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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 2022)
$1.50 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 FEB RUA 146th Year, No. 47 WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021 RY 9–16 Read New paperb acks PA GE , 202 2 6 WW W.G OEA STE RNO REG ON.COM Listen Fox & Bones PA GE 13 Join Tune Night smith PA GE 14 INSIDE CHECK OUT DEAD OF WINTER FESTIVAL IN GO! Fridays a PORT OF MORROW Feeling the loss POM is not ready to choose a new director By ERICK PETERSON East Oregonian BOARDMAN — The Port of Morrow is operat- ing under an administra- tive team in the wake of the recent death of its executive director. Former port boss Ryan Neal died Jan. 17 at age 40 after suff ering a heart attack. Rick Stokoe, pres- ident of the port’s board of commissioners, said Friday, Feb. 4, the port has no immediate plans to fi ll the vacancy “Ryan was a very smart young man,” Stokoe said. “He led the port in a very positive direction, so the loss that the port has in losing him has been extreme.” Stokoe, who also is the Boardman chief of police, said the loss extends beyond the port; the entire region is suff ering from losing a leader who was “very good at what he did.” The commissioner said the passing of Neal has “hit staff ” as well as people who benefi ted from Neal’s work in the community. “He was an important leader,” he said of Neal. “He was very involved in education. He cared about education for youth, not to mention he was a loving father.” At the port, according to Stokoe, there is an admin- istrative team covering for the absence of an executive director. The team members are experienced, Stokoe said, and have been able to manage. “Ryan was instrumental in creating a team environ- ment that keeps the rails on. And two of those individ- uals, senior leaders of the team, have stepped up and they are fully involved until we go through a process (of hiring a new executive director),” Stokoe said. See POM, Page A8 Elite Taxi, Uber drivers allude to compromise By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian PENDLETON — While there are important details to hammer out, both sides in the debate over allow- ing Uber in Pendleton are showing a willingness to compromise. In January, Pendleton resident Alicia Reynen went before the Pend- leton City Council to request the city amend its taxi ordinance to include ride-hailing companies such as Uber, which city law prohibits from operat- ing within city limits. The council met Tuesday, Feb. 8, to hear out Reynen some more but also invited the owners of Elite Taxi, who had expressed some oppo- sition to the proposal. Reynen recapped some of the points she made from the January meet- ing, including the need for more transportation options in the city and the potential customers it could service. She also said there are communities where Uber and traditional taxi companies have coexisted and suggested the council adopt a six-month or year- long trial period to see if it’s feasible. “A g reat major it y of the community has commented, reviewed and (written) letters on all the concerns with the options currently off ered,” she said, “and there should be suffi - cient evidence to suggest that Elite Taxi is no longer able to keep up the great demand and additional service should be consid- ered to fi ll these voids.” Reynen said she already knew a group of driv- ers willing to commit to Uber, but Councilor Dale POWER PLAY PA G E 8 Idaho Power goes to courts to gain access to private property By ERICK PETERSON East Oregonian R ic h a r d a n d Jean Hemphill can look out the window of their Pilot Rock home and see where massive towers will stand and carry the Boardman to Heming- way transmission line. Those towers will stand 100-140 feet tall, accord- ing to Idaho Power Co., the primary force behind the 500-kilovolt line that would stretch almost 300 miles from a substation in south- western Idaho to Boardman. The Hemphills traced the route with their hands. They said they felt bad about a line they believe will mar the beauty of the area. “I love it,” Jean Hemphill said. “In the summertime, I sit out on the deck in the evenings and enjoy this beautiful view all the way around. I’m always sorry when winter comes and I can’t do that anymore. I truly love it.” She and her husband are the respondents in a peti- tion for precondemnation that attorneys for Idaho Power fi led. The petition, if a judges grants it, would allow Idaho Power to enter and survey their property. Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Jean Hemphill fl ips through a folder of information on the Boardman to Hemingway transmission line Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, at her home near Pilot Rock. they said their own view has changed little, by compar- ison, since they moved in roughly half a century ago. The region means a great deal to them, they said. Both Hemphills trace their family tree to ancestors who farmed the land with their hands. The land also is mean- ingful to the Hemphills because of their dreams for the future. “My granddaughter’s starting a sheep herd,” Jean Hemphill said. She said it would be nice to have this land available for her grand- daughter and future gener- ations. Idaho Power claims surveys necessary Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Richard Hemphill on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, indicates where the Boardman to Hemingway transmission line will cut across his property near Pilot Rock. The petition is one of seven Idaho Power fi led in Umatilla County to gain access to private property, according to state court filings. The company has fi led six petitions in Morrow County and about two dozen more in Malheur, Baker and Union counties. Jean Hemphill said her family moved to a nearby property in 1942, and she has lived there all of her life. She and her husband moved into their home after its construction in the early 1970s. “For us, who have lived here all our lives, we cher- ish our lands and our views,” Jean Hemphill said. While many areas nearby have grown a great deal, Sven Berg is Idaho Powe r’s c om mu n ica- tions specialist. He said permitting on the project will conclude sometime this year, and geotechni- cal, cultural and biological surveys are underway now. These surveys will reveal important information, he said, such as area wildlife and archaeological sites. “We’re working with landowners along the route to try to negotiate rights of entry to their property and easements,” he said. These easements would give Idaho Power and its partner on B2H, Pacifi Corp, rights to land use on proper- ties where they may some- day build a structure, Berg explained. He said there are 98 parcels that 47 landowners own where the companies See Power, Page A8 The setting sun silhouettes transmission lines Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, near the future starting point for the 290-mile Boardman to Hemingway transmission line in Boardman. See Drivewrs, Page A8 Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Pendleton gets Sears Hometown Store Appliance store to move into old J.C. Penney Co. building By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian PENDLETON — One legacy department store brand name will replace another in downtown Pend- leton following a nearly fi ve- year gap. Charles Denight, the asso- ciate director of the Pendleton Development Commission, confirmed Sears Home- town Store, a spinoff of the national department store chain that focuses on appli- ances, tools, mattresses and other home goods, is moving into the space at 124 S. Main St., which has been vacant since J.C. Penney Co. closed the retail space in 2017. Several washing machines now are visible from the main entrance, although no one appeared to be in the building during the late morning or mid-afternoon Monday, Feb. 7. Sears Hometown already is advertising four part-time positions online. Denight said the new Sears Hometown store could increase foot traffi c on a part of Main Street that has had several empty storefronts in recent years. Following J.C. Penney’s closure, two neigh- boring businesses — Wicked Kitty Tattoo and Piercing and Mosa — also shut down. At 41,000 square feet, the former J.C. Penney space is much larger than most retail and restaurant spaces on Main Street. Before the Hometown moved, Denight said he had talked with the building owners about fi ll- ing the space with multiple vendors. But with a future tenant now set, Pendleton residents soon will get their fi rst look at Sears Hometown, a much diff erent store than the main chain of Sears department stores. Sears Hometown was spunoff from the main Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Appliances sit inside the new location of the Sears Hometown Store on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in downtown Pendleton. The location was the former home to J.C. Penney Co. until 2017. company in 2012 before Transformco, Sears’ parent company, acquired Home- town and reunited the brands in 2019. In 2021, there were about 312 Hometown stores across the country, mostly in rural areas and most oper- ated by independent contrac- tors, according to the White See Sears, Page A8