REGION
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Walden shares fed frustrations with Rotary Club
ments on the range, such as
the High Desert Partnership
in Harney County.
Walden visited with the
The occupation of the
Malheur National Wildlife Pendleton Rotary Club on
Refuge earlier this year Monday to discuss fallout
from the occupa-
saw
frustrations
tion, as well as his
boil over between
efforts to revamp
ranchers and the
wildire funding
federal
govern-
and oppose a
ment, most notably
national monument
the Bureau of
proposed at the
Land Management
Owyhee Canyon-
and U.S. Forest
lands.
Service.
Part of the
While
those
issue with federal
issues
continue
land management,
to
linger, Walden
Walden said, has
Congressman Greg
Walden, R-Oregon, said he’s been the Equal Access to
encouraging the Secretary Justice Act, which compen-
of the Interior to draw more sates the attorney fees for
attention to collaboratives organizations that sue the
that have made improve- government if they can
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
prove their suit is justiied.
Responding to a question
from the audience, Walden
said the law has become like
an ATM for litigious groups
and has slowed down prog-
ress toward making the land
resilient to ires.
“Everything
gets
appealed, everything gets
litigated and nothing gets
done,” Walden said.
Enter into this setting the
proposal for national monu-
ment at the Owyhee Canyon-
lands, which would include
2.5 million acres — twice
the size of Grand Canyon
National Park in the south-
west. Walden said residents
are overwhelmingly opposed
to the idea, and worried about
additional restrictions on
ranching.
“There are already seven
layers
of
management
over these areas in Eastern
Oregon,” he said. “I don’t
see how an eighth is going
to help anything, unless your
goal is to get cattle off the
range.”
In other news, Walden
said the House has passed his
wildire funding bill for the
fourth time in as many years.
The Resilient Federal Forests
Act would allow the Federal
Emergency
Management
Agency to transfer disaster
funding to the Forest Service
and BLM when they have
exhausted their ireighting
budgets, rather than borrow
the money from other
programs. The bill would
also expedite forest thinning
projects up to 15,000 acres if
they are planned by collabo-
rative groups.
The Senate has yet to
take up the bill, but Walden
said he’s hoping the fourth
time will be the charm.
Oregon Democratic Sen.
Ron Wyden, along with Lisa
Murkowski, R-Alaska, Maria
Cantwell,
D-Washington
and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho,
recently released their own
draft legislation that targets
“ire-borrowing” and accel-
erating forest restoration.
Differences between the two
bills could be sorted out in a
conference committee later
this legislative session.
During Q-and-A, Walden
addressed topics ranging
from the looming Republican
National Convention to the
threat posed by domestic
terrorism in the wake of a
shooting at an Orlando night-
club. Walden said domestic
terrorism — especially
“lone wolf” attackers — are
a serious threat, but voiced
reservations about legislation
that would have restricted
gun sales to anyone on the
no-ly or terrorist watch list.
The Senate rejected further
gun curbs on Monday.
“That due process is
missing,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Walden
visited Echo for a town hall
before moving on to meet
with veterans leaders in La
Grande and a second town
hall in Baker City.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
Jury duty scam
making local rounds
EO ile photo
Contestants get ready for the start of a heat during a past Children’s Museum of Eastern Oregon Wiener Dog Race.
This year’s event, which kicks off Wiener Weekend, is Friday, June 24.
‘Wiener Weekend’ grows in 10th year
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
Wiener Weekend is about to get
longer.
Heidi Anderson, executive director
of the Children’s Museum of Eastern
Oregon, calls the newly modiied event
an “ultimate family weekend in Pend-
leton.”
“It will help draw visitors from out
of the area,” she said. “It brings those
people to our businesses and downtown,
creating an atmosphere that really helps
to strengthen our downtown.”
The children’s museum will host
its 10th annual Wiener Dog Race. The
event is Friday, with races starting at 6
p.m. in the 400 block of Main Street,
Pendleton. However, be sure to head
downtown early for kid’s games, a silent
auction, food, drinks and a beer garden,
which begin at 4 p.m.
The entry fee for dachshunds
entering Dogtona 400 is $20 for those
pre-registered by Thursday. The fee
increases to $25 on race day. Entry
forms are available at www.cmeo.org or
by calling 541-276-1066.
Prize packages will be awarded to
the top three inishers, including entry
into the prestigious Northwest Champi-
onship Wiener Dog Race.
The event features dogs, dogs and
more dogs. The Pendleton Farmers’
Market will host a gourmet hot dog
contest at 5:15 p.m. Also, bring a hearty
appetite for the hot dog eating contest at
5:45 p.m.
“There will be the gourmet hot dog
contest, then the hot dog eating contest
and then the wiener dog race — how
many dog references can you get with
that?” Anderson said with a laugh.
The Weiner Weekend continues
Saturday with a Chalk Art Festival.
People are invited to stake out a spot on
the sidewalk from 8-9 a.m. at Riverfront
Plaza, Southwest Court Avenue and
Fourth Street (near the heron sculpture).
Chalk will be provided, and partici-
pants will have until 2 p.m. to create
something beautiful, strange, wacky or
whimsical — all creative expression is
welcome. There’s no admission charge
and prizes will be awarded at 2 p.m.
The Color My Pendleton color run
is Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at
Roy Raley Park, 1205 S.W. Court Ave.
Registration fees are $30 for adults, $18
for ages 12 and under or $70 for a family
of up to four people. Money raised bene-
its the Pendleton Swim Association and
Pendleton High School cross country
team. For registration information, visit
www.travelpendleton.com.
Also, a children’s version — Kid’s
Color My Pendleton — starts prior to
the main run. Open to kids 10 and under,
the fee, which includes park activities,
is $10. Proceeds go to the children’s
museum.
“The kiddos will have an opportunity
to do the color run activity,” Anderson
said. “They will do the whole color
thing and then a bounce house will be
available.”
Visitors are encouraged to stop by the
children’s museum — the irst 30 out of
town guests will receive free passes to
the Pendleton Aquatics Center.
And, the Wiener Weekend closes
out with a free family-friendly movie.
Movies in the Park begins at dusk at
Community Park East, 1000 S.W. 37th
St. Concessions will be available for
purchase.
PENDLETON — A
jury duty scam is circulating
throughout Umatilla County.
Trial court administrator Roy
Blaine warns the fraud is
aimed at taking your money.
Blaine in a written
statement Monday reported
a swindler has called people
around Umatilla County
and claims to be a Umatilla
County sheriff’s deputy
warning whoever answers
there is a warrant for their
arrest for failing to report
for jury duty. The caller
asked people for credit card
information or to have them
purchase a cash card and give
them the number from it.
The calls are not coming
from the Umatilla County
Circuit Court or the sheriff’s
ofice, Blaine said, and the
court “will never require
you to give your personal
information over the phone
or by email for jury service.”
Circuit court does not call
jurors who have missed jury
duty and ask for personal
information, such as bank
account information, credit
card numbers, or Social
Security numbers. Circuit
court also does not issue
subpoenas by email or call
you to advise of a warrant.
If you receive an email or
text message, do not click on
any links or open any attach-
ments, but contact local law
enforcement to report it.
Do not give the scammers
any of your personal infor-
mation, Blaine advised, and
if possible get the caller’s
name and number, then report
the scam to your local circuit
court jury coordinator at
541-278-0341, extension 248.
“The court will report
the incident to law enforce-
ment,” Blaine reported.
“You may want to ile your
own report, too.”
If you have given out
personal
information,
monitor your account state-
ments and credit reports.
If you spot unauthorized
charges, report the theft to
local law enforcement and
the Federal Trade Commis-
sion at 877-438-4338 or
www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
You also can contact a credit
bureau to request that it place
a fraud alert on your credit
history.
Board defers murderer’s release
M I LT O N - F R E E -
WATER — Jon Quintin
Johnston will stay in prison
for at least two more years.
According to an email
from Rosemary Brewer, an
attorney representing the
victims’ family, the Oregon
Board of Parole and Post-
Prison Supervision decided
to defer the convicted
murderer’s
parole
for
another two years because
“the inmate is suffering from
a present severe emotional
disturbance that constitutes a
danger to the health or safety
of the community.”
Johnston
murdered
George and Charmaine
Meyers of Brownsville in
1990 on Lincton Mountain
Road east of Weston
and was sentenced to a
minimum of 30 years in
prison, but a 2010 Oregon
Supreme Court ruling
allowed
inmates
like
Johnston to apply for parole
earlier.
The parole board previ-
ously issued a two year
deferral in 2014.
During both hearings,
the Meyers’ family and
Umatilla County District
Attorney Dan Primus spoke
against Johnston’s release.
Johnston will be eligible
for release again in 2018.
See Us for Hearing Tests
Every Monday and Tuesday.
Defendants rise to four in kidnapping case
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Four people now are in
the Umatilla County Jail,
Pendleton, in connection to
an April kidnapping case.
Pendleton police on
Thursday arrested Stephanie
Carr, 22, and Brad Anthony
McDonald, 35, both of
Pendleton, on warrants for
second-degree kidnapping.
The charge is a class B
felony in Oregon and carries
a mandatory minimum
sentence of 5 years, 10
months.
Court records show the
arrests came after a Umatilla
County grand jury indicted
the pair on June 8, leading to
the warrant. The grand jury
that same day indicted a third
defendant in the case, Daniel
Joseph Avila, 28 of Irrigon,
also for second-degree
kidnapping and for attempted
third-degree assault and
menacing. He has been in the
county jail on other charges
since May 29.
The three pleaded not
guilty to the charges Friday
and join Sarah Marie Carr,
24, as co-defendants.
She has been in the jail
since June 12 on charges of
menacing,
second-degree
kidnapping, second- and
Friday, June 24th
Friday, June 24th
to noon & 5:00-6:00pm
10:30
5:00-6:00pm
10:30 to noon &
Saturday, June 25th
une 24th Saturday, June 25th
third-degree assault and
irst- and second-degree use
of a stun gun. She also has
pleaded not guilty.
Pendleton police on April
24 received a 9-1-1 report
from a man who claimed
Sarah Carr was going to pay
him the money she owed.
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts said she took
the victim into a outside
Pendleton and shot him with
a stun gun, then left him.
Another man in the vehicle
may have brandished a
small baseball bat, though
police never recovered one,
and another man was the
driver.
Friday,
June
24th
Friday,
June
24th
to to
noon
& &
5:00-6:00pm
10:30
noon
5:00-6:00pm
10:30
June
25th
Saturday,
June
25th
Saturday,
10:30
to to
noon
10:30
noon
June
27th
Monday,
June
27th
Monday,
& &
5:00-6:00pm
10:30-noon
5:00-6:00pm
10:30-noon
Jazz,
Jazz, Ballet,
Ballet, Hip-Hop,
Hip-Hop,
Creative
Creative Movement,
Movement,
Lyrical,
Lyrical, Contemporary,
Contemporary, Tap
Tap
National
National Teams
Teams
435
435 SE SE 1st
1st & & 541-377-0411
541-377-0411
Jrjamdance.com
Jrjamdance.com
Court records show the
grand jury heard testimony
from two Pendleton police
corporals, Mark Golter and
Tyler Reddington, as well as
the victim in the case.
29 SW Dorion, Pendleton, OR
Call 541-276-3155 for appointment