REGION
Thursday, June 21, 2018
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
Medallions get OK for vets memorial
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Pendleton is one step
closer to getting an official
veterans memorial.
The Pendleton City
Council approved the $3,310
purchase of five bronze
medallions for a memorial
sponsored by the Veterans of
Foreign Wars Let’Er Buck
Post 922.
Charles Denight, chair-
man of the arts commission,
explained that the VFW had
already done much of the
legwork on the proposed
memorial at the old fountain
space near the intersection
of Highway 11 and South-
east Court Avenue.
The 16-inch medallions,
one for each branch of the
military, will be mounted
on basalt columns that have
already been purchased by
the VFW. Denight said the
VFW has also worked with
the Pendleton Parks and
Recreation Department to
clean the site and prepare it
for the memorial.
Although the columns
and medallions will be
installed soon, the project is
far from over.
Denight said the columns
will be installed in a circular
formation in anticipation of
placing a centerpiece of art
to complete the memorial.
He said the VFW is
still developing a concept
or theme for the art, but
Denight said the organiza-
tion wants to keep it inten-
tionally open-ended to give
artists leeway in their inter-
pretations when it sends out
a request for proposal.
The cost of the medal-
lions comes from the city’s
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
art fund, which is funded by
an earmark from the tran-
sient room tax.
Also closer to reality is
a new fixed-route service
from Pendleton’s transporta-
tion program.
The council approved
two Oregon Department of
Transportation grants that
will help establish the new
service and pay for a new
22-passenger bus.
Finance Director Linda
Carter
said
Pendleton
already has several curb-
to-curb
transportation
programs.
But as the program’s
popularity continues to rise,
Carter said the city wants to
direct more riders to its new
deviated fixed-route service,
which will run on a fixed
route across town while
allowing for slight devia-
tions if someone with a dis-
ability needs transportation.
Carter said the city is still
finalizing routes and stops,
but a recent rough draft
showed stops across the city,
including St. Anthony Hos-
pital, Community Park, Gre-
cian Heights Park, Walmart,
Roy Raley Park, Main
Street, Blue Mountain Com-
munity College, Pendleton
High School and Riverside
Drive.
The city is planning a $1
fare, but Carter said she is
going to apply for money
from the Oregon Special
Transportation Fund that
could help turn it into a free
program.
The ODOT transporta-
tion operations grant is for
$144,000 and requires a
$36,000 match from the city
over two years, while the
bus grant is $76,500 with a
$13,500 match.
The transportation pro-
gram will continue to be
operated by Elite Taxi,
which received a $638,925
contract from the city at the
same meeting.
Before the council meet-
ing, the council met as the
Pendleton
Development
Commission and passed a
$2.2 million budget for the
urban renewal district.
The 2018-2019 budget is
almost $1 million more than
the previous fiscal year and
includes large increases for
programs like Fresh Start,
second story access, and
façade restoration.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
Counties prepare plans for railroad emergencies
SALEM — Morrow,
Umatilla and Polk coun-
ties are the first in Oregon
to complete local emergency
response plans for crashes
and accidents of trains haul-
ing hazardous materials.
The Oregon Office of
State Fire Marshal coordi-
nates emergency response
planning for oil or hazardous
materials spills or releases
during rail transport. The
state agency reported it
recently worked with the
counties to complete the
plans, which identify local
rail lines that transport haz-
ardous materials and outline
emergency notification and
response procedures. The
plans also include informa-
tion on the frequency of haz-
ardous material transports,
emergency response proce-
dures and evacuation routes.
Local emergency plan-
ning committees and county
emergency managers helped
create the plans. First
responders, tribal represen-
tatives, railroad operators
and more also gave input,
according to the fire marshal
office, to ensure a “whole
community” approach to
planning and response.
Rail carries roughly
40 percent of all hazard-
ous material in the United
States, according to the fire
marshal office. The over-
all goal of the plans was to
develop the framework for a
safe, effective and efficient
response to a rail emergency
involving hazardous materi-
als. Oregon State Fire Mar-
shal Jim Walker applauded
the communities for taking
preventative action and pre-
paring for an emergency.
PENDLETON
Banks takes up baton with youth program
East Oregonian
The Oregon East Sym-
phony recently announced
that Zach Banks has been
hired to its newly-created
strings instructor position.
Banks will conduct the
A Sharp Players interme-
diate preparatory orches-
tra and the Raising the Bar
mentoring program, where
advanced level high school
string players perform as
members of the Oregon East
Symphony. In addition, he
will teach cello in the Sym-
phony Strings program,
which provides after-school
beginning strings instruction
for Pendleton area fourth
and fifth grade students.
The program is pro-
duced in collaboration with
the Pendleton School Dis-
trict. His position also has
a reserved amount of pilot
program
development
hours, which the symphony
can produce new educa-
tional offerings in the sur-
rounding region.
A recent graduate of Port-
land State University, Banks
received a master’s degree
in cello performance. He
has served as acting prin-
cipal cellist in the Oregon
East Symphony and been
a section cellist with Port-
Contributed photo
Zach Banks serves as a stand partner alongside a
young musician during an Oregon East Symphony
rehearsal. Banks has been hired in the symphony’s
newly-created strings instructor position.
land Columbia Symphony
Orchestra, ARCO PDX,
Portland State University
Symphony, Northwest Indi-
ana Youth Symphony and
United States Youth Ensem-
ble on their 2007 European
tour. As a music educator,
Banks has been a music the-
ory instructor with the Port-
land Youth Philharmonic
and Metropolitan Youth
Symphony and an instructor
at the OES Summer Strings
Music Camp. Outside the
realm of classical music,
Banks has shared the stage
with pop music performers
Nick Jaina, Stelth Ulvang
(of The Lumineers) and
Father John Misty.
In addition to his work
with the OES, Banks
recently accepted the posi-
tion of conductor for the
Grande Ronde Symphony
Orchestra in La Grande. He
also will maintain a private
music instruction studio in
Pendleton focusing on all
levels of cello and beginner
level violin instruction.
Accompanying
Banks
to Pendleton is his partner,
violinist Viet Block. She
graduated from PSU with
a master’s of music in vio-
lin performance and is a first
section member with Ore-
gon East Symphony.
Block will offer private
lessons for all levels of vio-
lin instruction. Also, Banks
and Block have expressed
interest in serving as musi-
cal resources for ceremonies
such as weddings, funerals
and more.
A nonprofit organization,
the Oregon East Sympho-
ny’s mission is to operate,
support and maintain a sym-
phony orchestra, ensembles,
chorale and youth classical
music program to enhance
the cultural wealth of the
region through education
and performance. For more
information, contact oesdi-
rectorms@gmail.com,541-
276-0320 or visit www.ore-
goneastsymphony.org.
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districts, he said.
Olsen said the city
wanted to “put everyone
in the same pool and then
divide up the $500,000,”
but Oregon law requires
dividing the fees according
to tax code areas.
“Since the city was
unwilling to change that
approach ... they were not
included in the formal dis-
cussions,” Olsen said.
“I guess it makes it
sounds as if the city of
Umatilla doesn’t want to
follow statute,” Commis-
sioner Larry Givens said.
“Is that a good way of sum-
marizing that?”
Olsen answered, “Yes.”
No one from the city
of Umatilla attended the
meeting.
The board also voted 3-0
to not renew their member-
ship with the Eastern Ore-
gon Counties Association.
Commissioner Bill Elf-
ering said the association
primarily takes on forestry
and grazing issues, which
don’t have much effect on
Umatilla County.
“I don’t see we’re get-
ting our value out of the
relationship,”
Elfering
said.
Murdock said “we do
look different” from the
other counties in Eastern
Oregon with the nature of
agriculture, the data cen-
ters, manufacturing and
more. And Oregon sena-
tors, the National Associ-
ation of Counties and oth-
ers advocate for the federal
subsidy program Payment
in Lieu of Taxes, which
amounts to about $1 mil-
lion a year to Umatilla
County.
The county must give
90 days notice of its with-
drawal to the other nine
counties in the association.
In
other
business,
the county will form its
own committee to over-
see a special transporta-
tion improvement fund
program.
Umatilla and Morrow
counties in March decided
to have staff look into form-
ing a joint special transpor-
tation committee with the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion, which operates the
regional bus system Kayak
Public Transit.
6/21
Cineplex Show Times
PENDLETON
—
People and their pets
are invited to help
raise money for the St.
Anthony Hospital alter-
native therapy program,
and the Pendleton Ani-
mal Welfare Shelter.
The St. Anthony Mutt
Strut features a 5K fun
run/walk. People with-
out four-legged friends
are also welcome. The
event is Saturday at 8:30
a.m. at Roy Raley Park,
1205 N.W. Court Ave.,
Pendleton.
Cost is $25.
For
more information, con-
tact Emily Smith at
541-278-2627.
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29
The Umatilla County
Fire District and five other
special tax districts are in
line for a budget boost,
thanks to data center
revenue.
The Umatilla County
Board of Commission-
ers during its public meet-
ing Wednesday in Pendle-
ton voted 3-0 to forgo any
of the $500,000 commu-
nity service fee from the
Amazon subsidiary Vadata
Inc. and distribute its share
to six special districts as
follows:
64 percent to the Uma-
tilla County Fire District;
13.5 percent to the
Umatilla Special Library
District;
7.4 percent to the West
Umatilla Mosquito Control
District;
6.2 percent to the
Umatilla-Morrow Radio
District;
5.6 percent to the Port
of Umatilla;
3.4 percent to the Herm-
iston Cemetery District.
The fee is part of Vada-
ta’s deal with the county
to avoid paying property
taxes on massive data cen-
ters spanning two tax code
areas, one inside the city
of Umatilla in another out-
side in the county taxing
district. The county antici-
pates Vadata will start pay-
ing the fee in 2019.
County counsel Doug
Olsen said the special dis-
tricts in the two tax code
areas met often to decide
how to divvy up the fee and
agreed to split it equally
between the two areas,
with each district then
receiving its share based
on its property tax rate.
Olsen said the Ore-
gon Business Develop-
ment Commission has
final approval and could
consider the plan when
it meets in July. He also
said the commission will
probably consider an ear-
lier proposal to divide the
fee according to what area
is likely to have the most
development.
Commissioner George
Murdock asked if the city
of Umatilla was involved
in the talks. The city ini-
tially promoted the idea of
the county helping out the
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Umatilla County seeks
to give data center fee
to taxing districts
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
The Pendleton City Council approved the purchase of five bronze medallions for a
memorial sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Let’Er Buck Post 922.
Page 3A
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