WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
LOCAL NEWS
EOTEC: 2017 & beyond
Work session
examines Hermiston
project’s future
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
City moving forward with
Hermiston Loop Trail
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
Another mile of trail
will be added next year to
the 6.5 mile loop the city is
building around the west-
ern half of Hermiston.
The city council ap-
proved an intergovern-
mental agreement with
the Oregon Department of
Transportation on Mon-
day, Oct. 24, to build a trail
for cyclists and pedestri-
ans along the south side of
Highland Avenue between
SW 11th Street and SW
23rd Street near Riverfront
Park. Assistant city man-
ager Mark Morgan said the
trail could end up going
even farther along High-
land than that, depending
on “when he money runs
out.”
The $663,225 West
Highland Trail project fits
into the wider vision of a
Hermiston Loop Trail that
will eventually allow bi-
cyclists and pedestrians
to make a 6.5 mile loop
around the western side of
Hermiston.
The first leg of that proj-
ect came when the popu-
lar Oxbow Trail opened in
2014, creating a meander-
ing 1.5 mile asphalt trail
connected to Riverfront
Park.
The stretch of Highland
featured in the West High-
land Trail project is current-
ly bordered by a patchwork
of sidewalks, bike lanes
and gravel shoulder. A con-
tribution of $150,000 from
the city and $513,000 from
ODOT would turn it into
a multi-use trail running
parallel to the road on the
south side of Highland.
Construction is expected to
take place next summer.
City Manager Byron
Smith told the council that
the city was still working
with the Department of
Fish and Wildlife for the
right of way to extend the
trail through the Steelhead
Park area, which would
loop it from the top of the
Highland Extension bridge,
under the bridge and into
Riverfront Park.
“They seem very open
to it, it just seems like they
may be bogged down work-
ing through it,” he said.
Smith said getting the
trail under the bridge so that
people weren’t tempted to
try and cross Highland was
a high safety priority, and
if the money from ODOT
“doesn’t get us all the way
under, we will come back
with a plan.”
That will allow walkers
and runners to make a loop
of approximately 3.5 miles
using the new trail, River-
front Park, the Oxbow Trail
and the sidewalks along
SW 11th Street between
Highland Avenue and the
start of the Oxbow Trail
across from Good Shep-
herd Medical Center.
Smith said ODOT had
originally planned to do the
work with the city contrib-
uting $150,000 plus any
costs overruns. But ODOT
came back with a proposal
for the city to handle engi-
neering and construction
instead and be reimbursed
at 77 percent, which city
staff was “pleased with.”
“We think we can get
the project done quicker
and keep a better handle on
cost,” he said.
One afternoon last
week, Kim Popham was
one of several people walk-
ing the path around Riv-
erfront Park. She said she
uses the park about three
times a month and walks
the Oxbow Trail usually
once a month, depending
on weather.
“I like that it’s paved and
clean,” she said.
After hearing about the
plans for a trail along High-
land Avenue, she said it
sounded “pretty cool” and
she would definitely use it
when it is finished.
Rebecca Artz brought
her sons to Riverfront
Park recently, pushing one
in a stroller and letting the
other one run a short way
ahead. She said she comes
into Hermiston from Stan-
field “a couple of times a
week” to go walking, or
sometimes roller blading,
at Riverfront Park or on
the Oxbow Trail because
Stanfield doesn’t have a
good walking route away
from traffic for young
children. She said she
would be excited about
more walking options in
town.
“I like the exercise and
the scenery,” she said.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at 541-564-4536.
An Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center work ses-
sion held Friday featured
plenty of discussion, but no
firm answers on who will run
the 2017 Umatilla County
Fair.
The five-hour work ses-
sion, held after the EOTEC
board’s regular business
meeting, covered operations,
staffing, maintenance and fee
schedules.
First, however, the board
took time to review the histo-
ry of the EOTEC project and
appreciate how far they have
come in building a multi-mil-
lion dollar facility with no
general obligation bonds.
“People just basically
laughed at us when we gave
our first presentation,” Dan
Dorran said. “... It takes a long
time to explain that you’re
going to build a $21 million
facility with no money.”
That dream has since been
scaled down, but as the fin-
ished project comes closer to
reality, the board is looking to
tackle questions about what
happens when the last nail is
in.
Staffing
EOTEC’s current staff
comprises full-time business
manager Heather Cannell,
Board approves 50-year lease
with Farm-City Pro Rodeo
Hermiston Herald
The Eastern Oregon
Trade and Event Center
board approved a lease with
the Farm-City Pro Rodeo
during its regular meeting
Friday morning.
The board had exam-
ined a 50-year lease last
week that would grant the
mercantile area outside the
rodeo grounds to the Farm-
City Pro Rodeo for a one-
time payment of $50. After
city and county officials ex-
pressed concerns about how
cutting such deals would
affect EOTEC’s financial
viability, the revised lease
approved Friday was a 30-
year lease for $500 per year.
The lease acknowledged
the rodeo board’s plans to
make significant improve-
full-time administrative event
assistant Cyndie Driscoll,
plus a quarter of a financial
position at the city of Hermis-
ton. Cannell said she relies on
temporary labor provided by
Express Staffing to help out
for some large events, but for
the most part she and Driscoll
have been trying to do as
much set-up, take-down and
cleaning as they can to save
money.
Board member Vijay Patel
said a maintenance employee
needed to be hired soon, be-
cause he wanted to see Can-
ments to the property, and
to allow EOTEC to use the
mercantile area for events
when the rodeo is not using
it. If the rodeo board wants
to use the mercantile area at
the same time another event
is being held in another area
of EOTEC, the updated
lease states that the EOTEC
event takes precedence if
there is any conflict.
The board also dis-
cussed bringing the trail-
er that used to house the
EOTEC offices from the
Stafford Hansell Govern-
ment Building in order to
provide a base for law en-
forcement and medical help
to operate out of during the
fair or if the grounds were
being used for some sort of
emergency.
nell’s sole focus stay on mar-
keting and booking events.
“Setting up tables and
cleaning bathrooms is not
what we hired her for,” he
said.
The rest of the board
seemed to agree that a main-
tenance
employee
was
needed at EOTEC, but who
should run the entire project
was a less clear matter.
The Umatilla County
Board of Commissioners laid
off fair manager Don Slone
earlier this month as a mon-
ey-saving move as the fair
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
The EOTEC board of directors
met Friday to discuss the
staffing and operational
needs of the new facility.
Longer version of the story online at
HERMISTONHERALD.COM
shifts to EOTEC, but no de-
cision has been made about
what type of position would
run the fair instead.
Don Miller said that when
looking at the finances of
the county and EOTEC, “a
shared position would be ben-
eficial.”
Byron Smith said the
board needed to decide what
an EOTEC general manag-
er’s position would include,
and whether to have a sep-
arate marketing person. If a
general manager had some-
one working on marketing,
he said, there could be an
opportunity for the county to
contract with EOTEC to run
the fair on their behalf.
Smith, Patel and Dorran
were in favor of hiring a con-
sultant to help craft a plan for
marketing and management.
Hermiston native named UEC chief operating officer
Sonja Bogart, a Hermis-
ton native with 20 years of
experience working with
electric utilities, is coming
home to serve as chief op-
erating officer of the Uma-
tilla Electric Cooperative.
A graduate of Hermis-
ton High School, Bogart
has spent the majority of
her career working with the
Wright-Hennepin Coopera-
tive Electric Association in
Rockford, Minnesota, just
west of Minneapolis. Since
early Hermiston may-
2002, she has served
or and the town’s first
as the utility’s vice
drugstore owner. Rob-
president of custom-
ert Echenrode, UEC
er service, sales and
general manager and
marketing.
CEO, said that Boga-
“UEC is going
rt has knowledge and
through an exciting
appreciation of the
time with growth and Sonja
area, along with her
opportunity, and I’m Bogart
breadth of experience
glad to be here,” Bog-
at Wright-Hennepin.
art said in a statement.
“She has proven
Bogart’s
Herm-
iston roots run deep in her herself, rising to a high level
family. Her great-grandfa- in a well-respected coopera-
ther, Albert Prann, was an tive,” Echenrode said.
Bogart has a bachelor’s
degree in business adminis-
tration from the University
of Oregon, and a master’s
degree in business admin-
istration from the Univer-
sity of St. Thomas in St.
Paul, Minnesota. She has
two grown children: Al-
lison, a pediatric nurse at
the University of Minneso-
ta children’s hospital; and
Matthew, who works in the
warehouse at Wright-Hen-
nepin.
increased” since Terry
Rowan became sheriff in
2013.
Rowan
is
seeking
re-election.
Pendleton
Police Cpl. Ryan Lehnert
is challenging Rowan for
the sheriff’s post.
tification are considered in-
dustry leaders who have at-
tained a higher standard of
professional competence,
knowledge and experience.
Those attaining the status
have completed a combi-
nation of required classes,
demonstrated years of em-
ployment in the industry,
education, industry contri-
butions and a successful
demonstration of expertise.
Third Day Creations
specializes in promotion-
al products and business
gifts. For more informa-
tion, contact 541-564-
9219,
thirdday97838@
gmail.com or visit www.
thirddaycreations.net.
IN BRIEF
County jail scores
high on inspection
The Umatilla County
Jail tied its highest score
during a recent jail in-
spection.
A team of jail inspec-
tors from the Oregon Jail
Command Council scruti-
nized the jail Oct. 20 and
21, the Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Office reported
in a written statement.
The jail received a score
of 99.2 percent com-
pliant, according to the
statement, which “ties the
highest score in the histo-
ry of the facility in 2011.”
The
Oregon
State
Sheriff’s Association de-
veloped the 309 jail stan-
dards the inspectors use,
which address inmate
rules and discipline, staff
training, and many oth-
er categories and proce-
dures, most of which state
and federal laws and rules
require.
“This year’s score is
especially commendable
since our jail population
is at an all-time high, and
significantly higher than
in 2011,” according to
the sheriff’s office, which
also noted the “responsi-
bilities that go along with
managing many more in-
mates and programs have
Business owner
receives certification
Danita Smith, of Third
Day
Creations,
LLC,
Hermiston, recently earned
the certification admin-
istered by Promotional
Products Association In-
ternational.
Individuals with the cer-
For more information, call 1-800-962-2819
2x3 EXAMPLE
Celebrate your loved ones in our
VETERANS DAY TRIBUTE
We are so
proud of you
for serving
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Free Example:
Honoring those who have served
and those who are currently serving
our country!
They’ve served our country with
courage and honor. They’ve left
behind loved ones to risk their
lives while protecting our country.
They’ve defended our freedoms
and ideals. They make us proud to
be Americans. Help us honor them.
SALUTE E
1x4 EXAMPLE
Love
Evelyn,
We are
so
Joe
proud and
of you
Cheryl
for
serving
J OSEPH S MITH
your country.
J OSEPH B. D AVIS
Staff Sergeant
Joel Davis
US Marines
Veteran
This special section will print in the Hermiston Herald on Nov. 9 and
in the East Oregonian on Nov. 11, 2016. There is NO CHARGE to
be included. Bring us or send in photos of servicemen, servicewomen
or veterans, along with the information in the form to the right, by
November 1.
Thank you for
your service!
Love Evelyn,
Joe and
Cheryl
If you’d like to purchase a larger space to
include a special message, border, flags, or stars
and stripes, rates are $40 for a 1x4” space or $55
for a 2x3” space. Private party only.
Please call 1-800-962-2819.
Love always
Marcy, Julie &
Emily
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