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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2016)
Wednesday, January 6, 2016 REGION East Oregonian Page 3A HERMISTON PENDLETON Joel Luna joins list of missing men Street racing ends with crash One man arrested By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian A Hermiston man’s family is worried about his where- abouts after three weeks without any contact from him. Family and friends say they haven’t seen Joel Luna, 36, since Dec. 15, 2015. His stepmother Michelle Luna said his phone is turned off and a car he borrowed around that time hasn’t been found. Michelle said it isn’t uncommon for him to take off for a few days at a time — for example, he had just returned from visiting a friend in the Grand Coulee area in Washington. But he has never gone weeks without any contact with his three daughters in Boardman or other family members. “Somebody should have heard from him,” she said. 7KHIDPLO\¿OHGDPLVVLQJSHUVRQ¶V report and has been spreading the word RQ)DFHERRNDQGZLWKÀLHUVEXWVRIDU Luna haven’t had any luck in locating him. Joel is Hispanic, 5’7”, 170 pounds with brown eyes and dark hair. He has a piercing on his chin, several tattoos and usually wears facial hair. His last known vehicle was a blue 1998 Mercury Sable with Oregon plate number 185 FGV. Michelle said if he hears his family is looking for him she hopes he remembers his daughters, who are Getman “devastated” that they haven’t heard from him since before the holidays. “Your family loves you Joel,” she said. “We want you home.” Luna’s family aren’t the only ones still searching for a loved one in the area in the new year. John Getman, 78, is still missing after wandering away from a family member’s home in Irrigon about 2 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2015. Wise Getman has Alzheimer’s and had recently moved to Irrigon from New York. Several people later reported seeing him walking along nearby roads that morning but search and rescue efforts were unsuccessful in locating him. Morrow County Sheriff Ken Matlack said deputies followed up on reports from La Grande and Texas in the weeks after Getman’s disappearance, but to no avail. The trail has since gone cold. “We have not heard anything more,” Matlack said. Getman is described 6 feet tall, 190 pounds with short gray hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a heavy brown Carhartt jacket, brown plaid shirt, blue jeans and sneakers. Marcus Wise, 27, of Hermiston has been missing since June 18, 2015, but his family and friends haven’t given up WKHLUHIIRUWVWRGLVWULEXWHÀLHUVZLWKKLVSLFWXUHRQWKHPLQ the hopes that someone comes forward with information on his whereabouts. According to them, he left for a walk with his dog in the Riverfront Park area on June 18. The dog was found wandering around the west end of town later that day, but Wise was nowhere to be found and his family hasn’t seen him since. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the three men can contact Hermiston Police Department at 541-567-5519 or Morrow County Police Department at 541-676-5317. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian. com or 541-564-4536. A man street racing Tuesday morning near downtown Pendleton is in jail after crashing his car into another. Mike Davis, 27, of Pendleton, was racing his Eagle Talon against another vehicle eastbound on Dorion Avenue, according to Pendleton police Cpl. Chris Freeman, and smashed into the left back tire area of a Dodge Durango going south on Southeast Fourth Street. The collision tore apart the front of the Talon, ripped at least one tire from the Durango and spun it into the corner of the building on the 400 block of Southeast Dorion, near the Dean *XVKZD /DZ 2I¿FH DQG Umatilla County Court- house. Car parts broke a front ZLQGRZ DW WKH ODZ RI¿FH and Gushwa said the crash sent a black Labrador-type GRJÀ\LQJIURPWKH'XUDQJR to land across Fourth Street near the site of Elite Taxi. Gushwa and his wife, Jennifer Roe, said the dog was injured and bleeding. She also said the impact shook the building. The driver of the Durango was an elderly woman, Gushwa said, who was shaken, asked for her dog and stated her back hurt. Pendleton assistant chief Matt Benedict said an ambulance took her to St. Anthony Hospital, Pend- leton, and someone took the dog to a veterinary clinic. The East Oregonian has \HWWRFRQ¿UPWKHLGHQWLW\RI Contributed photo by Hermiston Fire & Emergency Services Hermiston Fire & Emergency Services’ new ambu- lance has a different look than its predecessors. New style of ambulance comes to Hermiston district’s last ambulance purchased in 2013 and is HERMISTON — Resi- expected to get twice the dents who spot Hermiston miles per gallon as the big Fire & Emergency Services’ box model it is replacing. The district transports newest ambulance on the road might not recognize it about two patients a day, which puts more than as such. The red vehicle looks 110,000 miles per year on more like a large van than its units. The new ambu- a typical “big box” model lance will mostly be used of ambulance people are to transport patients from used to seeing on the streets, Good Shepherd Medical EXWLIWKHOLJKWVDUHÀDVKLQJ Center to hospitals in the drivers still need to pull over Tri-Cities and Portland and give it the right of way. area but will also be used According to Herm- to respond to emergencies iston Fire, the model cost when the district’s other 30 percent less than the ambulances are busy. East Oregonian Staff photo by Phil Wright A car race Tuesday morning through Pendleton ended with a crash. Mike Davis, 27, of Pendleton, drove the Eagle Talon that was racing another vehicle and caused the crash, according to Pendleton police, who arrested him at the scene. Staff photo by Phil Wright Pendleton police Cpl. Chris Freeman and officer Na- than Bessette arrest Mike Davis, 27, of Pendleton, on charges related to car racing Tuesday morning through Pendleton. the victim. Davis walked away from the crash and appeared XQKDUPHG 3HQGOHWRQ RI¿- cers arrested Davis at the scene for speed racing, reck- less driving and recklessly endangering another and hauled him to the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton. Police set up road blocks WR NHHS WUDI¿F RXW RI WKH area until a tow company removed the debris and vehicles. Roe and Gushwa said drivers speed by the block on a regular basis as they jockey to get in the right lane before crossing Southeast Seventh Street, where the left lane on Dorion branches into a left turn only and the right continues on as one lane before widening again two blocks later. The vehicle Davis raced against was not involved in the wreck and got away. Police said they have an idea who that driver was. ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0833. MISSION Quartet blends musical genres for Valentine show East Oregonian Performing inspirational songs about goodness, helping others and love is a perfect lead-in to Valentine’s Day. The Tenors, a quartet from Canada, will perform Saturday, Feb. 13 at 8 p.m. in the Rivers Events Center at Wildhorse Resort & Casino. Tickets for the special show will go on sale Thursday. People can make an evening of the event with $89 tickets, which include dinner at 6 p.m. with the show following. Other options include $59 premium show tickets or $49 general admission seats. Since their formation in 2007, the vocal quartet has performed more than 500 FRQFHUWVRQ¿YHFRQWLQHQWV,Q addition, they’ve made more than 150 TV appearances, including on The Oprah Winfrey Show (with Céline Dion), Today Show and Entertainment Tonight, as well as at the 2014 National Christmas Tree Lighting at Contributed photo The Tenors will perform a special Valentine’s show Sat- urday, Feb. 13 at Wildhorse Resort & Casino. Tickets go on sale Thursday. the White House, at the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals, the 2012 Emmy Awards, Her Majesty The Queen’s 2012 Diamond Jubilee at Windsor Castle in England and the 2010 Vancouver Olympic opening ceremonies. Known for their signature blend of classical and pop music, the group has shared the stage with such artists as Sting, Elton John, Paul McCa- rtney, Sheryl Crow, Justin Bieber, Earth, Wind & Fire. The Tenors have received numerous accolades, including the 2013 JUNO Award for Adult Contem- porary Album of the Year. The JUNO Awards are the Canadian equivalent to the Grammys. Their third album, “Lead with Your Heart,” went platinum in Canada in just seven weeks. The album has been featured on Good Morning America, Access Hollywood, ET Canada, CNN Morning Live, e-Talk and FOX & Friends. The group’s new album, “Under One Sky,” debuted at number one on the Billboard Classical Crossover and Classical Overall Charts. The DOEXP LV FXUUHQWO\ FHUWL¿HG Gold with momentum still growing. Tickets are available at www.wildhorseresort.com or by visiting the Wildhorse Gift Shop. For more information, contact Tiah DeGrofft, Wild- horse community relations, at 541-966-1628 or tiah. degrofft@wildhorseresort. com. For more about the group, visit www. tenorsmusic.com. Pendleton man charged with manslaughter in Idaho crash East and collided with Paul- son’s orange Volkswagen Beetle. Idaho State Police inves- A Pendleton semi truck driver has been charged after tigators were called to the a November crash that killed crash. They found the entire front of the Volkswagen an Idaho man. Joseph D. Murray, 31, is crushed inward and debris charged with misdemeanor scattered on roadway. Paulson died at the scene. vehicular manslaughter in the One witness, who was death of Robert Paulson, 75, making a delivery to Jensen’s in Rupert, Idaho. A pretrial conference was Meat Market, went outside Tuesday in Minidoka County to her truck to get a pen. Fifth District Magitrate She heard a loud “boom and looked up,” court records say. Court. She saw the Volkswagen According to the Mini- doka County Prosecutor’s convertible underneath the 2I¿FH 0XUUD\ ZDV GULYLQJ semi-trailer and it dislodged a semi truck and trailer and came to rest on the owned by Michael Ramirez shoulder of the road. The Trucking of Pendleton when witness saw that Paulson was he failed to stop at a stop sign deceased and she pulled a at Idaho Highway 25 and 100 dog from the Volkswagen. By LAURIE WELCH Twin Falls Times-News Thank You To Our Sponsors of Cabin Fever! Paulson was not wearing a seatbelt. Murray told police he had made a delivery to Cargill Animal Nutrition and left the business driving south on N. 100 E. Road. He told police he stopped at the intersection and felt the impact as he crossed. Immediately after the crash, several witnesses said they heard Murray say he did not stop at the stop sign, police said. Paulson’s wife told police that he was headed to the Minidoka County Senior Center for lunch when the crash occurred.
