REGION
Saturday, August 20, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
Pendleton fl our mill fi re cause still under investigation
by DAKOTA CASTETS-
DIDIER
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Investigators
continue working to determine
what sparked the fi re more than
a week ago that tore through the
Grain Craft fl our mill in Pendleton
as well as plans for the future of the
burnt out building itself.
Assistant Chief Anthony Pierotti
with the Pendleton Fire Department
said a structural engineer came
Wednesday, Aug. 17, a week after
the fi re, and Grain Craft “is going to
fi nd a demolition company.”
Pierotti also said an investi-
gation is ongoing as to the cause
of the fi re. The fi re department
continues to keep a firetruck
on-site to “knock down” the smoke
and combat any potential fl are-ups.
“All is status quo,” he said.
Although the situation has
remained unchanged, roads
surrounding the mill have steadily
reopened, and Grain Craft
dispatched members of its leader-
ship team to walk the site last week.
James Reeder, owner of the
Outlying Perspective, a drone oper-
ator from Athena, fl ew a special-
ized drone on Aug. 17 on behalf of
Grain Craft into and over the mill
to create a 3D model of the build-
ing to help determine its structural
integrity and to fi nd any remaining
hot spots.
A timeline for demolition has yet
to be established, but there are discus-
sions of opening an on-site asbestos
testing facility, according to Pendle-
ton Buildings Offi cial Ty Woolsey.
James Reeder/The Outlying Perspective
The burned-out structure of the Grain Craft fl our mill in Pendleton continues to smoke Aug. 11, 2022, a day fi re
destroyed the building.
PENDLETON
Convention center to hire staff er
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton Convention Center
is getting a new full-time staff
member, and the city’s water
fi ltration plant is getting new
filtration membranes for a
little more than $2 million.
The Pendleton City Coun-
cil approved those and other
expenditures at its meeting
Tuesday, Aug. 16.
Pat Beard, Pendleton
convention center manager,
requested the new hire.
The number of events and
event days at the convention
center has grown 30% since
2017, Beard stated in a memo
to the council. In 2022, the
center contracted 355 event
days, including 55 new events
at the Vert Auditorium.
“Events are outgrowing
staff ,” Beard reported. “The
cost for an additional utility
worker with benefi ts would
be $63,447 per year. This
expense can be recovered
through lower overtime costs
and temp services. Addition-
ally, other line items can be
tightened to absorb the addi-
tional needed position.”
The council also approved
the request for new ultrafi ltra-
tion membranes. Public Works
Director Bob Patterson and
City Manager Robb Corbett,
along with Tim Smith, control
systems manager, and Sean
Tarter, water superinten-
dent, in a memo to the coun-
cil explained the membranes
provide a physical barrier for
extremely effective public
health protection against
disease-causing organisms in
the river.
The city will spread the
cost over two years, paying
30% this fi scal year and the
rest in 2024.
The council also awarded a
contract of almost $6.7 million
to High Desert Aggregate &
Paving of Oregon to relocate
Runway 29’s threshold, new
taxi lanes and apron rehabil-
itation.
The terminal building
blocks air traffic control’s
view of part of the threshold,
according to Airport Manager
Steve Chrisman’s memo to the
council. The relocation also
would correct some confus-
ing geometry where the taxi-
way enters the new threshold.
This makes the runway safer
for public travel. The new
taxi lane also creates more
shovel ready area for hangar
construction. The apron rehab
involves an overlay of aging
and raveling asphalt.
Funding for the project
comes from two sources.
The city in July received a
$4.96 million grant from the
Federal Aviation Administra-
tion’s Airport Improvement
Program for crucial safety
improvements to runways
in small airports in Oregon.
The rest comes from the 2021
federal coronavirus rescue
package, which received prior
council approval.
The city’s portion is
$268,856, which comes from
facility charges to Boutique
Air passengers, according to
Chrisman. The only direct
fi scal impact of the projects is
the capital outlay cost during
the time it takes to collect
the passenger facility charge
match, which can often be
many years.
Umatilla County board approves
new position, equipment requests
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Umatilla
County is getting a new
service coordinator position
for the county’s developmen-
tal disabilities program.
The county board of
commissioner at its meeting
Wednesday, Aug. 17, approved
the new position, which is to
create consistency with moni-
toring requirements of foster
and residential homes and
employment sites. The county
estimated the annual costs of
the position is about $110,000,
and carryover dollars from
the 2021-22 developmental
disabilities budget will cover
that.
The expenditure was one
of several the county board
approved at the meeting.
The board gave the OK for
a new concrete vault toilet for
Harris Park. The cost of deliv-
ering the unit in 2023 to Harris
Park comes to $30,355.20.
Commissioner John Shafer
serves on the Wildhorse Foun-
dation board. A grant from the
foundation is to pay $14,000 of
the cost, leaving a remainder of
$16,355.20. The county applied
for an Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department grant
to cover some or all of that
amount. If that grant were to
fail, the county’s public works
department still has money in
the budget to cover the tab.
The board also autho-
rized public works to buy a
new power broom from Papé
Machinery, Pasco, for $62,397.
This 2021 broom is to replace
an older model in the fleet,
which the department planned
on selling at auction later this
year.
The board gave the sher-
iff ’s offi ce the go-ahead to buy
new restraint systems by Safe
Restraints Inc. for patrol vehi-
cles. The cost of four WRAP
systems and 20 associated
ankle straps is $7,602.37.
Federal program funds will
cover the expense.
County commissioners
also approved the reclassifi -
cation of a medical assistant
to an offi ce assistant II posi-
tion to work almost full time
in Pendleton’s school-based
health centers.
Umatilla County Health
sponsors and staff s the centers.
Alisha Lundgren, the heath
department’s deputy direc-
tor, in a memo to the board
explained the county for more
than a year has tried to fi ll a
vacant medical assistant posi-
tion while the nurse practi-
tioner and two counselors in
the centers need offi ce assis-
tant support rather than medi-
cal assistant support.
In other business, the
county board presented the
first reading to update the
county department organiza-
tion ordinance and organiza-
tional chart and set a second
reading for its next meet-
ing. And the board approved
contracting with Michael
Bergstrom of AgriNorthwest,
Kennewick, as a consultant on
the central pipeline project.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Washington man faces
manslaughter after fatal car
crash near Pendleton
PENDLETON — Law enforcement
booked a Washington state man into the
Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton, on Wednes-
day, Aug. 17, in connection with the death of
a La Grande woman.
Kari Lindeman, 49, was killed when the
Ford Fiesta she was driving collided with a
Dodge 3500 pickup driven by Gabriel Velas-
quez, 55, of Kennewick, who was traveling
in the wrong direction in the eastbound lane
near milepost 216, 5 miles east of Pendleton,
according to Oregon State Police.
Lindeman died at the scene, OSP reported.
Velasquez suff ered serious injuries. An emer-
gency helicopter fl ew him to Providence St.
Mary Medical Center, Walla Walla.
The Umatilla County District Attorney’s
Offi ce has charged Velasquez with fi rst- and
second-degree manslaughter, driving under
the infl uence, reckless driving and six counts
of recklessly endangering another person.
The court appointed Pendleton attorney
Craig Russell as Velasquez’s lawyer.
According to court documents, Velasquez
pleaded not guilty on all the charges against
him. He is scheduled to appear in court for a
pre-trial conference on Aug. 31.
Fire damages M-F
branch of BMCC
MILTON-FREEWATER — The
Milton-Freewater branch of Blue Mountain
Community College is still open for business
as normal despite a fi re causing considerable
damage to the building early in the morning
of Monday, Aug. 15.
BMCC Chief Operating Offi cer Patrick
Sisneros said most of the damage is to the exte-
rior of the building, and the college is working
with its insurance carriers to determine the
cost of the damage.
A news release from the Milton-Freewater
Fire Department said its personnel as well as
Milton-Freewater Rural Fire were dispatched
to the college at 5:51 a.m.
No one was injured in the fi re, and the cause
is under investigation, according to the release.
Sisneros said the fi re started in a dumpster
near the building.
East Umatilla Fire & Rescue,
other departments respond
to stubble fi re near Helix
HELIX — East Umatilla Fire & Rescue
responded to a 40-acre stubble field fire
Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 17 on Vansycle
Road and Kupers Road north of Helix.
The Weston-based department at about
4:15 p.m. dispatched a brush truck, water
tender and an ambulance, which served to
rehabilitate fi refi ghters. East Umatilla Fire
called for assistance from the Bureau of Indian
Aff airs, Umatilla Tribal Fire Department and
Milton Freewater Rural Fire Department.
No injuries were reported and no struc-
tures were lost on this fi re.
Suzie Reitz of East Umatilla Fire reported
the cause of the blaze is unknown.
— EO Media Group and
Walla Walla Union Bulletin
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