REGION
Saturday, June 29, 2019
East Oregonian
A3
USDA research center to add new positions in NE Oregon
USDA will add
positions and
expand lab space
in Pendleton
double its previous budget.
It is a welcome change of
fortune for the center, which
faced potentially deep cuts in
2016 and 2017. Instead, the
USDA will add positions and
expand lab space in Pendle-
ton, with the goal to fi nd new
solutions for growers as sea-
sons shift and summers get
hotter.
“There are new challenges,
all together, that we face,” said
Dan Long, station director
and research leader. “Obvi-
ously, the growers have asked
us to do work to help them in
these challenging times. We
intend to do that with these
dollars.”
Long said the station will
hire an agricultural econo-
mist, crop physiologist and
bioinformatics technician to
join the fi ve scientists already
on staff, experimenting with
things such as cover crops,
alternative crops and methods
to retain soil moisture without
access to irrigation.
Profi tability is at the heart
of every management deci-
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
PENDLETON — A fed-
eral agricultural research sta-
tion in Northeast Oregon
plans to hire three new scien-
tists to help the region’s wheat
farmers become more resil-
ient to climate change.
The Columbia Plateau
Conservation Research Cen-
ter, north of Pendleton, is
part of the USDA Agricul-
tural Research Service and
focuses on improving dry-
land farming in areas of the
Pacifi c Northwest that receive
less than 18 inches of rain
annually.
Earlier this year, Con-
gress passed the 2019 agricul-
ture appropriations bill that
included an additional $2 mil-
lion for the station — roughly
BRIEFLY
USDA Photo, File
The Columbia Plateau Conservation Research Center near
Pendleton is adding three scientists to its staff .
sion farmers make, Long said,
and the station economist will
help them to examine their
bottom line. The crop physiol-
ogist will look specifi cally at
heat stress in plants, and what
sorts of biochemical changes
are happening in the fi eld.
Bioinformatics is an inter-
disciplinary fi eld that works
with software tools to better
understand biological data.
Long said this position will
complement the other scien-
tists and their research.
Long said the USDA also
intends to collaborate more
Council takes street funding ideas to public
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Umatilla National Forest Photo, File
Forest offi cials on the North Fork John Day Ranger District of
the Umatilla National Forest have opened a limited number
of campsites at Olive Lake Campground due to hazard trees
surrounding the campground.
Olive Lake opens limited number of
campsites due to hazards
PENDLETON — Forest offi cials on the North Fork John
Day Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest have
opened a limited number of campsites at Olive Lake Camp-
ground due to hazard trees surrounding the campground.
Trees within the campground have been impacted by
a recent Mountain Pine Beetle infestation that has caused
tree mortality within the area. These trees have been identi-
fi ed as hazardous and must be removed prior to opening the
campsites to the public. All closed campsites within Olive
Lake Campground are clearly marked by a sign on the site
number post that states “Campsite Closed Due To Hazard”
in orange and red lettering. The limited number of camp-
sites that have already been cleared of hazard trees are open
to the public for camping. A volunteer camp host is onsite
and available to help answer questions or assist forest visi-
tors with identifying available camping locations.
Olive Lake is a popular mountain lake and campground
located 12 miles west of Granite. The natural lake was deep-
ened by a 30-foot-high dam built in the early 1900s by the
Fremont Power Company to provide hydroelectric power,
generated at the Fremont Powerhouse, to the then-booming
gold mining community.
Phones down at state prison in Umatilla
UMATILLA — The state prison in Umatilla went sev-
eral days without phone service before it was restored late
Thursday afternoon.
Sherry Iles, public information offi cer for Two Rivers
Correctional Institution, said the problem started Monday
and affected incoming and outgoing calls.
Inmates, however, were able to make calls.
“The Telmate network they use is separate and working
at this time,” she said.
Isles sent a follow-up email at 5:43 p.m., writing that
CenturyLink restored service around 4 p.m. Thursday.
with Oregon State Universi-
ty’s Columbia Basin Agricul-
tural Research Station — a
similar but separate research
station that operates out of
the same building on Tubbs
Ranch Road.
The station, commonly
known as CBARC, has
even more expertise to offer,
including agronomy, plant
pathology and weed science.
About $450,000 of the USDA
funding would be passed
through to CBARC under
a new cooperative agree-
ment with the university,
sistant, and they fi x nitrogen.”
Nathan Rea, of H.T.
Rea Farming Corp. in Mil-
ton-Freewater, serves as
chairman of the grower liai-
son committee that works
with both research stations.
The committee was instru-
mental in reaching out to
members of Oregon’s con-
gressional delegation to
secure funding for the USDA
center.
Rea said Democratic
Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff
Merkley and Republican
Rep. Greg Walden were all
champions for the station’s
funding. Merkley, in particu-
lar, played an important role
as the top-ranking Democrat
on the Agriculture Appro-
priations Subcommittee, he
said.
The research ultimately
will help dryland farmers
remain profi table, Rea said.
“It’s a very important
long-term benefi t,” he said.
“The research that they’re
doing has a direct impact on
every grower.”
Long said.
“More can be done if we
work together, rather than
separately,” Long said. He
expects an agreement in
place by July.
Wheat is the dominant
dryland crop in northeast and
north-central Oregon, with a
combined 777,501 acres har-
vested across eight coun-
ties in 2017, according to
the latest USDA Census of
Agriculture.
With such little moisture,
Long said growers have few
other options available to
them. But research at the two
stations could pin down new
rotational and cover crops to
keep soils healthy, curb ero-
sion and break up disease
cycles.
“We’ve heard pretty
strongly from growers in
the lower rainfall areas they
would like us to work on
cover crops and alternative
crops,” Long said. “We have
learned from attending fi eld
days in June that crops like
winter peas are drought-re-
PENDLETON
—
Months into discussions
over the best way to raise
revenue for road repairs, the
Pendleton City Council is
taking its ideas to the street.
The council met for a
Tuesday workshop, where
they reviewed a survey of
proposals they plan to dis-
tribute to the public through
a series of public meetings
and presentations to com-
munity groups, city commit-
tees, and other organizations.
The council plans to use
the feedback they get from
these meetings and presenta-
tions to inform their decision
on how to move forward on
road funding.
The city has allocated
$1.2 million for street main-
tenance for 2019-20, but a
2018 pavement study states
that the city would need to
spend somewhere between
$1.6 million and $4.4 mil-
lion per year to improve the
overall quality of the street
system.
A survey introduction
states that the council is
aiming to boost their annual
road maintenance budget to
$2.2 million.
After collecting input, the
council will advance only a
few of the ideas for deeper
consideration.
Not listed among the pro-
posals is a one-time $3 mil-
lion appropriation from the
urban renewal district. The
Pendleton
Development
Commission will decide to
spend the money at a meet-
ing in July, but it can only
go to streets in downtown
Pendleton and some of the
surrounding area.
40% of the revenue coming
from out-of-town drivers.
But implementing the
tax would require approval
at the ballot box, a process
the city has struggled with
before.
The city attempted to
pass a 5-cent gas tax in 2015,
but it was defeated resound-
ingly when it went up to a
public vote.
Voters did approve a
4-cent gas tax in 2009, but
the money was specifi cally
earmarked for the Airport
Road extension, and it sun-
setted within a few years.
The city has since shifted
much of its economic devel-
opment focus to the Pendle-
ton Unmanned Aerial Sys-
tems Range.
$153,000 annually.
Lodgers already pay an
8% lodging room tax and
a $1.50 tourism promo-
tion assessment charge, but
most of those funds go to the
Pendleton Convention Cen-
ter and the Pendleton Cham-
ber of Commerce.
Payroll tax
Out of all the proposals,
the street utility fee is the
only one that’s already been
implemented in Pendleton.
The council passed a $5
street utility fee in late 2015,
and the fee has been sub-
ject to an annual consumer
price index increase each
year since then, meaning the
residential fee is now $5.21
per month.
According to the city, the
payroll tax would be assessed
to employers of people who
work in Pendleton.
For every 0.1% that’s
taxed, the city expects to
raise $343,000 per year.
A city-based payroll tax
is not unheard of in other
parts of the state. On June
10, the Eugene City Council
passed a 0.003% payroll tax
for public safety.
Street light fee
The street fund is bud-
geted to spend $190,000 to
power street lights in 2019-
20, but if the city were to
charge residents a street
light fee, the city would be
able to direct more money in
the street fund toward road
maintenance.
Pendleton would raise
$86,000 per year for every
dollar raised, according to
the city’s estimates.
Ticket fee
The fee would be focused
on events attended by 500
people or more, and is
expected to bring in $92,000
per dollar raised.
Some councilors said
the revenue fi gure could
be higher if the city counts
events that attract 500 peo-
ple or more over multiple
days.
Restaurant sales tax
Street utility fee
The state of Oregon is
famously sales tax-free, but
cities can impose their own
sales tax.
The city expects that
for each 1% assessed on
restaurant sales, the city
would garner $100,000
per year.
The city of Ashland has a
5% tax on all prepared food,
but a 1% sales tax was voted
down in Ontario in 2018.
Hotel room
entertainment fee
This fee would be
assessed to every hotel
room, bed and breakfast
stay, and recreational vehi-
cle spot in the city.
The city estimates
that each dollar from
the fee would generate
Gas tax
This idea is the most
familiar to both the council
and local voters.
The city estimates it
would generate $110,000
per year for every cent they
assessed at the pump, with
The fee currently raises
$438,000 per year, and if
the council were to raise it
further, it would generate
another $84,000 for each
dollar raised.
CORNERSTONE
1055 S. Hwy 395, Suite 313
Hermiston, OR 97838
541-289-5454 • Fax: 541-289-5456
www.hermistoncornerstone.com
6/28 - 6/30
7/1
Cineplex Show Times
$5 Classic Movie
Cineplex Show Times
$5 Classic Movie
Showing Wednesday 10AM
AN AMERICAN TAIL
and at 12PM
GHOSTBUSTERS 1984
Showing Wednesday 10AM
AN AMERICAN TAIL
and at 12PM
GHOSTBUSTERS 1984
Annabelle Comes Home (R)
11:50a* 2:10p* 4:40p 7:20p
9:50p
Annabelle Comes Home (R)
4:40p 7:20p 9:50p
Toy Story 4 (PG)
2D 2:30p* 4:50p 7:10p
12:10p* 9:30p
Toy Story 4 (PG)
2D 4:50p 7:10p
9:30p
Men in Black: International
(PG13)
1:40p* 4:20p 7:00p 9:40p
Men in Black: International
(PG13)
4:20p 7:00p 9:40p
The Secret Life of Pets 2 (PG)
12:00p* 2:20p* 4:30p 6:50p
9:10p
The Secret Life of Pets 2 (PG)
4:30p 6:50p 9:10p
Aladdin (PG)
12:50p* 3:40p* 6:30p 9:20p
Aladdin (PG)
3:40p* 6:30p 9:20p
* Matinee Pricing
* Matinee Pricing
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
Saager's Shoe Shop
SUMMER
Harrison Family Medicine Welcomes
Andrea Carrasco, M.D.
CLEARANCE SALE
Starts July 5th at 9 a.m.
SAVE UP TO
• Accepting patients
• Accepting all
insurances
• Schedule an
appointment today!
Starting
July 1, 2019
50% OFF
On Shoes !
50% -70% OFF
Women’s Apparel
Harrison Family Medicine
1100 Southgate, Suite 2
Pendleton, OR 97801
Phone: 541-215-1564
Fax: 541-215-1567
Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM
• Sandals • Flats • Casuals • Clogs • Pumps
• Wedges • Athletic • Trail Shoes • Dress Shoes
• Performance Comfort and More!
Store Hours:
613 N. Main St.,
Mon - Sat: 9 AM - 6 PM
Milton-Freewater, OR
Sun: 12 PM - 4 PM www.saagershoeshop.com
The store is closed
541-938-5162
June 30th - July 4th
GOLFING
FOR A CAUSE
SATURDAY, JULY 6
BIG RIVER GOLF COURSE
TITLE SPONSOR
$60.00 ENTRY FEE:
Includes greens fee for 18 holes,
pastries before & lunch after the tournament
OPEN TO MEN & WOMEN OF ALL SKILL LEVELS
Four person Scramble Limited to fi rst 120 golfers
8:00am: Check-in opens.
Teams & hole assignments announced.
9:00am: Shot gun start
Conclusion of tournament: Lunch, awards ceremony
Please contact Big River Golf Course to reserve a cart at 541-922-3006.
(carts are not included in the entry fee)
For more information, contact Dave Hughes at 541-571-7293.