WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
NEWS
Depot transfer set for Dec. 1, one hurdle left to clear
Protection of cultural
and historical
resources is the last
major hurdle to clear
stakeholders and then a year
to vision,’” he said.
Smith and Puzey said the
CDA needs the help of their
Congressional delegation to
give the Army bureaucrats a
push. Puzey said Rep. Greg
Walden, in particular, is nav-
igating through some tricky
political circumstances right
now and it “becomes un-
seemly for a Congressman
or woman to go out of their
way to push a bureaucrat to
do their job.”
Walden has assisted the
CDA in the past, most re-
cently with a phone call that
helped get the CDA a “deal
points memo” needed to get
some of the depot’s infra-
structure projects included in
the state legislature’s trans-
portation package. He also
wrote a letter to then-Secre-
tary of Defense Chuck Hagel
in 2015 when there was talk
about charging the CDA for
the land. His offi ce said he
understands the importance
of the project and will contin-
ue to provide assistance any
way he can.
Smith has always repeat-
ed the mantra that the land
needs to be free, clean and
come with adequate water
before the CDA is willing to
accept it. Those issues have
been worked through, but the
holdup now is negotiating
with the CTUIR and other
entities over protection of
cultural and archaeological
resources.
There are preserved sec-
tions of the Oregon Trail on
the depot, as well as areas
By JADE McDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
After years of delays on
transferring the former Uma-
tilla Chemical Depot to local
control, Columbia Develop-
ment Authority director Greg
Smith believes the project
could be just a few months
away from the fi nish line.
“We’ve set a hard dead-
line of December 1,” he said
before adding, “The joke is,
‘What year?’”
Locals have reason to be
skeptical that the depot is
less than three months away
from being opened to pri-
vate economic development
that could mean millions of
dollars of investment and
hundreds of jobs for the
area. They’ve been prom-
ised “soon” for several years.
Smith said when he was
hired in July 2015, he was
told the transfer was about
90 days away. That was after
a previous timeline had set a
transfer date at the beginning
of 2015.
In the time since, Smith
said the area has lost out on
many large projects. He’s
had to tell companies inter-
ested in the land — for data
centers, rail car storage, fac-
tories, solar panels, mining
FILE PHOTO
Congressman Greg Walden, center, gestures while asking a question while on a tour of the
Umatilla Army Depot with the Columbia Development Authority in May 2016.
or other operations — that he
has no idea when they would
be able to buy or lease the
property.
“They’re gone. They’re
not coming back,” he said.
Other companies will like-
ly be interested. Smith called
the fl at area where the chemi-
cal weapons incinerator used
to stand some of the best in-
dustrial land in the state. But
the delays in projects means
delays in job openings that
development on the depot
could produce.
“Folks in Hermiston,
they’re not going to hear it,
they’re not going to smell it,”
he said of proposed projects
that have come across his
desk. “All they’re going to
see is cars heading out there
and coming back with big
paychecks.”
In some cases, Smith
said, delays have come from
the Columbia Development
Authority (a partnership
between Umatilla Coun-
ty, Morrow County, Port of
Morrow, Port of Umatilla
and the Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian Res-
ervation) wanting to negoti-
ate to make sure the transfer
is done right. The Pentagon
wanted to give most of the
water rights on the land to
the Oregon National Guard,
for example, despite the fact
that the Guard’s own study
estimated it needed only
about 13 percent. Smith and
the board held fi rm on need-
ing 73 percent of the depot’s
water.
But Smith and CDA board
member Kim Puzey lay most
of the blame for delays on the
federal government.
“I have never met a more
ineffi cient form of govern-
ment than the military,” said
Smith, who is also an Oregon
state representative.
Puzey said the bureaucrats
in Washington D.C. aren’t
motivated to work quickly,
so it’s hard to get anything to
move.
“They come in, they say ‘I
need a year to get to know the
of religious signifi cance for
the tribes. A lithic fl ake — a
piece of stone chipped off
by percussive force during
the making of tools like ar-
rowheads — was discovered
on site, as was a fi repit that
could be archaeologically
signifi cant.
Smith said he’s willing
to work with the tribes and
historical societies to be
accommodating, either by
blocking off signifi cant sites
to the public or by taking the
opposite route and putting up
an educational kiosk. How-
ever, the tribes have marked
a section stretching through
the depot as a religiously
signifi cant Coyote Coulee.
Smith said he was willing
to preserve sections that run
through the portion of the
depot destined to become a
wildlife preserve, but not the
section that runs through the
former incinerator site that
was previously agreed upon
for industrial use.
The CTUIR’s economic
and community director Bill
Tovey now represents the
CTUIR on the CDA board.
Smith said he has been work-
ing with Tovey and has had
good conversations with oth-
er CTUIR leaders that lead
him to believe they will be
able to work out a resolution.
“If we can get this fi nal
issue resolved, there’s no rea-
son we can’t get fi nished in
the very near future,” he said.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
City, irrigation district recognized Tacos y Mas opens near
by state for water reuse project
Hermiston High School
By JADE McDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
A water-reuse project
by the city of Hermiston
and West Extension Irri-
gation District that is the
fi rst of its kind in the state
is being recognized for its
innovation.
The Oregon Water Re-
sources Department gave
the project, which uses re-
cycled water from the city
for irrigation, the Tyler
Hansell Agricultural Effi -
ciency Award.
The water being used
comes from the city’s recy-
cled water treatment plant,
which churns out a fi nal
product that plant manag-
er William Schmittle calls
“virtually indistinguish-
able from drinking water.”
It is clean enough to
be piped into the Umatilla
River, but not always cool
enough during summer
months (rivers that get too
warm are unhealthy for
fi sh that swim upstream to
spawn). A year ago the city
started sending it into the
West Extension Irrigation
District’s main canal in-
stead during warm months.
Bev Bridgewater, man-
ager of the irrigation dis-
trict, said every additional
bit of water helps the dis-
trict.
“It’s been consistent,
reliable and we’ve been
able to put it to good use,”
she said.
Bridgewater said the
project’s uniqueness is
probably what contribut-
ed to the award. When the
district and the city got
the needed permits to start
using the water in August
2016, it was the fi rst time
anyone in the state had
done so.
“We had a city willing
to step up and get the work
done,” she said.
Hermiston city man-
ager Byron Smith said if
the city hadn’t been able
to send the water to the
irrigation district, it would
have had to install some
sort of cooling equipment
instead. The process to get
the needed permits was
long and complicated, but
he said it was worth it in
DISH DEALS!! !
190 Channels
$
. 99
/mo.
Now only ...
49
for 24 months
ADD
HIGH-SPEED
INTERNET
14
$
. 95
/mo.
order to make sure the wa-
ter was able to be reused
in a way that helps con-
tribute to the area’s econ-
omy.
“That was a driver for
us,” he said.
He said from the city’s
standpoint the arrange-
ment has been working
well, and they are pleased
to have been able to part-
ner with the irrigation dis-
trict to make it happen.
The Tyler Hansell Agri-
cultural Effi ciency Award
is given each year to “a
recipient that has demon-
strated leadership in the
area of agricultural water
management, increasing
the effi ciency of water
use, while continuing to
support agriculture as a vi-
tal part of Oregon’s econ-
omy,” according to the
Oregon Water Resources
Department website.
HERMISTON HERALD
Owners of a new Mex-
ican restaurant in Hermis-
ton hope its location near
Hermiston High School
will help keep business
booming.
Socorro and Maria
Orozco have opened Ta-
cos y Mas at the corner of
Highway 395 and High-
land Avenue. The building
had previously been used
by 395 Quickstop to serve
a combination of Mexican
and American food.
The Orozcos have expe-
rience working as cooks at
other Mexican restaurants
in the area and are serving
up street tacos, enchiladas,
tamales, menudo and other
authentic Mexican dishes.
“It’s authentic,” Ma-
ria’s daughter Jessica said.
“They cook here every
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL
Tacos and a burrito sit on a table at Tacos y Mas.
day. It’s homemade every
day.”
She said people can call
ahead to order take-out if
the prefer, and the Orozcos
hope to get the building’s
drive-thru up and running
too. The restaurant will of-
fer specials to high school
students during lunch.
The proximity to the high
school, where students
40th Anniversary
SALE-A-BRATION SALE!
Switch to DISH and
Get a FREE Echo Dot
“Alexa, go to HGTV.”
Control your TV hands-free with DISH
Hopper + Amazon Alexa
LIMITED TIME! Mention offer code FreeEchoDot
where available
Requires internet-connected Hopper® or Wally® and Echo, Echo Dot or Amazon Tap device.
40
%
Trees, Shrubs and Perennials.
OFF
Now thru the end of September.
CALL TODAY - PROMO CODE: FreeEchoDot
1-866-373-9175
Requires credit qualification and commitment
I ntroducIng
P honak d Irect
c onnectIvIty h earIng a Ids
• Direct connectivity to any cell phone *
• Hearing aids used as a wireless head-
set for hands-free calls
• Excellent TV sound quality1 with
hearing aids turned into wireless TV
headphones
Phonak direct connectivity hearing aids offer universal connectivity to any cell phone* regardless of
the brand or operating system. With direct connectivity hearing aids, Phonak offers a solution
that provides true hands-free functionality just like a Bluetooth® wireless headset. The hearing
aids utilize it’s built-in microphones to pick up the clients voice for phone calls. A call can be
heard ringing directly in the hearing aids and with a simple push of a button, can be answered or
rejected. This can be done at distance from the telephone e.g. while a client is positioned on the
other side of a room.
Direct connectivity also extends to media playing with automatic connectivity to any TV or stereo
system through a new and compact, multimedia hub called TV Connector. It delivers excellent
stereo sound quality up to 15m away and does not require any additional streaming device.
With Phonak direct connectivity hearing aids, clients can enjoy the freedom of universal connectivity
RENATA ANDERSON M.A.
2237 Southwest • Court Place
Pendleton, OR 97801
541-276-5053
often walk down High-
land Avenue during lunch,
was one of the reasons the
Orozcos chose the loca-
tion.
“They fi nally found a
place that was perfect,”
Jessica said. “It’s right on
395, also because the high
school is so close we’re
able to provide lunches for
the students.”
465 W Theater Ln • Hermiston
541-567-3278 • kopacznurseryflorist.com
McKay Creek Estates
Caregiver SUPPORT
EDUCATIONAL SEMINAR SERIES
“Be The Best Caregiver & Feel Fantastic Doing It”
We understand the caregiver journey can be stressful and challenging. Our aim is to
provide some clarity and support to caregivers helping seniors.
RSVP Today — FREE Caregivers Support Series
Thursday, September 21st at 2:00pm
Thursday, October 19th at 2:00pm
Congestive Heart Failure
(CHF) Facts
Living Without Depression
is Possible
Caregivers can benefit from
specialized training about CHF.
You can help your loved one
living with depression.
Thursday, November 16th at 2:00pm
Thursday, December 21st at 2:00pm
Skip the Holiday Blues
Eating Is Essential to
Promote Health
Enhance your loved one’s spirit
during the holidays.
Learn to identify factors that may
affect loss of appetite.
Location: St. Anthony Hospital, conference room #1: 2801 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton, OR 97801
Call us at (541) 276-1987 for more information or to reserve your seat(s).
Hurry space is limited. Refreshments provided.
McKay Creek Estates
1601 Southgate Place • Pendleton, OR 97801
www.PrestigeCare.com