BUCKS WIN FIRST
ROUND OF IMC
TOURNAMENT
AMSTAD FARMS DONATES
65,000 POUNDS OF POTATOES
TO OREGON FOOD BANK
SPORTS, B1
REGION, A3
E O
AST
143rd Year, No. 92
REGONIAN
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2019
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Your Weekend
PENDLETON
Airport battle stays grounded
• Inland Northwest
Orchestra, Pendleton
• “Godspell,” Blue Mountain
Community College
• Pig Out Dinner/Dance,
Hermiston
FOR TIMES AND LOCATIONS
SEE COMING EVENTS, A5
Weekend Weather
FRI
SAT
SUN
39/28
39/27
32/21
Lost
Valley
Farm sells
to lone
bidder
Associated Press
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Harold Nelson, owner of Pendleton Aircraft Service, works on removing the oil fi lter on an Air Tractor while performing an annual in-
spection on the aircraft Thursday in his hanger at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport in Pendleton.
business community.
The land lease system is a
result of the unique real estate
setup at the Eastern Oregon
Regional Airport.
After the federal govern-
ment transferred manage-
ment of the airport and the
surrounding industrial area to
the city following World War
II, the FAA required the city
lease the land instead of sell-
ing it.
With a few exceptions, all
businesses and organizations
located at the airport own
the buildings they operate in
while leasing the ground from
the city.
In an interview after the
meeting, Chrisman said the
city was compelled to take
another look at the reversion-
ary clause when some long-
time leaseholders like Nelson
saw their leases expire. Nel-
son said his last lease expired
more than three years ago and
he’s been renting month-to-
month ever since.
Business owners
concerned about city
rewriting leases
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
The troubled Lost Valley
Farm near Boardman has sold
to its only bidder, and its herd
has been auctioned off.
A federal bankruptcy judge
approved the dairy farm’s sale
to Canyon Farm LLC for $66.7
million earlier this month.
The sale is scheduled to
close March 1. The last of the
dairy’s approximately 8,360
cows were sold Tuesday.
The dairy’s owner declared
bankruptcy in April 2018, fore-
stalling an auction of his cows
as part of a bank foreclosure.
The operation was out of
compliance with its wastewater
permit since it opened in 2017,
resulting in $200,000 in state
fi nes for more than 200 envi-
ronmental violations.
The court-appointed trustee
will ensure the diary’s waste-
water lagoons are emptied to
an acceptable level by the end
of October.
A
dispute over lease
contract
language
is creating tension
between
business
owners at the Eastern Oregon
Regional Airport and Pendle-
ton airport administration.
Those tensions recently
rose to the forefront at a Pend-
leton Airport Commission
meeting Wednesday, where
airport manager Steve Chris-
man and Pendleton Air-
craft Service owner Har-
old Nelson got into a heated
exchange over what airport
leases should look like going
forward.
At the heart of the debate
is the “reversionary clause”
of an airport lease, language
in the contract that allows the
city to take back rented prop-
erty once a lease ends.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The handprints for the entire Nelson family lie in the foundation
of the aircraft hanger at Pendleton Aircraft Service. All of the Nel-
sons left their prints during the construction of the building in
1975.
Airport offi cials are saying
that the reversionary clause
has long been included in
lease contracts with tenants,
and by updating the language,
the city is merely trying to
comply with Federal Aviation
Administration regulations.
Airport business own-
ers — a group that includes
aircraft mechanics, inspec-
tors and service provid-
ers — argue that previous
city administrations allowed
them to enter and renew
leases without the threat of
clawing back the land and a
more strict application of the
reversionary clause would
kill the general aviation
See Airport, Page A8
Short on jurors, court ‘recruits’ from county meeting
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Residents attending Wednes-
day’s Umatilla County Board of
Commissioners meeting in Pend-
leton got a surprise — an order to
serve as jurors.
The meeting began at 9 a.m. on
the fi rst fl oor at the county court-
house. Commissioner Bill Elfering,
chair of the board, said before get-
ting to business he had to deal with
a special request.
“I think in my six years sitting as
a commissioner, this is the fi rst time
this has come up,” he told the crowd
of about 20. “But there is a court
going on upstairs, and the court is
short six jurors. And we need six
volunteers to serve on the jury.”
Umatilla County Circuit Court
operates three courtrooms on the
second courthouse, and Circuit
Judge Jon Lieuallen was overseeing
a trial that needed a jury. Elfering
asked for people to raise their hand
to see if they had enough volunteers.
No one volunteered.
“If not,” he continued, “the court
is authorized to appoint you as a
juror.”
That drew some chuckles. But
court security deputy Felix Parada
was there to collect folks to serve
on the jury. Commissioner George
Murdock asked if county employees
could take those seats, and Parada
said he would check.
The fi rst portion of the meeting
moved into a public hearing on a
request from residents to declare a
See Jurors, Page A8
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.