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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2019)
REGION Tuesday, August 6, 2019 East Oregonian A3 Old Piper Cub on parade By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian HERMISTON — The air- plane languished in a barn for more than 40 years, gather- ing dust and and providing a haven for rodents. The 1946 Piper J-3 Cub cleaned up nicely, though. It made a shiny appearance Sat- urday night at the Umatilla County Fair Parade. Getting the little plane from the Ione-area barn onto a parade fl oat took both sweat and planning. Several weeks ago, a group of aspiring avi- ators removed the plane from the barn, intending to resusci- tate the aircraft, hauling it to a maintenance hangar at the Hermiston Airport, where they meet each Thursday night with leaders to explore the fi eld of aviation. On Saturday evening, the airplane was rolled onto a fl at- bed for a trip through Herm- iston in the Umatilla County Fair Parade. The plane, near the end of the parade, showed up as most folks packed up to leave, but even so, the fl oat caused heads to turn. Pulling it off took prepa- ration. The plan required removing the wings, driving the plane to Hermiston High School on a trailer, wheeling it off the fl atbed, installing the wings, pushing it back up the ramp onto the trailer and securing it with blocks. “With a wingspan of 35 feet, there is plenty of room to navigate, especially on a street that is cleared for a parade,” said Rolf Anderson Leir- vik, manager of the Herm- iston Airport and partner in Staff photo by Kathy Aney Teens from the Hermiston Airport aviation club cruise along Highland Avenue with an old Piper J-3 Cub airplane on Satur- day evening during the Umatilla County Fair Parade. Gorge Aviation Services. Leirvik helped out as the the wings and struts were bolted back into place at Hermiston High School. From the cockpit, HHS stu- dent Garret Brinkley had the best vantage point. He directed as the team slid the wing spars into place and locked them in. The teens, guided by airport mechanic Lisa Sturgeon and Gorge Aviation co-owner Ron Berg, then attached the struts. The night before, they had done a dry run just to make sure things would go smoothly. Leirvik said the teens, with the help of certifi ed air- plane mechanics, hope to get the plane back into the sky one day. They have already made progress. After washing decades of dust off the plane, “they cleaned the spark plugs, replaced the fuel lines and fueled it,” Leirvik said. Ron Linn, a retired crop- duster pilot and volunteer with the high school pro- gram, turned the prop with his hands to get it running. “In fi ve pulls, it started,” Leirvik said. The strut-braced mono- plane with a welded steel frame is covered in fabric, which needs to be removed and replaced, Leirvik said. The teens must also take the engine apart and put it back together. Brinkley, 16, admitted he was apprehensive about fi ring up the plane, given its rough condition. “I was a little worried,” he said. “I was concerned that the fi rst time we started it up, it would explode.” The plane, once the prop- erty of an Ione rancher, still belongs to his family. If all goes to plan, Uma- tilla County residents may one day hear a plane overhead and look up to see the red- and-white Piper Cub cruis- ing across the sky. Before that happens, however, there’s some work to do. Open house Wednesday on parks and recreation plans for Milton-Freewater By SHEILA HAGAR Walla Walla Union-Bulletin MILTON-FREEWATER — Residents will have the chance to voice thoughts and concerns about the future of the city’s parks and recre- ational opportunities. A community open house is scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Milton-Free- water Community Building, 109 N.E. Fifth Ave. In 2018, city offi cials applied for a $40,000 grant Stanfi eld motorcyclist dies in head-on crash PLYMOUTH, Wash. — A Stanfi eld man riding his motorcycle died Thursday evening near Plymouth after a car struck him head-on. The Washington State Patrol reported the crash occurred at about 6:50 p.m. a half-mile north of Plymouth when Alan W. Sells, 55, was driving his gray 2004 Har- ley-Davidson WGI west on State Route 14 at McNary Court. Tomas Alacaraz-Cor- tez, 41, of Kennewick, was eastbound on Route 14 in a maroon Honda Accord, crossed the center line and plowed head-on into Sells and his motorcycle. Sells died at the scene. Washington State Parol reported he was wearing a helmet. The crashed totaled both vehicles. An ambu- lance took Alacaraz-Cortez to Trios Health Southridge Hospital, Kennewick. The state patrol also reported the crash investiga- tion is ongoing and charges against Alacaraz-Cortez are pending. City puts street funding survey on website PENDLETON — The Pendleton City Council has taken its street funding ideas on the road to various com- munity groups, but any resi- dent can submit their thoughts through a survey hosted on the city’s website. Local offi cials have said that the city needs to raise another $1 million per year to bring the majority of its roads into good condition. from the state of Oregon to create a master plan for the public parks and more, said Steve Patten, a public works technician. Upon getting the grant, the city was able to hire a consultant and create a sur- vey to better know what peo- ple would like for recreation and public parks. The grant also opens the door for get- ting additional state and pri- vate funding that can help rebuild facilities, build trails and potentially pay for pro- grams, Patten said. “So this is a fi rst step,” he said of Wednesday’s meeting. Patten said he knows peo- ple will also want to talk about last week’s shuttering of the city pool due to unsafe swimming conditions. In turn, that underlines the importance of a community pool as part of a robust parks and recreation program, he added. Light refreshments will be served. For more informa- tion, call 541-938-5531. Staff photo by E.J. Harris, File A wind tower blade is removed from a fl atbed railcar from the railroad loop at the Port of Mor- row in Boardman earlier this year. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Admin- istration announced it approved the Port of Morrow for a Marine Highway Designation, which enables the port to expand its barge service and makes it eligible to apply for federal funding. Port of Morrow approved for Marine Highway Designation By ALEX CASTLE East Oregonian BOARDMAN — The U.S. Department of Trans- portation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced Friday it approved the Port of Mor- row for a Marine Highway Designation, which enables the port to expand its barge service and makes it eligible to apply for federal funding. The approval came after the port’s request that included bipartisan sup- port from the state’s Dem- ocratic U.S. senators, Sen. Jeff Merkely and Sen. Ron Wyden, along with Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River. Of the 34 issued around the country, this is just the third such designa- tion awarded to projects on the West Coast. “We are incredibly thankful for the designation for MARAD and would like to thank Sen. Merkley, Sen. Wyden and Rep. Walden for all their support in help- ing secure this designation,” said Ryan Neal, Port of Mor- row executive director. The port can now apply for funding from MARAD’s America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP), which received $7 million from Congress in the last fi scal year. Erica Lasater, Port of Morrow’s communications manager, said the port is looking into applying for a grant to open up terminal 1, which would increase the services taking place at the port. With more projects that expand the port’s services possible with federal fund- ing now available, the port and those that supported its designation are hoping it will create more jobs in the region. “Oregon’s coastal and inland ports support local economies across our state by providing the kinds of great jobs that people can raise their families on, and by making it easier to trans- port goods to and from our communities and across the world,” Merkely said in a press release. The project is also aimed at reducing transportation costs while simultaneously reducing road and rail traffi c thanks to the extended barge service and an increase in freight shipments along the Columbia and Snake rivers on Marine Highway 84. “The Columbia River system is a valuable asset for transporting wheat and other products from East- ern Oregon to the world. I applaud the Port’s efforts to maximize this resource and I am glad to have worked so closely with them to pur- sue Marine Highway sta- tus,” Walden said via press release. By limiting the need for shipments to and from the region to travel by road and instead better utilizing more effi cient waterways, the port and its supporters hope the designation will ultimately help curb carbon emissions and fuel use as well. The Port of Morrow’s designation joins eight others by the DOT and MARAD last week that expands the county’s alter- native shipping methods. “The designation of marine highways by Con- gress will help move cargo and people to help grow the economy and shift freight off of congested highways,” said Transportation Sec- retary Elaine L. Chao in a press release. BRIEFLY As a part of the survey, the city lists some of its proposals for new road maintenance rev- enue, including an income tax, payroll tax, gas tax, hotel room entertainment fee, event ticket fee, and a restaurant sales tax. At the bottom of the sur- vey, residents can specify how much they would be willing to spend for each proposal or select an option that states, “I do not support this funding option.” The council plans to use these surveys to help them make a decision later this year. The survey can be found at https://pendleton.or.us/article/ street-funding-survey. Manslaughter trial begins for Milton- Freewater man PENDLETON — The drunken driving manslaugh- ter trial of Leman Louis Bled- soe is underway in Pendleton Jury selection began in the morning and lasted until the afternoon in Umatilla County Circuit Court. Judge Christo- pher Brauer is presiding. Bledsoe, 77, of Milton-Free- water, has been in the Uma- tilla County Jail, Pendleton, since his arrest Aug. 15, 2018, for driving drunk through a road construction zone on Highway 11 near Weston and crashing into and killing fl ag- ger Tyresa Monaghan. He faces charges of fi rst- and sec- ond-degree manslaughter, hit- and-run involving an injured person, driving under the infl uence of intoxicants and related charges. Manslaughter falls under Measure 11, Oregon’s man- datory minimum sentenc- ing laws. The conviction for second-degree manslaughter carries a sentence of at least six years, three months, and fi rst-degree manslaughter car- ries a minimum sentence of 10 years. The Umatilla County Dis- trict Attorney’s Offi ce has a bit a reprieve before the start of the next drunken driving man- slaughter trial. Pendleton attorney Jody Vaughn asked to push back the trial of John Mattila, 24, of Weston. Vaughn came on the case less than four weeks ago. She explained in a court fi ling she needs more time to prepare. Circuit Judge Jon Lieual- len granted the delay and pushed the trial to the fi rst week of November. The state has accused Mattila of driving drunk the evening of Feb. 22 and kill- ing Adelaida Solis Torres in a car crash on Highway 11 near Weston. Mattila has been in the county jail since. He faces charges of man- slaughter, hit-and-run, driv- ing drunk and more. — East Oregonian staff Clair Arnold School Based Ione Community Clinic Since 2018 “It’s not just what I do, it’s who I choose to be.” Enthusiastic. Attentive. Hopeful. A Healthier Morrow County is Within Me. I love my job! Not only do I get to work with amazing people at MCHD, but I also have the good fortune to serve my community and the students through the Ione Community Charter School. Every day brings something new, and I can’t wait to see what we grow next! 8/6 Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie Showing Wednesday Minions at 10 and Airplane at 12 Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (PG13) 3:40p* 6:40p 9:40p Read About How We are Working Together to be a Healthier Community Today and HealthyMC.org Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (R) 3:10p* 6:30p 9:50p The Lion King (PG) 4:10p 6:50p 9:30p Spider-Man: Far from Home (PG13) 4:20p 7:10p 10:00p Toy Story 4 (G) 4:40p 7:00p 9:20p * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 Where healthier is happening... Boardman | Heppner | Ione | Irrigon | Lexington 541-676-9133
