WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
HASS
Continued from Page 1A
deeply involved in the push
for increased education
funding.
Hass on Monday tweeted
out a campaign ad in which
he touts his work on the pas-
sage of the Student Success
Act, a historic school funding
package he championed.
Hass said it was the tough-
INTERNET
Continued from Page 1A
and businesses on
Washington and Jefferson
GUNS
Continued from Page 1A
When investigators
discussed semi-automatic
fi rearms with Lee, he said
he didn’t own or have any
reason to own a semi-auto-
matic gun, and he said they
weren’t reliable or methodi-
cal when shooting, accord-
ing to McKaig. However,
Deva Williams, an associate
whom Lee had hired to drive
him around due to having
a suspended license, told
McKaig that he recalled Lee
saying he would like to have
a Glock.
At the hearing, McKaig
said that during the investi-
gation, Deva Williams also
told police that he and Lee
tested a Glock to see how
loud it was by shooting hay
near Lee’s shop, and the
casings of those bullets were
later found in Lee’s pickup
truck by police.
Other people possibly
involved with Lee’s al-
leged possession of a Glock
CHURCH
Continued from Page 1A
machinery),” Haddock said.
After it was moved, the
wooden building, originally
constructed in 1900, contin-
ued serving the La Grande
congregation for the next
four decades until it was
torn down in 1952. Today
La Grande First Christian
Church is located at 901
Penn Ave. in a still striking
brick building constructed in
the 1950s.
Unfortunately, no rem-
nants of its original building
remain, Haddock said. Still,
the church continues to have
a presence at Washington
Avenue and Depot Street for
this is where La Grande’s
U.S. Post Offi ce is. Fittingly,
La Grande First Christian
Church has a post offi ce box
there.
The public will have a
chance to learn more about
First Christian Church’s
1913 move and many other
chapters of its history Sun-
day when it celebrates its
130th anniversary with an
open house. Numerous items
from the church’s archives
will be displayed, includ-
ing scrapbooks, photos and
bulletins. A DVD about the
construction of the education
wing and sanctuary in the
1950s will also be available
to view.
This marks the church’s
130th year for it was
formally organized in 1889,
Haddock said. The First
Christian Church’s congre-
gation did not have its own
building the fi rst 11 years
while it met at a variety of
sites including the old Mc-
Whirter Building in down-
town La Grande.
The church was then light
years from where it would
be in the 1950s when its cur-
rent structure was built on
Penn Avenue. Its education
and fellowship hall were fi rst
constructed in 1950-51, and
the new church sanctuary
adjoining the education wing
was built in 1954, according
to a booklet on the church’s
history written by Haddock
with help from Carolynn
Vaughan, the church’s
longtime administrative
THE OBSERVER — 5A
LOCAL
est thing he’s done in his
career.
Hass said if elected, he
would make sure the $1
billion per year is used
properly.
“The very fi rst audit will
be to ensure the student suc-
cess function, the money and
the fund, is all distributed
as the legislature intended;
to teachers and classrooms,”
he said.
Hass started in the
House in 2001 before being
appointed to the Senate in
2007. He has largely focused
on tax reform and education
policy.
When asked who will take
on that work when he leaves,
Hass said there are several
lawmakers who could fi ll
that role after he leaves.
Hass previously worked as
a TV journalist for 20 years.
avenues gained access about six
months ago. In July, fi ber optic
internet became available to
businesses on Cove Avenue from
Cherry Street to Interstate 84.
There, he said, he learned
the importance of the audit
function. Under his leader-
ship, that would be a focus of
the offi ce, he said.
“I see audits as a way to
realign state agencies’ intent
from what they’re doing,” he
said.
Hass is the second Demo-
crat to announce his candi-
dacy in what is shaping up
to be a formidable primary.
Crews also said EONI will
begin installing fi ber optic cable in
the City of Cove for many house-
holds and businesses in about
four months. The work should be
fi nished by March of 2020. Once
complete, many Cove residents
will have access to fi ber optic
internet.
One of the advantages of
are Jamie Griffi n, Russell
McEntire and Tammy
Hadder. Griffi n, a business
neighbor located near Lee’s
shop, overheard Lee’s end of
a phone conversation with
McEntire, who is a friend
of Lee’s. Due to having his
phone still connected to
a bluetooth speaker from
listening to music at work,
Griffi n heard Lee saying
that the cops had come by
and telling McEntire neither
of them know anything
while Lee borrowed Griffi n’s
phone, according to evidence
presented at the hearing.
McEntire purchased a
Glock, according to McKaig,
and gave it to Lee before
Loretta Williams was killed.
The gun was purchased from
Gamer’s Sporting Goods
in Pendleton, McKaig said.
Hadder, the store’s owner,
told police she remembered
Lee called multiple times,
attempting to purchase
the fi rearm over the phone,
which the store does not
allow, according to McKaig.
An autopsy performed on
Loretta Williams found the
cause of death to be gunshot
wounds to the head and
chest. She had received three
shots in her head and one in
her chest that exited out her
back, and she had a graze
wound on her right shoul-
der. Of the bullets found in
her head, only one could be
positively identifi ed as a
.22-caliber bullet. The oth-
ers were damaged beyond
recognition. This meant that
the police were looking for a
second weapon, according to
McKaig.
During a search of Lee’s
home, investigators found a
.22-caliber Single-Six stain-
less steel revolver in his
safe. It had been purchased
by Lee from Oregon Trail
Trader in La Grande. The
police determined it had
not been used in Williams’
death, but investigators
suspected Lee had a second
gun like it, since they
found the gun had not been
fi red recently, according to
McKaig.
After Williams’ death-
Steve Witty, a friend of
Lee’s, contacted the police
to say that Lee had told
him he wanted to purchase
an undocumented .22-cali-
ber revolver, according to
McKaig. Witty said he told
Lee about an ad he had seen
in The Nickel, and Lee told
him he had purchased the
unregistered fi rearm and
assistant.
Haddock credits Gene
Robinson, who served as the
church’s minister from 1946
to 1959, with inspiring the
congregation to provide the
support needed to build its
current building six decades
ago.
“He had a vision and
inspired them to dream,” she
said.
Haddock said a new struc-
ture was badly needed be-
cause the congregation was
growing and the condition
of its building was declining
due to age.
Robinson was one of 29
ministers, including three
interims, the church has had.
Jack L. Hart, who served
from 1973 to 1988, is the
minister with the longest
tenure, and Robinson ranks
second.
People attending the open
house will be able to see pho-
tos of most of the ministers
regularly displayed on a wall
in the church building. They
will also have the opportuni-
ty to learn about the church’s
architectural features,
including the wooden arches
in its sanctuary. These soar-
ing arches were made over a
three-year period by congre-
gant Harvey Elmer with the
help of many friends. Today
they remain the sanctuary’s
best-known feature.
“We owe such a debt of
gratitude to Harvey Elmer,”
Haddock said.
Haddock is encouraging
people who were married in
the church to sign a guest
book indicating their wed-
ding. She said the church
has long been a popular
place for weddings, perhaps
because of its large sanctu-
ary. Haddock said years ago
local churches with large
sanctuaries like that of the
La Grande First Christian
Church were rarer.
The church’s weddings
in recent years have been
conducted by Ray Smith, the
current pastor. Smith, who
has served the La Grande
congregation since 2014,
said he is looking forward
to Sunday’s anniversary
celebration.
“It is a special time,”
Smith said.
Also purchased with the
Glock were two boxes of
ammunition, one of which
was a box of S and B 10
mm ammo, consistent with
the kind found at the scene
of the crime, according to
McKaig.
McKaig said McEntire
also recalled seeing a PT
Cruiser that matches the
description of Deva Wil-
liams’ car when he delivered
the pistol to Lee. However,
McEntire did not see the
driver, according to the
detective.
A .22-caliber revolver
Jamie McLeod-Skinner,
a Central Oregon Demo-
crat who unsuccessfully
challenged U.S. Rep. Greg
Walden for his congressional
seat, announced her interest
earlier this summer.
Following the announce-
ment, McLeod-Skinner
sent out a news release
welcoming Hass to the race
and challenging him to
several debates throughout
the state.
Secretary of State Bev.
Clarno has long said she
will not run for election. She
was appointed by Gov. Kate
Brown when Dennis Rich-
ardson died while in offi ce.
Hass said he’s ready for
a tough fi ght, and has not
discussed his interest in the
job with other Democrats
rumored to be seeking the
same position.
fi ber optic internet is that signal
strength is not impacted by how far
it is from its source. Crews said this
is not the case for internet received
via TV cable or phone lines.
tested it by a river, accord-
ing to McKaig’s testimony.
When Witty heard the po-
lice had takenLee’s gun he
thought they may have the
wrong one, McKaig said.
According to McKaig, ad-
ditional evidence supported
Lee’s alleged possession of
an unregistered revolver.
The detective said Lee had
shown Craig Lore — the
business partner of Lee’s
son, Chris Lee — identical
.22 revolvers in his home.
McKaig said Deva Williams
said he also knew about the
unregistered revolver.
In April a farmer found
a .22 revolver on Highway
237, less than 10 miles from
Loretta Williams’ home in
Cove. The gun was loaded
but was missing three
rounds. The serial number
identifi ed the handgun as
the one purchased from The
Nickel ad, McKaig said. A
chunk of the gun’s grip was
missing, and the piece was
found 15 feet away from
where the gun was located.
This led investigators to
believe the gun had been
thrown from the window of
a car.
Other evidence cited by
McKaig in his testimony at
the hearing included two
cases of .22 bullets found in
Lee’s home. One case was
missing exactly six rounds,
and they matched the
type of bullet from the one
round that could be posi-
tively identifi ed in Williams’
autopsy because of the “F”
for Federal ammo stamped
on the bullet. However,
this could not rule out or
confi rm the gun found on
the highway or the revolver
purchased by Lee as the
murder weapon.
Lee will remain in custody
at the Union County Jail un-
til the trial, which is expected
to last at least a month.
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