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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 28, 2022)
WEEKEND EDITION | Look for local graduates in the Class of 2022 special section ti Uma lla C oun ty orr | M ow C lia | Gil oun ty GRA eler Coun ty N O I U D A T m Co un ty e | Sh s Cla Co rman un ty he | W 022 2 f s o MAY 28 – 29, 2022 146th Year, No. 69 $1.50 WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021 BLUE MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE Show them the money Morrow County commissioners vote to release Amazon gift to BMCC By ERICK PETERSON East Oregonian HEPPNER — Blue Mountain Community College’s share of an $11-million Amazon gift should go forward as originally planned, following a meeting of the Morrow County Board of Commissioners. Com m ission- ers reached the decision in a meet- ing Wednesday, May 25, voting 3-0 for the college to receive the $627,517 share. Browning “We appreci- ate your efforts,” Morrow County Com missioner Melissa Lindsay said to BMCC Pres- ident Mark Brown- ing after the vote, as she expressed her Doherty satisfaction with his work and the college’s place in the region. Browning was present at the meet- ing. Lindsay Suspending the funds In a meeting April 20, Morrow County commis- sioners decided 2-1 to not give the money to Blue Mountain, holding off until they were Russell comfortable that the money to the Pendleton-based community college would benefi t Morrow County. Lindsay, in particular, said she wanted to know the money would help fund the Workforce Training Center in Boardman. Commissioner Jim Doherty agreed with Lindsay, voting with her to suspend the funds until further meetings with the college. Meanwhile, Commissioner Don Russell called the suspension an overreach, as he said BMCC had its own board of directors, which was charged to oversee funds and spend money where it “benefi ts the most people.” Being a board comprised of elected members, the college board should be allowed to make these See BMCC, Page A10 ESCORTING THE WALL of HONOR Motorcyclists from Vets Helping Vets escort a truck carrying “The Wall of Honor: A Tribute to Those We Lost in Iraq and Afghanistan” along Highway 395 near Stanfi eld on Friday, May 27, 2022. A Milwaukie High School student in 2005 initially created the wall as part of a senior project. The comprehensive exhibit opens May 28 with a 9 a.m. ceremony at the Hermiston Community Center, 415 S. Highway 395, and runs through 9 p.m. May 30. Kathy Aney/East Oregonian BOARDMAN MORROW COUNTY Oregon Child Development Coalition opens new facility Grain Growers receives $2M for rail-to-barge grain expansion Expansion of services coming with new location By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press C o n s ol i ve r s a i d t h e i r district, which serves Umatilla and Mor row counties, has approximately 550 children during the course of a year. These children all have parents who work in agriculture. BOARDMAN — A unique rail- to-barge grain facility at Oregon’s Port of Morrow is expanding with help from a $2 million grant recently approved by state transpor- tation offi cials. The Morrow County Grain Growers cooperative has won approval from the Oregon Trans- portation Commission for funding that will cover about two-thirds of the $3 million project’s cost. “It’s worked great so far and we hope it will give us that much more capability,” said Kevin Gray, the cooperative’s CEO, of the grain handling operation. Originally completed in 2019, the facility is the only one of its kind along the Columbia River that can unload grain from rail cars and then load it into barges headed for down- stream export elevators. “It’s a time saver just because of the congestion on the railroads,” Gray said. The expansion project will install a new 600,000-bushel grain bin and associated conveyors that will connect it to the existing facil- ity. Six grain bins already stood at the location when the cooperative built the $7.5 million rail-to-barge system, whose cost included instal- lation of a seventh bin. The project recently approved for Connect Oregon grant fund- ing will bring the number of bins to eight, with room for fi ve more and a grain bunker left at the site. Gray said the additional bin is meant to improve the facility’s fl exibility, because until now it’s occasionally been forced to reject proposed grain loads because the existing bins were in use. Even if the bins have storage capacity left, they still are limited to storing the type of grain each one already contains, he said. “You can’t put corn in the same bin you put wheat in.” See Facility, Page A10 See Grain, Page A10 By ERICK PETERSON East Oregonian BOARDMAN — The Oregon Child Development Coalition has made a new home in a location that will make more services available to more of their clients than before. The organization, which has a new building at 123 Willow- fork Drive, Boardman, had an open house May 20. Executives, staff and clients were available to explain the center and their own experiences with it. Siblings Angel Muniz, Yamila Gomez and Susan Gomez seemed happy with the new Boardman facility. They bounced from toy to toy, feeling out their environ- ment. The three children range in age from 1 to 5 years old. Angel, the oldest one of the group, was once an OCDC student. He now is enrolled in a public elementary school. Yamila Gomez and Susan Gomez are planning to attend school at the new OCDC facility as soon as it opens. Their mother, Cinthia Muniz, said she was happy with the situ- ation, as she believes OCDC is good for her children. Erick Peterson/East Oregonian From left, Angel Muniz, Yamila Gomez and Susan Gomez, children of Cinthia Muniz, play May 20, 2022, at the new Oregon Child Develop- ment Coalition facility in Boardman. OCDC helps people Executive Director Donalda Dodson and Program Director Pat Consoliver were among the people giving tours May 20, and they explained their organization. OCDC, they said, is a 51-year- old early learning program with a focus on migrant and seasonal Head Start services. “We work with both children and their parents,” Dodson said. Education ser vices are provided for the children, and family support services exist for the parents. She said “family support” includes help for adults to obtain their GED certifi cates Erick Peterson/East Oregonian Oregon Child Development Coalition holds an open house May 20, 2022, at its new building at 123 Willowfork Drive, Boardman. or enroll in English as a second language courses. By helping both children and adults, the OCDC is a “two-generational program.” The children, who are 6 weeks to 5 years of age, are kept in a learn- ing environment that is appropriate for their age, Dodson said.
