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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 2016)
56/33 BATTLE OF THE BARS HAWKS BEAT BMCC Vladimir Putin pushes Syria truce deal REGION/3A SPORTS/1B WORLD/8A THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2016 140th Year, No. 94 WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD One dollar Bundy, others plead not guilty Several doubt that they enjoy the presumption of innocence By STEVEN DUBOIS Associated Press PORTLAND — Ammon Bundy and another 15 defendants pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal conspiracy charges related to the 41-day occupation Contributed photo of an Oregon wildlife refuge. Several of the accused, however, expressed doubt that they enjoy the presumption of innocence. Bundy sat at the main defense table while most of his co-defen- dants sat in the jury box as they listened to a government prose- cutor read the indictment and U.S. District Judge Anna Brown tell them their rights. Brown reminded the defen- dants they are considered innocent until proven guilty. One by one, she asked them if they under- stood. Bundy simply said “yes,” but four co-defendants took the opportunity to express skepticism. “,t¶s dif¿ cult to understand presumption of innocence when I’ve spent the last month in a jail cell and been led around in shackles and chains,” Ryan Payne said. Another, Jason Patrick, told the See REFUGE/8A Workforce needs study underway for Umatilla County High water temperatures led to a massive die-off of sockeye salmon on the Columbia and Snake rivers in 2015. Groups seek emergency measures to protect salmon runs Hot summer led to massive sockeye die-off in 2015 By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Last year took a massive toll on sockeye salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers, as high water tempera- tures killed hundreds of thousands of ¿ sh returning from the Paci¿ c Ocean. Conservation groups are pointing the ¿ nger at federal dam operators, and have asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to come up with emergency measures to avoid a repeat in 2016. On Feb. 9, groups sent a letter to Col. Jose Aguilar in Portland criticizing the Corps’ “inability to protect returning adult salmon from high water tempera- tures,” and said another major die-off could push Snake River sockeye to the brink of extinction. “If the Army Corps fails to adopt and implement emergency measures, it risks causing further massive ¿ sh kills, unauthorized take, failure of mandatory legal duties to protect endangered species and jeopardizing the continued existence of the Snake and Columbia rivers’ salmon and steelhead popula- tions in 2016 and future years,” the letter states. Both Columbia Riverkeeper and Snake River Waterkeeper signed onto the letter, which does not propose any speci¿ c measures but points to several statistics underlining the urgency of the situation. They emphasized 96 percent of endangered Snake River sockeye died before ever making it to Lower Granite Dam in 2015. The Clean Water Act requires See FISH/8A Staff photo by Kathy Aney Lead carpenter Steve Leigh, an employee of Dura-Top, runs a saw Wednesday as he works on the interior of the new Washington Elementary School in Pendleton. Dura-Top is a subcontractor under Kirby Nagelhout Construction, based in Bend. What local employers want Many local businesses concerned about their aging workforce By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Staff photo by Kathy Aney Two employees of Northwest Framing work on the new Washington Elementary School in Pendleton. Northwest Framing is a subcontractor under Kirby Nagelhout Construction, based in Bend. Republicans barrel toward Super Tuesday By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and CALVIN WOODWARD Associated Press VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Republicans are barreling toward Super Tuesday with another debate in the of¿ ng and Donald Trump’s opponents reaching for perhaps their last best chance to knock him off stride for the presidential nomi- nation. Expect a nasty turn, Trump warned, as if the roiling GOP race were anything but that already. The New York billionaire predicted that the relative civility between Marco Rubio More inside For some turned-off GOP voters, grudging acceptance of Trump Page 7A and himself would fall away in the frantic grasp for hundreds of convention delegates in the 11 states that hold Republican primaries Tuesday. Even John Kasich, a trailing contender whose calling card has been a positive campaign, went sharply negative Wednesday in a campaign broadside against See ELECTION/8A A comprehensive study on Umatilla County’s workforce needs is in the works, and input from area employers is needed. The study is a joint project between Blue Mountain Community College and Umatilla County, run by consultant Susan Bower of Eastern Oregon Business Source. The goal is to use surveys, interviews and focus groups to fully understand what skills and quali¿ ca- tions local companies are looking for and how those needs could be met. The results will be compiled into a report that will be made available to the public and shared with local schools, civic groups and businesses. “The college and the county acknowledge they can’t be the only people coming up with solutions,” Bower said. “They’re saying ‘Let’s do this research and put it into an objective, academic report and share it.’” Casey White-Zollman, spokes- woman for BMCC, said the college will use the data and insights collected by Bower to look at what programs it should add or expand. She said when the Port of Umatilla and Port of Morrow approached the college a year ago about the data See WORK/8A BENT arrests more than a dozen for meth delivery arrested for delivery of a controlled substance. When Guzman-Madrigal was The Blue Mountain Enforcement arrested, BENT members found a handgun hidden in his waist- Narcotics Team arrested 13 band, a riÀ e in the passenger people Tuesday in connection seat of his car and meth, with a 10-month investigation leading to unlawful possession in Umatilla and Morrow of a ¿ rearm and possession of counties. a controlled substance charges. Additionally, BENT author- Candelario Escobedo, 35, ities recovered a handgun, a of Umatilla, Alex Hansford, semi-automatic riÀ e and a half 19, of Irrigon, Amy Riley, 34, ounce of methamphetamine. of Irrigon, Gloria Rodriguez, Jesus Cardenas Garcia, 43, of Boardman, David Ramirez, Guzman-Madrigal 48, of Boardman and David Taylor, 49, of Irrigon were 33, of Irrigon, Dustin Rodri- guez, 25, of Irrigon, Jose Cortez-Ibarra, charged with conspiracy delivery of a 27 of Boardman, Cesar Guzman-Mad- controlled substance. rigal, 25, of Umatilla and a 17-year-old See METH/8A juvenile male from Boardman were By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian
