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THURSDAYApril 2, 2009

Huskies baseball gets skunkedPage B1

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By LuAnn MorganContributing writer

The City of Othello has re-ceived $50,000 from the county commissioners toward the Main Street reconstruction project.

The money comes from the economic development capital improvement fund, which is built with money from the state sales tax reimbursement.

Commissioner Jeff Stevens said the fund was originally set up in 1998.

“But it took some time to build up the fund,” he said. “This is the program that paid to bring fi ber to the area.”

The city’s award is the fi fth project the fund has helped. The fi ber was fourth.

Other projects were the Ritz-ville PDA, enlarging a water line in Lind and a property improve-ment for the Port of Othello.

However, the Port’s money is yet to be spent. The commissioners have used that as guidelines for the city’s and future assignments.

“As we refi ne the process, we want to make sure the money is not tied up for eternity,” Stevens said. “It would be a shame if something came along and we weren’t able to do it when the money is sitting there.”

According to the letter from the commissioners to the city, which is dated March 24, “if the project has not been started by March 24, 2010, the City must seek a formal extension of the Photo by Bob Kirkpatrick

The city will soon begin reconstructing Main Street thanks to a $50,000 grant from the state’s economic catipal improvement fund.

Street project receives grant

Fairgrounds readied for summerBy LuAnn MorganContributing writer

People who have items stored at the fairgrounds will need to remove them this weekend.

Roy Dodge, Adams County Fair Association president, told the county commissioners at their meeting last week he will notify those who rent space in the buildings during the winter they need to pick up their motor homes, fi fth wheels, boats, campers, etc.

“The storages run out the fi rst of April,” Dodge said. “We need to get the vehicles moved.”

The vehicles will be moved out of the buildings and onto the grounds Friday. The gate will be un-locked Saturday morning to give people the op-portunity to pick them up.

Winter storage is not the only thing rented at the fairgrounds.

During last month’s Sandhill Crane Festival, the fairgrounds played host to a number of campers here for the event.

And the board has already received calls to rent the buildings for weddings and other special occasions.

However, the county has run into an issue with getting the water system hooked up.

“It has to do with the Department of Ecology,” said commissioner Jeff Stevens. “It’s all about how long it will sit on somebody’s desk.”

Once Ecology inspects the system, the build-ings and campground will be available for sum-mer rental. They plan to start that on June 1.

Dodge said he’s also been approached by those

By Bob KirkpatrickStaff writer

The Housing Authority of Othello has been awarded $129,068 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Public Housing Capitol Fund Program.

The funding is part of a $40 mil-lion shot in the arm Washington state will receive from the $3 bil-lion American Economic Recov-ery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

“The money is part of the stim-ulus package, which has to be used for capital improvements on existing structures,” Alan Hanks, executive director of the Othello Housing Authority, said. “We manage 262 units, 55 of which are designated as public housing, and we plan to use the funding to

re-roof 40 units and replace fur-naces and ac’s in 11 units.”

Hanks said he was aware OHA was in line for the money, he just didn’t know the amount.

“I’m certainly pleased to receive the funding,” he said. “It’ll help employ some folks and help pay for some needed improvements.”

It’s uncertain at this time how many people Hanks may hire to make the repairs, but Hanks said he hopes to be able try to put some locals to work.

“We try to hire locally when pos-sible,” he said. “But we are also obli-gated to put this project out to bid.”

A start date for the capital im-provement project has to be set.

Hanks said the Othello Hous-ing Authority is, however, begin-ning the prep work for its 102-bed

seasonal farm workers housing project. He expects to be receiv-ing bids in the coming weeks.

Funding from the state’s stim-ulus package will be distributed to the various state Housing Au-thorities in eastern Washington as follows:HA of Asotin County .....$325,435HA of Grant County .......$453,967HA City of Kennewick ...$375,771HA of Kittitas County .... $248,016HA City of Othello .......... $129,068HA City of Pasco and Franklin County ......$632,049HA of Sunnyside ..............$259,402HA City of Yakima ..........$328,613HA City of Spokane ........ $235,149

For a complete list of Washing-ton state Housing Authorities re-ceiving funding visit www.hud.gov/recovery/phdfund.cfm.

Improvements on tap

File photo

Association only needs to pay for insurance during fair time.

By Bob KirkpatrickStaff writer

David Ayala, manager of Con-ner Lee Vineyard in Othello, has successfully completed a 19-week course in bilingual vi-ticulture education. He is one of 24 recent grads who received a certifi cate of completion Friday, March 27.

“I feel very happy to graduate,” Ayala said. “I want to repeat the course again. Once isn’t enough.”

The bilingual viticulture education program is specifi -cally designed to increase the understanding of basic science for procedures and operations leading to improved personnel

management and instruction to others. The aim is to increase confi dence and pleasure in dai-ly job related activities, and to obtain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the fi nancial matters involved in viticulture decision making processes.

“The role of Latinos in agricul-ture has changed a lot over the past few years,” Leo Garcia, lead faculty for the Wenatchee Valley College Ag department’s tree fruit and viticulture program and founder of the Hispanic or-chard education program, said. “Workers who are staying in the area year-round are assuming leadership roles as crew bosses

Bilingual viticulture education program bene� ts local vineyard

Photo by Bob Kirkpatrick

David Ayala describes the three stages of the pruning process.

The Adams County Commu-nity Network will be hosting a “Community Gang Awareness” town hall meeting Thursday, April 2, at 6 p.m. in the Othello Christian Church’s fellowship hall, 915 East Rainier Avenue.

Two nationally recognized gang experts, detectives Do-menic Cappelluti and Michael Reed from the Waukeen (Illi-nois) Police Department, will lead a community discussion

on gang cultures, recruitment of gang members, what attracts kids to join gangs, warning signs that your child may be involved in a gang or about to become involved in gang activ-ity and intervention strategies parents may use in keeping their children safe from being involved in gangs.

Offi cers from the Othello Po-lice Department will also be present to answer questions re-

lated to local gang issues.Funding for this event was

made possible through grants received from the Washington State Family Policy Council and the Washington State Univer-sity’s Horizon Program.

All members of the communi-ty are encouraged to attend this important community discus-sion. For more information, con-tact Bob Richey with the OPD at (509) 331-2742.

Town hall meeting on gang awareness

C o m m u n i t yThe Othello Outlook – Thursday, April 2, 2009 – A5

Everyone seems to be in agree-ment … the economy is making it difficult for family budgets.

This past weekend, I talked to my daughter about that very subject. She is an accountant, so money matters are something she understands.

She said several people have been let go at her workplace. So far, though, her department hasn’t been affected.

As a single mother, that’s good news for her.

Here in Othello, we have been feeling some of the impact of the current recession. Fortunately, our standard of living hasn’t decreased to the point it has in other parts of the country.

Some of that has to do with the fact that we are an agricultural com-munity and food is a necessity.

However, we still have had to tighten our belts a little and one way we can do that is in our food budget. That means we need recipes that lower the amount we spend at the grocery checkout.

There are a variety of meals that can do just that. Stews, soups, pasta dishes … all can stretch the food dollar. They are

also nutritious and tasty.One of my favorite cookbooks is

“The Old-Fashioned Cookbook” by Jan McBride Carlton. It is one that used to belong to my aunt Doro-thea Foulkes, who lived in Othello and had lots of friends here.

She was a wonderful cook and she knew how to get the most out of her food budget. For many years, she cooked for a crew of ranch hands out on the dryland wheat farm in the Michigan Prairie area east of Othello.

This book, copyright 1975, combines recipes with a touch of history by explaining where some of the recipes came from and the terms used.

Here’s one recipe that will provide a hearty meal for six.

Farmhouse stew1 pound ground beef1 teaspoon butter1 tablespoon flour2-1/2 teaspoons salt1/8 teaspoon pepper8 cups finely shredded cabbage

(a 1-1/2 pound head)1 cup chopped onion1 cup chopped green pepper1 (8-1/4 ounce) can tomatoes,

undrained

In 12-inch skillet, sauté beef in butter until crumbly, stirring often. Mix in flour, salt and pepper. Blend in remaining in-gredients and heat thoroughly. Cover and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes or until cabbage is very tender, stirring occasionally.

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Viticulture: ‘We used to prune 500 to 600 plants a day, but now we prune 1,000 to 2,000 a day’continued from page A1

LuAnn Morgan

Streets: ‘The county has graciously consented to help get this started’continued from page A1

Table Scraps: Saving $

Fairgrounds: ‘It allows owners to gift or sell homes to farm workers’continued from page A1

funding allocation from the County.”

The letter goes on to explain that a new project applica-tion would need to be submit-ted if the project doesn’t move forward due to a substantial change in the scope.

Ehman Sheldon, Othello city administrator, expects the proj-ect will indeed begin soon.

“We’ve also applied for state stimulus money,” Sheldon said. “If we get that, we will start this summer.”

Otherwise, he said, the project will begin by next summer and will be done in three phases over three years — from the railroad tracks west of town to First Avenue, from First to Sev-

enth Avenue and from Seventh west to finish the roadway.

“We plan to limit the impact to businesses as best we can,” Sheldon said. “We will create diversionary routes to access those businesses that are affect-ed by the construction.”

The city will meet with each business as the construction reaches them to ask how the city can best route traffic for them.

Sheldon said one of Mayor Shannon McKay’s goals has been to fix Main Street. The proj-ect will also reconstruct utilities, including water and sewer lines and the storm water system.

Currently, the project is in the planning and engineering stages. The final estimated cost

is expected to be $6 million. “Main Street is in severe need

of reconstruction,” he said. “If we don’t fix it soon, we will lose the foundation underneath.”

That is why Sheldon appreci-ates the money from the com-missioners.

“The county has graciously consented to help get this proj-ect started,” he said. “It’s time we did this.”

Stevens said the fund is de-signed to help create jobs in the county. A review committee looks at the project applications and makes a recommendation to the commissioners, who have the final decision.

“We look at it for worthiness, too,” Stevens said.

who would like to plant flowers. That will have to wait, though.

“If we re-do the parking lot, lots of pipes, sprinklers and irrigation equipment will be coming up,” Dodge said. “We won’t have water for up to three weeks.”

Prior to opening the grounds for rental, the rates will be scrutinized.

“We will take a look at our grounds rental rates,” said commissioner Roger Hartwig. “Some (current rates) don’t cov-er our costs.”

The commissioners will also be looking at insurance cover-age. Now that the grounds are under the county’s umbrella, the fair association has asked if

they need only provide liability insurance for September.

It would save the association money, but they were concerned about coverage during other events that take place throughout the year, such as 4-H, the John Wayne Trail Riders and others.

“The rest of the activities fall under the county,” commis-sioner Rudy Plager said. “The county will provide the insur-ance for those other events.”

In other businessThe commissioners signed off

on a short plat for the Dorsing planned residential develop-ment off Byers Road.

The plan is to separate three ex-isting homes off the farm for long-

term employees to purchase.County planner Loren Wiltse

told the commissioners all con-ditions have been met and all entities have given their sig-natures, including the fire and health departments.

“This allows the owner to gift or sell the homes to the farm workers,” he said.

Wiltse said the one stipula-tion is if any home changes (or moves), it will have to move into a binding site.

Stevens was pleased with the work done toward the process by the landowners.

“They’ve actually gone above and beyond,” Stevens said. “They’ve done more than they had to.”

and supervisors.”Garcia said the bilingual vi-

ticulture education program course Ayala recently finished gives non-English speaking em-ployees an edge and explains why certain methods are pre-ferred, instead of just telling how it’s done, which he said, provides a better understand-ing of the bigger picture of the wine industry.

Some of the topics covered in-clude the history of viticulture in Washington, plant physiology, vineyard establishment, soils, irrigation, personnel manage-ment, basic vineyard economics and canopy management.

The program, Ayala said, has motivated him to motivate work-ers, which in turns motivates the owners of the vineyard to try and produce a better product.

“It was important for me to take the course because it helps me communicate with people I supervise and with the boss and that helps us make a higher quality crop.”

He also learned a couple of dif-ferent pruning methods that have helped increase productivity.

“We used to only prune 500 to 600 plants a day,” he said. “Now, we prune 1,000 to 1,200 per day.”

Producing a high quality product can still be a bit tricky, if Mother Nature has her say.

“The weather can be a little challenging, sometimes,” Ayala said. “On one part of the vine-yard, it will be 30 degrees and

50 degrees in other places.”Ayala said he was so inspired

by the program, he’d like to take his crews to some of their other vineyards in the Tri-Cities, Wal-la Walla, Spokane and Seattle to “educate Mexican people who don’t understand the impor-tance of wine rankings.”

“Mexicans like tequila,” he said. “They don’t know much about marketing wine.”

This summer, Ayala is going to plant a piece of his property and work it with family members to produce their own wine. He also plans to travel a bit to wineries in other regions to glean insight for his grape-growing process.

“I plan to go to Italy and South Africa in the near future,” Ayala said.

Conner Lee Vineyard was planted 100 percent un-grafted vinifera in 1982 and is complete-ly organic.

The vineyard, Ayala said, sells grapes to over 40 wineries that produce a variety of Chardon-nays and Merlots, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc and Syrah. Some of the Wash-ington state wineries that pur-chase grapes from Connor Lee Vineyards include Arbor Crest, Buty, Lost River and Columbia Winery in Woodinville.

Friends, family and employ-ers are invited to celebrate with the largest graduating class to date, to the sounds of Mariachi music. Pastries and punch will also be served. Featured speak-ers include representatives of the

Washington Wine Grape Grow-ers Association. Awards will be presented to graduates for out-standing achievement, most im-proved and perfect attendance.

The bilingual agriculture education program is hosted by the Yakima Valley Commu-nity College at the Grandview Campus and presented by the Wenatchee Valley College. In-structors are Garcia and Fran-

cisco Sarmiento. The classes are open to all La-

tino employees in the field of viticulture, but students must commit to being in the class ev-ery Friday between November and April, including field trips.

For more information on the bilingual agriculture education program, contact Garcia at (509) 860-2267 or Sarmiento at (509) 860-2283.

Photo by Bob Kirkpatrick

Pruners at the vineyard wear scarves to protect their faces from fibers in the vines .