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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2016)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 EOTEC CLOSER TO AWARDING RODEO ARENA CONTRACT By JADE McDOWELL Staff Writer Hendon Construction submitted the only bid as the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center tried for the second time to ind someone to build a rodeo arena, but the contract was not awarded during the EOTEC board’s Friday meeting. Board chair Byron Smith said there were some parts of the bid that needed to be ad- dressed with Hendon, which will affect the inal price. “There were some slight discrepancies that legal counsel found, but noth- ing that is not correctable,” Smith said. He told the board that the contract could likely be awarded at a special meeting in about two weeks. The board had previously issued a request for propos- als for the arena, but on Aug. 4 rejected both bids. David Bothum, a founding member of the Farm-City Pro Rodeo, had resigned from the EO- TEC board in February with the stated intent of bidding on construction of the arena through his company Both- um Construction. During the Aug. 4 meet- ing, however, John Frew of Frew Development Group told the board that their le- gal council did not believe Bothum Construction — a residential contractor — met the legal deinition of a “re- sponsible bidder” for the scope of that contract. He also recommended rejecting the competing bid from Kir- by Nagelhout Construction Company of Bend because it came in $740,000 over EO- TEC’s $4 million budget. The board rejected both bids during that meeting and issued a new request for proposals that pared down the base bid to the essentials and marked components like restrooms and lighting as optional add-ons. Neither Bothum Construction or Kir- by Nagelhout Construction Company submitted a bid on the new request. Since Hendon Construc- tion of Umatilla was the only bidder on the new re- quest, the board voted to declare them the low bid- der but hold off approving a contract until the issues Smith referenced were ad- justed and they had a inal price to consider. During Friday’s meet- ing, the board also heard a construction update from John Eckhardt of Knerr Construction, which has partnered with Frew Devel- opment Group to oversee day-to-day construction of the overall EOTEC project. Eckhardt told the board that they were almost done paring down the barn de- signs to meet budget, and planned to issue a bid pack- age for the metal buildings Oct. 1. That leaves a tenta- tive construction start date of Nov. 1 and a inish date of July 17, 2017. “Right now that looks pretty realistic,” he said. Landscaping of the ven- dors commons area can’t happen until the paving and site electrical work have in- ished, he said, but they have plans to lay down grass seed in the spring, protected by a layer of dead winter wheat to keep it from blowing away, and they are almost ready to dig a second well for irrigation. Contractors have al- ready been selected to perform site electrical and paving work, which should be completed lat- er this fall. Perimeter fencing will be put out to bid Oct. 1 with a plan of completing it by Nov. 14. The scope of signs, food vendor stalls and exhibi- tor staging areas are still being discussed. The rest of the board agreed with Dan Dorran that after the rodeo bid is awarded the board should schedule a work session to review the history and pur- pose of EOTEC, review the current structure of com- mittees, discuss upcoming operational issues such as stafing and decide “what our expectations are” for the 2017 fair and rodeo. “We need to sit down and really know where we are,” he said. After the committee re- ports, Umatilla County Fair board member Gay New- man told the board he had been hearing from com- munity members who have said they don’t have the money to make a donation to EOTEC but they would be very willing to donate their time. The current fair and rodeo grounds have been built and maintained by volunteer labor, he said, and people have been dis- appointed not to be able to do the same for the new grounds. “You’re starting to lose some of the people who really support us, because they’re not being asked to do anything,” he said. Eckhardt said the prob- lem is that state regulations require a project such as EOTEC, which is using millions of dollars of state money and administered by a government entity, to pay a prevailing wage for all work done. EOTEC board mem- bers said they would love to accept volunteer labor, but they have to be care- ful not to run afoul of the Bureau of Labor and In- dustries. However, they did say they would look at ways to legally allow volunteer involvement for some projects such as planting trees. “I think there are a lot of different opportunities,” Dorran told Newman, “but they are going to have to be more well-deined than what you and I are used to at the fair.” West Nile detections high in Umatilla County this year County has most positive tests in state By GEORGE PLAVEN Staff Writer Though summer is winding down, West Nile virus remains a concern in west Umatilla County. Not only have 23 sam- ples of mosquitoes tested positive for the disease so far this year, but two horses near Umatilla also became infected recently. Neither horse was vaccinated, and one had to be euthanized, said Randy Gerard with the West Umatilla Mosquito Control District. Gerard said residents still need to protect them- selves from mosquito bites, despite cooler weather over the holiday weekend. “I don’t want people to let their guard down,” he said. West Nile was irst de- tected in Umatilla County this year on June 28, about a month earlier than usual. High temperatures hastened the cycle of mosquitoes in the area, which Gerard said has kept the district busy all season. “It seems like once you get that initial detection, you’ll be ighting it the rest of the summer,” he said. Another six mosquito samples are currently be- ing tested at the Oregon State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Cor- vallis, which could bump up the number of positive tests. Neighboring Morrow County has had a total of seven positive samples, and another eight samples test- ed positive in Baker Coun- ty. West Nile is primarily a bird disease, with magpies, blue jays and crows espe- cially susceptible. Mos- quitoes become vectors by feeding on dead or infected birds and passing it along to humans and horses when they bite. Gerard said horse own- ers are encouraged to check with their veterinarians for information on vaccina- tions. “We’ve been asking peo- ple to vaccinate their horses going on 10 years now,” he said. “It really helps.” Most people who be- come infected with West Nile do not become ill, though one in ive may experience mild lu-like symptoms such as fever, headache and body aches. In rare cases, West Nile can cause what’s known as en- cephalitis, or inlammation of the brain. Anyone expe- riencing severe or unusual headaches should seek im- mediate medical care. Tips to reduce the risk of exposure to West Nile include: • Get rid of old tires or other containers where water can accumulate and serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes. • Flush or replace the water in horse troughs weekly. • Flush or add mosquito ish to ornamental ponds. • Avoid outdoor activi- Car Shopping? Financing for New & Used Autos, Boats, RVs, & Trailers • • • • • New financing for most recent two model years Used financing for vehicles up to 7 years old Used Boat/RV/Trailers up to 8 years old Amounts from $3,000 and up Contact branch for available terms Stop In and Check Out Our Great Auto Loan Rates! Hermiston 50 E Theater Ln 541-289-4480 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 LOCAL NEWS Member FDIC ties at dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active. • Wear long-sleeve shirts and pants when in mosqui- to-infested areas. • Use insect repellent while outdoors. • Screen doors and win- dows. The West Umatilla Mosquito Control Dis- trict will conduct an ae- rial spraying for mosqui- toes Saturday evening between 7:30 and 8 over approximately 10,000 acres near Diagonal Road in Hermiston. The opera- tion should take about an hour, Gerard said. To report mosquito in- festations or dead birds, Gerard said to call the district at 541-567-5201. “We run our program all year,” he said. “When the virus elevates like this, we do a lot more spraying in the areas that need it.” IN BRIEF Temp agency to lease space in East Oregonian building A Hermiston business that started in a garage in November has already grown out of its irst home. Jiovanni Stafing LLC will be renting the back ofice of the Hermiston Herald/East Oregonian building at 333 E. Main St. in Hermiston. The business is a “temp-to- hire” model that provides temporary labor to companies with an eye on getting employees permanent placements at those companies when an opportunity comes available. Jaime Ruelaz said he named the business after his son. He and his father started it last November with two employees and one client. Now after relying solely on word of mouth and Facebook he said they have more than 50 employees available for temp jobs and six local businesses that use them. As a result, Ruelaz said he felt the time was right to move into a more legitimate-looking ofice space and start doing things like joining the Chamber of Commerce. He said the stafing agency mostly focuses on factory and warehouse work. Interested businesses and employees can contact Ruelaz at 541-571-9682 or via the Jiovanni Stafing LLC Facebook page. Hermiston boy found after brief search Saturday night Searchers found a miss- ing 4-year-old boy Satur- day night north of Herm- iston. Umatilla County Sher- iff Terry Rowan said the child walked away from his house on Joy Lane around 9:30 p.m., but searchers found him about an hour later in a ield ap- proximately half a mile from home. “He’s OK,” Rowan said Saturday, “but a little cold.” Rowan said the boy’s family was having a bar- becue at their home Satur- day and left the front gate open, which they believe he walked out of. Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston reported two Hermiston oficers joined the effort, as did Or- egon State Police troopers and a LifeFlight helicopter with an infrared night vi- sion camera. Rowan said searchers, which also included Mor- row County Sheriff’s Of- ice, Umatilla and Stanield Police Departments and an estimated 100 local citizens, initially did a grid search of the neighborhood. He added that LifeFlight was “pretty instrumental” in locating the boy, as were the volunteers who helped with the search. “I just really appreciate the outpouring of support not only from other agen- cies, but also the commu- nity,” Rowan said. “If not for them who knows what would’ve happened? It was a pretty chilly night and the boy was not dressed for the weather.” Stanield oicer to graduate police course Stanield’s newest oficer is about to graduate from the Oregon Public Safety Academy, Salem. Tristan Walker joins 39 other new oficers that will leave the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training’s basic police course on Friday, Sept. 9, to join agencies throughout the state. Walker, 27, was a reserve oficer for several years and in February 2015 was part of a crew of volunteer ireighters that used ropes to rescue a dog that fell over a 30-foot cliff.
