REGION
Friday, November 13, 2015
HERMISTON
East Oregonian
Page 3A
MISSION
3DUNVDQG5HFFRPPLWWHHGLVFXVVHV American Indian
researcher reÀects on
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Umatilla Reservation
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Third edition of Tiller’s Guide released
Neighbors of the Northside Play-
ground met with the city of Hermiston’s
Parks and Recreation committee
Thursday to discuss ideas for a park
makeover.
Longtime residents said the half-
acre lot on Beebe Avenue behind Pizza
Hut, which has also been referred to as
Candy Stripe Park or Jaycee Park, still
has the equipment they played on when
they were children in the 1960s.
None of it meets current safety stan-
dards.
“You can’t buy a merry-go-round
today,” Parks and Recreation director
Larry Fetter said. “You can’t buy an
aluminum slide today and this one is
a perfect solar angle to heat up to 150
degrees in the summer.”
The swingset could meet safety
standards, he said, if it were relocated
farther from the fence and had softer
material underneath.
Neighbors who were present unani-
mously expressed an interest in keeping
the merry-go-round, if possible. They
said children, teenagers and parents all
use it regularly and there was a lot of
nostalgia surrounding it.
Committee member Ryan Severs
suggested if the merry-go-round, which
is run down and missing one of its
handholds, could not be saved it could
be repurposed and implemented into the
new park design as bench, table or part
of a climbing area.
Fetter said he would look into that
suggestion, as well as how feasible it
was to keep the merry-go-round despite
liability issues.
Other suggestions that came up
during a brainstorming session included
benches, shade, lights, a drinking foun-
tain, a climbing structure and a safer
slide. Everyone agreed that the tiny
restroom that hasn’t been functional for
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
The merry-go-round at Northside Park is the last of its kind in Hermiston.
years should be removed.
From a safety standpoint, Fetter said
softer materials need to be added to
the playground to cushion falls and he
would like to see a fence added between
the basketball court and playground
to keep balls from Àying into the area
where small children played.
He asked if it would be better to get
rid of the basketball court altogether in
favor of more playground space, but
neighbors said teenagers and pre-teens
enjoyed using the court.
Committee member Mike Kay
said the basketball hoop was perfectly
positioned to encourage kids to prac-
tice shooting but keep rowdy games
with older teenagers and adults to a
minimum.
“If you put a hoop up kids will shoot
at it, but where you put it will dictate
how they play,” he said.
Mayor David Drotzmann suggested
four-square lines, educational designs
and other things could be added to the
court to allow younger children to use
the space when no one was playing
basketball.
At the end of the meeting Fetter said
he would take all of the suggestions and
come up with some designs. He invited
the neighbors to come back in January,
when the committee would go over the
suggestions and choose a new plan for
the park.
Committee member Doug Primmer
said he would like the city to continue
to try to gather input from residents who
lived in the neighborhood.
“My big thing is keeping the people
who live there involved, because they’re
the ones who use it,” he said.
———
Contact Jade McDowell at
jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com
or
541-564-4536.
MILTON-FREEWATER
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By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
The Umatilla County
District Attorney’s Of¿ce has
yet to charge an 89-year-old
Milton-Freewater
woman
with a hate crime after a
confrontation with police.
Milton-Freewater police
arrested Lydia Gilmore at
her home on the afternoon
of Oct. 4 for second-degree
intimidation,
third-degree
criminal mischief, harass-
ment, attempted assault on
a public safety of¿cer and
resisting arrest. District
Attorney Dan Primus said his
of¿ce is reviewing the case
for possible criminal charges,
and that means taking into
consideration
Gilmore’s
mindset at the time and if her
age played a role.
Her son, Larry Gilmore,
said he spoke to his mother
and she did not want to
comment.
Two of¿cers that day
responded to a complaint at
417 Miller St., where Juan
Castillo-Epifanio reported
his neighbor, Gilmore,
sprayed him with her garden
hose because she doesn’t
like “Mexicans,” according
to a written statement from
Milton-Freewater
police
Chief Doug Boedigheimer.
Castillo-Epifanio also told
police Gilmore sprayed
a personal vehicle at the
residence.
The of¿cers talked to both
parties, Boedigheimer stated,
and the woman spouted off a
racial slur to one of¿cer and
sprayed him with the hose.
The second of¿cer took the
hose from Gilmore, who
struggled and kicked the
of¿cer. Of¿cers then hand-
cuffed her and put her in the
police car.
The arrest sparked concern
from Milton-Freewater City
Councilman Jeff Anliker,
who in recent emails stated
police should have done
more to have the parties relax
and later deliver a summons
to Gilmore to appear in court.
He also questioned if Gilm-
ore’s comment to the of¿cer
was a hate crime, equating it
to someone calling an of¿cer
“pig, 5-0, and any other
negative term directed at an
of¿cer while on duty.”
Anliker also claimed the
of¿cers raced though his
neighborhood to the scene,
going “60+ mph in a 25-mph
residential area full of elderly
and children.” That kind
of driving, he said, was for
“chasing an armed-and-dan-
gerous criminal or heading to
the scene of a violent crime-
in-progress and de¿nitely
not to a 90-year-old woman
spraying someone and
calling them names.”
Boedigheimer
said
Anliker never contacted
him, but he believes city hall
addressed the councilman’s
concerns. The chief also
explained the slur prompted
the intimidation charge, a
Class A misdemeanor that
Oregon classi¿es as a hate
crime. He said language,
in association with other
crimes, can itself be a crime.
Under Oregon law, intimi-
dation applies when someone
“subjects another to offensive
physical contact because of
the person’s perception of the
other’s race, color, religion,
sexual orientation, disability
or national origin.”
BRIEFLY
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HERMISTON — In
January, Circuit Judge Dan
Hill of Hermiston will be
the new presiding judge
of Oregon’s Sixth Judicial
District.
The district encompasses
the circuit courts of Umatilla
and Morrow counties and
has ¿ve judges. The district’s
trial court administrator
Roy Blaine made the
announcement Thursday.
“Presiding judges serve as
the administrative judge for a
district,” Blaine explained in
a written statement, “setting
policies and procedures and
determining, for example,
what caseload judges will
carry and where they are
assigned. The presiding judge
in each judicial district is
chosen by Oregon’s Chief
Justice, with input from all
the judges in a district.”
The term is for two years.
Judge Ron Pahl has been
the district’s presiding judge
since 2010. Blaine stated
Pahl decided not to continue
in the role.
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PENDLETON — The
Oregon Commission on
Historic Cemeteries is
seeking volunteers to ¿ll
open positions representing
three regions across the state,
including northeast Oregon.
The commission,
comprised of seven members,
works to maintain a list
of all pioneer and historic
cemeteries in Oregon,
make recommendations
for funding, obtain grants
and coordinate restoration
projects. Positions are also
open for southern Oregon
and the greater Portland area.
The group meets four
times per year in various
locations around the state.
Anyone can apply, though
members should have
some knowledge related
to cemeteries, historic
preservation, genealogy,
cultural and burial practices
of ethnic groups in Oregon,
archaeology, landscaping and
history.
To apply, send a letter
of interest and résumé to
commission coordinator
Kuri Gill at Kuri.Gill@
oregon.gov. Applicants
should include their reasons
for wanting to serve on the
commission, skills they
will bring and goals for
participation. The deadline is
Dec. 20.
For more information,
email Gill or call 503-986-
0685.
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Driving along Interstate
84 from Portland into Pend-
leton, Veronica Tiller gazed
at the Oregon landscape
along the Columbia River.
“Oregon has always had
a reputation of being quite
progressive,” said Tiller, an
American Indian professor
and researcher from Albu-
querque, New Mexico. “Just
looking at this beautiful
land. I thought if I lived in
Oregon, you’re darn right
I’d be interested in environ-
mental protection.”
Tiller, whose expertise
lies in natural resources and
Indian affairs, visited the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
for the ¿rst time October
5-8 during the 25th annual
Indian Land Consolidation
Symposium at Wildhorse
Resort & Casino, where
she served as a moderator
and discussed the upcoming
third edition of her book,
“Tiller’s Guide to Indian
Country.”
The book, which was
originally published in 1996,
contains economic pro¿les
of all 567 federally recog-
nized tribes nationwide —
including nine in Oregon.
The third edition will be
released Saturday during
the American Indian Film
Festival awards banquet in
San Francisco.
Tiller, herself a member
of the Jicarilla Apache
Nation in New Mexico, said
she was impressed by the
Umatilla Reservation and
saw encouraging signs of
economic progress — espe-
cially at Wildhorse, which
has grown over 20 years to
employ 800 people.
By creating such a large
entertainment center, Tiller
said the tribes are bringing
more revenue into the
community that, in turn,
allows the government
to invest in things like
infrastructure, preservation
programs, senior care and
scholarships.
“They can make invest-
ments, and start putting
some of that revenue into
things they could only
dream of before,” she said.
Tiller also commended
the tribes’ commitment to
environmental protection
and green energy. Though
it takes a lot of money to do
large-scale projects, she said
the Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reser-
vation appear to be moving
faster in that direction than
the rest of the country.
“I think that’s due to
their philosophy of living
in harmony with the earth,”
Tiller said. “They’ll have
the means to manage those
resources better.”
Tiller holds a doctorate
in American Indian history
and is a former professor at
the University of Utah. She
established her own research
¿rm, Tiller Research, in
1980 and has worked 35
years aiding tribes in envi-
Tiller
“It’s time for the
state of Oregon
and other states
to start looking at
tribes as partners.
We’re not your
welfare child any-
more. We are part
of this nation.”
— Veronica Tiller,
American Indian professor
and researcher
ronmental lawsuits against
the federal government. Her
studies delve extensively
into subjects such as water
rights and forest manage-
ment practices.
It took Tiller 18 months
to compile the ¿rst edition
of “Tiller’s Guide to Indian
Country.” She said her ¿rm
prides itself on being the
most comprehensive and
reliable source on Indian
land.
Indian reservations such
as the Umatilla Reservation
should be looked at more as
a contributor to the econo-
mies of states and the entire
country, she said.
“It’s time for the state
of Oregon and other states
to start looking at tribes as
partners,” Tiller said. “We’re
a viable partner in economic
development. We’re not
your welfare child anymore.
We are part of this nation.”
Admittedly, Tiller said
there is still work left to
do, especially in schools.
According to the Oregon
Department of Education,
the graduation rate of Amer-
ican Indian students in the
Pendleton School District
was just 44.7 percent.
“The level of education
does not meet the rest of the
nation,” she said. “I think the
schools always need help.”
Tiller said she is an
American Indian historian
by training. She grew up
with Indian stereotypes,
and said she hopes “Tiller’s
Guide” can prove there’s
more to the tribes than the
negative statistics typically
reported.
“I’m always interested
in what’s going on in Indian
country,” she said. “It’s a big
job.”
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
Lorena Sanchez
Auto
Health
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Lorena Sanchez
541/289-3300 • 800/225-2521
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