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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2016)
73/52 PARK GETS DRAINAGE BASIN 49ERS REUNITE TWO DUCKS HERMISTON/3A NFL/1B THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2016 140th Year, No. 144 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Walden meets for roundtable discussion on opioid abuse MILTON-FREEWATER Shotgun, ammo, ski masks, duct tape found in suspect’s car Man shot by M-F police out of hospital, into jail By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Staff photo E.J. Harris Congressman Greg Walden listens as Dwight Holton, CEO of Line for Life, explains some of the issues with pain killer addition in the state during a roundtable discussion with health care providers, pharmacists, hospital administrators and law enforcement Tuesday at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston. Kicking the addiction Congress working on a dozen bills to counter painkiller dependence See SHOOTING/8A PENDLETON Fire station bond fl ames out for Nov. By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Rep. Greg Walden asked for advice this week on a subject that is grabbing plenty of headlines these days — abuse of prescrip- tion painkillers. Walden met Tuesday with health care providers, pharmacists, hospital adminis- trators, law enforcement and others at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston for an opioid roundtable. He is having similar conversations in Bend and Medford this week is working with his congressional colleagues through 12 proposed bills to tackle the opioid addiction epidemic. “I don’t think the general public knows how bad this is,” he said. “I think my colleagues didn’t know until we started to get into it.” Dwight Holton, sitting on Walden’s left, provided some stats. Holton is CEO of a non-profi t called Lines for Life which works to prevent suicide and drug addiction. He said the toll of opioid abuse is horrendous. “About 15,000 people die from prescription opioid overdoses every year in America,” he said. “Basically, it’s a jetliner of people every week.” Oregon State Police found three spent shotgun shells in the fl oor of Robert Sregz- inski’s car, following his shootout last week with Milton-Freewater police. A search warrant affi davit also shows detectives seized three bottles of gun powder from the car, along with a 12-gauge shotgun, an ammo belt with 41 shotgun shells and a black tote with two black ski masks, one box of Skintx rubber gloves, one unused 9x12 foot drop cloth, a roll of duct tape and a two boxes of Winchester .380 caliber bullets. Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus in a written statement Wednesday reported Sregzinski, 19, is out of a Walla Walla hospital and in the Walla Walla County Jail on a detainer warrant from By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Staff photo E.J. Harris Dr. Joel Rice of La Grande holds up an automated Suboxone dispenser. Suboxone is a drug that is used to ween addicts off of opioids. 2.1 Million 200,000 15,000 Number of people in the U.S. that abuse opioids Number of opioid overdoses every year in the U.S. Number of people that die from opioid overdoses every year in the U.S. No site, no ballot measure. That was the message the Pendleton City Council sent to Fire Chief Mike Ciraulo, who had proposed the city pursue $9.85 million fi re station bond in November despite not having identifi ed a place to put the new fi re station. Instead, the council passed a resolution putting the bond measure on the May 2017 ballot contingent upon the city fi nding a site for a new station. The city previously proposed putting a fi re station on the old St. Anthony Hospital property, but negotiations between hospital offi cials and the city broke down over infra- structure commitments. “I’ll take the blame,” Ciraulo said. “I was naive, in my being new to the city, that I could convince the hospital to make that donation. That was not originally part of the plan. I thought we had gained some traction but unfortunately it fell by the wayside.” See OPIOIDS/8A See FIRE/8A TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK: IRRIGON Tuning in to the fi rst-grade mind Brenda Kittelson a Crystal Apple Award winner By JENNIFER COLTON East Oregonian After lunch, Brenda Kittelson’s students shuffl e into the classroom and jump into lessons incorporating geometry, govern- ment, art, teamwork, leadership, tactile construction and English — and that’s all within the fi rst hour of a fi rst-grade class- room. A teacher at AC Houghton Elementary in Irrigon, Kittelson weaves her humor and down-to-Earth attitude with life lessons and a patience her young students appreciate. Kittelson, Morrow County’s 2016 Crystal Apple winner, has found her home in the classroom. Surrounded by teachers as a child, “I am one of those people that even if I won the lottery, I would still work. I love my job!” — Brenda Kittelson, teacher at A.C. Houghton Elementary School in Irrigon Kittelson always knew she wanted to join the profession, but in college she felt the pull of a business degree. After a few years in the industry, however, she felt the nagging feeling something wasn’t right. “I just felt that drive like I wasn’t doing See TEACHER/8A Staff photo E.J. Harris Teacher Brenda Kittelson works with her fi rst-graders during a lesson on geometric shapes on Tuesday at A.C. Houghton Elementary School in Irrigon.