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-
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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
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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-
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told the council that the
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churning out clean water
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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
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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
