HIGH-SPEED CHASE
ENDS IN CRASH
NEAR MT. VERNON
NIXYAAWII BESTS
STANFIELD AT COLUMBIA
RIVER CLASH
NORTHWEST, A2
SPORTS, B1
E O
AST
144th Year, No. 42
REGONIAN
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2019
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2019 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Your Weekend
NECESSARY
CHANGES?
• HEPPNER WINTER FEST,
downtown Heppner
• HOLIDAY MUSIC FESTIVAL,
Vert Auditorium, Pendleton
• WINTER FESTIVAL,
downtown Pilot Rock
Sewer plant
could alter the
way it discharges
water into the
Umatilla River
FOR TIMES AND LOCATIONS
CHECK COMING EVENTS, A6
Weekend Weather
FRI
SAT
SUN
48/34
42/29
38/25
Oregon Trail
advocates
disagree with
depot proposal
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — The program-
matic agreement to protect historical
assets at the former Umatilla Chemi-
cal Depot will be up for public com-
ment in “very short order,” according
to Columbia Development Authority
director Greg Smith.
Getting the U.S. Army to sign off
on the agreement is the fi nal hur-
dle for the depot to transfer from the
Army to local control. Smith told
the CDA board on Thursday that the
30-day comment period should begin
in roughly two weeks.
Some Oregon Trail advocates have
already expressed disapproval. Wen-
dell Baskins of the Oregon Historic
Trails Advisory Council said he and
other advocates sent the Army an
alternate proposal for consideration,
which would preserve a much larger
portion of the Oregon Trail ruts run-
ning through land the CDA has slated
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Pendleton Wastewater Superintendent Mark Milne explains how a clarifi er works at the wastewater treatment plant in
Pendleton on Thursday afternoon.
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
P
ENDLETON — Five
degrees in water tem-
perature could drastically
change the way Pendle-
ton’s sewer plant operates.
At a Pendleton City Council work-
shop Tuesday, Public Works Direc-
tor Bob Patterson and Preston Van
Meter, a principal engineer with con-
sulting fi rm Murraysmith, explained
the proposed update to the wastewa-
ter treatment plant facility plan.
The plan was last updated in 2007
and was meant to update the facil-
ity to address the ammonia and tem-
perature standards set by the Oregon
Department of Environmental Qual-
ity at the time.
The sewer plant deposits 100% of
its discharge into the Umatilla River,
which it can do as long as its total
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
See Changes, Page A8
Treated water fl ows along a channel at the wastewater treatment plant before
being piped to the Umatilla River in Pendleton on Thursday afternoon.
See Depot, Page A8
Loss of funding surprises educators
Poverty level estimates
change up federal
funding for Title V
Rural and Low Income
Schools grant
By JESSICA POLLARD
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Drops in
poverty level estimates between
2015 and 2016 resulted in less
federal funding for some local
rural districts this year, including
Hermiston.
During the last fi scal year, the
district was eligible for more than
$85,000 from the Title V Rural
and Low Income Schools grant.
Browning
Dirksen
This year, they weren’t eligible
at all, stunning offi cials at the
school district.
“This came as a surprise to
us,” said Assistant Superinten-
dent Bryn Browning. “We’ve
gotten it for eight or nine years.”
Funds from the grant are typ-
ically distributed between the
schools in the district, and go
toward hiring substitutes for
teachers that miss school for pro-
fessional and leadership devel-
opment opportunities, Browning
said.
She added since the dis-
trict learned it was ineligible to
receive the grant for the 2019-20
school year, professional develop-
ment opportunities were put to a
halt.
“We’ll have to fi gure out other
possible ways to do these pro-
grams,” she said.
Browning said the district
would look into using other state
funding, or dip into general funds
in the future.
“We’re not going to count on
the grant,” she said. “This will
impact conversations moving
forward about where professional
development fi ts in.”
The Rural and Low Income
Schools grant is a federal formula
grant with two major criteria —
school districts must be in a rural
area, and at least 20% of the chil-
dren ages 5 to 17 served by the
agency must come from fami-
lies with incomes below the pov-
erty line, according to the Oregon
Department of Education.
This year, 33 fewer school dis-
tricts in Oregon fi t the bill than
during the 2018 school year,
although fi ve did gain eligibil-
ity. La Grande School District
received more than $35,000 in
Title V funding during the last
school year, but none this year.
“The Oregon local educational
agencies that were not eligible in
See Poverty, Page A8