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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 24, 2015)
BUCKS GET Truckers sue to FIRST WIN stop low-carbon BASEBALL/1B 53/35 fuel standard 7A TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015 139th Year, No. 113 WINNER OF THE 2013 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD One dollar Oregon may lose its wildfire insurance Policy deductible may cost too much for tight firefighting budget By HILLARY BORRUD Capital Bureau SALEM — Lawmakers working on the next two-year budget say that one of the major challenges they face is how to SD\IRU¿UH¿JKWLQJFRVWV They’re worried a company that has previously sold the state an insurance SROLF\ WR KHOS FRYHU ¿UH¿JKWLQJ FRVWV will either refuse to issue such a poli- cy this year, or the deductible will be so high that it longer makes sense for the state to purchase insurance. Oregon usually purchases a policy from Lloyd’s, the London insurance FRPSDQ\ WR KHOS FRYHU ¿UH¿JKWLQJ costs; the state uses its tax-supported general fund and landowner contribu- WLRQVWRFRYHUWKHUHPDLQLQJ¿UH¿JKWLQJ costs not paid for by the federal govern- ment. “The other wild card that hasn’t re- DOO\FRPHXSLQGLVFXVVLRQPXFKLV¿UH Grant County Sheriff’s Department season costs,” said Rep. Peter Buckley, The state of Oregon may lose its wildfi re insurance cover- See WILDFIRE/8A age as rising premiums and deductibles could make the policy unaffordable. Animals lose victim status in Oregon Supreme court reverses ruling based on Stanfield abuse case By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Junior Angel Corona works on a traditional root gathering basket in an art class Wednesday at the Nixyaawii Community School in Mission. Cultural cultivation District develop initiatives to better teach Indian students By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian The Pendleton School District is tasked with tackling a problem that only a handful of dis- tricts in Oregon face each year — closing an achievement gap for a sizable American Indian student population. Pendleton Superintendent Jon Peterson looks at it more as an “opportu- nity gap,” something that affects all minorities across the state, whether they be Hispanic stu- dents in Hermiston or African Americans in in- ner-city Portland. In Pendleton, American Indian students, most of whom are drawn from the nearby Uma- tilla Indian Reservation, graduate at a 45 per- cent rate. That’s not only more than 30 percent lower than white students, it’s below the paltry 54 percent statewide rate for Indian students. Ramona Halcomb, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation education director, said historical and generational trauma has weighed heavily on Indian students. Halcomb pointed to 20th century develop- ments like Indian boarding schools, which were often the sites of forced assimilation and abuse, as having an adverse effect on Indian education. So to tackle the opportunity gap, the district has been aggressive about offering more oppor- tunities to American Indian students. Last year, the district received a $100,000 state grant to create an American Indian-cen- tric curriculum. The intent is to craft classes for Pendleton High School and Sunridge Middle School that will involve studies of Umatilla his- tory and culture. Assistant Superintendent Tricia Mooney said the district is using a portion of the money to buy a copy of the recently published Umatilla dictionary for every third through eighth grade classroom in the school system. The classes VSHFL¿FDOO\GHGLFDWHGWR$PHULFDQ,QGLDQWRS ics will get a classroom set. To aid in their quest to become more cul- turally inclusive, the district also is hiring a “heritage language” kindergarten teacher for See STUDENTS/8A The Oregon Supreme Court vacat- ed two landmark rulings — including its own — that animals could be crime victims in a case that began in Umatilla County. The 15-page ruling of March 5 stated the Oregon Court of Appeals in 2012 and the supreme court in 2014 should never KDYH FRQVLGHUHG WKH PDWWHU LQ WKH ¿UVW place. The new ruling stems from State v. Arnold Nix. The Umatilla County Sher- LII¶V2I¿FHLQVHL]HGIDUPDQ LPDOVIURP1L[¶V6WDQ¿HOGIDUP$MXU\ in 2010 found Nix guilty of 20 counts of second-degree animal neglect, which were misdemeanors at the time. The state asked for sentence on 20 separate con- victions, making each animal a victim. But the defense argued livestock were not victims under Oregon Revised Stat- ute 161.067, which determines punish- able offenses for multiple victims or re- peated violations. Then-Umatilla County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Wallace sided with the defense and sentenced Nix on a sin- gle, merged conviction. “In order to be considered eligible for multiple sentences,” Wallace said Mon- day, “the question was: Is an animal a victim for the purposes of the statute?” There was no case law at the time on the issue, so answering the question fell on Wallace’s shoulders. And the reason there was no case law is because sec- ond-degree animal neglect was a misde- meanor in 2010, and Oregon law does not allow the state to challenge a judge’s sentencing on misdemeanors. Oregon in 1989 adopted sentencing guidelines, but those applied only to felonies. If a judge does not follow the guidelines, the law allows the state to ap- peal. But there is no similar law covering See ANIMALS/8A Pendleton dancer, Hermiston coach bring home individual awards Pendleton dancers have won these awards in the past, but never all three Local dancers brought home fourth- at once. SODFH ¿QLVKHV IURP 6DWXUGD\¶V 26$$ The senior said Dance & Drill State Championships in she was in a state Portland. of disbelief. :KLOHERWKWHDPV¿QLVKHGLPSUHVVLYH “I was shocked. ly high in the rankings — Hermiston in I cried,” she said. the 5A Intermediate Division and Pend- “It was so surre- leton in Show — a couple of individu- Seibel al.” als shone even brighter. Kendyl Thorne, She had traveled to Gresham to try out of Pendleton, raked in a trio of awards, while Hermiston head coach Ashley Sei- for the All-State Team in January. Half of the group, all seniors recommended by bel was named 5A Coach of the Year. Thorne was named to the All-State WKHLUFRDFKHVPDGHWKH¿UVWFXW7KRUQH Dance Team. She also received an ac- and the remaining dancers learned the en- ademic scholarship based on grades, tire state routine and performed for judg- character and a written essay and a dance es, vying for 24 spots open to dancers scholarship awarded to the four best See DANCE/8A dancers. The scholarships totaled $1,600. By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Photo by Michael Ladd Kendyl Thorne dances Saturday during Rhythmic Mode’s perfor- mance at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Thorne won all three individual awards the state has to offer — All-State Dancer and two scholarships.