WEEKEND EDITION
Big change for archery hunters |
SPORTS, B1
AUGUST 27 – 28, 2022
146th Year, No. 107
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2022 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Ag groups: Oregon pesticide data ‘intentionally biased’
Sampling focused on
sites right after spring
rains, was not random
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
SALEM — Oregon regulators
have come under fire from agri-
culture and forestry advocates for
allegedly misrepresenting informa-
tion about pesticides in waterways
to the public.
A new online “data viewer”
displays information about pesti-
cide detected in 12 river basins by
the state’s Department of Environ-
mental Quality and Department of
Agriculture.
The state government promoted
the interactive tool as helping
“Oregonians who want to know
what pesticides are in their local
streams,” but several natural
resource organizations say that’s
an inaccurate characterization of
the data.
“We dug into what the tool
is showing and how it is being
presented, and it is so misleading,”
said Mary Anne Cooper, vice pres-
ident of government affairs for the
Oregon Farm Bureau. “It has a high
likelihood of being used against
producers on the ground.”
The tool invites data to be taken
“out of context” and “will surely
result in unjustified concerns
over water quality,” accord-
ing to the Oregon Farm Bureau,
Oregon Association of Nurseries,
Oregon Forest Industries Coun-
cil and Oregonians for Food and
Shelter agribusiness group.
“The presentation is almost
what we’d expect from activist
groups,” Cooper said.
The problem is not that the
data is incorrect or that it’s being
disclosed, since the information
always has been publicly available,
she said.
See Pesticide, Page A8
HERMISTON
UMATILLA COUNTY
Boosting
regional
water
supply
Consultant hired
for project to bring
Columbia River
water to irrigators
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
ECHO — Umatilla County
has hired a consultant on the $17
million project to take more water
from the Columbia River to help
local farmers while providing a
ready water source for economic
and environmental benefits.
Westland Irrigation District
Manager Curtis Engbretson said
the Ordnance Regional Water
Supply and Aquifer Restoration
Project will be “a big benefit to the
district and the community as a
whole.”
Umatilla County and Westland
Irrigation District are co-spon-
soring the project, with funding
and technical support from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Natural Resource Conservation
Service. Farmers Conservation
Alliance is assisting the NRCS
with the planning process.
“We would use the Columbia
River water in the summer, when
there would be no water in an open
ditch,” Engbretson explained. “We
wouldn’t have to rely on McKay
Reservoir.”
The Umatilla County Board
of Commissioners at its Aug. 17
meeting approved contracting with
Michael Bergstrom of AgriNorth-
west, Kennewick, as a consul-
tant on the pipeline project. John
Shafer, board chair, said it became
apparent that hiring an irriga-
tion system consultant would
be beneficial.
“We don’t want to get too far
over our skis on this project,” he
explained. “We want somebody with
the necessary background to look out
for the best interest of the county.”
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Cathy Wamsley’s husband Thomas cuts the ceremonial ribbon Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022, at the Cathy Wamsley Early Learning
Center at Umatilla-Morrow Head Start in Hermiston. Thomas was accompanied by his son, Brady, and daughter, Brooke, at the
grand opening. Cathy Wamsley died Nov. 23, 2021, in Hermiston at the age of 73.
Carrying on a legacy
Early learning center opens in honor of Cathy Wamsley
By MARCO GRAMACHO
East Oregonian
ERMISTON — The Cathy
Wamsley Early Learning Center
opened Thursday, Aug. 25, with a
ribbon-cutting at Umatilla-Mor-
row Head Start in Hermiston with special
guests Cathy Wamsley’s husband Thomas;
son, Brady, and daughter, Brooke.
The center is receiving 70 preschool chil-
dren from ages 0 to 5, and has soft opens on
Sept. 1 and 2 with two groups of classes (0-3
years old and 3-5 years old) each day. The facil-
ity opens in its full capacity Sept. 6 after Labor
Day.
“The center is funded with federal and
state funds benefiting working families in the
region with no costs for them,” explained Aaron
Treadwell, Umatilla-Morrow Head Start exec-
utive director. He occupies the position Cathy
Wamsley served between 1986 and 2014.
Treadwell worked with Wamsley for 20 years.
H
See Wamsley, Page A8
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Several dozen people gather Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022, for the opening ceremony
of the Cathy Wamsley Early Learning Center at Umatilla-Morrow Head Start in
Hermiston. The facility is dedicated to Wamsley, who invested more than three
decades serving and supporting children and families across Eastern Oregon.
See Water, Page A8
‘Close to normal’
Schools ready with
updated coronavirus
guidelines
By DAKOTA
CASTETS-DIDIER
East Oregonian
PE N DLETON — T he
pandemic made attending public
schools complicated, but the 2022
fall term is bringing a return to the
norm for Oregon schools.
Last week, the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
issued new guidelines for schools
that loosened previous guidance,
and allowed school districts across
America to take the lead on how to
manage coronavirus within their
schools.
“For the most part it’s what
we finished with last year,” Jake
Bacon, assistant superintendent
of the Hermiston School District
explained, illustrating how the
district plans to use much of the
same techniques they employed
last fall going forward.
“This is as close to a normal
school year as we’ve seen,” he
said.
Pendleton School District Direc-
tor of Special Programs Julie Smith
explained that screenings, which
have been standard procedure since
before the pandemic, will continue
when students don’t feel well. The
district also will continue to make
accommodations through the
online learning platform Google
Classroom for students should they
fall ill and miss class.
See Schools, Page A8
Mackenzie Whaley/East Oregonian
Pendleton High School English teacher Michael Bittorf talks on Thurs-
day, Aug. 25, 2022, about the new school year and being able to “work
one-on-one live with the kids, brick and mortar, building relationships
with students,” which he adds is important to him and other teachers.
“If they don’t feel a connection to you, a lot of times they don’t feel a
connection to the subject,” he said.