Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2015)
WEEKEND EDITION LINDSEY SHATTERS RECORDS SOFTBALL/1B Ione’s lone maintenance worker REGION: Irrigon man indicted for allegedly killing daughter 3A LIFESTYLES 1C JUNE 6-7, 2015 139th Year, No. 167 WINNER OF THE 2013 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: PILOT ROCK 3, WESTON-MCEWEN 2 $1.50 Umatilla Co. ¿UHVWKUHHDV DOJ takes investigation By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris The Pilot Rock softball team piles on teammate Tehya Ostrom after she scored the winning run in the Rockets’ 3-2 win against Weston-McEwen in the 2A/1A state championship game Friday in Corvallis. No. 1 with a Rocket Pilot Rock sophomore Tehya Ostrom stood ready at third base, 60 feet from home, the winning run in the last inning of the state title game against league rivals Weston-McEwen. The game had been tied 2-2 since the third inning at the Oregon State University complex, the biggest stage in Oregon high school softball. Both teams had been threatening but neither could push across the go-ahead run. It all came down to this moment. Ostrom watched as the pitch went wide, skipping past the catcher. She broke for home. The ball was out of reach and as she slid into the plate her teammates poured out of the dugout to meet her. The Rockets were champions for just the second time in school history. After the celebration the Rockets and TigerScots, neither picked by state rankings to reach the title game, hugged HDFKRWKHUDWPLG¿HOG7KHLUVHDVRQV ended on the same pitch, and their bond as Eastern Oregon neighbors lived on. For more on the game see Page 1B. Students give back to teacher after loss of vision 6SHFLDOJODVVHVPDJQL¿HUEULQJZRUOGLQWRIRFXV “As a teacher, part of my job is supervising 50 or 60 kids in a huge group,” she said. “Logis- Jodi Bettineski’s world has tically, I was putting the district gotten blurrier and blurrier since at risk. Sadly, it became clear. she was diagnosed with a degen- Leaving was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” erative eye disease at age 20. Bettineski’s older sister, She had perfect vision then, EXW %HWWLQHVNL QRZ ¿QDOO\ Kelly Sager, also has Stargardt resigned her job as physical disease, a form of early-onset education teacher and coach macular degeneration generally at Pendleton High School this diagnosed between the ages of fall because she could only see six and 20. Bettineski dreaded telling the fuzzy outlines of her students. Her vision loss had accelerated students in her special mentoring just before Halloween and her program for at-risk youth. The eye specialist told her, “You’re See TEACHER/10A done.” By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Staff photo by Kathy Aney Jodi Bettineski writes graduation cards using a special Da- Vinci screen and magnifying camera that helps with her vision impairment. Bus crash drill tests responders By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Staff photo by Jade McDowell Firefi ghters pull a volunteer from a bus during a mass casualty exercise. 6FUHDPV ¿OOHG WKH DLU RII Westland Road Thursday night as about 35 volunteers did their best impression of bus crash victims for ¿UVW UHVSRQGHUV SDUWLFLSDWLQJ LQ D mass casualty drill. “It hurts! It hurts!” shrieked 1LFROH-RQHVDV¿UH¿JKWHUVORDGHG her onto a backboard inside a swel- tering school bus tipped on its side. Costume blood and shards of fake bone protruded from her leg. The training exercise included ¿UH¿JKWHUV DQG SDUDPHGLFV IURP +HUPLVWRQ 8PDWLOOD 6WDQ¿HOG Echo and Pendleton as well as Good Shepherd Medical Center, See DRILL/10A 8PDWLOOD&RXQW\¿UHGDPDQDJHUDQGWZR alcohol and drug counselors in the wake of an administrative investigation that could turn criminal. County counsel Doug Olsen said the county Thursday ended its employment of Carolyn Mason, who headed up human services, and husband-and-wife counselors Laura Aviles-Valdez and Juan Valdez. Olsen said he could not comment about what led to their dismissals, but the county investigated DOO WKUHH DQG WXUQHG RYHU LWV ¿QGLQJV WR another state agency. Olsen also said he could not reveal which agency. The Greater Oregon Behavioral Health, Inc., in April investigated the county’s alcohol and drug treatment program. GOBHI’s in-house attorney Henry O’Keefe FRQ¿UPHGLQYHVWLJDWRUVVHQWWKHLU¿QGLQJVWR the Oregon Department of Justice. O’Keefe also said he could not discuss what Behavioral Health found, but the organization and the justice department are reviewing information. Justice Department spokesman Michael .URQ VDLG KH FRXOG QRW FRQ¿UP QRU GHQ\ the agency was conducting an investigation. That’s often government-speak for an inves- tigation is pending or underway. HERMISTON $57 million budget includes pay raises, FLW\EHDXWL¿FDWLRQ By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Citizens will have their last chance to comment on Hermiston’s proposed 2015- 2016 budget at Monday’s city council meeting before the council votes on its adoption. The $57 million budget includes a 2.5 percent pay increase for city employees and $100,000 for a city hall improvement fund. The budget also points to the city’s renewed focus on community enhancement, setting aside money to repaint the city water tower, build a skate park, improve several FLW\ SDUNV DQG FDUU\ RXW EHDXWL¿FDWLRQ projects recommended by the Community Enhancement Committee. It includes a $5.4 million construction fund for the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center and $2,073,360 for construction of a new senior center paid for by a Community Block Development Grant. In addition to voting on the necessary resolutions to adopt the 2015-2016 budget, the city council will also consider the “Enhance Hermiston” plan put forth by the Community Enhancement Committee. The plan will determine how the $100,000 set aside for the committee in 2015-2016 is spent. Suggestions include a “downtown gateway” at Southeast Second and Highway 395 near the Hermiston Conference Center, planting visual buffers at railway crossings and implementing decorative signs pointing visitors to various sectors of the city. The council also will hear a presentation about the Community Video Program sponsored by the National League of Cities, which is offering Hermiston the opportunity to receive a professional-quality promo- tional video about the city for use online. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 180 NE 2nd St. in Hermiston. The plan can be found in the June 8 agenda packet online at www.hermiston. or.us/citycouncil-meetings. A copy of the budget can be found online at www.herm- LVWRQRUXV¿QDQFHEXGJHW ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@ eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536.
