REGION
Friday, March 13, 2015
Deadline looms
for candidates,
66 seats open
at least one new face will
seek a seat on the Pendleton
Umatilla County Elec- School Board.
Former Pendleton High
tions Division announced
that with just a week until School wrestling coach Dale
WKH ¿OLQJ GHDGOLQH WKHUH DUH )UHHPDQ ¿OHG IRU 3RVLWLRQ
plenty of openings for dis- 3 on the board. Incumbent
WULFWERDUGVWREH¿OOHGE\WKH *UHJ*DOORZD\KDVQRW¿OHG
Position 2 on the Mil-
May 15 special election.
As of Wednesday, there ton-Freewater School Board
are 75 candidates running in is the only other competitive
138 races across the coun- race in the county ahead of
ty, although 66 seats remain next week’s deadline.
Tina Kain, an engineer for
open without any candidates.
Despite this fact, some the city’s electric department,
local races are already com- will face incumbent McKen-
zie Marly in that race.
petitive.
Candidates have until
Position 1 on the Hermis-
ton School Board has drawn 0DUFKDWSPWR¿OHIRU
two men with previous polit- positions on school boards,
¿UHGLVWULFWVDQGPRUH,I\RX
ical ambition.
Retiree James Leitch ran DUH LQWHUHVWHG LQ ¿OLQJ IRU D
unsuccessfully for Hermiston position, call the elections
City Council last year while division at 541-278-6254, or
his opponent, insurance agent go to www.umatillacounty.
Joshua Goller, lost to board net/elections. There you can
Vice Chair Ginny Holthus in ¿QG HOHFWLRQ RSHQLQJV DQG
2011. Incumbent Greg Harris VHH ZKR KDV ¿OHG$QG \RX
can click the link “Election
KDVQRW¿OHG
Position 2 will also be Manuals and Filing Forms”
contested, with Robert Lovett WR KDYH DFFHVV WR ¿OLQJ IRU
running against incumbent SEL 190 for district candi-
dates.
Dave Smith.
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Although no races in
Pendleton are contested yet, fee.
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
East Oregonian
BRIEFLY
Craigen heading
to more trials
Concert engages students in classical music
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Kayden Kendrick plays the trumpet at the Willow
Creek Symphony’s educational concert for students
on Thursday at the Hermiston Conference Center.
tions from students, Friese
started the concert that in-
cluded crowd-pleasers like
“Cowboy Rhapsody” and
“The Battle Hymn of the
Republic.” He also paused
to teach students the dif-
ference between rehearsed
pieces played from sheet
music and improvisation,
which a trio of musicians
demonstrated.
Afterward Ben Vander-
stelt, a 12-year-old home
school student from Herm-
iston, said he was glad he
N
E
AL
S W
O
N
More than 500 students
got an education in classical
music on Thursday when
the Willow Creek Sym-
phony hosted a concert in
Hermiston.
The concert, sponsored
by Inland Northwest Mu-
sicians, was aimed at ex-
posing Eastern Oregon stu-
dents in third through sixth
grade to a different type of
compositions than the pop
music they hear on the ra-
dio.
“Some of these folks
have been playing for a lot
of years, others only a year
or a year and a half,” con-
ductor Lee Friese told the
students.
He introduced each sec-
tion of the ensemble, ask-
ing the musicians to hold
up their instrument and
demonstrate its sound. The
tuba, he pointed out, weighs
40 pounds, while the French
horn is “one of the most
beautiful instruments in the
orchestra.”
After answering ques-
got to see the symphony.
“It was cool because they
had so many instruments all
playing at once,” he said.
Trumpet player Kayden
Kendrick of Irrigon said he
enjoyed performing for the
students.
“I love playing for kids
because they always have
such good questions and
are willing to sit quietly and
listen, because a lot of times
it’s something they haven’t
heard before,” he said.
The Willow Creek Sym-
phony is a 30-musician en-
semble that is part of the
Inland Northwest Musi-
cians. The group rehearses
in Irrigon once a week and
its next performance is a
public concert on Sunday,
March 15 at 4 p.m. at Irri-
gon Jr./Sr. High School.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
O
PENLDETON —
Convicted murderer George
West Craigen is back in
Umatilla County Jail,
Pendleton, getting ready to
face new criminal trials.
His three day trial on
¿YHFRXQWVRISRVVHVVLRQ
of explosive devices begins
March 16 at the Umatilla
County Courthouse,
Pendleton. The case stems
from police discovering the
explosives during a manhunt
for Craigen after he shot and
killed Rob Carter of Milton-
Freewater in 2011.
His defense attorney is
Will Perkinson of Pendleton,
who told the court in a
hearing Monday he still
needed an explosives expert.
Craigen also pleaded
not guilty in 2013 to a
contraband charge for
possessing a hand-held
weapon while he was in jail
awaiting the murder trial. He
faces trial in that case April
21-23.
A jury in November 2014
reached a unanimous verdict
LQ¿QGLQJ&UDLJHQJXLOW\RI
Carter’s murder. Craigen was
sentenced to life in prison
and has appealed the case.
Day.
On Feb. 18, children
in Oregon with no
LPPXQL]DWLRQVRQ¿OH
were sent home from
schools, preschools, Head
Start programs and child
care facilities. In Umatilla
County, 117 students
were excluded for having
incomplete vaccinations and
six had no records at all.
The 123 sent home totaled
0.8 percent of the 15,335
students in Umatilla County.
Unvaccinated children
with exemptions weren’t
affected. In Oregon, parents
may obtain exemptions for
religious or philosophical
reasons. The exemption rate
in Umatilla County is 1.4
percent.
———
Briefs are compiled from
staff and wire reports and
press releases. Email news@
eastoregonian.com
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Kyle Ketchersid of Hermiston plays the bassoon at the Willow Creek Symphony’s educational concert Thurs-
day at the Hermiston Conference Center.
House passes bill
to fund child abuse
prevention center
SALEM — The Oregon
House of Representatives
unanimously passed a
bill to fund Oregon’s 21
community-based child
abuse intervention centers,
which includes the Mt.
Emily Safe Center, La
Grande, and Guardian Care
Center, Pendleton.
Oregon law does
not currently cover
reimbursement of the
centers for certain services
and treatment. Rep. Gene
Whisnant, R-Sunriver, who
sponsored the bill, explained
in a written statement House
Bill 2234 would require the
Oregon Health Authority
and insurers to adopt billing
and payment mechanisms
to ensure the centers are
reimbursed for services,
including for medical and
mental health treatment
and forensic interviews of
children.
Nearly 11,000 children
ZHUHFRQ¿UPHGYLFWLPV
of child abuse in Oregon
in 2013, according to the
Oregon Network of Child
Abuse Intervention Centers,
and many more abuse
FDVHVZHUHXQFRQ¿UPHGRU
unreported.
123 unvaccinated
children sent home
PENDLETON – The
Umatilla County Public
Health Department this
week released the number of
children sent home on last
month’s School Exclusion
AUGUST 11-15, 2015
Tues. Aug. 11 • 9pm
DUSTIN LYNCH
Wed. Aug. 12 • 9pm
JOHN MICHAEL
MONTGOMERY
LATINO NIGHT:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13
MEET AND GREET WITH SPECIAL GUESTS*
JULIANNA PENA
MIKE CHIESA
SAM SICILIA
FRIDAY, MARCH 27 9 7PM
Lightweight Title Fight
Don’t miss exciting regional fi ghters from
Eastern Oregon and Washington.
Tickets available at Box Offi ce Tickets
and in person at the Gift Shop.
Fri. Aug. 14 • 9pm
Sat. Aug. 15 • 9pm
HINDER
WARRANT
Ticket Prices: Bleacher Seats $ 38 | Floor Seating $ 49
Premium Seats (Tables of four) $ 300
In the Watering Hole: LIVE MUSIC:
Tues & Wed - Brady Goss; Fri & Sat - Blue Tattoo
RESERVED TICKETS GO ON SALE AT 8AM,
MONDAY MARCH 16TH
Reserve Concert Seating: $12
(does not include fair admission)
Call or stop by the Fair office
515 W. Orchard, Hermiston
800-700-FAIR (3247)
www.umatillacounty.net/fair
Visa & Mastercard gladly accepted
Casino • Hotel • Golf • Cineplex • RV • Museum • Dining • Travel Plaza
800.654.9453 \\ Pendleton, OR \\ I-84, Exit 216 \\ wildhorseresort.com \\ Owned and operated by CTUIR.
*Guests will not be fi ghting, appearance only. Management reserves the right to alter,
suspend or withdraw offer/promotion at any time.
348223.MM3.4