LOCAL
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAy, ApRIL 24, 2019
Council discusses
EOTEC priorities, name
rials might say something
like “The Eastern Oregon
Trade and Event Center at
Hermiston,” but councilor
Doug Primmer said the
city wouldn’t be able to
use the acronym EOTECH
because it would infringe
on the copyright for a pri-
vate company by that
name.
Out of the priorities
listed for EOTEC’s con-
tinued development, most
councilors agreed water
was probably the top prior-
ity, followed by landscap-
ing that would increase
shade and block dust and
noise.
“We have to know
we’re going to have water
before we plant the trees,”
Jackie Myers said.
The city has potable
drinking water available
for use at the site but is
hoping to develop a more
affordable option for irri-
gation, either by purchas-
ing water rights or dig-
ging a deeper well. The
city does have two alluvial
wells on site but they have
only been used for test-
ing purposes due to neigh-
bors’ concerns about drop-
ping water levels in the
neighborhood.
Councilor Roy Bar-
ron said he thought build-
ing an RV park on the site
was still the number one
priority, because the park
would start earning money
to fund the other projects.
“If we don’t have any-
thing to generate revenue,
it’s going to be very hard
on the taxpayers of Herm-
iston,” he said.
Smith said traffic and
parking at EOTEC is
another priority. He said
Umatilla County has done
the design work for widen-
ing and improving Airport
Road and the county hopes
to have the project done by
this year’s fair and rodeo in
August. Both he and Drot-
zmann expressed skepti-
cism that would happen.
The council plans to
continue the discussion of
EOTEC at their next work
session.
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Hermiston city coun-
cilors discussed their top
priorities for the Eastern
Oregon Trade and Event
Center and whether it was
too late to change the cen-
ter’s name on Monday.
City manager Byron
Smith said the city needed
to find the right balance
for EOTEC between draw-
ing people in for larger
regional events and serv-
ing the local community.
Dennis Doherty, one of
EOTEC’s founders, shared
with the council that the
regional aspect was what
encouraged local hoteliers
to voluntarily implement a
tourism promotion assess-
ment on their rooms, and
helped get millions of dol-
lars in funding from the
state.
“I was a part of that and
I would be embarrassed if
I had to go back and talk
to them and they’re ask-
ing, ‘What’s going on?’”
he said. Councilor Lori
Davis asked whether the
city needed the “trade”
part of the project’s name
anymore, and it sparked a
discussion about EOTEC’s
name. Some councilors
pointed out that the “event
center” part of the name
confused people who
thought the event cen-
ter building was the entire
project, and suggested per-
haps the city could keep
the recognizable acronym
but call it the Eastern Ore-
gon Trade and Event Cam-
pus or Eastern Oregon
Trade and Event Complex.
Mayor David Drot-
zmann said it would be
ideal if a big donor stepped
forward and the event cen-
ter building at EOTEC
could be renamed after the
donor.
EOTEC manager Al
Davis said the biggest
question he gets when he
tries to market the center is
where in Eastern Oregon
it’s located.
He suggested the logo
and other marketing mate-
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Second-grader Michael Fisher makes a tree bark
rubbing on Thursday during Arbor Day festivities in
Echo.
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Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Angie Treadwell, center, talks to members of the Cooking Matters class at the Harkenrider Senior Activity Center in Hermiston
on Wednesday.
Cooking Matters expands classes to seniors
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
It’s never too late to learn
how to cook.
Last Wednesday at the
Harkenrider Senior Activ-
ity Center in Hermiston, 16
senior citizens were steam-
ing asparagus and being
quizzed about saturated fats
at a Cooking Matters class.
Kathy Burns said she was
there because she wanted to
move beyond heating things
up in a microwave and learn
recipes that fit diet restric-
tions her doctor had given
her.
“I’m the worst cook in
the world,” she said.
The free, six-week class
sends participants home
with a free cookbook and
ingredients for the week’s
recipes at the end of each
two-hour session.
Burns said she was glad
the senior center was will-
ing to host the classes so that
seniors can learn new skills.
She said she wished more
men were taking advantage
of the opportunity (there was
only one present Wednes-
day) because sometimes
seniors find themselves in a
tough spot when the spouse
who does all the cooking
passes away.
Angie Treadwell, the
class’ instructor, usually
teaches Cooking Matters
classes to parents and chil-
Staff photo by Jade McDowell/East Oregonian
Class members chop asparagus for the Ginger Asparagus
recipe at the Cooking Matters class at the Harkenrider Senior
Activity Center in Hermiston on Wednesday.
dren as part of a partnership
between Umatilla Morrow
County Head Start, Oregon
State University Extension
and area school districts.
She said OSU plans to
expand the Cooking Matters
program to seniors over the
next few years, and seniors
in Hermiston are helping
to pilot the idea thanks to a
generous grant from Lamb
Weston. Each week she gets
feedback from class mem-
bers — portion sizes are too
large, there aren’t enough
lactose-free options — and
passes it on to the university.
“We’re trying to find out
what seniors want,” she said.
Treadwell said there are
many health issues seniors
face that are preventable
with the right diet. Often as
people age they start feel-
ing like it’s not worth cook-
ing for just themselves, or
they suddenly find them-
selves with special dietary
needs they don’t know how
to cook for.
“Nutrition is so important
in older adults,” she said. “It
can make a huge difference
in medical costs.”
Cooking classes provide
a social outlet too. Lupe
Housden said she ended up
in the class because a friend
signed her up.
“It’s always nice to have
a group to cook with,” she
said.
Housden said she has also
learned a lot about how to
read labels on food, and the
importance of whole grains.
On Wednesday Treadwell
started off by asking partici-
pants if their cooking habits
had changed after their first
two classes. One woman
said she had made the pre-
vious week’s recipe and had
so many leftovers she shared
with her neighbors. Another
said she made one of the
recipes but it didn’t turn out
well. A third said she had
put her own spin on it with
ingredients she had at home.
One recipe — a south-
west-style Cowboy Salad
— was so popular that the
senior center is adding it to
their lunch menu.
After discussing recipes
Treadwell taught the group
about different types of fats
and how to look for health-
ier ones. She answered a
variety of questions about
the health of different foods
and summed up her advice
as eating food “as close to
the form nature gave you as
possible and using modera-
tion in all things.”
During the hands-on por-
tion of the class, the group
worked together to make
pasta with beans and greens,
and ginger asparagus using
fresh local asparagus from
Walchli Farms. Ingredients
for both recipes were wait-
ing for them in a take-home
bag at the end of class.