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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 2019)
BOYS HOOPS: Nixyaawii cruises to first-round win | SPORTS, A8 E O AST 143rd year, No. 96 REGONIAN THURSDAy, FEBRUARy 28, 2019 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD DENNIS RICHARDSON: 1949-2019 Oregon Secretary of State dies after battle with brain cancer Richardson was an Army pilot, lawyer and family man By AUBREY WIEBER Oregon Capital Bureau Dennis Richardson, Ore- gon secretary of state and former candidate for gover- nor, died at his Central Point home Tuesday night, his office announced Wednes- day. He has been fighting brain cancer for months. “Dennis passed away at his home surrounded by family and friends,” accord- ing to a statement from Les- lie Cummings, deputy sec- retary of state. “If you spent time with Dennis, it wouldn’t be long before he shared with you his personal motto of “Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus,” which means: Having been Remembered as gracious public servant, friend By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian EO file photo Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson reacts to an old ballot box on display at the Umatilla County Elections Division office in Pendleton while touring the facilities in 2018. Richardson died Tuesday night after a battle with cancer. See Richardson, Page A7 State lawmakers from Eastern Oregon recalled Secretary of State Dennis Richardson as a gracious man and hard-working pub- lic servant. They also called Richardson their friend. Richardson was Oregon’s first Republican secretary of state in 30 years. He died Tuesday from brain cancer. He was 69. Sen. Bill Hansell, Repub- lican from Athena, said Richardson’s family was in his prayers. “He was a friend and just a wonderful public servant,” Hansell said. Hansell was a fresh- man state senator seven years ago and received an appointment to the Joint Ways and Means Commit- tee, where then-Rep. Rich- ardson was co-chairman of the legislators controlling the state budget. Richardson invited party members to weekly briefings to go over the committee’s work, and Hansell attended. “That kindness very much helped me get up to speed much quicker,” Hansell said. Hansell described Rich- ardson as gracious, always there to answer questions, See Memories, Page A7 “NOT ONLY WAS (RICHARDSON) A FISCAL HAWK AND EXTREMELY INTELLIGENT, BUT HE WAS KIND AND GENTLE AND A CONSUMMATE PUBLIC SERVANT.” Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove The center of attention Thousands of athletes, parents and fans coming to Pendleton for high school basketball championships By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian A series of relentless snowstorms isn’t stopping the Pendleton Convention Center from preparing for one of its biggest events of the year. On the eve of the Ore- gon School Activities Asso- ciation 2A Basketball State Championship tournament, a bulldozer built a make- shift fence of snow around the parking lot as it plowed the asphalt. Simultaneously, Con- vention Center Manager Pat Beard did some snow removal on a smaller scale by spreading salt near the facility’s entrance. Beard said 10,000 or more fans from across Ore- gon will descend on Pend- leton to watch some of the state’s smallest schools compete for the crown. He reflected on the convention center as the city contem- plates upping its ambition for the 65-year-old facility. The past few years have seen some modest growth for the convention center. The number of events hosted at the convention center grew from 124 in 2015 to 141 in 2018. At the same time, events that the convention center expected to generate hotel room tax revenue dropped from 64 to 36. The city collects two hotel taxes — the lodg- ing room tax and the tour- ism promotion assessment charge. The taxes are import- ant to the convention center because a large percentage of those taxes goes toward the facility’s maintenance and promotion. And although the vol- ume of tax-generating events has fluctuated, the amount the city’s bringing in has risen. The city went from Staff photo by E.J. Harris See Center, Page A7 Sarah Caldwell sweeps the bleachers on the upper level of the Pendleton Convention Center while preparing for the OSAA state 2A basketball tournament on Wednesday in Pendleton. The tournament starts today. Columbia dam locks to close for repair By MATTHEW WEAVER EO Media Group All navigation locks at dams along the Colum- bia and Snake rivers will close for annual mainte- nance starting this Saturday, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the facilities. The locks will close to barge and boat traffic at 6 a.m. March 2, according to the Corps. McNary, Ice Harbor, John Day, The Dalles and Bonneville locks are sched- uled to return to service at 11:59 p.m. March 17. Lower Monumental, Lower Granite and Lit- tle Goose locks are sched- uled to return to service at 11:59 p.m. March 24. The additional time is needed for non-routine work such as structural gate repairs, concrete repair and equip- ment repair or replacement, according to the Corps. Grain companies that depend on barges to move wheat downstream to cus- tomers in Portland and overseas plan for the clo- sures, said Randy Olstad, vice president of agron- omy for Columbia Grain in Clarkston. “We give everybody the heads-up what’s coming down the river and this time- line to make sure our locks are in good condition so it doesn’t disrupt any service during the rest of the year,” Oldstad said. “It’s some- thing we just deal with.” In an emergency, Ols- tad said, the company might take on the additional cost of using rail or trucks instead of barges. “We’re loading grain barges every week of the year, so we’ve planned on what we’re going to be selling and moving,” said Damon Filan, man- ager of Tri-Cities Grain and See Locks, Page A7 AP Photo, File The lock at Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River near Pasco, Wash., is among several locks that will close for annual main- tenance in March.