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
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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
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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
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where.”
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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
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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
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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-
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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.