REGION Saturday, July 3, 2021 East Oregonian A3   ’“­“Œ …‹Œ“…Œ”­„­ŠŒ‡•” ‡…­…‰­Š­„‡Š…­•  ­Ž‰†  Ž‹  • ‡ˆƒŽ …†‡†€ „ŠŒ€Ž Œ”’ €“ €Ž­ €­    ‡ˆƒŽ ˆ‰†Šˆƒ ‚ƒŽ‚ €ƒ ‚ƒŽ‚ €„ Ž’„  ­Ž’„  ­ –—˜™‰ …—”™Ž‹Ž”Ž’š™­­›™…œ…‹™šžŸ¡     ‘ ­†ƒŽ ‹ ƒ ­„…ƒŽ‚ €„ € ‚ƒ ­„…ƒ „ŠŒ€Ž Œ­’ €“ ­†ƒŽ ŒŽ‘’ €“ †…ƒ ‡ˆƒ ­†ƒ  ƒ ­‰ƒŽ Œ”’ €“ ­‰ƒ Š†‹ „ŠŒ€   ­ EOTEC improvements continued during pandemic By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian HERMISTON — The pandemic threw a lot at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center, but General Manager Al Davis feels confi - dent in its future. “COVID still kicked us in the gut, but we did a lot better than a lot of other venues,” he said. Part of that was thanks to EOTEC’s outdoor areas, which were able to hold some events even as indoor conventions and dinners were canceled. The rodeo arena hosted a variety of rodeo-re- lated events, Davis said. To help draw more of those kind of events, the center recently installed a second arena area using fencing, some movable bleachers and irriga- tion. The space is on the same footprint that EOTEC’s master plan calls for an indoor arena someday, so the infrastructure can be reused after basically placing a building on top of it. Davis said they’ve already picked up two world series events for roping later in the year that needed two arena areas, and it also has come in handy for other situations. “When we do barrel racing, Pendleton area sees much warmer temperatures in June East Oregonian PENDLETON — The Pendleton area experienced much warmer temperatures during the month of June, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmo- spheric Administration’s National Weather Service Offi ce in Pendleton. The average tempera- ture during the month was 72 degrees, 7.2 degrees above normal. High temperatures averaged 88.3 degrees, 10.1 degrees above normal, accord- ing to the monthly climate summary. The highest temperature was 117 degrees recorded on June 29. This was the second warm- est June on record. The warm- est was 72.8 degrees in 2015. Low temperatures aver- aged 55.8 degrees, 4.3 degrees above normal. The lowest temperature for the month was 39 degrees, recorded on June 7. Precipitation for the month totaled 0.31 inches, which was 0.67 inches below normal, the report said. Measurable Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File Boaters on June 2, 2021, recreate on McKay Reservoir out- side of Pendleton. According to the National Weather Ser- vice, the temperature that day in Pendleton peaked at 100. precipitation — at least 0.01 inch — was received on fi ve days, with the heaviest, 0.13 inches, reported on June 15. Precipitation for the year is 4.33 inches, which is 3.06 inches below normal. Since October 2020, the water year precipitation at the Pendleton airport has been 8.78 inches, 2.61 inches below normal. The highest wind gust was 52 mph on June 5, and just one day during the month when the wind exceeded 50 mph. The outlook for July from NOAA’s Climate Predic- tion Center calls for above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation. Normal highs for the Pend- leton airport during July are 87.9 degrees and normal lows rise are 57.5 degrees. The 30-year normal precipitation is just under 0.32 inches. HERMISTON Watermelons weathering the heat By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian HER MISTON — Hermiston’s watermelon crop is hanging in there despite being pounded by a record-breaking heatwave. “Overall, they’re hold- ing up pretty well,” said Jack Bellinger of Bellinger Farms, describing himself as “cautiously optimistic.” He said Tuesday, June 29, that he had just gotten done checking half his watermelon fi elds, and he was pleased with what he saw. They might have to start picking their earliest fields sooner than expected, he said, but the heat and drought haven’t been as detrimental to water- melons as they have been to some crops. “Luckily watermelons are desert plants,” he said. “They originated in the Middle East, so they do pretty well in the heat.” Scientists believe water- melons originated in north- ern Africa, specifi cally. Hermiston’s soil compo- sition, as well as its hot days and cool nights, helps create an ideal mix of conditions for the sugary, juicy watermel- ons Hermiston is famous for. While the nights haven’t been as cool in the past week, with Ben Longergan/East Oregonian, File Hermiston seedless watermelons sit in cartons outside of the Bellinger Farms store on Highway 395 in Hermiston in 2019. This year’s crop is holding up in the extreme heat, according to Jack Bellinger. a hotter-than-usual June, Bellinger said he is looking forward to testing the sugar content of this year’s crop soon. Bellinger Farms also grows a variety of other crops, including some being harvested now, so Bellinger said during the extreme heat workers have been starting earlier, with most coming in around 5 a.m. “Some of my irrigators start at 3,” he said. VISIT US ON THE WEB AT: www.EastOregonian.com would like to thank all who fought the wheat fire and protected our home, this past Saturday, June 26th. Special thanks go out to the Tribal Fire Dept., Echo Rural Fire and Kyle Snow. We are grateful! it’s our warmup pen,” he said. Davis also pointed out other recent improvements, including additional irrigation and new trees. “We’re greening it up,” he said. The trees are fast-growing varieties, he said, but people comparing the old fairgrounds on Orchard Avenue to EOTEC need to remember the big shade trees there came from decades of growth. Indoors, EOTEC is serv- ing a cooling station for the community this week. Davis said the center recently held its first wedding and first Quinceañera in more than a year, and he is optimistic more of those sorts of events will begin to come back as COVID-19 restrictions lift. During the pandemic, indoor use of EOTEC was mostly limited to small meet- ings for groups that wanted to have more social distancing than their building allowed. “We would have like 10 people in the great room, sitting in opposite corners,” he said. The Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center is planning to host the Umatilla County Fair and Farm-City Pro Rodeo Aug. 11-14. LOCAL BRIEFING Crash kills two Umatilla County residents KENNEWICK — Two Umatilla County residents died early Thursday, July 1, in a car wreck near Kenne- wick. The Washington State Patrol reported Maria D. Diaz De Benitez, 63, of Umatilla, and Andres V. Cabrales, 54, of Hermiston, both perished in the single-vehicle crash. The state patrol responded to a report of a crash at about 5:57 a.m. on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 82 about 8 miles south of Kennewick. According to WSP, Benitez was driving a 2004 Mercury Mountaineer and Cabrales was the passenger when the sport utility vehicle left the road. Cabrales overcorrected, according to Washington State Patrol, and the vehicle struck the guardrail, plum- meted down an embankment and landed on its top. Both were wearing seat- belts, according to WSP, and died at the scene. Washington State Patrol has no further information. Fire burns 30 acres PENDLETON — Fire- fi ghters contained a roughly 30-acre wildfi re that burned Wednesday, June 30, for about an hour on the south side of Interstate 84 just west of Pendleton. Pendleton Fire Chief Jim Critchley said sparks coming off the highway likely caused the fi re, but the offi cial cause is under investigation. The fi re, which stretched between mileposts 206 to 207, was fi rst reported to offi - cials at around 6:36 p.m. and was fully contained about an hour later, Critchley said. Fire crews from multi- ple agencies responded to the fire. No injuries were reported, according to Critchley. — EO Media Group