OFF PAGE ONE
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
East Oregonian
Hot rods: ‘This is the funnest car I’ve ever had’ Rivers:
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thing went,” Seaholm said.
“We couldn’t be happier
with the way that the town
received us and how every-
thing went smoothly and
there was no trouble with
anything.”
For some, HotRod-A-
Rama was a day trip start-
ing at 3 a.m., while others,
including Wilkinson and
his friends, one day wasn’t
enough. Attendees were
welcomed with multiple
days of events, from a “meat
and greet” and drive-in
movie on July 29 to a swap
meet that had old classics
filling the streets July 30.
Pendleton on July 31
barricaded off Main Street
so that, if selected by invita-
tion, attendees could show
their cars and line up among
the downtown’s historical
red brick buildings.
“It’s not about coming
and getting a trophy like a
lot of shows,” Seaholm said,
adding that it’s mostly the
people who make the event
special.
“They’re really, really
great people,” he said.
For Joe Debattista and
Bill Ganahl of South City
Rod & Custom in Hayward,
California, the renowned
show was well worth the
trek. They drove three
of their cars, a ‘40 Ford
convertible, a ‘40 Willys
Tech Americar and a ‘57
Chevy 150, well in excess
of 700 miles from the Bay
Area.
“It’s restarting an old
show, that was a good show,”
Ganahl said. “We wanted to
come out and support it.”
With quarantine and
COVID-19 keeping car
shows closed down for much
of the last year and a half,
this was the first opportunity
for many, like Ganahl, to get
back on the hot rod circuit
that had raised him.
Ganahl, whose father was
the former editor of Hot Rod
ted by 2,500 Oregonians,
according to Wyden’s office.
But com missioners
worry the proposal — which
widens protective stream
buffers from a quarter-mile
to a half-mile on both sides
— will lead to greater
restrictions for timber
harvest, livestock grazing
and outdoor recreation that
power the region’s economy.
“I think it’s a way to push
people off the land,” said
Wallowa County Commis-
sioner Susan Roberts. “I
think that’s where we’re
headed.”
With the increased
buffers, the River Democ-
racy Act encompasses
approximately 3 million
acres. That’s an area about
the size of Connecticut.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Show attendees admire an all-steel 1940 Willys at HotRod-A-Rama in Pendleton on Saturday,
July 31, 2021.
Magazine, had grown up
around cars and hot rods but
had never intended to start
South City Rod & Custom.
“I actually went to college
and studied English litera-
ture, got a master’s degree
in English literature, and
then decided to be a grease
monkey instead,” he said.
Debattista, meanwhile,
also went to college and
worked a government job
before getting tired of the rat
race and followed his love of
cars.
“Now I get to do some-
thing I love,” Debattista said.
For some, car shows are
an opportunity to show off
their pride and passion,
while for others it is a time
to let loose and have fun. In
the parking lot of Heritage
Station Museum, Jimmy
Jeffries parked his beat-up,
spray-painted and tiki-in-
spired 1951 Chevy Styleline.
With the top removed and
a bamboo umbrella shading
a manikin in the back seat,
Jeffries’ car stood out among
the muscle cars and low-rid-
ing hot rods. Jeffries, who
started adding knickknacks
to the car with his wife, such
as an ooga horn and a “do not
touch” button that sprayed
water at people, just wanted
to release some pressure and
not worry about having the
nicest car.
“We just have so much
fun,” he said. “This is the
funnest car I’ve ever had.”
“There’s great cama-
raderie,” said Wilkinson,
who drove to Pendleton
with Jeffries from Puyallup.
“We’re just sitting all over
here just having a good time
meeting new people.”
T he revival of the
HotRod-A-Rama was such
a good time, in fact, that
Dale Seaholm said the event
would return next year and
be even bigger and better.
“We will be back,”
Seaholm said.
Dairy:
water contamination.
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Since Cody Easterday is
no longer listed as the dairy’s
operator, ODA required
Cole Easterday to submit a
new CAFO permit applica-
tion subject to the agency’s
review.
The new application is
similar to the old. It calls for
28,300 total animals, includ-
ing 9,700 mature dairy cows,
8,600 dairy heifers and
10,000 non-dairy cattle.
Liquid manure will be
stored in open-air lagoons for
up to 111 days each year, with
a capacity of 86.8 million
gallons, and solid manure
will be kept year-round on
an impervious soil pad.
The dairy also plans
to recycle manure and
processed wastewater to
grow crops on 5,390 acres
of farmland, mixed at agro-
nomic rates to avoid ground-
However, the state agri-
culture department has
issued a water quality advi-
sory for the property after
tests showed soil nitrate
levels could potentially
migrate into the groundwa-
ter.
As part of the original
purchase agreement, Cody
Easterday agreed to clean
up the property under ODA
supervision. Under te Velde’s
ownership, Lost Valley Farm
had racked up 200-plus viola-
tions of its CAFO permit
related to manure and waste-
water management.
One condition of the
cleanup permit includes
ongoing soil testing to moni-
tor for nitrates, which at
elevated levels can impact
human health.
The proposed dairy is
within the Lower Umatilla
Basin Groundwater Manage-
ment Area, which the Oregon
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality designated in 1990
for having elevated levels of
groundwater nitrates.
While no animals are
allowed on site, Cody Easter-
day had been growing pota-
toes and other vegetables at
the dairy while awaiting the
outcome of his CAFO permit
application, according to the
state ag department.
The agency stated in a
news release that it issues
water quality advisories
“when there is a risk of
violating permit conditions,
and is a proactive notifica-
tion to alert the owner-oper-
ator that steps must be taken
to prevent violations.”
Another condition of the
dairy cleanup requires the
Easterdays to monitor each of
11 groundwater wells every
quarter.
During the most recent
round of testing, the agri-
culture department reported
one of the wells exceeded the
allowed level of nitrates.
“ODA is advising the
operator on how to reduce
nitrate levels,” the agency
stated, adding regulators
will now require monthly
well tests and reduced appli-
cations of nitrogen fertilizer
and irrigation water on crop
circles closest to the affected
well.
Cole Easterday did
not immediately return a
message seeking comment.
A coalition of environ-
mental groups continues to
oppose the project, and urged
the Oregon Department of
Agriculture and Gov. Kate
Brown to reject the Easter-
day permit.
“No matter who the appli-
cant is,” coalition organizer
Kristina Beggen said, “East-
erday Dairy will produce
dangerous methane emis-
sions, hijack scarce ground-
water resources, and pollute
the air and water of frontline
communities already strug-
gling with the impacts of
the pandemic.”
Outbreak:
other cases from attendees, the
state said.
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Concerns for
upcoming events
by getting more people vacci-
nated against COVID-19.
“Outbreaks like these will
continue to occur if vaccina-
tion rates don’t increase,” said
Rudy Owens, a spokesperson
for OHA.
Less than 40% of Umatilla
County residents are vacci-
nated against the virus,
according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Preven-
tion.
Fiumara said Gov. Kate
Brown’s office reached out to
the county last week, asking
how officials planned to curb
the county’s skyrocketing
infection rates. He noted the
last time Brown’s office made
that move was a week before
the state shut down Umatilla
County.
“The state is watching
things very closely,” he said.
Umatilla County has
reported 9,586 COVID-19
cases since the pandemic
began, according to county
health data.
pandemic began.
“It’s a very unfortunate
situation,” said event co-man-
ager Doug Corey. “Hopefully
everybody will improve and
get well. It would be an inter-
esting number to know how
many were vaccinated and not
vaccinated.”
Corey noted he consulted
with county and city offi-
cials prior to the festival
and obtained all necessary
permits. He said he believes
the event followed all
pandemic guidelines from the
state and Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Event
organizers also capped ticket
sales at 12,000 people to
downsize, he added.
Fiumara said he appreci-
ated the reduction, adding
“there could have been more
than 20,000” people.
Corey said he has been in
close contact with state health
officials now that the inves-
tigation is underway. State,
county and tribal officials are
working together to identify
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Jimmy Jeffries poses for a portrait Saturday, July 31, 2021,
in his latest project car “Phat Betty” at HotRod-A-Rama in
Pendleton.
Nitrate concerns
The outbreak and the ensu-
ing investigation does not
bode well for upcoming events
in Umatilla County, includ-
ing the Umatilla County Fair
and the Pendleton Round-Up,
Fiumara said.
The fair, scheduled Aug.
11-14, typically draws thou-
sands of people. Fiumara
said he expects cases to rise
because of the fair, but he
would not formally recom-
mend against the event being
held because of the backlash
that would ensue.
“I think if you’re trying to
reduce cases, I think canceling
fair would be a way to do that,”
Fiumara said. “And I think it
would be an effective way to
prevent additional spread.
That being said, I’m not sure
all the fallout from cancelling
it would be worthwhile. I think
there would be a lot of push-
back.”
State and county health
officials agree the best way to
ensure outbreaks don’t result
from large summer events is
Bill draws local
support and
opposition
Don Russell, the chair of
the Morrow County Board
of Commissioners, said
he didn’t know how many
miles of local waterways
the bill could affect, but he
was concerned about the bill
effects on the region.
Echoing commissioners
in Northeastern Oregon,
Russell said the bill was
applied too broadly, not just
targeting active rivers and
creeks, but also dry gulches
that only flow after heavy
rainfall and creeks that only
flow seasonally. While his
colleagues argued the River
Democracy Act would be
harmful to irrigators, recre-
ators and timber interests,
Russell said adding a layer
of environmental protec-
tion to river areas also could
exacerbate wildfire risk
as fire seasons continue to
become more severe across
the state.
“I think it just adds to the
fuel load down in the forest,”
he said.
Russell said he was just
speaking for himself but
Morrow County commis-
sioners may consider a
resolution opposing the bill
after the regional meeting
with Wyden and Merkley’s
representatives.
In Umatilla County, the
bill would include segments
of the Umatilla and Walla
Walla rivers and Meacham
Creek. George Murdock,
the chair of the Umatilla
County Board of Commis-
sioners, did not respond to
a request for comment as of
press time.
Although local commis-
sioners are voicing oppo-
sition to the bill, not every
Eastern Oregon resident
is against the legislation.
Andrea Malmberg, a Union
County rancher, spoke at a
June Senate National Parks
Subcommittee hearing,
where she said the bill could
lead to collaboration with
ranchers and the federal
gover nment on forest
management and protect
water used for irrigation.
“My irrigation water,
even though I’m obviously
on private land, comes from
upstream,” she told the
subcommittee. “Being able
to protect those headwa-
ters is protecting my private
water rights.”
Wyden has presented
the River Democracy
Act as a move away from
top-down legislation, gath-
ering input from across
Oregon to create the bill,
including suggestions
from residents of Umatilla
and Union counties. Wyden
told the subcommittee that
most of the letters he’s
received about the bill
have been positive.
‘We weren’t asked’
Before introducing the
bill in February, Wyden sent
two letters to the full Asso-
ciation of Oregon Coun-
ties seeking input, though
Roberts said she and her
colleagues never saw any
correspondence until it was
too late.
“We can’t find any
commissioner, other than
the one who might have
received the letter in the
first place, who knew about
this,” she said. “None of us
had ever heard of it.”
The bill would add 404
miles of wild and scenic
rivers in Wallowa County.
Despite repeated requests,
Roberts said neither Wyden
or Merkley have provided
commissioners with detailed
maps of the waterways.
Commissioners instead
hired Anderson Perry
& Associates, a consult-
ing and engineering firm
based in La Grande, to do
mapping earlier this year.
The company found the
half-mile buffer restrictions
may apply to 240,000 acres
of public land and 16,000
acres of private land in
Wallowa County.
In their resolution,
commissioners stated most
of these designations are
not actually labeled as
“rivers” because they are
not free-flowing and do not
carry water year-round.
The American Forest
Resources Institute, a timber
industry group, issued the
same complaint in its anal-
ysis of the bill, finding 15%
of waterways nominated
for inclusion into the Wild
and Scenic River System
are labeled as “rivers” state-
wide.
Environmental groups
and Wyden have pushed
back, saying small and
ephemeral streams are not
only allowed under the Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act but
are critical for protection.
In a previous statement,
Wyden said 1.7 million
Oregonians receive drink-
ing water from public
systems that rely at least in
part on intermittent, ephem-
eral or headwater streams.
Land management agen-
cies, such as the U.S. Forest
Service and Bureau of Land
Management, would have
six years to write a compre-
hensive plan for the newly
designated stream corridors,
working with the state and
local governments.
Specifically, the bill aims
to mitigate wildfire risk in
the riparian areas that hasn’t
been prioritized until now.
Even with that assur-
ance, Roberts said concerns
remain. She said the agen-
cies themselves admit
they are short-staffed and
ill-equipped to handle the
additional workload.
Wallowa County in an
April 13 letter to Wyden said
wild and scenic river buffers
could eliminate mechanical
harvest of timber and forest
thinning, “or at least make
it extremely difficult and
controversial.”
The bill also states it
would not affect existing
grazing permits, but ranch-
ers worry it could require
them to build miles of new
fences, increase stubble
height requirements and
exclude reopening closed or
vacant grazing allotments.
Roberts said commis-
sioners asked for the Aug.
10 meeting.
“I just think it’s import-
ant that the general public
understands there may be
segments of this that we have
no issues with,” Roberts
said. “But we weren’t asked.
We were told.”
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