Page 8A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Wednesday, September 5, 2018 ECONOMY: Hermiston doesn’t have an economic development director Continued from 1A when one person gets a job in the area they have a sig- nificant other who is looking for a new job, too. Choosing Hermiston puts them right in the middle of the labor- shed, with thousands of jobs in Pendleton, Boardman and the Tri-Cities just a half- hour commute away. “Nobody wants to get stuck out on the bleeding edge of the employment pool,” Morgan said, citing a reason some people choose to work and live in Hermis- ton instead of Boardman. Morgan said when he meets with potential employ- ers considering an expansion or new facility in Hermiston, the number one question they have for him is usually whether they will be able to find workers to fill positions, which is why Hermiston’s central location is important. In some ways, Hermis- ton takes a less hands-on approach to economic development than Pend- leton. The city of Pendle- ton has an economic devel- opment director and a full-time convention center manager, and also contrib- utes money for the associ- ate director of the Pendleton Development Commission and a Pendleton Downtown Association director. It has focused on development of an unmanned aerial systems range at the Pendleton Air- port and is moving forward with plans for an industrial park there. Hermiston, on the other hand, is relying on its parks and recreation department to run the Hermiston Com- munity Center, has its city planner Clint Spencer taking point on the urban renewal agency downtown, isn’t financially involved in the Hermiston Downtown Asso- ciation and doesn’t have an official economic develop- ment director. The city has invested in economic development, however. Morgan cred- ited Hermiston’s regional water system, which the city implemented in the mid- 1990s, with making many of Hermiston’s major employ- ers possible. And when people move into town to work for one of the largest employers, it often creates a trickle-down effect of more jobs in areas like retail and education. “The formula is pretty simple around here: Just add water, and you will get jobs,” Morgan said. The city continues to “add water,” extending the system to the yet-undevel- oped Cook Industrial Site south of town and starting the groundwork for a new water tower on the northeast side of town. The water tower project is more to encourage hous- ing development than indus- trial development, but more housing means more work- ers for potential employers to consider when moving to town. Finding employees can be hard. Shearer’s Foods expanded in Hermiston in 2014, adding 114 jobs. The company is holding a job fair Friday at Worksource Hermiston, 950 S.E. Colum- bia Drive, Suite B, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to recruit for positions ranging from reach truck operators to mechanics. Worksource Oregon is a statewide network of pub- lic and private partners that provides employers and employees a one-stop shop to help match job seekers with open positions created by turnover or by new job growth. Manager Tara Morrell, with the Oregon Employ- ment Department, said the recruitment events at Work- source Oregon’s Hermiston site can help area employ- ers come into contact with a diverse range of candi- dates in a few hours that they would have otherwise taken weeks to see applications from. Events like the one for Shearer’s on Friday have been a successful strategy in the Hermiston area, she said. “We customize recruit- ment strategies to fit the needs of the employer,” she said. She said the success of Worksource Hermiston depends on maintaining a good relationship with local employers. Agencies at Work- source Hermiston also help job seekers, offering assis- tance with applications and résumés, free workshops, skill assessments, copy/fax machines and free internet access for job-hunting. According to the employ- ment department’s data web- site qualityinfo.org, unem- ployment in Eastern Oregon hit a record low of 4.7 per- cent in July. That was down from a high point of 11.2 percent in May 2009. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. PREUS: ‘The passing of the bond was the real high moment’ Continued from 1A EO file photo Four members of a unmanned aerial test team have a lively discussion over lunch in January at Elvis’s Bar & Grill during a break from their work at the Pendleton UAS test range. INDUSTRIAL: Funding from government agencies expected Continued from 1A More immediately, a lack of available hangar space means new clients don’t have space to store the air- craft they’re testing. If the Pendleton airport had more hangars, Chrisman said, he could easily bring in three drone companies who would each bring with them 5 to 50 jobs. Because UAS technol- ogy is still relatively new, Chrisman said these compa- nies aren’t willing to invest in new hangars themselves. While Pendleton is investing a lot of its own money, funding from other government agencies is expected. Chrisman said the state has tentatively approved a new $300,000 grant to reha- bilitate one of its World War II-era hangars for UAS use. City Manager Robb Cor- bett said the city is also con- fident that it will receive $3 million from the U.S. Eco- nomic Development Admin- istration to build new han- gars, although the grant has not been awarded yet. Turner reminded Chris- man and the council about some of the responsibilities the UAS revenue would be expected to take on. With a state grant expir- ing in July, the airport will have to cover $250,000 in salaries for the range man- ager and range officer positions. Even though Chrisman said the city is on track to meet its benchmarks to slash more than $1 million off of a $1.7 million state loan to build new hangars at the airport, the city will still be responsible for paying down the balance of the debt. Lastly, the airport still owes about $2 million in interfund debt to the city. Chrisman said UAS range revenues should con- tinue to rise to meet its expenses, but he argued that an “explosive start-up” like the UAS range shouldn’t be saddled with the debt that was accrued across decades in the past. Beyond the money the UAS range is directly bring- port our students achieve their goals is inspiring. I will cherish the many memories I have made at the college and in Eastern Oregon.” Her years at BMCC brought both highs and lows. “The passing of the bond was the real high moment,” Preus said. “So many people dedicated so much of their personal time and effort to it. It was exciting to get it up and over the finish line.” The bond, which passed in 2015, funded workforce development programs, updated technology and renovated deteriorating infrastructure. An earlier $28 million bond failed by a margin of 57 to 43 per- cent. After that bond went down, Preus held listening sessions all around Uma- tilla and Morrow counties to find out why more vot- ing to city coffers, Chris- man said he’s working with Business Oregon to accu- rately measure the eco- nomic impact the range has brought to local businesses in the restaurant, retail and hospitality industries. Chrisman also said com- panies like PAE ISR, A^3 (an Airbus subsidiary), and Modern Technology Solu- tions Inc. aren’t just flying in employees from elsewhere, but also creating Pendle- ton-based positions. “It’s exciting,” he said. “They’re hiring people right here in Pendleton.” As of Tuesday evening, those three companies were advertising four jobs based in Pendleton. Chrisman said the UAS range would be a sustainable enterprise for the city, and encouraged the city to think about in terms of decades, not years. “It’s not going any- where,” he said. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0836. ers didn’t back the bond. Preus said the worst moment of her presi- dency was the shooting at Umpqua Community College near Roseburg on Oct. 1, 2015. A 26-year- old man enrolled at UCC shot a professor and eight students in a classroom. “That really rocked me back,” Preus said. “We had to take a good look at how to keep our students safe. That it could happen so close to home was devas- tating and disheartening.” Among her accomplish- ments was the expansion of career-technical educa- tion programs in Morrow County and Hermiston. She represented the col- lege on numerous local, state and national boards and committees, and formed partnerships with numerous organizations and businesses to support college efforts. Prior to coming to BMCC, Preus was the director of the Oregon Department of Commu- nity Colleges and Work- force Development, and while in the position, served as the Commis- sioner of Community Col- leges. In that position, she worked for Gov. John Kitzhaber. Now she serves a 34-member board. “I will have more bosses, but the direction will be more specific as far as advocating for community colleges and their students,” Preus said. The BMCC Board of Education will tackle the task of filling Preus’ shoes. “The board now faces a significant challenge to replace one of the most outstanding presidents BMCC has ever known,” said Chairman Chris Brown. ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0810. I have the power to play PIG: Owner unsure how someone could mistake Porky for a wild pig Continued from 1A even weighed the animal, she said, and it came to 167 pounds. Sure enough, it was Porky. How someone could mistake Porky for a wild pig was beyond her. Like the typical pot-bellied pig, she said, Porky “only cleared the ground by a couple of inches, you know.” McK- ague said she called the police. Oregon State Police Sgt. Tim Brown out of the Pendleton office said troop- ers responded and found the hunter, a 52-year-old man from Boring, a bed- room community of Port- land. The man had permis- sion to hunt on private land, Brown said, and saw the pig in the road. Brown said the man claimed he thought the pig was feral, so he shot it. The man was cooperative, Brown said, and took the trooper right to where he killed the pig. The trooper informed the hunter the pig was a pet and seized the carcass for evidence. “We’re preparing a report to send to the district attorney,” Brown said. “No citations at this point.” Oregon has no hunting license or tag requirements for taking feral pigs, but the state outlaws selling feral pig hunts. Brown said the nearest feral pigs he knows of are in Wasco County and no one local has reported any to state police. McK- ague, too, said there are no feral pigs in the area. “I want the idiot to have to suffer, to pay for this,” she said, “pay for the killing of my pet.” The East Oregonian tried to contact the hunter, who did not return messages by deadline. The EO has not used his name because he is not facing criminal charges. Brown advised any hunt- ers thinking of killing a pig to make sure it is not some- one’s pet. You inspire all of us at Pacific Power to provide the most reliable and sustainable energy possible. Every solution we create is to power you, your family, neighborhood and community. Learn how our programs can help you at PoweringGreatness.com. © 2018 Pacifi c Power