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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 2018)
REGION Friday, November 9, 2018 PENDLETON East Oregonian Page 3A HERMISTON Health clinic seeks to open center Lack of volunteers delays opening of warming station By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian The empty office build- ing at the former site of St. Anthony Hospital could become home to a new Pendleton health clinic. Columbia River Commu- nity Health Services, Board- man, is looking to buy and renovate the three-story building with the help of a Community Development Block Grant from Business Oregon. The county board of commissioners voted 3-0 at its meeting Wednesday in Pendleton for the county to serve as the grant applicant. Columbia River Health also runs Umatilla County’s school-based health center. County counsel Doug Olsen said the grant would be for $1 million to $1.5 million. The three-story, 148,000-square-foot build- ing’s real market value is nearly $311,000, according to county records. No one has occupied the building in at least three years. Seth Withmer, CEO of Columbia River Health, told the board his organization is looking to expand into Pendleton. “What we hope to bring to the community is basi- cally primary care services,” he said, from family prac- tice and pediatrics to den- tal and mental health ser- vices. He also said Umatilla and Morrow counties have a high rate of amblyopia, or lazy eye, but not many By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Staff photo by Kathy Aney Columbia River Health Services may purchase this medical office building located next to the former site of St. Anthony Hospital. optometrists treat those patients because they are on Medicaid. “We’ve been trying to fill that need in Boardman, but we need a larger area that we can set up services to have that be our central base to providing that,” Withmer said. “We’re hopeful that can be here.” That new center would provide services to residents in Pendleton and the east- ern portion of the county, he said, but making that a real- ity is going to take money. The site at 1455 S.E. Court Place needs “quite a bit of work” to make it functional, Withmer said, including a parking lot. He also explained Columbia River Community Health Services receives some grant funding from the federal government and the state provides an enhanced Medicaid rate. “We take care of every- one regardless of their abil- ity to pay,” Wither said. “It’s not a free service. We require everyone to pay something.” Olsen said the county would file the application, manage the grant and serve as the property owner for five years. Laura Prado with PARC Resources, Weston, said that’s a concern. She said PARC is con- sulting on the project, help- ing prepare the grant and seeking other funds. But if the county held the title, she said, that could inhibit Columbia River Commu- nity Health from obtain- ing loans. Rather than ced- ing ownership, she said, the state would allow the parties to make a deal to limit the use of the building for the five years the county admin- isters the grant. Olsen said the county would prefer that. The grant application deadline is Dec. 31, and the next deadline comes July 31, 2019. Olsen on Thurs- day said Columbia River Community Health Services seems determined to have that application in this year. Ranchers volunteer to test new wolf deterrence strategy Questions loom about cost, impact on management By GEORGE PLAVEN EO Media Group Two Eastern Oregon ranchers have volunteered to test a new strategy aimed at preventing further con- flicts between wolves and livestock. Rodger Huffman, pres- ident of the Union County Cattlemen’s Association, and Cynthia Warnock, presi- dent of the Wallowa County Stockgrowers Association, will work with the Ore- gon Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop site-spe- cific wolf plans at their respective ranches, empha- sizing the use of non-lethal deterrents up front to mini- mize predation. The proposal was outlined by a group of stakeholders tasked with finding common ground on a five-year update of the state’s Wolf Conserva- tion and Management Plan, which is now three years past due. Participants in the work group include a mix of farm- ing, ranching, hunting and environmental interests, led by Deb Nudelman, a profes- sional mediator hired from Portland. ODFW staff wrote a draft seven-step strategy, which they presented back to the group during a conference Demolition training exercises scheduled for Nov. 14 BOARDMAN — Residents may see, feel or hear explosions at the Naval Weapons System Training Facility in Boardman on Wednesday, Nov. 14, but it will just be a training. Courtesy of ODFW Two adult wolves from the Walla Walla Pack were caught on a remote trail camera in northern Umatilla County in this file photo. Ranchers Cynthia Warnock and Rodger Huffman have agreed to test a new proposal for deterring wolf attacks on livestock in Eastern Oregon, where most of the state’s wolf population resides. call on Nov. 5. It essentially calls for wildlife biologists to meet with farmers and ranch- ers on the ground, selecting non-lethal wolf deterrents, such as range riders, alarm boxes and electrified fenc- ing based on individual oper- ations and geography. If wolves continue to attack livestock — what the state terms “chronic dep- redation” — then ranchers could ask ODFW to kill the offending predators. Produc- ers would not be eligible for a kill order if they do not have a conflict deterrence plan in place, though they could still apply for state compensation for lost or dead animals. Wolf advocates say the site-specific plans will prior- itize and make the best use of non-lethal tools, while ranch- ers hope the proposal gives them a quicker and clearer path to dealing with problem wolves. “I think we all want to make sure that whatever end product we have is as clear and transparent as possible for everybody,” said Ama- roq Weiss, West Coast wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. Questions, however, con- tinued to loom among the group about whether ODFW has the money or manpower to implement such a pro- gram. That is where Huffman and Warnock come in, agree- ing to test the strategy at their own ranches in the heart of Oregon’s wolf country. Huffman, who ranches in Union, where wolves from the Catherine pack are active, said it remains to be seen who will pay for non-lethal The Navy announced that during daylight hours the Explo- sive Ordnance Disposal Mobil Unit 11 from Bangor, Wash., will be at the Boardman facil- ity on Wednesday for a routine demolition training. “Dust clouds, smoke, audible detonations and ground vibra- tion may result from these oper- ations,” the news release stated. “Safety and fire prevention pre- cautions have been taken to ensure operations pose no threat to people or to property.” 11/9-11 Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie 11/14 • 12pm The Big Heat DR. SEUSS' THE GRINCH (PG) 11:50* 4:30 7:00 DR. SEUSS' THE GRINCH 3D (PG) 2:10* 9:30 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (PG13) 12:50* 3:50* 6:50 9:50 THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS (PG) 12:00* 2:20* 4:40 7:10 9:40 HUNTER KILLER (R) 1:20* 4:00 6:40 9:20 HALLOWEEN (R) 12:10* 2:30* 4:50 7:20 10:00 * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 tools and whether ranchers themselves would bear the added cost. “I think it comes down to (ODFW) staff, and where they are at the time,” Huff- man said. “It may be a whole new program within the agency, when it’s all said and done with.” Before wolves returned to Oregon, Huffman said he checked on cattle once every few weeks. Now, he checks on cattle at least three times per week, and sometimes even that is not enough. ODFW has investigated one dead calf on Huffman’s prop- erty, in 2016, though by the time they found the animal after five days it was too late to confirm it as a wolf kill. “There really wasn’t much left of it,” Huffman said. Warnock’s ranch near Imnaha, is also frequented by wolves in far northeast Wal- lowa County. Apart from funding, the group also disagrees about the timeline for chronic dep- redation, which ODFW is proposing at three confirmed kills within a 12-month period under Phase III of the wolf plan. Environmental- ists also say ODFW should not automatically default to killing wolves if the thresh- old for chronic depredation is met. The next work group meet- ing is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 27 in Pendleton. The Hermiston Warm- ing Station has pushed back its opening date due to lack of volunteers. Board chair Teesie Hill said unless they get a last-minute surge of vol- unteers they will open on Dec. 1 instead of Nov. 19 as originally planned. If they don’t get enough volunteers by then, she said, there’s a possibility the board could decide to not open at all. Another round of train- ing is scheduled for Tues- day from 6-9 p.m., Thurs- day from 6-9 p.m., Nov. 16 from noon to 3 p.m., early Nov. 17 from mid- night to 3 a.m. and later on Nov. 17 from noon to 3 p.m. Training sessions are at the Warming Station, 1075 S. Highway 395 in Hermiston, and no RSVP is needed. All volunteers must have attended a train- ing this season, be over the age of 18 and pass a back- ground check. The board is asking for donations of $10 to cover background checks. Volunteers set their own schedules by signing up for shifts they are willing to cover. They can work 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., 7 p.m. to midnight, midnight to 4 a.m. or 4-6:30 a.m. No one ever works alone. Right now, Hill said, the station has 53 volunteers for the season. If everyone works one shift per week, 49 volunteers are needed per week, but not all vol- unteers are willing to work every week. Last year, the Hermis- ton Warming Station pro- vided a warm place to sleep for 84 individuals. Hill said she didn’t know why they were struggling to get volunteers this year, but she had noticed there were other organizations also short volunteers this season. For more information about volunteering, con- tact Hill at 541-289-2150. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. Port of Morrow sues for damage from train derailment BOARDMAN — The Port of Morrow is suing Union Pacific Railroad and Pacific Ethanol Colum- bia for nearly $340,000 for a train derailment last September. Patrick Gregg, attor- ney for the port, filed the pleading on Aug. 3 in Mor- row County, according to circuit court records, and Union Pacific and Pacific Ethanol received their copies four days later. The two companies have yet to respond to the court filing. Pacific Ethanol oper- ates a fuel ethanol man- ufacturing facility at the port in Boardman. Union Pacific operates trains that deliver the corn for the biofuel. According to the pleading, a train car- rying corn for Pacific Eth- anol arrived at the plant on Sept. 15, 2017. Fron- tier Rail employees took control of the locomo- tive when the train crossed from Union Pacific’s mainline onto the port’s tracks, and Pacific Ethanol employees the next day unloaded the corn through a door on the underside of each railcar. After the unloading, Frontier Rail moved the train and returned its con- trol to Union Pacific, but the train remained on port tracks. That afternoon, five empty railcars derailed. The port in the lawsuit accused Pacific Etha- nol’s employees of fail- ing to close one or more of the bottom doors, which caught and dragged on the tracks. The port repaired the tracks at a cost of $39,944.47 and received no compensation. Crews also moved 14 other Union Pacific rail- cars from the crash site. Those cars remain on port property, according to the pleading, in spite of the port’s demands for the railroad company to move them. The port seeks $299,250 or $75 per car per day, for storing the cars. In all, the port seeks $339,194.47 plus attorney fees and court costs. The circuit has yet to set any dates in the case. Gregg had no comment. A representative for Pacific Ethanol did not return call by deadline Thursday. Union Pacific issued the following statement: “Both parties have been in contact with one another and are working to resolve this.” For a complete listing of regional events, visit easternoregonevents.com
