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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2018)
REGION Saturday, October 6, 2018 East Oregonian Page 3A BOARDMAN Lost Valley still in deep manure with state agency Dairy failing to meet wastewater rules even with federal oversight By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI EO Media Group PORTLAND — Wastewater problems at a controversial Ore- gon dairy have persisted despite a federal trustee taking control of the operation last month, state farm regulators said during a hearing Friday. Lost Valley Farm of Board- man has repeatedly run into trou- ble with the Oregon Department of Agriculture since the facility began operating last year. The financial problems of its owner, Greg te Velde, led him to file for bankruptcy protection to prevent creditors from auc- tioning off the dairy’s herd to make money available for debt repayment. On Sept. 13, a bankruptcy judge ordered a U.S. trustee, Randy Sugarman, to take con- trol of the dairy due to te Vel- de’s spending company money on gambling and otherwise fail- ing to properly account for funds and loans. The change in operators occurred shortly before te Velde faced a court-ordered Oct. 5 dead- line to begin bringing the facility into regulatory compliance with wastewater rules. Nina Englander, an attorney representing ODA in legal pro- ceedings against te Velde, said in a circuit court hearing Friday she recognized the transition in oper- ators explains some of the contin- ued problems at the dairy but the state government wants to avoid future lapses. Notably, wastewater recently overtopped one manure lagoon at the facility while the wind sprayed wastewater from another one, she said. A pipe on the property was also found by ODA inspectors to be “spewing liquid manure” when the facility was being flushed, Englander said. “I offer that as an example of the systemic problems going on,” she said. The dairy must empty enough wastewater from its lagoons to make 75 acre-feet of storage capacity available by Nov. 13. However, there were recently only 26 acre-feet of capacity in the lagoons, down from 47 acre- feet in August, Englander said. Elizabeth Howard, an attor- ney representing the dairy opera- tor, said that despite the setbacks, the facility had made “substan- tial progress” in meeting a rem- edies order issued by Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Kelly Skye. The judge issued that order in August when te Velde was found to be in contempt of court for violating an earlier settlement deal with ODA. The dairy has completed the switch to using recycled water — which is intended to reduce its generation of wastewater — and plans to soon begin applying manure from the lagoons to about 1,500 acres once the current crops are harvested, Howard said. The manure application is con- tingent on soil tests and approval from ODA to ensure the field’s nutrients remain at a level that can agronomically be absorbed by crops. Emptying the lagoons will be necessary to install the steel gauges required by the court’s remedies order, she said. The dairy had also hit a “bump in the road” regarding the instal- lation of water flow meters at the facility because it was difficult to figure out the exact sources of water and where it flowed, How- ard said. PUBLIC SAFETY LOG BOARDMAN THURSDAY 5:59 a.m. - A Heppner woman on Southeast Court Street reported a man was stumbling around near her house and may have been intoxicated. She said the man may have come from the Dodge Caravan in the nearby alley. A Morrow County sheriff’s deputy responded and found the Dodge broke down. The deputy took the man to the vehicle to meet a mechanic. 9:18 a.m. - Staff at the high school in Irrigon reported a student had vaping materials. 10:26 a.m. - A Milton- Freewater caller reported graffiti on a building on the 200 block of North Main Street. 10:39 a.m. - A woman reported the theft of her car from West Alleluia Avenue, Hermiston. She said the crime occurred between midnight and 8 in the morning. 11:48 a.m. - Pendleton police took a report for a burglary at Pendleton Square Apartments Phase I, 300 S.W. 28th Drive. 4:28 p.m. - The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office took a report for a burglary at Green Acres Mobile Park, 53752 Appleton Road, Milton-Freewater. 5:32 p.m. - A Hermiston resident on Southwest 11th Street told police she received a call from a con man claiming Clinic grant to fund opioid treatment By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton firefighters disembark their fire engine while responding to a vehicle fire at the intersection of Northwest Ellis Avenue and 12th Street on Thursday in Pend- leton. he was in Texas with a warrant for her and would come to her house Friday. 6:20 p.m. - A resident on the 200 block of Northeast Third Street, Irrigon, reported the neighbor’s dog gets into his yard and tries to attack his dogs. The dog’s owners have yet to address this ongoing problem, he said, and one of the children wrapped a blanket around his arm and told the dog to attack. 6:51 p.m. - An Irrigon woman reported a man was harassing her with text messages. A deputy contacted both parties and warned them to stop contacting each other or face possible arrest. They understood. 10:33 p.m. - Pendleton police responded to the Rainbow Cafe, 209 S. Main St., for a local man threatening the bartender. BRIEFLY BMCC to open Veteran’s Resource Center Student veterans will soon have a place at Blue Moun- tain Community College to study, meet other veter- ans, and find resources. The BMCC Veteran’s Resource Center will open in Morrow Hall, 2411 NW Carden Ave., Pendleton, on Wednesday, Oct. 10, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. The Veteran’s Resource Center was funded by a $50,000 grant from the Ore- gon Department of Veter- an’s Affairs that the college received last year. Student veterans will speak at the center’s grand opening, as well as officers from the state veteran’s affairs office. “Opening the Veteran’s Resource Center is an excit- ing opportunity for BMCC A water dye test that “turned it green and blue” has resolved that issue and flow meters will likely be installed within about a month, she said. The facility expects to have a digital weather station installed by Nov. 13 and a new manager — Joel Edmonds, a dairy nutri- ent and management consultant — was recently hired to run the dairy, Howard said. Getting the dairy into regula- tory compliance is the top prior- ity of the federal trustee, Randy Sugarman, she said. “We’re going to do what needs to be done, period,” said Sugar- man, who is a longtime certified public accountant with experi- ence in agriculture. Howard said the trustee does not plan to challenge whether the court-ordered remedies sanc- tion for te Velde applies to him even though it’s “a gray area of the law.” to better connect with and provide resources to our stu- dents who are veterans,” BMCC President Cam Preus said. “We are so thankful for their service to our coun- try, so providing a place for them to gather, study and gain resources is one way we can show our gratitude and help them toward their educational goals.” Drotzmann, Chalmers back on LOC board Hermiston and Pendle- ton have representation on the League of Oregon Cities board of directors for 2019. Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann and Pendle- ton Councilor Paul Chalm- ers will both return to the board after being elected by the League’s membership during its annual conference in Eugene on Sept. 29. Greg Evans, a city coun- cilor for Eugene, will serve as president; Jake Boone, Cottage Grove city coun- cilor, will serve as vice pres- ident and Keith Mays (Sher- wood) will serve as treasurer. There are nine other direc- tors on the board besides Drotzmann and Chalmers. The League of Oregon Cities is an association of all 241 of Oregon’s incorpo- rated cities. It serves as the lobbying and networking arm of Oregon’s cities and provides resources, such as trainings and templates for ordinances. Book Fair benefits Pilot Rock school A children’s book sale, games, raffle, fire truck tours and a hot dog dinner (by donation) are featured during a Book Fair in Pilot Rock. Several area businesses have donated gift cards for the event, said Christy Campbell, librarian at Pilot Rock Elementary School. Money raised will go toward the purchase of new books for the school library. The event is Thursday, Oct. 11 from 4:30-7 p.m. at Pilot Rock Elementary School, 200 Vern McGowan Drive. HIT THE TRAIL SALE FREE Drive-Thru Flu Shot Clinic October 11th-13th % Storewide! 30 OFF % 60 OFF Men's, Women's and Children's clothing, gifts, jewelry, signs, etc... Select Clothing and Gifts Pendleton Round-Up & Happy Canyon Gift Store 1114 Court Ave SW • Pendleton 8:30-5pm Weekdays • 10-4pm Weekends Shop online www.leterbuck.com October 16 & 17 9AM to 2PM Pendleton Convention Center Parking Lot Flu shots are offered free of charge (no insurance necessary) and available to everyone ages 18 and older. For more info call 541-278-3262 2801 St. Anthony Way Pendleton, OR 97801 www.sahpendleton.org A Boardman clinic is one of more than two dozen in the state that will receive federal funding to fight the opi- oid crisis. Columbia River Community Health Services in Boardman received $285,000 from a grant through Health Resources and Services Administration. Seth Whitmer, CEO of Columbia River Community Health Services, said the grant was noncompetitive, but agencies had to offer a template of how they would use the funds, and those plans had to be specific to mental health or substance abuse treatment. Whitmer said while the specifics have not been con- firmed, Columbia River Health will likely use the money to train staff, and to hire new people with experience dealing with mental health and substance abuse issues. The clinic already has a licensed clinical social worker, who works directly with medical providers to help patients with mental health issues. “Having this embedded into our medical practice makes people feel more comfortable dealing with men- tal health issues, without the stigma of a mental health clinic,” Whitmer said. They hope to do something similar with substance abuse treatment — integrating care with regular medical services. “People abuse drugs or alcohol, and they can’t get out of the health rut they’re in,” he said. “Providers don’t have that training, so getting someone else to come in with that training — we’re hoping to accomplish that as well.” Whitmer said they will also spend some of the grant money on medication disposal units — drop boxes where people can safely get rid of prescription pills. About 30 clinics from around Oregon received grants from the same program, including Asher Community Health Center in Wheeler County, La Pine Community Health Center, Mosaic Medical in the Bend area, and One Community Health in Hood River. 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