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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2016)
:EE.END ED,T,ON 80-year-old whisky found at local B&B IRRIGON BEATS HEPPNER AIRPORT CONSIDERED FOR DISASTER RESPONSE CENTER PENDLETON/3A LIFESTYLES/1C BASKETBALL/1B JANUARY 30-31, 2016 140th Year, No. 76 Prosecutors use refuge occupiers’ own words against them By TERRENCE PETTY and STEVEN DUBOIS Associated Press PORTLAND — Ammon Bundy and his followers made ample use of social media and videos to summon armed recruits to join their takeover of a wildlife refuge and to declare their readiness to stand their ground. Now federal authorities are using the occupiers’ own words against them. Court documents against the 11 occupiers under arrest show that )B, agents have carefully scrutinized social media postings, interviews and online talk shows that were broadcast from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge during the standoff that began nearly a month ago. Bundy and several other jailed leaders appeared Friday in federal court in Portland, where a judge denied their release. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman said Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy and Ryan Payne pose a danger to the community and she is concerned they would not follow orders to return to Oregon for criminal proceedings. Beckerman said she would release them only if the standoff ends. Four hold- outs continued to occupy the refuge in the snowy high country near Burns, and they posted a YouTube video Friday demanding pardons for everyone involved in the occupation. A speaker believed to be David Fry said he asked the FB, whether it was possible to “get out of here without charges,´ but “they keep saying that’s not possible.´ Ammon Bundy’s lawyer, Lissa Casey, said her client is not aligned with those remaining at the refuge and wants to go back to his family in ,daho. “He is done in Harney County; his message has been sent,´ she said. Casey said Bundy didn’t recognize Fry’s name and that he was not a core member of the group. Hear- ings continued for others See STANDOFF/10A $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD GRADUATION RATES As state’s grad rates go up, Eastern Oregon’s decline Only Pendleton, Stan¿ eld, ,one see increase over previous class By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Graduation rates for 2014- 2015 released by the Oregon Department of Education this week are a mix of good news and bad news for local districts. The good news: Eight of Umatilla and Morrow county’s 12 school districts are above the state average and two more are equal to it. The bad news: Seven districts’ graduation rates decreased from the year before and two more stayed the same. Only Pendleton, Stan¿ eld and ,one saw a better graduation rate than the previous class. Morrow County School District superintendent Dirk Dirksen said he couldn’t say for sure why rates had decreased, but did point out that many area districts have very small grad- uating classes. As a result, they are subMect to an ³ebb and À ow´ See RATES/10A Graduation rates 4 Years 5 Years 2015 2014 2015 Hermiston: 64 68 78 Pendleton: 75 72 79 Oregon: 74 72 82 More graduation rates on Page 10A Four-year: Graduated on time with a regular diploma Five-year: Earn a diploma, modii ed diploma or GED within i ve years of starting high school Staff photo by E.J. Harris Chevelle Gregerson sits in her living room with her sons, Levi, 2, and Ethan, 9 months, and their dog, Arlo, on Thursday in Umatilla. Gregerson recently graduated from high school at the age of 21 and is now taking college classes online. Better late than never Graduation rate leaves out some non-traditional students By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian When the Oregon Department of Education releases high school graduation rates each January, the numbers spark a conversation about the quality of education across the state. What often gets lost in that conversation are the individual stories behind the numbers. Chevelle Gregerson is one of those stories. She graduated from Umatilla High School with a regular diploma just before her 21st birthday after the death of a sibling and two pregnan- cies presented roadblocks to graduation that at times seemed insurmountable. Umatilla superintendent Heidi Sipe said Gregerson didn’t count in the district’s graduation rates, however, because she didn’t graduate within ¿ ve years of beginning high school. “,f they take another year they’re considered a drop-out,´ Sipe said. “Chevelle was far from a drop-out. We consider her a success story.´ The easier route for staff would have been to convince her to settle for earning a GED, but Gregerson said every time she left school then-principal See GRADUATE/10A Teams hit streets for one day homeless count By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Staff photo by Kathy Aney Michelle Hensley (left), who lives in a tent by the Columbia River, answers questions Wednesday about being homeless during the annual Point in Time Count. CAPECO employee Tori Bowman (right) visited parks, the River Parkway and the library before heading to the Salvation Army where she found Hensley and others who had dropped in for lunch. The county’s homeless are sometimes in plain sight — sleeping on bed rolls, sitting on park benches or walking the streets. But that doesn’t mean they’re easy to ¿ nd when you’re looking for them. Sometimes people who are homeless don’t look homeless or they simply don’t want to be found. During the federally mandated Point in Time Count on Wednesday, several teams hit the streets in Umatilla County. The survey counts the nation’s homeless and helps the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development determine funding for housing. Jennifer Richards and Tori Bowman peered intently through the windshield of their SUV as they cruised Wednesday through the Wal-Mart parking lot, past parks and onto side streets. They walked along the Umatilla River and ducked into the library. The two women, both employees of the Community Action Program of East Central Oregon (CAPECO), looked for anyone who appeared homeless and initially found no one. At 11 a.m., they headed to See HOMELESS/8A
