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East Oregonian
Tribes gather at Wildhorse Pow Wow
By JONATHAN BACH
East Oregonian
Cinema will be unaffected by
the Pendleton Cinema sale.
Humphrey said he’ll miss
Following the closure
the happy faces streaming of Pendleton Cinema, the
RXWRIWKHWKHDWHUDIWHUD¿OP Round-Up City will be
ends, but the long drive times without a movie theater for
it took to oversee his theaters WKH¿UVWWLPHLQGHFDGHVWKH
were taking a toll.
nearest theater now being the
After Destiny Theatres ¿YHVFUHHQ FLQHSOH[ DW WKH
bought Pendleton Cinema Wildhorse Resort & Casino.
in 1994, Humphrey said
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he looked repeatedly into converted a former grocery
upgrading the theater. Each store into a three-screen
time, the plans didn’t pan out cinema, prompting the
as economically feasible.
shuttering of the Rivoli and
“It would never be able to United Artist theaters.
pay for itself,” he said.
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Unlike Hermiston, which on the Pendleton Cinema
EHQH¿WV IURP D ³YLEUDQW marquee were “Arthur,”
economy” and a larger “Paternity,”
and
“The
customer base, Humphrey Watcher in the Woods.”
said
Pendleton
simply
———
doesn’t have enough people
Contact Antonio Sierra at
to support a movie theater.
asierra@eastoregonian.com
Humphrey said Hermiston or 541-966-0836.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
World Champion Jingle Dancer
Acosia Red Elk participates in an
intertribal exhibition on Friday
during the start of the 21st annual
Wildhorse Pow Wow.
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the event.
Vendors at the pow wow sell every-
thing from cowboy hats to shortcake to
T-shirts with American Indian themes.
Norbert Anderson, from Vancouver,
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This was his third time to the pow wow.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Tribal dancers participate in the
Grand Entry on Friday at the start
of the 21st annual Wildhorse Pow
Wow.
He once stopped at Wildhorse for its
casino and found himself attending the
pow wow, he said.
Elaine Richards, 74, looks out at the
children on the lawn.
“It’s really neat that even little children
are carrying on the tradition,” she said.
The ceremonial event runs from
Friday to Sunday.
FIRE: Destroyed two storage trailers, saved home
Lightning strikes were
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coupled with intense heat
and drought that has left
the region essentially a
tinderbox now into summer.
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to face the Sugarloaf Fire
as it raced toward private
property up Dick Creek
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community of Kimberly.
Buce recalls how quickly
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down on their own house
and rental cabins.
Without much time to act,
Buce evacuated all guests
at the inn while he stayed
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responding from the Bureau
of Land Management. They
set up sprinklers in strategic
locations and did back
burning of dried grasses to
protect structures.
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storage trailers and charred
every last acre Buce’s land
to a blackened crisp, but
with the help of the BLM
they were able to save his
home and business.
“It was so close,” he said.
“It happened so fast, and it
was so big. You look back
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not burn the house.”
Aundrea Larson, her
husband Chris, and two
children were among those
staying at Lands Inn when
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along
with Aundrea’s
parents, are building a cabin
farther up Dick Creek Road
as an escape from the hustle
and bustle of city life.
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CINEMA: Nearest theater now
is at Wildhorse Resort & Casino
Continued from 1A
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the Wildhorse 21st Annual Pow Wow
on Saturday. A steady but urgent pulse
picked up over time as men sang a
high-pitched chorus and hit the drum,
which is meant to represent a heart beat,
according to Ernestine Morning Owl,
one of the pow wow’s coordinators.
“If there were no drum, there would
be no dancing,” said Morning Owl of
the mutual dependence the two have in
American Indian culture.
Eagle feathers and vibrant garments
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young children to old men danced around
the resort’s south lawn. After each dance,
the drummers alternated.
Musicians came from across the
United States and Canada to participate
in the pow wow, according to Morning
Owl.
Leslie Nicholas, 25, from Maine, was
one such drummer. He’s been part of a
drum circle for 15 years and attributed a
mentally healing quality to the music. He
said he wished more people would try it
out.
It doesn’t matter if you’re black,
white, Indian or otherwise, according to
Nicholas.
“Lots of power comes from that
drum,” he said. “If people are feeling
down, it uplifts them.”
For one vendor, the drum group was a
high point in the festival.
“The drum makes you proud,” said
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Continued from 1A
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
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John Day River and went to
Dayville for ice cream when
they saw smoke coming off
Sugarloaf Mountain.
“We got that sinking
feeling,” she said. “We
knew it was close. Unfortu-
nately, our worst fears were
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Larson said they came
back as quickly as they
could up the winding dirt
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to gather their things and
warn a few more neighbors.
They spent the night in
John Day, and didn’t sleep
a wink.
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worried about everybody’s
place burning down,” she
said. “We, really truly, had
a lot less to lose. People
up there have houses and
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them.”
The response from the
neighbors was remarkable,
Larson said. With extensive
knowledge of the area, Buce
was able to draw a map for
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who also lives nearby,
stayed up all night doing
burn backs and directing
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A portion of the Sugar-
loaf Fire also burned about
55 acres onto the John
Day Fossil Beds National
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began in the park around the
Blue Basin Overlook Trail
which burned up fencing,
part of a retaining wall and
threatened an historic home.
Several power poles were
also damaged, knocking out
power to the entire Sheep
Rock Unit.
2012 NW Carden Ave.
541-276-1522
We’re Moving!
St. Anthony Family Clinic
Closed July 9th & 10th
Opening
Monday, July 13 th • 8 a.m.
will be located at
3001 St. Anthony Way
St. Anthony Hospital
Medical Office Building
2801 St. Anthony Way
Pendleton, OR 97801
541-966-0535
www.sahpendleton.org
The Blue Basin Fire
is under investigation as
possibly
human-caused.
Mike Rubin, chief of facility
management for the park,
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be tricky because they try
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retardant that could damage
fossils.
Fire is fairly common at
the park, he said, especially
given the current drought
conditions.
“The big thing to keep in
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plan accordingly,” Rubin
said.
With the Sugarloaf Fire
now contained, the big
emphasis is on Corner Creek
Fire — by far the largest
right now in Oregon. That
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one hunting cabin and crept
up on local ranches.
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the Oregon Department
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though conditions have
improved which should help
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“It’s sure looking a lot
better now than it did last
Friday,” Ballou said.
Larson said the commu-
nity is thankful for the hard
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keep everyone safe.
“I can guarantee you there
was a lot of praying going
on,” she said. “There were
no lives lost and nobody’s
home lost. We have a lot to
be thankful for.”
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4547.
LEGISLATURE: Passed statewide
requirement for paid sick leave
Continued from 1A
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standard. Critics also raised
questions about the assumed
greenhouse-gas
reductions
in some of the alternatives
proposed to the standard.
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the political ball will bounce
back to the Portland City
Council, which suspended
its consideration of a street
repair fee pending legislative
discussion.
Party lines
Democrats were able to
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a statewide requirement for
paid sick leave and a volun-
tary retirement savings plan
for workers without access
to one. However, neither
chamber advanced an increase
in Oregon’s minimum wage,
which at $9.25 per hour is the
nation’s second highest state-
wide rate only to Washing-
ton’s $9.47. Advocates have
taken steps toward qualifying
a 2016 ballot measure setting
a $15 rate by 2019.
Democrats also expanded
a criminal background check
for most private gun sales and
transfers without Republican
votes.
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approve
implementation
legislation for the 2014 ballot
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MXDQD IRU UHFUHDWLRQDO XVH
and to tighten regulation of
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Temporary retail sales by
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ries can start only on Oct. 1 —
three months after the ballot
measure took effect this week
— if Brown signs the bill.
The Oregon Liquor Control
Commission estimates that it
will be well into 2016 before
it licenses retail sales.
A related measure substi-
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purchasers for the taxation
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Democrats also prevailed
on a bill, which also failed
on a tie vote in the Senate
in 2013, that automatically
registers people to vote based
on driver records. They can
opt out within 21 days.
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bill, advanced by Brown
as secretary of state — and
signed by Brown as one of her
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Brown will be up in 2016
for election to the remaining
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Lawmakers will meet
again in February for a session
that is limited to 35 days.