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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2016)
STEWART A SELFLESS LEADER CONVERTER STATION GETS UPGRADE Kick in the pants to the Bundy Bunch REGION/3A OPINION/4A BASKETBALL/1B FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2016 140th Year, No. 70 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Your Weekend • • • UEC tabs Echenrode as new GM By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian James Dean Kindle & The Eastern Oregon Playboys AARP Smart Driver classes Friday, Saturday Charity Bingo for Relay for Life at Prodigal Son For times and places see Coming Events, 5A Weekend Weather Fri Sat Sun 53/38 48/35 46/32 HERMISTON 6herLII¶s oI¿ ce investigating serious assault East Oregonian A serious assault Wednesday in Hermiston had the attention of law enforce- ment for most of Thursday. Even still, little information on the incident was available by press time. Umatilla County Under- sheriff Jim Little¿ eld said the assault was ¿ rst reported by Good Shepherd Medical Center, Hermiston after a patient was brought to the hospital. But Little¿ eld said few other details were known. According to sources, at least one man was hospital- ized with severe, life-threat- ening injuries. Little¿ eld and several other deputies were at the former Parkins Garage Door Company building at 81252 Highway 395 on Thursday morning, where the assault allegedly took place. The parking lot was roped off with police caution tape and Little¿ eld said of¿ cers were waiting for an af¿ davit to enter the building. Later in the afternoon an Oregon State Police forensics unit arrived and examined the property and the building assisted by Umatilla County deputies. At one point a ladder truck from Hermiston Fire & Emergency Services was brought in and a deputy used it to survey the scene from above. Authorities remained at the scene into the night, but Sheriff Terry Rowan said his of¿ ce didn’t have much information to release at the time. The Umatilla County Sher- iff’s Of¿ ce and Hermiston Police continue to investigate. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton High School Spanish teacher Kathryn Youngman goes over some Spanish phases with her fourth year students on Wednesday in Pendleton. That bully cancer Teacher takes on third battle as students work to get her on ‘Ellen’ By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Kathryn Youngman treats her third bout with cancer as she would a mean playground bully who regularly shoves her to the ground and steals her lunch money. Those who know the Pend- leton High School Spanish teacher say Youngman concedes no power to the bully. She deals with the tyrant when she must and quickly switches her focus to things that matter more: her family, her students and her faith. On a recent day, the veteran teacher worked her Pendleton High School classroom with the Staff photo by E.J. Harris precise timing of a Vegas come- Kathryn Youngman greets junior Cade Anderson before the start dian or Fortune 500 CEO. She Teacher of her advisory period Wednesday at Pendleton High School. wandered among the students Wimbledon. cancer. They realize Youngman’s ¿ ring questions and instructions. Though her style is fast and strawberry blonde hair with wispy “Turn to your partner and ask, ‘Are you hungry?’” Señora Youngman furious, her students say she is kind bangs is a wig that covers a head bare directed. “Answer in a complete and inspirational. If someone falls from multiple rounds of chemo. Her behind or fails a test, Youngman older students traveled down this sentence.” The volume in the room rose and spends time encouraging and road with their teacher two years ago fell. Youngman plunged back into the coaching the student. She stands at the when a tumor was discovered in her fast-paced dialogue with her students. doorway before each class greeting sinuses. This time, it popped up as They dared not daydream, lest they pupils as they enter and taking the breast cancer. When Youngman learned she be left in their teacher’s wake. Their effort to know them personally. She eyes followed the constantly moving posts a fresh motivational quote in the would face yet another cancer battle, Youngman with the concentration of classroom each day. See CANCER/12A Her students know all about the a tennis crowd watching the ball at “I don’t want to die. I’m not ready to die. But if I have to die, I hope to accept it graciously. I know I’m going to a better place. I will leave life with no regrets.” — Kathryn Youngman, Pendleton High School Spanish teacher The Umatilla Electric Coop- erative has found a new general manager from within its own ranks. Engineering Manager Robert Echenrode will be promoted to the co-op’s top job begin- ning March 8. Echenrode takes over for Steve Eldrige, who announced his retirement last spring. Echenrode “It was an honor to be considered to follow such a distinguished group of leaders,” Echenrode said in an announcement Thursday. “I want to help build on the See UEC/12A Ed board passes exception to Indian mascot ban By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — The Oregon Board of Education approved a compromise Thursday that makes an exception to its strict ban on American Indian mascots. The rule allows Oregon’s 15 school districts with Indian mascots to keep the mascot if the district obtains approval from one of the state’s nine federally recognized tribes. A previous proposal put out for a public hearing in December also would have required the mascot to include the name of one of the state’s federally recognized tribes, which would have limited the exception to only three of the 15 districts. The ban, enacted in 2012, is due to take effect July 1, 2017. Fifteen school districts are affected, including Mollala River. Legislation in 2014 forced the Board of Education to develop rules by January 2017 providing for an exception to See MASCOT/12A Grazing fee protest may have long-term impact By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI EO Media Group EO Media Group i le photo Cattle graze in this fi le photo. Ranchers and legal experts worry that withholding government grazing fees could have a long-term impact on ranches. Harney County rancher Travis Williams says he’s “riding the fence” on a recent anti-government proposal to stop paying fees for grazing on public lands. Armed protesters occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters in Southeast Oregon have urged local ranchers to tear up their grazing contracts with federal agencies to challenge the government’s control over the area. Williams said he doesn’t support the protesters’ actions, such as removing fences at the refuge, but thinks the grazing fee proposal may be a legitimate form of protest. “If there’s enough people involved, I think it would work,” he said. On the other hand, Williams is concerned about how violating grazing contracts with More inside Leader of armed group at wildlife refuge is speaking with FBI Page 2A the federal government would affect his two sons and daughter, who hope to run the family ranch someday. “My actions right now are going to play over to their future,” he said. The consequences of using federal grazing allotments without paying the required fees can be serious and long-lasting, said Scott Horngren, an attorney with the Western Resources Legal Center who has represented ranchers in grazing lawsuits. While the penalties would not be criminal, serious breaches of grazing contracts may See GRAZING/12A
