STUDENTS WALK OUT
ON ANNIVERSARY OF
SCHOOL SHOOTING
SNOWFALL BREAKS
PENDLETON’S
FEBRUARY RECORD
REGION, A3
NORTHWEST, A2
E O
AST
143rd Year, No. 87
REGONIAN
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2019
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
PENDLETON
Your Weekend
Fire station takes shape
• Imbibe @ Blue brings
together best wines, beers,
spirits, chocolate and
cheese at BMCC, Pendleton
• Heart to Heart Candle-
light Dinner at First Chris-
tian Church, Milton-Free-
water
• Valentine’s Dance at Arc
Umatilla County, Hermiston
FOR TIMES AND LOCATIONS
CHECK COMING EVENTS, A7
Weekend Weather
FRI
SAT
SUN
40/27
36/24
31/20
Trump will
sign deal,
call national
emergency
The Senate easily
approves border
security compromise
Associated Press
After passing a bond in 2017, the city of Pendleton purchased the
west end of the property from St. Anthony for a new fire station. As
the city constructs its new facility, St. Anthony is still trying to sell
the rest of the property.
S.E. Byers Pl.
Pendleton
Woolen
Mills
S.E. 16th Street
City of Pendleton
fire station property
St. Anthony
property
S.E. Court Place
Future S.E.
15th Street
S.E. 17th Street
See Deal, Page A8
The 1400 block of S.E. Court Avenue
S.E. 14th Street
WASHINGTON — Con-
gress steamed toward lop-
sided approval of a border
security compromise Thurs-
day that would avert a second
painful government shutdown,
but a new confrontation was
ignited — this time over Pres-
ident Donald Trump’s plan to
bypass lawmakers and declare
a national emergency to siphon
billions from other federal cof-
fers for his wall on the Mexican
boundary.
Money in the bill for bor-
der barriers, about $1.4 billion,
is far below the $5.7 billion
Trump insisted he needed to
build a wall along the Mexican
boundary and would fi nance
just a quarter of the 200-plus
miles his proposal would con-
struct. The White House said
he’d sign the legislation but act
on his own to get the rest, a
move sure to bring legal action
and other moves to block him.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Workers cut a section of pipe for a sprinkler system while working on the building site for the new fi re station on Wednesday in Pendleton.
200 feet
S.E. Court Avenue
30
30
Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
First tenants on old St. Anthony property
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
D
ry winter months aren’t usually
a good sign for fi refi ghters, but
a late start to the snow season
could allow the Pendleton Fire Depart-
ment to actually reap some rewards over
the summer.
Joseph Hull, the director business
development/operations for McCormack
Construction Co., said the project to
build a new fi re station at 1455 S.E. Court
Ave. is on-budget and on track to com-
plete the new facility by the end of July.
“We were blessed this year with this
weather,” he said.
Pendleton voters passed a $10 million
bond in 2017 to primarily build the new
station, and the city hired McCormack
to act as the general contractor and con-
struction manager.
Hull said the foundation and roof
needed to be in place before the snow
arrived for the season, and given that
Pendleton didn’t see signifi cant snow-
fall until February, construction crews
were able to have the interior sealed well
before the snow touched down.
While the inclement weather stopped
work on the new Southeast 15th Street
that will fl ank the department’s east-
ern side, Hull said McCormack simply
moved workers to projects that needed
to be done inside the building until the
weather clears up.
See Station, Page A8
Hermiston fi refi ghters
climb stairs to fi ght cancer
Hermiston fi refi ghters
to participate in stair
climb to raise money
for cancer research
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
Firefi ghters are no stranger to
scaling heights and putting them-
selves in strenuous situations to
save others.
But in March, 10 Hermiston
fi refi ghters will voluntarily climb
69 fl oors of stairs, covering 1,356
steps in a quest to raise money for
leukemia and lymphoma research.
This is the 10th year that the
Umatilla County Fire District 1
will have a team at the SCOTT
Firefi ghter Stair Climb. The event,
which takes place at Seattle’s
Columbia Center on March 10,
draws fi refi ghters from around the
western United States, as well as
a few international participants,
according to UCFD Battalion
Chief Corey Gorham.
Gorham said over the past nine
years UCFD’s fundraising efforts
have yielded more than $10,000,
all from community donations.
See Climb, Page A8
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston battalion chief Corey Gorham and his daughter, Maggie, 12,
who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012. Gorham and a team of Herm-
iston fi refi ghters will be competing in the SCOTT Firefi ghter Stair Climb, a
cancer fundraiser, in Seattle, on March 10.
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.