Page 10A
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Friday, January 29, 2016
MURDER: Nelson moved to Pendleton in 1995
Continued from 1A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Supporters of Pendleton High School Spanish teacher Kathryn Youngman during
a rally to get her on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday at the Happy Canton
Arena in Pendleton.
YOUNGMAN: More than 300 attended
Continued from 1A
Falcon defensive end Vic
Beasley, Oregon Senator Jeff
Merkley, the operating room
team at St. Anthony Hospital,
the BMCC mascot and even
rival Hermiston High School,
among others.
Ellen has noticed. At about
2 p.m., Thursday, Executive
Producer Ed Glavin tweeted,
“So everyone who’s tweeting
knows, we are aware of
#YoungmanOnEllen
and
we are in touch. Thanks. @
TheEllenShow”
Until Youngman gets a
formal invite, however, the
campaign will cruise on.
The idea to photograph
a sea of supporters at the
Happy Canyon arena germi-
nated from a request by 2014
Happy Canyon Princesses
Jory Spencer and Marissa
Baumgartner for the Happy
Canyon Board to retweet the
hashtag. But Happy Canyon
Grounds Director Johnny
Pimentel wanted to do more
than just shoot the hashtag
further into the Twittersphere.
“Johnny said, ‘Let’s
put on our pink shirts and
pose for a picture with the
hashtag,’” said Communica-
tions Director Cory Neistadt.
“It grew from there.”
Eventually, they decided
to invite the whole town.
Some of those at Happy
Canyon had fueled up on
“We learn so much more than Span-
ish. We learned about kindness and
persistence … and life in general.”
— Charla Simons, PHS student
pizza earlier in the evening,
stopping off at Big John’s
Pizza where $10 from each
family-style pizza went to
Youngman. Every employee
was working. Taryn Solo-
loski, one of Youngman’s
students who was preparing
pizzas, said the response was
overwhelming.
“It was crazy,” she said.
“At one point, we had to stop
doing takeout. The customers
were so patient.”
As the crowd gathered
at the Happy Canyon arena,
HQHUJ\ EXLOW $ GURQH ÀHZ
overhead to capture footage
of the gathering. The drone
pilots, Jeff Ware and Joey
Burns of Hermiston, said
they just wanted to support
“a cool cause.” Their footage
will appear in future Twitter
and Facebook #Young-
manOnEllen posts.
After
the
300-or-so
supporters assembled in the
dirt arena, Happy Canyon
Vice-President J.J. Spriet
whipped them into a frenzy.
“This
is
trending
worldwide,” he said of the
hashtag. “From New York to
Hermiston, from Germany
to Irrigon, from South
Bend, Indiana, to Spokane,
Washington, from Spain to
Arizona to West Virginia.”
Several of the teenagers
who drove the Twitter
campaign spoke to the crowd
about doing something for
their beloved teacher.
“It was our privilege,”
said senior Roman Martinez.
“She means a lot to us.”
He grinned and said, “It’s
the power of teenagers – we
know how to get on our
phones and tweet.”
“We learn so much
more than Spanish,” said
student Charla Simons. “We
learned about kindness and
persistence … and life in
general.”
The group erupted when
Youngman herself took the
microphone. She thanked the
community. She talked about
the importance of being kind
and then praised her students.
“Teenagers are amazing,”
Youngman said. “They took
an idea. They took their
compassion and their energy
and started a movement.”
———
Contact Kathy Aney at
kaney@eastoregonian.com
or call 541-966-0810.
COAL: Wind, solar have become increasingly cost-competitive
policy, this now provides Resources Defense Council,
Continued from 1A
opportunity for near-term Sierra Club and Climate
to Initiative 63.
renewable resources as the Solutions collaborated on
2Q :HGQHVGD\ 3DFL¿F most cost-competitive alter- the bill. The Citizens’ Utility
Power released its analysis of native,” Link said.
Board of Oregon, the state’s
the plan, showing HB 4036
HB 4036 also maintains primary advocate for resi-
would save $600 million a 4 percent incremental cost dential ratepayers, has also
through 2030 versus the FDS PHDQLQJ WKDW 3DFL¿F signed off on the plan.
ballot measure. Customer Power and PGE won’t have
“Oregonians from all
rates would increase by to add renewables if the cost walks of life and across the
less than 1 percent per year is more than 4 percent higher state that it is time to move
over that time, the analysis than developing non-renew- to a cleaner energy future,”
continues.
able power.
said Stefan Bird, president
3DFL¿F3RZHUKDVURXJKO\
8QGHU WKH SODQ 3DFL¿F DQG &(2 RI 3DFL¿F 3RZHU
17,847 customers in Umatilla Power says it will close or ³3DFL¿F 3RZHU KDV DQ REOL-
County.
convert 2,800 megawatts of gation to achieve that shared
PGE conducted a similar coal-fueled generation by objective in an affordable
analysis, with similar results: 2034, and could build up to way. HB 4036 does that.”
the company projects an 600 megawatts of renewable
The
Public
Utility
overall savings of $220-$360 energy projects in the near Commission will meet at
million, and a rate impact future. Its analysis shows DPWRKHDUIURP3DFL¿F
of 1.5 percent per year the bill will reduce Oregon’s Power and PGE on their
compared to business as carbon emissions through analyses. A public hearing on
usual.
2040 by 35 million tons.
the bill is scheduled for Feb.
Rick
Link,
director
A number of environ- 2 in the legislature.
RI RULJLQDWLRQ IRU 3DFL¿F mental groups including
———
Power and lead analyst on the Oregon Environmental
Contact George Plaven
HB 4036, said the primary Council, League of Conser- at gplaven@eastoregonian.
difference between the bill vation
Voters,
Natural com or 541-966-0825.
and proposed ballot measure
is how the utilities will be
allowed to phase out their
coal generation. A number
of the company’s coal plants
PM
are expected to depreciate
between 2024-2030, but
Link said the bill gives them
ÀH[LELOLW\ WR DGMXVW WKHLU
depreciation schedule.
“It allows us to essentially
take advantage of fully
paying for coal resources
after they’ve depreciated,”
8 S.E. COURT, PENDLETON
Link said.
541.278.1100
Wind and solar energy
have also become increas-
ingly cost-competitive, even
with historic lows in natural
JDVSULFHV/LQNVDLG3DFL¿F
Power forecasts show new
wind and solar projects are
January 29 • 6:00 pm • $20.00
about 20 percent less expen-
sive than new natural gas
plants.
Another key development,
Link said, was the extension
of federal tax credits for
• Complete Salad Bar
wind and solar energy. Both
• Baked Potato
the Production Tax Credit
and Investment Tax Credit
• Steamed Vegetables
received multi-year exten-
• Dessert
sions with gradual phase-out
periods that Link said should
Proceeds to benefit Pendleton Elks’ Charities
give greater certainty to
SE 3rd, Pendleton
investing in renewables.
Pendleton Elks Lodge #288 14
541-969-2765 • 541-276-3882
“Irrespective of Oregon
Live Music
9:00
Local and state police
responded at about 3:30
a.m. Wednesday to a 9-1-1
call about a shooting near
milepost 233 on the Old
Oregon Trail Highway in
the Meacham area on the
Umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion.
Marnie Elder is Nelson’s
sister. She said in an email
she learned her brother
returned home Wednesday
morning
and
found
someone attempting to
steal one of his vehicles.
It was unclear what
happened after that, she
said, “except that he was
shot and killed by” McIver.
Nelson’s
daughter,
Ashlyn Nelson, said she
heard about her father’s
death through social media
and called her grandparents,
Susan and Steve Nelson,
who live in California.
“I had to be the one to
say he got shot and didn’t
make it,” Ashlyn said.
Elder said her brother
was outgoing and char-
ismatic and never met a
stranger.
“He had the ability to
engage an entire room
WHOOLQJDWDOOWDOHRI¿VKLQJ
or hunting,” she said, “and
was funny enough to be a
professional comedian.”
Thadd Nelson became
a general contractor after
moving to Pendleton in
1995 and developed a large
clientele in Umatilla County
and Washington, according
to Elder. He also worked
for wineries in Sonoma
and Mendocino counties in
California. Elder said her
brother was a skilled stone
mason, and the TV show
“This Old House” featured
one of her brother’s jobs.
Ashlyn Nelson said
her father’s construction
company folded during
the Great Recession, so he
traveled for work, including
to California and more
recently in Hermiston.
Ashlyn was born in
Boise and moved back
there in 2010, but for a time
attended Pendleton High
Photo contributed by Marnie Elder
Thadd Nelson stands next to his masonry work
in the late 1990s. He was a skilled stone mason,
according to his sister, Marnie Elder.
Ayala
Vargas
School and lived with her
father. He said she cher-
ished those years.
“It was just the two of
us,” she said. “He was a
hard-working man, a good
man.”
Elder said he helped
her start her own business,
Vintage Photos, in Pend-
leton, and volunteered
to bring the Pendleton
Farmers Market to fruition.
Her brother also was an
avid hunter and angler, she
said, and taught children to
¿VK
“He loved kids and
animals,”
she
said. “(He) was
a very loving
father,
son,
brother
and
uncle. He had
an extremely big
heart for anyone
in need and
would give what
he had to help out
others.”
He is survived by his
parents, his daughters
Ashlyn and Alexa Nelson,
his sister Marnie Elder, and
his niece Savannah Elder.
Anyone with details
about the crime can contact
the Umatilla Tribal Police
Department at 541-278-
0550 or the Umatilla
County dispatch center at
541-966-3651, -3652 or
-3653.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
OREGON
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Banquet, Raffle
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Featuring 3 Day
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February 13th
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Friday Night Dinner
Prime Rib or Cordon Bleu
To Register Call Terry 541-231-4384
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