REGION
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
Page 3A
HERMISTON
Round-Up court ready to ride Man arrested
for bomb hoax
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
The brand-new Pendleton
Round-Up Court was working
on a massive case of writer’s
cramp.
Queen Kylie Willis and
her four princesses signed 200
Round-Up posters Saturday
with black Sharpies. This was
their ¿rst of¿cial duty.
Princess Marlene Bodmer
looked up from the task and
couldn’t contain a happy
smile.
“You guys,” exclaimed
Bodmer, “this has been our
dream, right, ever since we
were little.”
Bodmer likely wasn’t
talking about her impending
case of writer’s cramp, but
rather of the chance to repre-
sent the Pendleton Round-Up
as royalty.
Her fellow princess,
Makenzi Hughes, Ashley
Moore and Eliza Wagner,
all nodded in agreement.
Wagner, a freshman at
Oregon State University, said
she will check off a major
item on her bucket list this
year.
“This is all I ever wanted
to do ever since I saw my
¿rst run-in,” she said. “I’ve
been around the Pendleton
Round-Up since I was born.”
The run-in, as Round-Up
a¿cionados know, begins
with a cannon blast before
each day’s rodeo action.
One by one, court members
enter the area in silence,
jumping the rail twice, and
then together racing around
the dirt track. It’s poetry in
motion, plus the tiniest bit of
alarm as the crowd worries
about riders crashing to the
turf. Though court members
By SEAN HART
East Oregonian
A Hermiston man was
arrested Monday morning
after an investigation into a
bomb hoax.
Hermiston
Police
Depart-
ment
of¿cers
arrested
David
U. Ponce, 23,
Hermiston, and
charged him with
possession of a
hoax destructive
device
and
¿rst-degree disor- Ponce
derly conduct. He
was lodged in the Umatilla
County Jail on $10,000
bail.
At about 6:25 a.m.,
Hermiston
Police
Department of¿cers were
dispatched to 217 East
Beebe Avenue for a report
of a purported bomb inside
a garbage can, according to
a press release from Police
Chief Jason Edmiston.
Of¿cers arrived on scene
and met with an employee
from Sanitary Disposal
who found a cardboard box
with the words “this is a
bomb” written on it inside
an open garbage can that
was scheduled for collec-
tion, the release states.
Of¿cers
interviewed
Ponce, who admitted his
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Kylee Jensen, 2015 Pendleton Round-Up queen, gives this year’s court advice and
encouragement during Saturday’s introduction breakfast at the home of Doug Corey.
are expert horsewomen,
occasional mishaps occur.
Queen Kylie Willis, 21,
experienced the run-in last
year as a princess.
“The sound of the cannon
going off gave me a chill
every time,” she said.
The poster signing session
followed an introduction
breakfast at the Adams home
of Round-Up veterinarian and
former director Doug Corey.
The ¿ve young women met
for the ¿rst time.
“Each knew of their own
selection, but not of the
others until they met together
this morning,” said Randy
Thomas, Round-Up director
in charge of publicity.
During a breakfast of ham,
fruit and eggs, the still-subdued
princesses quietly accepted
praise from Round-Up Presi-
dent Bill Levy, who said, “We
were extremely impressed by
their interviews.”
The court members opened
gifts. By the end, each had a
pile of them ² vests, of¿cial
earrings, badges, toiletry kits
and jewelry boxes.
After the speeches and gift
presentations, outgoing queen
Kylee Jensen smiled at the
group of royalty.
“At this moment, they’re
all really excited,” Jensen said.
“They’re taking it all in.”
Before the rodeo in
September, the court will have
plenty of time to bond. Last
year’s group, Jensen said,
traveled about 8,500 miles
to parades, rodeos and other
events, including Cheyenne,
Reno and Calgary rodeos.
Jensen promised long days,
but urged the new princesses
to “savor every moment.”
“I learned to appreciate
every opportunity I was
given,” she said.
Jensen’s successor plans to
do the same during her second
year on the court. The Enter-
prise native, the ¿rst Wallowa
County royalty as far as she
knows, said she’s come to the
Round-Up since she was a
young girl. When her cousin,
Paige Bailey, rode on the court
in 2010, Willis thought about
applying to become a court
member.
“The ¿rst time I saw her
jump the fence,” Willis said,
“I thought, ‘I want to do that.’”
She predicted a year to
remember for the new prin-
cesses.
“They might be a little
overwhelmed right now, but
I can see the excitement in
their eyes,” Willis said. “I’m
excited to start this wonderful
journey with them.”
CTUIR postpones
swearing-in ceremony
to check complaints
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
The swearing-in cere-
mony for the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation Board
of Trustees and General
Council was postponed
Monday while the tribal
election
commission
handles a complaint.
According to a CTUIR
press
release,
board
candidate Ellen Taylor
¿led a complaint with the
commission shortly after
the Nov. 17 election for the
tribes’ governing body.
Taylor’s
complaint
alleges absentee ballots
weren’t counted because
of errors committed by the
commission and the U.S.
Postal Service.
The commission held a
hearing Nov. 26 to review
the complaint and extended
Tree festival shares bounty with relief nursery
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
EO file photo
People look at the “Christmas at Grandma´s” tree
during Family Day at a past Festival of Trees at the
Pendleton Convention Center.
therapeutic program for kids
at risk for abuse and neglect,
was noti¿ed this past March it
wouldn’t receive an expected
grant from the United Way.
The partnership with St.
Anthony, Ceniga said, will
further enable the organi-
zation to provide services
to more families. They will
receive use of the building at
no charge, she said.
“It’s about twice as big. It’s
much nicer and it’s newer,”
Ceniga said about the new
location.
The organization also
has a Clothes Closet, which
provides new and gently
used clothing items to relief
nursery families for children
ages 0-6. In addition, a supply
of certain hygiene and house-
hold items are made available
to the program’s families.
Diapers and baby wipes are
provided by Pioneer Relief
Nursery programs. Also,
families may occasionally
receive an emergency supply
of diapers and wipes.
To learn more about the
relief nursery, including ways
to provide help, visit www.
pioneerreliefnursery.net or
call 541-215-1017.
For more information or
tickets for the Festival of
Trees gala celebration, call
541-966-0528.
———
the hearing to Thursday,
Dec. 3 to gather more
information.
Taylor wrote a letter to
the board Nov. 30 to request
members postpone Tues-
day’s swearing-in cere-
mony until the complaint
was resolved.
The board granted her
request, but didn’t set a date
for a new ceremony.
Taylor was one of 13
candidates vying for four
at-large seats on the board.
Taylor’s 229 votes were
good for sixth place, 36
votes behind incumbent
Armand Minthorn, the
candidate with the lowest
number of votes to make
the cut.
If the commission rules
against Taylor, the tribal
election code grants her the
right to ¿le for a judicial
review of the decision.
PRESENTS
2012 NW Carden Ave.
541-276-1522
FREE
FRIDAY
MEDICARE
MADNESS
Medicare Open
Enrollment
Oct. 15 - Dec. 7
Join us for this FREE event!
FREE Medicare Counseling &
Information from trained
SHIBA volunteers.
December 4th
Trained volunteers are available in the
SHIBA office all year round, call for an
individual appointment.
GSMC conference
rooms 5 & 6
(by the GS Cafeteria)
*Bring a list of all the medications you take.
For information call
(541) 667-3507
or email
shiba@gshealth.org
24 TH ANNUAL
The St. Anthony Hospital
Foundation is sharing the joy
of the holiday season with
Pioneer Relief Nursery.
Money raised during the
Festival of Trees will be
donated to the Pendleton
nonpro¿t organization. The
relief nursery seeks to stop
the cycle of child abuse
and neglect through early
intervention, education and
essential support services.
Barb Ceniga, executive
director, said the money
will be used to remodel the
Wee Care Center, where the
relief nursery will be moving,
hopefully by spring.
In its 24th year, the festi-
val’s theme is In a Different
Light. An appropriate title, as
the festival is moving its gala
celebration to Friday evening.
The Family Fun Day remains
on Saturday. Both events are
held at the Pendleton Conven-
tion Center, 1601 Westgate.
The festivities begin
Friday at 6 p.m. with tree
viewing, hors d’ oeuvres,
music and beverages. Tickets
are $30 per person.
The silent auction runs
throughout the evening. The
large live trees, which are
intricately decorated with a
theme and include a bounty of
related gifts, will be auctioned
off at 7 p.m. In addition a
number of smaller trees, but
also decorated, will go to the
highest bidder.
The Family Fun Day
provides families with four
hours of activities and enter-
tainment. In addition, the live
trees will be on display and
available for viewing. Family
day is Saturday from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. Thanks to the spon-
sorship of Wildhorse Resort
& Casino, there is no admis-
sion charge to participate in
all the spectacular activities
planned for the family event.
In addition to photos with
Santa Claus (which will be
emailed), a number of local
businesses and agencies
are sponsoring booths and
tables that include nearly a
dozen holiday-themed crafts
and activities. Kids, along
with their parents, can create
memories and decorations
for their home and Christmas
tree.
In addition, munchies will
be available for purchase
during Family Fun Day at
Rudolph’s Cafe.
The relief nursery, which
provides respite care and a
involvement in trying to
play a joke on a relative. He
even admitted to contacting
the garbage truck driver and
alerting him about the box.
“For all the contact we
have had over
the years with
Mr. Ponce (29
arrests and 62
citations)
we
would
hope
some common
sense
would
come into his
decision making
on what is
acceptable
behavior
and
what is not,” Edmiston
said in the release.
“Clearly that was not the
case today.”
The police department
requested assistance from
the Oregon State Police
bomb squad to thoroughly
examine the cardboard box.
A beer bottle was found
inside the box. Of¿cers
were tied up on the inves-
tigation for about three
hours.
“In this day and age
of reckless behavior, we
will err on the side of
caution each and every
time,” Edmiston said.
“We absolutely appreciate
the support and expertise
the Oregon State Police
provided us.”
F R I D AY
DECEMBER 4
2015
PENDLETON
CONVENTION CENTER
TICKETS ARE $30
EVENING CELEBRATION | 6:00 PM
• Heavy hors d’oeuvres
• Live and silent auctions
• Mingle with community members
and enjoy the festivities!
FAMILY DAY | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• Free admission thanks to
Wildhorse Resort & Casino
• Lunch with Santa and his elves
• Make ornaments and playdough
• Letters to Santa
For more information, please contact St. Anthony Hospital Foundation at (541) 966-0528
A L L P R O C E E D S B E N E F I T T H E P I O N E E R R E L I E F N U R S E RY | $5 of ticket price if you bring diapers or wipes