Page 8A
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Travel ban faces scrutiny from
judges who blocked it before
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Senior engineer Matt Williams, with Umatilla Electric Cooperative of Hermiston,
shows the inside of a breaker box during a tour of the new substation off East
Elm Avenue on Wednesday in Hermiston.
SUBSTATION: Will also serve
Hermiston Energy Services customers
Continued from 1A
for UEC and three for
Hermiston Energy Services
— to make its way to
individual homes and busi-
nesses. Meters at the site
track the amount of energy
coming in and out of the
substation, and equipment
there automatically steps
down the higher voltages
coming from BPA to the
level needed for distribution
through the feeders.
The substation currently
has a single transformer, but
UEC plans to add a second
transformer sometime in the
future as the Hermiston area
continues to grow.
According to a fact sheet
handed out during the tour,
Hermiston and surrounding
areas have experienced
“ongoing population and
electrical growth” and the
Hermiston East Substation
will help provide the added
capacity needed to keep up
with that growth.
Umatilla Electric Coop-
erative and the project’s
contractor Potelco, Inc. are
doing what they can to make
the site as safe as possible,
from protecting parts against
birds to installing a network
of copper wires grounding
the equipment and snaking
their way underground to
help protect people standing
nearby during a surge.
“We do it five feet
outside the fence too, so if
kids come up to look and
in,” Clough said. “It was
not well done.”
Only four out of the
seven planning commis-
sioners were present for
the hearing, and with some
commissioners feeling like
there were unanswered
questions,
Krenzler’s
application could only
muster a 2-2 vote. Burn-
swell was officially denied
when a motion to continue
the hearing to the next
meeting also couldn’t get a
majority, leading Krenzler
to file an appeal to the city
council.
Between
hearings,
Krenzler met with the
planning department and
worked to address the
issues brought up by the
commission.
Questions
over the fencing, line-of-
sight and the footprint of
the greenhouses used to
grow the marijuana were
addressed, Krenzler told
the council.
But Krenzler’s adjust-
ments weren’t enough to
convince the neighbors.
Wendi Kelley, who owns
a house on the property
next to Burnswell, said she
had initial concerns about
security on the property,
which were lessened when
she and Krenzler spoke
earlier that day. Kelley
said she didn’t want to
kill Krenzler’s dream, but
she remained concerned
about how the smell of the
marijuana would affect her
property value.
Kelley
cited
an
article from the Spokane
newspaper The Spokes-
man-Review that reported
a family’s home being
devalued by 10 percent
after a marijuana grow
opened nearby.
Michael Owens echoed
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Washington Solicitor General Noah Purcell, center,
speaks during a protest rally, Wednesday, outside a
federal courthouse in Seattle.
travelers from Chad, Iran,
Libya, Somalia, Syria and
Yemen.
In June, Gould, Paez and
Hawkins blocked Trump’s
second travel ban, saying
he had not made a required
finding that the entry of
people affected by that
measure would be detri-
mental to U.S. interests.
Neal Katyal, the former
U.S. solicitor general repre-
senting Hawaii, insisted that
Trump had failed again and
did not have authority to
issue his latest travel restric-
tions.
“They have not made the
findings this court called
for,” Katyal said. “They
came back with zero.”
Deputy
Assistant
Attorney General Hashim
Mooppan noted that the
government had conducted a
90-day, multi-agency review,
after which Trump deter-
mined that certain countries
do not provide enough infor-
mation to sufficiently vet
their citizens’ backgrounds.
The ban is needed to keep
out “foreign nationals about
whom the United States
Government lacks sufficient
information to assess the
risks they pose to the United
States,” the president said in
his September proclamation
announcing the latest travel
restrictions.
“You might disagree with
the finding, but you can’t
disagree that the finding was
made,” Mooppan said.
ROUND-UP: Retail sales grew by
12.1 percent more than the year before
Continued from 1A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The $4.75 million substation will be coming on line
later this month.
grab the fence they won’t
get electrocuted,” Williams
said.
The substation is owned
by UEC but will also
serve Hermiston Energy
Services customers. The
municipal utility contracts
with UEC for infrastructure,
operations, maintenance,
billing and much of its other
day-to-day services.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
MARIJUANA: Commission has already
approved two other marijuana grows
Continued from 1A
SEATTLE (AP) — Three
federal appeals court judges
who blocked President
Donald Trump’s second
travel ban earlier this year
had some skeptical questions
about his third and latest set of
restrictions on travelers from
six mostly Muslim nations
during oral arguments on
Wednesday.
Ninth U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals Judges Ronald
Gould, Richard Paez and
Michael Hawkins heard
arguments in Seattle on
Hawaii’s challenge to the
ban.
The hearing came just two
days after the U.S. Supreme
Court announced that it was
allowing the restrictions to
go into effect at least until
the 9th Circuit panel and
their colleagues on the Rich-
mond, Virginia-based 4th
Circuit had a chance to rule
on separate lawsuits against
the ban.
Debate over the restric-
tions has centered on whether
they constitute a legitimate
exercise of national security
powers or the “Muslim ban”
Trump promised during his
campaign.
But much of Wednes-
day’s arguments focused on
a narrower point: whether
the
president
satisfied
immigration law in issuing
his latest travel order, which
targets 150 million potential
Kelley’s comments and
said his 401 Highway 11
business,
Powerhouse
Diesel Performance, could
eventually be surrounded
by two marijuana grows:
Burnswell and GhostTown
Organix at 2515 N.E.
Riverside Place. Owens
said he spoke with other
Riverside
businesses
and they were similarly
opposed to the grow.
“We’re making Pend-
leton the pothead capital of
Eastern Oregon,” he said.
Krenzler
said
he
intended to install carbon
filters that would eliminate
the marijuana odor by 85 to
99 percent, but he couldn’t
promise there wouldn’t
be some smell when high
winds were blowing or
the greenhouse doors were
open when workers were
trimming the plants.
Krenzler said other
businesses like coffee
roasters, diesel mechanics
and breweries are generally
accepted despite the odors
they’re known to produce.
While he wanted to be
accommodating and a good
neighbor, Krenzler said he
could only do so much.
“I don’t want to make
so many agreements that
I can’t be in business,” he
said.
Despite Burnswell now
meeting the city’s zoning
criteria, Clough recom-
mended the council refer
the issue back to the plan-
ning commission rather
than approve it. Clough
said he wanted to see the
commission finish what it
started.
Councilor Neil Brown
agreed with Clough’s
recommendation, saying it
would give more time for
Krenzler to address any
additional issues and tie up
loose ends with neighbors.
“Good
neighbors
become not-good neigh-
bors over little issues,”
Brown said. “And this is
not a little issue.”
Councilor Scott Fairley
preferred approving Kren-
zler’s application immedi-
ately since it already met
the city’s conditions.
“All we’re doing is
delaying it by three weeks
by foisting it back on the
commission,” he said.
The council voted 5-3 to
send it back to the commis-
sion, with councilors
Fairley, Becky Marks
and Dale Primmer voting
against.
Despite the decision,
this might not be the last
time the council discusses
Burnswell’s zoning appli-
cation. Regardless of the
commission’s
decision,
if people testify for and
against Burnswell, the
losing side can appeal the
matter back to the city
council.
In an interview after
the meeting, Krenzler said
his project was receiving a
lot of scrutiny, especially
considering the commis-
sion has already approved
two other marijuana grows.
Despite the setback, Kren-
zler seemed determined to
press on.
“I’m wiling to accept
the challenge and I’m not
dissuaded from my vision,”
he said.
Whenever his next
hearing is scheduled,
Krenzler expects to deliver
the same testimony he
gave at the previous two
meetings, the only addition
being clarification to any
questions the commission
might have.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
2017. The previous high in
2010 provided the Round-Up
with $1.1 million in ticket
sales.
Thomas and Graybeal
credited much of the Round-
Up’s growth to the arena’s
east end improvements, which
Thomas called “high-end
experience enhancers.”
Following the removal
of the dilapidated east end
seating,
the
Round-Up
board instituted two new
ticketing options for the 2016
Round-Up: the Let ’Er Buck
pass and the 1910 Room.
Those tickets are an oppo-
site sides of the economic
spectrum. For $20, the Let ’Er
Buck pass gets the customer
through the gate and access
to any unreserved seat in the
arena. Ranging from $150
for an individual ticket in an
open seating area to $5,000
for a 20-person private suite,
the canopied 1910 Room
provides arena-side views
with gourmet dining.
Graybeal said these
new ticket options helped
the Round-Up have its
best Saturday ever, in
both total attendance and
ticket revenue. Although
the Round-Up didn’t sell
as many seats as it did in
2010, total ticket revenue
surpassed 2010’s amount.
While Graybeal couldn’t
say exactly where the ticket
purchasers were coming
from, he said the Round-Up is
“more renowned at a world-
wide scale.” The Round-Up
is heavily represented at
the PRCA convention and
the National Finals Rodeo,
Pendleton Round-Up wins third
straight Best Outdoor Rodeo award
The Pendleton Round-Up won its third straight PRCA
award for Best Outdoor Rodeo.
The award was announced Wednesday night in Las
Vegas at the PRCA annual awards banquet, held in
conjunction with the National Finals Rodeo.
The Round-Up has won the award four times: in 2010
and now from 2015-2017.
Round-Up veterans Gary Rempel also won the
PRCA’s award for best pickup man, and Dusty Tuckness
won best bullfighter.
where Round-Up has a booth
manned with board members,
staffers, volunteers and rodeo
court royalty to promote
the Round-Up beyond the
confines of the Northwest.
The Round-Up’s brand
is strong enough that people
are buying more and more
of its memorabilia. Graybeal
said retail sales grew by 12.1
percent more than the year
before. Graybeal said one of
the strongest areas of growth
was through the Round-Up’s
online store, which saw a 52
percent jump in sales.
Besides the new ticketing
options, Thomas pointed to
some of the upgrades the
Round-Up has made in recent
years, including improve-
ments to the rodeo’s Wi-Fi,
information technology and
ticketing system.
With the latter upgrade in
place, the Round-Up was able
to process tickets for other
events besides the rodeo,
opening up the Round-Up
Grounds to events like the
Pendleton Whisky Music Fest
and the Thunder in the Blues
motorcycle race. Graybeal
said the Round-Up processed
100,000 tickets in 2017,
almost double the amount the
Round-Up processes for the
rodeo alone.
Thomas said some stock-
holders have taken issue
with the increase in staffing
the Round-Up has made in
recent years. But according
to Thomas, the new hires are
needed to handle the higher
volume of business demon-
strated in recent financial
statements.
Dissatisfaction with the
board of directors was strong
enough that stockholders
nearly defeated the board’s
pick for president in 2018 at a
November meeting. After the
meeting, the newly elected
president, Dave O’Neill,
promised increased transpar-
ency and better communica-
tion with stockholders and
volunteers.
Stockholders will get a
chance to evaluate the Round-
Up’s financial prospects
themselves when the board
discusses its 2017 financial
statement at a special February
stockholders meeting.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
HOTEL: Owners will have 180 days to
pay back the county or face foreclosure
Continued from 1A
Rodeo City Inn. We have
done everything possible to
try to mitigate the problem.
It’s a blight, it’s a safety
hazard, it’s a crime center,
and the owners have kind of
thumbed their noses at us.
They haven’t responded in
good faith ... I think it’s time
to move forward.”
Elfering said this step
might have enough teeth and
muscle to move the property
owner to action, and it gives
them 180 days to pay back
the county or face foreclo-
sure.
The site is beginning that
process, with property taxes
three years in arrears.
The two commissioners
voted for the county to take
control of the inn and secure
it. (Board chair Larry Givens
is in Forth Worth, Texas, for
the National Association of
EO file photo
Umatilla County will board up the doors and windows
at the Rodeo City Inn near Pendleton, which has been
designated a dangerous building.
Counties’ fall board of direc-
tors meeting and poverty
summit.)
Stephens also presented
the board with bids showing
the cost for that work could
reach more than $10,000.
Commissioners did not
affirm if they would contract
or have staff handle it.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0833.