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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2017)
Staff photo by Kathy Aney A team of seniors called the Gender Benders engages in a slimy tug of war Wednesday during Pendleton High School’s Mud Wars at the Happy Canyon Arena. The girls won the event. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2017 141st Year, No. 253 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD PENDLETON City plan could slash $1 million in airport debt By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Senior Zachary Ferguson gets a hug from senior Felix Aparicio after Ferguson spoke about how much their friendship meant to him during a “Breaking Down the Walls” session Wednesday at Riverside High School in Boardman. SMASHING WALLS Riverside High School program helps students relate, solve problems By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Though Rochelle Whellams had just met the teenagers at Riverside High School, she had them riveted. “How many of you have had a time where someone judged you and it hurt?” she asked the Boardman students, to an almost unanimous affirmative response. Whellams is a speaker from “Breaking Down the Walls,” a program that aims to help students relate to one another and better deal with issues that cause them trouble in school. The session, which was founded in 1984 as part of the “Learning for Living” program, attempts to engage students in several ways: get them comfortable with each other through games and basic conversations, break them into smaller groups to get to know each other, and have them discuss and think about their own experiences. “The idea is that kids will start to recognize other people within our school Staff photo by E.J. Harris Rochelle Whellams, center, leads a group of Riverside High School students in a exercise meant to show the students how much they have in common with each other during a “Breaking Down the Walls” session Wednesday at Riverside High School in Boardman. that they don’t normally associate with,” said Riverside principal David Norton. “And second, to recognize that we all have baggage. Just because I may be coming to school upset, there may be a reason for that.” Norton said his staff decided to host the event because they’re trying to help students who have adverse child experi- ences, as well as learn more about how those events affect students’ success See WALLS/6A HERMISTON Local investor in biodiesel project warns against getting ‘suckered’ By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Everyone hopes to get in on the ground floor of the next Microsoft or Pepsi, but investing in a start-up company is always a gamble. Glenn Bradley, of Herm- iston, can attest to that. After investing $30,000 in the Inland Pacific Energy Center in 2006, he has yet to see a dime of profit. Last week the state called the operation — in which developer Bob Doughty sold shares in a proposed biodiesel plant in Stanfield — a “community- “There are so many scams, I usually can see them, but this one I got suckered.” — Glenn Bradley, Hermiston investor wide investment scam” and fined Doughty for violating Oregon securities law. “There are so many scams, I usually can see them, but this one I got suckered,” Bradley said. Doughty maintains that the plan is not a scam and he still fully intends to build the plant. He says the project was merely delayed by the 2008 financial crisis but his company has come into more money recently and is “ready to go.” Last week he called the state’s investiga- tion “one-sided” and said he plans to fight it in court. Eleven years after putting in money, however, Bradley has his doubts he will ever see a return on his investment, and he said he knows other See SCAM/6A The Eastern Oregon Regional Airport is carrying $2.5 million in debt, but action by the Pendleton City Council could provide immediate relief and a path to total repay- ment. The city’s auditor, Rob Tremper, and Finance Director Linda Carter explained to the city council Tuesday how the city could write off a significant amount of the loan’s interest and gave a general primer on the airport’s debt. Here’s how it would work: What is the airport debt? Decades ago, the city began taking loans from other city funds to subsidize airport operations. Since 1995, the airport’s debt on those loans has grown to more than $2.5 million. By the numbers The city borrows from a multitude of internal ■ $2.5 million —Total debt to other sources, but the lion’s airport city funds share comes from the ■ $1.2 million — Total general fund, the city’s interest “repaid” on only discretionary fund those loans since 1995 that pays for services like ■ $1 million — police, fire and parks. Amount of debt taken In accordance with a off the books if city state law, Carter said the retroactively reduces airport fund pays back the interest rate to 0.5% balance of the loans at the end of each fiscal year. But at the beginning of the new year, the airport takes out the loans again and re-establishes the debt. The city is paying back the interest on the loans each year, but in name only. According to a spreadsheet presented to the council, the city has paid more than $1.2 million in interest since 1995. Although that money repaid to the various funds is represented in the budget, it isn’t backed up by actual cash. “What you’re forgiving is an IOU,” said City Manager Robb Corbett. How does interest write-off affect the debt? The loans’ interest rate has long been tied to the Oregon Local Government Investment Pool and has fluctuated between 1 and 7 percent over the past two decades. But as an alternative, state statute also allows the city See AIRPORT/6A Hurtado charged with crimes after being shot by officer vehicle and pointed his gun at Morrow County Morrow County District Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Attorney Justin Nelson will Haak, although he did not bring charges against a man fire the gun. According who allegedly to Nelson, pointed a gun Haak did not at a deputy and expect anyone was shot in late to be inside the September. vehicle, which A Morrow he was tagging to C o u n t y be towed. But as grand jury he approached, recommended H u r t a d o bringing the opened the rear charges based passenger door, on evidence looked out, and presented by the Hurtado pointed a gun at DA. Efren Hurtado, 26, will Haak. Haak quickly fired two be charged with unlawful use of a weapon, menacing rounds, one of which struck and carrying a concealed Hurtado in the side of the weapon. He is currently head, dropping him but not lodged in the Umatilla penetrating his skull. According to Nelson, County Jail. Hurtado was shot in the Haak rushed back to early hours of Sept. 22 in a his car for cover, called parked Chevy Tahoe on the dispatch, and waited for westbound side of Inter- other police officers to state 84 near the Boardman arrive. Officers arrived to find Hurtado unconscious exit. Nelson said the grand with a revolver near his jury heard testimony hand. Hurtado had been and video indicating that recovering at a Portland Hurtado leaned out of the hospital. East Oregonian
