WEEKEND EDITION
Wind, rain, hail batters Milton-Freewater |
REGION, A3
AUGUST 13 – 14, 2022
146th Year, No. 101
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2022 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
GRAIN CRAFT FIRE
Due to the avian
fl u outbreak,
stuff ed animals
Thursday, Aug. 11,
2022, replace many
live birds at the
Umatilla County
Fair in Hermiston.
Alice Dyer, barn
superintendent,
said the stuff ed
animals helped
raise the spirits
of “devastated”
exhibitors.
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Mackenzie Whaley/
East Oregonian
Fire erupts on the westside of
Grain Craft fl our mill Wednesday,
Aug. 10, 2022, in Pendleton.
Farmers,
customers
scramble
to make
new plans
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
PENDLETON — Pacifi c North-
west wheat farmers are beginning to
cope with the fallout from a massive
fi re on Wednesday, Aug. 10, that left
the Grain Craft fl our mill in Pendle-
ton a “total loss.”
The company is working with
farmers to handle the excess supply,
said Natalie Faulkner, director of
communications for Grain Craft,
based in Chattanooga, Tenn.
The building was more than 100
years old, Faukner said. Twenty-two
employees worked in the mill. There
were no injuries in the fi re. Pendle-
ton Police Chief Chuck Byram said
the mill was a “total loss.”
The company does not disclose
the production capacity of the build-
ing, Faulkner said. The extent of the
damage and possibility of rebuild-
ing are not yet known, she added.
“It’s still an active situation, we
are still evaluating everything, just
trying to understand the cause and
circumstances,” Faulkner told the
Capital Press.
Ben Maney, president of Oregon
Wheat Growers League, farms
north of Pendleton.
He doesn’t take his grain to the
facility, but “a substantial amount of
farmers” in the area do, he told the
Capital Press.
“It’s been a staple for the Pendle-
ton community for an awfully long
time, generations, and it’s always
been a central location (in) town,”
he said.
The fire is the latest hit for
growers, after experiencing severe
drought last year, Maney said.
Many crops had rebounded this
year with spring rains.
ANTONIO ARREDONDO
East Oregonian
Mackenzie Whaley/East Oregonian
A young girl and her sheep take the stage Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, at
the Senior Sheep Showcase at the Umatilla County Fair in Hermiston.
ERMISTON — While the afternoon and
night at the Umatilla County Fair may
center on the carnival rides, the curly
fries and the outdoor activities, the earlier
parts of the day are where the animals get
to shine.
Hundreds of livestock and their eager owners participated
in various competitions with their animals. Steers, lambs,
goats, swine and fowl all showed in front of judges and
potential buyers.
H
Hard work pays off
Annikah Perez of Hermiston has been working with
her steer, Rebel, since choosing him in October 2021.
The 16-year-old Hermiston resident has spent the past
months feeding, loving and preparing the cow for showing.
Animals take part in several showings, with categories
being showmanship and confi rmation.
Perez said confi rmation is all about the animal —
specifi cally judging the market animal — while show-
manship is about judging both the owner and their
presentation of the animal. While showmanship also
judges the owner’s handling, Perez was quick to give
credit to her steer.
See Fair, Page A8
Annikah Perez, 16, of Hermiston, works with her steer Rebel on
Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, at the Umatilla County Fair in Hermis-
ton. Perez and Rebel placed fi fth in showmanship at the fair.
See Fire, Page A8
Mackenzie Whaley/East Oregonian
Let ’er rock
The voices of
Pendleton’s Rock
& Roll Camp
By DAKOTA CASTETS-
DIDIER AND YASSER
MARTE
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The pop
of drums and the shredding
of power chords resonated
throughout the Pendleton
Center for the Arts on Thursday,
Aug. 10, as students and coun-
selors prepared for a concert
just a week in the making.
In its 17th year, the Pendle-
ton Rock & Roll Camp was in
full swing as attendees formed
bands and began rehearsing the
songs they had written during
the week.
“We got our ethos when we
started 17 years ago,” Peter
Walters said.
Walters, 37, is a Pendleton
native, camp counselor and
co-founder of Rock & Roll
Camp.
“I’d been to music camps
as a kid,” he explained. “It
was good, but very structured
— here’s the music, here’s the
parts. What I wanted with (the
camp) was no sheet music, no
preordained parts.”
See Camp, Page A8
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Addison Schulberg, 30, gives musical advice Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, to the band
Popcornado during Rock & Roll Camp at the First Christian Church in Pendleton.
Schulberg is the camp director.