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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2015)
WEEKEND EDITION REGION: Concert celebrates ending of WWII 2A ENTERTAINMENT: Hip-hop shockwaves rippled to Oregon 3C Humans of the Umatilla County Fair FRIDAY AT FARM CITY RODEO/1B LIFESTYLES 1C AUGUST 15-16, 2015 139th Year, No. 217 WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD $1.50 Background check law firing blanks Requirement for private sales dif¿ cult to ful¿ ll, enforce By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Oregon’s new law requiring background checks for private gun transactions has local law enforce- ment leaders doubtful it will keep guns out of the wrong hands. And prominent local gun businesses this week reported no one has come to them for the checks. Not that it would matter much — most gun retailers are not even offering the service for private transfers. Senate Bill 941 went into effect Sunday, Aug. 9, and expands background checks to include most private and online gun transfers. The law requires both parties in a private gun transaction go together to a licensed gun dealer who would charge a fee to conduct the back- ground check on the buyer to make sure that person is not a felon or has other prohibitions in place from having a gun. Gun background checks in Oregon go through the Oregon State Police. SB 941 authorizes state police to notify appropriate law enforcement agencies when a check À ags the recipient. Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts said his department already deals with such referrals. “These types of cases are losers from the get-go because in theory both parties have culpability,” he Smoke, dust in the wind stated. “Therefore, their motivation to cooperate is signi¿ cantly dimin- ished either due to their strong belief that the new law is an infringement on their constitutional right or a host of other reasons.” Roberts also questioned if the law would keep ¿ rearms out of the hands of criminals, but that does not mean Pendleton police will ignore See GUNS/10A MILTON-FREEWATER Smoky skies affect air quality, shut down I-84 By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian +igh winds fanned the À ames of numerous Eastern Oregon wild¿ res Friday, ushering in a thick haze over Pendleton and shutting down Inter- state 84 eastbound at Wildhorse Resort & Casino. The National Weather Service issued a blowing dust advisory through Friday night as gusts reached 45 mph and reduced visi- bility to one mile in some locations. A red À ag advisory also remained in effect until 11 p.m., combining heat and wind to create prime conditions for ¿ re. Lightning hammered the Umatilla National Forest on Thursday, which sparked 17 new ¿ res scattered across the Walla Walla and Pomeroy ranger districts — mostly within the Wenaha-Tu- cannon Wilderness. All ¿ res were initially reported less than an acre, but had doubled or tripled in size by Friday afternoon, according to the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center in La Grande. Joani Bosworth, spokeswoman on the Umatilla National Forest, said the ¿ res could be managed together as part of a complex. Meanwhile, ¿ re¿ ghters backed out of the area Friday due to the unpre- dictable wind and dif¿ cult terrain. “It really is a serious situation out there,” Bosworth said. Increased smoke should reduce air quality in Pendleton and Herm- iston over the next several days, according to the Umatilla County Health Department. The Oregon Department of Transportation also shut down I-84 eastbound at Pendleton and westbound at Staff photo by E.J. Harris Ontario Friday, spanning 167 miles The Pendleton Farmer’s Market gets underway as a heavy haze blows into the of highway. area on Friday in Pendleton. A combination of smoke, dust and wind prompted the Tom Strandberg, ODOT Umatilla County Health Department to declare an air quality advisory. The Umatilla See SMOKE/10A County Fair in Hermiston was also affected by the windstorm, which blew tents and pamphlets across the fairgrounds. See Page 3A for more on the fair. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Avery Wells, 19, of Milton-Freewater watches her 18-month-old sister, Alyx, as she reaches out to pet Izzy the Camel on Friday at the Mud- dy Frogwater Festival in Milton-Freewater. Celebrity camel steals show at froggy festival By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian The frog may be the unof¿ cial mascot of Milton-Freewater’s Muddy Frogwater Country Classic Festival, but its main attraction isn’t amphibious. Resting comfortably in the shade of a tree Friday, Izzy didn’t seem likely to hop, croak or swim. But that didn’t stop both children and adults from stop- ping by the Izzy’s small enclosure to pet and admire the eight-year-old dromedary camel. According to Izzy’s owner, Tawnya Richards of Waitsburg, Wash., it didn’t take long for the camel to reach regional stardom. In 2009, Richards’ husband bought Izzy at a Boise horse show from a petting zoo owner looking to get out of the business. Having never been around other camels, Rich- ards said Izzy is uncommonly tolerant of human contact and doesn’t bite or spit. Izzy’s docile nature led Richards to book his ¿ rst public event at a Waitsburg car show. The event combined with Izzy’s visual promi- nence at the Richards’ ranch by U.S. Route 12 led to more bookings, including educational events at schools and as entertainment at children’s birthday parties. Richards started touring Izzy across the North- west, with Muddy Frogwater added as a stop six years ago. See CAMEL/10A Conference addresses intergenerational trauma in Indian Country Recent sessions in Mission were not about reliving past atrocities, however, but rather American Indian history on moving forward despite includes plenty of injustice on them. Trainers Jillene Joseph, the part of the United States an enrolled member government. Native of the Gros Ventre children ripped tribe in Montana, from families and and Robert Johnston, placed in boarding who is Muscogee schools. Tribal (Creek) and Choctaw, designations and land spent two days at the stripped away. Tribal Tamastslikt Cultural languages outlawed. Institute inspiring Indians relocated or teenagers to make killed such as the healthy choices. On approximately 300 Johnston Wednesday morning who died in the Sioux at the Wildhorse Resort & massacre at Wounded Knee. The ugly trail of dominance Casino, they engaged a mostly and disrespect still stirs up adult crowd on the topic of plenty of anger in Indian See TRAUMA/9A Country. By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Staff photo by Kathy Aney Jillene Joseph, a member of the Gros Ventre tribe in Montana, laughs Wednes- day during an exercise at a seminar that examined historical trauma. Joseph is a trainer with the Native Wellness Institute.