REGION
Saturday, April 23, 2022
MORROW COUNTY
Candidates address Amazon money at forum
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HEPPNER — Morrow
County commissioner candi-
dates during a forum Tuesday,
April 19, touched on several
issues, including the distribu-
tion of revenue from Amazon
and a pay bump for commis-
sioners.
The five candidates are
vying for two seats on the
county board.
The candidates
Jeff Wenholz is challeng-
ing Commissioner Melissa
Lindsay for Position 2, which
opened because Commis-
sioner Don Russell is retiring.
Lindsay holds the Position 3
seat, but her move to seek the
open seat means No. 3 also
is open, and three candidates
are in that race: Guss Peterson,
Mike McNamee and David
Sykes.
All fi ve met for the forum,
which the Heppner Chamber
of Commerce organized at
the Gilliam Brisbee Building
in Heppner.
Wenholtz said his experi-
ence has prepared him to be a
commissioner. He graduated
from Riverside High School
in Boardman, helped his father
run Irrigon Motors and Irri-
gon Mini Storage and served
on the Morrow County Solid
Waste Advisory Commit-
tee and the Morrow County
Planning Commission, among
other groups.
Lindsay, a fi fth-generation
farmer, who attended Heppner
High School, spoke of her
family’s Morrow County
roots. Her grandfather, Gar
Swanson, was a founding
member of the Bank of East-
ern Oregon and helped start
the Port of Morrow. Lind-
say has served on the county
board since 2016
Peterson said he is a
fi fth-generation wheat farmer
who went to school in Ione
and studied political science
REGISTER TO VOTE
Voters have until Tuesday, April 26, to update their registra-
tion, including any address changes. To do that online, visit
the Oregon Secretary of State website at sos.oregon.gov/
Pages/index.aspx and click on the “Register to Vote” link.
at Oregon State University.
He said he was “the youngest
person here by a number of
years” but he is running in his
ideas and integrity.
Sykes talked up his life
experiences. He served in the
Navy, attended the University
of Oregon, met his wife, has
operated businesses and owns
the Heppner Gazette-Times.
McNamee said he “comes
from a whole diff erent angle
from everybody else here.”
While he is an Oregonian like
the other candidates, he has
lived in big cities and has the
benefi t of knowing rural and
urban communities. A busi-
nessman and rancher, he said
he is “pretty conservative.”
Answering questions
Candidates fi elded ques-
tions on a number of topics,
most coming from the forum
moderator, including about
the county’s growth and each
candidate’s vision in the next
10 years.
Wenholtz said county
policy should be good partners
with the state and the Port of
Morrow. Lindsay spoke of the
need to consider health and
other needed services.
Peterson said he was
focused on housing, education
and energy projects. Sykes
spoke of jobs and employ-
ment diversity. McNamee
said the county needs limited
growth that does not outpace
our infrastructure.
The distribution of money
from Amazon to cities in the
county raised some criticism
from the candidates.
Wenholtz said “the
communities that got it prob-
ably enjoyed the money” but it
was not distributed correctly.
Lindsay pointed out that there
were many people who were
not included in the distribu-
tion, as they do not live in a
city.
McNamee said the distri-
bution of cash was “a tough
decision” but that it should
have been “put away” rather
then spent. Peterson said the
money should have gone else-
where, too. Sykes pointed out
this “gift” will never happen
again, so the talk was only a
“philosophical discussion.”
One attendee, a rancher,
asked the candidates about
approving data centers and
their responsibility to pay their
share of taxes.
Lindsay said compa-
nies should be paying into
the community, as they
are community members.
Wenholtz said the data
centers have not been driv-
ing up power rates. Peterson
spoke of lowering tax abate-
ments now that infrastructure
is in place. Sykes stated data
centers should not be “let off
the hook,” and more questions
should be asked. McNamee
said “we’ve been too easy” on
these companies.
Staffing problems at the
county health department also
is a concern.
Wenholtz spoke of the need
for competitive pay, and Lind-
say said she has experience in
this issue and believes recruit-
ment is part of the solution.
Peterson complained of the
need to cut commissioners’
checks and increasing nurse’s
pay. Sykes said further study
is needed to fi nd if local wages
are worse than other counties.
McNamee said money should
be found in the budget, and
the county should learn why
people are not working here.
That led into a focus on
a raise for Morrow County
commissioners.
Lindsay said wages are
studied, and there is a need
to make pay competitive.
Wenholtz said commission-
ers should be part-time and see
pay increases with the cost of
living.
Peterson said a commis-
sioner’s pay should be tied to
the median wage of the county.
Sykes said the commission-
er’s pay increase is “not a
done deal” and it can be over-
turned. McNamee called the
pay increase “too much.”
When it comes to tour-
ism, Wenholtz said groups,
such as local chambers, need
to promote the area’s natu-
ral beauty and added, trail
development could be helpful.
Lindsay said in addition to the
areas’ scenic views, there are
excellent events and activi-
ties that can be expanded on.
McNamee spoke of rivers,
mountains and other features
that could be promoted. Peter-
son stated port stations for
electric cars and agritourism
could help. And Sykes said
local business is giving us
good examples of success in
promoting tourism.
Wrapping up
In closing statements,
candidates each gave one fi nal
pitch.
Wenholtz brought up his
experience, which has given
him understanding of good
governance. Lindsay said she
is proud of her service as a
commissioner and she wants
to continue her hard work.
Peterson said he was
“running to make a differ-
ence.” Sykes said he has
been to many commissioner
meetings, and he will bring
his experience to the offi ce.
McNamee said he is a commu-
nity member who wants to
help and that he wants big
companies to pay their share.
PORT OF MORROW
DEQ seeks public comments on water permit
BY ALEX
BAUMHARDT
Oregon Capital Chronical
BOARDMAN — The
Oregon Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality is asking
the public to weigh in on a
revised water permit for the
Port of Morrow after it violated
its existing permit more than
1,100 times.
From 2018 to 2021, the
state’s second largest port
dumped wastewater on farm-
land containing 165 tons more
nitrate than the permit allowed.
In January, the DEQ fi ned
the port nearly $1.3 million
for the violations. The port is
appealing.
Nitrate is a compound in
fertilizer used in farming.
Many crops, including pota-
toes and wheat, are processed
at the Port of Morrow before
being shipped by river, rail
and road. That processing puts
remnants of fertilizer into the
wastewater.
The port’s water permit
requires treatment of the
wastewater before it is sold
to nearby farms for irriga-
tion. It is essentially a waste-
water recycling program, but
when that water is too high in
nitrate from the fertilizer, the
excess moves into the ground-
water and can contaminate
aquifers that local well users
and water utilities depend on.
The port produces about 3.6
billion gallons of wastewater
annually.
Nitrate is difficult and
expensive to remove from
wells, requiring fi lters that cost
thousands of dollars. If water
with high levels of nitrate is
consumed over long periods,
it can lead to increased risk
of colon and stomach cancer,
according to the National
Cancer Institute. Such pollu-
tion can also be harmful to
babies and pregnant women,
causing oxygen deprivation
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Flags fl utter Jan. 11, 2022, at the entrance to the Port of Morrow
Industrial Park, Boardman. The Oregon Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality is seeking public comment on a revised wa-
ter permit for the port after it violated its existing permit from
2018 to 2021, resulting in a fi ne of $1.3 million from the DEQ.
that can lead to miscarriages
and methemoglobinemia or
“blue baby syndrome,” accord-
ing to the Oregon Health
Authority.
Comments regarding the
revised water permit can be
emailed to Patty Isaak, DEQ’s
water quality permit coordina-
tor at patty.isaak@deq.oregon.
gov. All comments are due by
5 p.m. Friday, May 20.
After that round of
comments, the agency will
propose an updated permit
and possibly allow comment
on that.
The port’s discharge viola-
tions are the result of accumu-
lating more water than it can
store as it’s expanded over the
years.
T he revised per mit
would allow the port to
add about 1,600 acres to its
discharge program.
“The additional acreage
spreads out the wastewater
nutrients onto more crop fi elds,
reducing likelihood of unused
nitrate leaching to ground-
water if properly managed,”
the DEQ said in its permit
summary.
The revisions would
require the port to conduct
more soil and groundwater
quality monitoring, reduce
discharges in nongrowing
seasons and devise a plan to
clean existing groundwater
contamination.
The port is building the fi rst
of three anaerobic digesters
that will help treat some of the
water-borne nitrate turning it
to ammonia, which is easier for
crops to take up and could lead
to less nitrate leaching into the
groundwater.
Morrow County is the
Lower Umatilla Basin,
which the DEQ has deemed
a Groundwater Manage-
ment Area since the early
1990s due to high levels of
nitrate in the water.
East Oregonian
A3
Sudden wind storm
wreaks havoc
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
High winds damaged the Hermiston Cinema sign
along Highway 395 during a storm on Wednesday,
April 20, 2022. Winds picked up from 0 at 6:50 p.m.
to 33 mph at 6:53 p.m., gusting to 52 mph, according
to National Weather Service observations. The sud-
den storm brought down branches all over town and
stopped a Hermiston High School track meet where
the Dawgs were hosting Walla Walla and Kamiakin.
PENDLETON
Uber has green light
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Uber
has the green light to go in
Pendleton.
The city council in a
unanimous vote at its meet-
ing Tuesday evening, April
19, approved a fi ve-month
long pilot program to allow
ride-hailing services to
operate in Pendleton along
with taxis. Pendleton City
Manager Robb Corbett said
the program took effect
immediately.
In most cases, the coun-
cil has a fi rst reading of a
new ordinance, then at the
next meeting has the second
reading and public hearing
before casting a vote. But
for this matter, Corbett said,
the council voted unani-
mously to call for the fi rst
and second readings at one
meeting, then by unanimous
vote held a public hearing
and voted unanimously to
approve the program.
Usually a new ordinance
goes into eff ect 30 days after
passage, he said, but this had
an emergency clause that
put the program into eff ect
upon passage.
The vote came after
weeks of contention and
discussion about allowing
ride-hale services to oper-
ate in Pendleton. Accord-
ing to the staff report from
city attorney Nancy Kerns
and finance director and
transportation adminis-
trator Linda Carter, Pend-
leton’s ordinance is based
upon similar ordinances a
number of Oregon commu-
nities have adopted.
“There are no require-
ments for hours of opera-
tion and no regulation of
fares,” the memo states,
and after fi ve months the
pilot program sunsets unless
the council adopts it perma-
nently.
When the window closes,
according to the memo, the
city council needs to deter-
mine whether the ordinance:
• Protects the public.
• Meets the transpor-
tation needs of the public,
including having a viable
contractor for city provided
public transportation.
•Allows new modes of
transportation services,
which will not overwhelm-
ingly compete with the city’s
transportation contractor,
Elite Taxi.
And if the council does
not take it up, Corbett
said, it ends.
LeeAnnOttosen@UmpquaBank.com
UmpquaBank.com/Lee-Ann-Ottosen
2022
I
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