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TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2016
140th Year, No. 167
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
COLUMBIA GORGE OIL TRAIN WRECK
Anger as trains resume
after derailment, fire
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
and PHUONG LE
Associated Press
MOSIER — Local politicians
and residents reacted with shock
and anger Monday as Union Pacifi c
began running trains through this
tiny Columbia River Gorge town
just three days after a fi ery derail-
ment forced residents to evacuate
and water and sewage systems to
shut down.
Residents shot video from an
overpass of trains sliding past crum-
pled and burnt oil tankers, some
of them still dripping oil onto the
tracks. The town’s mayor and fi re
chief expressed deep concern about
the trains running again before a
full investigation was complete and
before the damaged tankers were
See TRAIN/8A
Burning questions
from local leaders
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
It was never a question of if,
but when.
That’s how Hermiston Fire
Chief Scott Stanton reacted to
Friday’s oil train derailment near
Mosier, which prompted Union
Pacifi c to temporarily halt oil
Bagpipers head to Manhattan
Weston-McEwen students
to play USS Intrepid,
Statue of Liberty
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
trains through the Columbia
River Gorge while crews
continue to remove damaged
tank cars from along the tracks.
The fi ery wreck could have
happened much closer to home.
Reports indicated the train was
headed from the Bakken region
See OIL/8A
Woman cuts
man’s throat
after asking
for ride
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Bagpipers need a fair amount
of room to play their notoriously
loud instruments.
So the Weston-McEwen
High School Pipes, Drums &
Military Band from Athena
might just have found the perfect
venue — the fl ight deck of the
USS Intrepid. On Wednesday
afternoon, the band will entertain
visitors at the Intrepid Sea, Air
& Space Museum docked on
the Hudson River at Pier 86 on
Manhattan’s West Side.
Then on Friday, the musicians
will take the Staten Island Ferry
to Ellis Island and perform at
the base of the Statue of Liberty.
Saturday, they will play the
Plimoth Plantation, a living
history museum in Boston.
The Intrepid concert is some-
thing of a warm-up, said director
Rob McIntyre.
“The Air & Space Museum
has a high profi le, but not a lot of
people,” he said. “We can get the
bugs worked out.”
The 40 band members got
some of the kinks out last week
during a concert in their school
gymnasium. They stood on the
polished gym fl oor wearing
kilts, glengarries (hats), ghillies
(shoes), fi eld hose, fl ashes
(garters to hold stockings in
place) and sporrans (leather
bags). The latter is useful since
A woman seeking a ride Saturday
morning with her four children near Pilot
Rock cut the throat of the driver who picked
her up, Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan
reported.
Vanessa
Logman,
30,
of
Pendleton, now faces
charges of attempted
murder, second-degree
assault and attempted
unlawful use of a
weapon.
The victim, Bill
Porter, 48, of Herm-
iston, needed several
stitches to close the cut Logman
and was released from
St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton, later that
day.
Rowan said Porter was driving a silver
Dodge pickup on East Birch Creek Road
near Indian Lake with his ex-wife Brenda
Porter when Logman waved them down a
little before 11:30 a.m. She was with her four
See ASSAULT/8A
PENDLETON
Developer seeks
city money for
100-unit complex
See BAGPIPES/8A
East Oregonian
“We’ve noticed over
the years that Amer-
ican audiences fi nd
the bagpipes to be
remarkable. We’re
treated like celebri-
ties in some places.”
— Rob McIntyre, Pipes,
Drums & Military Band director
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Freshman Stephen Reitz plays the bagpipe at a concert last Wednesday at Westen-McEwen
High School in Athena, shortly before the Pipes, Drums and Military Band left for the East
Coast. Also playing with the group is Reitz’s grandfather Steve Pyle, a veteran bagpipe player
who directed the group for many years.
Pendleton Heights developer Saj Jivanjee
will go before the Pendleton City Council
with a monetary request and a change of
plans.
The council will consider contributing
$176,651 to provide infrastructure to a
planned 100-unit apartment complex at the
Pendleton Heights development.
The ask is comprised of $93,519 to cover
less than half of the construction costs of
building public infrastructure and another
$83,132 to extend the infrastructure through
See APARTMENTS/8A
PENDLETON
Three parks losing
their playgrounds
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
The city of Pendleton is
sending letters to homes near
Vincent, Aldrich and May
parks, notifying residents that
the playgrounds at those parks
are closed.
Parks and Recreation
Director Donnie Cook said
his department closed the
playgrounds two weeks ago
and will eventually dismantle
the equipment.
Cook
attributed
the
closures to more stringent
government requirements and
aging equipment.
According to Cook, former
playground mainstays like
concrete fl oors, teeter totters,
merry-go-rounds and spring
horses are no longer allowed
under modern regulations.
Replacing the playgrounds
with more modern equipment
isn’t an option either — Cook
said even low-end playground
sets cost between $10,000-
$11,000, and there’s not
enough room in the parks
See PARKS/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
An orange construction barrier surrounds the play structure at Vincent Park on
Monday in Pendleton.