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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2016)
Page 8A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian HERMISTON: Center costs about $179K a year to operate Continued from 1A one livability priority at the moment should be ensuring the completion and success of EOTEC. Once the event center part of the project has been operating for over a year, a consultant should be brought in to study the rela- tionship between the event center and conference center in depth. “Basically, is one canni- balizing the other, or is there actually a complementary relationship?” Morgan said. At that point the city could look at its options with the conference center. In the meantime, the Livable Hermiston Committee laid the ground- work for the city to look at what its next big project should be. In 2015 it put out an open-ended community survey asking what the top priority should be if the city suddenly had a multi-million dollar windfall for a new project. Morgan said the most popular responses fell into ¿ve categories: A year-round indoor aquatics center, a youth/family activity center such as a YMCA, an arts and cultural center, downtown revitalization projects and more parks and trails. More than 1,000 commu- nity members were given a second survey about those ¿ve options, and more than 80 people participated in focus groups. In both the survey and the focus groups, an indoor aquatic center had the most support, with 89 percent support in the survey and 93 percent support in the focus groups. Morgan said people made it clear, however, that it was only worth building if it could become a multi-use regional attraction and not simply an indoor lap swim- ming pool. The focus groups’ second priority was a community activity center, while survey respondents’ second choice was downtown revitalization. An arts and culture center came in last with both groups. The Livable Hermiston Committee recommended that in 2017 the city begin a feasibility study for an aquatic center, a family activity center or a combi- nation of both housed in the same facility. The city council accepted the recommendations to hold off on more studies until 2017. Mayor David Drotzmann commented that it was nice to have commu- nity buy-in on the next steps, and councilor John Kirwan said the committee’s work was helpful in seeing where the city should focus its resources after EOTEC is up and running. “We’ve talked about all this stuff since I’ve been involved in the community, but it’s good to ¿nally have a plan,” he said. The plan leaves the conference center in limbo, however, with a contract with the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce that currently runs only through the end of 2017. According to information supplied by Morgan in 2015, the city uses money from the transient room tax fund to pay the chamber about $64,000 to run the conference center, plus shells out another $30,000 for insurance, utili- ties and maintenance. The center costs about $179,000 a year total to operate but only brings in $130,000 in revenue from events. The city will be on the hook for at least $50,000 a year toward EOTEC’s operating costs once the full project is built. A recent insurance appraisal valued the confer- ence center building and property at $3.2 million. The conference center came about in 1994, when the community raised $600,000 and added it to $250,000 from the city and a $300,000 loan from the city’s general fund to renovate a former Safeway. WILDHORSE: Proposed three additional screens at cineplex Continued from 1A Board Secretary David Close voiced concern about spending money during a tough global economy. “How far should we be leveraged?” he asked. “I love the expansion plans but I’m worried about where we’re heading. I just think we should be cautious and careful as we move forward.” BOT Treasurer Rosenda Shippentower, also in support of more hotel rooms, said she’d feel better about the proposals if the casino adds another couple of hundred slot games in a recon¿gura- tion of the casino Àoor that could involve moving the vault and pay-out windows. “Some of this sounds ¿ne and dandy, but we should move forward ¿rst with what we can do,” she said. Shippentower suggested the proposals be laid out in phases, but Robinson said it would be best designed as one large project. He noted that a proposed 32-lane, state-of-the-art bowling alley, would be a minor piece of any expansion. Jeremy Wolf, BOT vice chairman, reminded George about the horse arena that had been talked about last year. (In fact, a new horse arena, potentially to serve the Blue Mountain Community College rodeo team, has been talked about for years.) Wolf said such a standing covered arena would accommodate horse events, including roping and rough stock competition, as well as concerts, boxing and other activities. The board directed George to include plans for the arena into the proposal. “That would justify more slot machines and a larger hotel,” Wolf said. Some highlighted recom- mendations from the Klas Robinson feasibility report on the proposed plans: • A 200-room tower hotel to replace the original hotel, offering 175 standard rooms, 20 two-bay suites and ¿ve ground-level, four-bay hospi- tality suites. Replacing the courtyard hotel would create additional outdoor space that could be used for amenities such as a swimming pool, lazy river, oversized jacuzzi, sun deck, patio, gardens, water features and ¿re-pit. • A 32-lane bowling center and pro shop, including eight private VIP lanes for private parties, plus a 75-seat sports bar that may be an extension of the current sports bar. • Three additional screens at the ¿ve-screen cineplex. • An additional 15,000 square-foot divisible event complex that would accom- modate theater seating for up to 1,500 guests for live enter- tainment, sit-down service for 600 people, or trade shows for 60-75 booths. • The new facilities may warrant space for up to 300 more slots and 4-6 table games. Tuesday, April 12, 2016 Planned Parenthood shooter admired Florida doctor’s killer By SADIE GURMAN Associated Press DENVER — The man who acknowledges killing three people at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic idolized an abortion foe who killed a Florida doctor more than two decades earlier, court documents released Monday show. Robert Dear told police he attacked the clinic in Colorado Springs because he was upset with the reproductive health organization for “the selling of baby parts,” according to the court documents, which give the deepest look yet into his seething disdain for abortion providers. Dear also told investigators he put glue in the locks at an abortion clinic when he lived in South Carolina, a common protest technique among activists trying to shut down such facilities. The documents were unsealed Monday after The Associated Press and other news outlets petitioned the state’s highest court for their release. Judge Gilbert Martinez initially refused to make them public, saying the media do not have a First Amendment right to access court documents, which prompted the monthslong court ¿ght over records that are routinely released in criminal cases. They include Dear’s arrest warrant and warrants to search Dear’s pickup truck, computer, emails and tumbledown trailer in rural Hartsel, Colo- Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP, Pool, File In this Dec. 9, 2015 file photo, Robert Lewis Dear, middle, talks during a court appearance in Colorado Springs, Colo. rado. Dear, 57, is charged with 179 counts, including murder, attempted murder and assault, in the Nov. 27 attack. He held police at bay for more than ¿ve hours at the clinic, injuring nine others and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people from surrounding businesses. As he was being put in a patrol car, Dear began yelling about the killing of babies and “no more baby parts,” according to the court documents. The dead included a police of¿cer from the 8niversity of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and two people who were accompanying friends to the clinic separately. In courtroom outbursts, Dear declared himself a “warrior for the babies” and said he was guilty. A hearing this month will reveal more about whether he is compe- tent to continue with his criminal case. The documents show Dear had been nursing a grudge against abortion providers for years. He told police he admired Paul Hill, a former minister who was executed in 2003 for the 1994 shootings of abortion provider Dr. John Bayard Britton and his bodyguard, a retired 8.S. Air Force of¿cer named James Herman Barrett, outside the Ladies Center in Pensacola, Florida. Hill himself said he was inspired by the shooting death of another abortion doctor in Pensacola a year earlier. At the time of Hill’s execution, some urged that he be spared for fear the extreme wing of the anti-abortion movement would turn him into a martyr. Dear often talked about Hill, including once when he drove past a North Carolina abortion clinic and again when he learned that Colo- rado Springs had a clinic, his girlfriend told police. Dear’s comments after the gunbattle even seemed to echo Hill, who spoke of being rewarded in heaven for his actions. During an interview in which he repeatedly recited Bible passages, Dear told police he dreamed he would be “met by all the aborted fetuses at the gates of heaven and they would thank him for what he did because his actions saved lives of other unborn fetuses,” the documents say. “He was happy with what he had done because his actions ... ensured that no more abortions would be conducted at the Planned Parenthood facility in Colo- rado Springs,” which has since reopened. Before the shooting, Dear frequently posted messages online about his anti-abortion views, he told police. In 2009, he emailed his son a link to a website that has the stated purpose of “honoring heroes who stood up for the unborn,” with links to infor- mation about Hill and others who had targeted abortion clinics. Dear asked several people for directions to the Planned Parenthood, ¿nally getting the address by calling the clinic. He wore a homemade ballistic vest made from silver coins and duct tape when he barged into the clinic with four riÀes, according to the documents. He told police he had other weapons, including two handguns and a shotgun, in his truck. Man arrested after body parts found in Seattle SEATTLE (AP) — Three body parts — including a foot — found in a home- owner’s recycling bin likely belong to a woman who was reported missing Saturday morning, Seattle police said Monday. Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole said at an evening news conference that an arrest had been made in the case and detectives believe the human remains are that of Ingrid Lyne, a 40-year-old mother of three who works as a nurse in Seattle. “All evidence leads in the direction of that missing woman,” O’Toole said. Friends of Lyne said they last saw her Friday afternoon and that she had planned to go on a date to a Mariners baseball game Friday night Lynsi Burton/seattlepi.com via AP Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole speaks to re- porters during a news conference Monday in Seattle. Multiple body parts — including a foot — found in a homeowner’s recycling bin likely belong to a woman who was reported missing Saturday morning, Seattle police said Monday. with someone she met online. The King County Medical Examiner’s Of¿ce will make the ¿nal determination of identity. Police arrested John Robert Charlton, 37, on Monday morning in Snohomish County, north of Seattle. He’s been booked into jail on investigation of homicide. It wasn’t immedi- ately clear if Charlton had an attorney. Police don’t believe there are any other suspects, O’Toole said. A homeowner in Seattle called police at 4 p.m. Saturday after discovering the body parts. Police say the body parts had been packaged in plastic bags and placed in the bin sometime late Friday or on Saturday. The bin had been emptied of recyclables Friday. Police previously described the remains as fresh. They said they had searched other bins in the area and found nothing of note. Police are still searching for Lyne’s vehicle, a grey 2015 Toyota Highlander with Washington license plates. Need Shade or Outdoor Living Space? W e’ve Got YOU covered! 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Working Together for a Healthier Tomorrow Wednesday, April 13th Milton-Freewater Thursday, April 14th Boardman Friday, April 15th Hermiston 9:00am-11:30am OR Child Development Coalition • 403 Peabody Street 2:30pm-5:00pm Port of Morrow • Riverside Room 8:00am-10:30am Good Shepherd Medical Center Conference Rooms 1 & 2 Pendleton 1:00pm-3:30pm Pendleton Convention Center • East Rooms 5, 6 & 7 Contact: Pendleton Rod Harwood 541-278-3239 rharwood@chiwest.com Please let us know which event you will be attending. Hermiston Juli Gregory 541-667-3506 jgregory@gshealth.org Boardman Sheree Smith 541-256-0110 ssmith@co.morrow.or.us Milton-Freewater Rebecca Gardner 541-938-0282 Rebecca.Gardner@ocdc.net
