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East Oregonian
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
GARRETT: Rose to the level of captain for the Pendleton Fire Department
Continued from 1A
appendicitis, his mother had
a miscarriage and the Japa-
nese bombed Pearl Harbor,
sending the nation into a
panic.
“We thought the world
was falling apart,” he said.
With his father working
in the lumber industry
throughout World War II and
after, Garrett’s family criss-
crossed the western United
States. After moving from
La Grande to Northern Cali-
fornia, they moved again to
Emmett, Idaho, where Garrett
graduated from high school.
Garrett relocated with
his family again, this time
to Pendleton, where Garrett
followed in his father’s
footsteps and got a job at a
sawmill in Pilot Rock.
Garrett wouldn’t stay in
timber for too long, enlisting
in the Navy in 1950 as the
country entered into the
Korean War.
As
an
instructional
mechanic, Garrett spent the
war transporting supplies and
personnel to the front lines.
A major staging area
for the U.S. during the war,
Garrett was stationed in Japan
even after American troops
withdrew from Korea in
1953.
One of the major impres-
sions Japan made on Garrett
was the sheer magnitude of
the country’s population, as
reÀected in his thoughts on a
Tokyo train station.
“They told us that four
Contributed photo
Contributed photo
A snowcapped Mount Fuji looms in the distance in 1954.
million people went through
that station every half hour,”
he wrote in his memoir,
“For someone like me from
Eastern Oregon, that is more
people that I had ever seen
up till then. It looked like
water Àowing through the
concourse.”
On a day off in July 1954,
Garrett decided to hike
Mount Fuji with his friend,
Lee Travis.
Garrett
and
Travis
managed to make it to the
summit, but found it dif¿cult
to get back down against the
tide of international tourists
making their way up the
mountain.
The two friends devised
an alternate way to get down
— they would jump down
the mountain 20 feet at a time
with the aid of their climbing
poles.
The method worked for a
while until Travis’ pole broke
and his hand began to bleed.
Japanese climbers rushed
to the scene, and although
Garrett originally thought
they were asking for a picture,
it turned out they were trying
to render ¿rst aid.
Garrett and Travis were
moved by the generosity
of the Japanese strangers,
changing the perception of
the people they once thought
of as enemies.
More than 60 years after
the event, recalling the
experience brought tears to
Garrett’s eyes.
“They were about the
sweetest people you ever
saw,” he said.
Garrett was discharged
from the Navy in 1955 and
promptly went to work
re-establishing himself in
Pendleton.
After spending several
more years at the sawmill,
Garrett started working for
the Pendleton Fire Depart-
ment in 1964. Garrett rose
to the level of captain before
retiring in 1987.
STANFIELD: Students to send care packages to deployed troops
Continued from 1A
the pillow,” she said.
She asked her classmates
to spend more than one day
a year being grateful for the
veterans who protected their
freedoms, and to remember
the families of those who
made the ultimate sacri¿ce.
“There are a lot of young
people like me who have had
mothers and fathers die in
the service, so I’m one of the
lucky ones,” she said.
Her father said military
recruiters try to tout the bene-
¿ts of using military service
to pay for college, but he
joined the Marines because
he “wanted to serve my
country, for no other reason
than I was proud of it.”
David recounted a moment
when a drill instructor asked
recruits to take a good look at
the American Àag.
“He told us if we joined
the military for any other
reason than the Àag and to
serve our country then we
needed to reevaluate what
we were doing there,” he
said.
He told students who are
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Louis Nakapalau talks about his experiences in joining
the army at the age of fifteen and serving in Vietnam
during a Veterans Day ceremony Tuesday at Stanfield
Secondary School.
thinking of joining the mili-
tary they needed to consider
the same thing, because “we
live in dangerous times” and
chances are good that they
would be asked to serve on
the front lines of conÀict.
Veteran Louis Nakapalau
also spoke to the students
during the assembly. He
recounted the tricks he used
to lie about his age and join
the Army at age 15 after
running away from home. He
ended up serving two tours in
Vietnam from 1969 to 1971.
Nakapalau said he had
respect for every veteran who
was present at the assembly.
“We
wore
different
uniforms and were in
different
services,
but
make no mistake, we were
brothers,” he said, adding
that although they didn’t
have any “sisters” at the
school that day, women have
served in military roles and
are part of that bond, too.
Nakapalau said the Army
gave him an opportunity to
see the world and get to know
people from all different
cultures and walks of life.
The
speeches
were
followed by the playing of
“Taps” and an announcement
that the National Honor
Society was gathering items
with the goal of sending
at least 40 care packages
to deployed troops for the
holidays.
Kirsten Wright, school
counselor and National
Honor Society advisor, said
she was pleased with how
students stepped up to help
with the assembly. They
put together a presentation
detailing the history of the
armed forces, she said, and
so many of them showed up
to cook breakfast for their
veteran guests that they
couldn’t all ¿t in the kitchen.
“It’s always an exciting
part of my job to take some
time to celebrate Veterans
Day, and I’m proud of the
kids for taking an active role
in helping with that,” she
said.
PRISON: Would need to slash prison intakes by 25 each month
Continued from 1A
March.
Longer sentences and a
spike in probation revoca-
tions are contributing to the
growth, said Mike Schmidt,
executive director of the
Oregon Criminal Justice
Commission.
Even so, justice reinvest-
ment grants have helped the
state avoid prison costs of
about 19 million, Schmidt
said.
As an example, the total
number of months that ¿rst-
time offenders spent in prison
for property and drug crimes
decreased by 3,270 months
between 2012-13 and 2014-
15, according to the criminal
justice commission.
Without justice rein-
vestment, Oregon already
would have had to expand
Deer Ridge Correctional
Institution and move forward
on planning construction of
another prison, said Colette
Peters, director of the
Department of Corrections.
To stave off the Deer
Ridge expansion, the state
would need to slash the
number of male prison
intakes by 25 each month
starting
in
December,
according to an analysis by
the criminal justice commis-
sion.
Another idea for reducing
the prison population is to
allow prisoners approved
for short-term transitional
leave to be released earlier,
said Scott Taylor, director of
Multnomah County Depart-
ment of Community Justice.
Under law, those prisoners
can be released up to 90
days early into a transitional
program that helps with
education, employment and
housing. The Legislature,
however, could increase the
early release period to 120 or
150 days, Taylor said.
The criminal justice
commission is analyzing
the effect that change would
have on the prison popula-
tion.
The Legislature estab-
lished the justice reinvest-
ment fund in 2013 via House
%ill 3194. The bill simulta-
neously lowered sentences
for property and drug crimes,
all in an effort to ebb the Àow
of offenders into the prison
system.
The Legislature approved
14 million in county grants
for 2013-2014 and 40
million in county grants for
2015-17. The 9 million
Deer Ridge expansion
would come from the money
earmarked from the county
grants.
“This would cause a
snowball effect,” %rown
said. “Next year’s (grant)
disbursals
would
be
signi¿cantly reduced. It
also will lead a to reduction
of services, which means
continued increases in the
prison population. As prison
bed use goes up, the justice
reinvestment fund will go
down, or worse, go away,
and we will all be frustrated
by a program we failed to
fund adequately.”
The Pendleton Fire Department pose for a picture in
1966. Ken Garrett was one of several members of the
department at that time who either served in World
War II or the Korean War but is now the sole surviving
member.
“They were about the sweetest people
you ever saw.”
— Ken Garrett, on the generosity of the Japanese
Garrett is closing in on 59
years of marriage with his
wife, Georgia. The two have
two sons, four grandchildren
and three step-grandchildren.
Although many of the
people he worked with in
the ¿re department were
World War II and Korea War
veterans, they have all since
passed away.
In his memoir, he wrote he
would re-climb Mount Fuji if
he made it to 100, although
he has since revised his goal.
He now plans to get back to
the top of Japan’s highest
mountain next July, the 62nd
anniversary of his original
climb with Travis.
In his memoir, Garrett
referenced a Japanese proverb
that said “A wise man will
climb Mount Fuji once; a fool
will climb Mount Fuji twice.”
“If I climb it at 100, I
wouldn’t care if you called
me a fool,” he added.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
OFFICER: Pendleton
providing police coverage
Continued from 1A
neither did Mayor Virginia
Carnes. Thompson left
after about 40 minutes so
the council could delib-
erate. Carnes reopened the
meeting to the public at
6:57 p.m.
Deno moved to termi-
nate Thompson, Perkins
gave the second, and a
moment later Thompson
was out of a job.
Hinkle
approached
Thompson afterward, just
outside the city hall door,
shook his hand and thanked
the former of¿cer for his
service.
Thompson contended
he lost his job for making
an unauthorized purchase.
He said he owned up to
not having the authority to
place the order in question,
and asserted in the meeting
and afterward the city
failed to provide him a
proper-¿tting 700 ballistic
vest.
He also said Tuesday
was the last day of his
honeymoon, and he needed
to return home to Pendleton
to be with his new wife.
Pilot Rock’s other
of¿cer is Daniel %adal. He
McKay Creek Estates
presents:
SAFETY
is attending the Oregon
Public Safety Academy,
Salem, to earn his basic
police certi¿cation. If he
passes, he will have to
complete ¿eld training
before he can work on his
own.
Pilot Rock is relying
on Pendleton to provide
police coverage 40 hours
per week. Pendleton police
Cpl. Ryan M. Lehnert is
handling the work. Porter
explained that exceeds the
4,000-a-month deal for
Pendleton to provide police
oversight, so Pilot Rock is
paying Lehnert’s hourly
wages. Pendleton will keep
him on its payroll, she
stated, and bill Pilot Rock
for the service.
The city also is going
back to the drawing board
again for a new police chief.
Carnes and Porter said the
city offered the job to John
Price, who was with the
Thurston County Sheriff’s
Of¿ce in Washington, but
he turned down the job
after getting a new offer
from Thurston County.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
FIRST
S
Join us as we host a lecture series to
increase safety awareness on fall prevention,
common home injuries and provide solutions
to keep you and your loved one safe!
SafetyMan says
“Always be Safe to Ensure an Active
& Independent Lifestyle”
Living with Lower Cholesterol
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 3:30 PM
We Would Like To Thank The Following For
Their Help With The Halloween Carnival
Pendleton City Club
Wildhorse Resort & Casino
Pendleton Convention Center
Altrusa Club, Pendleton Rotary, Les Schwab
Join us for an afternoon to increase your understanding of cholesterol levels
and how proper diet and nutrition can be combined with exercise and
medications to keep your cholesterol levels in check. Learn the consequences
and risks to your health when cholesterol reaches unhealthy levels.
Advance Directives
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 3:30 PM
What is an Advance Directive? When a loved one is diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s Disease there are many questions. One of the most confusing
aspects can be the legal documents that need to be signed while your loved
one can still make decisions.
Sharis Restaurant, Vision Source of Pendleton,
Coca-Cola Bottling Co., McLaughlin Landscaping,
Wheatland Insurance
Volunteers:
BMCC, Pendleton Family Dental, Baha’i Faith, CMEO, VFW (Veterans
of Foreign Wars), Pendleton High School Leadership, Domestic
Violence Services, BMCC Ambassadors, PHS National Honor
Society, PHS FFA, Kiwanis, PHS Astra, City of Pendleton volunteers.
For more information or to RSVP, call us at (541) 276-1987 or visit us today!
Pendleton Parks & Recreation
541-966-0228
Like us
on Facebook!
www.pendletonparksandrec.com
Thanks to over 78 volunteers serving more than
1600 people through our doors.
McKay Creek Estates
1601 Southgate Place
Pendleton, Oregon 97801
www.PrestigeCare.com