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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 2, 2015)
5 TEAMS TO PLAY FOR TITLE SHOT End of NSA collection of U.S. phone records BASEBALL, SOFTBALL/1B 72/49 NATION/4A TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2015 139th Year, No. 163 WINNER OF THE 2013 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD One dollar PGG reports loss of $7.9M &RRSVD\VUHVWUXFWXULQJVKRXOGUHQHZSUR¿WDELOLW\ has also consolidated its debt through CoBank, with a $15 million term loan and $20 million line of credit. By GEORGE PLAVEN VLRQVDQGVWRSWKH¿QDQFLDOEOHHGLQJ With the changes, Jacobson said East Oregonian Gone are each of six retail stores throughout Eastern Oregon, along 3** LV SRLVHG WR PRYH RQ IURP WKH It took deep cuts and considerable with PGG-brand agronomy and 158 cutbacks of a year ago. “We’re probably in the best cash layoffs, but Pendleton Grain Growers HPSOR\HHV IURP WKH ¿HOG WR WKH EDFN SRVLWLRQWKDQZH¶YHEHHQLQIRUDORQJ H[SHFWV WR WXUQ D SUR¿W QH[W KDUYHVW RI¿FH6XFKGRZQVL]LQJZDVSDLQIXOEXW after losing $7.9 million in 2014 and necessary to ensure the co-op remains WLPH´ -DFREVRQ VDLG ³:H KDYH D wonderful relationship with our lender. RYHUVWDWLQJ \HDUV RI HDUQLQJV SULRU WR YLDEOHLQWRWKHIXWXUH-DFREVRQVDLG PGG will instead shift focus back I’m pleased with where we are. We’re 2012. General Manager Rick Jacobson to its core areas of business, Jacobson SRVLWLRQHGWRPRYHIRUZDUG´ -DFREVRQ D 3HQGOHWRQ QDWLYH offered a “state of the business” for said, which include grain, seed, energy, was hired in 2012 to help lead PGG EO fi le photo transportation and a new irrigation PGG on Monday, describing how the PGG announced Monday it lost $7.9 million in 2014 and has board of directors restructured oper- subsidiary named Precision Rain that See PGG/10A consolidated its debt with the U.S. Farm Credit System. DWLRQV WR VKHG XQGHUSHUIRUPLQJ GLYL opened Jan. 1 in Island City. The co-op IRRIGON Dad charged with killing infant child 10-month-old died of head injuries, says Morrow Co. DA By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian UHYHQXH IRU LPSURYHPHQWV WR WKH FLW\¶V ZDWHU sewer and stormwater systems. 5DWHKLNHVDQGLQVWLWXWLQJV\VWHPGHYHORSPHQW FKDUJHV²IHHVDVVHVVHGWRQHZGHYHORSPHQWVIRU their impact on the city’s utility system — were ¿UVW SXEOLFO\ SURSRVHG E\ D KLUHG FRQVXOWDQW ODVW February. $FFRUGLQJWRWKHFRQVXOWLQJ¿UP¶VSUHVHQWDWLRQ 3HQGOHWRQZRXOGQHHGWRVSHQGPLOOLRQRYHU The 21-year-old Irrigon man in jail for NLOOLQJKLVPRQWKROGGDXJKWHUPD\KDYH had a history of abusing the infant. 7UDYLV 0LFKDHO 0DUWLQ IDFHG DQ DUUDLJQ PHQW 0RQGD\ YLD YLGHR IURP WKH 8PDWLOOD County Jail, Pendleton, where he has been since the Morrow County 6KHULII¶V 2I¿FH DUUHVWHG him Friday night following the death RI 6DYDQQDK 0DUWLQ Morrow County District Attorney Justin Nelson charged Martin with WZR FRXQWV ¿UVWGHJUHH manslaughter, two Martin counts of second-degree PDQVODXJKWHU WKUHH FRXQWV RI ¿UVWGHJUHH criminal mistreatment, and two counts of second-degree assault. The assault charges accuse Martin of injuring the baby in September 2014 and again in January. The mistreatment charges DFFXVH 7UDYLV 0DUWLQ RI QRW SURYLGLQJ FDUH IRU KLV GDXJKWHU UHODWLYH WR WKH DVVDXOW DQG manslaughter charges. Nelson explained he charged the young father with two counts each of manslaughter under different theories of the crime. One accuses Martin of killing the girl through neglect or mistreatment, and the other theory DFFXVHVKLPRI³KDYLQJSUHYLRXVO\HQJDJHG LQDSDWWHUQRUSUDFWLFHRIDVVDXOWRI6DYDQQDK Martin ...” 1HOVRQDOVRVDLGDJUDQGMXU\ZLOOUHYLHZ the case, and he will charge Martin based that indictment. He said that court action is likely to happen Friday. Nelson alleged Martin sometime Wednesday night threw his 10-month-old GDXJKWHU RQ WKH ÀRRU 7KH JLUO ZDV DZDNH but appeared to be sick the next morning, Nelson said, and later Thursday her mother, KaSandra Martin, took the child to Pend- OHWRQIRUHUUDQGV7KHUHVKHIRXQG6DYDQQDK ZDV XQUHVSRQVLYH LQ WKH EDFN VHDW RI WKHLU YHKLFOH1HOVRQVDLGWKHPRWKHUWKHQVRXJKW help. St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton, treated the baby before sending her in an air ambu- ODQFH WR 3URYLGHQFH 6DFUHG +HDUW 0HGLFDO Center and Children’s Hospital, Spokane, where she died that afternoon. Nelson said medical examiners there conducted an autopsy. /DZ HQIRUFHPHQW LQWHUYLHZHG WKH JLUO¶V family members, Nelson said, and Morrow &RXQW\ VKHULII¶V LQYHVWLJDWRUV TXHVWLRQHG 7UDYLV0DUWLQRQ)ULGD\DQGUXOHGWKHJLUO¶V death a homicide. Nelson did not comment on why Martin threw the girl. .D6DQGUD 0DUWLQ QHYHU DEDQGRQHG KHU daughter in Pendleton, Nelson also said, and VKHGRHVQRWIDFHDQ\FKDUJHV,QYHVWLJDWRUV determined she had no knowledge of the incident. He said KaSandra Martin often worked nights and left the child in the care of her father. KaSandra Martin did not respond to a message seeking comment. Her Facebook See UTILITY/10A See MARTIN/10A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Gary Betts is the co-founder of 90.5 KBLU community radio station in Pendleton. Betts and his wife, Virginia Blakelock, created the station and decided to use wind and solar power to power it. INDIE AIRWAVES Local radio stations broadcast for the community, by the community By ANTONIO SIERRA • East Oregonian Broadcast radio has long relied on weather as a source of content for local audiences. KBLU also relies on the weather but in a different way. Without Mother Nature’s cooperation, the member-owned Pendleton radio station ceases to operate. The station’s radio tower, located south of Pilot Rock, is powered solely by solar and wind energy. Using solar panels and wind turbines, the radio tower usually gets enough juice WRGLVVHPLQDWHDKRXUEURDGFDVWWKDWFRYHUV3HQGOHWRQ Pilot Rock and some of the surrounding area. See RADIO/2A Photo courtesy of Gary Betts KBLU cofounder Virginia Blakelock works on the radio station’s transmission shack south of Pilot Rock. The sta- tion’s studio is in downtown Pendleton. PENDLETON Funding source murky for $64M in necessary utility upgrades By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Although the Pendleton City Council could DSSURYH VHYHUDO XWLOLW\ PDVWHU SODQV UHTXLULQJ VLJQL¿FDQWWD[SD\HULQYHVWPHQW7XHVGD\WKHWLPH line for the fees and charges needed to fund those LPSURYHPHQWVLVOHVVFHUWDLQ Public Works Director Bob Patterson said he expects public discussion of utility rate increases DQGV\VWHPGHYHORSPHQWFKDUJHVZRQ¶WWDNHSODFH for another six months to a year. 3DWWHUVRQRULJLQDOO\ZDQWHGWRKDYHUDWHDQGIHH VWUXFWXUHVDYDLODEOHWRWKHSXEOLFIRUFRQVLGHUDWLRQ by July. But continued talk about the city’s other infrastructural problems, which include streets and city facilities, pushed back work on increasing “We have a big hole. How do we start digging out of it?” — Bob Patterson, Public Works Director