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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 17, 2016)
77/52 RAIN CAN’T DOUSE BBQ CHALLENGE HALEY GREB IN THIRD AFTER FIRST ROUND CATTLE BARONS/3A GOLF STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS/1B TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2016 140th Year, No. 152 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD PENDLETON Bixler back to district as HR director East Oregonian Fox in the den house Staff photo by E.J. Harris A red fox looks out of the brush near its den Monday afternoon on a hillside in southeast Pendleton. Determined deterrence, but lethal action in the chamber “Some of our best solutions have come from that Even with deadly force at its disposal, wolf plan favors non-lethal methods mix of By GEORGE PLAVEN also provided an update on the state’s said, is for ranchers to make sure they East Oregonian Wolf Conservation and Management clean up their bone piles to avoid people attracting wolves onto their property Plan, which is now up for review. Roblyn Brown, the department’s in the fi rst place. Things like fl adry Despite killing four wolves from that don’t the Imnaha Pack earlier this year for acting wolf program coordinator, fencing, range riders, guard dogs and attacking livestock, the said the wolf population is growing alarm boxes can be effective deter- usually repeatedly Oregon Department of Fish & Wild- rapidly in Oregon — there were at rents, at least temporarily, if they’re talk to life reiterated the value of non-lethal least 110 wolves counted by the end used correctly. Ranchers are doing a much better deterrents during a workshop Friday of last year, compared to just 14 in each in Pendleton. 2009. Yet the number of confi rmed job now than they were when the Eastern Oregon ranchers and attacks on livestock has stayed rela- plan was fi rst implemented, Brown other.” county offi cials gathered at Blue tively fl at, which Brown said is due said. The number of confi rmed wolf — Suzanne Asha Stone, senior Northwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife Mountain Community College to hear presentations on the science and economics of dealing with wolves. The workshop featured speakers from the U.S. Department of Agri- culture Wildlife Services. ODFW in part to the use and effectiveness of non-lethal tools. “We’re fi guring things out,” Brown said. “Non-lethals can abso- lutely work in certain situations.” The most important thing, Brown BOARDMAN Teen stabs woman at rest stop restroom By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian A 17-year-old Idaho boy stabbed a woman Saturday in a woman’s restroom at a rest stop near Boardman. Oregon State Police Sgt. Tom Spicknall said the woman’s injuries were not life-threatening and police arrested the teen and booked him into the juvenile facility at the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facil- ities, The Dalles. The case is an active investigation, Spicknall said, so he could not release many details. Court records identify the suspect as Talon James Davis of Clarkston, Idaho, and he turns 18 in June. The Morrow County Sheriff’s Offi ce confi rmed a 9-1-1 call at 3:44 p.m. reported the attack in the restroom at the state rest stop off the westbound side of Interstate 84 near milepost 161, just outside Boardman. Spicknall said the teen used a knife, and an ambulance took the victim, Sandra Byers, 51, to Good Shepherd Medical Center, Hermiston. Spicknall would not say if the teen was already in the restroom or followed the woman inside. Good Shepherd spokesman Nick Bejarano said the hospital released Byers on Monday morning. The East Oregonian was not able to contact Byers. Spiknall, who heads up the state police criminal division out of Pendleton, said most assault victims know their assailant or they at least have some associa- tion. But that does not seem to be the case here, he said, as Davis and Byers had no interaction prior to the stab- bing. He also said he could not comment on motive or if the teen suffered from mental illness or was under the infl uence of alcohol or other drugs. Morrow County District Attorney Justin Nelson charged Davis on Monday with fi rst-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. Circuit Judge Eva Temple set Davis’ bail at $100,000. First-degree assault falls under Measure 11, Oregon’s mandatory minimum sentencing law for serious crimes. Nelson said that means he is charging Davis as an adult. He said he would present evidence to a grand jury Wednesday and arraign the teen Thursday based on that indictment. ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0833. depredations was even down slightly in 2015, compared to 2014. But non-lethals don’t work every time, which is why Phase II of the wolf See WOLVES/8A The Pendleton School District will bring back Brad Bixler, the principal of Highland Hills Elementary School in Hermiston, as its human resources director. Pending school board approval at a special meeting May 19, Bixler will start working for the district July 1, according to a press release from the school district. Although he’s being hired away from the Hermiston School District, Bixler spent more than 20 years of his career in Pendleton, including stints as an elementary teacher, high school computer/ math teacher, assistant principal at Pendleton High School and tech- nology coordinator. A d d i t i o n a l l y, Bixler worked at the InterMountain Educa- tion Service District from 2000-2001 and Bixler has been the Highland Hills principal since 2013. “With Brad’s experience in Pendleton, his connection to the community and his good reputation as an educator, we are excited that he is returning to the district,” Pendleton School District Jon Peterson said in a statement. According to Peterson, Bixler’s impending hire also got a thumbs-up from incoming Superintendent Andy Kovach, who liked his familiarity with the commu- nity and the schools. The district’s administration will undergo a slight restructuring over the summer following Bixler’s hire and the departure of Assistant Superintendent Tricia Mooney, who was recently named the assis- tant superintendent of human resources for the Hermiston School District. In an interview, Peterson said that rather than hire an assistant superintendent to replace Mooney, Kovach will oversee a group of directors who will be in charge of human resources, business services, special programs and curriculum. The district’s central offi ce will resemble the set-up it had in 2008, when Mooney was hired as human resources director before being promoted to assistant superintendent the following year. Peterson said Kovach and the school board will have the discretion to revive the assistant superintendent position in the future. Bernie banking on Oregon to keep campaign alive By KRISTENA HANSEN Associated Press With the fi nal hours of Oregon’s Tuesday presidential primary approaching, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says he is banking on his strong base of progressive Oregonian supporters to help him beat the odds and take his campaign all the way to the Democratic National Convention. Speaking from a car in Puerto Rico, where the Democratic primary is early next month, Sanders told The Associated Press on Monday he’ll win big in Oregon — self-proclaimed Sanders country — if there’s strong voter turnout. Sanders emphasized the role the state plays in his long-shot attempt at claiming the Democratic nomination through a brokered convention in July. He’s held three Oregon rallies since last month. Front-runner Hillary Clinton — who suffered a big primary loss AP Photo/Ryan Kang, File In this April 28 photo, Democratic presidential can- didate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., pauses while audi- ence members cheer during a rally in Springfi eld, Ore. in Oregon against President Barack Obama in 2008 — sent Bill Clinton twice but has not visited herself. She spent Monday campaigning in Kentucky, which also has a Tuesday primary. “We have an uphill fi ght to victory, but it remains a possibility,” Sanders said. “Right now we’ve got about 45.5 percent of the pledged delegates. My hope is that if we can do well in Oregon tomorrow, do well in Kentucky, and especially California coming up, which has more delegates than any other state, I hope that at the process we will have got 50 percent of the delegates and then can go into the convention with the majority.” Among the nine Democratic primaries and caucuses still remaining, Oregon’s 61-delegate count is relatively small and its primary is closed, meaning See BERNIE/8A