WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2022
3
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
LOCAL NEWS
Bentz talks southern border,
veterans issues in Boardman
Representative holds
public town hall at
SAGE Center in
Boardman
BY ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Immigration, veterans’ ben-
efits and child care were a few
of the issues Rep. Cliff Bentz
fielded Wednesday morning,
Aug. 10, during his town hall
meeting in Boardman.
“This has been an exciting
year,” Bentz said, as he intro-
duced himself to attendees
and proceeded to answer their
questions.
The Republican from On-
tario also talked about water
purity and the environment,
too, and gave some indication
as to how things might change
in Washington with the up-
coming midterm election.
If Republicans are in the ma-
jority next year, he said, they
will be looking for ways to cut
back on government spending.
The Boardman Chamber
of Commerce promoted the
public meeting at the SAGE
Center at the Port of Morrow.
Around a dozen people were in
attendance, and several of them
spoke with the congressman
and interacted with him about
their particular concerns.
He said he has frequently
met with people during his
term. As a U.S. representative,
he said, he is often approached
by people who want something.
In addition to people who
simply wanted to express their
appreciation to Bentz for his
work at the town hall, there
were others who wished to
communicate their stories and
ask for government assistance.
Debbie Radie of Boardman
Foods asked Bentz about issues
related to employment.
Radie pointed out the nation
has a low unemployment rate,
but Boardman Foods is having
trouble finding enough employ-
ees. She said businesses such as
Boardman Foods could benefit
if the federal government acted
on child care, freeing parents
to work. Also, she said, busi-
nesses need foreign immigrants
for their labor, and government
could help with that, too.
Cameron Krebs agreed, say-
ing foreign workers are key to
our community and essential
to local business. He called for
Bentz to support their efforts,
Mackenzie Whaley/Hermiston Herald
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, brings laughter to the table Aug. 10,
2022, at the town hall meeting in Boardman.
possibly with a program to of-
fer amnesty.
Bentz responded to both, say-
ing the U.S. is facing an “orga-
nized wave” of immigration that
will need to be addressed before
it can expand a visa program.
He said he has visited the
U.S.-Mexico border, and he has
seen immigrants massing there.
Many of the people, he said, are
poor, uneducated and lacking
proficiency in English. Accord-
ing to Bentz, many people are
illegitimately claiming asylum.
And Bentz expressed the hope
the border could be fixed.
He answered another ques-
tion from Radie, regarding ni-
trate contamination, a major
issue of concern in the Board-
man area. Bentz acknowledged
there has been a long-standing
practice of imprecise nitrate
use, which has led to the con-
tamination of many private
wells. He said this problem
needs addressing, both in short
and long terms.
“It’ll be years before this
is solved,” he said, including
new solutions to nitrates. In
the meantime, homes in the
Boardman area need more
filters. This needs to be done
quickly, he said.
ANSWERING OUR VETERANS
A few people at the town hall
represented themselves as vet-
erans and said they have wor-
ries, too.
Chris Brown said he suffers
from health problems and has
had difficulty receiving care.
According to Brown, the sys-
tem of providing health care to
veterans is “not user friendly.”
Other vets agreed more needs
to be done.
Bentz expressed his appre-
ciation to the veterans for their
service.
Although he “lucked out” by
not being drafted into the mil-
itary during the Vietnam War,
he said, he is grateful to service
people.
He said he would look into
the issue and communicate fur-
ther with people who were hav-
ing troubles.
Health care, he said, is not
a problem limited to veterans,
but he said he would try to ad-
dress the issues former military
personnel expressed.
As for other issues brought
up at the town hall, Bentz said
he would try to address those
concerns, too.
And he said he would return
for additional town halls.
Echo city administrator warns of potential dangers
BY ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Echo City Administrator Da-
vid Slaght is alerting people of
the flooding dangers that remain.
Though much work has been
done to protect property around
his town from a rising Umatilla
River, he said many more actions
need to be taken.
“It’s a big pie, and we’re work-
ing our way through each piece,”
Slaght said.
This year, water crept toward
homes. One land owner, Slaght
said, lost between 7 to 10 acres in
the course of the last year. Rising
water has affected other land-
owners, too, he said.
“The damage was substantial,”
he said.
To combat rising water, ap-
proximately 560 feet of riprap
was placed on the shoreline. The
rocky material was put on the
west bank to protect homes, and
it remains, still.
The water retreated, but con-
cern remains, Slaght said. City
officials continue to meet with
government agencies, including
the Oregon Department of State
Lands, as well as elected officials,
such as Sens. Ron Wyden and
Jeff Merkley. Local landowners,
engineers, Echo City Council
members and other elected offi-
cials have met recently, too, to ad-
dress this issue.
He said the riprap is not a per-
manent fix and certainly is not
the final correction for the prob-
lem of rising water.
“They’re not going to let us
leave the rocks there without do-
ing something,” Slaght said.
He added the city is propos-
ing placing large logs under the
rocks. This will involve first pull-
ing the rocks up and placing the
logs at the riverbank and then
setting the rocks on top.
According to the city manager,
this setup will protect the habitat
of fish.
Other structures, Slaght
added, may be constructed on
the river to divert flows. These
structures, and the log setup, will
be the first stage. There are other
actions to be taken, though, he
said.
The second stage is to repair
properties, shoreline and river
area to the north of the bridge,
the eastside of the river and the
south end of Echo, according to
Slaght.
Long-term projects, also being
planned, include a levy system,
which Slaght said engineers have
recommended.
“I don’t know what that looks
like, or how that is going to
work,” Slaght said. “It’s very ex-
pensive, time-consuming and a
lot of work has to go into it to get
it done.”
He said that such work is nec-
essary, however, as “the ultimate
goal here is to protect homes,
protect the fish and keep the river
moving through.”
In addition to these goals, the
city manager said he wants to in-
crease plantings in the area of the
river. Different plant species, in-
cluding willows and cottonwood,
are planned.
“These are things that are in
the works,” Slaght said. “Noth-
ing is set in stone, other than
the fact that we are committed
as a community. The city of
Echo, the county and the state
are committed to protect Echo
and its properties.”
He said the city is interested,
too, in filler removal from the
river, though he said that such
work is time-consuming and
complicated.
“We’re trying to get some
short-term fixes done to protect
the town from the next high-wa-
ter event, if we have one,” he said.
Ultimately, he said, he wants
the city to get to the point where
people do not have to worry
about flooding.
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“There is potential for way-
worse damage, if we don’t do
this,” he said.
He added the buffer zone be-
tween the river and homes has
been removed. The floods of
previous years, and the high-wa-
ter event of this year, have “set
the stage” for something much
worse, according to the city man-
ager.
If nothing is done, he said,
people could be hurt and further
property could be lost.
BRIEFS
Boardman seeks city
council candidates
Boardman is looking to fill two
vacancies on its city council.
The Boardman Clerk’s Office
announced the city needs to fill
the seat Katy Norton left when
she resigned July 12 due to mov-
ing away from the area. And Paul
Beagle’s resignation July 15 for
personal issues created the sec-
ond opening on the council. The
city council accepted both resig-
nations at its Aug. 2 meeting.
Both terms expire Dec. 31,
2024. The Boardman City Coun-
cil is seeking letters of interest
from individuals willing to be
considered for appointment to fill
the vacancies. Anyone interested
must have resided in the city of
Boardman during the 12 months
immediately preceding the ap-
pointment and be a registered
voter, according to the announce-
ment from the Boardman Clerk’s
Office.
Letters of interest must be re-
ceived no later than 5 p.m.
Aug. 24 to City Manager Karen
Pettigrew at Boardman City Hall
for consideration. The city coun-
cil will interview the candidates,
and appoint the new councilors at
the Sept. 6 council meeting.
In a related matter, the filing
deadline for residents in Board-
man seeking office in the Novem-
ber election is 5 p.m. Aug. 30.
The clerk’s office reported the
city council has three positions
open in the election with terms
ending Dec. 31, 2026. Candidates
must be at least 18 years old, re-
side within the city limits and
have lived within the city limits 12
months immediately preceding
election day and be a registered
voter no less than 20 days imme-
diately preceding the election.
Residents who wish to file
for city council can obtain filing
packets Monday through Friday,
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Boardman
City Hall.
For more information on local
filing, call the clerk’s office at 541-
481-9252 or visit sos.oregon.gov/
voting-elections.
— Hermiston Herald