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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 2018)
BOYS HOOPS: Pendleton tips off season with win over Baker City | PAGE 1B THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2018 143rd Year, No. 31 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD BMCC project gets $13M in Brown’s budget By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian The Blue Mountain Regional Training Center, formerly known as FARM II, just received a $13 mil- lion endorsement from the governor. Gov. Kate Brown released Wednesday her rec- ommended budget for the 2019-2021 biennium, which included allocating $8 mil- lion from state lottery bonds toward the Blue Mountain Community College project. Combined with the $5 million the state has already budgeted for multi-use agri- cultural facility, the state should cover the training center’s estimated $12.5 million cost. Connie Green, BMCC’s interim president, said the training center’s inclu- sion in the budget proposal wasn’t just an achievement for the college, but a feather in the cap for the whole community. She credited BMCC’s project partners for help- ing the training center get this far. The city of Pendle- ton, Umatilla County, and Port of Umatilla all contrib- uted $150,000 toward the training center. The Pendle- ton Round-Up Association is providing the college with land and the InterMountain Education Service District also recently joined in the partnership. As it’s currently con- ceived, BMCC plans to build two-story, 87,092-square- foot facility with class- rooms and lab space for its veterinary program and an indoor arena that would host the BMCC rodeo team and other equine events. Pendleton Mayor John Turner, who worked on the project when he was BMCC’s president, was excited by the development. “It’s a huge step for- ward,” he said. Turner said Brown sup- ported the project because of its potential to boost career technical education and be an economic driver for the community. Local officials expect the training center’s indoor arena will draw equine events during the winter, typically a slow time in Pendleton’s tourism schedule. In October, the city and Round-Up engineered a land See BUDGET/8A UMATILLA Umatilla County approves $17K to help bail out AOC By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Umatilla County is giving $17,377.38 to help the Association of Oregon Counties cover more than $900,000 it misspent. The county board of commissioners voted 3-0 at its meeting Wednesday in Pendleton to approve the handout. County Commissioner George Murdock said the board anticipated the expense, which will come out of funds for member- ship dues and the like. “This whole issue has been under discussion and consideration for a year,” he said, and Ore- gon’s 36 counties were involved in the process. The association is an intergovernmental orga- nization that lobbies for Oregon’s counties, which in turn pay annual dues. The Umatilla County Board of Commission- ers in March approved $23,256.95 for the dues. An audit in August revealed the association over five years took at least $900,000 from its county road program to cover general operations, according to reporting by The Oregonian. Murdock said the association used the money for “programs and services with good intentions of restoring it, but that didn’t happen.” The association on a Nov. 8 invoice to Uma- tilla County stated the AOC board of direc- tors on Oct. 8 voted to bill counties a “one-time assessment” to replace the road funds “borrowed See AOC/8A Staff photo by Kathy Aney The eastbound lanes of the Interstate 82 bridge at Umatilla won’t open in 2018 as expected. Bridge won’t reopen until spring or summer By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian T he Washington State Department of Transportation doesn’t know exactly when the eastbound Interstate 82 bridge across the Columbia River will reopen, but it won’t be in 2018. The department had previously said con- struction on the bridge deck near Umatilla would finish in October, then pushed that timeline to December. But on Wednesday in an email to the East Oregonian, spokeswoman Jackie Ramirez said the bridge that previously took drivers into Oregon will continue to be closed through the winter because crews can- not finish work on the bridge until the weather warms up again. “Crews will finish pouring the concrete once the weather gets better and completion of the bridge will be in spring/summer of 2019,” she said. Ramirez said there was some “additional repair work” that cropped up unexpectedly as contractors worked on replacing the bridge deck, and that extra work put them too far behind to finish up concrete overlay pours before cold weather set in. A smaller crew will continue throughout the winter on repairs that can be completed in cold weather. The eastbound bridge, built in 1955, had originally carried traffic to and from Oregon before a second westbound bridge was added See BRIDGE/8A HERMISTON Hamm marks final Farm Fair with talk of spuds, the future By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian At Wednesday’s Herm- iston Farm Fair, the con- ference room at the East- ern Oregon Trade and Event Center was packed with growers and scientists lis- tening to Phil Hamm talk about potatoes. Hamm’s presentation, “What I Would Do to Man- age Diseases if I was a Potato Grower,” was his last as an Oregon State Univer- sity employee. The longtime plant pathologist and profes- sor will retire in summer of 2019 after a nearly 30-year career with the college, and a nearly 45-year career studying plant diseases. He kept the crowd involved during the half- hour seminar, covering the basics of four common potato diseases and how to avoid them. “Potato Virus Y does two things,” he said, letting his professorial side come out. “Someone tell me.” He noted that the virus, which reduces tuber yield and quality, is difficult to control, and is vectored — or spread — by aphids as well as seed-borne. His rec- ommendation to growers: Produce PVY-free seed, and make sure the seed has been tested thoroughly. After the presentation, Hamm tried to leave but got sidetracked about a dozen times in conversations with people who have known and worked with him for years. “That’s the sad part — this is what I’m going to miss when I finally retire,” he said. “I had several grow- ers testify in front of the Ways and Means committee, and I realized, they’re not my stakeholders. They’re See HAMM/8A Staff photo by Kathy Aney Phil Hamm, director of the Hermiston Agricultural Re- search & Extension Center, chats with another partici- pant on Wednesday at the Hermiston Farm Fair. Hamm announced he will retire this summer. CHI St. Anthony Hospital Family Clinic is recognized as a Patient -Centered Primary Care Home. What does that mean for you? • Better-coordinated care. • Healthcare providers who will help connect you • Listening to your concerns and answering with the care you need in a safe and timely way. questions. • Healthcare providers who play an active role in your health. • After-hours nurse consultation. 844.724.8632 3001 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton WWW.SAHPENDLETON.ORG Mon through Thurs, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. • Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sat and Sun, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Walk-ins are welcome but appointments are preferred.