REGION
Saturday, April 30, 2016
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
A group of local elected
oficials is asking Wheeler
County Judge Patrick C.
Perry to resign, citing
“serious allegations” they
say have tainted his lead-
ership.
Seven
oficials
submitted
letters
Wednesday at a special
meeting of the Wheeler
County Court calling
for Perry’s resignation,
including: commissioners
Lynn Morley and Robert
Ordway;
Treasurer
Sandra Speer; County
Clerk Barbara Sitton;
Assessor Donald Cossitt;
Justice of the Peace Robin
Ordway; and Sheriff Chris
Humphreys. The court
also reassigned Economic
Development
Director
Patti Jaeger from Perry’s
supervision
to
under
Commissioner Morley.
The
letters
make
reference to recent events
and occurrences, but do
not specify what exactly
Perry is accused of doing
wrong. In his letter, Sheriff
Humphreys wrote that he
does not take his request
East Oregonian
lightly, but that “the
extreme
circumstances
warrant this action.”
When contacted by the
East Oregonian, neither
Humphreys nor District
Attorney Daniel Ousley
would comment on the
allegations except to say
they’ve been referred to
the Oregon Department of
Justice. A spokeswoman
for the DOJ said the agency
could not share any other
information.
Perry told the East
Oregonian he will not
resign, and is himself
unclear about the allega-
tions. He would not discuss
Jaeger’s
reassignment,
saying it was a personnel
matter. However, Jaeger
was initially supervised
by Morley when she irst
started working for the
county, Perry said.
“It caught me by
surprise,” Perry said. “I had
to end up running (Wednes-
day’s) meeting at my own
insurrection.”
Perry said he still feels
the public wants him to
serve as judge, and he will
continue to represent the
county. He has served as a
Wheeler County commis-
sioner since 2007, and took
ofice as county judge in
2013.
———
Contact George Plaven
at
gplaven@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-966-0825.
Staff Photo by Jennifer Colton
T-shirts promote awareness of domestic violence and sexual violence as part
of The Clothesline Project at the Eastern Oregon Higher Education Center.
EOTEC open house on schedule for May 13
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
The mood was celebra-
tory Friday morning as the
Eastern Oregon Trade and
Event Center wrapped up its
meeting with a discussion
of preparations for the event
center building’s grand
opening May 13.
“Hey folks, we’ve got a
building,” said board member
Ed Brookshier. “We’re going
to be in business.”
After years of work, the
news that the building’s
punch list was completed and
inishing touches like paving
are on schedule was music
to board members’ ears.
They discussed sending out
invitations to various cities
and community entities, but
made it clear that they hoped
the general public and not
Al Plute submits
his resignation
Pendleton City Coun-
cilor Al Plute will oficially
call it quits May 17.
Plute
submitted
a
resignation letter to the
city
Thursday,
in which he
wrote he would
leave the council
following its last
meeting in May.
In his letter,
Plute dedicated
some space to
talking about the
city’s inances,
a topic he spent Plute
a lot of time and
energy discussing during
his time on the council
“As you are well aware, a
major source of my interest
has been the budget,” he
wrote. “We have limited
reserves and marginal
possibilities for dramatic
increases in revenue. At the
same time, demands upon
our resources will continue
to grow. While we would
all like to be able to deliver
on a myriad of promises,
these are times when local
governments must focus on
doing more with less.”
Plute’s resignation ends
a
ive-and-a-half-year
tenure that, in his words,
had “high points and low
points.”
Plute defeated a long-
time incumbent to win
his seat in 2010 and ran
unopposed for re-election
in 2014.
Plute led the campaign
to enact a 5-cent gas tax,
but after voters defeated the
measure last November, a
group calling themselves
Pendleton Citizens United
started a ballot petition to
T-shirts hanging on a clothesline lut-
tered in the breeze outside the Eastern
Oregon Higher Education Center on
Wednesday and Thursday, but the
clothing had less to do with laundry and
more to do with awareness.
Started in 1990, The Clothesline
Project is an avenue to raise awareness
for violence against women.
By the end of the day, more than two
dozen T-shirts illed the line in front of
the building.
Blue Mountain Community College
hosted the Clothesline Project in both
Hermiston at the EOHEC and on the
Pendleton campus.
In the United States, April is Sexual
Assault Awareness Month, and the
Clothesline Project was one way the
college recognized the issues of domestic
and sexual violence and worked to raise
awareness and prevention.
HERMISTON
PENDLETON
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Violence awareness on the line
Wheeler County
oficials call on
judge to resign
Allegations
against Perry
referred to DOJ
East Oregonian
just dignitaries showed up on
May 13.
“We want everyone
there,” Brookshier said.
The open house will be
Friday, May 13 from 3-7 p.m.
with refreshments, entertain-
ment, souvenirs and a short
ceremony at 4:30 p.m. The
access road into the EOTEC
site is off of East Airport
Road south of Hermiston.
The board voted to hold
their next business meeting,
scheduled for 7 a.m. on May
13, at the event center as
well.
At Friday’s meeting
the board also approved a
inancing agreement with
Banner Bank to allow donors
wishing to spread large
donations over two to ive
years to do so, while still
allowing the board to access
the money immediately for
construction costs. The board
will only borrow money that
donors have signed a contract
pledging to pay.
Board Chair Byron Smith
said the bank had agreed to
give EOTEC a 3.1 percent
interest rate with the irst
full payment not due until
April 2018. The loan will be
backed by the full faith and
credit of the city of Herm-
iston and Umatilla County.
The board authorized
borrowing up to $730,000,
which Smith said left room
for a few late-coming spon-
sors to still take advantage of
the inancing option.
Fundraising committee
member Nate Rivera said
they have more than $1.9
million raised, with several
applications to foundations
still out and “quite a few”
corporations still moving
the request up their chain of
command.
The
board
granted
Rivera’s request that the
fundraising committee take
the lead on working with
the architects on design and
placement of the sponsor
wall to make sure it lives
up to what was promised
to donors. The committee
will still bring options to the
board for approval.
Board member Vijay
Patel said the committee was
to be congratulated on doing
a “fantastic” job of raising
so much money in just four
months.
“It’s the community that
needs to be thanked,” Rivera
responded.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
BRIEFLY
Council could lift
EOCI work ban
recall him.
The group dropped its
campaign shortly after
Plute announced his resig-
nation in April.
Despite the political
controversy toward the end
of his run, Plute struck a
wistful tone in
parts of his letter,
writing that he
would remember
his
“unique”
council experi-
ence “for the rest
of my life.”
“When
I
purchased
the
Brown Building
in 2005, I was a
the point in my
life when I had various
options,” he wrote. “I
chose Pendleton and I do
not regret having made
that decision. While I am
moving to Springield, I
will be returning regularly
to attend to my business
interests here.”
Following
Plute’s
departure, the council will
be required to declare a
vacancy and appoint his
replacement as soon as
possible.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
PENDLETON —
Oficials from the Eastern
Oregon Correctional
Institution will go before the
Pendleton City Council again
on Tuesday with a proposal
to lift a nearly 30-year-old
city ban on EOCI prisoner
work crews.
EOCI Superintendent Jeri
Taylor reintroduced the idea
at an April 12 workshop,
which was received posi-
tively by the city council.
While there’s no
recommended action by
city staff in the agenda, City
Manager Robb Corbett said
the council will have the
discretion to take action or
not.
EOCI provided the
council with an FAQ sheet at
the last meeting explaining
how prison crews work.
According to the FAQ, the
Department of Corrections
uses multiple metrics to
determine whether an
inmate is safe to work in
the community, with sex
offenders and current drug
users prohibited from
working.
Work crews that do a
job within three blocks of
a school will be required to
notify school oficials, and
the police department will
be given notice when inmate
crews are working in city
limits.
Unless there’s an
emergency, the minimum
supervisor-inmate ratio for
an outdoor job is 1-10.
Although work crew
escapes have been rare in
recent years, six inmates
walked off jobs in Oregon
last year, the highest number
in the decade.
While many councilors
vocally supported allowing
work crews in Pendleton,
previous attempts to lift the
ban have been met with
public backlash.
The council meeting
will be held Tuesday at the
council chambers in city hall,
500 S.W. Dorion Avenue.
The move would allow
the city to move forward
on enticing a developer to
build housing on the land,
although the city will need
to determine the marketing
criteria and the property
value later.
After EOTC and the
Blue Mountain Recover
Center closed, the Oregon
Legislature agreed to
demolish the structures and
deed the land to the city
for economic development
purposes.
———
Briefs are compiled from
staff and wire reports, and
press releases. Email press
releases to news@eastorego-
nian.com
AGAPE HOUSE PRESENTS:
Westgate land
could go on market
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton City Council
could be ready to market a
property that used to contain
a mental institution to
housing developers.
Councilors will consider
a resolution to declare 2765
Westgate property, the
former address of the Eastern
Oregon Training Center,
surplus property.
Murder Among The Lavender
Where: 500 Harper Rd. • Hermiston
When: May 8th @ 6:00pm
Cost: $25 per person
Murder Mystery & Dessert Fundraiser for Agape House
For tickets, call Dave @ 541-567-8774
4th Annual Cruisin’ For Scholarships
MOTHER’S DAY
MAY
8TH
Put a IS
smile
on the
~ORDER
EARLY~
heart with the
power
of flowers.
Put a smile on
the heart with the
power of flowers.
Saturday, May 7th 9am-2pm
CONCEALED CARRY
PERMIT CLASS
Oregon - Utah - Valid 35 States
PENDLETON
Red Lion Inn: 304 SE Nye Ave.
May 20 th • 1:00 pm & 6:00 pm
Walk-Ins Welcome!
OR/Utah: (Valid in WA) $80.00 or Oregon only: $45
www.FirearmTrainingNW.com • FirearmTrainingNW@gmail.com
360-921-2071
BMCC Central Lawn | 2411 NW Carden | Pendleton, Oregon 97801
A car, truck and motorcycle show with proceeds benefi ting the
BMCC Diesel Technology Program and student scholarships.
Any make, model, year or type of vehicle may enter!
Car Registration: $20, includes dash plaque and fi rst 50 entries receive
complimentary goodie bag. Registration begins at 8:30am or register
online prior to event at www.bluecc.edu/alumni.
Web registration fees will be collected at event day check-in.
Raffl es, Music, BBQ, Prizes and more!