REGION
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
BRIEFLY
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Another bighorn ram poached
OSP asks for help to track down culprit
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
EO file photo
A RQ-7B Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle lands at
the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport after a short
inaugural flight in Pendleton in 2014.
Pendleton UAS test range
reauthorization bill passes Senate
PENDLETON — The Pendleton Unmanned Aerial
Systems Range received some good news Tuesday as the
U.S. Senate approved a provision that extends congres-
sional authorization of test ranges from 2017 to 2022.
According to a press release from U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden, the provision, a part of a larger Federal Aviation
Administration bill, “will provide much-needed certainty
to Oregon’s test sites in Pendleton, Tillamook and Warm
Springs as well as three test sites outside Oregon.”
“This Oregon industry stands ready to soar even
higher, creating jobs and boosting the economy state-
wide with commercial uses that include mountaintop
rescue and agricultural applications,” Wyden said. “This
legislation ensures a solid Àight path for that growth over
the next several years.”
The provision also received support from SOAR
Oregon, a statewide nonpro¿t focused on expanding the
state’s drone industry.
“(Wyden’s) efforts, and those of his colleagues,
have gone a long way to signi¿cantly improve those
aspects of the reauthorization bill that will affect the
ranges,” SOAR Oregon CEO Chuck Allen said. “These
improvements will allow the Oregon ranges to continue
to develop business, grow jobs and attract customers
from outside the state.”
Judge denies lower bail for sex crimes
defendant Jason Glen Drake
PENDLETON — Sex-crimes defendant Jason Glen
Drake of Rieth lost a bid to lower his bail.
Drake, 41, had a hearing Monday in circuit court
in Pendleton to seek a lower bail.
Circuit Judge Christopher Brauer,
though, denied the request and kept
the bail at $400,000.
Umatilla County sheriff’s
detectives arrested Drake on March
30 for felony sex crimes against two
children. The survivors are younger
than 12, the sheriff’s of¿ce reported,
and court records show Drake is
related to both.
Drake
The district attorney’s of¿ce
took the case to a grand jury, which
handed down an eight-count indictment: six counts
of ¿rst-degree sodomy and two counts of ¿rst-degree
sexual abuse. Drake pleaded not guilty.
The charges are felonies that fall under Oregon’s
mandatory minimum sentencing law.
He has another pre-trial hearing Thursday, and the
court set a two-day trial for Drake starting May 26 in
Pendleton. He remains in the Umatilla County Jail,
Pendleton.
Assaults drive increase in
violent crime rate in Hermiston
HERMISTON — Total calls are down, but violent
crime is up in the city of Hermiston in the ¿rst part of
2016.
The Hermiston Police Department releases quarterly
statistics on crime rates, and the report for the ¿rst quarter
of 2016 — Jan. 1 through March 31 — show the depart-
ment responded to fewer total incidents but made more
arrests than in the same time period in 2015.
The total number of incidents — including 9-1-1
calls, traf¿c stops and of¿cer-initiated activity — is down
5 percent from the from the ¿rst quarter of 2015. The
department had 5,832 documented incidents in 2016,
compared to 6,114 in 2015. Arrests, however, are up 10
percent (from 370 in 2015 to 407 in 2016), and felony
arrests shot up 22 percent (from 79 to 96).
Felony arrests also came with a large increase in one
violent crime: aggravated assault. In the ¿rst quarter of
2015, the Hermiston Police Department handled three
violent crimes: one murder, one rape and one aggravated
assault. In the ¿rst quarter of 2016, however, of¿cers
report six aggravated assaults, an increase of 500 percent
over 2015.
Cases of burglary (an increase of 11 percent) and
larceny (an increase of 16 percent) also rose.
“On the surface, I believe it is relatively Àat,”
Edmiston said Monday. “Inasmuch as there may be a
draw to report violent crime is up and out of control, over
the course of a 10-year window, we are still relatively Àat.
Factoring in crime with the rise in population, I think we
are doing as good as we can with the limited resources we
have.”
The population of Hermiston, as reported in the HPD
crime report, was 17,345 in the ¿rst quarter of 2015 and
was 17,520 in the ¿rst quarter of 2016.
First-quarter juvenile crime is down in both detain-
ments and offenses from the same period in 2015.
———
Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports, and
press releases. Send emails to news@eastoregonian.com
A third bighorn ram was
shot and killed earlier this
month along Interstate 84
in Gilliam County, east of
Biggs Junction.
On April 10, Oregon
State
Police
received
several reports from passing
motorists about a sheep that
was in an unusual position
and possibly dead near the
highway. Fish and Wildlife
troopers found the ram on
top of a rock slide, and a
necropsy later determined
it had been shot with a
high-powered riÀe and left
to waste.
The discovery came just
one week after and one
mile away from the place
state police arrested two
men for poaching a pair of
bighorns from the I-84 herd.
Cody Plagmann, 37, and
Justin Samora, 32, will face
charges at a court hearing
on May 6. There is no indi-
cation the two incidents are
related.
This time around, author-
ities are asking for help from
the public to track down
the culprit. Anyone with
information is asked to call
senior Trooper Mark Jubitz
at 541-705-5330, or the
Turn-In-Poachers hotline at
1-800-452-7888. Tips can
remain anonymous, and a
reward up to $500 is avail-
able for information leading
to an arrest.
The TIP line is jointly
sponsored by OSP and the
Oregon Hunters Associa-
tion. Jim Akenson, OHA
conservation director, said
the I-84 bighorns are a highly
visible and unique resource.
He called on sportsmen to be
vigilant in putting a stop to
poaching.
“I think all sportsmen and
our organization are going to
be on full point to put a stop
to any more of this,” he said.
“Poaching really just riles
up our members, and riles
up ethical hunters. It really
makes them mad.”
There are approximately
80-100 California bighorns
in the I-84 herd, and 4,500
bighorns statewide. The
animals were reintroduced
in Oregon in 1954 after
they were wiped out due
to disease and unregulated
hunting.
Drawing a bighorn tag
is now a once-in-a-lifetime
hunting opportunity in
Oregon. Some hunters might
even pay up to $100,000 for
a tag at auction, Akenson
said. There is no legal
hunting season for sheep
from the I-84 herd.
Poaching game animals
is a class A misdemeanor,
punishable by up to one year
in jail and $6,250 in ¿nes.
The state could also seek up
to $25,000 in restitution.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
ARLINGTON
Saddle club introduces Boardman teen as queen
East Oregonian
The Arlington Saddle
Club recently announced
Rileigh McClure will reign
as queen during the Arlington
Jackpot Rodeo.
The
16-year-old
Boardman teen is the
daughter of Tracy and
Mindy McClure. She is a
junior at Arlington High
School and has served as
both student body president
and president of the National
Honor Society. McClure also
has been an active member
on the volleyball and
basketball teams. Her future
educational plans include
attending college to study
animal science.
In her spare time,
McClure enjoys activities
with friends and riding
her horses. The queen will
ride Sugar, a quarter horse,
during of¿cial appearances
representing the Arlington
Saddle Club, which includes
events throughout Oregon
and Washington. McClure
extends a special invitation
to the public to join her for
an action-packed weekend
during the Arlington Jackpot
Contributed photo
Rileigh McClure of Boardman is queen of the 2016
Arlington Jackpot Rodeo. The event is April 30-May 1
in Arlington.
Rodeo.
In its 69th year, the
rodeo activities kick off
Saturday, April 30 at 10
a.m. with a parade through
downtown Arlington. The
queen’s luncheon follows
at the United Methodist
Church, 150 Hemlock St.,
Arlington.
Rodeo action begins at
12:30 p.m., which features
traditional rodeo events,
including bull riding and
ranch bronc riding. Money
will be added each day
— the rodeo continues
Sunday, May 1 at 12:30
p.m. — except for specialty
events. The specialty events
are junior and pee wee
barrel racing, steer riding,
mutton bustin’ and a calf
scramble. The 14th annual
Kevin Johnson Memorial
buckle will be awarded to
the all-around cowboy or
cowgirl.
Also, be sure to bring
a hearty appetite for the
cowboy breakfast Sunday,
May 1 from 7-10 a.m. at the
Arlington Masonic Lodge,
50 Shane Drive.
Rodeo tickets are $6 for
ages 13 and up or $4 for
those 12 and under. The
two-day pass prices are $9
and $6. The cook shack will
serve food both days.
For more information
about the Arlington Jackpot
Rodeo, call 541-980-1593
or 541-980-7108. For royal-
ty-related information, call
541-384-6251.
HERMISTON
Oregon Rising asks people to dream big for schools
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
A brand-new education
initiative in Oregon was
showcased at Hermis-
ton’s Hispanic Advisory
Committee meeting Monday
night.
The initiative, called
Oregon Rising, seeks to
involve more than 10,000
Oregonians across the
state in a discussion about
creating a brighter future for
Oregon’s schoolchildren.
Craig Hawkins, executive
director of the Confederation
of Oregon School Admin-
istrators, told attendees
that the conversation about
schools over the last few
years has mostly centered
around a lack of money.
“That’s been necessitated
by a number of economic
factors, but it’s also been a
disheartening one,” he said.
Hawkins said Oregon
Rising seeks to be more
aspirational,
encouraging
people to come up with
creative
solutions
for
schools and leave the money
talk for another day.
“We think it’s time to
start dreaming for our kids,”
he said.
Until mid-June, parents
and community members
are invited to watch a video
and take a survey online at
oregon-rising.org in English
or Spanish. There will also
be future announcements
about face-to-face events
where people can learn more
about the project and partic-
ipate in interactive surveys
using their phones.
Hawkins said Oregon
Rising launched six days
earlier but he was already in
Hermiston because the proj-
ect’s sponsors (the Confed-
eration of Oregon School
Administrators,
Oregon
School Boards Association
and Oregon Education
Association) see Hermiston
as a “key community in this
conversation.”
Dr.
Fred
Maiocco,
Hermiston School District
superintendent, said the
district was honored to be
one of the ¿rst committees
the sponsors are engaging in
the project.
Underscoring
the
growing
relationship
between Hermiston School
District and the Hispanic
Advisory Committee, the
committee meeting was also
the ¿rst place in Hermiston
Maiocco presented Oregon
Rising.
He said he hoped the
area’s Hispanic community
contributed toward the
conversation of ways to
make Oregon schools a
better place for children to
be educated.
“Hermiston
is
very
excited about this conver-
sation, because for too long
our conversation has been
limited to what resources we
have,” he said.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
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