REGION
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Hermiston man dies in head-on crash Speedy trial possibility
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
A 25-year-old Hermiston
man died Monday in Gilliam
County when he smashed
head-on into a semitrailer.
Oregon State Police reported
investigators do not know
why Tyler D. Brown drove
a 1999 Jeep Cherokee
hauling a utility trailer the
wrong way on Interstate 84
and the case remains under
investigation.
Some people who claimed
to know Brown commented
on Facebook about the
man. One described him as
a “wonderful young man,”
another, as a “nice guy,” and
another posted Brown was
“a great man who leaves
behind an infant daughter...”
State police troopers
and emergency personnel
responded to reports of a
head-on crash Monday at
about 11:15 p.m. on I-84
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miles east of Rufus. State
police spokesman Lt. Bill
Fugate said in the moments
before the crash several
callers reported the Jeep
going east in the westbound
lanes.
State
police
were
responding to those calls
when the Jeep crashed
directly into a 1999 Peterbilt
semitrailer. Fugate said it
appears Brown died in that
impact.
The vehicles stopped in
the travel lanes and caught
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the driver of the Peterbilt,
Michael McCright, 61, of
Redmond, escaped unin-
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both vehicles.
The semi was hauling
a load of fresh salmon,
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spent hours before fully
extinguishing the blaze.
State police and the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion shut down I-84 in both
directions for almost four
hours until opening one
lane in each direction. State
police reported crews still on
scene cleaning the highway.
Brown in March 2011
crashed a gold 1994 Honda
at the intersection of West
Orchard Avenue and South-
west 23rd Street, Hermiston.
A Umatilla County sheriff’s
deputy responded and found
the crash totaled the car.
The deputy cited Brown for
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intoxicants, reckless driving,
driving while suspended and
possession of a controlled
substance. Umatilla County
Circuit Court records show
Brown completed a diver-
sion program and the state
dismissed the charges.
Fugate said an autopsy
and toxicology tests are in
the works for the body, and
those could reveal more
information.
HERMISTON
Stop and smell the lavender
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
Nearly a decade ago,
Jim and Sheri Konningrud
transformed part of their
pasture land near their
Victorian-style home into a
sea of lavender.
Since then, the Herm-
iston couple found a way
to share their soothing oasis
with others — both as a
venue for a fragrant festival
and as a fundraiser for
Martha’s House, a homeless
family shelter operated by
Agape House.
The
Purple
Ridge
Lavender Festival has
grown each year since it
began in 2009, providing
additional support to people
in need. The Konningruds
were familiar with Agape
House and its mission
through their other business,
Pea Ridge Embroidery &
Signs. They felt the chari-
table organization would be
DSHUIHFW¿W
“It’s a great cause,” said
Sheri Konningrud. “(The
festival is) something we
really like to do for the
community.”
Purple Ridge Lavender
Festival is Saturday form
Contributed photo
The sixth annual Purple Ridge Lavender Festival ben-
efits Martha’s House, a family homeless shelter oper-
ated by Agape House.
Purple Ridge Lavender Festival
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
29081 Bridge Road, Hermiston
Food, quilt expo, photos, vendors, art show, wine/beer
tasting, lavender crafting
10 a.m. to 6 p.m., wine/beer tasting
2:30- 5:30 p.m.: Sno Road Winery tasting
5-6 p.m., Happy Hour lavender plant sales
Live music
10 a.m., BBPD Power Duo; 11 a.m., Cruise Control
2 p.m., Nancy & Bill; 4 p.m., Rock Blythe & Two Faced
Johnny
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 29081
Bridge Road, located west
of Hermiston. General
admission is $10 or $12
for wine and beer tasting
admission. All of the vendor
fees and gate admissions
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Agape House.
The Martha’s House
shelter opened in 2013 and
has capacity for eight to 10
families. Dave Hughes, Agape
House executive director, said
families can stay for three to
six months to get back on their
feet. About 75 families have
used the shelter.
Hughes
is
pleased
with the partnership with
the Konningruds and the
lavender festival.
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are declining and we
encourage people to come
enjoy the festival and ensure
we can continue to serve the
community through this
program,” Hughes said.
The event allows people
to pick lavender, buy
lavender products and try
lavender-infused food and
beverages, while enjoying
live music, an art show, a
quilt expo and more. People
can taste lavender beer
from Hermiston Brewing
Company and wine from
Sno Road Winery.
———
Sean Hart of EO Media
Group contributed to this
story
Hermiston may use Newport as stormwater collector
in May, to nearby property
owners whose homes were
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A proposed redesign of a nearby city pump system
Newport Park in Hermiston was overwhelmed by heavy
would be good for the neigh- rains.
The area has experienced
bors but bad for softball
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teams that practice there.
City staff are proposing more frequent basis lately,
to lower the grade of the he said, and there was a
VRIWEDOO ¿HOG DW WKH SDUN E\ concern that eventually the
about 18 inches and remove city would be forced to buy
some
improvements, out the properties.
“The problem is we’re
including the fence, in order
to divert excess stormwater not compensating those
LQWR WKH ¿HOG LQVWHDG RI property owners for using
their property for storm
neighboring yards.
“The current system as drainage,” Morgan said.
The plan to divert water
designed gets overwhelmed
and neighboring properties WR WKH ¿HOG DW 1HZSRUW
become de facto storm Park would help with the
swales,” assistant city ÀRRGLQJEXWWKHFKDQJHVWR
manager Mark Morgan told WKHSDUNDQGWKHÀRRGLQJLW
would experience during
city councilors Monday.
He said the city has paid rainstorms would make it
RXW ¿YH LQVXUDQFH FODLPV less accommodating to the
since 2012, including two softball and baseball teams
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
that practice there.
Greg Jones of Herm-
iston Little League said he
schedules six softball teams
and one baseball team for
regular practice at Newport
Park. The high school’s
varsity softball team has
batting
practice
there
sometimes, he said, and he
sees adult teams grab the
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when it’s available.
“Backstops are rare in
town,” he said.
Morgan said the backstop
would remain in place.
Rich Devin, Hermiston
Little League president, said
the program is “busting at
the seams” and growing. He
said when he takes teams to
tournaments in other towns
he thinks of how much
revenue Hermiston could
bring to the community by
DGGLQJHQRXJK¿HOGVWRKROG
tournaments locally.
City councilman Manuel
Gutierrez said the city
has a responsibility to the
residents whose homes are
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a responsibility to the youth
of the city to provide recre-
ational opportunities. Other
councilors agreed, saying
that if the city was going
WRPDNHWKHSOD\LQJ¿HOGDW
Newport Park less condu-
cive to softball practices
it needed to come up with
more playing space, whether
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or expanding partnerships
with the school district.
With the support of
the city council, Morgan
said city staff would move
ahead with designing a plan
for Newport Park, with
construction expected in
the fall at a cost of about
$40,000.
for man accused of
killing infant daughter
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
An Irrigon man facing
charges for killing his
10-month-old
daughter
remains on track for a
speedy trial. Travis
Michael
Martin,
21, has yet to waive
his right to a trial
within 60 days.
Morrow County
District Attorney
Justin Nelson said
the
speedy-trial
clock starts ticking
at the time of arrest. Martin
“The idea being
that is when their
personal liberties are taken
away,” Nelson explained.
Martin had a pre-trial
hearing Thursday, and his
attorney, Robert Klahn of
Pendleton, discussed waiving
his client’s right to a speedy
trial as well as requesting
a release hearing, but as of
Tuesday afternoon he had not
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The Sixth Amendment to
the United States Constitu-
tion guarantees the right to
a speedy trail, and Article I,
Section 10, of the Oregon
Constitution states a defen-
dant has the right to a trial
“without delay.” Making
that happen, though, can
take some court docket
juggling.
Roy Blaine coordinates
trials for Oregon’s Sixth
Judicial District, which
encompasses the circuit
courts of Umatilla and
Morrow counties. He said it
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RI WKH GLVWULFW¶V ¿YH FLUFXLW
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into their schedule.
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have long-standing schedules,
and we have 60-day trials
going in Umatilla County
as well as Morrow County,”
Blaine said. “The biggest
challenge is determining
which case holds precedence
and which does not.”
Speedy trials have a high
priority in Oregon, he said,
but juvenile trials have even
greater precedence, so it
takes some combing through
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mandatory cases that could
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RI
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culty. Oregon Revised Statute
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not preside over
cases
involving
their relatives, for
example, or former
law partners or
clients, nor if they
have other personal
FRQÀLFWV 7KH ODZ
also allows defen-
dants to disqualify
two judges per
proceeding for “no
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Beyond that, defendants
have to make a case for
disqualifying a judge.
“We’ve had cases where
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County judges could not hear
a matter,” Blaine said. Blaine
said in those circumstances
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a visiting judge to handle the
case.
Martin pleaded not guilty
WR WKUHH FRXQWV RI ¿UVWGH-
gree criminal mistreatment,
three counts of third-degree
assault and two counts each
RI VHFRQG DQG ¿UVWGHJUHH
manslaughter. The state
accused Martin of slamming
his daughter, Savannah, to
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27. The girl died the next day
after an air ambulance rushed
her to a Spokane children’s
hospital. Martin has been
in the Umatilla County Jail,
Pendleton, since his arrest on
May 29.
1HOVRQ VDLG KLV RI¿FH
is preparing for trial, but
he suspected Klahn would
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common action for defense
attorneys. Pushing off a
trial allows them more time
WR KDYH LQYHVWLJDWRUV ¿QG
witnesses and evidence while
also looking for weaknesses
in the state’s case. The
court has not set dates for
Martin’s trial, and it could
be that judges are reluctant
to commit to dates that will
soon leave the docket.
Until then, Martin’s next
hearing is July 9.
Suicide at Deadman Pass
under investigation by OSP
PENDLETON — An
Idaho truck driver apparently
killed himself last week near
Pendleton. Oregon State
Police reported the state
PHGLFDO H[DPLQHU¶V RI¿FH LV
continuing the investigation
into the death of Guy S.
Kravitz, 51, of Twin Falls.
State police in a written
statement
reported
its
dispatch center in Central
Point received information
Friday at 9:48 a.m. that
a commercial semi was
VWRSSHGIRUDERXW¿YHKRXUV
at the eastbound Deadman
Pass rest area, exit 228 on
Interstate 84. Another driver
checked the semi, according
to state police, and found
a suicide note and called
police.
Troopers from Pendleton
responded to the rest area
and talked to a person who
was geocaching in the area
and found the man’s body in
a wooded area approximately
100 yards from his vehicle.
“Evidence at the scene and
evidence discovered during
the death investigation were
consistent with suicide as the
cause of death,” according to
state police.
The toll free line for
Oregon Partnership Lifeline/
National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.
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