WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021
HermistonHerald.com
EasternOregonMarketplace.com
StoryWalk stretches legs, minds
The new installation combines
exercise and literacy in Umatilla
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Outdoor picture books known as Sto-
ryWalks are popping up in Umatilla
County, as the latest tool in helping pro-
mote literacy.
The city of Umatilla celebrated its
new Storywalk on Wednesday, April
14. The new installation features metal
stands spaced about 200 feet apart along
the trail from Hash Park to Kiwanis Park
in McNary. Each stand contains a large
replica of a page from a children’s picture
book, allowing children to read the story
while going for a walk.
Sierra Dugan took her three children
to the grand opening, and her daughter
Elina Dugan, who will turn 4 in a cou-
ple of weeks, studied each plaque as they
walked.
“She loves outdoors and reading, so
this is perfect,” Sierra said.
She said she liked that the trail was
wide and paved, making it easy for tod-
dlers to walk on, or to push a stroller
along.
“I like that you kind of go at your own
pace,” she said.
Amber Dixon, who brought her 3-year-
old granddaughter along, watched as she
ran up to each page eagerly, waiting for
Dixon to read it to her. Dixon said she
lives nearby, and will probably visit the
new feature often.
The Umatilla Public Library plans to
swap out the book on a monthly basis.
This month’s book is “I Can Save the
Earth” by Alison Inches.
Bella Oloendorff , 10, said she had fun
reading the book as she walked, and plans
to come back every time there is a new
one.
“It taught you how to recycle and turn
off the lights,” she said, describing the
book.
At the end of the trail, participants
were given their choice of free books to
choose from, a snack and an opportunity
to make a bird feeder out of pine cones,
peanut butter and bird seed.
Since “I Can Save the Earth” was
shorter than some books that will be fea-
tured, the last few plaques featured infor-
mation about Citizen Science Month,
celebrated in April. Citizen science
refers to public participation in gather-
ing scientifi c data, such as precipitation
monitoring for the National Weather Ser-
vice. It encouraged people to download
the iNaturalist app, which helps people
from all over the world upload photos
See StoryWalk, Page A10
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Amelia Schell-Murphy, 3, points to a sign along the StoryWalk in McNary as Amber Dixon reads the sign to her on the fi rst day of Umatilla’s
StoryWalk on Wednesday, April 14, 2021.
“SHE LOVES
OUTDOORS AND
READING, SO
THIS IS
PERFECT. I LIKE
THAT YOU KIND
OF GO AT YOUR
OWN PACE.”
Sierra Dugan, who brought her three
children to the StoryWalk grand open-
ing last week
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Walkers stroll down the path between Hash Park and Kiwanis Park in McNary as they
participate in the StoryWalk on Friday, April 16, 2021.
Plans for natural gas plant
may have been abandoned
Perennial Power Holdings signals intent to stop work on power plant outside Hermiston
By JADE MCDOWELL AND BRYCE DOLE
STAFF WRITERS
Perennial Power Holdings
appears to have abandoned plans
to build a natural gas power plant
outside of Hermiston amid liti-
gation brought by environmental
groups.
Columbia Riverkeeper and
Friends of the Columbia Gorge
announced on Tuesday, April
15, that counsel for the Perennial
Wind Chaser Station, a proposed
415-megawatt natural gas power
plant, sent an email to the Mult-
nomah County Circuit Court on
April 5 stating the project would
cease construction and the com-
pany would ask the Energy Facil-
ity Siting Council to terminate the
project’s state-issued permit.
“We think this is a huge win
for the climate,” said Erin Say-
lor, an attorney for Columbia
INSIDE
Riverkeeper. “Hopefully it shows
developers that Oregon is just
not a place for new fossil fuel
infrastructure.”
The subject of the groups’ law-
suit, Perennial-WindChaser LLC,
is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Perennial Power Holdings. Peren-
nial Power Holdings did not return
an email requesting confi rmation
of its plans to cancel the project.
Court records available online
regarding the lawsuit do not
include the letter, but do note that
a hearing on the company’s motion
to dismiss the lawsuit was can-
celed on April 6 as “stipulated by
parties.”
The hearing on April 6 would
have presented oral arguments
before the Multnomah County Cir-
cuit Court, where Columbia River-
keeper and Friends of the Colum-
bia River Gorge had fi led a petition
for judicial review against Peren-
A3  Hermiston School District
opts out of state assessments for
2021
nial and the Oregon Department of
Energy.
The groups alleged the state
violated its own rules by allow-
ing Perennial to begin construc-
tion without obtaining proper per-
mits and approval from the Energy
Facility Siting Council, which is
staff ed by the ODOE.
Critics say the company rushed
to begin construction and meet the
regulatory deadline to avoid mil-
lions of dollars in emissions fees
under Gov. Kate Brown’s latest
executive order on climate change.
The plant would have emitted
more than 1 million tons of green-
house gases per year, according
to news reports, making it one of
the state’s largest sources of green-
house gas emissions. Only a few
other power plants produce more.
Saylor said that environmental
health in Eastern Oregon will ben-
efi t from Perennial’s decision to
A7  Hermiston Raceway prepares
to open for summer season
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File
A cleared section of dirt marks the beginnings of a roadway on the site of
the future Perennial Wind Chaser plant on Oct. 22, 2020.
abandon the project.
“Not just the greenhouse gas
emissions associated with it, but
all the particulate matter and other
associated pollutants that would
have come out of this facility are
not going to be happening now,”
she said.
And for Hermiston residents,
Saylor said the change means that
“their city won’t become a dump-
ing ground for these plants.”
The project was proposed in
an area outside of Hermiston near
where two gas power plants cur-
rently stand — the Hermiston
A8  Lovin’ Spadefuls Community
Garden adds raised beds as garden
celebrates its 10th anniversary
Power Project, owned and oper-
ated by Calpine Corporation, and
the Hermiston Generating Proj-
ect. Perennial Power Holdings
is a co-owner and operator of
Hermiston Generating Project, a
474-megawatt natural gas plant.
In an interview with the East
Oregonian in 2015, David Daley,
speaking as Perennial Power Hold-
ings’ senior vice president of oper-
ations and development, said
while the proposed Perennial Wind
Chaser project was a natural gas
See Power, Page A10
A8  Umatilla Museum plans to
reopen in May after a year of closure