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Tuesday, April 20, 2021
East Oregonian
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Voters: Port of Morrow is second largest port in Oregon
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Stokoe has worked in law
enforcement for more than 31
years and has been Board-
man Police Department Chief
since 2011. He was appointed
as a port commissioner in
2015 and reelected in 2017.
Stokoe said he has always
been involved in the commu-
nity, and on regional and state
boards. Some of his local
volunteer work includes the
Morrow Education Founda-
tion, coaching youth sports
and as a volunteer ambulance
driver for the Morrow County
Ambulance District. He said
he sees his service on the Port
of Morrow Commission as
another opportunity to help
Morrow County.
“It’s extremely satisfy-
ing to me to give back to the
community,” he said.
Stokoe said if reelected,
one of his biggest areas of
focus will be on helping the
port create and retain family
wage jobs for the region. Part
of that is making sure the
infrastructure is in place to
support development, he said,
and being fiscally responsible.
He said he is proud of the
work the port commission has
done so far.
“We’re the second larg-
est port in the state, and that
comes with a lot of hard
work,” he said.
Jonathan Tallman
Jonathan Tallman is one
of two challengers running
against Stokoe for position 1.
Tallman is an owner of the
local, family-owned Board-
man coffee shop The Farm-
er’s Cup. He said the business
has seen “triple digit growth”
but managed to avoid the
waste that often comes with
such fast growth. He said he
can bring similar skills to the
Port of Morrow, which has
also seen rapid growth.
Tallman has been at odds
with the Port of Morrow
Commission and other local
officials for more than a year
now, as Umatilla Electric
Cooperative has pursued an
easement to build a trans-
mission line through the
Tallmans’ property to accom-
modate new growth, and
CANDIDATE FORUMS
Boardman Chamber of Commerce held a virtual candidate
forum for Port of Morrow Commissioner Position #3 candi-
dates on April 13, and the video is available on the Board-
man Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.
The chamber will hold a virtual candidate forum on its
Facebook page for Position No. 1 candidates on Tuesday,
April 27.
commission, the port has
also done a good job of diver-
sifying its economic base,
and of strategic planning —
something it is important to
continue.
“There are a couple of
ports in the state of Oregon
that have run out of prop-
erty, and we don’t want to be
there,” he said.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
A sign marks the entrance to the Port of Morrow’s East Beach Industrial Park on July 17, 2020.
threatened to use eminent
domain if the family doesn’t
sign an agreement voluntarily.
Tallman said he feels there has
been a lack of communication
throughout the entire process
from the port and others.
“This is the only way I can
be part of the conversation,”
he said.
Tallman also has crit-
icisms about the way the
port commission operates
in general, and said he feels
current commission members
have too many conf licts
of interest and are finding
ways to use the position for
their own gain (Commission
members interviewed for the
article denied this allegation
and said they recuse them-
selves from any decisions that
may have even an appearance
of conflict).
He said he feels there is “a
lot of waste” in what the port
is doing, and as a commission
member he would focus on
reducing that waste. He also
wants the port to do what it
can to promote more housing
development so that employ-
ees of port businesses have a
place to live in the county.
John Kilkenny
John Kilkenny is running
against Stokoe and Tallman
for position 1.
Kilkenny said he is a life-
long Morrow County resi-
dent, other than a brief stint
in Pasco, Washington, and
has been farming in the area
for 40 years. He has served
on a number of local boards,
including 12 years on the
Morrow County Planning
Commission and time on
the Morrow County Rodeo
Board.
“The port has done a
tremendous job of growing
and diversifying ... and I’d just
like to continue that,” he said.
While Kilkenny praised
the port’s growth, he said
there are some areas he would
like to focus on improving if
elected, including recruiting
more small and medium-sized
locally owned businesses.
He said he feels the port
and county could work better
together than they currently
do, and would like to see more
“synergy” in that relationship.
He also would like to see
a stronger emphasis on job
training locally, to retain more
young people who grew up in
Morrow County and are ready
to start their careers. He said
he knows the port can only
do so much when it comes
to housing development, but
he would like to see the port
commission find more ways
to expand housing options in
the county.
“Unfortunately, a lot of
people who work in Morrow
County don’t live in Morrow
Fair:
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gather in downtown Stanfield
for the community’s first major
public event for over a year,
organizers said.
Owners brought their
vehicles from across Eastern
Oregon and Southeast Wash-
ington for display at the “Show
and Shine” event. Bemrose
said it was clear that people
were eager to get out, with
some showing up in the early
hours of the morning.
“I think it’s been helping
a lot of people,” he said of the
event. “People love taking
their cars out, and they’ve been
really cooped up, so this has
been really helpful to a lot of
people.”
Vendors at the event served
hot dogs, hamburgers, kettle
corn and other delicious treats
while live bands on the front
steps of the library played
classic rock, blues and bebop,
giving the sunny spring day a
feeling of normalcy — which
for many had been missing.
“I’m impressed,” said
Longhorn, who helped orga-
nize the event with Stanfield
Parks and Recreation. “I’m
super excited about the turn-
Decision:
Continued from Page A1
is also an Irrigon city coun-
cilor and an elected member of
the Umatilla Morrow Radio &
Data District Board of Direc-
tors.
McBee began speak-
ing with the Oregon School
Boards Association and the
Umatilla County Elections
Division to get their advice
before eventually turning to
the Pendleton School District’s
legal counsel.
McBee said the district’s
attorney soon identified
Oregon Revised Statute
338.035, which states, “a
Bryce Dole/East Oregonian
Classic cars line the downtown streets in Stanfield for a
“Show and Shine” event on Saturday, April 17, 2021.
out. It confirms in my mind
how much people are ready
to have a little sunshine and
happiness, and see the good
things we’re missing out on.”
Looking out on the groups
of people meandering into
shops along Main Street,
Longhorn spoke optimisti-
cally about her hopes for the
community of small busi-
nesses rebounding after
months of hardship.
“That’s the goal is to help
our local community see
what we have,” she said. “Just
because we’re small doesn’t
mean we can’t offer fun
things.”
Kathy Baker, a lifelong
Stanfield resident and owner
member of the school district
board of the school district
within which a public char-
ter school is located may not
be a voting member of the
public charter school govern-
ing body.”
But by the time the district
confirmed Spencer couldn’t
serve on both bodies, McBee
said it was already after the
filing deadline, which also
serves as a dropout deadline.
Kim Lindell, the Umatilla
County elections manager,
said she consulted with the
Oregon Secretary of State’s
Office, which advised her to
keep Spencer on the ballot,
and then let her make a deci-
sion should she win. The
specifics of how the situation
of Fun Fashions Boutique in
downtown, said that many
customers from out of town
had waltzed through the store
throughout the day, as well
as some local residents who
hadn’t even known the store
was there.
“It’s huge,” she said of the
event. “It helps us as a small
community. It brings people
into our community.”
Baker added that she hopes
events like the fair bring noto-
riety to local businesses
after the closures brought by
COVID-19.
“Stanfield just doesn’t get
recognized for some reason,”
she said. “I don’t know why.
We have, like, 10,000 cars
is handled, Lindell said, lies
with the school district.
An enrolled member of the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation,
Spencer said she got involved
in these races because of her
desire to add representation to
the board as a “BIPOC woman
of color” and to help out chil-
dren in Pendleton and on the
Umatilla Indian Reservation.
“My goal is to serve youth
however I can,” she said.
Spencer said she hasn’t
decided which board she will
serve on yet because at this
point, her winning seats on
both boards is still a hypothet-
ical. Attorney Patrick Gregg
is the other candidate for
Position 7, and if he wins, the
County,” he said.
Jerry Healy
Jerry Healy is running for
reelection to position 3 on the
Port of Morrow Commission.
Healy was born and raised
in Morrow County and lived
there most of his life, other
than college and a stint in
the Peace Corps. He said he
has now been on the Port of
Morrow Commission for
about 27 years, but is ready to
continue his service.
“It’s a dynamic position,”
he said. “It keeps you excited
about what you’re doing.
There are tremendous things
we have accomplished for
our community and for the
county.”
Healy said one of the
most important things the
port commission needs to
continue to focus on is how to
provide training and oppor-
tunities for people already in
Morrow County, to encourage
them to stay after high school
graduation or come back after
pursuing their education.
“For decades, our number
one export from the county
was our young people,” he
said.
He said the port has
already been improving on
that through the workforce
training center, internships
and other programs. He said
during his service on the
come through here on (High-
way 395). It’s crazy.”
A block from the cloth-
ing store, dozens of resi-
dents lounged in the sunshine
throughout the day over meals
at the Broken Barrel, a bar and
grill serving classic pub food
like sandwiches and wraps,
as well as burgers with titles
like “Trust me” and “Let’s go
nuts!”
Martha McClusky, the
restaurant owner, said she
hopes the fair is held every
year. Several other attendees
said the same.
“It’s so nice to see people
out and moving and being
in the sunshine,” she said,
adding she was glad to see
regular customers returning
to the restaurant. “There’s a
lot of new people and faces we
haven’t seen for so long. There
was almost a full year there
where people weren’t able to
come in and see us.”
McClusky said the street
fair is a great example of how
Stanfield is continuing to grow.
“This is just making my
heart happy to see events
happening here,” she said. “I
hope that we see many more
of these events added to bring
our community closer together
and get to know our neigh-
bors.”
discussion over holding seats
on two school boards will be
moot.
Spencer is still a member-
elect of the Nixyaawii School
Board, which like Pendleton
won’t seat its new members
until July. She added that she’s
kept the school board chair of
Nixyaawii apprised of the
situation.
For her part, McBee said
she isn’t trying to tip the scales
for or against Spencer, but
just trying to help the Pendle-
ton School Board follow the
proper procedures and stat-
utes.
Ballots for the May 18
Pendleton School Board elec-
tions will begin being mailed
out on April 28.
Rick Weiss
Rick Weiss is one of two
candidates challenging Healy
for position 3 on the commis-
sion.
Weiss is the pastor of First
Baptist Church in Boardman.
He said while that wouldn’t
seem to lend itself to serving
on the port commission, past
experience would, including
time working in public policy
in Arizona, experience as a
small business owner and his
bachelor’s degree in political
science.
Weiss and his wife moved
to Boardman about 18 months
ago, he said, and jumped into
community involvement,
including their instrumental
work in starting the Board-
man food pantry. He said the
Port of Morrow is a signifi-
cant part of the community,
and “it just seems if I’m going
to be involved in the commu-
nity, that is an area where I
could have some influence.”
He said as someone newer
to the county who doesn’t
own a local business affected
by the port’s decisions and
who doesn’t work for a local
government entity, he feels he
can bring an objective voice to
the port commission, focused
on what’s best for the commu-
nity as a whole.
“I’ve got fresh eyes,” he
said.
He said if elected he would
work to bring additional
transparency and communi-
cation with the public to the
port’s proceedings.
Chandler Schaak
Chandler Schaak is the
third candidate running for
position 3, but did not return
calls and an email sent to the
contact information listed on
the filing form.
According to the filing
form, Schaak lives in Board-
man and is an insurance
agent.
Joe Taylor
Joe Taylor, a local farmer
who grew up in Morrow
County, has served as a Port
of Morrow commissioner for
16 years, and is running unop-
posed for another term.
He said he was actually
a little disappointed no one
ran against him, as contested
races help bring up good
ideas and areas for improve-
ment.
Taylor said he was moti-
vated to run again by projects
the port has been working on
that are not yet complete, that
he would like to see through.
If reelected, he will also repre-
sent the port on the Columbia
River Enterprise Zone board
for the first time, which he
said he looks forward to.
Taylor said he is proud of
the work the port has done
in recent years, including
the transition to a new port
manager and the port’s strong
growth — a trend he said is
likely to continue.
“That’s going to take some
planning and foresight,” he
said.
Taylor said he wants to see
the port continue to do what
it can to help bring more
housing options to Morrow
County.
“It’s not a big input we
have, but we have a little bit
and I think it helps,” he said.
Contributed Photo
Athena-Weston School District Superintendent Laure
Quaresma said junior Aiden Wolf is “a leader in our school.
But he’s a deep-thinking, quiet leader.”
Heritage:
Continued from Page A1
said. “But he’s a deep-think-
ing, quiet leader. He’s really
sincere in what he said about
caring about his home,
caring about the land. He’s
very dedicated to anything
he invests himself in.”
Quaresma said Aiden
has made efforts to share his
culture with fellow students.
“ He o r g a n i z e d a
powwow for our district,”
Quaresma said. “He brought
in drummers and dancers
just to share his way of life
with us.”
While Quaresma said
there is still hope the
assembly in Texas could be
rescheduled, so far there are
no firm plans to do so.
Meanwhile, students
chosen for the assembly are
creating essays and other
works to share their voices.
While Aiden’s essay is an
example, he isn’t done yet.
“I’m thinking about
making a video,” Aiden
said. “It would talk more
about my culture and my
way of life, rather than just
my hair.”
Quaresma said orga-
nizers of the Rural Youth
Assembly are attempting to
gather the videos and essays
made by students and orga-
nize a virtual assembly, if an
in-person one in Texas isn’t
possible.
Aiden’s essay can be read
at ubne.ws/aidenwolf.
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