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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2016)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 COMMUNITY School district grants stay of demolition to Senior Center, rodeo grounds Facilities will stay operational on current fairgrounds site until July 2017 By JENNIFER COLTON Staff Writer The Hermiston Senior Center and the 2017 high school and college rodeos will operate in Hermiston on borrowed time during Smith, chair of the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center Authority Board, of- ¿FLDOO\UHTXHVWHGWKHVFKRRO district hold off on its dem- olition schedule through at least May 15, when the rodeos will be completed. The Harkenrider Center, which replaces the current Senior Center, is scheduled for completion in July or August of 2017. Extending the lease until the end of July will give the district the bulk of August 2017. Monday night, the Hermiston School Board of Education agreed by con- sensus to extend the lease for the properties up un- til July 2017. The current agreements turn over con- trol of the Umatilla County Fairgrounds property to the Hermiston School District in January 2017, and both the rodeo arena and the Hermiston Senior Center are slated for demolition. On April 5, Byron Event center main building opens next month that scheduling an event Staff Writer gave everyone the in- The Eastern Oregon centive they needed to Trade and Event Center’s meet the deadline. When JUDQGRSHQLQJIRULWV¿UVW another venue booked a completed building has concert six months be- fore construction was been set for May 13. Rob Drier of Frew ¿QLVKHGKHVDLG³QRRQH Development Group re- wanted to be the one who ported to the EOTEC made the concert not board on Friday that happen.” “Uncertainty is our the event center build- ing is essentially done, enemy,” he said. “Make PLQXV D IHZ VPDOO ¿[HV it happen.” The board decided that came up during the punch list walkthrough that the second Friday in and building inspection. May — eight days before %XW DXGLRYLVXDO HTXLS- WKH¿UVWHYHQWERRNHGE\ ment, signs, lighting and a member of the public pavement are still in the — was ideal. There was some trepidation and a works. The board had previ- few jokes when they re- ously discussed an April alized that would fall on 28 grand opening, but Friday the 13th, but in board chair Byron Smith the end the board threw suggested that the pav- superstition to the wind. On Friday the board ing might not be done by then and that it would be also awarded a bid for better to hold off on of- DXGLR YLVXDO HTXLSPHQW ¿FLDOO\ VFKHGXOLQJ WKH to KlassTech Audio Vi- sual Services of Beaver- event. Frew Development ton. The company came Group CEO John Frew in at the lowest of two was in Hermiston for a bidders with a package of visit, however, and urged $89,397. The bid includ- the board to set a date ed the installation of a right then and there. He variety of projectors, po- said in his 20 years of diums, speakers, screens, managing projects like microphones and other EOTEC, he had learned tech needed to run every- By JADE McDOWELL thing from meetings to concerts in the building. No one from the fund- raising committee was present, but Smith said they had raised between $1.8 and $1.9 million at last count. “They’re very hopeful about some commitments WKH\ QHHG WR ¿QDOL]H VR they’re going to continue working past the April 1 deadline,” he said. The money raised by the committee will al- low EOTEC to build a third barn, permanent seats in the rodeo arena and utility hookups to the extended stay area, plus purchase its own animal pens. Smith also said that he talked with Hermis- ton School District about holding off on demolition of the rodeo arena at the current fairgrounds until after May 2017, so that the high school and col- lege rodeos would not have to leave Hermiston for a year. The Hermiston School Board agreed to hold of demolition of the existing grounds and the Hermiston Center Center until next summer at its meeting Monday night. City examines options to pay for disposal of biosolids The upgrade didn’t in- Moore told coun- clude the solids side of cilors the investment A proposed new project the plant, however, which would pay for itself at Hermiston’s Recycled still sends everything fil- within three to four Water Treatment Plant tered out of the recycled \HDUV DQG WKH HTXLS- would reduce operation- water to be stored in an ment would last about al costs and odor, but it open-air lagoon behind 15 years. Not using the lagoon would also cut would cost the city some the plant. The lagoon was last down on odors coming cash upfront. City councilors dis- cleaned in 2014, when 855 from the plant. “I think this deserves cussed purchasing new tons of sewage were pulled HTXLSPHQW IRU KDQGOLQJ RXWDQGWDNHQWRDODQG¿OO some critical attention biosolids during a work But a growing population for the money it could session Monday before DQG EHWWHU ¿OWHULQJ PHDQV save the city,” he said. Moore said he had directing staff to explore it already needs cleaned how to come up with the out again at a cost of about some preliminary dis- cussions with local roughly $750,000 to pay $1,000 per ton. Moore said that side growers and some of for it. The city also needs $1 million to empty the of the process works fine them were interested plant’s sewage lagoon, and meets all government in using the biosolids which will otherwise start standards, but the city is to enrich their soil in- paying to store, haul and stead of seeing it sent overflowing soon. “If we have two GXPS D ORW PRUH OLTXLG to a landfill. Current- months, you’re lucky,” mixed in with the solids ly the landfill charges plant supervisor Bill than it needs to. He said the city $16 per ton to Schmittle told the coun- if the city invested in de- dump it. Moore said ZDWHULQJ HTXLSPHQW DQG the city would have to cil. The function of the Re- a dump truck it could cut weigh the cost of staff cycled Water Treatment the cost per ton to $350 time for going through 3ODQWLVWRVHSDUDWHOLTXLGV and take a couple of loads the DEQ permitting from solids in the city’s of sewage to the landfill a and soil testing pro- wastewater, then dispose week instead of storing it cesses if it cooperated outdoors for years. with growers. of each separately. Brett Moore of civil engineering firm Ander- Need Shade or Outdoor Living Space? son Perry and Associates told the council that the W e’ve Got YOU covered! city’s recent $20 million WĂƟŽ ŽǀĞƌƐ upgrade of the plant re- sulted in a much better WĞƌŐŽůĂƐ ͼ ^ƵŶƌŽŽŵƐ OLTXLG KDQGOLQJ SURFHVV Z ƚ ƚ ďů ǁŶŝŶŐƐ ŝ ZĞƚƌĂĐƚĂďůĞ FREE estimates! churning out clean water ^ĐƌĞĞŶ ZŽŽŵƐ into the Umatilla Riv- ,ĂŶĚƌĂŝů ͼ ^ƵŶͬ^ŽůĂƌ er and (once the permits Visit our showroom: ^ŚĂĚĞƐ Θ DŽƌĞ͊ come through) the West 102 E Columbia Dr. /LFHQVH Irrigation District’s main Kennewick, WA 99336 canal. www.mybackyardbydesign.com By JADE McDOWELL Staff Writer 541-720-0772 CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT CLASS Oregon - Utah - Valid 35 States HERMISTON Best Western: 2255 Highway 395 South April 29 th • 1:00 pm & 6:00 pm Walk-Ins Welcome! OR/Utah: (Valid in WA) $80.00 or Oregon only: $45 www.FirearmTrainingNW.com • FirearmTrainingNW@gmail.com 360-921-2071 to demolish the fairgrounds buildings before the 2017- 18 school year begins in late August. Hermiston School Dis- trict Superintendent Fred Maiocco said while the district could demolish the rodeo arena in May and the Senior Center in August, that would increase costs as a demolition crew would have to be engaged twice. “Our plan all along was to demolish everything, get it down to gravel,” Maioc- co said. “When we mobi- lize the demolition crews, we want to do it all at one time.” By consensus, the school board authorized Maiocco and other administration to negotiate extending the lease no later than July 30, 2017. In other business: • The board approved an administrative transfer moving Larry Usher from principal at Sandstone Mid- dle School to District Ath- letic Director. The principal position has been posted as a district opening. • Approved extra duty con- tracts and stipends for district ¿IWKJUDGHWHDFKHUVWRKDQGOH Outdoor School duties. • Accepted multiple coaching contracts and per- sonnel appointments. • Approved Tracy Hep- worth as a member of the Hermiston Education Foundation. • Approved a resolution in support of the Better Or- egon Initiative. IN BRIEF IRS phone scams reported in Hermiston area tion with someone you do not know,” Edmiston said. “These scammers have even been known to portray them- selves as someone they are 7KH WD[ ¿OLQJ GHDGOLQH LV not.” The IRS impersonation approaching, and scammers are using the date to their ad- VFDPVDUHYHU\GLI¿FXOWIRUOR- cal law enforcement to inves- vantage. At least four Hermiston tigate. In the past, IRS imper- residents received contact sonation scams in Hermiston from callers reporting to be have been tracked to Canada, the Internal Revenue Service Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, according to Ed- on Thursday. Hermiston residents con- miston. The IRS website reports tacted the Hermiston Police Department about receiving scams have cost victims more IRS scam phone calls at 7:57 than $23 million since Octo- a.m., 9:25 a.m., 10:42 a.m., ber 2013. If you receive a scam and 12:44 p.m. Each call came from a different phone phone call, do not provide number with a different area the scammer with any per- sonal information and hang code. Hermiston Police Chief up immediately. Contact the Jason Edmiston cautioned Treasury Inspector General residents that the IRS will for Tax Administration, or PDLO QRWL¿FDWLRQV DQG WKHVH TIGTA, at 800-366-4484 scams often target the elderly. or submit a report at https:// “Do not engage in pro- www.treasury.gov/tigta/con- viding personal informa- tact_report_scam.shtml. Boardman City Council appoints planning commissioner The city of Boardman has a full seven-member planning FRPPLVVLRQIRUWKH¿UVWWLPH in years. On Tuesday, April 5, city councilors appointed Jacob &DLQ WR ¿QLVK WKH UHPDLQGHU of a three-year term ending Dec. 31. Cain works as an en- gineer at the Port of Morrow and has lived in Boardman for about three years. It was WKH¿QDOYDFDQF\OHIWWR¿OORQ the commission. Planning commission meetings are held on the third Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. at Boardman City Hall. The commission is in charge of considering land use and zoning developments presented by city staff, such as potential subdivision proj- ects. Meetings are open to the public. Usher named AD; Arstein will coach boys basketball The Hermiston School approved Casey Arstein, making Ben DeCarlow Board picked two Sand- physical education teacher assistant tennis coach at at Sandstone, as the Armand Larive Middle stone Middle School next boys basketball School; Jessica Edwards HGXFDWRUV WR ¿OO coach at the high assistant girls golf coach KLJKSUR¿OH DWKOHW- school. He is an as- at the high school; Kreig ic positions in the sistant coach on the Mueller assistant bas- school district. team and replaces ketball coach at the high Larry Usher, prin- Dave Ego, who re- school; Juan Rodriguez as cipal at Sandstone turned from retire- assistant boys golf coach and a former boys Usher ment to coach during at the high school; and An- basketball coach at the 2015-16 season thony Voelker as assistant the high school, was named the district’s new on an interim basis. baseball coach at the high Other changes include school. athletic director. He will replace Blaine Ganvoa who resigned the position effec- tive June 30. Usher coached the Hermiston boys basketball team from 2002-2010, lead- ing the team to the playoffs in eight of those nine sea- sons. The athletic director’s RI¿FHLVDW+HUPLVWRQ+LJK School and oversees athlet- ø: ME:G>:C8:9 øø7 6A6C8:9 ø ics at the high school and ø; 6B>AN øø8 DBBJC>IN LIKE US both middle schools. Paid For By The Committee To Elect Jon Lieuallen Judge The district staff also UMATILLA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE ANNUAL MEETING & MEMBERSHIP DINNER 79 Years 1937 - 2016 Saturday, April 16, 2016 Hermiston Conference Center 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. Our Annual Meeting theme “Building For The Future” is a recognition of the milestone projects underway or completed in 2015, and what we expect in 2016. As always, attendance is free to UEC members. We hope you will join us! F Featured Speaker Mark Speckman, M c celebrated football c coach and inspirational s speaker, will highlight Umatilla Electric’s 2016 U Annual Meeting! A
