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143rd Year, No. 157
REGONIA
REGONIAN
FRIDAY, MAY 24, 2019
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Your Weekend
Senate
approves
cut to public
employee
retirement
benefi ts
• Printmaking student
exhibition opening, Crow’s
Shadow
• ACE Car Show, Echo
• Mini CROC Ride, Tamasts-
likt Cultural Institute
Legislators approve
short-term pension
fi x cutting PERS
FOR DATES AND TIMES, VISIT
EASTERNOREGONEVENTS.COM
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
A sign blocks the public from a construction site that will become
the next phase of the Pendleton Heights housing project.
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the project has been delayed, but he still planned
to make the payment in advance of working
through those issues.
According to the city manager, Jivanjee said he
plans to pay back the $150,000 by June 15.
While missing the new deadline could cause
the city to reconsider its options, Corbett said the
city will not take any action against Jivanjee for
missing the payment and starting construction.
When asked whether Corbett was disappointed
in Jivanjee, he expressed confi dence in the devel-
oper’s reasoning.
“My feelings are that it sounds to me like
there was some delays as the result of a number
of things, and he’s explained them to me, and it
seems plausible that sometimes these things take
time and I believe that he’s genuine in his regret
that it’s taken the time that it has and that he’s
SALEM — The Oregon
Senate sent the House a short-
term pension fi x Thursday cut-
ting public employee retire-
ment benefi ts, a politically
diffi cult vote for Democrats
who say they were forced to
choose between slashing bene-
fi ts or letting employer interest
rates rise.
Ultimately, some who were
originally against the proposal
reluctantly came around, say-
ing higher interest rates would
eat into budgets and lead to lay-
offs in the public sector.
“My heart is broken today
because my back is against the
wall,” said Sen. James Man-
ning, Jr., a Democrat who voted
yes after signaling his opposi-
tion earlier this week. “I have
two worlds that are colliding
today — how do I respond?”
The plan, which the Sen-
ate approved by a 16 to 12
vote Thursday, essentially
refi nances the $25 billion in
debt incurred from the Public
Employee Retirement System,
known as PERS. It extends the
state’s repayment period from
20 to 22 years, which is meant
to shield employers from an
impending interest rate hike in
the upcoming years.
More controversially, the
measure also redirects 2.5% of
employee salary toward PERS.
That translates to a 7 to 12% cut
to employees’ secondary retire-
ment account, which is a 401(k)
type plan meant to supplement
the public pension.
Sen. Tim Knopp, a Bend
Republican, stressed this “is
not a permanent solution,” and
there needs to be more legis-
lative action if the state wants
to substantially pay down the
debt.
Senate Minority Leader
Herman Baertschiger Jr., who
was the public face of a Repub-
lican walkout over perceived
Democratic inaction on PERS,
See Heights, Page A8
See PERS, Page A8
Maxwell
Farmers
Market
returns to
Hermiston
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
The Maxwell Farmers Mar-
ket was bustling during opening
day in Hermiston on Thursday.
Vendors of all kinds fi lled
the new Maxwell Siding Pavil-
ion, hawking everything from
asparagus to jewelry to a steady
stream of people weaving in
and out of the booths. Outside
the pavilion’s shade, customers
listened to local musician Dal-
lin Puzey as they sipped bever-
ages from Hermiston Brewing
Company or ate from a food
truck.
The market inspired some
new entrepreneurs in Herm-
iston this year. Lucia Alvarez
said she attended last year’s
market and decided to try her
hand this summer at selling
homemade organic salsa under
the name Mama Lucy’s Salsa.
“I didn’t know about it
before,” she said of the farmer’s
market. “I thought, ‘I can make
good salsa!’”
She said she was surprised
by the large turnout.
Kira Doyle was another
newcomer, both to the market
and to selling her product. She
had a booth Thursday under the
name The Moth and the Moon.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
A backhoe works Thursday on the next phase of the Pendleton Heights housing project. The developer of
the project started the construction before repaying a required $150,000 loan to the city as agreed.
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Starting work on a planned 100-unit complex
at Pendleton Heights would ordinarily be good
news for a development beset by delays and sev-
eral rounds renegotiations over an incentives
package with the city.
But the Newberg developer responsible for the
project never paid the city $150,000 in debt repay-
ment before starting construction, a violation of
the latest deal made between Pendleton Heights
and the city.
Construction workers and heavy equipment
were visible from Southwest 11th Street on Thurs-
day morning and City Manager Robb Corbett
acknowledged that developer Saj Jivanjee hadn’t
yet made the payment.
Corbett said he spoke with Jivanjee and the
developer told him that the construction loan for
By SARAH ZIMMERMAN
Associated Press
See Hermiston, Page A8
When Princess Aurora broke her foot
Cast of ‘Sleeping
Beauty’ rallied around
injured dancer
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
Princess Aurora was down.
Madison
Gruenhagen,
lead dancer in Pendleton
Ballet Theatre’s production
of “Sleeping Beauty,” slipped
during a rehearsal and fell to the
fl oor. She felt something give.
“A loud crack went through
the studio,” Madison recalled.
It was obvious immediately
that something was seriously
wrong with the 14-year-old
dancer who had been cast in
the show’s lead role of Princess
Aurora. Pain shot through her
foot. She tried to get up and
couldn’t.
The opening performance
was more than two months away,
but Madison’s doctor couldn’t
guarantee her broken foot would
heal fast enough for her to dance
in the show. He put Madison
in an air cast and told her keep
weight off the foot.
This was a devastating
development, but also a chance
to discover how the troupe would
deal with adversity. According to
director Julie Sneden-Carlson,
her dancers reacted with both
kindness and grit by rallying
around Madison and accepting
longer rehearsal times.
See Dancers, 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.
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• Listening to your concerns and answering with the care you need in a safe and timely way.
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• After-hours nurse consultation.
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3001 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton
WWW.SAHPENDLETON.ORG
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Sat and Sun, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Walk-ins are welcome but appointments are preferred.