WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
LOCAL
Questions asked of EOTEC over
failure to meet conditions
Airport Road. He said the
decision was made in con-
sultation with Sheriff Terry
Rowan after extensive traf-
fic jams on the first day
caused serious concerns
about safety.
City Planning Director
Clint Spencer said it “ran-
kled” to read in the news-
paper that a condition for
approval of EOTEC’s
zoning was being vio-
lated after the first day of
EOTEC’s first large event.
Rivera said EOTEC was
“fully aware” that it had
failed in its responsibil-
ity to make sure condi-
tions set by the planning
commission were met but
things would be different
now that VenuWorks had
taken over management of
the center and could craft
parking and traffic plans.
“We had that in place
and it didn’t seem to mat-
ter,” Kathy Erz replied,
noting the time the plan-
ning commission spent
discussing concerns that
the two-lane, unpaved Ott
Road would not handling
heavy traffic. “After the
first day the whole plan
was thrown to the wind.”
Rivera said plans for the
first year were all based in
theory, but moving forward
it would be easier to craft a
plan with knowledge from
last year’s event.
“There won’t be as
much data as the planning
commission hoped, how-
ever. Ridership for the free
shuttles — which com-
missioners said they had
expected would run all
week but instead only ran
Friday and Saturday —
was not tracked. Equip-
ment failures caused by
high temperatures in the
afternoons kept the fair
from getting an accurate
attendance count for 2017,
and Rivera said data from
traffic counts conducted by
the county were “not able
to be recovered” either.
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Marchers recite the Pledge of Allegiance on the steps of city hall Monday at the end of a Martin Luther King Day march in
Hermiston.
Marchers carry on King’s legacy
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
T
he mood at Hermis-
ton’s Martin Luther
King Jr. Day march
Monday was positive, but
carried a clear message that
the fight for social justice is
far from over.
“When you come to a
small town like Hermiston
and still have people watch-
ing and marching, it’s just
amazing,” said Don Rome.
Rome was the key-
note speaker at the annual
celebration of social jus-
tice and civil rights, which
has taken place in Hermis-
ton for 18 years. More than
100 people from Hermiston
and other cities gathered in
front of First United Meth-
odist Church to walk, lis-
ten to speeches, and discuss
what King’s message con-
tinues to mean today.
After a walk around
Hermiston’s
downtown
blocks and a speech on city
hall steps from City Coun-
cilor Doug Primmer, Rome
took the stage, talking about
his own experiences grow-
ing up black in Hermiston.
Though some of his sto-
ries were lighthearted and
had the audience laughing,
he described how prejudice
can occur, even if it’s not
obviously hostile.
“The pro was that I
always got picked for
sports,” he said with a grin.
“The con was — I sucked!”
He told a story of how
his coach asked him to race
the 100 meters, and sev-
eral of his competitors were
nervous to race him, sim-
ply because they thought a
black athlete would be bet-
ter than them.
He also told of when he
was a small child, a teacher
had refused to call him by
his name, instead calling
him a derogatory term.
“I asked her why she
called me that, and she said,
‘Because that’s all you’re
ever going to be,’” Rome
recalled.
He also acknowledged
his own insecurities. He
remembered a trip to the
grocery store last year,
where an elderly couple
was walking toward him.
He smiled, but they didn’t
reciprocate.
“He looked me up and
down in disgust, and walked
off,” Rome said. Hurt and
thinking they were glaring
at him because of his race,
he said, he went home and
recounted the incident to
his wife — who revealed to
him that his zipper had been
open.
“The point of the story is,
“know what you’re talking
about,” he said.
Rome discussed the chal-
lenges King and other peo-
ple in the civil rights move-
ment faced.
“You had people putting
their life on the line daily,”
he said. “‘I have a dream’
is so powerful. Those who
have a dream can change
history.”
John Carbage, president
of the Hermiston Cultural
Awareness Club, invited
anyone in the audience to
say a few words.
Rev.
Robert
Eadie
recalled hearing a speech by
King when he was a young
man, and how it continues
to impact him today.
“He said, ‘I might not
get there with you,’” Eadie
said. He pointed out the
importance of teaching
young people about the
movement.
“We are not here perma-
nently,” Eadie said. “But we
must always put that into
our young children’s minds
and hearts — we all have to
overcome something.”
A
Hermiston
resi-
dent named Patrick, who
declined to give his last
name, said it was important
to realize that civil rights are
not just in a history book. A
teacher at a local elemen-
tary school, he said he has
a spot in his room called
“Martin’s Corner,” where
he features a different quote
from King each week.
“We need to brave those
big conversations,” he said.
“Pressing ‘like’ or shoot-
ing back with a comment
doesn’t replace what’s hap-
pening here today. Martin
Luther King Jr. is not folded
within the pages of a history
book.”
Primmer reminded the
audience that King’s influ-
ence reached people in
many ways. For him, he
said, it was through the
show “Star Trek.”
“Dr. King was a huge
Star Trek fan,” Primmer
said. He recalled hearing
Nichelle Nichols speak at
a ComiCon event, where
she discussed playing Lt.
Uhura, at a time when roles
for black characters were
limited. Primmer recalled
Nichols saying that she
almost quit the show, but
a conversation with King
convinced her otherwise.
King convinced Nichols of
the importance of represen-
tation for viewers of color
— of the show as a vehicle
of social change.
“The power of his words
have proven to be time-
less,” Primmer said.
Camp Umatilla training center
to get $25 million upgrade
HERMISTON HERALD
With about 7,500 acres
of former Umatilla Chem-
ical Depot land now in
the hands of the Oregon
National Guard, the Oregon
Military Department is plan-
ning to invest $25 million to
improve the facilities.
According to a report
Thursday from the pub-
lic affairs office of the Ore-
gon National Guard, the
new training center west of
Hermiston will be used for
weekend and annual train-
ing requirements for the
Guard and other military
branches. It will also house
the 249th Regional Training
Institute, which trains infan-
try leaders.
The $25 million will be
spent over several years,
according to the release, and
pay for sewer line repairs,
a water distribution system,
roads, fencing, improve-
ments to offices, lodging and
the dining facility and new
classrooms. An additional
$2 million has already been
spent on the project.
The depot was con-
structed in 1941 in prepara-
tion for World War II, and
Lt. Col. Noel Hoback told
the East Oregonian in Sep-
tember it seems that many of
the buildings being used by
the National Guard were part
of the original construction.
The Oregon National
Guard has been training at
the site since the 1980s and
has built arms ranges and
kept vehicles.
“A lot of the facilities and
infrastructure out there hav-
en’t been updated in decades
if at all,” said Eric Manus,
the senior manager for the
Camp Umatilla construction
projects. “We have already
been out there working proj-
ects to modernize the infra-
structure so that we have a
solid foundation for build-
ing renovations over the
next several years.”
The Oregon Adjutant
General and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers signed a
license on Nov. 27 that ded-
icated the land as a training
center.
DENTAL Itsuratce
The Eastern Oregon
Trade and Event Center
has been directed to report
to the Hermiston Planning
Commission each month
leading up to the next Uma-
tilla County Fair after fail-
ing to meet multiple condi-
tions of a parking variance
granted by the city.
Commissioners
said
during a meeting Jan. 10
that they supported the
fair and the Farm-City Pro
Rodeo and wanted those
events to succeed, but they
couldn’t turn a blind eye to
the infractions committed
during the 2017 Umatilla
County Fair.
“We can’t make EOTEC
above everyone else in the
city we have a responsibil-
ity for,” Phil Hamm said.
The EOTEC board
had obtained a variance
from the planning com-
mission in 2017 allowing
some parking and traffic
requirements to be waived
during large events with
more than 2,000 people in
exchange for meeting cer-
tain conditions. But most
of the six conditions were
not met during the 2017
fair and rodeo, includ-
ing requirements to notify
neighbors and to submit an
event permit application, a
lighting plan, an overflow
parking plan and shuttle
ridership count. The events
also flouted a 2012 rule
that an ingress on Ott Road
is to be used for emergency
access only.
Nate Rivera, who came
to EOTEC as interim man-
ager the week after the
2017 Umatilla County Fair
and is now helping tran-
sition to management by
VenuWorks, said county
commissioner and EOTEC
board member Larry Giv-
ens made the decision to
start using the Ott Road
entrance in addition to
SHOP ONLINE 24/7 HERMISTONCDJR.COM
YOUR LOCAL RAM
TRUCK HEADQUARTERS
NEW 2017
NEW 2017 RAM
CHRYSLER PACIFICA 1500 TRADESMAN
TOURING
QUAD CAB 4X4
NEW 2017 JEEP
RENEGADE
LATITUDE 4X4
Altitude Pkg, NAV Grp w/ UConnect,
Pwr/Removable Sunroof
SAVE
$7,758 off
MSRP
MSRP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30,155
Combined Factory Rebate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -$5,500
Hermiston CDJR Discount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -$2,258
$
22,397 *
V6, 9 Spd Auto,
UConnect 3C w/ 8.4” Display
EcoDiesel , 8 Spd Auto,
Chrome Pkg, Popular Equip. Grp
SAVE
$7,628 off
MSRP
SAVE
$9,086 off
MSRP
MSRP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35,040
MSRP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $43,875
Combined Factory Rebate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -$1,500
Hermiston CDJR Discount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -$3,628
$
29,912 *
$
Chrysler Capital Bonus Cash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -$500
Honda/Toyota Trade Assist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -$2,000 2
$
STK#
T2334
27,412 *
Combined Rebates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -$4,250
Hermiston CDJR Discount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -$4,336
1
35,289 *
Chrysler Capital Bonus Cash . . . . . -$500 1
STK#
T2169T
$
34,789 *
STK#
T2317
OVER 600 NEW AND USED VEHICLES
2007 TOYOTA
CAMRY
2001 FORD
F-150 4X4
2009 PONTIAC
G8
2003 KIA
SOUL PLUS
4 Cyl, Auto
V8, Auto, Low Miles
Leather, Loaded
25k Miles
Physiciats Mutual Itsuratce Compaty
A less expetsive way to help get the dettal care you deserve
If you’re over 50, you can get coverage for about
$1 a day*
Keep your own dentist! NO netlorks to lorry about
NO annual or lifetime cap o n the cash benefi ts
No wait for preventive care and no deductibles
– you could get a checkup tomorrol
Coverage for over 350 procedures including
$
cleanings, exams, fi llings, crolns…even dentures
you can receive
FREE Information Kit
1-877-599-0125
www.dettal50plus.com/25
$
7,994
7,888
$
8,888
$
12,888
T5792PA
T2407A
2008 BMW
X5 4X4
2016 FORD
FIESTA ST
2014 TOYOTA
TACOMA 4X4
2017 DODGE
CHARGER AWD
4 Cyl, 6 Spd, 15k Miles
5 Spd, 4 Cyl, Low Miles
SXT, 26k Miles, Must See!
Leather, Moonroof, 3rd Seat
T5137PA
T5813P
*Individual
*Individual
plan.
plan.
Product
Product
not not
available
available
in MN,
in MN,
MT, NH,
MT, RI,
NH, VT, RI,
WA.
VT, Acceptance
WA. Acceptance
guaranteed
guaranteed
for one insurance
for one insurance
policy/certificate
policy/certificate
of this type.
of Contact
this type.
us Contact
for complete
us for details
complete details
about this insurance solicitation. This specific offer is not available in CO, NY; call 1-800-969-4781 or respond for similar offer. Certificate C250A (ID: C250E; PA: C250Q);
Insurance Policy P150(GA: P150GA; NY: P150NY; OK: P150OK; TN: P150TN) 6096C
MB16-NM001Gc
Call Today to Save 25%
DISH Special Offer
49 99
$
/mo
for 24 mo.
190+ Channels
Watch all of your favorites
FREE Next Day Installation!
Scheduling may vary & up to 6 TVs
FREE Hopper HD DVR
Record up to 16 shows at the same time
Call Today & Save Up To 25%!
Call for more information
High Speed Internet
14 95
$
/mo
SAVE When You Bundle
$
14,888
T5864PA
$
14,999
T2253A
(541) 701-3482
$
19,999
T5842PA
$
22,879
T5835P
Mon.-Sat. 8am-7pm | Sun. 11am-5pm
81143 N. Hwy 395, Hermiston, OR
Apply additional savings when you add Internet
Options Available Nationwide
Pricing and speeds vary
#1 In Customer Satisfaction
2016 independent study
Subject to availability. Restrictions apply.
1-866-373-9175
“WE ARE YOUR NO PROBLEM SALES
& SERVICE DEALER”
*Only one at this price. HURRY! Rebates subject to change without notice. 1 Must finance with Chrysler Capital Credit, OAC
2
Requires trade of any Honda or Toyota vehicle. All photos are for illustrative purposes only. All prices plus license,
title and up to $150 doc fee. Full VIN ID number available from dealer upon request. Offers expire 1/19/18.