TRE NEAL
TO PLAY
IN FCS
NAVY
SAILORS
RELEASED
SPORTS/1B
WORLD/7A
45/33
Violent crime
dips in 2015
in Hermiston
REGION/3A
THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2016
140th Year, No. 64
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Momentum grows for wage hike District
PENDLETON
Lawmakers work fast on legislation to forestall ballot measure
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — State lawmakers
received a sobering message
Wednesday about their prospects
of striking a legislative deal to hike
Oregon’s minimum wage.
Petitioners for a ballot initia-
tive to boost the minimum to
$15 statewide by 2019 said they
intend to continue gathering
signatures to place their proposal
on the November ballot unless
lawmakers meet their demands.
Opponents to hiking the
minimum
indicated
they’re
gearing up to thwart the initiative.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have
revealed no speci¿ c numbers for
a potential deal and none were
expected before a public hearing at
6 p.m. Thursday at the Capitol. The
lawmakers have just two weeks
before the legislative session starts
Feb. 1.
Justin
Norton-Kertson,
campaign manager for Orego-
nians for $15, said the group has
collected nearly 40,000 signatures
for its ballot initiative and projects
having 50,000 to 60,000 signatures
by early March.
See WAGE/8A
considers
later start
Construction won’t be
¿ nished by Round-Up
PENDLETON
East Oregonian
A year after committing to school
starting in late August, the Pendleton
School District could be forced to
revert to a late September start date
next school year.
According to a press release,
Kirby Nagelhout Construction
recently informed the district
that the new Washington and
Sherwood Heights elementary
school buildings won’t be ready
until mid-September while crews
demolish the old facilities and
install the surrounding infrastruc-
ture.
Kirby Nagelhout said workers
won’t be able to start tearing down
the old Washington and Sherwood
Heights until after June 8, the last
day of school. After demolition,
they can begin building parking lots,
playgrounds and sidewalks around
the new schools.
The district will form a committee
to propose calendar options for the
2016-2017 school year, including
opening all schools in late September
after Round-Up or allowing high
school and middle school students to
start in August while waiting to start
elementary school students in late
September.
The ¿ rst Monday after the 2016
Round-Up is Sept. 19.
After the committee ¿ nali]es the
calendar options, they’ll be presented
on the district website for a public
vote.
Last year, the community over-
whelmingly supported moving the
¿ rst day of school to late August in a
similar online survey, electing to give
students time off during Round-Up
week.
The new Washington and Sher-
wood Heights will allow the district
to consolidate Lincoln Primary and
West Hills Intermediate schools,
changing the elementary school
boundaries.
Although the Pendleton School
Board voted on the new boundaries
months ago, its members unan-
imously voted Monday to make
alterations to the borders between
Sherwood Heights and McKay
Creek Elementary School to ensure
McKay Creek has only two classes
per grade.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or
541-966-0836.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Shelley Whitney, left, and Deana Echamn are a mother-daughter duo that run Deana’s Car Biz used car lot together in Pendleton.
LADIES ON THE LOT
Mother and daughter run car
dealership; a rarity in the business
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
When it comes to shopping for a car,
the terrain is changing.
Internet-savvy buyers often peruse
the web for prices, mileage, features and
dealer costs before ever setting foot on
a car lot. Once there, customers won’t
necessarily be subjected to a stressful
negotiation that can take hours.
The stereotypically pushy salesman
might never appear. The salesperson
might even be female.
Deana Eckman and Shelley Whitney
are two women who know their way
around a car lot. You will ¿ nd the
mother-and-daughter duo at Deana’s
Car Bi], a small, independent dealer in
Pendleton.
Deana opened the business 14 years
ago. Shelley came on board recently.
“We are the Pendleton car ladies,”
said Whitney.
The women relaxed inside a co]y
single-wide of¿ ce that sits on the Court
See CARS/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Shelley Whitney, right, works on a loan application
while her mother, Deana Echman looks on Tuesday at
Deana’s Car Biz used car lot in Pendleton.
HARNEY COUNTY STANDOFF: DAY 11
Eastern Oregon commissioners warn protest could migrate
Grant County sheriff
declines occupiers
invitation to join cause
By SEAN HART
EO Media Group
Members of the armed group
occupying the Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge traveled to John
Day Tuesday to ask the Grant
County sheriff to join their cause.
He declined, but county commis-
sioners throughout Eastern Oregon
have discussed the possibility that
the protest could “migrate”
elsewhere in the region.
Grant County Sheriff
Glenn Palmer said three
members of the militia
asked him to travel to
Harney County, but he
refused to do so without
the approval of the Harney
County sheriff. Palmer
would not say whether he Palmer
agreed with the occupation,
but described those participating as
“patriots.”
“I think it’s brought some things
to light that might not have other-
wise got the attention that they did,”
GRAND
RE-OPENING
More inside
Rancher says he didn’t
let group remove fence
Page 2A
he said of the occupation.
“I do believe that the
resolution and solution to
the way this is going to
be handled, if it’s handled
properly, could have a long-lasting
effect on our county as well.”
Palmer said any positive outcome,
however, would require the govern-
ment to make some concessions.
January 15, 2015
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Refreshments! Raffles!
“I believe the government is
going to have to concede to some-
thing,” he said. “I don’t think these
guys are going to give up without
knowing that they’ve done some-
thing that bene¿ ts the people of our
country or our region.”
Palmer said the members of the
group did not discuss their future
plans of their occupation with him.
He said he met the militants Tuesday
at a John Day restaurant. He was
invited to lunch by a constituent
and was unaware members of the
militia group would be there. He
See SHERIFF/8A
Doherty Welding LLC
Packy Built
611 NW Cedar St., Pilot Rock
541-443-3234