REGION
Saturday, August 24, 2019
East Oregonian
A3
Planning commission modifies pot grow proposal
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton Planning Commis-
sion revised a draft amendment
to the city’s zoning code at a
meeting Thursday, potentially
allowing residents to continue
growing their own marijuana
as long as they don’t go beyond
four plants.
The commission made
the changes after hearing
from Brandon Krenzler, the
co-owner of the Kind Leaf
Pendleton marijuana dispen-
sary, who testified against a
proposal that requires all mari-
juana grows are located indoors
in a solid walled structure.
In a previous interview,
City Planner George Cress said
the new proposal was added
because the city has received
complaints from residents that
neighboring marijuana grows
were producing an objection-
EO file photo
A revised proposal from the city would require all marijuana
grows larger than four plants be moved indoors.
able smell.
Krenzler said forcing mar-
ijuana growers indoors could
lead to safety hazards when
amateur growers try to hook up
their own lighting and filtration
systems without the requisite
electrical experience.
But he also said four mar-
ijuana plants, the maximum
allowed for personal use under
recreational laws, shouldn’t
produce a smell beyond a
backyard.
“Four plants, you might
smell on the edge of a prop-
erty line,” he said. “Maybe on
a really windy day, you’ll catch
a whiff of it. But four plants
does not produce that large of
Council to vote on resolution
supporting school bond
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON
—
Hermiston School Dis-
trict’s bond campaign may
be getting an endorsement
from the city council.
The council will con-
sider a resolution during
their Monday meeting in
support of the $82.7 mil-
lion bond, which would pay
to replace Rocky Heights
Elementary School with a
larger building, add a new
elementary school on The-
ater Lane, add classrooms
to Hermiston High School
and address traffic conges-
tion at other schools.
Also on Monday’s
agenda is an executive
session for City Manager
Byron Smith’s annual per-
formance review, followed
by possible changes to his
contract. Smith was hired
in 2014.
The council will also
vote on a proposal to
increase hangar rental rates
at the Hermiston Municipal
Airport to help raise funds
for adding another city-
owned hangar to the air-
port. T-hangar #2 would be
raised from $130 a month
to $180 over the course
of two years (in two $25
increments) and T-hangar
#3 would be raised from
$180 to $200. The addi-
tional funds would be used
IF YO GO
The city council meets
Monday at 7 p.m. at the
Hermiston City Hall,
180 N.E. Second St. The
full agenda packet can
be found at hermiston.
or.us/meetings.
to start saving for a down-
payment to finance a future
hangar.
Also on Monday’s
agenda are a recogni-
tion from the Government
Finance Officers Associ-
ation, staff reports, coun-
cil reports and a review of
progress on the council’s
2019 goals.
Tri-Cities Cancer Center opens
new Hermiston satellite office
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Can-
cer patients won’t have to
travel as far for all of their
appointments after the
Tri-Cities Cancer Center
opened a satellite office in
Hermiston.
The new office is located
in the Good Shepherd
Medical Center plaza, 600
N.W. 11th St., Suite E-23.
While radiation treatment
will not take place there,
patients will be able to visit
for other types of appoint-
ments, such as consulta-
tions, follow-ups and sup-
port services.
“We want to ensure that
our patients are served well
across the region,” Chuck
DeGooyer, CEO of the
Tri-Cities Cancer Center,
said in a statement. “With
many of our patients com-
ing from Hermiston and
the surrounding commu-
nities, we want to make it
easier for them to receive
their cancer care and sup-
port close to their home.”
They
will
partner
with Good Shepherd and
Kadlec Medical Center of
Richland, allowing Good
Shepherd doctors to refer
patients just down the hall
for consultations.
The center will initially
be open every Monday, and
will be staffed by radiation
oncologist Dr. Guy Jones.
Ken Gamboa, director
of marketing for TRCC,
said the center plans to
offer some public educa-
tion and screening events
at the Hermiston center as
well.
The Tri-Cities Can-
cer Center was started by
Kadlec, Lourdes Health
and Trios Health hospitals
in 1994 as a free-standing
nonprofit cancer treatment
center. It offers a range of
services including treat-
ment, support groups, a
survivorship clinic, a natu-
ropath clinic, chaplain and
fitness programs.
To schedule an appoint-
ment, call (509) 783-9894.
Umatilla County Historical Society’s
Annual Heritage Luncheon
“A Right Yorkshire Lass: Fannie Kay
Bishop and the Founding of Pend-
leton Woolen Mill”
Guest Speaker John Bishop
Saturday October 5, 2019
12pm-2pm
Pendleton Convention Center
Heritage Luncheon 2019 tickets
UCHS Members/ $50
General admission/ $55
Purchase tickets in advance
at Heritage Station Museum
or call 541-276-0012.
Ticket price includes a catered lunch
from CG Catering.
Sponsored by:
an odor that a neighborhood
or a city should be concerned
about.”
Krenzler said he’s a vegetar-
ian and doesn’t find the smell of
cooked meat enjoyable, but he
doesn’t complain to authorities
when a neighbor fires up the
barbecue.
Krenzler did warn against
large-scale medical growers,
who can grow dozens of plants
if they’re growing on behalf of
registered patients.
Pendleton resident Alan
Feves also spoke out against the
proposal.
“I think voters wanted regu-
lations for marijuana,” he said.
“They wanted the ability to
grow it themselves. I think this
gets in the way of that. It pretty
much shuts it down.”
After the public hearing
closed, various members of the
commission said they couldn’t
remember including the indoor
grow requirement in the meet-
ings where they workshopped
the draft.
The proposed amendment
does a number of other things,
including formally banning
marijuana businesses in resi-
dential zones and consolidating
all cannabis-related language
into one section.
Commission
President
Ryan DeGrofft suggested new
language that states that any
cultivation of more than four
plants must be grown indoors,
and the rest of the commission
agreed.
Grows of four plants or less
still must confine their odors
to the owners’ property and be
obscured from public view.
Even though Krenzler
seemed pleased with the new
language, there were still some
lingering concerns about the
potential for marijuana smell.
The board chairman for
Cason’s Place Peer to Peer Grief
Counseling, Matt Terjeson, told
the commission he recently
found out that a marijuana busi-
ness was opening nearby and
expressed concern on how it
would affect a nonprofit that’s
frequented by children.
Terjeson was referring to
Thur’s Smoke Shop on 1616
S.E. Court Ave., which obtained
a conditional use permit in 2017
but is not operational, although
Lora Elliott, a permit tech for
the planning department, said
the city recently issued a cer-
tificate of occupancy to Thur’s
owner.
Rather than approve the
revisions on Friday, the com-
mission unanimously voted
to continue the public hearing
to their next meeting in Sep-
tember to approve an officially
revised draft.
The commission will then
forward its recommendation
to the Pendleton City Council,
who could potentially make
their own changes to the draft.
BRIEFLY
Citation issued in
Hermiston crash
HERMISTON — Follow-
ing an investigation, police
have issued one citation fol-
lowing a two-vehicle crash
that happened on Highway
395 near Walmart on Mon-
day morning.
Higinio Hernandez-San-
chez, 54, of Plymouth, Wash-
ington, was cited for careless
driving this week.
Hernandez-Sanchez was
turning from East Cornell
Place onto Highway 395 in a
red 2005 Dodge Neon outside
Walmart when he hit Steven
Brockett, 60, of Hermiston.
Brockett was riding a 2007
Honda motorcycle, and was
transported to Good Shep-
herd Medical Center.
Hermiston Police chief
Jason Edmiston said that the
report has been sent to the
District Attorney’s Office
to review potential charges
against Brockett, who has a
felony suspended license.
ton Police Department.
When police arrived at
the scene, they found a mid-
dle-aged man with a loaded
handgun threatening suicide
and challenging officers to
shoot him in the bedroom of a
residence.
Officers contained the sit-
uation and talked with the
man while waiting for mutual
aid, including a crisis negotia-
tor from the Hermiston Police
Department.
Eventually, patrol officers
convinced the man to put the
gun down. His firearm was
confiscated and he agreed to a
mental health evaluation.
Umatilla County Fire Dis-
trict 1 and Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Office both provided
assistance.
A press release issued by
the Hermiston Police Depart-
ment stated that officers would
have been legally justified in
using deadly force multiple
times during the situation, but
that use of de-escalation and
crisis intervention techniques
helped ease the conflict.
Hermiston police
de-escalate standoff Nixyaawii delays
HERMISTON — What start of school
began as a tense standoff
between a suicidal man and
the Hermiston police ended
peacefully after officers were
called to the 500 block of West
Standard Avenue on Friday
morning, according to a press
release issued by the Hermis-
MISSION — Accord-
ing to Principal Ryan Hein-
rich, Nixyaawii Community
School is pushing back its
opening day to Sept. 3.
Initially posted on Face-
book Friday afternoon, the
delay is due to lingering con-
struction at Nixyaawii’s new
site.
The Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian Reser-
vation is in the midst of com-
pleting a new school facility
west of the Nixyaawii Gover-
nance Center and Yellowhawk
Tribal Health Center.
Nixyaawii, a charter school
located on the Umatilla Indian
Reservation, originally tar-
geted an Aug. 26 start date.
Heinrich said staff recently
started moving things from the
old school into the new build-
ing at 73300 July Grounds
Lane but had to hold when
they were advised it was an
active construction zone.
He said construction crews
are still installing new tech-
nology into the facility and
staff still don’t have the key
cards they need to access the
building, so he and staff made
a decision to move the first day
of school back a week.
Nixyaawii usually oper-
ates Monday-Thursday, but
staff selected four Fridays as
make-up days: Oct. 11 and 18,
Nov. 22, and Dec. 20.
Even with the new sched-
ule, Heinrich said Nixyaawii
is still on track to meet the
minimum number of instruc-
tional hours mandated by the
state.
Before school starts, Nixy-
aawii will host an open house
on Aug. 29 from 11:30 a.m. to
2 p.m.
—East Oregonian staff
3234 S.W. Nye Pendleton, OR
Join us at 5
August 29th
for our Annual
ROUND-UP
BBQ!
• Round-Up Queen & Court
• Happy Canyon Princesses
• Main Street Cowboys
• Side Saddlers
• Good Food
• Great Entertainment With
VENUES INSIDE AND OUT.