CHILDERS CLEARS
HURDLES FOR GOLD
TRACK & FIELD/1B
75/50
Rodeo
deep in
the heart
of Helix
REGION/3A
TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015
139th Year, No. 158
WINNER OF THE 2013 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
One dollar
Sheriff
defends
dispatch
billing
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Roger Rasico, of VFW Post 922, salutes the fl ag Monday during a Memorial Day observance at Olney Cemetery in Pendleton.
A GRATEFUL NATION
Remembering those who gave
their lives for U.S. freedom
morning and addressed almost
100 people gathered on the lawn
for a Memorial Day observance.
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It’s a matter of gratitude.
“Gratitude” is the word at his right shoulder.
“So much of our history
Griswold High School history
teacher Lorin Kubishta writes revolves around those who have
on the board every year on the VDFUL¿FHGHYHU\WKLQJ´.XELVKWD
¿UVW GD\ RI VFKRRO +H DVNV KLV said. “Our nation has suffered
VWXGHQWVWRWKLQNEDFNDJHQHUD more than one million war dead
tion or two or three to people on in its history. I tell my students,
WKHLUIDPLO\WUHHVZKRVDFUL¿FHG ‘They should not be forgotten.’”
It disturbs Kubishta that a
their lives.
Kubishta talked about the recently released survey shows
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
yearly tradition as he stood that high school students have Dave Chorazy, of Pendleton, played “Taps” at the end of
Monday’s Memorial Day observance at Olney Cemetery in
under some giant maple trees
See PENDLETON/8A
Pendleton. Chorazy once played in the Navy Band.
at Olney Cemetery on Monday
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
HERMISTON
Tribute to the flag’s red stripes
4750 and American Legion Post
37, as a “lasting tribute of respect.”
After his remarks VFW
6L[ KXQGUHG $PHULFDQ ÀDJV Commander Teddy Richards
waved gently in the breeze read out the names of all the area
Monday morning at Hermiston veterans who died in the last year.
Cemetery as a crowd gathered to The crowd then stood silently at
pay their respects to the men and attention while “Taps” was played
women who died in the service of and the National Guard honor
guard ceremoniously unfolded and
their country.
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Lori Scott, who has come to
is made redder by their heroism,”
Duane Storms of VFW Post 4750 the Memorial Day ceremony at
Hermiston Cemetery every year
told the audience.
He described the Memorial Day
See HERMISTON/8A
ceremony, sponsored by VFW Post
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Flowers and a fl ag in honor of Memorial Day adorn one
of the many veterans’ graves at Hermiston Cemetery.
Umatilla County Sheriff Terry
Rowan is defending his agency
against accusations it has not been
forthcoming about charges for
dispatch services. He also said he will
make an effort to explain the center’s
practices to police and city leaders to
clear the air and mend relationships.
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and ambulance agencies, including
for Pendleton and Hermiston. This
year the agency sought to correct an
old problem — not charging smaller
cities what it should for dispatch
services. That raised some hackles in
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And Hermiston Police Chief Jason
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to explain how it calculates the tab.
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and Capt. Kathy Lieuallen, head of
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division, recently sat down with the
East Oregonian to do just that.
The total expenses for the
FRPPXQLFDWLRQV FHQWHU IRU
See DISPATCH/8A
California looks
Down Under for
drought advice
Associated Press
SYDNEY — California has turned
WR WKH ZRUOG¶V GULHVW LQKDELWHG FRQWL
nent for solutions to its longest and
sharpest drought on record.
Australia, the land poet Dorothea
Mackellar dubbed “a sunburnt
country,” suffered a torturous drought
from the late 1990s through 2012.
Now Californians are facing their
own “Big Dry,” and looking Down
Under to see how they coped.
Australia also faced tough water
restrictions — along with dying cattle,
EDUUHQ¿HOGVDQGPRQVWURXVZLOG¿UHV
that killed 173 people. But when the
UDLQV¿QDOO\UHWXUQHG$XVWUDOLDQVKDG
fundamentally changed how they
handle this precious resource. They
treat water as a commodity to be
conserved and traded, and carefully
measure what’s available and how it’s
EHLQJ XVHG (I¿FLHQF\ SURJUDPV FXW
their average daily use to 55 gallons,
compared with 105 gallons per day
See DROUGHT/8A
HERMISTON
With city funding set aside,
park users have suggestions
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
As Hermiston puts more focus
on its parks, frequent users of the
city’s greenspace have plenty of
ideas for things they would like
to see.
The city put aside more than
$250,000 in a reserve fund for
park projects in the coming year,
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ments to Victory Square Park and
Sunset Park and $85,000 to build
a skate park.
Most of the city’s parks were
full of children, teenagers and
picnicking families on Monday as
residents took advantage of a sunny
holiday weekend.
Janelle and Tony Carrera said
McKenzie Park, where their boys
ZHUHVZLQJLQJIURPWKHSOD\HTXLS
ment Monday, was their favorite.
Janelle said they use all of the
parks around town but McKenzie
Park has the most shade, which is
an important factor in the summer
when it’s hot.
It’s no surprise, then, what she
would like to see Hermiston’s park
budget used for.
“Trees, trees and trees,” she said.
Tony added that he would also
See PARKS/8A
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Sisters Emily, Taylor and Naomi Hancock (pictured left to right) play on a
see-saw at Victory Square Park on Memorial Day.