Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 13, 2018)
OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Page 8A SAFETY: Lifeguard work is preventative Continued from 1A guards go through,” rec- reation supervisor Bran- don Artz said. “They get to shadow some too. It’s a good opportunity to learn.” On Monday morning the junior lifeguard class was treading water in the lap swim pool, passing a 10-pound brick between them with encourage- ment from instructor Brit- tin Braithwaite as some stu- dents struggled not to sink. Afterward, she said it was important for lifeguards to build endurance and men- tal toughness so she tried to push her students to keep going even when they said they were too tired. The HFAC’s real lifeguards have to swim nonstop for one hour each week during their inservice days. Braithwaite said much of the work the staff at the aquatic center does is pre- ventative, from teaching water skills to asking kids not to run next to the pool. “People think lifeguards save people from drowning, but really we’re preventing Staff photo by E.J. Harris Mekena Royer talks to her level 1 swim class before taking to the pool Monday at the Hermiston Family Aquatic Center. drownings,” she said. Alysia Garcia, 19, teaches all levels of swim lessons at the HFAC. This is her third year. “I like working with kids because it gives me prac- tice,” she said. “I want to be a teacher.” She said most of her les- sons are focused on helping kids be safe in the water, so that if they get caught in a current at the beach or ven- ture too far out and get tired they can get to safety or at least stay afloat until they are rescued. Pendleton Family Aquatic Center also offers a variety of swim lessons to several hundred students of varying levels, and adults can sign up for private les- sons. Swim instruction coor- dinator Mary Wells said there are still open spots and encouraged people to sign their children up if they hav- en’t already. “It’s a safety issue,” she said. “You want your kids to be safe.” Wells said when peo- ple reach adulthood with- out knowing how to swim it can negatively impact their lives, especially in the sum- mer when they are getting invited to go boating, fish- ing, rafting, or to spend time on the beach. “Not only can it cause you to be unsafe, and the people around you to be less safe, it also limits your activ- ities,” she said. She said the aquatic cen- ter and all it offers — includ- ing multiple levels of swim instruction — is an “amaz- ing” resource for the com- munity that people should not take for granted. For more information about Pendleton Family Aquatic Center call 541- 276-0104 or visit http:// www.pendletonparksandrec. com/aquatic-center. For more information about the Hermiston Family Aquatic Center call 541-289-7665 or visit hermistonpool.com. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. RETAIL: Albertsons building too big for rodeo’s needs Continued from 1A their smart phones as tickets, consolidating administrative offices and ticketing under one roof is meant to stream- line the operation. Thomas said the Round-Up is one of the few rodeos with a year-round retail operation that exceeds larger rodeos in Denver and San Antonio. With sales up 5 per- cent from last year, the new building’s storage space is meant to accommodate the Round-Up’s growing online retail sector. The planned location of the building is in the north- east corner of the parking lot, directly across from the Hall of Fame to the east and the bucking horse statue to the north. The new building’s loca- tion means the vacant Alb- ertsons will be demolished over the summer. O’Neill anticipates the Round-Up will field com- plaints that it didn’t repur- pose the building instead of demolishing it. While the Round-Up explored using Albertsons for its own ends, O’Neill said the size of the building meant the Round-Up would have to lease part of it to another entity to make that feasible, a move that wouldn’t play to the Round-Up’s strengths. Thomas added that ren- ovating the building would have been a long-term, mul- tiphase project while a new building accomplished the Round-Up’s goals more quickly and efficiently. The demolition is also expected to create addition by subtraction — more park- ing spots. “In our reality, (park- ing) is our biggest nemesis,” O’Neill said. Round-Up officials expect to have the Albert- sons building cleared away by Round-Up week so they can open up the parking lot to rodeo fans. Construction on the proj- ect will cease for the rodeo and resume afterwards, although the Round-Up didn’t provide an exact time- line for the new facility. As for its other expansion projects — an indoor arena and classroom space for Blue Mountain Community College and several proper- ties bought west of South- west 18th Street — O’Neill said there weren’t many updates to provide. A long-range facility planning committee contin- ues to look at what to do with the western properties and the Round-Up remains sup- portive of BMCC’s efforts. The Round-Up is also making its own efforts to keep stockholders abreast of their plans, after receiving previous complaints that the Round-Up Board of Direc- tors wasn’t being transpar- ent with them. O’Neill said all stockholders were sent letters Monday and Tues- day informing them of the project. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. Wednesday, June 13, 2018 WATER: Ratepayers won’t have to cover cost Continued from 1A solve utility problems on their own. A subsequent public meeting with the repre- sentative from the Greater Eastern Oregon Regional Solutions Team to address council concerns devolved into bickering as the coun- cil criticized the park for its code enforcement issues. In a much more mild environment, the council didn’t spend much time debating the Business Ore- gon grant at Monday’s meeting and none of the audience members spoke out against it. Hall stressed the grant meant ratepayers and citi- zens wouldn’t have to pay for the cost of extending water to the trailer park. Although the council unanimously authorized the grant, Councilor Brad Humbert had some parting words on the issue. “I just want to thank Linda and staff for not fold- ing or buckling to the county commissioners when they didn’t stand up for the city,” he said. “And not buckling to the state (for) the disas- ter that no one will enforce their code over. It’s not in the city limits. It’s not nec- essarily our problem, but we seem to have to clean up others’ messes.” The council also approved a $34 mil- lion budget for the 2018- 2019 fiscal year. Balanc- ing the budget required a few corresponding moves, including: • The council agreed to raise golf course rates 3 percent, but exempted student daily greens fees, student punch cards, golf cart barn rentals and sea- son passes from the increase. The council also had the option of institut- ing an across-the-board rate increase, but the Mil- “It’s not necessar- ily our problem, but we seem to have to clean up others’ messes.” — Brad Humbert, City Councilor ton-Freewater Golf Board recommended the more targeted raise. The council voted 4-1 to raise the rates, with Hum- bert voting against. Humbert said the golf course does a lot of good for the community through charity golf tournaments, but continual rate increases could eventually decrease patronage from out-of- town golfers. • The council unani- mously voted to increase electrical rates 3 percent and raise the service avail- ability fee for commercial and industrial customers. Electric superintendent Rick Rambo reported the 3 percent rate increase was necessitated by the city’s power supplier, Bonne- ville Power Administra- tion, raising its rates 5 per- cent in October. Hall said the 3 percent rate increase was a require- ment of balancing the bud- get, but the council had more “wiggle room” in the availability fees. Currently $15 for both commercial and industrial, staff recommended rais- ing the commercial fee to $25 and the industrial fee to $50. Concerned by the large jumps in price, Councilor Verl Pressnall suggested raising commercial to $20 and industrial to $30. The council incorpo- rated Pressnall’s recom- mendation into the motion and unanimously passed the fee increases. MORE WINNERS. MORE OFTEN. W IN $ 100 ASH C r entry & Power Hou Sundays – Thursdays m 6-9p WIN 00 $ 15,0 CASH rawings: Grand Prize & D July 29 June 30 DONT MISS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO ADVERTISE IN GET A TASTE OF EASTERN OREGON! N WI 0 0 $ 1,0 SH CA Power Hour INCLUDES FREE COLOR, BOGO AD SPACE AND 3 MONTH OF DIGITAL ADS ALL FOR ONE LOW PRICE! CONTACT YOUR SALES REP TODAY TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE! 9pm Drawing Your culinary guide to Fine Dining, Breweries, Pubs, Cafes, Distilleries, Burger Joints, Food Trucks and soooo much more! EARN 5X ENTRIES EVERY WEDNESDAY! PUBLISH DATE: June 27th, 2018 in the EO, HH, WCC & BME. DEADLINE: June 20th, 2018 W I L D H O R S E 2 4 th A N N U A L July 6- 8, 2018 Dancing Contest ∙ FOOD DRUMMING CONTEST ∙ VENDORS Grand entry at 7pm on Friday, 1pm on Saturday & Sunday Host Drum: BLACK LODGE, White Swan, WA Free & open to the public! CASINO • HOTEL • GOLF • CINEPLEX • RV • MUSEUM • DINING • TRAVEL PLAZA 800.654.9453 • PENDLETON, OR • I-84, EXIT 216, wildhorseresort.com. Owned and operated by CTUIR Management reserves all rights to alter, suspend or withdraw promotions/offers at any time. Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 Audra Workman 541-564-4538 jjewett@hermistonherald.com aworkman@eastoregonian.com Kimberly Macias 541-278-2683 Angela Treadwell 541-966-0827 kmacias@eastoregonian.com ® atreadwell@eastoregonian.com
