Conclusion of OPB’s report on Pendleton UAS Range, A3
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
146th year, no. 76
$1.50
WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021
PENDLETON
Brandon Granberry puts on
makeup Friday, June 10, 2022,
in preparation for a drag queen
show in Pendleton.
PDC
considers
reducing
grants
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PendLeTOn — Pendleton
development Commission could cut
the size of grants it gives for projects
in the city’s urban renewal district.
The commission’s advisory
committee at its June 2 meeting
discussed the availability of urban
renewal funds for this year and
reductions in grant percentages.
The PdC plans to address the issue
and grant award changes at a special
workshop Tuesday, June 14.
City Manager Robb Corbett,
who doubles as the development
commission’s executive director,
said the PdC increased the percent-
age amounts possible for grants to
entice more project applications, and
the move worked.
“now the PdC is looking to
reduce the percentage grant amount
as a way to extend the number of
projects we could get done,” he
further explained. “It is thought that
perhaps now that there is more inter-
est, 40% might be too generous.”
PdC advisory committee
members discussed returning to
awarding more grants for a smaller
percentage of total project cost.
Charles denight, the commission’s
associate director, said some owners
would be happy with a grant of 20%
the value of their project or even less.
“Others need or want more,” he
said. “In the past, some members of
the PdC have been reluctant to use
this approach, because they believe
every applicant should have the same
opportunity for funding.”
The PdC is a governmental entity
separate from the city, although city
councilors serve as its commission-
ers. It manages the urban renewal
district and receives feedback from
the citizen committee of volunteers,
which meets monthly.
The PdC is using a large portion
of its budget for street reconstruc-
tion. The advisory committee at its
June 2 meeting reviewed the funding
available, the grant commitments
made and formulated recommenda-
tions for the best path forward for the
PdC through 2022 and into 2023.
The PdC at the workshop also
plans to discuss altering grant award
amounts. Roy Jones serves on the
PdC advisory committee. He said
granting variable amounts could lead
to the appearance of favoritism.
Drag queens take to the stage
in a first for Round-Up City
By YASSER MARTE
East Oregonian
P
Photos by Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Andrea Wabaunsee as Tatiana Rexia is
ready for the Let ‘Er Drag show Friday,
June 10, 2022, in Pendleton.
Drag queens Katana, bottom, and Bran-
don Granberry prepare Friday, June 10,
2022, for Let ‘Er Drag, a first-ever drag
queen show in Pendleton.
Public money draws
private investment
The PdC in May provided a
$500,000 grant to the $2.2 million
project to convert the crime-rid-
den Marigold Hotel, which the
city shut down, into the extend-
ed-stay Pendleton Hotel.
See Grants, Page A9
Sugar Woodward prepares makeup Friday, June 10, 2022, right before the Let
‘Er Drag show at Electric Sundown, Pendleton.
endLeTOn — she smeared a dash
of blue face paint on her hand and
with her brush she dipped into the
blue like a painter with a palette.
andrea Wabaunsee, stage name
Tatiana Rexia, leaned in front of the
mirror and applied the makeup on
the canvas of her cheeks, getting ready for Let ‘er drag
— a first-of-its kind drag show Friday night, June 10, at
electric sundown in Pendleton. The place was standing
room only, with maybe 300 people in attendance.
“Mostly on stage I’m a female demon or genderless
demon just because most of my drag is centered from my
dark mind, especially as a child growing up being trans-
gender and not being able to say that,” Wabaunsee said.
“It’s kind of a lot so I keep it bottled up and paint it on my
body.”
Her drag family considers her mother, a title and duty
she takes with serious and admirable care.
“It’s a lot of responsibility, especially when someone is
in a situation where they don’t feel wanted publicly with
the person they care for,” Wabaunsee said. “so I just need
to be there like my drag mother was there for me.”
PFLAG Pendleton hosted the event. PFLAG provides
support to family and friends of the LGBTQ community.
nine drag queens from Pasco, which has had an active
drag scenes for many years, came to Pendleon to perform
in the show, which also included some locals. among
the group was Brandon Granberry, Karisma and sugar
Woodward and performers only going by their stage
names, including Katana.
Granberry and Katana helped each other dress for the
show, listened to music together and made fun of each other.
See Drag, Page A9
‘I’m afraid for the mothers with babies on the way’
Mothers face challenges
of finding baby formula
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
HeRMIsTOn — The baby formula
shortage plaguing the country persists
in umatilla County. Graciela arech-
iga of Hermiston is struggling to find
formula for her 5-month-old baby.
“I’m not able to produce enough
breast milk to feed my baby, so formula
is my only option,” she said. “We have
gone to several stores for days straight,
first thing in the morning to check and
see if any formula had been delivered.
When I ask the store associates when
they would get more they would always
answer that they didn’t know.”
arechiga said she would be nervous
when she got to half a can of formula
because she didn’t know what she
would feed her daughter if more
formula wasn’t available.
“sometimes we would be so desper-
ate,” she said. “We would have to feed
her any formula we were able to find at
the store, even if it wasn’t the kind she
normally took. even recently we have
had to go to different towns looking
for it, just to find that there’s nothing
there either.”
Arechiga is in a few first-time mom
support groups. When she has been
able to find the formula a member’s
baby needs, she mails it to the mom.
“I can’t tell you how many times
I’ve cried or haven’t been able to sleep
thinking about babies not having
anything to eat because of this short-
age,” arechiga said. “I’m lucky because
See Mothers, Page A9
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
Graciela Arechiga gives her daughter Rosalia a bottle on Saturday, June 11,
2022. The Hermiston mom worries about being able to find enough for-
mula to feed the baby.