Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 10, 2016)
54/36 HAYSTACK FIRE NEAR RIETH FORMER SPY SPEAKS TO STUDENTS Hermiston comes up short against Corvallis REGION/2A REGION/3A GIRLS BASKETBALL/1B THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016 140th Year, No. 104 WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD JOSEPH Avalanche kills skier Victim was backcountry safety instructor EO Media Group The well-known director of the Wallowa Avalanche Center was killed Tuesday by the catastrophe he had taught many students to avoid. Kip Rand was killed in a steep fall and avalanche while back- country skiing near Chief Joseph Mountain, west of Joseph in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Rand was skiing in the area with a friend. At about 4:30 p.m., Wallowa County Sheriff Steve Rogers said dispatch received a signal from a GPS beacon that initiated a response from the county’s Search and Rescue unit. The unit arrived at the area around 9:30 or 10 p.m., around the same time a local backcountry ski group also responded to the incident. the Wallowa Avalanche Rogers said his &HQWHU5DQGMRLQHGWKH investigation indicates QRQSUR¿W LQ 1RYHPEHU that Rand was caught at 2015. He grew up the top of an avalanche in Boise, Idaho and and was carried about had “many years of 600 feet down a nearly experience as a guide, vertical slope. avalanche educator and Rand initially pro observer.” survived the avalanche, Rand taught winter his skiing partner told survival and avalanche authorities. But Rand Kip Rand awareness courses at was deceased by the time help arrived, despite the center and elsewhere, and relentlessly preached the impor- attempts at CPR. According to a statement by tance of safety. Custodian works 27 years with Hermiston School District One dollar Occupiers face new charges By STEVEN DUBOIS Associated Press PORTLAND — The federal govern- ment on Wednesday leveled additional charges against Ammon Bundy and dozens of others who staged an armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. One weapons allegation carries the possibility of life in prison. $JUDQGMXU\LQGLFWHG%XQG\DQGPRVW of his co-defendants on a new charge of ¿UHDUPV SRVVHVVLRQ LQ D IHGHUDO IDFLOLW\ after the group seized the nature preserve in January to oppose U.S. land restrictions. 2WKHUV DUH DFFXVHG RI D VHFRQG ¿UHDUPV allegation, theft or damaging an archaeo- logical site considered sacred to the Burns Paiute Tribe. The new charges come as the govern- ment cracks down on Bundy, his family and others for leading armed standoffs in a long-running dispute over management of public lands in the Western U.S. Federal authorities have charged Bundy’s father, Cliven Bundy, and several others in recent months with conspiracy, assault and threats in a 2014 armed standoff over grazing rights near the patriarch’s Nevada ranch. In a packed courtroom in Portland, the younger Bundy and others pleaded not guilty to the new allegations Wednesday. All 26 defendants were previously charged ZLWKFRQVSLUDF\WRLPSHGHRI¿FHUVRIWKH United States. Ammon Bundy’s attorneys told the MXGJHWKDWKHZDQWHGWREHDGYLVHGRIKLV rights. U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown denied the request, noting that they were read at three prior court appearances. See STANDOFF/8A Photo by E.J. Harris Lead custodian Debbie Stephens moves a rack holding student meal ID cards during lunch on Wednesday at West Park Elementary School in Hermiston. The unsung hero of West Park “The best part of the day is knowing I’m going to come in and get a hug. When I decide to retire, I’ll have to fi gure out what I want to be when I grow up.” who often work outside of the limelight, including custodians, groundskeepers and maintenance workers, school secretaries, For 27 years she has worked assistants, lunchroom staff and in the background — the “unsung bus drivers. hero” of West Park Elementary. Stephens never planned on Debbie Stephens, lead custo- dian, unlocks the school doors — Debbie Stephens, lead custodian at West Park Elementary KDYLQJ D FDUHHU DV D FODVVL¿HG employee. each morning. She makes sure At the “old” age of 30, the walkways are clear and the until we don’t do it,” Stephens &ODVVL¿HG HPSOR\HHV ZRUN building is ready for staff and VDLG ³, OLNH P\ MRE 7ZHQ KRXUO\ DQG DUH QRW ³FHUWL¿HG´ Stephens was a potato worker students. From polishing the ty-seven years has gone really employees such as teachers and ZKR UHDOL]HG VKH QHHGHG D MRE school administrators. This week ZLWKEHQH¿WVDQGPRUHVWDQGDUG ÀRRUVWRPRYLQJER[HVFOHDQLQJ quickly.” As a custodian, Stephens is LV ³&ODVVL¿HG (PSOR\HH$SSUH hours. Her parents suggested she the windows to taking out the RQHRIFODVVL¿HGHPSOR\HHV ciation Week,” a time set aside trash, Stephens does it all. See CUSTODIAN/8A “Nobody notices what we do in the Hermiston School District. to recognize school employees By JENNIFER COLTON East Oregonian By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian to Kik Street and back to Highway 395 paved. The loop is bordered by a patchwork of commercial and industrial property, including a strip mall along the highway, Eastern Oregon Machine and Hermiston Sanitary Disposal. To pave the road, property owners could form a local improvement district or handle the SURMHFWSULYDWHO\ Forming a local improvement district would only require 50 percent of landowners to agree, and money contributed to the district would mean a property See HIGHWAY/8A See RECORDS/8A Highway 395 group may skip tax credit to pave loop dirt cheap Bensel Road. One of the committee’s top priorities is improving the roads Property owners on Umatilla branching off the highway that are County’s Highway 395 North public roads but not owned by any Technical Advisory Committee VSHFL¿FMXULVGLFWLRQ “A lot of them are in pretty are hoping their neighbors will agree to voluntarily contribute to rough shape,” county planning road improvement efforts instead director Tamra Mabbott said of forming a local improvement during a meeting Tuesday. “They probably weren’t built to standard district. The committee of landowners and nobody has taken responsi- and business owners has been bility to maintain them.” Committee chair Steve ZRUNLQJZLWKWKHFRXQW\RQ¿QGLQJ ways to foster economic develop- Watkinds, who owns the Columbia ment in the area between Herm- &RXUW&OXEVDLGWKH¿UVWRUGHURI iston’s urban growth boundary at business is getting the loop of Punkin Center and Umatilla’s at Baggett Lane to West Fourth Street Inconsistent policies can mean long waits, high fees As public records requests have migrated from paper to online, some public agencies have not kept up with the shift. Most records generated by a govern- ment agency — including police reports, emails about government business, meeting minutes, maps, applications, budgets and contracts — are public record, meaning anyone has a right to view them. But inconsistent public records policies can sometimes mean long waits and high fees. A state audit released in November found that public records policies were inconsistent between state agencies, ranging in cost from $15 per hour to $40 per hour for staff time. It also found that while routine requests usually took less than two weeks, more broad requests sometimes take months, leading to the perception that state agencies were dragging their feet in order to thwart investigations by MRXUQDOLVWVDQGFRQFHUQHGFLWL]HQV On a local level, many public agen- cies are still charging per page instead of by the hour despite the fact that public records requests are moving away from physical copies of forms and on to emails, videos and text messages. In December the Hermiston City &RXQFLO UHMHFWHG DQ DWWHPSW E\ VWDII WR amend the city’s public records fees, which had not been updated since 2003, from 25 cents per page to $35 an hour for any request taking longer than 15 HERMISTON By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Records requests changing in digital age
