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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2022)
REGION Thursday, February 3, 2022 East Oregonian A3 PENDLETON Pool sees big attendance bump fi rst summer back By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian PENDLETON — While Eastern Oregon still is in the dregs of winter, Pendleton Parks & Recreation is high- lighting sunnier times for the Pendleton Aquatic Center. At a Tuesday, Feb. 1 meet- ing, the department shared a report showing a strong bounceback year for the aquatic center in 2021 after the pool took a gap year in 2020 in light of the corona- virus pandemic. According to the report, the $391,989 in revenue the aquatic center made in 2021 was a 20% jump from 2019. Revenue was up in nearly every category, including daily admission, season passes, swim lessons and merchandise. Total atten- dance rose by nearly 2,000 people compared to 2019. Jeff Hamilton, who super- vises the aquatic center as the department’s recreation supervisor, said city staff weren’t “wishy-washy” about how to operate the pool during the pandemic, committing early to closing it in 2020 and then doing the same when reopening it in 2021. He said he thinks the city’s early decisions helped put the aquatic center in a good position to reap the rewards when people were ready to enjoy outdoor activ- Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File Poolgoers cool off June 29, 2021, at the Pendleton Family Aquatic Center as the temperature reached 117 degrees. Pendleton Parks & Recreation reported the aquatic center made $391,989 in 2021, a 20% jump from 2019. ities again after the COVID- 19-induced shutdowns. Parks & Recreation Direc- tor Liam Hughes said the aquatic center has long been trending in the right direc- tion, a pattern he attributed to long-term investment from the department such as improved marketing to people outside the Pendleton area. 2021 saw the introduction of a senior pass program, which brought in $3,585 in its fi rst year. Hamilton said seniors were among the many new faces he saw last year. “We had people swim- ming laps I had never seen swimming laps (before),” he said. “There were people that were just there enjoying themselves.” The Pendleton Aquatic Center always has required a substantial subsidy from the city’s general fund, but the success of 2021 brings it slightly closer to sustain- ability. Hamilton said pool reve- nue has typically covered about half of its costs, and his ultimate goal is for it to cover around 70-75% of the aquatic center’s expenses. While the pool’s reve- nue appears to exceed its expenses on paper, Hughes said there are long-term maintenance and overhead expenses that require addi- tional funds from the city, Hughes said the pool likely won’t ever reach full self-suf- fi ciency because it aims to keep its fares affordable for Pendleton residents. He added the aquatic center’s prices are much cheaper than private pools. “There is a balance to be struck between making it accessible to the public and cost recovery,” he said. Once the weather gets warmer, parks and rec will begin hiring dozens of seasonal employees to staff the aquatic center’s front desk, sell snacks at the concession stand and keep an eye on swimmers as life- guards. A tight labor market has put pressure on low-wage employers to keep all their positions fi lled, and the parks and recreation sector has been no exception. Hamilton said he’s spoken with other parks and recreation offi cials across the state, some of whom are turning to super- visors to fi ll empty lifeguard positions. Hamilton said the aquatic center hired 57 seasonal employees last year and he doesn’t anticipate facing a shortage this year. He added the pool has a “fun factor” he can sell to the high school and college students the aquatic center tends to hire, and because he personally hires and trains all his staff , he can foster the kind of relation- ships that brings employees back for future summers. Survey: How do you consume your news? By ERICK PETERSON East Oregonian HER MISTON — A University of Oregon survey is reaching out to Hermis- ton residents with questions about their media prefer- ences. Where do you go to learn of news? What type of infor- mation is most important to you? How informed do you feel about things happening in your community? All of these questions, and more, are on the survey, which is part of a larger initiative called Sustainable City Year Program, is available at bit. ly/uosurvey-hermiston. Andrew DeVigal, profes- sor at the UO School of Jour- nalism and Communication, is one of the people behind the survey. “Increasing our knowl- edge of how information is received and shared in a local information ecosystem would be good for our communities and information providers, such as news organizations and community organiza- tions,” DeVigal said. He said he is teaching a class on how “journal- ism can authentically start with community fi rst in its coverage of the community.” Referred to as “participa- tory journalism” or “social journalism,” DeVigal’s work centers on communities. He described a move- ment in journalism that has been infl uential to the work behind the survey. People within journalism, he said, are looking to better under- stand informational flow. Initiatives, such as the Listen- ing Post Collective and this survey seek to learn how information passes from one person or organization to another. The survey asks for demo- graphic information, name and contact information, if a person should want to answer. Ethnicity, home location and how long someone has lived in town also are questions on the survey. Then, the survey gets into questions about media consumption — websites, social media use, etc. Also, it asks for physical locations, such as a farmers market or a church, where people obtain information. In learning about how people receive their news, DeVigal said, researchers can discover the best ways to communicate to people. The survey also attempts to discover the information people want to know, which can be helpful to local politi- cians, too. DeVigal said the survey will end by the second or third week of February, and he should have results by the end of March. Sustainable City Year Program The program has orga- nized UO classes, such as DeVigal’s, to get a deep dive into understanding a partic- ular city. The initiative now is focusing on Hermiston, collaborating with its city government. Information suggesting recommendations will be shared with the city. The program has focused on other Oregon cities in the past, but this is the fi rst time it has worked with an East- ern Oregon city, according to Megan Banks, the Sustain- able City director. “We want to span the entire state,” Banks said. Because Hermiston is the city with the largest popu- lation in Eastern Oregon, it made sense to select it for study, she said. Banks complimented the town as forward-thinking and added her program has worked on other Hermiston projects recently. She said those collaborations have been productive. “We’re lucky to be work- ing with Hermiston,” she said. “A lot of this comes down to how the city approaches the partnership, and (Hermiston) has been very welcoming and extremely knowledgeable. I have nothing but good things to say about the city staff CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT CLASS SATURDAY FEBRUARY 19 TH Hermiston Ranch & Home and community.” Byron Smith, Hermiston city manager, said he is very happy with Sustainable City. Also, he said he is looking forward to the results of the survey. “We are looking for ways that people get information so we can be a better source of information,” he said. Banks said UO will be doing more studies in Herm- iston in the coming months. Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, Pendleton, hous- es approximately 1,700 adults in custody, according to data from the Oregon Department of Corrections. An of- fi cer at the medium-security prison is under investigation for supplying drugs to inmates. EOCI correction offi cer is under investigation By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian PENDLETON — An offi cer at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, Pendleton, is under investi- gation for supplying drugs to inmates. Jesse Myer, Milton-Free- water police officer and a detective with the Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team, or BENT, fi led a search warrant affi - davit Jan. 28 in Umatilla County Circuit Court explaining what set off the investigation. EOCI in late 2021 and early 2022 saw an increase in the number of adults in custody who tested posi- tive for drugs, specifi cally methamphetamine and marijuana, according to the affi davit. The medium-se- curity prison from June to November had 20 inmates test positive for various narcotics. But in Decem- ber, seven men in custody tested positive, and five were for marijuana. In Janu- ary, the number jumped to 25 inmates who tested positive, most for meth and marijuana. The prison had shutdown visitation with inmates on Jan. 4 due to coronavirus restrictions, according to the affi davit, leaving EOCI staff as the only way for drugs to get inside. One adult in custody, according to Myer’s affi- davit, provided informa- tion that one corrections officer was supplying meth and marijuana prod- ucts. Then a second inmate came forward and named the same offi cer. In early January, a third inmate also named same offi cer as the drug supplier, saying he saw the officer exchange “balloons” containing meth, cocaine and marijuana with inmates. A review of surveillance video, the affi davit stated, confi rmed the transaction with the inmates. The East Oregonian is not identifying the offi cer at this time because the inves- tigation is ongoing and there have been no arrests. VISIT US ON THE WEB AT: www.EastOregonian.com We’re closing our doors FOREVER! 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