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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 13, 2015)
REGION Saturday, June 13, 2015 East Oregonian Page 3A Would-be cop-dodgers cop to crimes Woman ECHO jailed for ID theft East Oregonian An Echo woman landed in jail for 40 days after a jury convicted her of more than two dozen counts of identity theft. Cynthia Ann Jackson, 34, also will have to serve 40 days in jail and two years probation for her crimes. Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus said Jackson last summer tried to use someone else’s checks to buy items at the Hermiston Wal-Mart. Hermiston p o l i c e caught her moments later, he said, and Jackson found she had mail and credit cards IURP (FKR 6WDQ¿HOG DQG other places. The case went to trial last week. A victim from Prosser, :DVKLQJWRQ WHVWL¿HG LW ZDV her checks Jackson tried to pass at Wal-Mart. The jury on June 3 convicted Jackson on 27 counts of felony identity theft. Primus said courthouse security took her into custody right after the verdict. Jackson’s sentencing was Thursday in Hermiston. Primus said Circuit Judge Eva Temple gave her two years probation on most counts, but discharged sentencing on some others, though all the convictions stand. The judge also sent Jackson to 40 days jail on two of the counts related to the witness from Prosser. Court records indicated Jackson had 30 victims in all. BRIEFLY Troopers stop van falsely suspected of carrying fugitives PENDLETON — Oregon State Troopers in Eastern 2UHJRQZHUHSXOOHGEULHÀ\ into the national search for two escapees from an upstate New York prison, but it quickly became clear the men they stopped on Interstate 84 had nothing to do with the fugitives. According to OSP Sgt. Sterling Hall, an anonymous caller dialed a New York tip line after spotting a white rental van near La Grande with New York plates and passengers they said resembled David Sweat and Richard Matt. Sweat and Matt have been on the run for a week after tunneling out of Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Troopers pulled the suspected vehicle over in the westbound lane west of Pendleton and “very quickly” realized they did not match the description after getting them out of the vehicle at gunpoint, according to Hall. He called it a high risk stop because of the nature of the call and said the men were cooperative. Six troopers from Pendleton and Hermiston responded to the call, and Hall said if nothing else it was good experience locating and safely stopping a vehicle in a short amount of time. Cello recital Monday PENDLETON — Cello students of Loree McKenna will present a recital next week. The free event is Monday at 7 p.m. at Pendleton Center for the Arts, 214 N. Main St. Those performing include Caleb Greenhalgh, Ashtyn Larsen, Caleb Picken, Hayden Garton, Kieric Speakman, Emily Long, Sam Coleman and Jenna Harrison. Also, the cello quartet Turtle, featuring Coleman, Harrison, Speakman and Long, will play three pieces. The Perfect Purple Penguins, a duet with Picken and Garton, also will perform. Myrna Van Cleave will accompany. For more information, call McKenna at 541-276-4237. parked cars before bailing out at the intersection of Northeast Seventh Street and Catherine Avenue, where Two locals who tried to run from he assaulted a woman and tried police in recent weeks pleaded to steal her car before Hermiston SROLFHRI¿FHUVDQG8PDWLOOD&RXQW\ guilty to multiple crimes. Cody Stephen Stackhouse, 26, sheriff’s deputies caught him. Stackhouse faced 19 counts in all went on a crime spree the morning of May 14 in his home of Herm- before the plea deal. Court records iston, and Friday in circuit court VKRZ WKH GLVWULFW DWWRUQH\¶V RI¿FH in Hermiston he pleaded guilty to dropped the rest of the charges, third-degree robbery, two counts of including three counts of possession unauthorized use of a motor vehicle of a stolen vehicle and four counts DQG GULYLQJ XQGHU WKH LQÀXHQFH RI of hit and run. And Amanda Sue Walton, 34, intoxicants. Court records on Friday after- RI 6WDQ¿HOG LV VHUYLQJ PRQWKV noon did not have information probation for leading police on a chase April 15 that ended after she available about sentencing. Stackhouse stole one car, refused to drop a knife at gunpoint, according to police, then stole a but gave up when a detective threat- second and crashed into multiple ened to shoot her with a stun gun. By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Walton that morning arranged to meet with a man in Morrow County about his stolen motorcycles, and KHLQIRUPHGWKHVKHULII¶VRI¿FHWKDW VRPHWKLQJ VHHPHG ¿VK\ $ GHSXW\ and detective spied the scene, but Walton took off when the deputy tried to pull her over. She ran from cops for about an hour, and even took a video during part of the chase and posted that to Facebook. She avoided a spike strip, though the deputy did not, and ¿QDOO\UHDFKHGKHUKRPH6 (GZDUGV 5RDG QRUWK RI 6WDQ¿HOG 6KHWULHGWRÀHHDJDLQEXWGURYHKHU GMC pickup into detective Brian Snyder’s sports utility vehicle. She then pulled a knife on Synder, who kept his distance while aiming his gun at her. She gave up Morrow County schools ponder long-term future of facilities By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Big changes could be coming to Morrow County schools as the district weighs the long-term future of its buildings in Boardman, Irrigon and Heppner. Ideas include building a new K-12 school in Heppner above the current high school, converting Windy River Elementary School in Boardman to a middle school and consoli- dating all elementary grades in Irrigon under one roof. With the district’s current 20-year bond to expire in 2021, administrators are reaching out early in each of the communities to develop a long-range plan for the schools based on their needs, condition, usability and projected enrollment. Morrow County Super- intendent Dirk Dirksen said each community will have its own unique plan, but that any building project would need county-wide support when a new bond measure is presented to voters. The plans themselves are still in draft form, but will be presented to the school board in September for consideration and approval. The planning process started last school year as the district prioritized maintenance work needed at each of the facilities. From there, Dirksen said the question became what the schools should look like in the next 20 years. “We’re just trying to create a priorities list,” Dirksen said. “You have to start that planning now. You can’t wait.” The district hired DLR Group in December, an architecture and planning ¿UPZLWKRI¿FHVLQ3RUWODQG An engineering team eval- uated each of the schools before bringing their initial Morrow County school enrollments AC Houghton Elementary School (K-3): 294 Irrigon Elementary School (4-6): 168 Irrigon Junior-Senior High School (7-12): 386 Sam Boardman Elementary School (K-3): 351 Windy River Elementary School (4-6): 207 Riverside Junior-Senior High School (7-12): 379 Heppner Elementary School (K-6): 180 Heppner Junior-Senior High School: 158 District total: 2,153 Enrollments as of June 2015. ¿QGLQJV WR D PHPEHU committee made up of local parents and community members. Karen Montovino, educational facility planner with DLR Group, said they held four work sessions with the committee to gauge what residents want to see from their schools. The most recent work session was in May. While a number of options were discussed, Montovino said the draft plans now include the following recommenda- tions: Consolidate all students in Heppner into one K-12 school, either by building a new facility or renovating the existing Heppner High School; Move K-3 students from AC Houghton in Irrigon to Irrigon Elementary, creating a K-6 school, and budget for further improvements at Irrigon Junior-Senior High; Convert Windy River Elementary School in Boardman to a 6-8 middle school and Sam Boardman Elementary to a K-5 school, leaving Riverside as strictly a 9-12 high school. Montovino said it is ultimately up to the school board to decide if those are the directions they want to go. “Each recommendation DV LW VWDQGV LV D VLJQL¿FDQW change for each commu- nity,” she said. Enrollment plays a major IDFWRULQWKH¿QDOGHFLVLRQV Dirksen said. For example, Heppner’s enrollment has been in decline ever since the Kinzua sawmill closed in the 1980s, while Boardman’s enrollment is expected to grow with the LQÀX[ RI KLJKSD\LQJ MREV at the Port of Morrow. As it stands, Dirksen said the Boardman schools could take on another 300 students before all their classrooms are full. “That’s a while down the road. But it could happen,” Dirksen said. Of course, Dirksen said any project will boil down to funding in the next bond measure. The most expensive proposal would be to build a new school in Heppner, with an estimated price tag of $33 million — QRWLQFOXGLQJLQÀDWLRQ “It’s kind of a dream list,” Dirksen said. “The plans are going to have to be cut down, I can tell you that already.” With Boardman and Irrigon located 45 miles from Heppner, Dirksen said it’s crucial for the planning process to involve district patrons in all communities to get on the same page. “We wanted to get the discussion out there,” he said. “It’s going to take a while to process this all through.” ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-564-4547. ZKHQKHDVNHGDQRWKHURI¿FHUIRUD stun gun. Walton pleaded guilty June 4 in Umatilla County Circuit Court, Hermiston, to attempt to elude police in a vehicle and recklessly endangering another person, according to court records. She also pleaded no contest to menacing. The Umatilla County District Attorney’s 2I¿FHGURSSHGFKDUJHVRIDWWHPSWHG assault, mischief and reckless driving. She also pleaded no contest to a possession of methamphetamine charge out of Morrow County. Circuit Judge Eva Temple gave Walton probation and also ordered her to pay more than $2,500 in restitution for damages to the police vehicle. Walton also lost her driver’s license for 90 days. Umatilla County set to adopt $68.9M budget Will increase full- time employees by almost 17 By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners is set to adopt the county’s $68.9 million budget for 2015-16 on Wednesday. The county will increase full-time employees by almost 17, including 6.5 positions new positions in human services; 3.9 in public health; 3.5 in the VKHULII¶V RI¿FH FULPLQDO division and three new spots in the district attor- QH\¶VRI¿FH “These increases UHÀHFWLQFUHDVHVLQVHUYLFH demands and also possible new revenues,” according to county’s budget narra- tive. Commissioner George Murdock said the budget UHÀHFWV FKDQJHV WR FRXQW\ departments to consol- idate functions, such as moving the juvenile department under the roof of the Community Justice Department and FRPELQLQJ WKH ¿QDQFH director and budget director positions into a FKLHI¿QDQFLDORI¿FHU7KH county also has cut costly job titles in recent years, namely its executive director and economic director. Murdock also said the county has a $1 million reserve to cover an increase to the Public Employees Retirement System that came in the wake of the Oregon Supreme Court ruling that the 2013 Legislature could not reduce retirees’ annual cost of living adjustment. The county budget committee, which includes the three commissioners, already approved the roughly 200-page docu- PHQW 7KH ERDUG ¿UVW ZLOO hold a public hearing on the budget then vote. The county scheduled the meeting for Wednesday at 9 a.m. in room 130 at the Umatilla County Court- house, Pendleton. In other country news, commissioners learned Thursday employee health and dental insurance for 2015-16 would increase to roughly $409,000 a month, an increase of just 0.26 percent over year prior. Lifewise provides the coverage, and company representatives said while medical increased 2.3 percent and dental went up more than 4.4 percent, medication costs dropped almost 11 percent. They said one reason was more county employees switching to generic medi- cations. The county also saved money because there were only a couple of large claims in the past year, so premiums are covering the costs of claims. The board voted 3-0 to renew coverage with Lifewise. ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0833. Shelby Rinehart Auto Health Home Life Shelby Rinehart Family Insurance Agent 541/276-2302 • 800/225-2521 The Stratton Agency Pendleton / Hermiston • stratton-insurance.com Music Saturday, June 13 on the DAN Lawn FALLER 6-9 P H AMLEY S TEAK H ouse & S aloon COURT & MAIN, PENDLETON • 541.278.1100 Umatilla County Historical Society Presents: A Tour of Farms & Historic Barns in the Butter Creek Area Saturday, June 20 th 9:30 AM -- 4:00 PM $55 Members/$60 General Admission Call Heritage Station Museum for registration information and details. 541-276-0012
