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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 31, 2018)
REGION Tuesday, July 31, 2018 East Oregonian Finalists announced for Port of Morrow GM IRRIGON Melons and music Lip sync contest and marimba artist keep groove going By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Stephen Pells dutifully mouthed the words to his song at the Irrigon Water- melon Festival’s lip sync contest Saturday, but it was his dancing that likely allowed him to retain his crown. Stephen was the first one on the stage, where he per- formed Silento’s 2015 hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae).” He not only lip synced to the song, but also performed all the dances that are men- tioned in the song, includ- ing the whip, the nae nae, the stanky leg, the break your legs, the duff, and the superman. The lip sync contest is in its second year after a 12-year break from the Irri- gon Watermelon Festival, an attempt to revive a popu- lar event of yesteryear for a new generation of children, according to event coordina- tor Charlene Cooley. Cooley said not as many children participated this year as they did in 2017, but it still found an audience. “It just takes one kids, and then all the other kids start to flock around,” she said. Performing first meant he Photo by Antonio Sierra Stephen Pells dances along to “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” during the lip sync con- test at the Irrigon Watermelon Festival Saturday. would have to sit back and watch the rest of the compe- tition as they performed their renditions of “Barbie Girl,” “Ring of Fire,” “Happy” and “Let it Go.” One girl even lip synced “Uptown Funk,” the song Stephen lip synced to when he won the 2017 contest. But in the end, Stephen’s non-singing and very real dance moves would not be denied as he won this year’s contest based an informal applause meter. His reward? “Cold, hard cash,” according to the emcee. After Stephen collected his $50 prize, he explained that he practiced for quite a while in preparation for a title defense. Learning a half dozen dances was not easy, and when asked which was the hardest to learn, young Ste- phen was resolute: “All of them.” The Irrigon Watermelon Festival has the titular fruit for sale and seed spitting contest, but it’s more than just melons. The sweet green and red gourds are not directly involved in the car show, the numerous raffles, the car- nival games or the lip sync contest. It took a while for Aly- sen Hesselroth to find the marimba, but it led to an unlikely career for the Oth- ello, Washington-native. Performing as Aly the Traveling Marimba Busker, Hesselroth added a trop- ical feel to the warm Irri- gon afternoon, striking the wooden bars with two mal- lets in each hand and playing a combination of pop songs and instrumentals. In between some of her songs, Hesselroth explained that she was used to play- ing at sidewalks and farmers markets. “I’m used to moving crowds, so I have to remind myself to do the banter,” she told the audience. As she packed up her marimba after the set ended, Hesselroth, 30, explained how her career in busk- ing evolved from her time at Washington State University. A music major, Hessel- roth was originally a pianist before a professor suggested she look at joining a percus- sion ensemble. She was blown away by the instrumentation, and learned the marimba to join the ensemble. But the thought of busk- ing didn’t really occur to her until she took road trips to Austin, the musically rich capital of Texas, and Burn- ing Man, the radical art gath- ering in the Nevada desert. BOARDMAN Lost Valley owner defends against contempt charge By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI EO Media Group PORTLAND — The owner of Lost Valley Farm near Boardman claims the state government wants to shut down the facility just as it’s about to comply with waste- water regulations. Oregon farm regulators are seeking a court order to stop the dairy from producing wastewater — which would effectively halt operations — because it’s disregarding a pre- vious legal settlement. Greg te Velde, the owner, said there have been “some spills and splashes” at the facility but maintains they’ve been “nothing catastrophic.” Though he acknowl- edged defaulting on the legal agreement, te Velde said he’d always intended to honor the deal despite facing “a steep learning curve.” Upgrades to the dairy will soon mitigate wastewa- ter problems, te Velde said during a July 27 court hearing in Portland. “I think we’re on the cusp of having it all done,” he said. In March, Lost Valley Farm settled a lawsuit with the Ore- gon Department of Agricul- ture by agreeing to limit its wastewater output to 65,000 gallons a day. Since then, however, the dairy has violated the deal by exceeding that threshold almost daily and failing to maintain adequate capacity in manure lagoons, for which te Velde should be held in con- tempt of court, according to ODA. “On most of these days, it’s a pretty significant excess use,” testified Wym Matthews, manager of ODA’s confined animal feeding operation program. According to ODA’s esti- mates, the excess ranged from 19,000 to 375,000 gallons per day, he said. The agency also esti- mates the amount of manure applied to six of seven nearby fields surpassed the agronomic requirements of crops, which is prohibited due to the possi- bility of nitrogen pollution. “It consumes those nutri- ents so they don’t become pol- lutants, so that balance is criti- cal,” Matthews said. Although ODA is in the process of revoking the dairy’s “confined animal feeding operation” permit, it will take two months for that action to become final, or even longer if the order is contested by te Velde. Because wastewater vio- lations at the dairy haven’t ceased, there’s a “serious risk” of groundwater contamination unless the situation is brought under control this summer, the agency claims. It’s “particularly important” for Lost Valley Farm to com- ply with CAFO permit condi- tions because it’s in the “envi- ronmentally sensitive” Lower Umatilla Groundwater Man- agement Area, which already has elevated levels of nitrate contaminants, the agency said. ODA is worried that pollut- ants from the dairy will even- tually reach groundwater, even if they haven’t yet, said Matthews. “Our concern is the opera- tor is loading the soil,” he said. If the soil continues to be loaded with nitrogen, pollut- ants would be expected to reach the groundwater within two years under water-sat- urated conditions, said Kirk Cook, a geologist and program manager of ODA’s pesticide stewardship program. However, the nitrogen remains immobile when the soil isn’t saturated and the dairy is in an arid part of the state, he said. The ODA has requested that Multnomah County Cir- cuit Judge Kelly Skye issue remedial sanctions requir- ing Lost Valley Farm to cease wastewater production within 60 days and remove waste from lagoons to free up 75 acre-feet of storage capacity. Of the all dairies inspected by ODA this year, the facil- ity was the only one to have a lagoon overflow and the only one that didn’t turn over agro- nomic data, said Matthews. The dairy began construc- tion of a fourth manure lagoon to alleviate the storage prob- lems, but it didn’t first notify ODA to ensure the con- First come first serve. For patients with no insurance. 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Wilhelm also lives in Kennewick and is currently project manager for Boise/ PCA Paper Mill in Wallula, Washington, through QBM Management, Inc. He is fhe former plant manager of Zeachem, Inc. Man fails at armed robbery HERMISTON — The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the sus- pect that tried but failed to pull off an armed robbery. Two employees of the Short Stop Gas, 32553 E. Punkin Center Road, Herm- iston, were working outside Sunday morning at about 4:15 when an armed man approached on foot from the road. The sheriff’s office in a written statement reported the suspect held a black rifle and covered his face in a dark green bandanna. “According to the employees,” the sheriff’s office reported, “the sus- pect ordered one of them to go inside the store. Instead, both employees ran across Highway 207 and called 911.” They also told law enforcement the suspect tried to open the store’s cash register, but it was locked. When he could not open the register, he bolted from the store, taking nothing. He ran west on East Pun- kin Center and got into a white four-door sedan. The car headed west on East Punkin Center, the sheriff’s office reported. The employees told the sheriff’s office the suspect was about 6 feet to 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed approximately 120-140 pounds. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt, a black baseball cap, dark-col- ored gloves and white plaid shorts with lime green and navy stripes and white socks that covered his calves. Meet our newest pediatrician Lina Castillo, MD As a Pediatrician Dr. Castillo brings with her compassion and a desire to care for your children. 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He is cur- rently the general manager of warehousing for the Port of Morrow and the only finalist from Boardman. He was formerly direc- 11:00am -7:00pm, August 2nd, 2018 Cineplex Show Times * Matinee Pricing struction complied with waste management plans, as required, he said. “That is a general theme — showing up to find things we should have known about,” said Matthews. FREE DENTAL DAY 7/30 - 31 ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (PG13) 4:30 7:10 9:50 Page 3A 1100 Southgate, Suite 3, Pendleton OR 97801 541.276.5272 I wanted to become a pediatrician because it brought me joy to know that by making a positive impact on a child’s life it could positively impact our world for generations to come. ” Welcoming New Patients Good Shepherd Medical Group Pediatrics 541.667.3740 600 NW 11th Street Suite E-33 Hermiston, OR 97838
