REGION
Thursday, November 2, 2017
East Oregonian
BRIEFLY
HERMISTON
Crews respond to two chicken-related fires
East Oregonian
The Umatilla County
Fire District responded to
two chicken-related fires on
Wednesday.
In the first, at Townhouse
Villa Apartments, no one was
injured and the damage to the
unit was fairly minor. Around
2:30 p.m., residents of the
apartments at 1100 S. Hwy.
395, smelled smoke coming
from one of the apartments,
and knocked on the door to
see if anyone was there. They
called the fire department,
who responded and busted
the door open. Smoke poured
out of the door and out of the
upstairs window. No one was
in the apartment, but the cause
of the fire was a whole chicken
that had been left in a pot on
Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan
UCFD firefighters bust down a door to a Townhouse
Villas apartment that was filled with smoke Wednes-
day in Hermiston.
the stove and was smoldering.
Apartment owner Mike
Jewett said four people live
in the two-story unit, and
they were notified of the fire
shortly after it happened.
“The
damage
was
minimal” he said. “It was
mostly from where the
firemen broke down the door.”
Rachel Strickland, who
lives next door to the unit that
was smoking, said several of
the neighbors smelled smoke
and heard the fire alarm going
off. Getting concerned when
no one answered, Strickland
said she called the fire depart-
ment.
“I panicked,” she said.
About an hour earlier, a
chicken coop on East Punkin
Center Road caught fire, and
was fully engulfed before
Umatilla County Fire District
crews put it out. The fire was
close to the house on the same
property, but did not affect
the home. Fire Marshal Tom
Bohm said the fire was caused
by a heat lamp, and that five
Guinea hens died.
HERMISTON
DEQ hits food storage facility with $29K fine
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
The Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality has
fined a Hermiston company
$29,534 for operating a fruit
and vegetable storage facility
without the necessary water
pollution control permit.
Carter & Wyatt Holdings
LLC was issued the fine in
September, and has requested
an informal meeting with
DEQ to possibly appeal the
violation.
The business, located
at 78227 Highway 207,
takes fruit and vegetable
byproducts and sells them to
markets such as animal feed
for dairies and feedlots across
the country. Luke Dynes,
who owns the plant, said it
keeps around 1.6 million tons
of food out of landfills every
year.
DEQ, however, claims the
facility needs to have a water
pollution control permit
since the material is high in
nitrogen and may pose a risk
to groundwater quality —
especially within the Lower
Umatilla Basin Groundwater
Management Area.
In addition to the fine, DEQ
ordered the plant immediately
stop receiving vegetables
and dispose of all materials
from the site within 30 days.
Carson Bowler, a Portland
attorney representing Carter
& Wyatt Holdings, said they
are in discussions with DEQ
on a resolution, but did not
offer details.
The incident that led
to the citation occurred on
May 26, when a tanker
truck discharged vegetable
slurry about 3 feet deep into
an unlined pit in the ground
at the facility, according to
DEQ. The same day, DEQ
reported there were liquids
pooled and flowing across the
ground at the facility.
Bowler described what
happened May 26 as a
“one-time event” and an
“anomaly.”
Dynes, who is a member
of Carter & Wyatt Holdings,
said the plant opened in
2013, providing value-added
products while also helping to
protect the environment. As a
Hermiston native and local
business owner, he said the
company strives to be respon-
sible and actively involved in
the community.
“This is our home,” he
said. “This is where we
support everybody.”
Navy Band jazzes up performance at SAGE Center
East Oregonian
A
concert
program
featuring funk and blues will
be presented by the U.S.
Navy’s Northwest Brass
Band.
The concert is Saturday
at 6:30 p.m. in the theater at
the SAGE Center, 101 Olson
Road, Boardman. The doors
open at 6 p.m. There is no
admission charge.
Polished musicians, the
group offers a high-energy
performance for audiences
of all ages. The Navy’s Brass
Band features a trumpet, two
trombones, a tenor saxophone,
a drum set and a baritone saxo-
phone playing jazz parts. The
group’s versatility shines with
a diverse repertoire including
Contributed photo
The U.S. Navy’s Northwest Brass Band will perform a
free concert Saturday at the SAGE Center in Boardman.
jazz, New Orleans standards,
funk and blues, and an assort-
ment of popular cover songs
arranged for the group’s lively
instrumentation.
Julie Gisi, executive
director
of
Boardman
Chamber of Commerce, is
looking forward to the perfor-
mance and hopes people from
throughout the region will
attend and show their support.
“We are honored to have
the Navy Band Northwest
perform in Boardman,” she
said.
The Navy Band Northwest
performs throughout the
Pacific Northwest at public
concerts and educational
outreach events. It has built a
reputation of excellence and is
widely known for exceptional
musical performances.
For questions about the
local concert, contact Stefanie
Swindler at stefanies@
portofmorrow.com
or
541-481-7243. For more
about the band, visit www.
cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrnw/
about/navy_band.html
or
search Facebook.
Page 3A
Grease fire at
ConAgra Foods
Hermiston plant
HERMISTON —
Umatilla County Fire
District crews put out a
fire at ConAgra Foods
on Westland Road on
Wednesday morning
with assistance from the
Boardman Fire Depart-
ment.
Crews began fighting
the blaze at 6:12 a.m., and
had it contained by 6:46
a.m. The fire was confined
to the roof of the building.
Fire Marshal Tom
Bohm said it was caused
by a failed water pump,
which led to a grease
buildup that caught on fire.
Barreto and
Hansell holding
joint town halls
PENDLETON — Rep.
Greg Barreto and Sen. Bill
Hansell will be holding
a series of meetings with
constituents in Umatilla,
Wallowa and Union
counties this month in
conjunction with local
chambers of commerce.
The state legislators will
be in Pendleton Nov. 8 at
8 a.m. at Hamley’s Cafe, 8
SE Court Avenue to meet
with Pendleton Chamber of
Commerce members and
local residents. They will be
in Milton-Freewater Nov. 8
at noon in the Rotary room
at the Milton-Freewater
community building, 109
NE 5th Ave. to meet with
Milton-Freewater Chamber
of Commerce members
and community members.
And they will be in Echo
on Nov. 9 at 8 a.m. at the
Buttercreek Coffeehouse
and Mercantile, 201 W
Main St. to meet with
Greater Hermiston Area
Chamber of Commerce
members and area constit-
uents.
They will also visit
La Grande on Nov. 6 and
Enterprise on Nov. 9.
Barreto represents
District 58 while Hansell
represents District 29.
BMCC to host
mental health
forum
PENDLETON — Blue
Mountain Community
College will host a
mental health forum at
its Pendleton campus
Thursday.
The 90-minute public
forum will cover substance
abuse, veterans’ mental
health needs, suicide and
mental illness. A BMCC
press release promised to
explore patient experiences
with existing mental health
services and how they can
be improved in Eastern
Oregon.
There will be a panel
featuring Amy Ashton-
Williams, the director of
Umatilla County Social
Services, Becky Greear,
director of behavioral
health services at
Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Center, Micaela Cathey,
the Umatilla regional
administrator of Lifeways,
and Joyce Bailey, vice
president of patient care at
St. Anthony Hospital.
The forum is 6:30 to
8 p.m. in Room 200 at
BMCC’s Science and
Technology Building.
Free transportation
will be provided to the
event through Kayak
Transportation’s Mission
Metro line. The bus will
stop at BMCC at 5:10
p.m. and return for pick-up
at 7:46 p.m. The rest of
the route will follow the
Mission Metro’s usual
route, with several stops in
Pendleton and Mission.
For more information,
call 541-278-5969.
Grant provides
Umatilla County
$5,400 for new
ballistic vests
PENDLETON — The
Umatilla County Sheriff’s
Office announced a federal
grant reimbursed the agency
for new ballistic vests.
The sheriff’s office
received $5,390.79 for the
purchase of new ballistic
vests. The funding came
from the Bulletproof
Vest Partnership program
through the Bureau
of Justice Assistance
under the United States
Department of Justice.
The average cost of
an armor vest is $700,
according to the sheriff’s
office, and the award
reimburses up to 50
percent of the cost of
each vest. The award will
help the sheriff’s office
afford vests for officers
in the criminal division,
corrections division and
reserves.
The sheriff’s office has
until Aug. 31, 2019, to use
the funds.
Umatilla County starts process to form new ag extension taxing district
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Umatilla County Board
of Commissioners kicked off
the process to form a new tax
district for the Oregon State
University Extension Service.
Commissioners
Larry
Givens and Bill Elfering
voted Wednesday morning
in Pendleton in favor of
initiating the formation of the
district, which includes two
public hearings. Commis-
sioner George Murdock is out
of town.
Eleven of 12 cities in the
county passed resolutions
putting the Oregon State
University Extension Service
district to voters. Umatilla is
the lone hold out.
Claire Sponseller, county
leader with OSU Extension,
told commissioners the
citizens’ group in favor of the
district will talk again to the
Umatilla City Council during
its meeting Tuesday night.
Staff at Umatilla City
Hall referred questions about
the public meeting to City
Manager Russ Pelleberg, who
did not immediately return a
call.
County counsel Doug
Olsen said the board would
hold the first public hearing
during its meeting in early
December and the second in
January, then the board would
decide to place the matter on
the May ballot to give voters
the final determination.
County
commissioners
also voted to transfer a portion
of West Highland Avenue to
the city of Hermiston.
Matt Kenny with county
public works told the board
the transfer covers a 2,000-
foot stretch of West Highland
between Southwest 11th and
15th streets. New develop-
ment is occurring along the
road, according to Kenny and
Public Works Director Tom
Fellows, and the city wants
the construction of curbs,
gutters and sidewalk to meet
city standards. The county
does not have those standards,
nor does the county have the
equipment to maintain those
structures.
And the board voted to
waive the $2,500 planning fee
for Citizens TV, the nonprofit
organizations that provides
over-the-air TV transmission
from a tower on Basket
Mountain Road outside
Weston.
Citizens TV has to
upgrade the tower, and the
county charges $2,500 for a
land use decision on towers.
Olsen said the county waived
this fee in the past for similar
organizations.
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