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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2015)
Paint job on to-do list MOORE COMMITS TO U OF OREGON BASKETBALL/1B 64/36 HERMISTON/3A THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015 139th Year, No. 130 WINNER OF THE 2013 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD One dollar Lights, camera, crashin’ Woman records herself fleeing police, arrested By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Law enforcement offi cials from multiple agencies gather at 79532 South Edwards Road on Wednesday after end- ing a police pursuit that started in Morrow County and ended north of Stanfi eld. A police chase Wednesday that could have ended in trag- edy after the suspect pulled a knife, instead ended with the mere threat of a stun gun. Morrow County Sheriff Ken Matlack credited sheriff’s detective Brian Synder with having the presence of mind to recognize how to handle the dangerous situation that led to the arrest of 32-year-old Amanda Sue Walton. Walton led law enforce- ment on an hour-long car chase that started in Morrow County DQG HQGHG QRUWK RI 6WDQ¿HOG at 79532 S. Edwards Road between East Loop Road and East Highland Extension. She even used a smartphone to take video of herself during part of the chase and posted that to her Facebook page. “Well, evidently this is what happens when you try and do a good deed,” she said in the video. “I’m being chased by the Morrow County police because I’m not stopping, I’m not going to jail.” Matlack said Walton ar- ranged to meet with a man who was a theft victim because she See ARREST/10A RIVER PLAN RUNNING DRY Walton Umatilla Co. extends ban on medical marijuana dispensaries By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris A lot sits empty along at the 600 block of Southwest Court Avenue along the River Parkway on Wednesday in Pendleton. In 2010 the city council approved the “River Quarter Enhancement Plan” but has yet to see any improvements or development to the area. Committee suggests scrapping never-used plan By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Since the urban renewal dis- trict was established in 2003, connecting the downtown area to the Umatilla riverfront has been a priority for the Pendleton Devel- opment Commission. In 2010, the council ap- proved a “River Quarter En- hancement Plan,” which en- visioned a walkable stretch on Court Street from the Round- Up Grounds to Main Street that featured two-story commercial and residential developments. But deep into year 12 of the district’s planned 20-year lifespan, most stretches of the river quarter remain blighted and underdevel- oped. And there have been no new developments since the enhance- ment plan was approved, despite sizable cash incentives. Between members of the com- mission, the commission’s advi- sory committee and the now-de- funct river quarter committee, about a dozen people weighed in on the direction the river plan should take at a meeting Tuesday. Too high a shelf stories tall, have a storefront fac- ing both Court and the parkway The most dramatic suggestion while also having setbacks in WR ¿[ WKH ULYHU SODQ FDPH IURP both directions. the commission’s own advisory McDonald, who owns the committee. Internet service provider Wtech- Representing the committee, link, added his own personal ex- member Jordan McDonald said perience to the report. the commission should recom- He said he was interested in mend repealing the river plan ORFDWLQJ:WHFKOLQN¶VRI¿FHLQWKH and starting over. river quarter in 2010. The less While well intentioned, Mc- than 100x100 foot parcel cost Donald said the building require- $118,000, which not only meant ments were too prohibitive. the property cost was higher the The river plan requires all developments be at least two See RIVER/10A “It’s hard for a person to be the fi rst to build next to a bunch of garbage.” — Al Plute, Pendleton Development Commission Umatilla County Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to extend the freeze on medical marijuana dispensaries in the county until Dec. 31. Tamra Mabbott, county planning director and chairwoman of the county’s medical marijuana study group, told commissioners at their meeting the majority of the study group wanted the board to continue the moratorium, which went into effect April 2, 2014 and was set to expire May 1. Continuing the moratorium, Mabbott said, would give the coun- ty planning commission time to consider the study group’s land-use proposals to regulate dispensaries. She then delivered a brief report about the work of the study group, including its concerns with the Ore- gon Health Authority’s lack of over- sight of medical marijuana dispensa- ries. The commissioners then opened WKHÀRRUIRUSXEOLFFRPPHQWVEHIRUH voting on the moratorium. Mike Parker of the Columbia Basin Compassion Center north of Hermiston spoke against the exten- sion as well as the draft regulations, which he said were too stringent. He said having a one mile setback from school routes and many other plac- es means that dispensaries will only RSHUDWH³VRPHSODFHLQD¿HOGVRPH where.” $IWHUKH¿QLVKHGFRPPLVVLRQHUV voted 3-0 to continue the freeze. The moratorium’s May expiration meant the issue was an emergency, so the board did not have to wait to take action. The swift move upset the few audience members who came to talk See MORATORIUM/10A Pot rules still hazy Beating black market ¿UVWRUGHURIEXVLQHVV By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian The devil, as they say, is in the details. The old saying was never WUXHUWKDQZLWKWKHWDVNRI¿JXU ing out how to implement Ore- gon’s marijuana laws. “We’ve got a lot of issues to work out,” said Rob Bovett, le- gal counsel for the Association of Oregon Counties. “There are all kinds of sticky wickets we’re working through.” Bovett spoke at Tuesday night’s Eastern Oregon Forum at Blue Mountain Communi- ty College, part of this week’s BMCC Arts & Culture Festival. Considered an expert on mari- juana policy, Bovett served on the rules advisory committee charged with making recom- mendations about Oregon’s medical marijuana law, House %LOO+HKDVDOVRWHVWL¿HG to the Legislature’s Joint Com- mittee on Implementing Mea- sure 91, the recently approved measure to decriminalize recre- ational marijuana. Some of the “sticky wickets” include tax structure, licensing, labeling and packaging, distri- EXWLRQ RI SUR¿WV WKH HIIHFW RI the black market on retail sales, and a city or county’s authority See MARIJUANA/10A Staff photo by Kathy Aney Rob Bovett, legal counsel for the Association of Oregon Counties, talks about some of the challenges with Oregon’s marijuana laws.