:EE.END ED,T,ON
80-year-old
whisky found
at local B&B
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AIRPORT CONSIDERED FOR
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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