REGION
Thursday, April 28, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Corps determines Kennewick Man is American Indian
Will be returned to tribes for burial
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press
The ancient skeleton
known as Kennewick Man is
related to modern American
Indian tribes, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers said
Wednesday, opening the
process for returning to tribes
for burial one of the oldest and
most complete set of bones
ever found in North America.
The Northwestern Division
of the corps said its decision
was based on a review of
new information, particularly
recently published DNA and
skeletal analyses.
The corps, which has
custody of the remains, said
the skeleton is now covered by
the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation
Act.
The 8,500-year-old remains
were discovered in 1996 in
southeastern Washington near
the Columbia River in Kenne-
wick, triggering a lengthy
legal ight between tribes and
scientists over whether the
bones should be buried imme-
diately or studied.
The bones will remain at
the Burke Museum in Seattle
until the corps determines
which tribe or tribes will
receive them.
The next step is for inter-
ested tribes to submit a claim
to acquire the skeleton for
burial, said Michael Coffey, a
spokeswoman for the corps in
Portland.
Determining which tribe
receives the bones is likely to
be a lengthy process, Coffey
said. In the past, the Colville,
Yakama, Umatilla, Nez Perce
and Wanapum Indians have
claimed a connection to them.
“We still have a lot of work
to do,” Coffey said.
However, Chuck Sams,
spokesman for the Confed-
erated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation, said the
tribes plan to cooperate to
hasten the burial.
“We will send in our joint
request for disposition for the
reburial of the Ancient One,”
Sams said.
Last year, new genetic
evidence determined the
remains were closer to
modern American Indians
than any other population in
the world. Following that, the
corps began to re-examine
Kennewick Man’s status.
“I am conident that our
review and analysis of new
skeletal, statistical and genetic
evidence have convincingly
led to a Native American
Determination,” said Brig.
Gen. Scott A. Spellmon,
commander of the corps’
Northwestern Division.
BRIEFLY
Benedict, Woodson
inalists for
Cannon Beach job
CANNON BEACH
— Pendleton Fire
Department’s assistant
chief and former chief
are two of three inalists
for the top job in the
Cannon Beach Rural Fire
Protection District.
Matt Benedict is
Pendleton’s ire marshal
and the chief of the
all-volunteer Helix Rural
Fire Protection District.
And Gary Woodson is
the former Pendleton
chief now working for
the Oregon Department
of Corrections. Both men
were selected as inalists,
along with John West of
the Department of Public
Safety Standards and
Training, for the job of
chief in Cannon Beach.
Jim Stearns, interim
chief for the district and
the former head of the
Hermiston department, is
leading the search.
“I think the board
has three very strong
candidates to choose
from,” he said Monday.
Stearns is hoping for an
early May decision so
the new chief can start by
June.
Salary for the chief’s
job is $67,500 to
$75,000, depending on
qualiications.
The board is looking to
replace former Fire Chief
Mike Balzer, who was
ired in October. Balzer has
since iled a lawsuit against
the ire district claiming
wrongful dismissal.
Three ire board
members turned back a
recall election in early
April. The recall effort
stemmed from frustration
among some residents over
the board’s handling of
Balzer’s iring.
Hospital auxiliary
hosts book sale
HERMISTON — The
Good Shepherd Hospital
Auxiliary is hosting a
“Books Are Fun” sale.
The sale, which is
May 5-6 from 7:30 a.m.
to 4 p.m. in the hospital’s
pharmacy lobby, 610 N.W.
11th St., Hermiston, offers
a large variety of unique
gifts and books.
All proceeds from
the sale help fund
medical equipment and
scholarships. The auxiliary
awards up to ive $1,500
scholarships per year to
qualiied applicants, and
local seniors can submit
applications through
Friday.
Chamber seeks
ambassadors
BOARDMAN —
People in the community
interested in helping
promote Boardman
are invited to attend an
upcoming meeting.
From groundbreaking
or ribbon cutting
ceremonies for new
businesses to welcoming
dignitaries, the Boardman
Chamber Ambassadors
represent the city of
Boardman and the
chamber.
The next meeting is
Sams said the corps’
inding was correct.
“After 20 years, it acknowl-
edges what we already knew
and have been saying since the
beginning,” Sams said.
Most
scientists
trace
modern native groups to Sibe-
rian ancestors who arrived
by way of a land bridge that
used to extend to Alaska. But
features of Kennewick Man’s
skull led some scientists to
suggest the man’s ancestors
came from elsewhere.
Researchers turned to
DNA analysis to try to clarify
the skeleton’s ancestry. They
recovered DNA from a frag-
ment of hand bone, mapped
its genetic code and compared
that to modern DNA from
native peoples of the Americas
and populations around the
world.
The results showed a
greater similarity to DNA
from the Americas than from
anywhere else.
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File
This 1997 ile photo of a plastic casting of the skull
from the bones known as Kennewick Man is shown
in Richland, Wash.
IRRIGON
Friday at 2 p.m. at the
chamber ofice, which
is located at the SAGE
Center, 101 Olson Road,
Boardman.
For more information,
call 541-481-3014.
Free event
introduces people
to Tai Chi
People in hundreds of
cities across 80 nations
will participate in a public
demonstration of Tai Chi
and Qigong.
The goal of the free
public event is to introduce
people to the traditional
Chinese health practices
and to instructors in their
area. Research studies
suggest that Tai Chi can
have signiicant positive
impacts on health and
well-being. The deep
breathing and gentle,
lowing movements can
help reduce stress, improve
lexibility and decrease
the risk and fear of falling,
especially in older adults.
A pair of events are
planned in Umatilla
County. The public is
invited to join local Tai Chi
and Tai Chi: Moving for
Better Balance instructors
and students in learning
about the healing beneits
of Tai Chi. No experience
is required. Participants
should wear comfortable
clothing and shoes with
lexible soles. The local
gatherings are:
•Saturday from 9-10:30
a.m. on the grassy area
next to the movie theater
at Wildhorse Resort &
Casino, located off I-84
Exit 216, Mission.
•Saturday from 9:30-11
a.m. in Conference Center
1 at Good Shepherd
Medical Center, 610
N.W. 11th St., Hermiston.
(It may move outside,
weather permitting).
For more information
about the Pendleton
event, call Tania Wildbill,
Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Center life coach, at
541-215-1938. For the
Hermiston event, call
Helena Wolfe, CAPECO
Area Agency on Agency
health promotion
coordinator, at 541-561-
5443.
15-year-old rape defendant out on bail
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
An Irrigon teen facing
charges of rape and more is
out of jail.
The 15-year-old boy
was in the Northern Oregon
Regional
Corrections
Facility, The Dalles, on
charges of irst-degree rape,
two counts of irst-degree
unlawful sexual penetration
and three counts of irst-de-
gree sexual abuse. The state
accused him of raping an
18-year old woman at his
Irrigon home the night of
April 11.
Morrow County District
Attorney Justin Nelson
charged the teen as an adult,
thus the court record is
public.
The teen pleaded not
guilty to the charges, court
records show, and Circuit
Judge Dan Hill during an
April 15 hearing reduced his
bail from $50,000 to $25,000
over the objections of the
district attorney’s ofice.
Nelson said while the teen
is not behind bars, he is not
totally free. He cannot go to
certain areas, for example,
including the local high
school. The court, though,
has allowed the boy to use
educational electronics to
continue his schooling at
home. Nelson also said he
must stay under the supervi-
sion of his mother and cannot
have any contact with the
alleged rape victim.
The family of the teen
hired a private attorney, Amy
Lammers, who works for a
law irm in The Dalles. The
teen’s next court appearance
is Thursday, May 5.
PENDLETON
Budget committee deals with general fund decline
Proposed budget
has $15.8M in
discretionary
spending
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
The city of Pendleton
introduced some new wrin-
kles in its proposed 2016-
2017 budget.
The Pendleton Budget
Committee, which includes
the members of the city
council,
met
Tuesday
morning to discuss the budget
for the irst time.
The proposed budget is
$58.6 million. The general
fund, the city’s only discre-
tionary budget, is set for
$15.8 million. While the total
budget is higher than it was
the year before, the general
fund is about $100,000 lower.
Below are some of the
highlights.
• Fire: One of the budget’s
most signiicant effects on
public safety is how the ire
department classiies its
personnel.
Due partly to new state
legislation that will increase
Medicaid reimbursements,
the ire department expects to
see more revenue in the next
iscal year.
In his letter to the budget
committee, City Manager
Robb Corbett said the new
revenue should be used to
promote the department’s
lone single-role paramedic to
a ireighter-paramedic.
“This will enable the
organization to better protect
the community by making
more certiied ireighters
available during each shift,
while maintaining the stafing
to respond to (emergency
medical services) calls,” he
wrote.
Besides personnel, the
ire department is requesting
money for the jaws of life, an
ambulance, a heart monitor
and other medical equipment.
• Police: Corbett also
proposed adding another
lieutenant position to the
police department, which he
said would give the police
staff more experience with
administrative duties.
Police
Chief
Stuart
Roberts told the East Orego-
nian the upcoming spate
of promotions will actually
decrease salary costs because
the newly ranked employees
will earn less money than
their predecessors — such
as Bill Caldera, who recently
left for Pilot Rock— as they
work their way up the pay
scale.
The police interagency
special revolving fund —
which covers Pendleton’s
contributions to the Blue
Mountain
Enforcement
Narcotics Team — was
decreased by $5,000 as the
department eliminated the
funding for the “marijuana
eradication” line item.
Roberts said the move
had nothing to do with
marijuana legalization but
rather a change in the way the
state Department of Justice
allocates its money for drug
enforcement.
Roberts said the funding
change makes it easier for
the Umatilla County Sheriff’s
Ofice to manage that part
of the budget, which is used
for lights over forested and
agricultural areas in search of
illegal marijuana grows.
Additionally, the police
department is requesting
three vehicle replacements
and mobile computer replace-
ments
• Airport: Despite a lack
of returns, Corbett was still
optimistic about the economic
potential of the Eastern
Oregon Regional Airport.
“While results on the
ground have been slow, we
continue to see high proile
opportunities that whet the
appetite for things to come,”
he wrote.
As a sign of continued
support, Corbett proposed
reassigning the associate
engineer position to serve
as the airield and test range
operations manager.
• Convention center: The
city wants to spearhead an
“enhanced marketing effort”
of the Pendleton Convention
Center overseen by the
economic
development
department.
To do that, Corbett wrote
that the city is trying to
strengthen its ties with the
Round-Up Association and
the Happy Canyon Co. to
expand the number of events
hosted at the center.
The convention center’s
budget is rising by more than
$30,000, much of that due to
an increase in marketing and
contract service costs. The
budget also calls for $190,000
to replace the roof.
• Infrastructure: As the
Eighth Street Bridge project,
as well as paving projects
funded by the street utility fee
get underway, the city’s street
capital outlay budget will
rise from $1 million to $1.75
million.
Revenue from the water
and sewer rate increases are
also starting to roll in, and the
budgets relect that.
Water fund spending will
rise from $6.8 million to $7.5
million while the sewer is
going up from $4.9 million to
$8.2 million.
The city will also budget
$9,250 to patch the Pendleton
River Parkway.
Tucked away in the city
manager’s budget is a half-
time position for a public
information oficer, a job that
has been debated by the city
council in recent months.
The budget committee
will meet again Thursday,
6 p.m.-7 p.m., Tuesday, 7
a.m.-8 a.m., May 5, 6 p.m.-7
p.m. and May 6, 7 a.m.-8
a.m. The committee could
schedule more meetings if
necessary.
The budget will proposed
for adoption in front of the
council on June 7.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
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