REGION
Saturday, December 7, 2019
East Oregonian
A3
Hemp takes center stage at Hermiston Farm Fair
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
HERMISTON — For
years, the Hermiston Farm
Fair has been a destination
for potato, grain and vege-
table farmers in the Colum-
bia Basin to learn about new
research and technology.
Add industrial hemp to
the list of crops featured at
the 46th annual convention
and trade show.
As hemp continues to
gain ground across Ore-
gon, scientists and regula-
tors presented their latest
findings about the versatile
plant during a half-day sem-
inar Dec. 4, covering every-
thing from federal regula-
tions to managing pests and
diseases.
Gary McAnich, program
manager for the Oregon
Department of Agriculture,
discussed the state’s role in
overseeing hemp production
and complying with interim
rules recently issued by the
USDA.
“We try to treat hemp
just like any other crop,”
McAnich said, though he
added there are caveats due
to its close relationship to
marijuana.
The 2018 Farm Bill offi-
cially classified hemp as
an agricultural commod-
ity, removing it from the list
THC when heat is applied.
McAnich said the agency
will switch to testing for
total THC beginning in
2020. But hemp harvested
in 2019 will not be retested
under the more stringent
standard, meaning growers
will not have to worry about
potentially losing some or
all of this year’s crop.
The USDA regulations
also call for testing hemp
within 15 days of harvest,
as opposed to 28 days under
the Oregon rules, compress-
ing the timeline for growers.
McAnich said his phone
has been ringing off the
hook with concerns about
differences between the
state and federal plans.
“This is the time right
now to provide comments
(to the USDA),” he said.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Meanwhile, the 2019
Participants wander aisles of vendor exhibits during the 2019 Hermiston Farm Fair at the growing season was the first
Eastern Oregon Trade & Event Center on Thursday afternoon.
opportunity for researchers
at Oregon State Universi-
of Schedule I drugs. ODA Morrow, Union, Wallowa, drocannabinol, or THC. By ty’s Hermiston Agricultural
has issued hemp grower Grant, Baker, Malheur and definition, industrial hemp Research and Extension
cannot exceed 0.3% THC.
licenses under a pilot pro- Harney counties.
Center to take a closer look
gram since 2015 under the
However, the agency at studying the hemp grow-
“We saw a big explo-
sion in 2019 as a result of has only been testing for ing around the region.
previous Farm Bill.
Ken Frost, a plant pathol-
Since then, the state has the 2018 Farm Bill being put delta-9 THC — the main
gone from 13 registered into place,” McAnich said.
psychoactive component ogist at the station, gave a
ODA already complies in cannabis that gets users presentation about diseases
growers and 105 acres to
1,957 growers and 63,684 with several major provi- high. Under the USDA pro- they observed in hemp based
acres as of Nov. 7. That sions of the interim USDA posal, it calls for testing on samples brought into the
includes 112 registered rules, McAnich said, such as “total THC,” taking into plant clinic at HAREC.
“Early on, we had some
growers in Eastern Ore- tracking acreage and testing account other compounds
gon, including Umatilla, plants for levels of tetrahy- that can convert to delta-9 cooler temperatures. Things
City to vote on plans for new Funland Monday
Original playground
built in 1996, second
version built in 2001
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Plans
for a new Funland play-
ground will be unveiled
Monday as they come up
for approval by the Herm-
iston City Council.
A design, timeline and
fundraising plan will be
presented during a work
session with the council at
6 p.m. Monday at city hall,
180 N.E. Second St. The
council will then be asked
to approve, reject or amend
the proposal during their
regular meeting at 7 p.m.
The public is invited to
both meetings.
Parks and Recreation
Director Larry Fetter said
in a memo to the coun-
cil the new playground,
including the ground sur-
facing, will be more fire-re-
sistant and will be built
with “the most durable and
vandal resistant materi-
als available.” The original
Funland playground built
in 1996 and a second ver-
sion built in 2001 were both
destroyed by arson.
Since the playground’s
second iteration burned
down in May, a committee
of residents and city coun-
cilors has been working
with a professional play-
ground design company.
If the council approves the
design, the city hopes to
have the new playground
at Butte Park completed
in time for the city’s next
Fourth of July celebration
there.
Fetter wrote that plans
include adding a sec-
ond shade structure, and
a
restroom/concessions
building next to the play-
ground. The play structure
East Oregonian file photo
Charred portions of the Funland play structure at Butte Park in Hermiston await demoli-
tion after an early morning fire in May 2019. Plans for a new Funland playground will be
unveiled Monday as they come up for approval by the Hermiston City Council.
itself will be divided into
three sections — adven-
ture, wild west and farm-
land — and include fea-
tures, such as a pirate ship,
giant watermelon slice,
stagecoach and locomotive.
“This playground is so
big and bold that people
will come to Hermiston
just to visit the park,” Fet-
ter said.
The full design is
expected to cost about
$1.2 million. The city has
received an insurance set-
tlement of $700,000 and the
Funland committee hopes
to raise the rest through
picket sales, sponsorships
and other fundraising.
Parts of the project can be
added later if fundraising
efforts fall short.
Water rates
Also on Monday’s
agenda is a change to the
city’s policy for grant-
ing reduced utility rates
to low-income custom-
ers. Assistant City Man-
ager Mark Morgan said
applicants for the hard-
ship discount rose signifi-
cantly this year, after the
city increased water rates
in March.
The city’s past practice
has been to grant reduc-
tions on a case-by-case
basis using a form that
asks applicants about their
income and expenses. How-
ever, Morgan said the pro-
cess was somewhat subjec-
tive and sometimes people
did not accurately report a
full picture of their income.
As a result, city staff are
recommending the city
grant a 50% discount on
the customer’s base rate on
a year-by-year basis, based
on the applicant’s federal
tax return for that year.
Morgan said based on
the city’s U.S. Census data,
granting discounts to those
who fall below federal pov-
erty lines could cause the
city to lose as much as 3.5%
ONLINE
The full agenda packet
for Monday’s Hermiston
City Council meeting can
be found online at herm-
iston.or.us/meetings.
of its expected revenue for
the water system.
Monday’s city council
agenda also includes com-
mittee reports, the monthly
financial report, the results
of the city’s annual audit
and minor updates to its
curfew ordinance to bring
it in line with state law.
The council will also vote
on updates to its parks
and recreation ordinance,
which will include a pro-
cess for trespassing people
from city parks and allow-
ing use of alcohol in parks
only with a special permit.
were a little wet,” Frost said.
“We saw a whole lot of root
rot, and things like that.”
Frost said the region did
see some gray mold later
in the season — though not
as bad as the Willamette
Valley and Southern Ore-
gon, where rainy conditions
threatened to ruin whole
fields.
The clinic focused pri-
marily on soil-borne fun-
gal diseases like fusarium
root and crown rot, which
causes poor root develop-
ment, stunting and wilting
of hemp plants, as well as
curly top virus, a disease
carried by an insect known
as the beet leafhopper.
Curly top virus can cause
hemp leaves to become
brittle and distorted, while
reducing yield.
To manage the disease,
Frost said growers should
closely monitor insect
and weed populations and
remove affected plants if
possible. They can also
use rotation crops or adjust
planting dates to improve
soil health and avoid fungal
infections.
“I think most people are
still learning about this on
the fly,” Frost said. “We
hope to accumulate more
knowledge and provide
that back to growers in the
future.”
BRIEFLY
Crash halts traffic
on Highway 395
HERMISTON — A
three-vehicle crash inter-
rupted rush-hour traffic along
Highway 395 on Thursday
evening.
According
to
Ore-
gon State Police, a Toyota
Tacoma driven by Connie
Winks, 49, of Pilot Rock,
was stopped on Highway 395
northbound between Stur-
gis Street and Baggett Lane
to turn left into a local car
dealership. The vehicle was
behind a semitruck, driven
by Wesley McArthur, 40, of
Alberta, Canada.
A Chevy Suburban driven
by Michael Duke Gig-
nac, 33, struck the Toyota
Tacoma from behind. Gignac
was attempting to pass the
semitruck and didn’t see the
vehicle, according to OSP.
OSP troopers responded
to the scene after 4:40 p.m.,
and cleared the area about
6 p.m.
There were no inju-
ries involved in the crash,
through Winks and the pas-
sengers that accompanied her
were shaken.
“(Oregon Department of
Transportation) needs to put
a turn lane here,” Winks said.
She and her daughter and
grandson were headed to the
car dealership possibly to
purchase a vehicle. Winks
said that when Gignac struck
their vehicle, it spun twice on
the road.
“It all happened so fast,”
she said.
OSP did not say whether
any citations were issued.
The vehicles driven by Gig-
nac and Winks were both
towed off the scene.
The resulting traffic also
caused a hit and run accident.
Holiday Remembrance Program
No injuries were reported.
Merkley moves field
office to Baker City
BAKER CITY — U.S.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.,
has opened an Eastern Ore-
gon field office in Baker City,
which will serve as the local
point of contact for Orego-
nians in Morrow, Umatilla,
Union, Wallowa, Grant,
Malheur and Baker counties.
The move from Pendle-
ton to the Baker Tower, 1705
Main St., Baker City, comes
after Merkley had a new
staffer, Jessica Keys, join his
team as Eastern Oregon field
representative.
“It is important to me that
every region in our state has
a local office to field ques-
tions and information, and
local staff to be out and
available in our communi-
ties,” Merkley said. “I’m
glad we’re opening our doors
to this new, centrally located
office.”
— EO Media Group and
wire services
12/6-12/8
Cineplex Show Times
$5 Classic Movie
Showing Wednesday @ 12p
Cactus Flower
A Beautiful Day in the
Neighborhood (PG)
1:50p* 4:20p 6:50p 9:30p
Frozen 2 (PG)
11:40a* 2:10p* 4:40p 7:10p
9:40p
Knives Out (PG13)
1:20p* 4:10p 7:00p 9:50p
Ford V Ferrari (PG13)
12:20p* 3:30p* 6:40p 9:50p
Midway (PG13)
12:10p* 3:20p* 6:20p 9:20p
* Matinee Pricing
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
Please Join
12/9
Cineplex Show Times
$5 Classic Movie
Showing Wednesday @ 12p
Cactus Flower
A Beautiful Day in the
Neighborhood (PG)
4:20p 6:50p 9:30p
in our 10th annual remembrance program honoring and
celebrating the special lives of the loved ones we have lost
Frozen 2 (PG)
4:40p 7:10p 9:40p
Tuesday, December 10th, 2019 • 7:00 pm
Knives Out (PG13)
4:10p 7:00p 9:50p
131 SE Byers Ave • Pendleton, Oregon
Please call us and we will place the name of your loved
one on an ornament for you to place on the tree.
(541) 276-1221
Fellowship and refreshments following
Ford V Ferrari (PG13)
3:30p* 6:40p 9:50p
Midway (PG13)
3:20p* 6:20p 9:20p
* Matinee Pricing
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216