REGION
Thursday, April 7, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
River trails project moves forward
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, File
Brooke Boothman, 9, gets blasted with water at the Joe
Humbert Family Aquatic Center in Milton-Freewater in July
2020. Some residents at the March 2022 city council meeting
urged the city to take steps to improve the public pool.
M-F residents push for
pool improvements
By SHEILA HAGAR
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
MILTON-FREEWATER
— At its regular meeting in
mid-March, the Milton-Free-
water City Council directed
staff to further explore
improving swimming condi-
tions of the public pool.
A group of residents who
attended the meeting alerted
city offi cials that the water
in the Joe Humbert Family
Aquatic Center is too cold for
safe and comfortable swim-
ming.
The facility has been the
topic of discussions at the city
level for several years as prob-
lems with the pool’s rubber
coating emerged in 2019 and
again in 2020. The coronavi-
rus pandemic and smoke from
wildfi res also contributed to
an early closure in the 2020
season.
Repairs and upgrades were
made with the lion’s share of
a $500,000 Parks and Recre-
ation bond passed in 2018,
meaning other targets of that
funding were left off the work
list.
Milton-Freewater will
seek a second, voter-autho-
rized $500,000 on the May 17
ballot.
As part of the aquatic
center refresh, last summer
the council and city offi cials
presented potential pool-heat-
ing options at a public meeting
to see how residents wanted
to spend money left from the
2018 tax measure.
Options presented then
included installation of
four heat pumps at a cost of
$140,000, adding two heat
pumps to be used only during
the summer at $72,000 or the
purchase of a solar thermal
cover that would keep pool
water above freezing level.
City Manager Linda Hall
reported the thermal cover
was considered then to be the
best solution for the money.
In February’s city coun-
cil meeting, resident Markie
McRae raised the issue of
the pool water’s too-cold
temperature. Two weeks ago,
she was joined by several
other people who share the
concern.
The group’s spokesper-
son, John Mitchell, stood at
the microphone during public
comment, telling councilors
the thermal cover has been
inadequate for heating, and
Milton-Freewater’s city pool
is uninviting to swimmers.
Mitchell referred to city
records showing that even
when the outdoors heated up
in the third week of last July,
the pool did not get warmer
than 69 degrees and was as
low as 56 degrees on one
morning.
And that was after water
leaks had been fixed, he
added.
“We are not asking for
bath water but water that is
comfortable and healthy,”
Mitchell said, noting that
swimming in water below 64
degrees can lead to cardiac
arrest.
Swimming in water cooler
than 70 degrees increases
heart rate and blood pres-
sure; temperatures below the
78-86 degrees recommended
by experts can lead to muscle
spasms and hypothermia.
“I’d be worried about
liability issues at letting
people swim at 64 degrees,”
he said.
Children, with less body
mass, are at greater risk for
hypothermia. Cold water
increases fear of water for
beginning swimmers and
decreases competency, Mitch-
ell told the council.
When saying yes to the
2018 Parks and Recreation
bond, voters understood the
money would not only fix
leaks but would pay for heat
pumps to make the pool more
usable, he pointed out.
“We fear for the success of
a new levy.”
Mitchell and others
encouraged the council to
“fi nish the job” it began with
the earlier pool repairs, point-
ing out that heater prices will
continue to rise.
Others echoed Mitchell
and added that when voters
approved a new pool in 1995,
it was community elders
ensuring that children could
reach swimming competency.
It is “heart wrenching” to
drive past the facility and see
“virtually no attendance,”
said educator Jacque Fox.
Mardi Hagerman minced
no words in her presentation.
Hagerman said she grew
up in Milton-Freewater and
was part of the “extraordi-
nary” swim team here during
that era.
The pool is set in Yantis
Park, built in the 1960s and
dedicated to community
leader Dick Yantis. The very
first swimming pool built
there was heated, Hagerman
noted, “and that was a giant
step.”
In 1995, Hagerman,
who has worked in medi-
cine for decades, chaired the
campaign to replace the fi rst
facility with a modern one;
the community overwhelm-
ingly voted for a new, heated
pool that year, she said.
Now the city pool has the
same water temperature as
Wallowa Lake, which is fi lled
with the water from mountain
snow packs, she said.
Hagerman asked the coun-
cil to consider the guidelines
issued by the American Red
Cross in determining what
water temperature should
be for swimmers, saying it
does not make sense for the
community to not have a
heated pool.
The aquatic center bond
in 1995 was based on having
such a swimming center, she
added.
“We worked very hard to
make that pool a success,”
she said. “Pools do not make
money, but they do make
communities.”
While a thermal cover can
help retain heat, those cannot
add heat, the group said.
Hagerman reminded the
room that in the summer of
1996, the community had no
pool as the current one was
being built.
“Three young boys went
swimming in the river,” she
said. “One drowned, one
was on life support and one
survived.”
Hall said Milton-Freewa-
ter subsidizes the pool’s oper-
ating costs at about $240,000
a year now. As well, other
residents also are pushing for
a dog park and golf course
improvements, and the pool
people must be ready to
defend their interest, the city
manager said.
Council President Steve
Irving told the pool group that
councilors would go to work
on the issue, including check-
ing if heaters can be found at
an accessible price, and the
council is likely to make a
decision in its April meeting.
The Milton-Freewater
City Council meets again at
7 p.m., Monday, April 11, in
the Albee Room of the public
library, 8 S.W. Eighth Ave.
UMATILLA — The
Umatilla River Trails Proj-
ect is a system of paths
connecting Umatilla, Herm-
iston, Stanfi eld and Echo to
increase recreational oppor-
tunities and community liva-
bility. The project is on the
way to becoming a reality.
“We’ve been working
on the project for seven
years,” said former Umatilla
County Commissioner Bill
Elfering, chair of the trails
committee. “Now we have
the fi rst segment pretty well
settled from the Columbia
River to Hermiston. It’s
about 7 miles, with views
of the river most of the way.
The stretch from Hermiston
to Stanfi eld to Echo is still in
the works.”
Public input was received
through a survey and a meet-
ing in October 2019. The
plan then was to select one
of fi ve routes in 2020.
“COVID put us behind
schedule,” Elfering said.
“And the fl ood. But we’ve
narrowed it down to three
routes.”
He explained the trail,
as much as possible, uses
public rights of way, such as
county roads and irrigation
ditch embankments.
“We want as little impact
on private property as possi-
ble,” Elfering said. “We
won’t condemn any at all.
Some private landowners
are welcoming. Others not
so much.”
And the project needs
grant searchers and writers
to help with funding, and
Elfering said there is money
available for bicycle paths.
But applications must wait
for the engineering report by
Anderson Perry. He also said
the Umatilla County Plan-
ning Department has been
involved from the beginning.
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
A stretch of the Umatilla River Trail will follow the river from Umatilla along River Road to-
ward Hermiston. Eventually the system will link four towns: Umatilla, Hermiston, Stanfi eld
and Echo.
“They got us a $250,000
grant, which helped with
matching funds,” Elfering
said.
“Umatilla and Herm-
iston have a lot of existing
infrastructure which we can
connect,” Umatilla County
Planning Director Robert
Waldher said. “Hermiston’s
parks will be incorporated
into the trails, as the termi-
nus of Phase I of the project.”
Stanfield and Echo are
growing rapidly and devel-
oping infrastructure that can
also be part of the project.
“Echo had over 400
people at its Red to Red
cross-country mountain
bike event,” Waldher said.
“That has a big economic
impact.”
Longer term, Waldher
said, the stretch from Herm-
iston to Stanfield will be
more of a challenge.
“ I t ’s s u b j e c t t o
constraints, with industrial
areas, the railroad and High-
way 395,” he explained. “But
momentum is building. We
have gotten technical assis-
tance from the National Park
Service and other federal
agencies.”
The 2020 fl oods washed
out the pedestrian bridge
over the Umatilla River,
but that is in the process of
rebuilding. Still, Waldher
said, the project is looking at
sites for another footbridge
over the Umatilla River
“The river isn’t accessible
on public land all along its
length, so we need to cross
over it,” he said.
The project also is
moving from concept to
implementation.
“We’re ref ining the
details and studying engi-
neering,” Waldher said.
“O u r i mplement at ion
committee consists of two
members from each of the
four communities, plus two
members from the county.
We drove alternative routes
(recently). The whole route
from Umatilla to Echo will
be around 25 miles long,
depending on the alterna-
tives selected.”
The trails can benefit
health, recreation and tour-
ism, he said, but there are
environmental and cultural
surveys to conduct, and the
trails have to meet federal
accessibility requirements.
W h i le Wald he r is
involved, he said the
Umatilla County Board of
Commissioners does not
want tax revenue going to
the trails project, so the
committee is seeking state
and federal funding.
“Bringing it to fruition
will be a lengthy process,
but community support is
there,” he said.
“I probably won’t live to
see it happen, but I’d like
eventually to extend the trail
all the way to Pendleton,”
Elfering said. “It’s county
road most of the way.”
You can read the Umatilla
River Trail Concept Plan
here: bit.ly/3KkW4Fe.
Hegarty joins arts center as development director
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
Board of Directors of the
Arts Council of Pendleton
recently announced Tiff any
Hegarty has joined the staff
at Pendleton Center for the
Arts as its development
director.
“I couldn’t be a bigger fan
of the Pendleton Center for
the Arts and the important
role it plays in our commu-
nity as a creative hub,”
Hegarty said.
During more than 25
years of working with
nonprofi t organizations —
including as a volunteer,
board member, development
director, executive director
and consultant — Hegarty
has helped in securing more
than $7.5 million in fund-
ing to support their work,
PCA Executive Director
Roberta Lavador said in a
press release. In addition to
her administrative skill set,
Hegarty brings an interest-
ing background in the arts.
“I have always loved
writing, but I originally
intended a career in the
performing arts,” she said.
MORE INFORMATION
Pendleton Center for the Arts, 214 N. Main St., is open
Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays,
noon to 4 p.m. For more information, call 541-278-9201 or
visit www.pendletonarts.org.
“After a childhood perform- golf professional position at
ing in regional theatre I Wildhorse Resort & Casino.
studied in New York, then
“We wanted to raise our
moved to Los Angeles with children outside of the big
the intent of landing TV or city and Pendleton off ered
fi lm roles.”
us that opportunity,”
She soon realized
she said about the
she enjoyed being
move. “I was born in
Portland and Mike is
part of film proj-
a proud University
ects from concept
of Oregon graduate,
to editing and that
so moving to Oregon
t he p r o d u c t io n
felt a bit like coming
side of entertain-
Hegarty
home.”
ment allowed for a
T he fa m ily’s
creative voice that
actors were rarely allowed. connection with the arts
During her time in the fi lm center began soon after
industry, Hegarty developed the move. Their daughter,
and produced network tele- Morgan, was invited to join
vision movies, series and a new creative writing class
specials.
the arts center was starting
Hegarty’s family packed for teens.
up and moved to Pendleton
“Morgan really bloomed
in 2007 when her husband, there and went on to take
Mike, a former profes- other classes and even joined
sional golfer, was recruited the teen advisory group that
by the PGA to fi ll the head helped develop and promote
classes for peers,” Hegarty
said. “She graduated from
the University of Oregon
with a degree in journalism
and continues to write.”
The bulk of Hegarty’s
work with nonprof its
during the past 14 years has
been across other parts of
Oregon. She was ready to
focus her experience and
skills on an organization in
her own community. When
the position opened with the
retirement of longtime grant
writer J.D. Smith, Hegarty
said it felt like the timing
was right. While excited to
follow Smith’s 20-years of
strong development work,
Hegarty sees opportunities
for the organization as well.
“I’m realizing that many
in our community have
never been inside this beau-
tiful building. Financial
support from the commu-
nity has been so essential in
providing a level of creative
opportunities not typically
available in rural areas,” she
said. “I’m looking forward
to connecting with more
businesses, organizations
and families to be able to
create even more impact.”
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April 8-14
Cineplex Show Times
Price changes: Adults: $10.00 • Child: $8.00
Senior: $8.00 • Matinees (before 4:00pm): $8.00
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (PG)
3:50p 6:30p 9:20p
Extra 1:10p show 4/8-4/10
Ambulance (R)
5:00p 8:00p
Extra 2:00p show 4/8-4/10
Morbius (PG13)
4:20p 7:00p 9:30p
Extra 1:30p show 4/8-4/10
2022
I
Northeast Oregon
PHOTO
CONTEST
The Lost City (PG13)
4:10p 6:40p 9:10p
Extra 1:40p show 4/8-4/10
The Batman (PG13)
4:40p 8:30p
Extra 12:50p show 4/8-4/10
Ends 4/13
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