REGION
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
East Oregonian
HERMISTON
Page 3A
HERMISTON
City council denies $10,000
sewer credit for EOTEC
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
File photo
Volunteers Dick Hensley, second from left, and Astrid Hensley give plates of food to
Chloe and Micah Madore on the serving line during the 2016 Community Fellow-
ship Dinner. The free meal will be held on Thanksgiving at Hermiston High School.
Community Thanksgiving
dinner carves out new venue
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
The Community Fellow-
ship Dinner in Hermiston
is gearing up for the 2017
season at a new venue.
Due to the construction of
a new senior center, the free
community
Thanksgiving
and Christmas meals will be
held in the main commons at
Hermiston High School, 600
S. First St. The first of the
twice-yearly holiday meals
will be served Thanksgiving
Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The traditional meal features
turkey and all the trimmings,
side dishes and desserts.
Chairman
Gary
Humphreys wants to make
sure people know the dinners
are still available to everyone
in the community. Signs will
be posted in town and on
the school’s grounds to help
guide people to the meal.
The event’s committee is
excited about the change in
venue. The high school offers
a far superior kitchen as well
as additional space for guests
to eat, said Humphreys and
kitchen manager Jan Cassens.
Also the committee’s
vice chairwoman, Cassens
called the kitchen facilities
“magnificent.” She said it
will substantially cut back on
preparation time.
“We think we can grow
here,” Cassens said. “At the
senior center, we could only
seat 200 at a time. If we had
more come in they would
have to wait for a seat. We
won’t have that problem
now.”
The idea behind the meal
began in 1988 when a Herm-
iston man, who has requested
to
remain
anonymous,
opened his home to 30 people
on Thanksgiving. After
experiencing many holidays
by himself, he wanted to offer
food and fellowship to others
who might be alone. The
meal expanded and moved to
the Hermiston Senior Center.
In 1990, Laurie Ball (who
later married Joe Kiser after
his wife died) volunteered at
the Thanksgiving meal and
then took the reins coordi-
nating the Christmas dinner.
A board of directors was
created in the early 1990s to
help guide the holiday meal
ministry. By the beginning
of the new millennium,
more than 500 dinners were
served each Thanksgiving,
which increased to 700-800.
The Christmas event histor-
ically provides fewer meals,
although 600-700 ate at the
Other free Thanksgiving meals
PENDLETON
•Thursday, Nov. 23; 11:30
a.m.-1 p.m. at
•The Salvation Army, 150
S.E. Emigrant Ave.
Volunteers are still needed
for meal preparation, kitchen
duties, clean-up and meal de-
liveries. In addition, food do-
nations, including turkeys, side
dishes and desserts are need-
ed. For more information or to
volunteer, contact Darcy Cole-
man at 541-276-3369 or darcy.
coleman@usw.salvationarmy.
org.
•Thursday, Nov. 23; 1-5 p.m.
•Episcopal Church of the
Redeemer, 241 S.E. Second
St.
The Fall Harvest Celebra-
tion features a free turkey din-
ner with all the fixings and des-
sert. Those attending are invited
to bring a side dish or dessert
to share, but it’s not required.
For more information, contact
redeemerchurch1897@gmail.
com or 541-276-3809.
ADAMS
•Sunday, Nov. 19; 5 p.m.
•Adams Friendship Center.
The Adams Ladies Club will
provide turkey, dressing, rolls,
mashed potatoes and drinks.
Those attending are asked to
bring a salad, casserole or des-
sert to share. For more informa-
tion, visit www.cityofadamsore-
gon.com.
BOARDMAN
•Thursday, Nov. 23; 1:30-4
p.m.
•Boardman Senior Center,
100 Tatone St.
In its ninth year, the Com-
munity Thanksgiving Dinner
invites everyone to enjoy the
meal. Praise service at 1:30
p.m. and food will be served
2011 and 2012 meals.
Humphreys, Cassens and
other longtime volunteers
Tom Marks and Cathy Stolz
said Ball-Kiser possessed
strong leadership skills
needed for the meal’s growth.
The Hermiston woman, in
declining health the past few
years, suffered several strokes
that eventually led to her
death June 19 at the age of 64.
“She genuinely cared
about every person on her
team, every volunteer and,
most of all, every recipient
of a Community Fellowship
Dinner,” Stolz said.
In addition, Marks said
Ball-Kiser was instrumental
in mentoring a group in
Boardman in developing a
community meal in their city.
A
volunteer
set-up
party for the Community
Fellowship Dinner is 7 a.m.
on Wednesday, Nov. 22.
If that’s too early for some
folks, volunteers may come
later as there will be plenty
to do in preparation for the
from 2-4 p.m. For more infor-
mation, to volunteer or for meal
delivery, call Teresa at 503-724-
8823, Jane at 541-481-5511 or
the chamber at 541-481-3014.
ECHO
•Saturday, Nov. 18; noon-2
p.m.
•Echo Community Method-
ist Church, 21 N. Bonanza St.
Everyone is invited to enjoy
good food and good company
at the community Thanksgiving
dinner. For more information,
visit www.facebook.com/echoo-
rchurch.
IRRIGON
•Monday, Nov. 20; 5-7 p.m.
•Sub Zero Restaurant &
Lounge, 100 W. Highway 730.
The free meal is for Irrigon
residents in need. Food will be
served while supplies last. For
more information, call 541-922-
4374.
MILTON-FREEWATER
•Thursday Nov. 23; 4-6 p.m.
•First Christian Church, 518
S. Main St.
Open to everyone, the com-
munity dinner features turkey
and all the fixings. For more
information call 541-938-3854.
The city may co-own the
Eastern Oregon Trade and
Event Center, but councilors
weren’t showing any favor-
itism Monday when they
denied the EOTEC board’s
request for a $10,000 credit
on its sewer bill.
In September the center
switched to irrigating with
water from Stanfield Irriga-
tion District, but prior to that
EOTEC used city of Herm-
iston water for construction,
irrigation and dust control.
EOTEC has paid $14,000 in
sewer charges for Hermiston
water used at the facility this
year.
City Manager Byron
Smith, who represents
the city on the EOTEC
board, said the city charges
sewer rates in conjunction
with how much water a
customer uses, assuming
that most of it drains into
Hermiston’s
wastewater
system to be recycled by the
city. However, most of the
EOTEC water did not return
to the city’s sewer system.
“It didn’t need (to be)
treated (at the city’s recycled
water facility), it just went
into the ground,” Smith said.
In light of that, EOTEC
asked that $10,000 of its paid
bill be turned into a credit
for $10,000 in future sewer
payments.
Councilor Doug Primmer
disagreed.
“We don’t charge people
less in the summertime
when they’re watering their
lawns,” he said. “That water
doesn’t go to the sewer.”
Smith
said
water
customers can pay to install a
separate water meter on their
irrigation systems if they
do not want sewer charges
attached to that portion of
their water usage.
In the end Primmer, Lori
Davis and Manuel Gutierrez
outvoted Rod Hardin and
Clara Beas Fitzgerald and
denied the credit.
In another water-related
issue, the council approved a
$746,798 construction bid by
C&E Construction to extend
the regional water system
to new data centers planned
by VaData (a subsidiary of
Amazon) on Westland Road
and near Lind Road. VaData
is paying the cost of the
improvements to the system.
Smith said the bid — the
only one the city received —
is more than $200,000 higher
than engineers had estimated,
but VaData was willing to
pay the higher price to keep
construction on schedule,
and C&E had done good
work on the system before.
On Monday the city
also approved a resolution
allowing businesses to
count city parking lots on
Orchard Avenue toward their
off-street parking require-
ments.
City planner Clint Spencer
said the two lots, comprised
of 60 parking spaces on
either side of Southwest
Third Street, seem to have
been built mostly for the
Umatilla County Fair, which
has moved. Several homes
and offices along Third Street
are zoned for commercial use
and up for lease or for sale,
and Spencer said it made
sense to allow business
opening within 500 feet of
the city lots to count five
spaces of those lots to meet
their minimum off-street
parking requirements.
The council also approved
an updated agreement
with the city of Umatilla to
continue providing building
inspector services, accepted a
portion of Highland Avenue
from Umatilla County and
adjusted its Transient Room
Tax formula to appropriate
3 percent of the tax toward
a visitor center run by the
Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce. Mayor David
Drotzmann said the chamber
has not yet found a new
home for its offices and the
visitor center in light of the
city’s decision to take over
management of the Herm-
iston Conference Center on
Jan. 1.
The council’s regular
meeting was preceded by a
work session with Hermiston
Police Department Chief
Jason Edmiston and District
Attorney Dan Primus about
changes in drug laws.
Possession of a “usable
amount” of methamphet-
amine, cocaine, heroin and
other hard drugs under two
grams is now a misdemeanor
in certain situations. The
offense is still a felony,
however, if the suspect has a
previous felony conviction,
other drug convictions or the
circumstances upgrade it to a
“commercial offense.”
Primus said those details
seem to have escaped many
people, including offenders
who have told the officer
arresting them: “What’s the
big deal? It’s just a misde-
meanor.” Some of them
were surprised to discover
they were still facing felony
charges based on their crim-
inal history.
Edmiston and Primus
both said the law was
creating extra work for law
enforcement and the district
attorney’s office as they had
to look up the defendant’s
criminal history and take
other extra steps. Instead
of being tested in the field,
confiscated drugs are now
being sent to the Oregon
State Police crime lab to be
tested and weighed, a process
that takes 10 to 11 months
because of backlogs.
“It is quite a few more
steps or hoops to jump
through,” Primus said.
ATHENA
PILOT ROCK
•Thursday Nov. 23; noon
•Archie’s Restaurant, 194
W. Main St.
In its seventh year, the
restaurant offers a free meal
to anyone who needs a place
to go. As a fundraiser for the
Pilot Rock Food Pantry, peo-
ple are invited to donate cash
or non-perishable food items
to help those in need. For
more information, visit www.
facebook.com/Archies-Restau-
rant-119673764744507.
meal. Also, volunteers are
needed Thanksgiving Day,
with tasks including greeters,
servers, parking attendants
and delivery drivers. Whether
volunteering for a short
shift or all day, any help is
greatly appreciated. To assist
with planning, organizers
encourage volunteers to call
or send an email.
For more information,
to volunteer, to arrange
food delivery service or for
a ride to the meal, contact
cfdhermiston@gmail.com
or 541-371-9772. Additional
information is available
on Facebook by searching
Community
Fellowship
Dinner Hermiston. Financial
donations can be sent to
Community
Fellowship
Dinner in Hermiston, P.O.
Box 1551, Hermiston, OR
97838.
———
Contact
Community
Editor Tammy Malgesini at
tmalgesini@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4539
Undersheriff says mother poisoned daughter
East Oregonian
Umatilla
County
Undersheriff Jim Littlefield
reported
Roxy
Brook
Pridgen of Athena tried to
poison and kill her daughter.
Littlefield in a written
statement said Pridgen, 36,
reportedly has a mental
illness and takes prescrip-
tion medications.
“Pridgen
admittedly
placed a quantity of a
prescribed drug into a
beverage and gave it to her
juvenile daughter, intending
to cause her death because
they were arguing and
fighting,” according to a
written statement from
Littlefield. “The
juvenile became
ill after consuming
the beverage.”
He
also
reported the case
remains
under
investigation.
According
to circuit court
records, Pridgen Pridgen
tried to kill her
daughter on Oct. 29. The
district attorney’s office
charged Pridgen with
attempted murder during
an arraignment Monday in
Pendleton. Circuit Judge
Jon Lieuallen set bail in
the case at $250,000. Her
next hearing is Monday in
Pendleton.
Oregon State
Police
arrested
Pridgen
on
Sunday evening
for driving under
the
influence
of
intoxicants
and released her
to the sheriff’s
office.
Deputy
Trevor Limburg
then arrested Pridgen for
the attempted murder. She
remains in the jail.
State
police
listed
Pridgen’s home as Weston,
which the East Oregonian
reported. The sheriff’s
office and court records
show she lives in Athena.
The East Oregonian will not publish on
Th anksgiving Day
due to the postal holiday.
Look for your Holiday Edition
on Wednesday, Nov. 22
• Home for the Holidays special section
• A guide to the upcoming Farm Fair
SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS
Submit information to: community@eastoregonian.com or drop off to the attention of
Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers
Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-966-0818 with questions.
CONCEALED CARRY
PERMIT CLASSES
N OVEMBER 17 TH • 1:00 & 6:00
Best Western
2255 S Hwy 395, Hermiston
Multi-state: $80 or Oregon only: $45.00
Required class to get an Oregon or multi-State
permit. Class
includes:
Required
class to get an Oregon or multi-State
• Fingerprinting & photo
• Oregon gun laws
• Washington gun laws
• Interstate travel laws
• Interaction with law enforcement
• Use of deadly force
• Firearm / ammunition / holster selection
360.921.2071
FirearmTrainingNW.com : FirearmTrainingNW@gmail.com
PM
• Wednesday and Thursday comics, features,
puzzles and TV listings
• BLACK FRIDAY INSERTS:
Big 5 Sporting Goods
Big Lots
Bi-Mart
D&B Supply
Harbor Freight Tools
Home Depot
Rite Aid
Sears
U.S. Cellular
Walgreens
Walmart