REGION
Friday, February 12, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Umatilla Co. racks up $51K bill for helping Harney
message to sheriffs in all 36
counties to participate in a
conference call Jan. 3, the
Umatilla County Sheriff day after an armed mob took
Terry Rowan reported his over the refuge in protest of
staff’s work in Harney the federal government’s
County during the armed control of land. Following
standoff on the Malheur the call, Rowan said, he sent
National Wildlife Refuge has a patrol deputy/detective and
a dispatcher to aid Harney
already cost $51,000.
Rowan said the state is County.
“We were told they
looking to reimburse his
RI¿FH DQG RWKHUV IRU WKH were going to establish a
outlays, and would then turn command post so, I sent a
to the federal government YHU\ TXDOL¿HG GLVSDWFKHU
to recoup the funds. He said that could assist them with
the reimbursable costs for the set up of equipment so
sheriff’s agencies that helped communications could be
in Harney County was at established,” Rowan said in
E\ WKH ¿UVW ZHHN an email. “The patrol asset
of February. That number was used at their discretion
should still rise, even after but mainly provided armed
the occupation is over and security to the command
agencies process the crime post, helped gather intelli-
scene and provide additional gence, and general police
services. Both were down
security.
The
Oregon
State there for several days and up
Sheriffs’ Association sent a to two weeks.”
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Rowan then sent two more
dispatchers in the second
week to help provide 24/7
dispatch services.
“There have been at least
two dispatchers down there
since this began,” he said.
“The operation called for a
number of patrol assets to
be sent, but I have limited
resources in that arena, so I
was unable to send additional
patrol units down.”
Umatilla County sheriff’s
Capt. Kathy Lieuallen,
commander of the local
dispatch center, said Harney
County has a small operation
and at times dispatchers there
had to use paper and pencil
and not computers to take
calls.
Rowan said dispatchers
were still operating in the third
week of the crisis. He then
sent two court security
RI¿FHUV EHFDXVH +DUQH\
County was “having high
SUR¿OHW\SHFRXUWFDVHV´7KH
next week he said he sent
three court security deputies
along with dispatchers.
One court security deputy
and one dispatcher were
in Harney County as of
Wednesday, the day before
the occupation came to a
peaceful end. The sheriff
said he expected they would
stay there as long as Malheur
County needed.
Rowan, who is seeking a
second term as sheriff, also
stated lending a helping hand
did not reduce dispatch or
court security resources. The
¿UVW GLVSDWFKHU FXW KLV YDFD-
tion short, but the department
EDFN¿OOHGSRVLWLRQVWRPDNH
sure there was coverage
for Umatilla County and
partner agencies. Sheriff’s
employees typically drove to
Harney County on Sundays
and drove back on Fridays,
then returned the next week.
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lodging, meals and pay,
including overtime.
Nearly every sheriff’s
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Harney County Sheriff Dave
Ward and his department in
some way, Rowan said, and
at least two outside sheriffs
were there from the onset. But
Grant County Sheriff Glenn
Palmer, Harney County’s
neighbor to the north, sent no
one.
Palmer tried to supersede
federal authority in September
2015 when he deputized 11
county residents to create a
public lands natural resources
plan.
Palmer also called the
police roadblock where
Oregon State Police troopers
shot and killed militant leader
Robert “LaVoy” Finicum an
“ambush site,” which earned
him criticism from the state
sheriff’s association.
Rowan said sheriffs
rotated in and out of Harney
County every few days, so
at any given time there were
at least three sheriffs in the
community. Oregon sheriff’s
RI¿FHVDOVRVHQWHQRXJKVWDII
to establish six teams of two
deputies each for 24/7 patrols,
though Rowan said they
“scaled that back a little the
last two weeks.”
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0833.
Hermiston deputy superintendent
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intendent for 18 months in
2011-2012 while Superin-
Wade Smith, the deputy tendent Fred Maiocco was
superintendent of the Herm- deployed to Kuwait as a
iston School District, is one colonel in the U.S. Army
Reserves.
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“I
was
for the top job in
honored to work
the Walla Walla
with an incred-
School District.
ibly talented and
The
new
supportive staff,”
superintendent, to
Smith said about
be selected by the
his time in the top
school board, will
leadership role.
begin July 1. They
“You see districts
will replace Bill
put on the brakes
Jordan, who will Smith
or coast in that
retire at the end of
kind of situation,
the school year.
Smith was hired as but we made great progress
Hermiston’s
assistant and had great success.”
Upon Maiocco’s return,
superintendent of human
UHVRXUFHVLQDIWHU¿YH Smith was named deputy
years as an administrator in superintendent.
Smith said his nine years
the Morrow County School
District. He served as the in Hermiston schools have
Hermiston interim super- been great, but he felt it was
East Oregonian
time to move into a super-
intendent leadership role.
He and his family would
like to stay in the region, so
the Walla Walla job made
sense. Hermiston School
District has an enrollment
of 5,500 and Walla Walla is
about 6,200.
Smith will join adminis-
trators Susan Bell (Touchet,
Washington), Kent Kultgen
(Helena, Montana), Mark
Mansell (La Center, Wash-
ington), Kevin McKay
(Zillah, Washington), Jared
Hoadley (Mead, Wash-
ington) and Molly Ringo
(Everett, Washington) in the
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The Walla Walla School
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interviews Feb. 29, March 1
and 2, and public meetings
will be held on these dates at
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MILTON-FREEWATER
$12.5M school bond set for May ballot
town Alliance proposed
turning Freewater Elemen-
tary School into a commu-
The Milton-Freewater nity recreation center.
Freewater would be one
School Board approved a
resolution Monday that will of the buildings that would
put a $12.5 million bond on be vacated as a result of
the May 17 ballot, although the new elementary, and
matching grants from the the alliance has targeted
state and a private founda- LW IRU D QRQSUR¿WRSHUDWHG
tion could bump that total to community center if the
bond passes.
$31.5 million.
According to its proposal
Although the election is
still several months away, the to the school board, the
0LOWRQ)UHHZDWHU 8QL¿HG alliance formed a committee
School District has already to explore establishing a
secured a $15 million grant community center.
The committee analyzed
from the Wayne and Gladys
Valley Foundation and a the cost of developing and
$4 million grant from the maintaining a center by
Oregon School Capital looking at comparative
Improvement
Matching data for recreation centers
in Baker City, Tillamook,
Program.
Both grants are reliant on Newport and Pullman,
the school district passing a Wash.
They also conducted an
bond.
The combined funds online survey that showed
will cover a new K-3 that most people in the
elementary school, heating, community were in favor of
ventilation, air conditioning starting a recreation center.
The proposed 17,600-
and technology upgrades for
McLoughlin High School, 24,700 square foot facility
Central Middle School and would feature a weight
Ferndale Elementary School room, a teen/senior center,
and the replacement of a gymnasium, locker rooms
Grove Elementary School and other amenities. The
with a new sports complex. pitch also recommends
The bond will also replace renting out space to local
a $1 per $1,000 assessed organizations and busi-
value levy with a $1.10 rate. nesses.
Establishing such a center
The bond could have a
wider range of effects in wouldn’t come cheap.
Alliance Director Randy
Milton-Freewater, in addi-
Grant estimated it would
tion to improving schools.
At the same meeting take $1 million to open
the board approved putting the center and another $2
a bond referendum on the million to properly establish
ballot, a group from the the center as an asset and
Milton-Freewater Down- community attraction.
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Grant said the alliance
committee is already begin-
ning to identify funding
sources for a fundraising
effort, with the alliance
needing to raise 60-70
percent of the money before
they take a fundraiser to the
public.
Superintendent
Rob
Clark said the school board
was receptive to the idea of
converting Freewater to a
community center.
If the bond passes, Clark
said he would recommend
the board sign a memo-
randum of understanding
with the alliance in July or
August that will give the
organization time to raise
the money.
Successful fundraising
could lead to a lease and if
not, Clark said the district
would explore other uses
for the 102-year-old school.
The earliest the commu-
nity center could open is
2019, after construction of
the new elementary school
is complete.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
A romp in the park
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Zoey, a one-year-old red border collie, chases down a tennis ball while playing
fetch with her owner Christi Jakabosky on the playground at Lincoln Elementary
School on Wednesday in Pendleton.
Athena-Weston to interview three for superintendent
ATHENA — The Athe-
na-Weston School Board has
VHOHFWHG WKUHH ¿QDOLVWV IRU LWV
open superintendent position.
The district will hold inter-
views at Athena Elementary
School on Tuesday from 6
to 9 p.m. in a round-robin
format — each candidate will
get a chance to interview with
the board in a closed-door
session, talk with district staff
and meet with the public.
At the end of their meet-
ings, staff and members of the
public will be provided with
a rating sheet, the feedback
from which will be considered
by board members when they
make their decision.
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Yahraes, the CEO of Big Sky
Discovery Academy in Big
Sky, Mont.; Laure Quaresma,
the assistant superintendent of
Walla Walla Public Schools;
and Roger Trail, the executive
director of human resources
for the Clarkston, Wash.,
School District.
All three candidates
are aiming to replace Jerry
Copeland, who resigned from
the superintendent position to
become the human resources
director with the InterMoun-
tain
Education
Service
District.
Jim Reger, the former
interim superintendent for
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School District, came out
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temporarily while the board
searched for Copeland’s
successor.
For more information
about the superintendent
search, contact the district at
541-566-3551.
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