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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2016)
REGION Tuesday, June 21, 2016 East Oregonian Page 3A Walden shares fed frustrations with Rotary Club ments on the range, such as the High Desert Partnership in Harney County. Walden visited with the The occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Pendleton Rotary Club on Refuge earlier this year Monday to discuss fallout from the occupa- saw frustrations tion, as well as his boil over between efforts to revamp ranchers and the wildire funding federal govern- and oppose a ment, most notably national monument the Bureau of proposed at the Land Management Owyhee Canyon- and U.S. Forest lands. Service. Part of the While those issue with federal issues continue land management, to linger, Walden Walden said, has Congressman Greg Walden, R-Oregon, said he’s been the Equal Access to encouraging the Secretary Justice Act, which compen- of the Interior to draw more sates the attorney fees for attention to collaboratives organizations that sue the that have made improve- government if they can By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian prove their suit is justiied. Responding to a question from the audience, Walden said the law has become like an ATM for litigious groups and has slowed down prog- ress toward making the land resilient to ires. “Everything gets appealed, everything gets litigated and nothing gets done,” Walden said. Enter into this setting the proposal for national monu- ment at the Owyhee Canyon- lands, which would include 2.5 million acres — twice the size of Grand Canyon National Park in the south- west. Walden said residents are overwhelmingly opposed to the idea, and worried about additional restrictions on ranching. “There are already seven layers of management over these areas in Eastern Oregon,” he said. “I don’t see how an eighth is going to help anything, unless your goal is to get cattle off the range.” In other news, Walden said the House has passed his wildire funding bill for the fourth time in as many years. The Resilient Federal Forests Act would allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to transfer disaster funding to the Forest Service and BLM when they have exhausted their ireighting budgets, rather than borrow the money from other programs. The bill would also expedite forest thinning projects up to 15,000 acres if they are planned by collabo- rative groups. The Senate has yet to take up the bill, but Walden said he’s hoping the fourth time will be the charm. Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, along with Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Maria Cantwell, D-Washington and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, recently released their own draft legislation that targets “ire-borrowing” and accel- erating forest restoration. Differences between the two bills could be sorted out in a conference committee later this legislative session. During Q-and-A, Walden addressed topics ranging from the looming Republican National Convention to the threat posed by domestic terrorism in the wake of a shooting at an Orlando night- club. Walden said domestic terrorism — especially “lone wolf” attackers — are a serious threat, but voiced reservations about legislation that would have restricted gun sales to anyone on the no-ly or terrorist watch list. The Senate rejected further gun curbs on Monday. “That due process is missing,” he said. Earlier in the day, Walden visited Echo for a town hall before moving on to meet with veterans leaders in La Grande and a second town hall in Baker City. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0825. Jury duty scam making local rounds EO ile photo Contestants get ready for the start of a heat during a past Children’s Museum of Eastern Oregon Wiener Dog Race. This year’s event, which kicks off Wiener Weekend, is Friday, June 24. ‘Wiener Weekend’ grows in 10th year By TAMMY MALGESINI East Oregonian Wiener Weekend is about to get longer. Heidi Anderson, executive director of the Children’s Museum of Eastern Oregon, calls the newly modiied event an “ultimate family weekend in Pend- leton.” “It will help draw visitors from out of the area,” she said. “It brings those people to our businesses and downtown, creating an atmosphere that really helps to strengthen our downtown.” The children’s museum will host its 10th annual Wiener Dog Race. The event is Friday, with races starting at 6 p.m. in the 400 block of Main Street, Pendleton. However, be sure to head downtown early for kid’s games, a silent auction, food, drinks and a beer garden, which begin at 4 p.m. The entry fee for dachshunds entering Dogtona 400 is $20 for those pre-registered by Thursday. The fee increases to $25 on race day. Entry forms are available at www.cmeo.org or by calling 541-276-1066. Prize packages will be awarded to the top three inishers, including entry into the prestigious Northwest Champi- onship Wiener Dog Race. The event features dogs, dogs and more dogs. The Pendleton Farmers’ Market will host a gourmet hot dog contest at 5:15 p.m. Also, bring a hearty appetite for the hot dog eating contest at 5:45 p.m. “There will be the gourmet hot dog contest, then the hot dog eating contest and then the wiener dog race — how many dog references can you get with that?” Anderson said with a laugh. The Weiner Weekend continues Saturday with a Chalk Art Festival. People are invited to stake out a spot on the sidewalk from 8-9 a.m. at Riverfront Plaza, Southwest Court Avenue and Fourth Street (near the heron sculpture). Chalk will be provided, and partici- pants will have until 2 p.m. to create something beautiful, strange, wacky or whimsical — all creative expression is welcome. There’s no admission charge and prizes will be awarded at 2 p.m. The Color My Pendleton color run is Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at Roy Raley Park, 1205 S.W. Court Ave. Registration fees are $30 for adults, $18 for ages 12 and under or $70 for a family of up to four people. Money raised bene- its the Pendleton Swim Association and Pendleton High School cross country team. For registration information, visit www.travelpendleton.com. Also, a children’s version — Kid’s Color My Pendleton — starts prior to the main run. Open to kids 10 and under, the fee, which includes park activities, is $10. Proceeds go to the children’s museum. “The kiddos will have an opportunity to do the color run activity,” Anderson said. “They will do the whole color thing and then a bounce house will be available.” Visitors are encouraged to stop by the children’s museum — the irst 30 out of town guests will receive free passes to the Pendleton Aquatics Center. And, the Wiener Weekend closes out with a free family-friendly movie. Movies in the Park begins at dusk at Community Park East, 1000 S.W. 37th St. Concessions will be available for purchase. PENDLETON — A jury duty scam is circulating throughout Umatilla County. Trial court administrator Roy Blaine warns the fraud is aimed at taking your money. Blaine in a written statement Monday reported a swindler has called people around Umatilla County and claims to be a Umatilla County sheriff’s deputy warning whoever answers there is a warrant for their arrest for failing to report for jury duty. The caller asked people for credit card information or to have them purchase a cash card and give them the number from it. The calls are not coming from the Umatilla County Circuit Court or the sheriff’s ofice, Blaine said, and the court “will never require you to give your personal information over the phone or by email for jury service.” Circuit court does not call jurors who have missed jury duty and ask for personal information, such as bank account information, credit card numbers, or Social Security numbers. Circuit court also does not issue subpoenas by email or call you to advise of a warrant. If you receive an email or text message, do not click on any links or open any attach- ments, but contact local law enforcement to report it. Do not give the scammers any of your personal infor- mation, Blaine advised, and if possible get the caller’s name and number, then report the scam to your local circuit court jury coordinator at 541-278-0341, extension 248. “The court will report the incident to law enforce- ment,” Blaine reported. “You may want to ile your own report, too.” If you have given out personal information, monitor your account state- ments and credit reports. If you spot unauthorized charges, report the theft to local law enforcement and the Federal Trade Commis- sion at 877-438-4338 or www.consumer.gov/idtheft. You also can contact a credit bureau to request that it place a fraud alert on your credit history. Board defers murderer’s release M I LT O N - F R E E - WATER — Jon Quintin Johnston will stay in prison for at least two more years. According to an email from Rosemary Brewer, an attorney representing the victims’ family, the Oregon Board of Parole and Post- Prison Supervision decided to defer the convicted murderer’s parole for another two years because “the inmate is suffering from a present severe emotional disturbance that constitutes a danger to the health or safety of the community.” Johnston murdered George and Charmaine Meyers of Brownsville in 1990 on Lincton Mountain Road east of Weston and was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison, but a 2010 Oregon Supreme Court ruling allowed inmates like Johnston to apply for parole earlier. The parole board previ- ously issued a two year deferral in 2014. During both hearings, the Meyers’ family and Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus spoke against Johnston’s release. Johnston will be eligible for release again in 2018. See Us for Hearing Tests Every Monday and Tuesday. Defendants rise to four in kidnapping case By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Four people now are in the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton, in connection to an April kidnapping case. Pendleton police on Thursday arrested Stephanie Carr, 22, and Brad Anthony McDonald, 35, both of Pendleton, on warrants for second-degree kidnapping. The charge is a class B felony in Oregon and carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, 10 months. Court records show the arrests came after a Umatilla County grand jury indicted the pair on June 8, leading to the warrant. The grand jury that same day indicted a third defendant in the case, Daniel Joseph Avila, 28 of Irrigon, also for second-degree kidnapping and for attempted third-degree assault and menacing. He has been in the county jail on other charges since May 29. The three pleaded not guilty to the charges Friday and join Sarah Marie Carr, 24, as co-defendants. She has been in the jail since June 12 on charges of menacing, second-degree kidnapping, second- and Friday, June 24th Friday, June 24th to noon & 5:00-6:00pm 10:30 5:00-6:00pm 10:30 to noon & Saturday, June 25th une 24th Saturday, June 25th third-degree assault and irst- and second-degree use of a stun gun. She also has pleaded not guilty. Pendleton police on April 24 received a 9-1-1 report from a man who claimed Sarah Carr was going to pay him the money she owed. Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts said she took the victim into a outside Pendleton and shot him with a stun gun, then left him. Another man in the vehicle may have brandished a small baseball bat, though police never recovered one, and another man was the driver. Friday, June 24th Friday, June 24th to to noon & & 5:00-6:00pm 10:30 noon 5:00-6:00pm 10:30 June 25th Saturday, June 25th Saturday, 10:30 to to noon 10:30 noon June 27th Monday, June 27th Monday, & & 5:00-6:00pm 10:30-noon 5:00-6:00pm 10:30-noon Jazz, Jazz, Ballet, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop, Creative Creative Movement, Movement, Lyrical, Lyrical, Contemporary, Contemporary, Tap Tap National National Teams Teams 435 435 SE SE 1st 1st & & 541-377-0411 541-377-0411 Jrjamdance.com Jrjamdance.com Court records show the grand jury heard testimony from two Pendleton police corporals, Mark Golter and Tyler Reddington, as well as the victim in the case. 29 SW Dorion, Pendleton, OR Call 541-276-3155 for appointment