REGION
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
State Parks Day celebrated
with free camping, parking
East Oregonian
State Parks Day is Sat-
urday and the Oregon Parks
and Recreation Department
is inviting Oregonians out-
doors for a day of free camp-
ing, free parking and spe-
cial events at Oregon’s state
parks.
Several state parks are
holding free events that
day, and camping is free at
all tent, RV and individual
horse campsites. Day-use
parking will be free June
1 and 2 at the 25 parks that
charge a day-use fee.
“State Parks Day is our
way each year of thanking
Oregonians for their com-
mitment to our state parks,”
said Lisa Sumption, OPRD
director. “We invite people
to discover a new park or
revisit an old favorite.”
State Parks Day is orga-
nized by OPRD and has
been held annually since
1997.
Oregon Lottery returns
as an event sponsor this year
and they’re providing sup-
port for events at six state
parks: Champoeg State Her-
itage Area, Fort Stevens
State Park, Tumalo State
Park, The Cove Palisades
State Park, Wallowa Lake
State Park and Silver Falls
State Park.
Oregon Lottery is also
sponsoring a new addition to
State Parks Day: commemo-
rative State Parks Day pins.
The limited-edition pins will
be available for free at more
than two dozen state parks
on June 1 (see the full list of
parks distributing the pins at
the end of this story). Note:
parks have a limited sup-
ply of pins and they will be
given away fi rst come, fi rst
served.
In total, 11 state parks
will host free events June 1:
Willamette Valley
• Champoeg State Heri-
tage Area
• Fort Yamhill State
Heritage Area
• Silver Falls State Park
Coast
• Fort Stevens State
Park
• Cape Meares State
Scenic Viewpoint
Cascade Range and
Central Oregon
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
It’s a good time to be an
electrician in Hermiston,
but not a good time to need
one.
As Amazon continues
adding data centers to the
area, the tech company
worth more than $1 tril-
lion is poaching employees
from local electrical shops
faster than they can hire
them. It’s gotten so bad that
Jon Patterson of Power Pro
— one of Hermiston’s three
major electrical contractors
— is closing his business.
“You can’t hire an elec-
trician,” he said. “Everyone
is losing three to four peo-
ple a month to those guys.”
Patterson started Power
Pro in 2001 out of his shop,
and built his building on
Campbell Drive in 2006.
Over the past 18 years he
has employed 99 different
people as full-time employ-
ees, he said, and many
more for part-time work.
He said he has enjoyed
his time building a busi-
ness in Hermiston and
had “a lot of fun” doing it.
The community has been
supportive, and employ-
ees have formed close-knit
friendships.
“It’s really been a plea-
sure working here,” he said.
The past year has been
much less enjoyable, how-
ever, as employees have
walked off partially com-
pleted jobs, lured away by
high pay and large signing
bonuses for Amazon.
“I don’t mind if they’re
A3
EASY RIDERS
A trio of cyclists rides up
Old Emigrant Highway
near Pendleton during
Saturday’s mini Centu-
ry Ride of the Centuries.
The longtime series of
rides, which traditional-
ly features century farms
on the routes, downsized
this year to a single day.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
LOCAL BRIEFING
Photo by Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
Several Oregon state parks, including Wallowa Lake
State Park (pictured), are holding free events on Satur-
day, June 1, during State Parks Day.
• The Cove Palisades
State Park
• Prineville Reservoir
State Park
• Tumalo State Park
Portland Metro Area
• Tryon Creek State
Natural Area
Southern and Eastern
Oregon
• Collier
Memorial
State Park
• Wallowa Lake State
Park
Events include disc golf,
living history, outdoor con-
certs, ranger-led programs
and more. Full details about
events at each park are on
the offi cial State Parks Day
webpage.
To guarantee a campsite
for State Parks Day, reserve
online at oregonstateparks.
org or call 800-452-5687
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mon-
day through Friday. While
campsite rental is free, an $8
non-refundable transaction
fee is required at the time
of the reservation. Reserva-
tions must be made at least
24 hours in advance of your
stay. Approximately half
of state park campgrounds
accept reservations.
List of state parks giving
away State Parks Day pins
on June 1:
Coast
• Bullards Beach State
Park
• Cape Arago State Park
• Cape Lookout State
Park
• Cape Meares State
Scenic Viewpoint
• Crissey Field State
Recreation Site
• Fort Stevens State
Park
• Humbug Mountain
State Park
• Shore Acres State
Park
• Sunset Bay State Park
• William M. Tugman
State Park
Columbia River Gorge
• Ainsworth State Park
• Guy W. Talbot State
Park
Willamette Valley
• Champoeg State Heri-
tage Area
• Dexter State Recre-
ation Area
• Elijah Bristow State
Park
• Fort Yamhill State
Heritage Area
• Silver Falls State Park
• Thompson’s
Mills
State Heritage Area
Cascade Range and
Central Oregon
• LaPine State Park
• Prineville Reservoir
State Park
• The Cove Palisades
State Park
• Tumalo State Park
Southern and Eastern
Oregon
• Clyde Holliday State
Park
• Cottonwood Canyon
State Park
• Emigrant
Springs
State Heritage Area
• Farewell Bend State
Recreation Area
• Hat Rock State Park
• Lake Owyhee State
Park
• Minam State Recre-
ation Area
• Sumpter
Valley
Dredge State Heritage
Site
• Wallowa Lake State
Park
Power Pro to close up shop
Hermiston-based
business opened
doors in 2001
East Oregonian
ready to leave the nest, but
everyone at once killed
me,” he said.
Hermiston
projects,
both municipal and com-
mercial, have announced
delays in recent years due
to a struggle fi nding elec-
trical contractors. Patterson
said his two biggest com-
petitors actually asked him
to reconsider his decision to
retire.
“That says something,”
he said.
He predicted local elec-
trical contractors will have
to raise wages — and
prices — signifi cantly to
keep employees from head-
ing to Amazon.
“What’s going to happen
here is if you want some-
thing done to your house
you’re going to be paying
$200 an hour,” he said.
That will be a problem
for someone besides Pat-
terson to fi gure out. He said
he’s taking about a year off
to go build a cabin on some
property he owns, and then
he will start thinking about
what will come next.
He is auctioning off
Power Pro’s equipment,
trucks and other supplies
through Mike’s Auction
LLC on May 31, which
could provide an oppor-
tunity for someone else in
the area looking to start or
expand their business.
Power Pro has per-
formed a wide range of
commercial and municipal
jobs in the Pacifi c North-
west over the years, from
schools to stores. Patterson
said one of his favorite jobs
was doing lightning protec-
tion on Forest Service look-
out towers in remote loca-
tions all over the Pacifi c
Northwest. As the Forest
Service’s “go-to” person
for lightning protection,
they used everything from
mules to ATVs to pack in
supplies and equipment.
“We had a lot of fun on
the towers,” he said. “It was
just like camping.”
Patterson said despite
closing the business he
plans to remain chair of
Blue Mountain Community
College’s electrical appren-
ticeship advisory com-
mittee. He said if the state
wanted to help ease Eastern
Oregon’s electrician short-
age it would revise its par-
ticularly restrictive rules
for licensing and allow
electricians to take on more
than one apprenticeship at
a time.
He also encouraged
teachers to stop telling stu-
dents that the only way to
make money was with a
college education.
5/28
Cineplex Show Times
$5 Classic Movie
Showing Wednesday at 12PM
THE JERK
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3:50p* 6:40p
9:30p
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Parabellum (R)
4:10p 7:00p 9:50p
Avengers: Endgame (PG13)
3:40p* 7:20p 9:10p
A Dog's Journey (PG)
4:30p 6:50p 9:40p
Pokemon Detective Pikachu (PG)
4:40p 7:10p
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (PG13)
Thursday, May 30th • 7:00p, 10:00p
Rocketman (R)
Thursday, May 30th • 7:00p, 9:40p
* Matinee Pricing
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
Umatilla County
board to hear
charter proposals
meeting is open to the pub-
lic in room 114 at the county
courthouse, Pendleton.
its on-campus next fall will
spend about $120 more on
tuition and fees.
PENDLETON — The
Umatilla County Board of
Commissioners hears fi rst-
hand Wednesday for the fi rst
time from the committee
making recommendations to
change county government.
The county board more
than a year ago formed
the Charter Review Com-
mittee to analyze and sug-
gest changes to the charter,
the founding document for
the structure and function
of Umatilla County’s gov-
ernment. The nine-mem-
ber group decided at the
end of April to recommend
major reforms, starting with
an overhaul of the board of
commissioners.
Rather than three full-
time positions, the commit-
tee decided a board of fi ve
part-timers would work bet-
ter. That fi ve-person board
would hire the county coun-
sel and a county manager,
another signifi cant change.
The county’s growth
demands a professional
administrator, according to
the committee, which also
would improve the consis-
tency of overseeing county
operations compared to the
different styles of the three
commissioners.
The board of commis-
sioners moved its meeting
to Wednesday to 5:30 p.m.
to hold a workshop with the
charter committee and hear
all the recommendations. The
EOU board
approves tuition
increase
Law enforcement
search turns up
stolen vehicles,
trailers
LA GRANDE — After
months of planning and
discussions with students
and stakeholders, the Eastern
Oregon University Board of
Trustees recently approved
a 4.9% increase across all
tuition categories for next
year.
Though
trustees
expressed reluctance for the
increase citing student access
and affordability, EOU
remains the most cost-effec-
tive public university in the
state, and only two institu-
tions held tuition at a lower
percent increase.
“We are truly concerned
about cost of attendance at
EOU,” said Vice President
of Finance and Administra-
tion Lara Moore. “In a chal-
lenging state funding envi-
ronment, and given that 52
percent of our incoming class
last fall was low income, we
have been committed to stay-
ing below a 5 percent increase
to ensure student access.”
The 4.9% change will be
applied to on-campus resi-
dent and non-resident tuition,
as well as online rates. Mod-
erate student fee increases,
along with the tuition
change, means that an Ore-
gon resident taking 15 cred-
PENDLETON — Uma-
tilla County law enforce-
ment Friday recovered stole
vehicles and trailers.
The Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Offi ce reported
deputies and personnel from
Umatilla County Commu-
nity Corrections conducted
a legal search at a residence
on the 45000 block of Adams
Road near Pendleton.
There, deputies recov-
ered the following:
• 1995 Peterbilt semi from
the Spokane County,
Washintgton;
• John Deere Gator 4x4
all-terrain vehicle from
the Wildhorse Resort
& Casino Golf Course,
Pendleton;
• two, enclosed U-Haul
trailers, which the sheriff’s
offi ce returned to a Pend-
leton area U-Haul rental
business;
• one large black dump
trailer from Richland,
Washington.
The sheriff’s offi ce also
reported it returned the
vehicles to their legal own-
ers or soon will.
The suspect in the case,
however, was not on the
premises, so the investiga-
tion continues.