HERMISTON
HERALD
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
HermistonHerald.com
EasternOregonMarketplace.com
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GO! EASTERN OREGON
AUG. 17-24, 2022
fair
wage
“Pioneer Day
is an event that
allows us to look
toward the past
to appreciate the
present.”
WWW.GOEASTERNOREGON.COM
Celebrate
Cove
Cherry Fair
Pioneer
Day
PAGE 3
Taste
Melon
Fest
HERITAGE
STATION
MUSEUM’S
ANNUAL
EVENT
RETURNS
PAGE 8
PAGE 7
Listen
Jazz
Trio
Volunteers work for the love of
the Umatilla County Fair
PAGE 4
Left: Learn something new at
Heritage Station Museum’s
Pioneer Day, Aug. 20.
Shannon Gruenhagen
Contributed Photo
Arts & Events in
Eastern Oregon
Popular magazine spotlights
the best in local entertainment.
LIGHTER SIDE
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
Lori Browning, fair volunteer and Lions Club member, hands a meal to a fairgoer Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, at the Umatilla County Fair, Hermiston.
BY ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Three Minutes With ... Lori Davis. A2
LOCAL NEWS
The Umatilla County Fair survives because of its
volunteers, according to fair administration. And
the volunteers state they are happy to do the work.
“This fair could not happen without them,”
Fair Manager Angie McNalley said.
She said more than 400 people volunteer at
the fair. These people are not just giving free
work during fair week; they are performing tasks
throughout the year and do a variety of labor.
Some are board managers and sales committee
members. Others help out with animals in barns.
McNalley said she has a small staff of five em-
ployees in the fair office. They work hard, she
said. Other paid workers, including the employ-
ees at vendor booths, similarly put forth great
effort. Still, McNalley said, the volunteers are es-
sential and dedicated.
She said she sees them throughout the year,
working and anticipating this event, which this
year takes place Wednesday, Aug. 10, through
Saturday, Aug. 13. These volunteers are of all
ages, she said. They have varied backgrounds
and skills. What unites them, however, is their
passion, she said. She added she is frequently
taken aback by their devotion.
“It’s hard for me to take a compliment,” Mc-
Nalley said of her own work. “I’m paid to do it.”
The volunteers, on the other hand, are not
paid, leading the fair manager to state that she
“honestly doesn’t know” if she would be doing
what they do if she were in their shoes.
“They love this fair,” McNalley said.
VOLUNTEERS SPEAK THEIR MIND
Umatilla County Fair Board Director Kelly
Burke agreed with McNalley about the devotion
of volunteers and the fair’s need for them.
“We wouldn’t be able to do what we do (if not
for them),” he said.
See Fair / A12
EPA to Oregon: Take action against nitrate polluters
Rep. Bentz holds town hall in Boardman. A3
COMMUNITY
Showcasing the last days of the 2022 Umatilla
County Fair. A7
BUSINESS & AG
Hermiston getting new tattoo business. A8
BY ANTONIO SIERRA
Oregon Public Broadcasting
The U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency is urging state officials
to take more action on nitrate pol-
lution in Eastern Oregon’s Lower
Umatilla Basin.
A July 29 letter from the EPA to
the Oregon Health Authority, the
Oregon Department of Environ-
mental Quality and the Oregon De-
partment of Agriculture praised the
state for some of the measures it’s
taken to provide clean water to res-
idents in Morrow County, but said
that’s not enough.
“EPA expects the state to hold
nitrate sources accountable by re-
quiring them to assume some of the
responsibilities set forth above and,
more importantly, to change their
practices to reduce the amount of
nitrate they discharge to groundwa-
ter,” wrote Edward Kowalski, direc-
tor of EPA Region 10’s enforcement
and compliance division.
Nitrates are a chemical commonly
found in fertilizer. In excess amounts,
Monica Samayoa/Oregon Public Broadcasting
This April 15, 2022, photo shows Silvia Hernandez’s private well in the outskirts
of Boardman. The Environmental Protection Agency lauded the state’s efforts
to deliver clean drinking water to Morrow County residents affected by nitrate
pollution but wanted more action to address the issue at its source.
they can affect the health of people’s
lungs, thyroid and bladder.
High nitrate levels in Morrow
OUTSKIRTS
County and western Umatilla
County’s groundwater supply has
been on the state’s radar for more
than 30 years, but a recent round of
water testing of private wells in the
Boardman area found many resi-
dents had unsafe levels of nitrates in
their drinking water.
Kowalski highlighted a Lower
Umatilla Basin work plan com-
pleted by the three agencies, the
plan including initiatives for ni-
trate contamination education, free
drinking water tests and alternative
water sources where necessary. He
also gave plaudits to the agencies’
plans to seek funding for these ini-
tiatives at the Oregon Legislature
Emergency Board’s September
meeting and the long session in
2023.
But Kowlaski wrote the state
could no longer rely on voluntary
practices and had to address the
source of nitrates. According to
a 1997 study by the state Depart-
ment of Environmental Quality,
agricultural and industrial opera-
tions were among the top sources
of the chemical.
See EPA / A12
UMATILLA COUNTY
Irrigon Marina looks to make
improvements. A9
Veteran prosecutors rejoin
district attorney’s office. A14
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