A12 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2016
FROM PAGE A1
EOTEC and Windy River Elementary awarded $25,000 corporate grants
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
The Eastern Oregon
Trade and Event Center and
Windy River Elementary
each received a $25,000
grant from RDO Equip-
ment and R.D. Offutt Com-
pany.
The grants are part of
the companies’ Community
Builder program, which is
designed to be “transforma-
tive and impactful” on the
communities the compa-
nies work with, according
to a news release.
“Our Community Build-
er program builds upon
our value of community
involvement at RDO while
mirroring the passion of
giving back, which is the
legacy of my father and our
founder, Ron Offutt, along
with the other members of
our family,” Christi Offutt,
Chair of RDO Equipment
Co. and R.D. Offutt Com-
pany, said in the release.
The grants are award-
ed based on nominations
from company employees.
Greg Harris, Farm Man-
ager for Threemile Can-
yon Farms, an R.D. Offutt
Company in Boardman,
submitted the application
for EOTEC.
One of the EOTEC
project’s primary functions
will be to serve as home to
the Farm-City Pro Rodeo
and Umatilla County Fair,
of which RDO Equipment
and Threemile Canyon
Farms are sponsors.
“As a parent of children
who will be exhibiting
livestock at the fair, I have
made a personal commit-
ment to this project,” Har-
ris said. “It’s a much-need-
ed facility for the youth
and residents of Umatilla
County, and I intend to
be involved with the proj-
ect until it’s completed in
2017.”
Hermiston Mayor David
Drotzmann, who serves on
the EOTEC fundraising
committee along with Har-
ris, said RDO Equipment
“continues to set the exam-
ple for corporate partner-
ship in our region” with the
$25,000 grant, which will
be used for construction.
Rose Corral, HR/CSR
Director for Threemile
Canyon Farms, submitted
the application for Windy
River Elementary School
in Boardman. She said
the money will be used to
build a play structure at the
school, which will be open
to the community and cre-
ates a place for local youth
to “participate in whole-
some activities and interact
with each other in a posi-
tive, safe environment.”
Principal
Brandon
Hammon said in a state-
ment that the play structure
was designed with student
involvement.
“Through this grant we
were able to go above and
beyond our hopes and ex-
pectations and create a top
rate playground,” he said.
Along with the EOTEC
and Windy River, the Of-
futt Family Foundation
awarded one other Com-
munity Builder grant to the
Great Plains Food Bank
Backpack Program in West
Fargo, ND.
FAIR:
continued from Page A1
STAFF PHOTO BY ALEXA LOUGEE
Steve Watkinds, owner of the Columbia Court Club (front left in green shirt) watches as crews work to extinguish the ire.
FIRE:
continued from Page A1
ment received a call of
black smoke illing the Co-
lumbia Court Club building
at 11:24 a.m. Monday.
Fireighters
from
around the region re-
sponded to the scene and
located a ire on the irst
loor near the women’s
locker room. The ire pro-
ceeded to spread upwards
to the second loor. Crews
contained the ire within a
half hour of the initial 9-1-
1 call, but black smoke
could still be seen coming
from windows, doors and
vents throughout the busy
lunch hour.
Steve Watkinds, owner
of Columbia Court Club
since he established it
in 1978, was repairing a
drinking fountain toward
the back of the building
when the lights lick-
ered and then turned off.
Knowing there were peo-
ple using the facilities,
Watkinds used the light of
his cell phone to look for
club members and help
them evacuate.
Mary Marsing, the of-
ice manager at the club,
was sitting in her down-
stairs ofice when she
heard popping noises
coming from the upper
loor. She heard a bang
and smoke began roll-
ing through the building.
Marsing placed the call to
9-1-1. She has worked at
Columbia Court Club for
26 years.
Watkinds said he had
“no clue” as to a numer-
STAFF PHOTO BY ALEXA LOUGEE
Black smoke billows out of
several windows, vents and
doors at the Columbia Court
Club Monday.
ical value of the damage
done. He is waiting on
the insurance to conclude
its investigation, though
he said the damage to
the front walls, roof and
beams seemed extensive
and the inside surfaces of
most of the building were
covered in a thick layer of
black soot.
Fire Marshal Bohm
guessed the damage to be
at least $150, 000.
There is not yet a time-
line for when the club will
reopen. Zumba classes
are being held this week
in McKenzie Park. Wat-
kinds is hopeful the city
will continue to rent out
the park and allow the club
to run at least one class a
day, but those plans had
not been inalized. In the
meantime, member dues
for the roughly 1,100
Court Club members have
been frozen. Nobody will
be charged while the facili-
ties are out of commission.
There were no reports
of injuries to anyone who
was at the Court Club
when the ire broke out.
One ireighter working
on scene did experience a
heat-related illness.
Crews from the Herm-
iston Fire Department
as well as Echo, Irrigon,
Stanield and Boardman
were involved in the ire-
ighting efforts. Umatilla
Electric Cooperative was
brought in to shutdown
electric power to the
building.
talked into it, but didn’t
know how it would go
over.”
Since then, the reaction
to Creedence Clearwater
Revisited’s concerts has
been astounding, and driv-
en in part by a generation
of kids who, as Cosmo
said, “weren’t even born
when the music came
out.” Likewise, the re-
lease of a double-live CD
was the result of public
demand. Sales of “Recol-
lection” hit platinum sta-
tus in 2008.
Joining Cook and Cos-
mo are lead singer/rhythm
guitar player John Tristao,
lead guitarist Kurt Griffey
and multi-instrumentalist
Steve Gunner.
A Thousand Horses
describes their music as
a fusion of classic sounds
– Lynyrd Skynyrd, the
Allman Brothers, Black
Crowes and Exile on
Main Street-era Rolling
Stones, wrapped up in a
modern-country context.
Their debut EP includ-
ed “Travelin’ Man” and
“Suicide Eyes,” which
was featured in the 2011
remake of the 1980s ilm
classic “Footloose.”
Requiring
minimal
introduction, The Bella-
my Brothers have crafted
heartfelt country songs,
connecting them with mil-
lions of listeners around
the world for more than
30 years. Howard and Da-
vid Bellamy have cranked
out such hits as “Let Your
Love Flow,” “Sugar Dad-
dy” and “Redneck Girl.”
The Bellamy Broth-
ers’ success and longevi-
ty in the country and pop
genres is a feat that few
acts have duplicated. And
they’re still going strong.
Years
before
they
climbed the country charts
with songs like “Stay a Lit-
tle Longer” and “Rum,” the
Brothers Osborne enter-
tained blue-collar workers
during all-night jam sessions
in a small ishing town on
the Atlantic seaboard. T.J.
and John Osborne played
everything from traditional
country music to rock and
roll. Earlier this year, they
released their major-label
debut, “Pawn Shop,” which
features a little bit of every-
thing.
The Latino night event
offers people a chance to
kick up their heels and
dance. The headliner is
Montez De Durango. Also
taking the stage are Tor-
menta De Durango and
Domador De La Sierra.
For more information or
to purchase reserved tickets,
call 541-567-6121 or stop
by the fair ofice at 515 W.
Orchard Ave., Hermiston.
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