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East Oregonian
Saturday, August 27, 2022
Wamsley:
Continued from Page A1
“She is very much missed,
and we are carrying her
legacy to serve children and
families,” he said.
Cathy Wamsley began her
career at Umatilla Morrow
County Head Start in 1978
and retired as the execu-
tive director in 2014 after 36
years. She died Nov. 23, 2021,
in Hermiston at the age of 73.
“Besides her dedication,
Cathy had a great sense of
humor,” Treadwell recalled.
“She loved joking around and
always said to never forget
the small details to achieve
success in whatever you do.”
Thomas, Brady and
Brooke Wamsley said they
were extremely honored to
see Cathy receiving such
recognition.
“I am overwhelmed. I am
so happy to see that she is
still remembered,” Thomas
Wamsley said.
The new center is one of
five in Hermiston.
“We serve children living
in poverty, experiencing
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Cathy Wamsley’s husband Thomas reflects on his wife’s ded-
ication to supporting children and families across Eastern
Oregon on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022, at the grand opening of
the Cathy Wamsley Early Learning Center at Umatilla-Mor-
row Head Start in Hermiston.
Cathy Wamsley’s son Brady reflects on his mother’s hard
work and devotion for education Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022, at
the opening of the Cathy Wamsley Early Learning Center at
Umatilla-Morrow Head Start in Hermiston.
homelessness, domestic
violence and food insecurity.
Some of them are foster kids,”
explained UMHS Education
Director Suellen Whitlock.
The children have dental,
vision and health services
including mental and behav-
ioral support.
“Dentists come into the
classrooms to take care of the
kids,” Whitlock said. “The
a head start,” she explained.
The center has 20 people
in the staff formed by early
learning professionals. One
of the lead teachers is Yese-
nia Castaneda in charge of the
preschool for 3-5 years olds.
“These children are receiv-
ing the milestones to be a
successful student in Kinder-
garten and K-12,” she said.
When the student is 4
kids receive nutritious meals
(breakfast, lunch and snack).
“The food is prepared from
scratch in our kitchen.”
The curriculum is focused
on creative ways to teach
literacy, math and sciences.
“They have incredible
early learning opportunities
playing through their senses
preparing them for kinder-
garten. We are giving them
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
years old the educators of
the center work on transi-
tion plans out of kinder-
garten, giving feedback
to schools in which areas
they are doing well or need
improvements.
In coordination with
the Hermiston Chamber
of Commerce’s ceremony,
the public was invited after
the opening of the center to
enjoy frozen pops and activ-
ities hosted by different head
start programs and partners.
People are invited to donate
their favorite children’s books
for head start classrooms.
Catherine Lee Wamsley
of Hermiston was born on
Dec. 7, 1947, in Sunnyside,
Washington. She grew up in
Spokane and graduated from
Shadle Park High School.
She attended Washington
State University, where she
completed her bachelor’s
degree in elementary educa-
tion. She later attended East-
ern Oregon University, where
she completed her master’s
degree. In the early 1970s
she began her career as a
teacher in Connell, Washing-
ton, teaching the fifth grade.
In 1977 she moved back to
Spokane for a short time
before settling in Hermiston
in 1978.
“Cathy knew the needs
of the community deeply
and always kept in touch
with them,” Whitlock said.
“She knew UMHS inside
out and planned very strate-
gic opportunities for growth
of our services that we are
still implementing.”
Water:
Continued from Page A1
At least half the $17 million
for the project is coming
from federal and state grants,
according to the Westland
Irrigation District’s website.
The balance will be through
long-term, low-interest
loans with repayment obli-
gated to only those patrons
who choose to participate in
the project.
Project addresses
water infrastructure
needs
Capital Press, File
A crop duster sprays a potato field with fungicide. Farm
advocates claim Oregon regulators have created an online
data tool that exaggerates pesticide levels in waterways.
Pesticide:
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Rather, the online tool
fails to explain that data was
collected at highly targeted
locations and times when
pesticides were more likely
to be detected, said Katie
Murray, executive director
of Oregonians for Food and
Shelter.
“This is a very biased
data set — intentionally
biased,” Murray said.
The data was gathered as
part of the state’s Pesticide
Stewardship Partnership,
which was formed by DEQ,
ODA and other agencies in
2000 to support voluntary
improvements to pesticide
practices.
By taking samples
immediately downstream
from farms after spring
rains, for example, the
program seeks to maximize
detections, according to
industry groups. Pesticide
users can then see if their
strategies to keep chemicals
out of waterways are prov-
ing effective.
To monitor for pesti-
cides on a watershed-scale,
however, samples would
need to be taken at random
sites and times, with the
data likely reflecting less
frequent pesticide detec-
tions at lower concentra-
tions, they said. Without
these caveats, though, the
government’s online data
viewer creates an exagger-
ated impression of pesticide
levels and health risks.
“That’s not what that
data meant. It’s telling the
wrong story,” Murray said.
“DEQ is actively presenting
this data as if we can gener-
alize from it about the safety
of the water and we cannot.
They’re encouraging people
to misunderstand this data.”
A stakeholder advisory
committee raised concerns
about such misperceptions,
which government offi-
cials seem to have ignored,
critics say. The Pesticide
Stewardship Partnership
relies on cooperation from
farmers and other pesticide
users, but the online tool
threatens to undermine that
trust.
“Nobody knew that is
how they’d use the data 10
to 20 years down the road,”
Murray said.
The Pesticide Steward-
ship Partnership’s data-
driven education has been
more effective at reduc-
ing water pesticide levels
than standard regulatory
approaches, Cooper said.
In recent years, however,
the program hasn’t engaged
as closely with individual
farmers.
Now, the data viewer
will likely serve as a cudgel
in legislative disputes over
pesticides, particularly
since it implies “even the
agencies acknowledge this
is a problem” with water-
way pollution, she said.
“You’re just going to
inflame situations,” Cooper
said. “It makes it hard to see
how they will explain the
full picture to lawmakers
and the public.”
When asked about these
concerns, the DEQ said the
tool provides “additional
context” for the “current
and historic monitor-
ing data,” such as federal
benchmarks for protecting
“the health of aquatic life
and humans.”
“To aid the public’s
understanding of the data,
and to address concerns
that the raw data could be
misinterpreted or misused,
DEQ displays the data in
the manner consistent with
how DEQ and ODA inter-
pret the data to manage the
program,” the agency said
in an email.
The ODA said the data
tool is “not intended to be
a comprehensive source
of pesticide distribution
in state waters,” but helps
pesticide users and other
partners achieve “measur-
a bl e e n v i r o n m e n t a l
improvements.”
In response to feed-
back from stakeholders,
a “popup” explaining the
“context and scope of the
data” now appears when
the online tool is accessed,
the agency said in an email.
The data viewer was
developed by DEQ to
“provide transparency and
easier access” to program
data, and the ODA is
“committed to working with
DEQ to periodically update”
the tool, the agency said.
Westla nd I r r igat ion
District’s water supplies
come from early-season,
snowmelt water from the
Umatilla River and then
later-season, stored water
from McKay Reservoir,
delivered to approximately
14,700 acres, according to
the district’s website. Water
passes through 30 miles of
canals and pipelines to more
than 260 patrons, with a
majority living in the north-
ern reach of the system on
smaller acreages.
When stored reservoir
water is released for use, the
conveyed distance increases
by an additional 30 miles to
reach those patrons in the
district’s north end, result-
ing in lowered delivery effi-
ciency and increased system
losses.
Westland, the county
and other project partners
proposed in late 2021 to
modernize existing irriga-
tion infrastructure and build
new facilities to increase late
season water supply. The
project also would provide
water for other economic
and environmental uses,
and permit leaving more in
McKay Reservoir, south of
Schools:
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Masking will be optional in
the Hermiston, Milton-Free-
water, Morrow, Pendleton
and Umatilla school districts,
with some schools continu-
ing to offer optional masks to
their students should they feel
a desire to wear one. Neither
Milton-Freewater nor Umatilla
districts will be offering masks
to their students this fall.
“We have a hand-wash-
ing emphasis, and support for
masks being a personal choice.
There is signage that you can
see, mask OK, no mask OK
… That’s all over the state,”
Heidi Sipe, superintendent of
the Umatilla School District
explained, and in Umatilla
schools, staff created the signs.
“Having those signs is
helpful, we haven’t had a lot
of problems with kids teasing
around masks,” she said.
Morrow County School
District also has placed a great
emphasis on hand washing,
labeling it the “most import-
ant action,” in its communi-
cable disease management
plan. The district plan also
emphasizes a need to limit
exposure, explaining that
John Tillman/East Oregonian
Even in a wet year, McKay Reservoir near Pendleton is low Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2022. It pro-
vides late season water for the Stanfield and Westland irrigation districts. The $17 million Ord-
nance Regional Water Supply and Aquifer Restoration Project would bring Columbia River
water to the Westland Irrigation District, allowing the reservoir to retain supply for other uses.
Pendleton, to support fish-
eries.
The supply and recharge
project includes pressurized
pipelines, pump stations and
aquifer recharge basins, to
improve water delivery and
supply reliability to district
users, improve conserva-
tion and support ground-
water recharge. Westland is
collaborating with Farmers
Conservation Alliance and
Umatilla County on the proj-
ect to bolster water deliver-
ies in the district’s north end
while providing all users the
opportunity to add to their
water supplies.
Westland and the county
want to run a pipe and pres-
surize the northern section of
its A Canal, Engbretson said.
The pipe diameter is planned
to be 42-inches and would
cross Interstate 84 and tie
into another pipe to replace
the open canal.
students who feel ill must stay
home. Morrow County School
District also purchased air
purifiers for every classroom
to “support better air venti-
lation in areas with multiple
people present,” according to
its plan.
Above all, each school
district has expressed their
intent to continue thorough
cleaning and sanitation of
classrooms that began when
first combating the pandemic
in 2020, with Hermiston
School District even hiring an
additional custodian at every
building last year.
Hermiston School District,
Morrow School District as
well as the Umatilla School
District will continue to offer
on-site test kits for parents
and students, while Pend-
leton School District offers
at-home test kits on request.
Milton-Freewater School
District Superintendent Aaron
Duff explained that although
there will be no testing at
Milton-Freewater schools,
there is a clinic in town that
offers testing.
Students will be returning
to classrooms for their first
day of classes in the Hermis-
ton School District on Aug. 29
and in the Pendleton School
District on Aug. 31.
“The water would come
from the John Day Pool,
below McNary Dam, west of
Umatilla,” Engbretson said.
“The pipeline would run
along the edge of the (Camp
Umatilla) depot to a chunk
of ground next to the inter-
state near the gravel pit. The
pipeline will spur off, cross
the freeway and tie into the
ditch. The concrete-lined
canal and its three pump
stations are to be decommis-
sioned once the district can
use Columbia River water.”
Background and
further studies
Umatilla County acquired
the right from Northeast
Oregon Water Association
to pump out of the Colum-
bia River in July 2019. The
county had been in talks
with the Westland Irrigation
District for pumping capac-
ity since obtaining that right.
The district was inter-
ested in acquiring an option
to use a part of that capacity
during the irrigation season.
The county board approved
that option, and agreements
to acquire Westland’s canal
crossing, and to use Umatilla
River water through district
facilities for recharge testing
on the depot.
Engbretson said he fore-
sees another year of work on
the watershed plan studies.
The district could receive
funds at the end of next year.
Construction might begin in
two to three years.
“We’re still going through
the watershed plan, making
surveys of cultural, envi-
ronmental and economic
impacts,” he said.
And when the plan is
complete, he said, West-
land can apply for Natural
Resources Conservation
Service funding as well.
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
A sign at McNary Heights Elementary School in Umatilla in-
structs proper mask use on May 16, 2022. The U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new pandemic
guidelines ahead of the fall term that ease restrictions.
LeeAnnOttosen@UmpquaBank.com
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