INSIDE
HISTORY OF THE GRANDE RONDE VALLEY HOUSE, GRACE BUILDING | HOME & LIVING, B1
Robbery
suspects
have long
criminal
histories
All three were arrested
in connection to car chase
out of Island City
By ISABELLA CROWLEY
The Observer
LA GRANDE — All three sus-
pects arrested in connection to the car
chase out of Island City on Sunday,
July 17, have histories of criminal
activity in Oregon and Washington,
according to state court records.
What brought the three — Jes-
sica Spalinger, of Walla Walla,
Washington, and Ashtin Romine,
Clarkston, Washington, who were
dating at the time of their arrests,
according to Spalinger’s interview
with law enforcement, and Demus
Montez, of Hermiston — together
at Muzzleloader’s and More for an
alleged attempted robbery remains
to be uncovered. What they have in
common is in their arrest records.
Montez, Romine and Spalinger each
have been arrested on prior drug
charges related to methamphetamine,
ranging in severity from possession to
intent to manufacture or delivery.
“I can share that (Montez and
Romine) made themselves unavail-
able to supervision and had warrants
for their arrest at the time of this inci-
dent,” Dale Primmer, director of the
Umatilla County Community Correc-
tions, said in an email.
Montez, 36, has the most extensive
criminal history of the group. He was
released from the Oregon Depart-
ment of Correction in May 2020 after
being convicted in Umatilla County
on charges of delivery of metham-
phetamine and felon in possession of
a weapon.
According to Umatilla County
Community Corrections, Montez
started his “fi rst custody cycle” in
2005. A custody cycle is the period
during which an off ender begins
incarceration and is under supervi-
sion of community corrections until
dismissed.
This means that since 2005 when he
was convicted for possession of a con-
trolled substance, Montez has contin-
uously been in some form of commu-
nity-based supervision — probation or
post-prison supervision — or in local
jail or prison. During the past nearly 17
years, he has been convicted in Oregon
lagrandeobserver.com | $1.50
TUESDAY EDITION
July 26, 2022
CHIEF JOSEPH DAYS
Tribal encampment plays
a key role in Wallowa County’s
premier summer event
An honored
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain, File
tradition
“We are putting out
the word for anyone
to get involved,
especially young
people.”
By KATY NESBITT
For the Wallow County Chieftain
J
OSEPH — Chief Joseph
Days Rodeo is a mashup of
Western culture with both
roping and riding action in the
Harley Tucker Arena as well as the
— Ralph Swinehart
dancing, singing and feasting of
the tribal encampment.
In the “old days,” according to Ralph
Swinehart, there were 200 tepees on
the rodeo grounds during Chief Joseph
Days. Slowly the tribal members stopped
coming.
“In 1986 it trickled down to only three
tepees,” Swinehart said.
In 1988, Swinehart said, a couple
Wallowa County residents — Steve
Zollman and Bruce Womack — went to
visit Nez Perce descendants of the Wal-
lowa Band on the Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Res-
ervation and the Nez Perce Indian Res-
ervation to ask why they were no longer
coming. They were told they were not
invited.
“Bruce and Steve got together with
Milley Fraser and welcomed them back,”
Riders from the Nez Perce
Tribe join the Chief Joseph Days
Grand Parade in their ancestral
homeland of the Wallow Valley
on Saturday, July 31, 2021.
Swinehart said.
Tribal members from the Nez Perce
Reservation in Lapwai, Idaho, May
Taylor and Horace Axtell, as well as Soy
RedThunder from Nespelem, Wash-
ington, on the Colville Reservation, and
Priscilla and Fernmore Craig from the
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Res-
ervation restarted it.
Swinehart said Don and Rosemary
Green from Wallowa County and the
Craigs brought fi sh and organized a pot-
luck that now feeds hundreds of people
a year.
Jean Pekarek has been volunteering at
the friendship feast as long as Swinehart.
“In 1988, I got word that there were
going to be some tribal people bringing
salmon, and people in the community
wanted to come and bring side dishes,”
Pekarek said. “I went, and as the years
went on, it started growing.”
See, Tradition/Page A6
Ellen Morris Bishop/Contributed Photo, File
Chief Joseph Days is a major event for
Wallowa County, drawing locals and
visitors alike.
Planning for the best Chief Joseph Days
See, Suspects/Page A6
76th annual event kicks off
Wednesday, July 27, in Joseph
By JACK PARRY
Wallowa County Chieftain
J
OSEPH — Chief Joseph Days is a major
event for Wallowa County, drawing locals
and visitors alike. So, who better to ask how
to get the most out of it than some Chief Joseph
Days veterans.
Chief Joseph Days Offi ce Manager Miranda
Tickner thinks it’s best for people to show up an
hour before the rodeo starts.
“It’s best usually to arrive at the rodeo
grounds around 6 p.m. because that’s when the
gates open to our grandstands, and we have a
preshow going on until 7 p.m. when the rodeo
starts,” she said.
See, Event/Page A6
INDEX
Classified ......B2
Comics ...........B5
Crossword ....B2
Dear Abby ....B6
Wallowa County Chieftain, File
A bronc rider hangs on during a previous Chief Joseph Days rodeo. This year’s
rodeo will be July 27-31, 2022, in Joseph.
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Issue 89
2 sections, 12 pages
La Grande, Oregon