REGION
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
East Oregonian
Senate tips hat to Happy Canyon
East Oregonian
The
Oregon
Senate
heaped praise Monday on
the Happy Canyon Indian
Pageant and Wild West
Show in honor of its 100th
anniversary.
Sen.
Bill
Hansell
(R-Athena) introduced a
resolution to congratulate
the Pendleton mainstay on
its centennial year, and prin-
cesses Appollonia Saenz and
Elena Van Pelt opened the
day’s session by carrying the
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The resolution listed the
show’s
accomplishments,
including being the longest
running outdoor wild west
show in the U.S., enlisting
500 people, 50 animals and a
live orchestra in the produc-
tion, and attracting visitors
from around the world to
Pendleton.
In 2012 the event was
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outdoor Indian pageant
and wild west show by a
resolution carried by Sen.
David Nelson (R-Pendleton).
Happy Canyon publicity
director Corey Neistadt said
Monday’s recognition was a
celebration.
“Happy Canyon is in
some
pretty
esteemed
company in the region and
the state by hitting the 100
recognizing
Clemons’
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Clemons went to his seat,
while Youngman’s eyes
misted.
She had come to the town
hall at Wyden’s request so
he could honor the popular
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cancer for the third time.
Students started a Twitter
campaign last month to get
Youngman on the “Ellen
DeGeneres Show” or at least
in the audience. The teacher
had expressed a desire to
meet the comedienne partly
because of her emphasis on
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The #YoungmanOnEllen
campaign
trended
and
attracted thousands of tweets,
including one from Wyden
himself. Youngman had
come to the town hall from St.
Anthony Hospital where she
had gone Sunday night with
a low white blood cell count
and a fever. Wyden presented
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out their cellphones and
record a huge group cheer so
loud “they can hear it all the
way on the Ellen Show.”
“There are times in the
life of a community when the
power of one person’s story
captures the hearts of every-
body who hears it,” Wyden
said. “Señora Youngman
comes from a family with a
rich, long history of service
and she has continued that
tradition with dedication to
her students and her belief in
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After the presentation,
students queried the senator
on a smörgåsbord of topics.
Following are a sampling of
Wyden responses.
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Malheur refuge: “We don’t
want people coming from the
outside and chipping away
at the rule of law and the
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our country what it is. That’s
not the way we do it. In a
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Construction trailer
destro\ed in ¿re
BOARDMAN
—
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and Irrigon responded to a
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construction trailer outside
a potato shed on Ullman
Boulevard at the Port of
Morrow.
No one was hurt, though
the trailer was destroyed,
according to the Boardman
Rural Fire Protection District.
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not appear to be suspicious.
No one at the port could be
reached Monday for comment.
Hermiston man cuts
sex crimes plea deal,
avoids rape charge
and sexually abused one
woman multiple times in
February 2015 in a hotel
The Hermiston man room at Wildhorse Resort
who faced police in a & Casino a few miles
standoff in Pendleton last east of Pendleton on the
fall is headed to prison for Umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion, then threatened to
more than seven years.
harm her or her
Ricardo
family if she told
Amezcua,
anyone. The plea
27, made a
deal alleviates
deal Friday in
the state’s burden
Umatilla County
of proving its
Circuit
Court,
case at trial and
Pendleton,
allows Amezcua
pleading guilty
to avoid the
to four counts of
possibility
of
second-degree
a much longer
sexual abuse and
prison
stay
one of delivering Amezcua
under Oregon’s
a
controlled
mandatory
substance to a
sentencing
minor. Court records show minimum
Circuit Judge Christopher law. First-degree rape,
Brauer sentenced Amezcua for example, carries a
to seven years, two months minimum sentence of eight
years, four months.
in prison.
Umatilla tribal police
The state also dismissed
13 counts against Amezcua and federal agents arrested
as part of the deal, Amezcua at a North Hill
LQFOXGLQJ WKUHH RI ¿UVWGH- home in Pendleton after a
gree unlawful sexual standoff in September. As
penetration and four of of yet, according to court
records, Amezcua does not
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Amezcua was headed face federal charges.
———
to trial in early March. The
Contact Phil Wright at
Umatilla County District
$WWRUQH\¶V 2I¿FH DOOHJHG pwright@eastoregonian.
Amezcua raped, molested com or 541-966-0833.
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Contributed photo
Happy Canyon Directors stand with Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, as well as princesses
Appollonia Saenz and Elena Van Pelt on the Oregon Senate floor.
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Woolen Mills, our sister
organization the Pendleton
Round-Up, Umatilla County
Fair, and others,” he wrote in
an email. “To be recognized
for that type of longevity is
amazing.”
He said members of the
board and all the volunteers
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singled out at the state level
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“feel good inside.”
The night show will
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during its performances Sept.
14-17.
WYDEN: Honored
Youngman with a
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Continued from 1A
Page 3A
PENDLETON
and balances. People can’t
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laws.”
On the replacement of
Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia:
“This discussion should
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
be conducted with the dignity
Spanish
language
teacher
Kathryn
Youngman
speaks
that this position warrants. during a town hall meeting with U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
It’s an urgent matter ... on Monday at Pendleton High School.
Justice Kennedy, one of the
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in an election year.”
On Bengazi: “We’ve
already determined there was
inadequate security there. All
gym for the assembly.
Continued from 1A
sides have recognized that. ...
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It is a very dangerous world
showed students holding who introduced Youngman,
out there. There are lots
up cards with adjectives VDLG VKH IHHOV D NLQVKLS
of people and particularly
describing the Spanish partly because of her own
non-nation states who don’t
teacher such as positive, fragile health condition,
wish us well.”
passionate, faithful and which involved a liver
On barring Syrian refuges:
courageous. Other clips transplant. She said her
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featured groups from fellow students often deal
Muslims is a terrible idea
around the world holding with anxiety, depression and
— that’s a repudiation of
#YoungmanOnEllen signs doubts about self-worth.
what our country stands for,
from Mexico to Kansas
“She has taught us that
which is you treat everybody
City, Australia to Butte, no matter what you struggle
equally. Obviously, you need
Montana. From Disne- with, whether it’s health-re-
a vigorous screening process
\ODQG +ROODQG 7RN\R lated or not, to always have a
for refugees.”
and Finland. The images positive attitude and always
On whether to increase
showed students, soldiers, EHNLQG´*ULI¿QVDLG
humanitarian aid: “It is very
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The students gave
clear if we’re to deal with
cers, fraternity and sorority Youngman a high-decibel
these serious threats that soft
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power, which is what human-
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itarian aid is, must play a
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bigger and more forcible
myriad others.
agers and her colleagues,
role.”
Youngman had come to EDVNLQJ LQ WKH URDU DQG
On mass shootings and
school Monday morning ORRNLQJDPD]HG
gun rights: “Are we just
from the St. Anthony
“I am overwhelmed
going to shrug our shoulders
Hospital, where she had beyond words,” she said.
and say that’s the way it is?
gone Sunday night with a
A family member said
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low white blood cell count WKH\ GRQ¶W NQRZ H[DFWO\
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and a fever. The teacher when the show will air, but
of things we can do without
rolled into school in a guess it could be Friday or
trampling on the Second
wheelchair and wearing a Monday.
Amendment.”
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———
On legalization of mari-
Sen. Ron Wyden’s annual
Contact Kathy Aney at
juana in Oregon: “This is not
Umatilla County Town Hall kaney@eastoregonian.com
a matter of whether you’re
WKHQ WUHNNHG RYHU WR WKH or call 541-966-0810.
for it or against it. Oregonians
have cast their votes. The
question now becomes, ‘Are
we going to have (medical
and recreational marijuana
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———
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Contact Kathy Aney at
kaney@eastoregonian.com
Beth Marquardt
Independent Beauty Consultant
or call 541-966-0810.
YOUNGMAN: 'RQ¶WNQRZ
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City council to consider
at-large appointment
East Oregonian
If divided evenly, each
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appointment to the Pend-
leton City Council’s vacant
at-large seat will get 12
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out Jane Hill’s term.
Barring a last-minute
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be interviewed publicly
Tuesday from 5 to 6 p.m.
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Tibbets, a self-employed
computer
repairman
convicted of a hate crime,
and Larry Anderson, the
retired owner of Main
Street Diner and the
treasurer of the committee
trying to recall councilor
Al Plute.
Neither Tibbets or
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full term, but the other
three candidates have.
Appointment to the city
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Paul Rabitaille, J & B
Automotive co-owner Jim
Swearingen or Umatilla
County Assessment and
Taxation Director Paul
Chalmers the nominal
incumbent going into the
May 17 contest.
The fourth candidate in
the at-large council race,
retired Wal-Mart Distribu-
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Rohde, did not submit his
name for consideration in
the appointment.
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said the council will draw
from a generalized list
of seven questions to
interview the potential
appointees.
Following the inter-
views, the council will
convene for its regular
meeting at 7 p.m., where
members
will
begin
publicly deliberating the
candidates.
If a candidate can
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will be appointed, immedi-
ately sworn in and join the
council on the dais.
Appointment consid-
eration will automatically
continue to the next
meeting if no candidate
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The length of time it
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sometimes chooses a new
member in one meeting
while other vacancies have
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The latest vacancy
came about when Hill
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a lobbying position with
the Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation.
The interviews and
council meeting will be
held Tuesday at the council
chambers in city hall , 500
S.W. Dorion Avenue.