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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 2018)
REGION Saturday, March 17, 2018 East Oregonian HERMISTON The youngest protester Lone Sunset Elementary student walked out of school By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian The night before students walked out of schools around the country in protest of school violence, Alondra Cadenas got out her markers and started making signs. “On Valentine’s Day in Florida all these kids died because they thought they were safe at school,” the fifth- grader wrote before carefully copying down the names of all 17 people — including 14 children — who died in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. A second sign said “Hey adults! It’s time to stop school shootings.” But no one was there to help her hold it. Although one of her friends had planned to join her, in the end Alondra was the only student to walk out of Sunset Elementary School in Hermiston on Wednesday. “I stood out there so maybe the adults would notice and do something about gun violence,” she said. The national protest called for students to walk out at 10 a.m. and stay for 17 minutes — one minute for each of the victims memorialized on Alondra’s sign. “I just went to my back- pack and grabbed my phone and my poster and walked out of the room,” she said. When she was stopped by a teacher she thought she Staff photo by Jade McDowell Alondra Cadenas shows off the sign she made to hold up during her 17-minute walkout at Sunset Elementary School on Wednesday. might be sent back to class, but she says the teacher merely redirected her toward the front door instead of the back so that the office staff could keep an eye on her while she stood outside with her sign, using her phone as a timer. Three different adults noticed her in front of the school and asked her about her protest. “It felt good,” she said. Alondra’s mother Norma Regalado said she was proud of her daughter for being brave enough to walk out all by herself. She said she had discussed the Florida shooting and news of the planned protest with her chil- dren (her son Saul Cadenas, a freshman at Hermiston High School, also participated in the walkout) but in the end it was up to them whether they wanted to participate. She said she thought it was unfair for adults sitting safely at home to say all of the kids participating just wanted to get out of class. “I think most kids are aware of that, that someone could just walk in and start shooting them,” she said, noting that’s not something she worried about when she was that age. Saul said he did know kids who had used the walkout as an excuse to skip class, but he and his sister and many others at the high school walked out because they wanted to call more attention to the spreading problem of school shootings. Regalado said it’s not just children who are scared — as a parent it can also be terrifying to send your children off to school after the news of the latest school shooting. Amid a flurry of recent reports in the area of students making threats she kept her children home one day because she just couldn’t face sending them off. As for Alondra, the elementary schooler said she didn’t have specific laws she was hoping got passed as a result of the walkout, but she hoped the adults did. “I hope that gun violence ends and stuff and the adults might notice,” she said. Noise still a concern for EOTEC neighbors By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Now that the city of Herm- iston has taken full ownership of the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center, it will also take on the responsibility of responding to complaints about the facility. There have been plenty from neighbors, some of whom formed the Hermiston Airport Road Neighborhood Association last year when the county was considering changing the name of the road to make it easier to find EOTEC. They won a partial victory — the county decided to put off the decision until after the road has been improved using transporta- tion package dollars from the state. Last spring some of the 34 neighbors (representing 17 addresses) also complained during a board of county commissioners meeting about bass-heavy music blasting from the event center until midnight or later during events, about partygoers who drive recklessly or trespass on private property after events break up, and about traffic and dust problems generated by EOTEC. HARNA president Chris Waine said in the last year response to his complaints has been a mixed bag, with noise still a major concern but dust issues getting better. He said he and neighbor Mariah Murray met with city manager Byron Smith two weeks ago about a request they have made for the city to update its noise ordinance. Noise has been the main complaint of property owners near the event center. Waine said people on social media have made comments about not being supportive of the fair and rodeo, saying neigh- bors of the old fairgrounds dealt with similar issues for decades. But he said the neighbors are willing to put up with noise during fair and rodeo week for the sake of supporting those events — it’s the weddings and quinceañeras blasting music until midnight on other week- ends that concerns them. “We’ve been dealing with this for over two years and we’ve still made no progress today from where we were two years ago,” he said. Waine said the city’s noise ordinance measures dBA, which measures decibel levels for mid-range frequen- cies, instead of dBC, which measures decibel levels for high and low frequencies. As a result, he said, police can come out and take dBA readings during a party and find they don’t violate the noise ordinance even though neighbors are being kept awake by pounding bass. Waine wants the city to adopt an ordinance similar to Pendleton’s, which states the operation of sound-pro- ducing devices such as radios “between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., so that it is plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet from the building, structure, vehicle, or place in which it is located” is a violation of the nuisance ordi- nance, as is action to “make, continue, or cause to be made or continued any loud, unnecessary or unusual noise nor any noise, which annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others, within or over the limits of the city.” However, he said Smith has so far declined to bring the issue before the city council. Smith said Tuesday that he hadn’t closed the door on that option, but was still having the city’s attorney research the legal issues surrounding noise ordinances and enforcement before deciding how to move forward with HARNA’s concerns. One request that has been made in the past is to shut down events at 10 p.m., but Smith said the city believes the earlier deadline would hamper EOTEC’s ability to attract events. In January the event-management company VenuWorks was hired to run EOTEC’s day-to-day operations. Al Davis now serves as general manager. Smith said as the city part- ners with VenuWorks on policies and planning, issues like noise control will be part of the conversation. He said trees planted and growing to maturity should help as well. “We’re going to do the best we can with operating an entertainment facility,” he said. “We try to have as little impact on the neighborhood as possible, but it is a big change for that neighbor- hood.” Williams appointed to Echo city council By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Echo has a new city councilor after a busy council meeting. Tammie Williams was appointed to the council Thursday to replace Lou Nakapalau, who resigned in January. She was chosen out of a field of four applicants, which also included Chad Ray, Carol Neely and Mel Wagner. Williams has lived in Echo 33 years, and said she loves the small community that feels like “a big family.” She is a small business owner and said she has served in a number of public positions through the years, including Echo’s budget committee and the Umatilla County Planning Commis- sion. “I enjoy doing things for the community,” she said. “It’s just nice to feel like I’m doing something good. I just try to honor what the people want.” She will be up for elec- tion in November. Appointment of a new city councilor was one of several items on the agenda Thursday evening. The council also discussed a petition by resident Vera Burres to Kayak Public Transit, asking for a bus to stop in Echo. Kent and Laura Madison, who deliv- ered Burres’s petition, said that Kayak administrators seemed open to the idea but would want to see evidence from a more detailed survey that people would actually ride the bus on a regular basis. The council voted to send a survey in the next city newsletter and make copies available at city hall for people who would ride but live outside city limits. The Madisons were present at Thursday’s meeting to hand over a rough draft of an applica- tion to annex a portion of land along Thielsen Road between Echo and the Interstate 84 interchange. They hope to create a devel- opment in the area north of Echo that would include a hotel, RV park and industrial and commercial projects. He said Thursday that one reason it was a draft and not a final application is he wasn’t planning to add housing to the development, but would be open to applying for some PENDLETON — The Eastern Oregon Climate Change Coalition looks to engage people in discussions about climate change. Philip Schmitz, a physics and geology professor at Blue Mountain Community College, will discuss information about time he spent with the Juneau Icefield Research Program during the upcoming 3rd Tuesday Climate Conversation. The no-host gathering is Tuesday, March 20 at noon at Prodigal Son Brewery & Pub, 230 S.E. Court Ave., Pendleton. Schmitz will share about the program, which takes McKay Creek Estates FREE Cognitive Screening students, scientists and educators on a two-month traverse of the massive icefields. They conduct research on the glacial environment, glacial mass balance and climate. EOC3 looks to engage the audience, providing an opportunity to share concerns, investigate further or just start having a climate conversation. There will be potential memory disorder, such as Alzheimer’s disease. That’s why we’re offering a FREE encourage anyone who is concerned about cognitive decline to take this short, in-person screening. The screening is administered by a qualified health care professional. To schedule your cognitive screening today, please call (541) 704-7146. McKay Creek Estates 7607 Southgate Pl. Pendleton, OR 97807 www.PrestigeCare.com time for questions, sharing of information or articles, and conversations relating to individual or global solutions to climate change problems. The coalition meets monthly. For more information, contact eastoregonclimatechange@ gmail.com or search Facebook for “Eastern Oregon Climate Change Coalition.” 3/16-18 3/19-20 Cineplex Show Times Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie • 3/21 • 12:00 PM $5 Classic Movie • 3/21 • 12:00 PM Tomb Raider (PG13) 1:30* 6:50 3D 4:10 9:30 Lenny Tomb Raider (PG13) 6:50 3D 4:10 9:30 A Wrinkle in Time (PG) 11:40* 4:40 7:10 3D 2:10* 9:40 A Wrinkle in Time (PG) 4:40 7:10 3D 9:40 The Hurricane Heist (PG13) 12:00* 2:30* 5:00 7:30 10:10 The Hurricane Heist (PG13) 5:00 7:30 10:10 Death Wish (R) 11:50* 2:20* 4:50 7:20 9:50 Death Wish (R) 4:50 7:20 9:50 Black Panther (PG13) 1:00* 4:00 7:00 10:00 Black Panther (PG13) 4:00 7:00 10:00 * Matinee Pricing * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT CLASSES There are many early warning signs of a and CONFIDENTIAL cognitive screening. We residential zoning along Bowman Road if that’s what the city preferred. The Madisons proposed holding a community open house sometime in April to go over what the development might look like and take input from the community. Kent said they did not currently own the land but had an option to buy as soon as the community indicated it would support a development. He also said there were people who have already expressed interest in joining the project if it went forward. On Thursday the council discussed progress on the city’s wastewater project. The city currently empties treated water into the Umatilla River but the Department of Environment Quality has said they must find a new solution. The city has since come up with a plan to use an evaporator to get rid of about half the water and send the rest to the city of Stanfield, but city administrator Diane Berry said they lack the funds to move onto the final design phase of the project and build it. She said in April the state’s regional solutions office will host a “one-stop” for Echo leaders to learn about all the different options to apply for funding. “I’ve been told private foundations want to hear your heart and soul and tears and government orga- nizations just want the nuts and bolts and leave out the drama,” Berry said. The council also heard from the Pioneer Humane Society, which is pursuing a taxing district for coun- ty-wide animal control and needed the city to sign off on letting it appear on the ballot in Echo. Ben DeCarlow, a member of the nonprofit’s board, said the organization provides services to resi- dents all over the county, including a pet food assis- tance program, spay and neuter program and a shelter in Pendleton that has taken in and then adopted out about 5,000 animals in the past five years. 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