ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
SATURDAY, APRIl 30, 2022
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Structures
are viable
link to
the past
T
he best news about the World War
II-era guardhouses at the Eastern
Oregon Regional Airport in Pendle-
ton is their fate isn’t sealed and a dedicated
group of people are working to preserve
them.
Earlier this month the 11-member airport
commission reviewed the idea to preserve
the guardhouses and several ideas were
broached about how to sustain the guard-
houses.
That the guardhouses are historically
important is obvious, but how to capital-
ize on that significance is the challenge the
committee faces now.
The key, though, is the guardhouses
should be preserved and the commit-
tee should find the best, most affordable,
method to do that.
Airport Manager John Honemann’s
idea to form a group from a broad swath of
different stakeholders to find a way forward
is likely the best plan for now.
Honemann wants to search for funding
grants to help preserve the guard shacks.
Airport committee member retired U.S.
Army Col. Tim Kelly prefers to keep the
project as local as possible by using volun-
teers and grassroots fundraising efforts,
including donations of equipment and labor
from area construction companies.
Both ideas have merit and the way
forward is to develop a plan that combines
both concepts.
Grant funding remains one of those
untapped sources of revenue that often
small cities across the nation shun because
of the time element involved. Finding and
then applying for a grant takes time and
there is always a delay between the time a
grant application is submitted and when it is
approved. Plus, there is never any guarantee
the city or group applying will get the grant.
Kelly said he believe going the grass-
roots route could wrap up the project in
about six months.
Yet there is no reason the airport
committee can’t move down both avenues
— seeking grants and creating a grassroots
movement — to help preserve the guard-
houses.
The guardhouses need to be preserved.
They are a viable link to the past when our
great community stepped up and helped
out during World War II. We must, as a
community, move ahead on plans to expand
the airport in every way possible but, at the
same time, we must also work to safeguard
the rich history of our local airfield.
We hope the airport committee finds a
way to develop a plan that includes local
fundraising efforts and a process to seek
grant funding.
EDITORIALS
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East
Oregonian editorial board. Other columns,
letters and cartoons on this page express the
opinions of the authors and not necessarily that
of the East Oregonian.
LETTERS
The East Oregonian welcomes original letters
of 400 words or less on public issues and public
policies for publication in the newspaper and on
our website. The newspaper reserves the right
to withhold letters that address concerns about
individual services and products or letters that
infringe on the rights of private citizens. Letters
must be signed by the author and include the
city of residence and a daytime phone number.
The phone number will not be published.
Unsigned letters will not be published.
SEND LETTERS TO:
editor@eastoregonian.com,
or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801
YOUR VIEWS
Bower has Umatilla
County’s best
interest at heart
Susan Bower is a strong
candidate for county
commissioner Position 1.
She is a highly competent
individual with a vast business
and economic background,
which will help her understand
the complexities of county
government. Her expertise in
workforce development and
firsthand experience in reduc-
ing redundancy in govern-
ment and business operations
add to her qualifications.
Susan has the desire and
tenacity to research and
familiarize herself with the
full aspect of the commis-
sioner position be it infra-
structure, required services,
homelessness, drugs,
vaccines or mental health
issues. She is a team player,
but no one who is willing
to take charge and work
in a transparent method
when the situation merits.
In the best interest of
Umatilla County, I invite
you to join me in voting
for Susan Bower.
Bonnie Douglas
Pendleton
Bus barn, another
city boondoggle?
Did you attend the Pendle-
ton Public Transit Program’s
open house? Public partici-
pation was underwhelming
to say the least. City officials,
promoting construction of a
bus barn at the airport, vastly
outnumbered local residents,
probably because of the free
coffee and cookies provided
to the city on our behalf.
As interest by city offi-
cials in a sanctioned public
transportation grew in
the early 80s, a stable taxi
system was deemed neces-
sary, and Elite Taxi was
given an exclusive contract
to provide that service.
Evidently, those folks at
Elite felt secure with the
contract and must have felt
that upgrading their fleet to
provide handicapped acces-
sible service was unneces-
sary.
Consequently, the city
was forced to purchase
handicapped accessible vans
and established the dial-a-
ride program to fulfill the
requirements.
It’s true that outside
consultants did evaluate the
city’s Bicycle, Pedestrian,
and Transit Plan, making
some recommendations.
Replacing the dial-a-ride
program, considered overly
expensive and inefficient,
with a fixed-route system
should be considered, with
the addition of a transit hub
near the city’s retail center,
the Melanie Square, Safeway
and Walmart area, not the
airport. City officials balked
at this idea, citing the need
to promote the downtown
area and the proposed River
Quarter retail expansion
plan along Southwest Court
Avenue.
Now if you happen to pass
by the Pendleton Convention
Center as the city is conduct-
ing one of its required safety
training sessions, you’ll get
a pretty good idea of the
number of city-owned vehi-
cles used in normal opera-
tions, enough to fill the front
parking lot.
Our transportation
manager would like to
provide a bus barn facility
to secure the transit vehi-
cles and allow for opera-
tors to do their pre and post
inspections, cleaning and
other duties in a protected
environment, drivers, I
might add, that are not even
city employees. She doesn’t
seemed too concerned about
those other city vehicles or
actual city employees.
The plan to locate the
facility at the airport? It
might as well be in Reith.
Incidentally, those same
consultants that suggested
a transit hub also seemed
very concerned about the
lack of sidewalks in many
areas of town, a concern
city management continues
to ignore.
Rick Rohde
Pendleton
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
U.S. SENATORS
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande office: 541-962-7691
Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton office: 541-278-1129
REPRESENTATIVES
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Cliff Bentz
2185 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford office: 541-776-4646
SENATOR
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us