OFF PAGE ONE
Friday, July 26, 2019
East Oregonian
A7
Playground: City moving forward on Funland rebuild
Continued from Page A1
year, and other service club
members expressed similar
sentiments.
Some lifelong Hermiston
residents at the meeting said
they have spent hours watch-
ing children and grandchil-
dren play there, while others
who moved to the commu-
nity more recently said Fun-
land was one of the high-
lights of their recruitment
tour when they were decid-
ing whether to move to
Hermiston.
“My kids absolutely love
Funland, so they were real
excited that Mom got picked
(for the committee),” Patricia
Alder said.
According to the time-
line laid out by Fetter, the
committee will examine
proposals and pick a design
company in August and
complete the design (with
public input) in November.
Fundraising would wrap up
in January, and construction
would start in February.
The committee agreed
that it was time to move on
from wooden structures to
a more durable compos-
ite plastic material that will
retain some of the same
look without the flamma-
bility. In the same vein, the
area underneath will likely
change from bark chips to
a rubberized surface. Secu-
rity upgrades, fewer places
to hide behind, more acces-
sibility for children with
disabilities and more shade
were also on the list.
In addition to a new play-
FUNLAND
COMMITTEE
MEMBERS
Martha McClusky
Charles Clupny
Leah Lutz
Ric Sherman
Lindsey Lloyd
Kelsey Volk
Patricia Alder
Jackie Myers
Rod Hardin
David Drotzmann
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Hermiston Parks and Recreation director Larry Fetter (right) assists Kayla Sandlyn and Dylan Duke in locating a wooden
fence board carved with the name of Dylan’s father Scott Duke, who passed away several years ago.
ground itself, Fetter pro-
posed the committee also
look at adding at least one
more picnic shelter to the
area and building a restroom/
concessions building right
next to the playground.
He said the concessions
area could take requests for
proposals, or the Tiki Hut
shaved ice stand currently
located on the other side of
the splash pad could move
there. The Tiki Hut owner
does a great job of keeping
an eye on the splash pad, he
said, and it would be nice to
have the same kind of watch-
ful eye on Funland as well.
Fetter said he envisioned
about 40% of the construc-
tion of the playground being
done by contractors, 40%
done by parks staff and 20%
done by the community. But
committee members said
volunteer work should play
a more prominent role if
possible.
“The more community
involvement, the more own-
ership people feel,” Sherman
said.
Committee
members
asked about the engraved
fence pickets, plaques and
other items that carried the
names of the donors from
the last build. Fetter said
Hamley’s: Tribes
win auction for iconic
Pendleton business
Continued from Page A1
along with surrounding
tribes have shopped for
clothing, tack and saddle
since then.
“Many tribal members
have great respect for the
family and their sponsor-
ship of tribal events in past
years and look forward to
carrying on this western
tradition,” according to the
statement from the tribes.
“The Cayuse, Umatilla and
Walla Walla tribes have
engaged in commerce and
trade since time immemo-
rial and this purchase is an
extension of their history of
a strong business acumen.”
Pearce said the bidding
came down to the tribes and
Fancho “Fee” Stubblefield,
owner of the Lehman Hot
Springs resort near Ukiah.
The deal has eight days to
close, Pearce said, and the
transition in ownership
should be smooth.
Pearce did not want to
sell the Hamley’s businesses
to the tribes in spite of a $3.1
million offer a few years
ago. But Thursday afternoon
he said he wished them “all
the success in the world.” He
also said he would stay on as
long as the tribes wanted or
needed him.
anything with a name on
it has been removed and
saved, including 800 fence
pickets, ahead of demoli-
tion of the blackened struc-
ture over the next couple
of weeks. They are not in
good enough shape to reuse,
however.
Fetter said some peo-
ple have suggested the play-
ground be moved to a loca-
tion more visible from a
main road so that more peo-
ple can keep an eye on it.
But committee members
rejected the idea, pointing
out its central location in the
community, the cost savings
from rebuilding in the same
footprint and other benefits.
“This is the heart of our
community,” Mayor David
Drotzmann said. “Just
because someone stuck a
knife in there and twisted it
to make us feel bad, doesn’t
mean we should give in.”
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston said there
were security upgrades that
could be added to the new
park, from better design to
a good-quality camera feed
beamed live to the police
station.
The city has released a
request for proposals and
committee members plan to
meet with interested bidders
on Aug. 8, before choos-
ing a designer on Aug. 21
and starting the community
input process and fundrais-
ing campaign.
Theft: Financial web
was so complex FBI
was brought in on case
Continued from Page A1
Staff photo by E.J. Harris, File
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
are the new owners of Hamley’s.
Chuck Sams, spokesper-
son for the tribes, said the
auction lasted only a few
hours. He said he did not
have a definite time line for
when the tribes would take
control of Hamley’s, but the
management and govern-
ment teams will meet soon
to discuss the next steps.
the elderly.
The sheriff’s office
in early 2018 received a
report Pickard had been
taking money from the
Sunset Housing bank
accounts over a period of
two years. Sheriff’s detec-
tive Kacey Ward inves-
tigated. Ward outlined
some of Picard’s deal-
ings in affidavits to search
her bank and financial
records.
Sunset
Housing
selected Pickard as its new
treasurer on Nov. 29, 2016.
According to the affidavit,
the next day she ripped
off the organization for
$15,000 with a check to
her personal business,
Athena Income Tax Ser-
vices. Throughout the fol-
lowing year, she drained
more than $63,000 from
Sunset Housing.
He said he found
Picard had at least 11 bank
accounts spread across
multiple banks. The finan-
cial web was so complex,
he said, the sheriff’s office
sought help from the
FBI, which put a forensic
examiner on the case.
The sheriff’s office
also reported it continues
to investigate the possibil-
ity of additional victims.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney, File
Members of Pendleton’s First United Methodist Church gather one last time for worship on May 26 before their
church was sold to a Portland investor.
Church: May be leased out as an event center
Continued from Page A1
tage building. Would the church
be pieced out with the organ and
stained glass going to the high-
est bidders? Would it repurposed
into living space or offices? Might
it become a McMenamins brew-
pub, following in the footsteps of
other historic properties such as
McMenamins Edgefield in Trout-
dale or the Kennedy School in
Portland?
At the latter speculation, Cle-
mens chuckled. He said he called
McMenamins to ask if they might
be interested in the building.
“They said they are not doing
any acquisitions right now,” he
said. “They’re consolidating.”
He said, after repairs, the build-
ing may be leased out as an event
center or for some other purpose.
There is a small chance he may fix
up the building and resell.
Clemens said he doesn’t intend
to piece out the church’s interior
features.
“I have no plans to do anything
with the organ and the stained
glass,” he said.
The property comes with a
large parking lot and two adjacent
houses. One is leased by Legal
Aid Services of Oregon through
the end of the year and Clemens
said he’s open to working out an
agreement at that time. The other
house, which now sits empty, will
be leased or sold. The parking lot,
for which there is a joint agree-
ment for use by employees and
customers of businesses on the
north side of the block, likely will
remain as is.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
A distinctive tower that is part of the First United Methodist Church in
Pendleton drew the attention of potential buyer Craig Clemens.