REGION
Saturday, February 26, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
¢
¡ ¢
¡ ¢
¢
¢
¢
¢
¢
¢
¢
¢
¢
¢
¢
¡
Andy Nicolais/East Oregonian
Both the state of Oregon and Umatilla County are experiencing a steep downward trend in the counts of new cases of COVID-19 since cases peaked in mid-January. Hospitalizations also are
trending downward since peaking in late January. However, Oregon saw an uptick in the number of COVID-19 deaths reported this week compared to last week.
Pendleton OKs city’s 5th dispensary Gravel pickup Monday
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Across several
meetings in 2015, residents and
elected offi cials used Pendleton City
Council to debate whether the city
should allow legal marijuana sales.
There were points during the debate
that the council seemed poised to
ban the practice outright.
Nearly seven years and a couple
of successful ballot measures later,
the Pendleton Planning Commis-
sion approved a conditional use
permit for the city’s fi fth cannabis
dispensary with only modest oppo-
sition.
The application came from
Bimalpreet Bath, a Walla Walla
resident who owns a small chain
of headshops. With the help of
Wave Design Group, a Kennewick
design fi rm, Bath intends to build
a 5,000-square-foot dispensary at
31 S.W. Nye Ave., east of the Hamp-
ton Inn.
Macy Griffi ths, an architect for
Wave Design, explained the build-
ing plans and answered the commis-
sion’s questions about the building’s
parking lot, dumpster placement and
drainage system.
But those weren’t the primary
concerns of the two people who
spoke against the project at the meet-
ing.
Jim Swearingen said he lived near
the proposed dispensary. He added
the site was too close to school bus
stops and would attract unhoused
residents to the area. He proposed the
city adopt a cap to limit the number
of new dispensaries that could open
in Pendleton.
“I’m 100% opposed to this,” he
said.
Anthony Bowman said he drives
in the area frequently and was
concerned the increase in traffic
would cause more accidents, a trend
that could be exacerbated by dispen-
sary customers illegally consuming
marijuana before leaving the prem-
ises.
Given time to rebut the dispensa-
ry’s opponents claims, Griffi ths said
the facility would be well outside the
1,000-foot buff er zones for schools
and the design of the property should
off er a clean fl ow of traffi c.
“We’ve covered all our bases as
far as the site goes,” she said.
Commissioner Ryan DeGroff t
said he was sympathetic to Swear-
ingen’s complaint about the dispen-
sary’s proximity to school bus stops.
But he didn’t know of a good way to
add it into the rules because school
bus stops frequently change based on
where children live.
In response to Swearingen’s
proposal about a cannabis retailer
cap, Hull said the city’s rules might
provide a natural limit to future
growth. The city requires all dispen-
saries to be in commercial zones
and prohibits their location within
1,000 feet of schools, parks and other
marijuana businesses. Given all the
restrictions and the existence of four
other dispensaries, there are only a
few other patches of land where they
could establish themselves.
The commission ultimately unan-
imously approved Bath’s applica-
tion. While Bath and his associates
are free to proceed with the projects,
opponents could appeal the commis-
sion’s decision to the city council.
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The city
of Pendleton begins picking up
gravel Monday, Feb. 28.
The work starts in the North
Hill on Northwest Despain
Avenue and above, according to
a press release from Public Works
Director Bob Patterson, and works
from the east (Pendleton Center
for the Arts) to the west (the high
school).
After completing this area,
sweeping will move to the streets
below Despain.
“City will provide additional
public notices as we move from
one area of town to the next,”
according to Patterson.
As work progresses, crews
will set out yellow signs with red
lettering for the work areas.
“These signs indicate sweep-
ing is being done in the area and,
if possible, to park your vehicles
off -street to allow the gravel to
be picked up,” the press release
stated. “If you have to stay parked
on the street and the sweeper has
passed through your area, park in
a swept area in preparation for our
regular sweeping schedule.”
In some areas, the sweeper may
make several passes to sweep up
all the rock. Once full, the sweep
empties the load at city shops, then
returns to continue the task.
Patterson explained the city
rents a mechanical sweeper to
complete the pickup. It takes four
to six weeks to complete a full
pass of Pendleton where gravel has
been applied. For regular sweep-
ing of the streets, the city uses
its own vacuum sweeper, which
does not work as well for gravel.
It typically takes between eight to
12 weeks to vacuum sweep all the
streets, then repeat.
FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS, GO TO:
www.EastOregonian.com
MEET OUR HERMISTON TEAM!
SPECIALIZING IN
Mohs and Skin Cancer Surgery
CHOOSE FROM 9 OF YOUR FAVORITE
NEW 2022 TOYOTA MODELS
CAMRY, CAMRY HYBRID, COROLLA, COROLLA HYBRID, HIGHLANDER,
HIGHLANDER HYBRID, RAV4, RAV4 HYBRID & TUNDRA
%
2.99 72
APR FINANCING
WITH $ 15.19
PER $ 1,000
BORROWED
MO.
• Mole Mapping
• Mole and Cyst Removal
• Photodynamic Light Therapy
• Skin Cancer Surgery
• Mohs Surgery
• Full-Body Skin Exams
• Allergy Patch Testing
COROLLA
CAMRY
HYBRID
CAMRY
COROLLA
HYBRID
HIGHLANDER
RAV4
HYBRID
JULIE HEREFORD, DCNP
HIGHLANDER
HYBRID
ROBERT B. HOPP, MD
TUNDRA
RAV4
TOYOTA.COM
See Your Local
Toyota Dealer
*
Prototypes shown with options. Extra-cost colors shown. Offers end 2/28/2022. APR on approved credit from Toyota Financial
Services. 2.99% APR financing for 72 months with $15.19 per $1,000 borrowed. Annual Percentage Rate available to buyers
with approved Tier 1+ through Tier 1(excellent) credit. All offers subject to approved credit, see dealer for more information.
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer available in AK, ID, MT, OR, WA regardless of buyer's residency; void where
prohibited. Does not include College Grad or Military Rebate. Does not include taxes, license, title/registration fees, dealer
fees and Oregon tax (.05%). *ToyotaCare covers normal factory scheduled maintenance for two years or 25,000 miles,
whichever comes first. Certain models require a different maintenance schedule as described in their Maintenance Guide.
24-hour Roadside Assistance is also included for two years, unlimited mileage. Roadside Assistance does not include parts
and fluids, except emergency fuel delivery. See Toyota dealer for details and exclusions. Valid only in the continental U.S.
Call for an appointment:
Toll-Free
(855) 525-4677
Hermiston:
1050 W. Elm St., Ste #220
Hermiston, OR 97838
(541) 289-4601
Kennewick:
8901 W. Gage Blvd.
Kennewick, WA 99336
(509) 735-1100
