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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2019)
REGION Saturday, June 8, 2019 East Oregonian School district shows off new facilities Upgrades to Umatilla middle school funded by 2016 school bond By JESSICA POLLARD Staff Reporter UMATILLA — The students at Clara Brownell Middle School can see more clearly since a $10.5 million 2016 school bond funded the construction of new double-pane tinted windows in classrooms, and much more for the school district. Umatilla School Dis- trict Superintendent Heidi Sipe was pleased with the additions to the school. “The windows are nice,” Sipe said. “Every- thing else is just what we needed.” Sipe led a tour of the school Friday, present- ing the newly refurbished facilities to the public after a brief luncheon. The Oregon Energy Trust conducted studies during the remodeling process, which allowed the district to see the long- term projected costs of renovations. The studies focused on incorporating energy reduction and environ- mental protection into the new facilities. The pro- cess earned the district almost $70,000 in rebates, which were presented at a check signing and dinner on Friday evening. The rebates, Sipe said, will in part go toward fi xing the air condi- tioning unit at Uma- tilla High School, which gave out just days before graduation. McNary Heights Ele- mentary, CBMS and UHS Staff photo by Jessica Pollard Clara Brownell Middle School recently received renova- tions. The public had a chance to tour the school Friday, which was updated by funds from a $10.5 million school bond passed in 2016. all received updated secu- rity systems, and updated HVAC systems with direct digital controls as part of the bond. MHES also received a new stand- alone gymnasium, com- plete with solar panels. The majority of the changes, however, can be seen at Clara Brownell. The basis for the recon- struction came from a pri- vately contracted report from the Wenaha Group, a Pendleton-based proj- ect management and con- sulting fi rm that special- izes in education, tribal, public agency and health care projects. The report concluded, ultimately, that while Umatilla High School and McNary Ele- mentary schools were in “fair” or “good” condi- tion, Clara Brownell Mid- dle School was in “poor” condition and required major renovations or replacement. The doors and win- dows, which were initially described by the report as “exceptionally ineffi cient and in poor condition,” have been replaced to pro- vide better natural light and insulation. The plumbing and heating systems called for a revamp. After digging through 6 inches of concrete to reach the plumbing sys- tem at CBMS, the school has been reoutfi tted. Stu- dents will now have reg- ular handwashing sinks in the bathrooms, which are replacing foot pump troughs. Ron West, who does maintenance at CBMS, proudly opened the door to a room which used to hold an old fi nicky boiler. Now, it’s just a storage closet. With a window, in case it ever becomes an offi ce. West will no lon- ger have to maintain the boiler at the school. The chimney on CBMS, which served as a landmark in some ways, according to Sipe, was taken down due to seismic concerns. Other upgrades funded by the bond include new sound-reducing rubber fl ooring in classrooms, and hallway fl oors painted to look like the confl uence of the Umatilla River. The bond was the fi rst passed in the district since 1998 when Umatilla High School was constructed. In 2006, a $6.5 million bond was proposed to help construct a new Clara Brownell school building. The bond was defeated 510-436, according to a 2006 article published in the Hermiston Herald. Again in 2008, under the new leadership of Sipe, another bond was proposed which would help alleviate overcrowd- ing at McNary Elemen- tary School by building 14 new classrooms as well as four modular classrooms at Clara Brownell. The potential to pass the bond seemed promis- ing when 46% of voters claimed they would “fully or somewhat” support a school bond that May. But, due to what Sipe believes were eco- nomic stressors caused by job layoffs, the bond failed. The district forged onward with the renova- tions, using $2.2 million in district funds. “This time we knew not to ask for any more,” Sipe said. As Sipe walked the tour out from the CBMS cafeteria Friday after- noon, she pointed out to a patch of ceiling they couldn’t afford to repair during renovations. Twenty or so years from now, Sipe hopes that another bond could pass. This time, possibly to aid the construction of a K-2 building on a plot of land owned by the school dis- trict on South Hill. Umatilla’s budget signals changes to downtown Theme of city’s 2019-20 budget is accommodating recent growth spurt By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian UMATILLA — Down- town Umatilla is getting a facelift. City Manager David Stockdale said the city’s 2019-20 budget passed this week includes money for several projects that could improve the look of the city’s main drag. “We really antici- pate seeing some fantas- tic changes to Umatilla’s downtown area,” he said. The biggest project is a $6.1 million recon- struction of Sixth Street where it passes through the city. More than $5 million of the funding comes from grants from the Oregon Department of Transportation. The new street will including bulb-outs, stamped concrete, new lighting and other features intended to not only beau- tify downtown but also help signal to Highway 730 travelers that they are passing through a com- munity and need to slow down. The city is also putting additional funding toward its façade grant pro- gram. The previous pro- gram limited applicants to $10,000 and required a 50% match, but this year the city hopes to boost the number of applicants by awarding up to $26,500 and only requiring a 25% match. Umatilla recently pur- chased the former post offi ce building next to city hall, and in the coming months the city will spend $750,000 on the building to turn it into the Umatilla Business Center. Community develop- ment department staff will have their offi ces there, and space in the front of the building will become a “business incubator” where brand new busi- nesses can enjoy heav- ily subsidized rent as they get off the ground. A large multipurpose room will host workforce develop- ment activities during the day and recreational activ- ities, such as yoga, in the evenings. The city has increased its event budget for 2019- 20 to $100,000 in order Umatilla County Historical Society Presents: 16 TH ANNUAL OLD IRON SHOW June 7th - 9th in Roy Raley Park to start a few new fami- ly-friendly events. It is also starting its fi rst parks and recreation program, over- seen by a new recreation manager. The city will add restrooms to Kiwanis park. Stockdale said the theme of Umatilla’s 2019- 20 budget is accommo- dating the city’s recent growth spurt. Additional money has been set aside for repairs to streets and sidewalks. New staff are being added to handle increased activity in plan- ning and building. The city will also do repair work on its backup emergency gen- erators to ensure it will be able to continue running its water and sewer sys- tems in the event of a long power outage. The city is also extend- ing a wastewater line for a project that will take recy- cled water used for cool- ing data centers in the area and send it to West Irriga- tion District for agricul- tural use. One thing that isn’t in the budget is a new pedes- trian bridge across the Umatilla River behind the high school. The previous bridge is unusable after partially collapsing during spring fl ooding. Stockdale said it looks like the city will be able to keep some parts of the bridge, but the project will still cost more than $1 million due to the type of equipment needed to handle mid-stream con- struction. While Stock- dale expects insurance and FEMA to cover about $850,000, the city hasn’t come up with a plan yet to fund the additional $250,000 or more needed to complete the project. A3 LOCAL BRIEFING State Recreation Area campground to close for weekend ELGIN — The camp- ground at Minam State Recre- ation Area, near Elgin, will be closed June 14-15 while con- tractors perform construction work on the park’s campground road. The 22-site campground is expected to reopen by 6 p.m. June 15. Park rangers are asking campers to vacate the camp- ground by 4 p.m. on June 13 to accommodate the construction work. Campers can move back into the campground any time after 6 p.m. June 15. Mac Freeborn, park man- ager, says the road construc- tion will repair the effects of weather and heavy visitor use. “Minam is a popular local campground and the camp- ground road has some wear and tear issues,” he said. “These repairs should improve the road conditions and help prevent future degradation.” Minam State Recreation Area is a fi rst-come, fi rst- served primitive campground located two miles north of Highway 82, near the confl u- ence of the Minam and Wal- lowa Rivers. Boardman hosts rabies clinic BOARDMAN — Dr. James Burgess of Country Animal Hospital in Hermiston is teaming up with the city of Boardman to help pet owners in keeping their cats and dogs current on vaccinations. A low-cost clinic is planned for Saturday, June 22 from 10 a.m. to noon at Boardman City Park. Residents can get rabies vaccinations for their dogs and cats at a cost of $20 each. In addition, people can have their dogs licensed at no charge during the clinic. All dog owners living in the city of Boardman are required to license their dogs for identifi - cation purposes. For more information, call Jose Fernandez, Board- man animal control offi cer, at 541-481-9252. police department so that offi - cers can park patrol vehicles at home, and a 2.75% cost of liv- ing increase for city staff. Monday’s regular 7 p.m. meeting will be preceded by a 6 p.m. work session for the city to continue to discuss its strate- gic plan for the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center. After the regular busi- ness meeting the council will adjourn and reconvene as the Hermiston Urban Renewal Agency in order to pass the agency’s 2019-20 budget. The budget includes money for new wayfi nding signage and land- scaping downtown. The council meets at city hall, 180 N.E. Second St. The agenda packet, including the full budget, can be found online at hermiston.or.us/meetings. Public meeting scheduled in Dayton to discuss projects PENDLETON — The Pomeroy and Walla Walla Ranger Districts of the Uma- tilla National Forest will host a public meeting at the Delaney Room in the Dayton Memorial Library in Dayton, Washing- ton, from 6:30-8 p.m. The purpose of the meet- ing is to share information with local communities about the districts’ planned project activ- ities for the 2019 fi eld season. Pomeroy District Ranger Monte Fujishin, Walla Walla District Ranger Mike Rass- bach, and district employees will host the meeting to talk about upcoming forest man- agement activities planned for the summer including projects in timber, fi re and fuels, recre- ation and range. “I know the Umatilla National Forest is important to our communities and there is a lot of interest in the Forest Service completing important work to improve forest condi- tions,” Fujishin said. “We look forward to talking with com- munity members about all the work we have planned and to hear what’s on people’s minds.” City council to vote on 2019-20 budget Monday HERMISTON — The Hermiston City Council will vote Monday on its budget for 2019-20. The budget includes money for water and sewer projects, paving East Theater Lane, placing an overlay on West Hermiston Avenue and build- ing a skate park next sum- mer. It also includes money for increased patrol cars in the CORNERSTONE 1055 S. 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CO U RT, P E N D L E TO N • 5 4 1 . 278 .1 1 0 0 Godzilla: King of the Monsters (PG13) 12:50p* 3:40p* 6:30p 9:20p Rocketman (R) 1:40p* 4:20p 7:00p 9:40p Aladdin (PG) 1:00p* 3:50p* 6:40p 9:30p Men in Black: International (PG13) Thursday, June 13th • 7:00p * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 6/10 Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie Showing Wednesday at 12PM WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF Dark Phoenix (PG13) 2D 4:00p 7:10p 9:50p The Secret Life of Pets 2 (PG) 2D 4:40p 6:50p 9:10p Godzilla: King of the Monsters (PG13) 3:40p* 6:30p 9:20p Rocketman (R) 4:20p 7:00p 9:40p Admission is FREE and open to the public Aladdin (PG) 3:50p* 6:40p 9:30p Men in Black: International (PG13) Thursday, June 13th • 7:00p * Matinee Pricing www.heritagestationmuseum.org wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216