REGION
Saturday, December 18, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
Commission delays decision on BackFire proposal
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
owners of BackFire Station
told the Pendleton Develop-
ment Commission they’ll
need more money to complete
their project, but the commis-
sion wants to until next week
before making a decision.
The commission held a
special meeting Tuesday,
Dec. 14, to consider two
requests. BackFire owners
Scott Hart and Erin Bennett
told the commission, who
also are the members of
the city council, they were
asking the city to expe-
dite reimbursements on the
urban renewal grants they’ve
already received in addition
to another $188,288 to cover
cost overruns.
After soliciting proposals,
the Pendleton City Council
handpicked Moto Stuff , the
motorcycle parts company
Hart and Bennett own, to
become the fi rst business to
privately own the old Fire
Station No. 1 at 911 S.W.
Court Ave. For Hart, it was
a homecoming after starting
Moto Stuff in Hillsboro.
The council signed off on
the sale in 2020 and agreed
to bestow Moto Stuff with a
$494,819 grant as a part of a
$1.3 million project to reno-
vate the former fi re hall into a
viable business. A year later,
Bennett told the commis-
sion the renovation effort
mostly was complete: facade
work was 80% complete and
second story improvements
were 90% complete, she
reported.
The couple said they
already moved Moto Stuff
and an associated business,
SRC Moto, to Pendleton,
and added a restaurant and
lounge to BackFire Station.
Their businesses employed
10 people, and they antici-
pated hiring 10 more once
they finished renovations
and added new features,
including lodging, a service
shop and motorcycle rentals.
But t he renovat ion
process had not gone
smoothly for the Moto Stuff
owners. In accordance with
recent trends, construction
materials came in higher
than expected and construc-
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Scott Hart, left, and Erin Bennett, owners of BackFire Station,
string up Christmas lights Dec. 4, 2021, at the eatery in Pend-
leton. The business owners are seeking more funding from
the Pendleton Development Commission to complete their
transformation of the city’s former fi re station into a busi-
ness with food and lodging.
tion labor was in short
supply, extending the time-
line of the project. The pair
estimated the ongoing reno-
vations were costing them
as much as $1,800 per day.
Hart said he and Bennett
had taken serious measures
to complete BackFire Station,
including cashing in his
retirement account.
“It’s been frustrating, but
it’s the reality we’re living
in,” he said.
Hart and Bennett sought
additional help from the
development commission
once before.
In May, the owners
requested $66,677 to help
cover the costs of installing
fire suppression sprinklers
in the building, a required
feature that wasn’t included
in their initial request. Appli-
cants are allowed to return
to the commission with
change order requests, but
the amount Hart and Bennett
were requesting required
them to get approval from the
commission’s grant commit-
tee before making their case to
the full commission. Charles
Denight, the commission’s
associate director, said in
an interview the committee
denied the owners’ request
over concerns the project was
getting too expensive.
Hart and Bennett’s latest
appeal was made directly to
the commission and is more
encompassing.
Moto Stuff ’s fi rst request
is to expedite reimburse-
ments from the grants it
already has received. Rather
than grant recipients up front,
it’s the development commis-
sion’s policy to reimburse
them after the commission
receives the project’s receipts.
The commission makes reim-
bursements in parts as the
project hits benchmarks on
its way to completion.
Hart and Bennett said the
commission has fallen behind
in its reimbursements, but the
pair also wants the commis-
sion to pay out the rest of
the grant as soon as possi-
ble rather than wait until the
project is fi nished to make the
fi nal reimbursements.
The BackFire Station
owners second request
is more straightforward:
$188,288, or 40% of the
$470,721 in cost overruns
they’ve accrued.
After Hart and Bennett
finished their presenta-
tion, the commission didn’t
commit one way or another.
Mayor John Turner suggested
some compromises, namely
getting up-to-date on reim-
bursements and narrowing
the scope of the request to
focus on covering some of the
costs of the fi re sprinklers.
The commission ulti-
mately decided to make a
decision at its next meet-
ing once it got a chance to
take a look at a more thor-
ough breakdown of costs
and payment options. The
commission is scheduled to
meet again Dec. 21. It’s the
commission’s last scheduled
meeting of the year.
Silage fi re burns in southwest Hermiston
ELF ON THE SCHOOL
East Oregonian
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Brad Bixler, superintendent of the Helix School District, waves from atop the school building
Friday, Dec. 17, 2021, while dressed as an Elf on the Shelf as students arrive for the school day.
Parents dreamed up the idea and costume, and Bixler said he was eager to help. “We have
such enthusiastic parents and a supportive (Parent Teacher Organization),” he said. “I was
more than happy to jump in.” Or jump on a shelf.
HERMISTON — Umatilla County Fire
District No. 1 reported Thursday, Dec. 16,
there is little it can do to extinguish a silage
pile that has been burning for more than a
week.
The fi re district the morning of Dec. 8
responded to the fi re. Crews found a large
pile of corn silage that had self heated and
began to openly burn, according to a press
release. Firefi ghter extinguished the fl ames
and returned several times after the fi re
fl ared up.
“These types of fi res occur when organic
materials begin to break down,” the press
release explained, which releases heat, and
in the right conditions can lead to smoldering
and open combustion. The fi re district said
this pile has all the components for this type
of fi re — moist organic material, decom-
position, compression and ventilation. And
recent high winds provided the ventilation
to bring the combustion to the surface of the
pile.
“This fi re is a large smoldering pile of
organic material that requires the use of
heavy equipment and water to complete
extinguishment,” according to the press
release. “To simply fl ow water on this
type of fi re as has been suggested by some
citizens, will do nothing to mitigate the
smoke in a timely fashion.”
The district compared the fi re to a fi re
in a trash can inside a residence. Flowing
water on the roof of the structure would
have no eff ect on putting out the fi re in the
can.
“This is not a hostile fi re at this time,” the
press release continued. “We are well aware
of the impact that the smoke is having on the
community, and the land owner is taking all
the required actions to complete extinguish-
ment of this fi re.”
Those actions include the use of water
trucks and heavy equipment. The district
explained it lacks that kind of heavy equip-
ment and does not have operators to handle
it.
The press release also explained this fi re
does not fall under the district’s open burn-
ing regulations and is unintentional.
It also is burning in an open pit and is not
creating a hazard to anything surrounding
that area.
“Therefore, the incident has been turned
back to the property owner to complete the
extinguishment of the fi re,” according to the
press release.
Umatilla County Fire District No. 1 also
stated it has been in contact with the city
of Hermiston, Umatilla County Smoke
Management and the Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality regarding the fi re.
Multi-agency search continues for missing woman MERRY CHRISTMAS
East Oregonian
“Conditions challenged ties from Wheeler, Morrow weighs about 300 pounds.
AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR!
search eff orts, and overnight and Grant counties coordi- She was last seen wearing
CONDON — The search
to fi nd a missing Boardman
woman resumed Friday
morning, Dec. 17, near
Condon.
T h e
Gilliam
C ou nt y
S h e r -
iff’s Office
reported
Jones
a n ext e n-
sive search
for Autumn Jones, 22,
concluded Dec. 16 due to
darkness and weather condi-
tions.
Hunters on Dec. 15 near
Condon found the red 2014
Volkswagen Jetta belong-
ing to Jones. The next day,
according to the sheriff’s
offi ce, more than 70 search-
ers covered approximately
2,700 acres in the vicinity of
the vehicle.
“Searchers used drones,
ATVs and tracking dogs,
and traveled by horseback
and walked over the roll-
ing terrain,” according to
the update on the Face-
book page for the Gilliam
County Sheriff’s Office.
snow increased diffi culty.
Despite the exhaustive
search, crews were not able
to locate Autumn Jones, and
her whereabouts remain
unknown.”
“I want to emphasize the
quality and professional-
ism of the search teams that
have reinforced the eff orts
of our local agencies. We
are very appreciative of
their support,” Sheriff Gary
Bettencourt said in the post.
“We are committed to fi nd-
ing Autumn Jones.”
The search resumed early
Friday morning.
Jones left her family’s
home in Morrow County
on Nov. 27. She told her
family she was going for a
drive. She called her family
around 1:30 a.m. on Nov.
28 and stated she was lost.
Using a cellphone applica-
tion, her family placed Jones
in Wheeler County. Law
enforcement searched but
did not fi nd Jones.
A mail carrier on Nov. 29
reported seeing Jones’ car, a
red 2014 Volkswagen Jetta,
near Fossil. Sheriff ’s depu-
nated search teams to fi nd
Jones in the following days,
but the eff orts did not fi nd
Jones or the car.
Hunters on Dec. 15 found
Jones’ empty vehicle in a
canyon near Condon. The
search Dec. 16 involved
more than a dozen sheriff ’s
offi ces, search and rescue
teams, other agencies and
volunteers, according to
a press release from the
Multnomah County Sher-
iff ’s Offi ce, which provided
a public information offi cer
for the search.
Jones is 5 feet, 10 inches
tall, has blue eyes, medi-
um-length brown hair, and
a black Riverside T-shirt,
black sweatshir t, black
tennis shoes and possibly a
black Carhartt coat. Jones’
Volkswagen Jetta wagon
has an expired Washing-
ton State temporary regis-
tration in the rear window
and an All-Star Cars dealer
plate.
If you have seen Jones,
her car, or have other infor-
mation about her disappear-
ance, contact the Gilliam
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce at
541-351-9530.
The Gilliam County
She r i f f ’s Of f ice w i l l
continue to provide updates
on its Facebook page.
Thank you for shopping
at local businesses.
Merry Christmas
from Burns Mortuary of Pendleton
Within 30 miles
Elkhorn Barn Co. Custom Barns and Storage
Tobias Unruh, owner
600 David Eccles Rd • Baker City, Oregon
Sales
541-519 -2968 • Elkhornbarns@gmail.com • 509-331-4558