NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Thursday, April 14, 2022 Columbia Plateau Long Tent comes to Whitman College East Oregonian WALLA WALLA — An important element of Colum- bia Plateau culture and archi- tecture, the Long Tent will host a weeklong series of speakers and events, the first of its kind on a college campus. Whitman College and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reserva- tion in a joint press release invited the public to attend an opening ceremony follow- ing the historic construction of a Plateau Long Tent on Whitman College’s Ankeny Field on Monday, April 18, at 4:30 p.m. The presence of the Long Tent on Whitman’s campus is the culmination of many months of collaboration by the Long Tent Working Group, which comprises Whitman faculty, staff and students as well as members of local Native American commu- nities. It builds on previous efforts to strengthen the rela- tionship between Whitman and the CTUIR, including the landmark memorandum of understanding, according to the press release. “The fact that we are establishing a piece of archi- tecture like the Long Tent on a college campus in the United States is unprece- Roger Amerman/Contributed Photo The Long Tent is an important element of Columbia Plateau culture and architecture. dented and wonderful,” said Roger Amerman (Choctaw), a 1980 Whitman graduate and co-director of the event. “In modern times, you infre- quently see the Long Tent architecture set up for only special events, and only in the reservation communi- ties. This will probably be the first and last time Whit- man College students will see a long tent.” The Long Tent will be near Treaty Rock, site of the Treaty of 1855 in which tribes were compelled to cede much of their ancestral territory to white settlers. In the Walla Walla Sahaptin language, the Long Tent is known as kwalk ineet and is distinct to Native American tribes of the Columbia Plateau. Tradition- ally, it is used as an extended Forecast for Pendleton Area | Go to AccuWeather.com TODAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY A little snow this morning Showers of rain and snow Cold; a little morning rain Warmer with sun, then clouds Some brightening 42° 26° 48° 33° 47° 26° 55° 35° PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 45° 30° 54° 39° 59° 40° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 49° 32° 60° 42° OREGON FORECAST 61° 44° ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 48/35 37/24 44/22 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 43/29 Lewiston 50/34 48/27 Astoria 47/35 Pullman Yakima 45/25 48/31 44/28 Portland Hermiston 49/36 The Dalles 47/26 Salem Corvallis 48/28 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 38/19 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 50/31 43/20 40/16 Ontario 49/26 Caldwell Burns 44° 29° 66° 38° 86° (1947) 21° (1968) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 50/30 0.01" 0.70" 0.35" 2.65" 1.73" 3.12" WINDS (in mph) 49/25 42/13 0.03" 0.54" 0.61" 4.14" 3.34" 4.68" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 35/12 50/32 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 42/26 51/31 41° 27° 62° 39° 92° (1904) 21° (1911) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 49/31 Aberdeen 42/26 43/27 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 49/35 Today Boardman Pendleton Medford 51/31 Fri. NW 6-12 WNW 6-12 SSW 4-8 ESE 6-12 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 43/17 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 6:12 a.m. 7:40 p.m. 5:27 p.m. 5:38 a.m. Full Last New First Apr 16 Apr 23 Apr 30 May 8 family dwelling or commu- nity structure for lodging, social, ceremonial and reli- gious activities at different times of the year. The Long Tent constructed at Whitman will be for educational rather than ceremonial purposes, with certain courses spend- ing class time inside the struc- ture. “It is difficult to overstate the significance of this project and the opportunities it pres- ents to both our students and the wider community,” said working-group member Helen Kim, Whitman professor of sociology and associate dean for faculty development. “It combines experiential learn- ing with the need for greater engagement with the complex history of our region, which has been a major point of focus for us in recent years.” Tribal leader E. Thomas Morning Owl (Umatilla and Kainai) will be CTUIR elder-in-residence, while Donald Sampson, heredi- tary chief of the Walúulapam (Walla Walla people) and CTUIR executive director, will lead the opening cere- mony. Dignitaries and elders from local Plateau tribes, such as the Cayuse, Colville, Nez Perce, Umatilla and Walla Walla, also will partic- ipate, including Kat Brigham, chair of the CTUIR Board of Trustees. For more information about the Long Tent, go to whitman.edu/the-long-tent. Visitors are welcome to take part in additional programming designed to deepen their understanding of the Walla Walla Basin and Native American commu- nities in the area, including talks, panels and presenta- tions throughout the week of April 18-24. A full schedule of events is available online. Attendees must adhere to the Visitor Vaccination Require- ment. According to the press release, portions of some events may not permit filming or recording, and media and guests should be respectful of speakers’ requests to put phones and cameras away. Flying high in Stratos Aircraft, designed and built in Redmond By TIM TRAINOR Redmond Spokesman REDMOND — Commer- cial airlines have had a difficult few years. Travel restrictions, mask mandates and soaring fuel prices all reduced demand for their services — and made the f lying experience pretty miserable for their customers. But during that same stretch, a group of aeronau- tics engineers in Redmond had a pretty productive time. Later this summer, Stratos Aircraft plans to go public with their finished product: the 716X. The single-engine, six-passenger plane will be marketed as a less expen- sive, more efficient private aircraft. Carsten Sundin, the chief technology officer for Stratos, said the pandemic restrictions were not much of a problem for the company. It had funding in place before the first economic rattles hit — and it wasn’t yet ready to go out to pound the pave- ment and entice buyers. “We’ve been hunkered down,” Sundin said. “We have continued to do what we needed to do on the devel- opment side. It would have been far harder if we were at the stage when we needed to have customers traveling to the area to make sales.” That time, however, is soon approaching. The company expects to start selling its jets in July or Aug ust, accord i ng to Sundin, who said the final product would be roughly “95% engineered and built in Central Oregon.” Stratos operates out of a facility in southeast Redmond. It has 18 employ- ees, most of whom are long- time veterans of the Central Oregon aeronautics compa- nies, including Lancair and Epic. The Redmond oper- ation includes a composite shop and metal shop. There were issues in the supply chain, of course. Machine parts — especially carbon fiber — became more difficult to find. Raw materi- als became more difficult to locate and were more expen- sive. Stratos started to order specialized parts months in advance to be sure each would arrive on time. “The price change on some of the materials has been incredible,” said Sundin. “Aluminum has just about tripled in the last year.” And then there’s the t r a n s p or t at ion i nd u s - try, which was ravaged by COV ID -19 lockdow ns. Commercial flights ground to a halt as people canceled trips. Business travel took a major hit as more people worked from home and business conventions were canceled. And recently, a big jump in fuel prices have led to a big increase in ticket prices. Sundin said he thinks the disruptions to air travel from 2020-22 ultimately will benefit the company. “I don’t see any issue with it,” he said. “I think more people, if they can afford it, are going to want to fly privately (rather) than commercial. There’s just so many hassles ... security, rules and stipulations.” NATIONAL EXTREMES IN BRIEF Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 107° in McAllen, Texas Low -17° in Lake Yellowstone, Wyo. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY ODOT work in Joseph to accommodate tourist season JOSEPH — The Oregon Department of Transportation schedule of sidewalk work in Joseph received a nod from the city council during its meeting April 7. The plans to refurbish sidewalks and ramps to conform with federal Ameri- cans with Disabilities Act standards have drawn concern from the Joseph Chamber of Commerce and merchants about the work disrupting the downtown tourist season. After an informational meeting on the proj- ect by ODOT with local residents April 4, the city collected written concerns and addressed them at last week’s meeting. Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s ice 50s 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 70s East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Copyright © 2022, EO Media Group 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low Circulation Dept. For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 800-781-3214 CORRECTION: The Saturday, April 9, edition of the East Oregonian ran inaccurate information on the records page about the criminal sentencing of Luis Enrique Garay. He pleaded guilty in Morrow County Circuit Court to 2020 charges of attempted first-degree sodomy, strangulation and fourth-degree assault. The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. ADVERTISING Classified & Legal Advertising Regional Sales Director (Eastside) EO Media Group: Classified advertising: 541-564-4538 • Karrine Brogoitti 541-963-3161 • kbrogoitti@eomediagroup.com 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays EastOregonian.com In the App Store: 80s SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings (cover price) $10.75/month 50 percent 52 weeks $135 42 percent 26 weeks $71 39 percent 13 weeks $37 36 percent EZPay Single copy price: $1.50 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday Pro-tem Administrator Brock Eckstein said Monday, April 11, that the new plan is for work to be done on sidewalks and ramps on the south end of town during the height of the tourist season. Then, about mid-September, ODOT will transition to working downtown. ODOT also agreed to let the city do its own landscaping. “They also said rather than ODOT trying to meet the landscaping needs, (ODOT will) give money to the city to do it how we see fit rather than have a third-party contractor do it,” Eckstein said. He said ODOT will determine the amount in the next week or two, but estimated it will be $200,000-$250,000. — EO Media Group Multimedia Consultants: • Angel Aguilar 541-564-4531 • aaguilar@hermistonherald.com • Melissa Barnes 541-966-0827 • mbarnes@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Business Office Legal advertising: 541-966-0824 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: call 541-966-0818 or email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items, engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email community@eastoregonian.com, call 541-966-0818 or or visit eastoregonian.com/community/ announcements. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips, email sports@eastoregonian.com. COMMERCIAL PRINTING • Dayle Stinson Commercial Print Manager: Holly Rouska 541-966-0824 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com 541-617-7839 • hrouska@eomediagroup.com