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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2016)
WEEKEND EDITION HERMISTON BEATS THE DALLES MEET PENDLETON’S FANDOM CLUB BASKETBALL/1B LIFESTYLES/1C ETHICAL QUESTION SURROUND BUNDY’S LEGAL TEAM 7A FEBRUARY 6-7, 2016 140th Year, No. 81 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD ON THE STREETS Law enforcement officers increasingly deal with mental illness SeaPort declares bankruptcy Will continue current flight schedule, paying employees By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton Police offi cer Shelly Studebaker checks on the welfare of a man who appeared distressed and was gesturing wildly at traffi c near the westbound onramp to Interstate 84 off Southgate on Wednesday in Pendleton. By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian SeaPort Airlines announced Friday it fi led for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, although the company says day-to-day operations will not be interrupted. According to a press release, SeaPort will continue to operate its current fl ight schedule, including the route between Pendleton’s Eastern Oregon Regional Airport and Portland. The airline also promised to continue paying its employees as the company attempts to reorganize in the midst of a national pilot shortage and a severely reduced fl ight schedule. In addition, CEO Rob Kinney has resigned. Tim Sieber, most recently executive vice president, was named president. Although SeaPort has reassured city offi cials that business will continue as usual, the development follows some downward trends for the Portland-based airline. Once operating almost two dozen routes in 11 states and Mexico, SeaPort announced that it would dramatically cut its service area in January, focusing most of its attention toward airports in Oregon and Arkansas. SeaPort was sued in U.S. District Court by Caravan Air LLC last week, See SEAPORT/12A At one time the nation’s most severely mentally ill were locked up in mental hospitals, often against their will. Now they wander our streets. That’s how it seems to many law enforcement offi cers these days as they spend more and more of their time dealing with people in crisis. “It’s much more common than people think,” said Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston. “My offi cers see mental illness daily, if not hourly.” When someone in crisis endangers themselves or others, offi cers must take action. Sometimes that means getting the person evaluated by a MEACHAM “We put them on a merry-go-round and we spin it. Pretty soon it’s spinning so hard they can’t get off.” The interactions have almost endless variation: A person lying on a city street, getting aggres- sive, urinating in a public place, hallucinating, in the grip of a suicidal depression or causing a multitude of other scenarios that range from simply strange to severely dangerous. On a recent day, Pendleton Police Offi cer Shelly Stude- baker stopped her patrol car to chat with a man who stood on a traffi c island at the confl uence of Frazer and Emigrant Avenues. He was gesturing at the traffi c and fi xated on a truck parked across the busy street on the gravel beside the Interstate 84 onramp. With some conversa- tion, Studebaker learned he was — Stuart Roberts, Pendleton police chief See HEALTH/12A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton police offi cer Shelly Studebaker checks in with the dispatch center while on patrol Wednesday. professional or hauling him or her to jail. Other times, they use words to persuade or soothe and de-escalate. Most of the time, the interac- tions end peacefully, but offi cers likely will see the person again — maybe even later that day. Pendleton joins in Super Bowl’s golden anniversary Student helps former Buckaroo receive NFL recognition By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian Pendleton High senior Roman Martinez was wandering the hall- ways at Lebanon High School in early January, waiting for a Bucks basketball game to start, when a shiny gold football in the school’s trophy case caught his eye. It was from the NFL, commemorating former Lebanon football player Paul McQuistan who had played in the 2013 Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks. It was part of the NFL’s Honor Roll initiative to celebrate the 50th Super Bowl by sending commemorative trophies See FOOTBALL/12A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton High School graduate Bob Lilly played in the 1971 and 1972 Super Bowl for the Dallas Cowboys. More Super Bowl coverage inside For an in-depth look at how the Broncos and Panthers stack up see page 4B Three connected to murder face federal weapons charges By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian The three men arrested in connection to the recent murder of Thadd Nelson of Meacham now face federal weapons charges. While the U.S. Attorney’s Offi ce has not charged any of them with Nelson’s death, Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts said he suspected more charges are in the pipeline. Nelson died after being shot early Jan. 27 on his property near Emigrant Springs State Park on McIver the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Police soon caught Joseph Aaron McIver, 22, of Umatilla, and the Umatilla County District Attorney’s Offi ce charged him with murder with a fi rearm. Vargas Police also arrested Edward Duarte Ayala, 46, and Armando Rueben Vargas, 39, on weapons charges and more in connec- tion to the killing. They are from Fresno, Calif. but moved to Hermiston. District Attorney Ayala Dan Primus dismissed all the cases Wednesday due to a federal indictment that charges McIver, Ayala and Vargas with one count each of felon in possession of a fi rearm. Primus said the FBI was not involved at the start of the investigation, but joined soon after. He said it was common prac- See WEAPONS/12A
