REGION
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Cooler weather
slows Phillips
Creek Fire
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Slightly cooler weather
helped slow the spread
of the Phillips Creek Fire
Wednesday, though up to 90
homes remain on prelimi-
nary evacuation alert.
The blaze, which started
Aug. 1, held steady at 1,582
acres in the Blue Mountains
northwest of Elgin. It is
burning primarily on the
Umatilla National Forest and
adjacent private lands along
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An interagency team of
586 personnel took over
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Tuesday, and crews have
been working to complete
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and southeast perimeters
near Highway 204.
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contained, and the cause is
still under investigation.
Residents of Gordon
Creek Road were added to
the list of Level 1 evacuation
notices by Union County. A
Level 1 evacuation notice
means people should be
ready to leave the area at a
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Level 1 notices are also
posted for Ruckle Road and
Sanderson Springs Road;
Highway 204 between Phil-
lips Creek Road and Valley
View Road; and on Valley
View Road between the
highway and Gordon Creek.
There are no evacuations
posted within Elgin city
limits.
Jeanne Klein is a
recreation planner for the
Bureau of Land Manage-
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interagency team. She said
the most active portion of
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the west end of Middle
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land with no structures to be
threatened.
Fire lines at the south
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property need to be cleaned
up, Klein said, and it is
possible crews will conduct
controlled burns from the
highway — depending on
the weather.
Temperatures recently
dropped from the mid-80s
to low 80s, which she said
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relief. Long-term forecasts
are calling for more of the
same conditions.
“The weather has really
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slowed considerably from
2-3 days ago.”
A public meeting was
held Wednesday evening in
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now mostly creeping and
smoldering, with isolated
groups of trees burning, as
opposed to earlier in the
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a major run to the east, Klein
said.
Phillips
Creek
is
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according to the Boise-
based National Interagency
Coordination Center.
“When they assign
resources, they can go
through and determine
which has the most
need based on size and
complexity,” Klein said.
Highway 204 remains
open to the public, though
travelers are advised to take
alternate routes to avoid
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Numerous forest roads are
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been increased to extreme,
and Phase B public use
restrictions on chainsaws
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on the Umatilla, Wallowa-
Whitman and Malheur
national forests.
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posted online at www.blue-
mountainfireinfo.blogspot.
com. For more information
about public use restrictions,
call the Umatilla National
Forest information hotline at
1-877-958-9663.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
BRIEFLY
Motorcyclist
suffers serious
injuries in crash
Registered sex
offender in jail
after touching girl
PENDLETON — A
75-year-old Idaho man
broke both legs Tuesday in
a motorcycle crash south of
Pilot Rock.
Oregon State Police
reported James Edward
Yarbrough of Post Falls
was southbound on
Highway 395 on a Yamaha
motorcycle a little before
noon when he came around
a corner about eight miles
south of Pilot Rock and
saw a truck in the opposite
direction had drifted over
the center line.
Yarbrough moved to the
shoulder of the roadway to
miss the truck and hit a fog
marker, according to state
police, drove on and struck
a second fog marker. That
impact threw him from the
machine.
Yarbrough suffered
“compound fractures
with both legs broken,”
according to the report
from state police, and
an ambulance took him
to St. Anthony Hospital,
Pendleton. He was then
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Heart Hospital, Spokane,
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satisfactory condition.
PENDLETON — A
20-year-old Pendleton
man faces charges after he
touched a 9-year-old girl.
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts reported
Mitchal Dawnivun Phillips
was visiting Willowbrook
Terrace, a nursing and
rehabilitation center, on
Sunday when he touched
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her mother reported that to
police.
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description of the suspect
and soon caught Phillips.
Police questioned the man,
according to Roberts, and
arrested him the same day
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sexual abuse. Roberts
also reported that records
indicate Phillips is a
registered sex offender.
Umatilla County Circuit
Court records show Phillips
faced an arraignment
Monday, and Judge Lynn
Hampton set his bail at
$100,000. His next court
hearing is Friday morning,
probably after a grand jury
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Phillips remains in
the Umatilla County Jail,
Pendleton.
East Oregonian
Page 3A
PENDLETON
Still rocking after 10 years
Rock & Roll Camp
celebrates decade of
cultivating musicians
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
Peter Walters practically
has to pinch himself when
talking about the upcoming
Pendleton Center for the Arts
Rock & Roll Camp.
Walters
and
others
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Garage Bands 101 class to
offer the weeklong camp in
2006. Now in its 10th year,
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while continuing to offer the
experience at no charge to its
participants.
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doing anything for 10 years,”
Walters said. “I was barely
out of high school when we
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years old.”
Addison Schulberg, a
recent Willamette University
graduate, has come full
circle with the camp. As a
teen, Schulberg attended
each year, and then later was
invited back as a counselor.
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me as a junior counselor —
that was one of the greatest
honors,” Schulberg said.
A lot of the credit for
the continuance of the
camp, Walters said, goes to
Pendleton. The community
and businesses, he said,
have helped cover costs that
make the camp possible. In
addition, he said people like
Schulberg are an asset.
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have him.”
Schulberg played guitar
and bass in high school.
Attending the camp, Schul-
berg said, helped plug him
into new possibilities.
Currently recording and
producing his own music,
as well as that of friends,
Schulberg said he learned
a lot about the processes
of songwriting, recording,
producing and distribution
Contributed photo
Peter Walters, far right, works with campers as they practice a new song during the
inaugural Rock & Roll Camp in 2006. In its 10th year, this year’s free event starts
Monday at Pendleton Center for the Arts.
“Rock and Roll
Camp showed
me that you can
do everything
yourself. It makes
it seem like much
less of a hurdle to
be in a band.”
— Addison Schulberg,
Rock & Roll Camp
attendee turned counselor
in advance. The camp is
Monday, Aug. 10 through
Friday, Aug. 14. The sessions
run daily from 8:30 a.m. to
interesting for every kid 4:30 p.m. at the arts center,
that came to camp,” Walters 214 N. Main St., Pendleton.
The camp crescendos with
said. “Not everyone wants
be a rock star. We wanted to a free concert Friday, Aug. 14
show kids there are still ways at 7 p.m. in the 400 block of
to be involved in the music Main Street, Pendleton.
For more information or
world.”
Word of mouth seems a registration form, contact
info@
to have spread regarding 541-278-9201,
3HQGOHWRQ¶V URFN FDPS DV pendletonarts.org, stop by
it has attracted participants the arts center or visit www.
from other states. In addition, pendletonarts.org.
———
counselors include musicians
Contact
Community
IURP DFURVV WKH 3DFL¿F
Editor Tammy Malgesini at
Northwest and beyond.
Although the camp is free, tmalgesini@eastoregonian.
participants must register com or 541-564-4539
Contributed photo
Addison Schulberg, left, began as a camper at the
annual Rock & Roll Camp, and eventually became a
counselor at the annual event.
by participating each year.
“Rock and Roll Camp
showed me that you can do
everything yourself,” Schul-
berg said. “It makes it seem
like much less of a hurdle to
be in a band.”
Walters points out that
the camp includes more
than just writing music and
performing. Workshops also
focus on behind-the-scenes
aspects of the music industry,
including rock journalism,
album
designing
and
promoting.
“We offered something
UMATILLA
City council still stumped on marijuana
council he uses medical mari-
juana to help combat his daily
pain from a chronic form of
More than a year after Guillain-Barre Syndrome that
¿UVW WDNLQJ XS WKH LVVXH WKH attacks his nervous system
Umatilla City Council still and creates a constant “pins
LVQ¶W VXUH ZKDW WR GR DERXW and needles” feeling in his
medical marijuana dispensa- limbs.
A former Department
ries.
The council voted Tuesday of Corrections employee,
to table an ordinance banning McMillan said he used to
the dispensaries until its Aug. be completely against all
PHHWLQJDQGFRXOGQ¶WJHW marijuana use. But after
enough votes to even read being struck with his neuro-
an alternative ordinance that logical disorder in January
would have regulated them 2013 he said he has found
instead. Its moratorium on that occasional use on days
dispensaries runs out Aug. 20. his pain is particularly bad
Before the council took up is a preferable alternative to
the issue it heard public testi- addictive opiates or alcohol.
Right now he has to go
mony from several residents.
One resident said Umatilla to Portland to legally obtain
was too small of a town to medical marijuana from a
need a medical marijuana dispensary, and he said it
dispensary and he wanted takes him two days to recover
the city to have an image he from the trip.
“I plead with you to make
felt proud of. But the rest of
the testimony was in favor of it available here,” he said.
Tammy Williams, a
dispensaries.
William McMillan told the registered nurse who has
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
mostly worked in intensive
care during her career, said
she also supported Umatilla
allowing dispensaries. She
said she often sees people in
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prescription medications for
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insurance. She has seen some
of those people helped by
medical marijuana.
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VDIH DQG ,¶P QRW VD\LQJ LW
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option,” she said.
Councilors Mary Dedrick
and David Lougee expressed
concern about allowing
marijuana-related businesses
into the city, however, saying
that it was hard to foresee
every possible problem while
writing regulations.
“We need to ask ourselves
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in the region, in Hermiston,”
Lougee said.
In the end the council chose
not to take a vote on the set
of regulations that had been
prepared, and voted in favor of
tabling the ordinance banning
dispensaries until Aug. 18.
Before that point the council
also agreed to have a work
session on Thursday at 6 p.m.
to discuss what direction the
council wants to give the plan-
ning commission concerning
their work to overhaul the
FLW\¶VFRPPHUFLDO]RQHUXOHV
———
Contact Jade McDowell at
jmcdowell@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4536.
AUGUST 11-15, 2015
FREE SHUTTLE SERVICE
FRI & SAT ONLY
2:00-11:00PM
Umatilla County Fairgrounds
BUS STOPS:
•Hermiston Conference Center (Hwy 395)
• Davis Carnival Gate #16 (Highland Ave)
• West Park School (Orchard Ave)
• Thompson Hall Gate #2 (Orchard Ave)
ADDITIONAL PARKING at West Park Elem. &
Orchard & 1st • Tues-Sat
Title Sponsor
Co-Sponsored by
Mid-Columbia
Bus Co.
Call or stop by the Fair Office:
515 W. Orchard, Hermiston
541-567-6121 • www.co.umatilla.or.us/fair