WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017
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Ride safety a priority at Umatilla County Fair
Ride similar to
one that failed at
Ohio State Fair not
coming to Umatilla
County Fair
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
Carnival rides are, for
many, the highlight of a
county fair. But a recent
ride malfunction at Ohio
State Fair that killed one
person has brought carnival
safety to the forefront for
some parents leading into
this week’s Umatilla Coun-
ty Fair.
“Safety has always been
a number one issue,” said
Dan Dorran, a fair board
member, which hasn’t
changed just because of the
accident in Ohio.
He added that Oregon
has different inspection
laws than Ohio.
“Oregon has some of the
strictest inspection laws,
from electrical to mechani-
cal,” he said. “They get in-
spected by the state.”
FILE PHOTO
Carnival workers assemble the Ferris wheel last year at the Umatilla County Fair in Hermiston.
The Umatilla Coun-
ty Fair will be getting its
carnival rides from Davis
Amusement Cascadia, a
Rivera accepts EOTEC
interim manager post
By JADE McDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
Nate Rivera will serve
as interim general man-
ager for the Eastern Or-
egon Trade and Event
Center for up to six
months after the facility
hosts its first Umatilla
County Fair.
He will retain his po-
sition as general manag-
er of Hermiston Energy
Services and said that
job will take first priori-
ty, but he is working with
Byron Smith — who will
oversee both sides of the
equation as city manager
and EOTEC board chair
— to strike a balance be-
tween obligations to both
jobs.
Rivera was part of the
original planning group
for EOTEC, and said he
has always been passion-
ate about helping it suc-
ceed.
“I’m excited to be part
of the project again,” he
said.
The EOTEC board
voted on a motion during
a special meeting Mon-
day to extend Rivera an
offer of the interim po-
sition for a period “not
to exceed six months,”
and Rivera said he hopes
to help the board hire
a new manager sooner
than that and then assist
in the transition before
returning his full focus to
Hermiston Energy Ser-
vices.
The plan is to have
others pitch in with the
day-to-day
operations
like answering phones
and locking up after
events while Rivera
works more “behind the
scenes” to craft a busi-
ness plan, staffing plan,
maintenance plan and
guide to policies and pro-
cedures for the facility.
He said those projects
should help the board in
its search for someone to
run the facility for years
into the future.
“This is not a long-
term solution,” Rivera
said of his interim posi-
tion. “The idea is not for
me to transition up there.
My role is to help create
a long-term solution.”
Rivera officially starts
Monday, Aug. 14, as
business manager Heath-
er Cannell leaves for a
new job at the SAGE
Center. Cannell has been
handling day-to-day op-
erations, marketing and
booking for the event
center with the help of an
administrative assistant
and janitorial contractor,
but as construction on the
rest of the project wraps
up the EOTEC board has
been advertising for a
general manager.
Final touches like
fencing and signs are
being placed on EOTEC
this week as the facili-
ty gets ready to host the
Umatilla County Fair and
Farm-City Pro Rodeo
next week. Rivera said
he will be spending time
on-site during the fair
getting trained on the ins
and outs of the facility.
“I’m looking forward
to re-engaging with the
EOTEC project,” he said.
company based in Clack-
amas. Dorran said the fair
has used Davis rides for
more than 20 years.
husband, said they are hy-
per-aware of safety issues,
but not just since the Ohio
State Fair incident.
Spray park hours shortened in August
HERMISTON HERALD
Hermiston’s spray park
will operate on shorter
hours the rest of the sum-
mer after complaints about
children slipping and fall-
ing.
The splash pad at Butte
Park will be open from 11
a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days
a week through the rest of
August to allow for an at-
tendant from the Hermis-
ton Family Aquatic Center
to supervise.
Larry Fetter, the parks
and recreation director,
said when the city painted
the cement surface a few
years ago they mixed sand
into the paint for traction.
But the water has since
worn down the surface.
Barefoot children dripping
FILE PHOTO
Hermiston Parks and Recreation Department art instructor
Regan Boysen puts the finishing touches in 2014 on her
theme at the spray park in Butte Park.
slippery sunscreen over
the smoother surface and
then running over it have
caused some spills this
summer.
After a few parents
called to complain, Fetter
said the department will
add more traction to the ce-
ment in the off-season and
look for other ways to in-
crease safety, but he didn’t
want to completely close
down the spray park during
the year’s hottest weather
to perform the work.
“The point behind the
attendant will be to keep
kids from running, which
is going to be quite the
challenge,” he said.
The new hours were
selected via informal feed-
back from parents on Face-
book. Fetter said some
people have complained
about the shortened hours,
but overall seem glad the
city is trying to address the
problem.
“We’re not trying to be
mean or mess up moms’
schedules, we’re just try-
ing to be responsive to a
safety concern,” he said.
Local agencies check police cruisers for possible carbon monoxide leaks
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
Local law enforcement
agencies are taking steps to
check patrol vehicles after
reports of officers in other
jurisdictions getting ill from
carbon monoxide poisoning
in a vehicle also included in
local fleets.
Police officers around
the U.S. have recently had
their vehicles recalled af-
ter carbon monoxide leaks
and health issues have been
reported in Ford Explorer
police cruisers in Massachu-
setts, Texas and Washing-
ton.
According to the Nation-
al Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, more 700
complaints have been re-
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“We’ve never had a ride
accident,” he said.
Cathy Davis, who co-
owns the business with her
“That’s all we think
about,” she said. “When
something like in Ohio hap-
pens, it brings everything
right to the front of your
mind. We’re making sure
we’ve done, and are continu-
ing to do all the right things.”
Davis said they have a ride
similar to the one that mal-
functioned in Ohio, supplied
by the company Amuse-
ments of America. Although
it’s not manufactured by the
same company, they’ve tem-
porarily pulled their ride for
further safety inspections.
Even for their other
rides, Davis said, there are
daily inspections.
“We go off the sheets
from our manufacturer and
we add a few extra points,”
she said. “Every morning,
prior to opening, we start
up the generators for an
hour, doing safety checks
with seat belts, latch bars,
whatever’s mandated by
the ride manufacturer.”
Davis said her company
does about 75 events per
year, and owns about 42
rides.
“We’re very careful
about safety, and have a
very good record,” she said.
“We don’t take chances.”
ceived about carbon mon-
oxide leaks in the vehicle.
CBS reported that one po-
lice officer in Massachusetts
passed out while driving and
crashed, a result of carbon
monoxide poisoning.
Local law enforcement
officials also drive the Ford
Explorer SUVs and are tak-
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we will be moving forward
with (carbon monoxide) de-
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are safe,” said Hermiston
Police Chief Jason Edmis-
ton. He added that on Thurs-
day, Aug. 3, three people
from his department were
traveling to Portland to pick
up two new patrol vehicles.
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The Irrigon Watermelon Festival would like to thank all the
individuals and businesses who sponsored the Festival. With special
thanks to our major sponsors, Morrow County Unified Recreation Dist
and Bellinger Farms. Please suppport our sponsors by patronizing
their businesses and letting them know how much we appreciate
their community support. Without the tremendous support of our
volunteers,we would not have such a successful event.
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ing note of the issues around
the country.
The Hermiston Police
Department has six Ford
Explorer SUVs, and though
it hasn’t seen any problems
yet, plans to monitor carbon
dioxide in them.
“We are aware others
are having problems and
Morrow County Unified
Recreation District
Bellinger Farms
Watts Brothers / Lamb
Weston Boardman
Fiesta Foods
Umatilla Electric
Desert Springs Bottled
Water
Jennifer Smith 31 Bags
Morrow County Grain
Growers
Portland Spirit
Silverwood
Dust Devils
Wildhorse Casino
Pendleton Round Up
Walker Furniture
Bi Mart
Barnett & Moro
Smitty’s
Tri City Americans
Simply Divine Salon &
Day Spa
Rick’s Car Wash
Les Schwab
Pet Sense
Wal Mart DC
Tillamook Cheese
Sage Center
Port of Morrow
Bank of Eastern Oregon
Sergio’s Mexican
Restaurant
Garners, Pendleton
Wesco Paint
Hermiston Auto Parts
(Napa)
Community Women’s
Club
AJ’s Printing
Boardman Foods
Pendleton Round Up
RDO Equipment
Strebin Farms
Columbia Harvest
Foods
Irrigon High School
Cheerleaders &
Gem’s Cheer
Irrigon High School
Wrestlers
Irrigon High School
Key Club
Irrigon High School
Band
Irrigon School
Administrators
Irrigon Rural Fire
District
FOIL, Friend’s of the
Irrigon Library
Morrow County
Sherriff’s
Department
Life Flight
The Irrigon Moose
Lodge
William Pullen & Crew
for Kids Games
Family Worship Center
Stokes Landing Senior
Center
Don & Donna
Eppenbach
Special Thanks to Irrigon Marina Park Board, Caretakers Keith & Brenda Curnutt & Staff, Irrigon Wate rmelon Festival Board,
Committee Members and Advisors Entertainment and advertising funded by Morrow County Unified Recreat ion District