REGION
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
Westland Water Users hope to educate, not miss future opportunities
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
A group of Westland Irrigation
District patrons is mounting its
own public information campaign
to provide greater knowledge and
transparency of water law in the
Umatilla Basin.
The effort comes in the middle
of a lawsuit filed against Westland
by other district members who
claim they are being cheated out
of their senior water rights. The
litigation prompted Westland in
May to abandon the $14.4 million
Central Project, which would have
secured water for the district from
the Columbia River.
In response, the Westland Water
Users Group formed over the
summer with a core team consisting
of Kevan and Patty Horn, Mike
Taylor, Hoss Hodges, Rob Cox
and Raymon Smith. The goal, Cox
said, is to educate patrons so they
can make more informed decisions
the Columbia River when flows in
the Umatilla River drop below a
certain point.
That means Westland relies
solely on Mother Nature — as well
as supplemental water stored in
McKay Reservoir — during irri-
gation season. The $14.4 million
Central Project, designed by the
Northeast Oregon Water Asso-
ciation, would have allowed the
district to draw mitigated Columbia
River water for patrons who agreed
to buy in to the pipeline.
Instead,
Westland
board
members backed out of the
proposal in order to defend the
district against the misappropri-
ation lawsuit. Patty Horn said it
was the second time the district has
failed to capitalize on Columbia
River water, and she did not want
to see it happen again.
“I think if there was an educa-
tional clarification to the patrons, it
would be really worthwhile,” Horn
said.
in the future.
“The district is going to have
future opportunities and issues that
come up,” Cox said. “We want
people to vote on those things based
on the best information available.”
Together, the group has
researched the history of Westland
dating back to 1862, when Umatilla
County was first established. It
has also compiled a number of
fact sheets explaining how water
is delivered and water rights are
managed within the district.
The group is not affiliated with
the Westland board of directors or
manager.
“We just wanted the patrons to
be educated,” Cox said.
Losing the Central Project was
an economic blow, Hodges said,
because it cost farmers the chance
to grow potentially more valuable
crops. Unlike the neighboring
Hermiston and Stanfield irrigation
districts, Westland does not have
the ability to pump water from
The lawsuit against Westland,
filed in Umatilla County Circuit
Court, accuses the district of misap-
propriating senior water rights from
2010-2016 at the benefit of a few
larger farms with junior rights. The
plaintiffs are seeking a combined
$4.14 million in damages.
Though the Westland Water
Users Group insists it does not take
sides in the case, it estimates that
if the lawsuit succeeds, it will cost
each patron a one-time payment of
$360 per acre to cover the district’s
attorney costs and settlements.
Each patron will also see an annual
fee increase of $36 per acre.
Horn said the group is now
trying to organize an educational
seminar for district patrons some-
time within the next five to six
weeks.
“It should only help the board.
It should only help the manager. It
should only help the district,” she
said.
Information about the Westland
BRIEFLY
HERMISTON
Suspected car prowler arrested
BMCC to reschedule
documentary viewing
PENDLETON — Information
received Tuesday morning from
Blue Mountain Community College
announced the showing of “Indian
Relay” will be rescheduled.
The screening of the PBS
documentary about Indian relay
racing is part of the college’s Native
American Heritage month events.
The free viewing is Wednesday,
Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. in ST-200 in the
Science & Technology building,
2411 N.W. Carden Ave., Pendleton.
For more information, contact
Annie Smith, BMCC’s Native
American liaison and success coach,
at smith@bluecc.edu or 541-278-
5935.
College Community
Theater offers preview
performance
PENDLETON — A series of
short comedies is featured as College
Community Theatre opens its 2017-18
season with “All in the Timing.”
A pay-what-you-can preview
night is Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in
Bob Clapp Theatre at Blue Mountain
Community College, 2411 N.W.
Carden Ave., Pendleton. Subsequent
performances, which cost $10-$15,
are Nov. 10-12 and Nov. 16-19.
For more information, visit www.
easternoregonevents.com or contact
CCT at 541-278-5953 or cct@
bluecc.edu.
A story and photos about
the production will appear in
this weekend’s East Oregonian
entertainment page, which also
will be available for view at www.
eastoregonian.com.
Columbia Grange hosts
breakfast, craft sale
HERMISTON — A breakfast,
pre-holiday craft sale and flea
market is planned this weekend at
the Columbia Grange.
The event is Saturday from 7
a.m. to 3 p.m. at the grange hall,
32339 Diagonal Blvd., Hermiston.
Water Users, including the group’s
research, is available online at
www.westlandwaterusers.weebly.
com.
District election
The Westland Irrigation District
will hold an election Tuesday, Nov.
14 for one position on the board of
directors.
Incumbent Jack Bellinger is
running against challenger Ray
Vogt. Polling will be open from 7
a.m. to 8 p.m. at the district office,
77096 Highway 207, Echo. Regis-
tration to vote may be completed
prior to the day of election or on
election day prior to voting.
Voting provisions are in place
for absentee landowners, multiple
ownership of land and ownership
by a corporation, trust or LLC.
For more information, contact the
Westland office at 541-667-2030.
———
Contact George Plaven at
gplaven@eastoregonian.com or
541-966-0825.
East Oregonian
Contributed image from PBS
The planned viewing of the PBS documentary “Indian Relay” at Blue
Mountain Community College in Pendleton has been rescheduled to
Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m.
The breakfast includes French toast,
waffles, pancakes, hash browns,
sausage, ham, eggs and a drink
for $6. In addition, take-out orders
are available. Also, the event will
feature extra value grab bags for $5
to help local charities.
People can rent vendor tables
for $8. For more information, call
Doris at 541-567-8663 or Pat at
541-567-5706.
Public invited to
gobble up bingo
IONE — Bingo games that
include a chance to win turkeys and
potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner are
planned in Ione.
The Ione Legion Auxiliary
Turkey Bingo is Saturday from 4-8
p.m. at the American Legion Hall,
325 W. Second St., Ione. A $10
fee provides a bingo and dauber
packet; blackout sessions are extra.
Hot dogs, chili and a baked potato
dinner are available for purchase
during the bingo games. And frozen
fruit pies and rolls for Thanksgiving
will be for sale.
Money raised from the event will
benefit the Ione Legion Auxiliary.
For more information, call Becky
Rietmann at 541-422-7230 or
Maureen McElligott at 541-422-7156.
EOU hosts tours
with STEM focus
LA GRANDE — A hands-on
experiment featuring color-changing
crystals is one of the highlights
during the annual STEM Preview
Day at Eastern Oregon University.
Organizers invite high
school and transfer students to
spend the day touring campus,
learning about financial aid and
interacting with current students
— all with a special focus on
science, technology and math.
Faculty members and students
will coordinate an interactive
session, engaging visitors with
an experiment that explores the
interaction of light and liquid
crystals.
The event begins Saturday at
8:30 a.m. on the university’s La
Grande campus. Those planning to
attend need to pre-register.
The event is open to all
prospective students. Exclusive
scholarships are available for those
who attend a Preview Day event
and later enroll at EOU.
For more information or to
pre-register, visit www.eou.edu/
admissions/preview-days. For
questions, contact 541-962-3393 or
campusvisit@eou.edu.
Hermiston police early
Tuesday arrested a car prowling
suspect on charges of stealing
purses from vehicles.
Night shift officers
patrolling a neighbor-
hood near Southwest
17th Street and South-
west Riverhill Drive
noticed a suspicious
vehicle leaving the
area around 2:30 a.m.,
according to a written
statement
from
Hermiston
police. Walker
While catching up to
the car, the officer saw a purse
in the street and thought it had
been tossed from the suspicious
vehicle.
The officer stopped to
collect the purse and another
officer stopped the car. The
investigation led to the arrest of
one of the vehicle’s occupants:
Frank Jesse Walker, 38, of
Umatilla. Police suspected he
stole the purse.
Police booked Walker into
the Umatilla County Jail,
Pendleton, on charges
of unauthorized entry
to a motor vehicle,
first-degree
theft,
possession of meth-
amphetamine
and
offensive littering.
Walker has been
arrested 15 times and
has been issued 27
citations, according
to Hermiston police.
Police
reported
the case is an example of the
recent uptick in thefts from
vehicles. The department
advised people to lock their
cars, take their keys and
remove valuables from vehi-
cles to prevent these thefts.
PENDLETON
Several properties up for auction
East Oregonian
Approximately 18 acres
of residential property in
Pendleton will go up for
auction at the Red Lion Hotel
Wednesday.
The auction, organized
by Stuart Realty Group of
Canby and Macon Brothers
Auctioneers of Walla Walla,
will feature several properties
in the Northgate area and a
troubled apartment complex
at 401 N.W. Bailey Ave. The
Northgate
properties
are
vacant.
Tim Stuart, the owner
of the realty group, said the
properties either feature a low
opening bid or no opening bid
at all. That’s the case for the
Bailey apartment complex,
which has six two-bedroom
units and three one-bedroom/
studio units.
Stuart said auctions for
developers and builders can
receive good turnout, refer-
encing a recent auction the
realty group did in Walla Walla
where there were 23 registered
bidders for one property.
Pendleton Mayor John
Turner, the chairman of the
city’s housing committee, said
low purchase prices for the
properties could spur develop-
ment. The city commissioned
two separate studies that
showed a need in Pendleton
for all levels of housing.
The auction will begin at
the Red Lion, 304 S.E. Nye
Ave., at 5:30 p.m. Online
bidders can also take part in
the auction through a simulcast
on the realty group’s website.
and the
Theatre Arts Department
The
East Oregonian
will not publish
on Saturday,
Nov. 11 due to the
postal holiday
Look for your BONUS EDITION
of the EO on Friday, Nov. 10
• Special section profi ling local veterans
from four wars: WWII to Iraq
• Friday and Weekend comics, Dear Abby,
Days Gone By and This Day in History
• Double Sudoku and crossword puzzles
• TV listings for Friday, Saturday, Sunday
and Monday
: $ 15 Adults
$10
Student
5
2
of all ages
Veterans Day Tribute
Friday, Nov. 10
595
Pioneer Hall, Blue Mountain Community Colle e - Pendleton Cam us
2017-2018 Superstar Season Sponsor:
Blue Mountain Community College is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
For full EEO disclosure statement, please go to www.bluecc.edu/EEO.
All in the Timing is presented by special arrangement
with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.
Approved 8/14/17.CWZ