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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2021)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Saturday, August 21, 2021 Wallowa Lake Dam funding goes through holders are the Wallowa Lake Irrigation District — the owner of the dam — the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Nez Perce Tribe’s Department of Fish- eries Resources Management and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reser- vation. Minor stakeholders also are involved, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has juris- diction over bull trout; the National Oceanic and Atmo- spheric Administration; and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. A year ago, lottery sales were far too low to fund the bonds. “We didn’t collect enough to spend what we’d autho- rized,” Hansell said. The project originally called for a $16 million refur- bishment of the dam that would improve the spill- ways, include a fish passage, add more concrete for weight, replace the five conduit gates with new ones and to upgrade the electrical and instrumen- tation, according to the June 23, 2020, Wallowa County Chieftain. Dan Butterfield, president of the irrigation district, was encouraged by the news from the Legislature. “We keep gaining,” he By BILL BRADSHAW Wallowa County Chieftain ENTERPRISE — Now that the $14 million in state lottery funds has been approved by the Oregon Legislature for the refur- bishment of the century-old Wallowa Lake Dam, the big question that remains is what kind of fish passage the dam will include. State Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, confirmed last month the lottery funds were approved by the Legislature and Gov. Kate Brown was expected to sign the budget. “We’ve got the funding across the goal line, and now it’s implementing the applica- tion of it,” Hansell said. “Now the baton will be handed off to where they sell the bonds.” He said the bonds are expected to be sold in the spring of 2022 and the actual funds will come through later. He said he is unsure of the exact timeline. “As far as I know we’re back to what we’ve always done,” he said. He added the stakeholders in the dam project can begin spending on it before getting the proceeds from the bonds, but they do so at their own risk. The four major stake- Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain Swimmers on July 30, 2021, enjoy the water of Wallowa Lake near the Wallowa Lake Dam. Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, confirmed the Legislature approved the $14 million in state lot- tery funds being counted on to pay the lion’s share of replacing the dam. said. “Everything’s looking good.” The $2 million difference between the lottery funds and the overall cost is supposed to be made up by “other sources,” Butterfield said, adding that the stakeholders may need to reassess the final cost given the increasing cost of building materials. Jim Harbeck, the field office supervisor for Nez Perce Fisheries, said the latest cost estimates were from 2017. “I imagine those costs are higher now,” he said. Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY SUNDAY | Go to AccuWeather.com MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY Butterfield said the stake- holders have applied for a grant through the American Rescue Plan Act that could help with the extra funding. He said the project has been in the works for about 20 years. Now, he said they are planning to begin construc- tion in fall 2022 and have it ready by spring 2023. “That’s what our engi- neer’s designing for and plan- ning for,” he said. “We sure would’ve loved to have had that dam this year. … We’ll be able to go another 8 feet (of water) with the new dam. Sunny 75° 55° 79° 46° Nice with plenty of sunshine Partly sunny and pleasant Partly sunny PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 74° 46° 82° 56° 81° 53° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 79° 60° 81° 51° 78° 44° 86° 59° 84° 51° OREGON FORECAST ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 68/56 69/53 80/53 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 76/59 Lewiston 73/57 81/60 Astoria 67/54 Pullman Yakima 79/54 74/51 76/58 Portland Hermiston 75/58 The Dalles 79/60 Salem Corvallis 73/51 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 71/49 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 78/51 71/46 74/47 Ontario 78/51 Caldwell Burns 81° 63° 90° 56° 105° (2009) 38° (1929) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 73/52 Boardman Pendleton Medford 81/52 0.00" Trace 0.11" 1.93" 1.66" 5.25" WINDS (in mph) 77/52 75/37 0.00" 0.01" 0.20" 4.37" 8.68" 8.51" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 64/43 77/53 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 75/55 80/60 78° 58° 88° 57° 106° (1897) 38° (1916) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 73/53 Aberdeen 70/54 77/59 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 73/55 Today Sun. SW 6-12 W 7-14 WSW 10-20 W 8-16 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 75/39 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today Full Fish passage options But it’s up to the engi- neer, McMillen, Jacobs and Associates of Boise, Idaho, to determine the type of fish passage that will be included and to finalize the plans for the dam. Wallowa County native Mort McMillen, the engi- neer on the project, said a fish passage to allow both upstream and downstream migration of fish is being worked into the project. It will Tyson’s claim on feedlot disputed By DON JENKINS Capital Press Partly sunny Having that extra storage will be huge for this valley.” KENNEWICK — Tyson Fresh Meats may have suffered a blow Wednesday, Aug. 18, in its effort to take from a key competitor a stra- tegically located cattle feedlot formerly owned by convicted fraudster Cody Easterday. Alan Kornfeld, an attor- ney for bankrupt Easterday Ranches, disputed Tyson’s claim that it was blindsided in January when Cody East- erday sold the North Lot to Agri Beef for $16 million. Tyson had made a “soft, no-cash” $10 million offer for the lot, Kornfeld said, undermining Tyson’s claim that Easterday never gave it a chance to top Agri Beef. “The debtors vehemently dispute that Tyson did not have an opportunity to bid,” Kornfeld said. Tyson says it’s now will- ing to pay $25 million for the lot and has asked U.S. Bank- ruptcy Judge Whitman Holt in Yakima to give it standing to challenge the sale to Agri Beef on behalf of Easterday’s creditors. In court filings, Tyson said the $16 million paid by Agri Beef was “woefully inade- quate.” It didn’t mention a $10 million offer. Holt, who has yet to rule on Tyson’s motion, said Tyson’s account bears on whether he will allow the company to intervene in the bankruptcy proceedings. “If what you (Kornfeld) just said is accurate, that in January of 2021 there was a $10 million offer from Tyson, I think that’s highly germane to the standing issue because the narrative in (Tyson’s) motion is deeply inconsistent with that,” Holt said. Tyson’s lawyer did not respond to Kornfeld at the hearing, conducted by phone. Efforts to obtain comment from Tyson on Aug. 18 were unsuccessful. Cody Easterday, 50, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 5 for defrauding Tyson out of $233 million. He also defrauded another company of $11 million by billing 6:03 a.m. 7:53 p.m. 8:04 p.m. 4:41 a.m. Last New NATIONAL EXTREMES High 104° in Zapata, Texas Low 24° in Bodie State Park, Calif. Aug 22 Aug 29 Sep 6 Sep 13 NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY for cattle he never actually bought or fed. Tyson uncovered the scheme in December and talked to Easterday about buying his cattle feeding operation to start making restitution, according to court records. Tyson said it learned about the sale to Agri Beef too late to go to court to stop it. Shortly after the sale, East- erday declared bankruptcy. In March, he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. After Agri Beef bought the feedlot for $16 million, an appraiser valued it at only $9 million. Tyson claims the appraisal was flawed. Holt remarked that the difference between the sale price and appraisal “sure suggests something is wrong with that appraisal.” Kornfeld said the appraisal was based on the operation’s size and did not take into account its closeness to Tyson and Agri Beef plants. “Tyson’s offer was right where the appraiser came out,” Kornfeld said. IN BRIEF First Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) be determined by the stake- holders based on the plans his firm comes up with. “Everybody has their pref- erences,” McMillen said. “We haven’t arrived at the final selection. … We’re working really good as a group.” The fish passage is a crucial element of the dam’s new design. In fact, Harbeck said, state law requires the inclusion of a satisfactory fish passage. There are different options for the type of fish passage. The tribe prefers a “volitional passage” — one that allows fish to ascend to or descend from the lake at their own volition. That allows adults to swim upstream to spawn and juveniles to swim down- stream once hatched. “It lets fish pass when they so choose as opposed to putting some type of human time stamp on it,” he said. Jeff Yanke, a watershed manager with the ODFW, said it’s up to the engineer to select a type of passage. “We’ve been talking concepts and it’s up to them to pick one,” he said. The “volitional passage” is often known as a fish ladder. Another option is the “trap and haul” option, which is a type of water elevator to move the fish, Yanke said. Woman faces charges of molesting Walla Walla teen on her own porch WALLA WALLA — A Walla Walla teen girl was allegedly molested and assaulted by a woman she didn’t know on her own front porch and lawn, according to paperwork filed in Walla Walla County Superior Court. The accused woman, Wendy M. Whit- tle, 54, appeared in court Tuesday, Aug. 17, following her arrest Aug. 16 by the Walla Walla Police Department. Judge M. Scott Wolfram set her bail at $10,000 and ordered her to be assessed by Comprehensive Health for any mental health issues. Whittle was charged by prosecutors later in the week with third-degree child moles- tation, fourth-degree sexually motivated assault, immoral communication with a minor and second-degree trespassing, accord- ing to court documents. According to the documents, Whittle walked up to a residence on East Chestnut Street and started harassing the 15-year-old girl and her family and friends who were gathered there. Whittle then allegedly tried to burn the girl with a lit cigarette and then stroked the girl’s leg and began making sexual remarks to her while she was inches from her face, according to the court records. Whittle reportedly touched the girl in the face, pushed her and followed her around the front yard of the residence, continuing to make sexual advances, including touch- ing the girl’s breast at one point, according to the records. The girl and witnesses who later spoke with police reportedly tried to get Whittle to leave the property repeatedly, the records showed, but Whittle kept following the girl around the property. — Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s ice 50s 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 70s East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Copyright © 2021, EO Media Group 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low Circulation Dept. 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