County were Democrats.
When Pendleton was platted
in 1868 a local judge, G.W.
Bailey, recommended that
the town be named for
George Pendleton, according
to “A Century of News and
People in the East Orego-
nian” by Gordon Macnab.
Many streets in Pendleton
were originally named
after Confederate leaders,
including Stonewall Jackson,
Robert E. Lee and Pierre
Gustave Toutant Beauregard.
The names were changed in
the 1930s when Pendleton
was home to an air base, said
Rebecca Frostad, manager
and membership coordinator
for the Heritage Station
Museum.
“It was thought that it
would be really diffi cult for
airmen to try and navigate
the town,” Frostad said. “At
that time, they decided that
everything radiating east/
west from Main Street would
be numerical, and everything
radiating north/south from
the river would be alphabet-
ical.”
The streets were renamed
after important fi gures in
the city’s history, though
vestiges of the original street
names remain.
Eighth Street had been
known as Lee Street, named
after Confederate General
Robert E. Lee. It remains
Lee Street north of the river.
And sharp eyes can see orig-
inal names are imprinted in
some of the older sidewalks
off Southeast Byers Avenue.
Confederate fl ags, too,
can be spotted around Pend-
leton.
Last Round-Up, a vendor
invited by the Main Street
Cowboys drew criticism
and anger for displaying and
selling Confederate fl ags in
the middle of “Greatest Free
Show in the West.” Liberty
Flags and Gifts Owner Viola
Moody reported that they
were “selling like crazy.”
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
Fair, rodeo prompt
extra donations
East Oregonian
Now that the public has
had a chance to see the
Umatilla County Fair and
Farm-City Pro Rodeo in
action at their new venue, it
could prompt more donations
to both events to help pay for
next year.
At the fair’s kickoff dinner,
Rep. Greg Smith announced
a personal $10,000 donation,
and rodeo board member
Dennis Barnett said so
far there have been a few
additional donations to the
nonprofi t Friends of the Fair
and Rodeo prompted by
people seeing the Eastern
Oregon Trade and Event
Center for themselves last
week.
He said donations to
the Friends of the Fair and
Rodeo, which is a separate
entity from EOTEC, can be
used with EOTEC’s blessing
for fair and rodeo-related
improvements like adding
irrigation and grass to the
overfl ow parking area to keep
down the dust next year.
The
rodeo
acquired
some debt for things like
the mercantile building,
additional bleachers and
landscaping around the arena
that the board wanted for the
2017 rodeo but EOTEC did
not have the funds to pay for.
Barnett said donors can
specify if they want the money
to go toward the Umatilla
County Fair or Farm-City
Pro Rodeo, or they can leave
it up to a joint committee to
determine where the money
is most needed.
“As we continue to try and
make the facility the best it
can be, there is always going
to be a continued need for
more funds,” he said.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
FRIDAY, AUGUST 18
PENDLETON
MASTERS
SWIM CLUB, 5-6 p.m., Roundup
Athletic Club pool, 1415 South-
gate, Pendleton. $5 per session
coaching fee; non-RAC members
pay $8 pool fee per session. (Tania
Wildbill 541-310-9102)
PENDLETON EAGLES LA-
DIES AUXILIARY KITCHEN, 6-8
p.m., Pendleton Eagles Lodge,
428 S. Main St., Pendleton. Mem-
bers and guests welcome. (541-
278-2828)
COLUMBIA GRANGE, 6:30
p.m., Columbia Grange Hall,
32339 Diagonal Blvd., Hermiston.
6:30 p.m. potluck, 7:30 p.m. meet-
ing. (Doris Reid 541-567-8663)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 19
STANDING WITH STAND-
ING ROCK, WATER, AIR AND
EARTH PROTECTORS, 11 a.m.-
12 p.m., Roy Raley Park, 1205
S.W. Court Ave., Pendleton.
PENDLETON
EAGLES
STEAK AND LIVE MUSIC,
6-11:30 p.m., Pendleton Eagles
Lodge, 428 S. Main St., Pendleton.
Dinner from 6-8 p.m., music from
8 p.m. to midnight. Members and
guests welcome. (541-278-2828)
SUNDAY, AUGUST 20
PENDLETON
EAGLES
BREAKFAST, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.,
Pendleton Eagles Lodge, 428
S. Main St., Pendleton. Open to
members and guests. (541-278-
2828)
MONDAY, AUGUST 21
BOARDMAN QUILT GROUP,
9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Boardman Se-
nior Center, 100 Tatone St., Board-
man. Quilt construction, quilting
updates, education, history and
friendship. Free. (Kathy Hyder
541-571-7009)
BLUE MOUNTAIN PIECE-
MAKERS, 12 p.m., Thimbles Fab-
ric N More, 1819 Westgate Place,
Pendleton.
PENDLETON
ROTARY
CLUB, 12 p.m., Pendleton Elks
Lodge, 14 S.E. Third St., Pendle-
ton.
IRRIGON MOOSE LODGE
TACOS AND BINGO, 6-9 p.m.,
Irrigon Moose Lodge, 220 N.E.
Third St., Irrigon. Tacos from 6-9
p.m., bingo from 6:30-9 p.m. Open
to members and guests. (541-922-
1802)
OREGON TRAIL GEM & MIN-
ERAL SOCIETY, 6 p.m., Pendle-
ton City Hall community room, 501
S.W. Emigrant Ave., Pendleton.
(Tom Moon 541-278-9702)
BLOOMER GIRLS GARDEN
CLUB, 6:30 p.m., location varies,
location varies, Hermiston. (Barba-
ra Chadwick 541-567-2043)
TUESDAY, AUGUST 22
PENDLETON TOASTMAS-
TERS NO. 154, 6:30 a.m., Pendle-
ton City Hall community room, 501
S.W. Emigrant Ave., Pendleton.
TOPS CHAPTER OR 1110, 8
a.m., Missionary Baptist Church,
125 E. Beech St., Hermiston. 8
a.m. weigh-in followed by meeting
at 8:45 a.m. (Margaret Wetterling
541-720-0276)
GREENFIELD GRANGE PI-
NOCHLE, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Green-
fi eld Grange 579, 209 N.W. First
St., Boardman. (541-481-7397)
BIBLE STUDY, 10 a.m., First
United Methodist Church, 352 S.E.
Second St., Pendleton. (Rev. Jim
Pierce 541-276-2616)
HERMISTON CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE, 12 p.m., Hermiston
Conference Center, 415 S. High-
way 395, Hermiston. June guest
speaker: Commissioner Bill Elfer-
ing will share the State of Umatilla
County.. Cost is $10 for members,
$13 for non-members, RSVP re-
quested. (Debbie Pedro 541-567-
6151)
“THE LIFE MODEL: LIV-
ING FROM THE HEART JESUS
GAVE YOU” BOOK STUDY
GROUP, 1-2:30 p.m., Bowman
Building, 17 S.W. Frazer Ave.,
Pendleton. (Pat 541-276-6671)
TOPS CHAPTER OR 1169,
4-5:30 p.m., Hermiston Assembly
of God Church, 730 E. Hurlburt
Ave., Hermiston. Use west side
door. (Janell Bailey 541-571-5744)
STUDYING THE MIRACLES
OF JESUS, 4-6 p.m., Good Sa-
maritan Ministries, 319 W. Locust
Ave., Hermiston. (541-564-1041)
COLUMBIA RIVER TOAST-
MASTERS, 6-7 p.m., Umatilla Se-
nior Center, Umatilla.
AWANA, 6:30-8 p.m., Pendle-
ton Baptist Church, 3202 S.W. Nye
Ave., Pendleton. For children age
3 through sixth grade. (541-276-
7590)
HOUSE OF HOPE, 6:30
p.m., Hermiston Assembly of God
Church, 730 E. Hurlburt Ave. (use
Seventh St. entrance), Hermiston.
Help for needy and homeless indi-
viduals in the Hermiston commu-
nity. (Linda Durant 541-449-5038)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23
CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
INTERNATIONAL, 7:30-9 a.m.,
Shari’s Restaurant, 319 S.E.
Nye Ave., Pendleton. (LaFrance
Grubbs 541-276-5318)
WILLOW RUN LADIES GOLF
CLUB, 8 a.m., Willow Run Golf
Course, 78873 Toms Camp Road,
Boardman. Rain or shine. Need
not be a member to play. (541-481-
4381)
HERMISTON
KIWANIS
CLUB, 12 p.m., Desert Lanes
Bowling Alley, 1545 N. First St.,
Hermiston. (541-567-6728)
CAY-UMA-WA TOASTMAS-
TERS, 12-1 p.m., Wildhorse Re-
sort & Casino, 46510 Wildhorse
Blvd, Pendleton. Everyone wel-
come. (Jeannette Taylor 541-276-
9492)
ALTRUSA INTERNATIONAL
OF PENDLETON, 12 p.m., Red
Lion Inn, 304 S.E. Nye Ave., Pend-
leton.
HERMISTON ELKS DIN-
NER, 5:30-8 p.m., Hermiston Elks
Lodge, 480 E. Main St., Hermiston.
(541-567-6923)
FRIENDS OF IRRIGON LI-
BRARY, 6 p.m., Irrigon Public Li-
brary, 490 N.E. Main Ave., Irrigon.
(541-922-0138)
UMATILLA CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE BOARD, 6 p.m.,
Umatilla Chamber of Commerce,
100 Cline Ave., Umatilla. (541-922-
4825)
MILTON-FREEWATER JAY-
CEES, 6:30 p.m., Milton-Freewa-
ter Elks Lodge, 611 N. Main St.,
Milton-Freewater. (541-938-9317)
PENDLETON EAGLES AUX-
ILIARY AND AERIE, 7 p.m., Pend-
leton Eagles Lodge, 428 S. Main
St., Pendleton. (541-278-2828)
THURSDAY, AUGUST 24
TUMBLEWEED TOASTMAS-
TERS, 6:30 a.m., Eastern Oregon
Higher Education Center, 980 S.E.
Columbia Drive, Hermiston. Visi-
tors welcome. (541-567-3360)
ARTS AND CRAFTS FROM
THE DRY SIDE, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.,
Hermiston Assembly of God
Church, 730 E. Hurlburt Ave.,
Hermiston. Use Seventh Street en-
trance. Monthly business meeting
at noon. (541-567-4446)
CONDON CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE, 12 p.m., Gilliam
County Courthouse, 221 S. Ore-
gon St., Condon. (541-384-7777)
PENDLETON LIONS CLUB,
12 p.m., Roosters Restaurant,
1515 Southgate, Pendleton.
MILTON-FREEWATER RE-
PUBLICAN WOMEN, 12 p.m.,
Milton-Freewater
Community
Building, 109 N.E. Fifth Ave., Mil-
ton-Freewater. Bring a sack lunch;
coffee will be provided. (Suni Dan-
forth 541-215-9389)
HERMISTON
LINEBACK-
ERS CLUB, 12 p.m., Desert
Lanes Bowling Alley, 1545 N.
First St., Hermiston. Hear HHS
football coach David Faaeteete
discuss last week’s game and talk
about the upcoming tilt. RSVP by
Wednesday at 3 p.m. Meets during
football season only. (541-567-
5215)
Route work
pays for my
children’s
activities.
Become an
East Oregonian
Carrier.
211 SE Byers Ave.
Pendleton
or call:
541-276-2211
1-800-522-0255