REGION
Friday, July 13, 2018
East Oregonian
STANFIELD
HERMISTON
Odor complaints, citations spike
at 3D Idapro Solutions plant
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
A pet food plant in Stan-
field has received a string
of complaints from citizens
who say the odor from the
facility is once again perme-
ating the air.
The 3D Idapro Solutions
pet food processing facil-
ity, on Hoosier Lane, has
been the subject of daily
complaints from residents.
Since last summer, the facil-
ity has had problems with an
odor control device, called
a scrubber, that burned in
a fire at the plant. Though
company executives came
to Stanfield in October and
presented a three-part plan
to mitigate odors, citizens
have been complaining that
odors have gotten worse
again.
Stanfield City Manager
Blair Larsen said in an email
to the East Oregonian that
the plant is now getting a
citation nearly every day. He
said he has been in commu-
nication with the plant every
week for most of the year.
“For a 10-day period in
early June, they had turned
things around, and our com-
plaints had dropped to only
one or two per day,” Larsen
wrote.
But since then he said
complaints have spiked
again. The city continues to
rely on their odor nuisance
EO file photo
The 3D Idapro Solutions plant in Stanfield is receiving nearly a citation a day for
odor complaints from residents of the town.
ordinance, which states that
if the city receives com-
plaints about an offen-
sive odor from a property
in city limits from at least
four separate households in
a 12-hour period, they can
issue a citation. The ordi-
nance states that the munic-
ipal judge can set the fine
anywhere from $0 to $2,000
per occurrence.
Larsen said the judge had
been escalating the fine, and
he heard the most recent
ones have been set at close
to $500 each.
Larsen said the compa-
ny’s vice president said they
are hiring a new general
manager for the site. He said
they are also again replac-
ing equipment that had pre-
viously been fixed, and
installing additional equip-
ment that will decrease the
amount of time the mate-
rial sits before going into the
dryer.
“They are saying that this
will result in fresher mate-
rial going in, and fresher
material means less odor,”
Larsen wrote.
He said despite the
increase in complaints, the
city has not changed its
process.
“Our discussions with
our city attorney have indi-
cated that we don’t have
any other options unless
we decide to file a lawsuit
against the company. The
city council has chosen not
to go that route at this time,”
Larsen wrote.
Some Stanfield resi-
dents also started a Face-
book group on Wednesday,
which states that its purpose
is for residents to share ideas
and stories, and hopes to end
the smell in Stanfield. So far
the group, entitled “What’s
That Smell!?!” has gathered
about 60 members.
MILTON-FREEWATER
Grove Elementary fixtures go to ‘schoolyard’ sale
By SHEILA HAGAR
Union-Bulletin
Steffany Esser is going in, come
dust or shotgun shells.
Esser, a social studies teacher at
McLoughlin High School, is helping
the Milton-Freewater Unified School
District clean out Grove Elementary
School in preparation for its closure.
She will be part of a team of volunteers
manning a “schoolyard” sale that starts
Friday to sell off aged and unneeded
classroom fixtures.
The elderly school at 129 S.E. 15th
Ave. is slated for demolition in the near
future so a soccer complex can be con-
structed on its site. Built in 1908 as
Milton’s first school and added on to in
1956, the Grove campus is no longer
cost-effective to maintain, Superinten-
dent Rob Clark said.
The district does not have the funds,
nor is it reimbursed, for maintaining
facilities that have historical signifi-
cance, Clark added, noting the property
will continue to serve Milton-Freewa-
ter children as a soccer field.
The town and district have moved
on to prepare for the completion of the
Gib Olinger Elementary School a few
blocks north. The new school on Mill
Street is set to open for the 2018-2019
school year.
In the meantime, Grove has been
used this summer by local police
departments for active-shooter drills,
hence those shell casings, Esser said.
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
A Hermiston High
School graduate will be
furthering her skills as
a teacher and bringing a
global component
to her classroom
as the recipient of
a national teach-
ing fellowship.
Jennifer
Macias Morris is
a recipient of the
NEA Foundation
Global
Learn-
ing Fellowship. Morris
One teacher from
each state was selected for
the fellowship, a yearlong
program that helps teach-
ers incorporate more global
competency into their
schools and communities.
The Fellowship will end
with a nine-day field study
in South Africa.
Macias Morris, a 2007
graduate of Hermiston
High School, now teaches
first grade at the Libby Cen-
ter, a public school in Spo-
kane, in a Spanish immer-
sion program. She has also
worked as a third grade
Spanish immersion teacher
in Seattle, and taught
English in Chile when she
was a college student.
Macias Morris said her
parents are both immi-
grants, and that when she
was younger, she was
reluctant to embrace her
own culture. But as she
got older, she said learning
about her parents’ journey
and her heritage made her
appreciate her background
and others’, and encour-
aged her to teach her stu-
dents to do the same.
She said she applied for
the fellowship because it
included a lot of compo-
nents she wants to bring
back to her students.
She will continue teach-
Juvenile injured
in self-inflicted
McNary shooting
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Grove Elementary School will be torn down, to be replaced by a soccer
field, and the all the school’s fixtures go on sale this Friday.
Plus? Bookshelves for days. And
it all has to go — no reasonable offer
refused.
From chairs to desks to old elec-
tronics to magazine racks, all will be
priced at $1, $5 or $10, with the pro-
ceeds split between Mac-Hi’s National
Honor Society, Varsity Club and cheer-
leading groups.
Students from those organizations
will be on hand to help shoppers. Since
the sale space is crowded and a bit dis-
organized, the setup will be along the
lines of using a personal shopper, Esser
said. “Tell us what you’re looking for
and they can go get it.”
The sale is cash only, and the goal is
to clear $1,000 for club coffers.
Esser’s biggest hope is that the pre-
dicted heat wave in the Walla Walla
Valley won’t cook their chances of a
good turnout, she added.
The sale will take place 8 a.m.-1
p.m. Friday and begins again Satur-
day at 8 a.m. with a flexible end time,
depending on sales.
For more information call, the dis-
trict office at 541-938-3551.
ing while completing
online coursework for the
fellowship, which includes
learning how to work with
other community members
and teachers to teach stu-
dents about the importance
of cultural understanding.
“I
believe
kids should learn
about this, espe-
cially with every-
thing that’s going
on in the world,
and come up with
their own opin-
ions,” she said.
In
teaching
younger students,
Macias said she
tailors lessons about chal-
lenging subjects.
“I come up with kid-
friendly language,” she
said. “The whole point is
not to scare them, but help
them understand.”
This year, she taught her
students a unit on immi-
gration, connecting it with
current events, including
DACA (Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals).
“I asked them to
think about if their par-
ents wanted to move to
another country because
they wanted to make more
money, or if a kid their age
left on their own, because
they were in danger or
because they wanted to
be with their parents,” she
said.
She said she tries to
teach her students about
current events, and includes
guest speakers. She had her
mother, who emigrated to
the U.S. at 17, come and
talk to her class.
Students also learn
about specific problems
facing their city, state,
and country, such as food
insecurity.
“We talk about what’s
going on in the world, and
get different perspectives,”
Macias Morris said.
the state to weigh in.
A long list of topics being
considered included more
flexibility for annexation,
more mental health fund-
ing, steps to solve the Pub-
lic Employee Retirement
System’s unfunded lia-
bilities, local control over
speed limits, more money
an artist’s reception Tuesday
at 6 p.m. at the library, 502
S.W. Dorion Ave., Pendle-
ton. In addition to Graham
sharing about her artistic
inspiration, light refresh-
ments will be served.
The library is open Mon-
day through Thursdays from
10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Fri-
day/Saturdays from 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m. For more informa-
tion about library programs,
call 541-966-0380 or visit
www.pendletonlibrary.wee-
bly.com.
UMATILLA — Uma-
tilla police are looking into
a shooting in a McNary
neighborhood Wednesday
afternoon.
Around 5 p.m., police
were called to Chenowith
Street for reports of a male
who had a gunshot wound.
Police Chief Darla Huxel
said the 16-year-old victim
was taken to Good Shepherd
Medical Center, Hermiston.
Huxel said the boy suf-
fered an accidental, self-in-
flicted wound to his left
hand while handling a
handgun.
She said the victim and
7/13-15
some of the witnesses were Cineplex Show Times
not being cooperative, and
$5 Classic Movie • 7/18 • 12pm
Singin’ in the Rain
that the police had not yet
found the gun. The par- $5 Children’s Classic Movie • 7/18 • 10am
Madagascar
ents were not home at the
Free Small Popcorn & Small Soda
time of the incident, and are
SKYSCRAPER (PG13)
cooperating with the police. 1:40* 6:40
4:20 9:20
City council prepares statewide priorities for sessions
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston City Council on
Monday discussed legisla-
tive priorities for the upcom-
ing year. The League of Ore-
gon Cities creates a list of
priorities ahead of the ses-
sions and asks cities around
Graduate gets national
teaching fellowship
BRIEFLY
HERMISTON
East Oregonian
Page 3A
for infrastructure, property
tax reform and protection of
franchise fees.
City Manager Byron
Smith said franchise fees,
which telecommunications
companies pay to place their
infrastructure on city-con-
trolled rights of way, are the
city’s second largest source
of revenue after property
taxes. Telecommunications
companies have started to
suggest that the shouldn’t
have to pay those fees and
should have more control
over the rights of way and
the League is interested in a
preventative bill strengthen-
ing the cities’ position.
Athena
C aledonian G ames
July 13-15th
= Sunday, July 15 =
11:15 - 2:00 pm Caledonian Ceilidh
Th e Way We Were
memorabilia sharing at open mic
Athena Clan of Mid
Columbia School of Highland Dance - 1:00 PM
Athena Royal Highland Guard - 1:30 PM
Picnic sack lunches with Caledonian vendors
Bring a blanket and enjoy music, dancing and sharing in the park!
Graham’s work
featured in new
library display
PENDLETON — The
colorful paintings of Pend-
leton artist Judith Graham
will grace the walls of the
ramp and meeting room
at the Pendleton Public
Library.
The public is invited to
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
(PG13)
1:50* 4:30 7:10 9:50
JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN
KINGDOM (PG13)
1:00* 4:00 7:00 10:00
INCREDIBLES 2 (PG)
1:30* 4:10 6:50 9:30
THE FIRST PURGE (R)
12:00* 2:20* 4:40 7:20 9:40
* Matinee Pricing
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216