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East Oregonian
Friday, October 19, 2018
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The sun rises over the Blue Mountains as a balloon operated by Dorothy Burr of Salt Lake City, Utah, takes off from Howard-Tietan Park on Thursday in Walla Walla. Thurs-
day was the second of five days of balloon flights during the 44th annual Walla Walla Balloon Stampede.
SHAKEOUT: First goal is to continue investing in seismic upgrades of schools
Continued from 1A
mic upgrades in schools and
on bridges.
Scientists have found that
the Cascadia Subduction
Zone, a 600-mile fault that
runs from Northern Califor-
nia to British Columbia and
is located about 70 to 100
miles off the West Coast,
could see a massive earth-
quake. Geologists estimate
that there is a 7 to 12 percent
chance that a major earth-
quake and tsunami will rock
the Pacific Northwest within
the next 50 years, and a 37
percent chance that Southern
Oregon and Northern Cali-
fornia will experience a large
earthquake in that time.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
released a plan this week
called “Resiliency 2025,”
which lays out six goals for
earthquake preparation state-
wide. The first goal listed
is to continue state invest-
ments in seismic upgrades of
schools and emergency ser-
vice buildings in Oregon.
Brown’s plan lists three
programs that need to be
funded, including the Ore-
gon School Capital Improve-
ment Matching Program.
By 2021, the plan says, the
state must also have a formal
assessment of school seismic
rehabilitation programs, and
complete an economic fore-
cast for how to reduce risk
and fund emergency services
like hospitals, fire stations
and dispatch centers.
Other goals include
implementing a statewide
earthquake warning system
by 2023, ensuring 250,000
vulnerable homes have two
week’s worth of supplies,
and strengthening local
emergency
management
organizations to have bet-
ter staging areas and supply
chains.
According to the state’s
report and action plan, Ore-
gon’s Department of Geol-
ogy and Mineral Industries
conducted an assessment in
1999, which underscored the
state’s lack of preparation
for a major seismic event,
and predicted an economic
loss of $12 billion and more
than 7,800 casualties. It pre-
dicted that 17,300 house-
holds would be displaced,
and more than 12,400 peo-
ple would need emergency
shelter.
In Hermiston, two of the
elementary schools are more
than 35 years old, and dis-
trict officials have repeatedly
called for upgrades to the
buildings.
Bacon said Highland
Hills, which was built in
1980, has not been exam-
ined specifically for vulnera-
bilities during an earthquake,
but he said the layout of the
school could cause problems
after one.
“One of the challenges
with an open campus is
accessibility to the cam-
pus during an emergency,”
Bacon said. “The ability to
Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan
First-grade students at Highland Hills Elementary
Schools practice ducking under desks during a state-
wide earthquake drill on Thursday.
keep our students from pub-
lic access becomes a real
challenge.”
Hermiston Communica-
tions Officer Maria Duron
said the district has not
recently applied for any
grants for seismic upgrades.
“One of the challenges with an open campus is accessibility to the campus during an emergency”
— Jake Bacon, Highland Hills Elementary principal
NASA: One of the airport’s challenges is finding a way to build more hangar space
Continued from 1A
the public skies, Jacobs
said NASA is acting as
the “middleman” in this
demonstration.
Jacobs said that if the
demonstrations put on by
PAE and other two compa-
nies selected out of 88 pro-
posals is successful, the
federal government could
use the technology as the
standard for future drones.
Abling said the NASA proj-
ect will mean more activ-
ity at the range as PAE ISR
ramps up operations over
the next two years ahead of
the demonstration.
PAE ISR has seen a
quick rise to prominence at
the Pendleton airport, mov-
ing from a back room at
the range’s Mission Con-
trol and Innovation Center
to the massive World War
II-era hangar near the air-
port terminal.
Steve Chrisman, Pend-
leton airport manager and
economic
development
director, said the hangar
used to act as aircraft stor-
age and a “giant aviary”
that rented for $1 per year.
The city recently agreed
to reroof the facility for
$164,000, but PAE ISR has
made some renovations of
its own.
The drone company is
installing new floors and
converting some of the side
rooms into a lobby, meeting
room, and office space.
All of this has been
made possible because the
Sterling,
Virginia-based
company’s business is
expanding.
In addition to the NASA
partnership, PAE ISR
already has a contract with
the Navy to develop Res-
olute Eagle for surveil-
lance and reconnaissance
missions.
Ken Bisconer, PAE
ISR’s West Coast director
of flight operations, said
the company’s personnel
presence in Pendleton has
grown from 10 to 27, and
he’s currently looking to
hire three more people.
Bisconer said he’s hired
four people from the Ore-
gon Army National Guard’s
Pendleton facility and two
more who were previously
stationed in Pendleton and
wanted to move back.
Among the roles Bis-
coner is looking to fill is
an electric engineer posi-
tion. He also prefers hir-
ing locally because they’ll
know where to find the
right parts and already have
a network of connections.
Bisconer anticipated that
the company’s operation in
Pendleton could double
within the next year.
“It’s just a crazy time for
us right now,” he said.
Bisconer also high-
lighted the company’s work
in the community, which
includes donating technol-
ogy to a Pendleton Parks
and Recreation drone pro-
gram and opening discus-
sions with Blue Mountain
Community College about
starting a UAS training
class.
For Abling, it’s proof
that the city’s early invest-
ments in the command cen-
ter and other infrastructure
were worth the money.
Bisconer said PAE ISR
considered several places
to locate their drone testing
operation, but Pendleton’s
resources and customer ser-
vice put them over the top.
“If you don’t have it,
they’ll find some place that
will,” Abling said.
But as PAE ISR and
other companies start to
grow at the airport, the
UAS range could become
a victim of its own success.
Bisconer said he antici-
pated that PAE ISR would
need an additional hangar
in six to nine months.
With no vacant hangars
to spare, Chrisman said one
of the airport’s main chal-
lenges is finding a way to
build more hangar space to
meet demand.
Andrew Schwartz, M.D.
NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS
Family Medicine Physician
3001 St. Anthony Way
Suite #125
Pendleton, OR 97801
541-966-0535
www.sahpendleton.org
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Staff photo by E.J. Harris
PAE ISR has moved into a hangar at the Pendleton
UAS Range, and has recently signed an agreement to
begin developing drone technology with NASA.
3001 St. Anthony Way
Pendleton, Oregon
www.sahpendleton.org