A tip of the hat to the prospective of a Pendleton Round-Up in 2021.

During a Tuesday, May 11, press conference Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she “would fully expect” for the Pendleton Round-Up to go forward as planned this year, with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention like mask wearing in place.

“There may be some CDC guidelines around masking that we will want to align with as we’re meeting Oregon’s needs, but I would fully expect that we will be able to Let’er Buck, so to speak, in September,” she said.

That should be music to everyone’s ears. After a year without Round-Up, the first time Round-Up had been canceled since World War II, having an event that generates about $65 million for the local economy will be good for all.

Of course, in order for us to get to that stage, 70% of Oregonians over the age of 16 need to receive at least their first dose of the vaccine, according to Brown. Once that happens, capacity limits on restaurants, bars, stores, gyms and venues for athletics and entertainment, as well as limits on people who can gather for events, such as Round-Up, and festivals, would be lifted.

Our actions now will determine what events, such as the Pendleton Round-Up and Umatilla County Fair, will look like later this year.

A tip of the hat to the everyone involved in the completion of the East Project irrigation system, which was dedicated before a crowd of about two dozen along the Columbia River on Tuesday, May 11.

The more than $50 million project aims to provide farmers with river water in lieu of pumping from the ground in an effort to recharge depleted aquifers and allow farmers to grow higher value crops.

“It wouldn’t be possible unless there was a lot of people supporting it, and then the benefits are going to be broad,” said Carl St. Hilaire, president of JSH Farms in Hermiston. “Just as the support was broad, the benefits will be broad in terms of economic benefits for the entire community.”

The East Project, which is owned and operated by the East Improvement District, joins the $31 million West Project, completed by the Columbia Improvement District in May 2020. A third project, previously known as the Central Project and now called the Ordnance Water Supply and Aquifer Restoration Project, will run through the former Umatilla Chemical Depot. In addition to the pumps and main lines for those projects, farmers have also spent an additional $39 million on supply lines, distribution lines, water rights management and administrative costs to utilize the water being pumped from the river.

With water becoming an all-too scarce resource, it’s gratifying to see so many private landowners and agencies work together to ensure the success of this project and help prepare future generations for success.