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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2018)
REGION Tuesday, November 13, 2018 East Oregonian Page 3A HERMISTON Company provides ‘cutting-edge’ bovine IFV treatments By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian An international com- pany pioneering new tech- niques of in-vitro fertil- ization for cows has its headquarters in Hermiston. The company has been operating in Hermiston since 2015 but in August re-branded from Cogent IVF to Vytelle. The com- pany provides services to the region from its Herm- iston headquarters but also has sites in Idaho, Califor- nia, Texas, Paraguay, Uru- guay and South Africa. Business director Luciano Bonilla said Vytelle is unique in several ways, including its “cutting-edge” hormone-free collection process for unfertilized eggs. The lack of stimu- lating hormones is eas- ier on the animals, allows for weekly collection and requires no shot schedule. Farmers and dairies using in-vitro fertilization can benefit from multiple calves born per year that are the biological offspring off their highest-producing milk cows, or animals that are superior in other ways. “Naturally, one cow can give one calf per year,” Bonilla said. “If they use this technique, they can get hundreds.” Farmers and dairies using Vytelle’s services choose their best cows for harvest of unfertilized eggs, Staff photo by Jade McDowell Aline, left, and Luciano Bonilla of Vytelle are pictured in the company’s lab. The screen above them shows lab- grown cow embryos ready to implant. known as oocytes, which can be done by Vytelle tech- nicians on the farm or at a collection location they have on GT Land & Cat- tle property. The process takes 10 to 15 minutes, after which the oocytes are taken to the Vytelle lab at 80383 N. Highway 395 and com- bined with sperm from a bull of the farmer’s choos- ing, using human-grade IVF equipment. Vytelle technicians then STANFIELD 3D Idapro Solutions factory catches fire By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Crews were called on Monday to a Stanfield fac- tory for a fire, one of sev- eral the business has had in the past two years. The 3D Idapro Solutions factory in Stanfield, which processes potatoes primar- ily to make dog food, had its scrubber catch fire on Monday morning. Umatilla County Fire District Battalion Chief Corey Gorham said the factory had not been oper- ating when the fire started, and he thinks it was closed for routine maintenance. He said no one was injured. Gorham said the fac- tory had recently installed a new fire suppression sys- tem, which was successful. “The fire suppression system is reactive to a fire,” he said. “It caught fire, and they turned it on. We didn’t spray a gallon of water.” The factory has had at least three other fires so far in 2018, as well as a few the previous year. The scrubber, which caught fire, is a piece of equip- ment that was installed to mitigate the smells that the factory emits. Vehicle thief crashes near Boardman A car allegedly sto- len from Boardman was involved in a police pursuit that ended in a crash Sunday night. According to the Mor- row County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy attempted to make a traffic stop in Boardman about 7:45 p.m. The driver did not stop, and the deputy pursued the vehicle west- bound onto Interstate 84. During the chase a res- ident called to report the vehicle stolen, and deputies determined it was the same vehicle. The car crashed and the driver, Jeffrey Scott Con- nors, 41, was ejected. Life Flight was called but was unable to respond due to weather conditions, and Connors was transported to Good Shepherd Med- ical Center by ground ambulance. Connors was convicted in September of fourth-de- gree assault and menacing, which constituted domestic violence. He was scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 8. That incident took place in Clackamas County. Connors had previously been living in Arizona. The interstate was closed during cleanup near the rest stop outside of Boardman at mile marker 161. Boardman Police Department and Ore- gon State Police assisted. Icy conditions were reported on roads in Mor- row County on Monday morning. grow the embryos in special incubators and a rotation serums over a seven-day period before freezing the embryos using a process Cutsforth to discuss Bryant foundation HEPPNER — Kim Cutsforth will provide an update on the Howard and Beth Bryant Foundation during the upcoming Hep- pner Chamber of Com- merce meeting. The Heppner-based foundation was recognized earlier this year for its ded- ication and efforts in creat- unique to the company, or immediately impregnating the desired number of cows. Eight people total work out of the Hermiston office. Aline Bonilla, the research and development laboratory manager, said clients of the Hermiston lab come from all over Oregon, but they serve an especially high number of dairies from the Tillamook area. Aline and Luciano are originally from Bra- zil and came to the United States for Ph.D. study and work. While they previ- ously worked in Wisconsin for Vytelle’s parent com- pany WheatSheaf Group, Aline said there were part- nerships the company had in the Columbia Basin area that made sense for them to start what was then Cogent IVF in Hermiston instead of Wisconsin. She said while most bovine IVF companies use a complicated pricing struc- ture that charges at differ- ent junctures, Vytelle’s pro- duction rate is so high that it only charges farms and dairies for the number of embryos it successfully creates. “They pay for what they get,” she said. For more information about Vytelle, visit vitelle. com or call 866-689-3477. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. ing an attractive environ- ment for the community. The no-host luncheon is Thursday, Nov. 15 at noon at Heppner City Hall. The meal, which is catered by Breaking Grounds Coffee, is $10 each. Those planning to attend need to RSVP by Tuesday, to ensure there’s adequate seating and enough food. For more information or to reserve a meal, contact 541-676-5536 or heppner- chamber@centurytel.net. FREE CAR SEAT CHECK Walmart Parking Lot Nov. 14th, 2018 • 3:00PM - 5:00PM Umatilla County upgrades big equipment PENDLETON — The Umatilla County Pub- lic Works Department is upgrading some big pieces of equipment. The county board of commissioners on Wednes- day gave its approval for the department buy a new motor grader and two dump trucks. Tom Fellows, public works director, in a memo explained the department tries to turn over graders every five years or at 5,000 hours of use to have the best possible maintenance equip- ment for the county’s gravel roads. The new John Deere grader from Pape Machin- ery, Pasco, costs almost $312,000. The county is selling its old Cat grader to Har- ney County for $125,000, according to Fellows, and those proceeds plus the dif- ference from money in the budget for capital outlay equipment and miscella- neous expenses will cover the price. The county is buying the two dump trucks from Woodpecker Truck and Equipment Inc., Pendleton, for about $147,600 each to replace older trucks. The county will sell the old ones at auction. Commissioner George Murdock noted the pur- chases were local. Fel- lows said in future months the department will look to buy another dump truck and two transport vehicle from Woodpecker, which makes equipment available on Sourcewell, a cooperative purchasing organization. 11/12-13 Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie 11/14 • 12pm The Big Heat DR. SEUSS' THE GRINCH (PG) 4:30 7:00 DR. SEUSS' THE GRINCH 3D (PG) 9:30 For a complete listing of regional events, visit easternoregonevents. com comfort and cheer Give the Gift of H amley’s BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (PG13) 3:50* 6:50 9:50 THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS (PG) 4:40 7:10 9:40 HUNTER KILLER (R) 4:00 6:40 9:20 G I F T C A R D S AVA I L A B L E for all occasions, in any amount HALLOWEEN (R) 4:50 7:20 10:00 BAZAAR Gifts, Crafts and Bake Sale 1350 NW Carden Ave, Pendleton. OR. November 16 & 17, 2018 9AM to 6PM Seeking Vendors $25 per table. Call Gann 541-561-3024 DID YOU KNOW… 7 out of 10 children are improperly restrained for car travel? Let us help you make sure your child is as sate as possible! Our Fully trained Child Passenger safety Technicians are ready to help you. We off er our services free of charge. Come visit us at one of our Car Seat Check Events, or call to make a private appointment. To learn more or to schedule a visit, call (541) 278-2627 * Matinee Pricing H amley S teakhouse & S aloon wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 8 S E C O U RT, P E N D L E T O N • 5 4 1 . 2 7 8 . 1 1 0 0 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 FREE HELP WITH MEDICARE The Hermiston SHIBA (Senior Health Insurance Benefits Office has certified volunteers to help with Medicare questions. FREE service is available to people with Medicare, (or eligible for Medicare) & their families and caregivers. Assistance) CAR SEAT AGE GUIDELINES: • Rear facing = Birth to age 2+ • Forward-Facing with Harness = Ages 2 to 5+ • Booster Seat = Age 5+ until child is 4’9” or age 8 and adult belt fi ts properly • Children ages 12 and under should never ride in the front seat. One on One Consultations: SHIBA office located in the Good Shepherd Medical Group Lobby Area. Call 541-667-3507 to schedule an appointment with a certified SHIBA volunteer 2801 St. Anthony Way Pendleton, OR 97801 www.sahpendleton.org