REGION
Saturday, June 25, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Forest Service: Finicum memorial must come down
By AMANDA PEACHER
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Supporters of the Malheur
National Wildlife Refuge occupiers
are in conlict with the U.S. Forest
Service and other agencies over an
impromptu memorial site for Robert
“LaVoy” Finicum, the Arizona
rancher killed by law enforcement
during the occupation.
Rocks, lags, balloons, photos and
lowers are in place at the remote site
along U.S. Route 395 north of Burns,
where the spokesman for the armed
occupation died in a confrontation
with Oregon State Police troopers.
The Forest Service says the
memorial, which sits on Malheur
National Forest land, is illegal.
“While the placement of a monu-
ment or memorial on public land
may help some individuals through
dificult times, these memorials are
generally of signiicance to only
those most closely tied to a speciic
person or event,” said Mike Stearly,
public affairs oficer with the
Malheur National Forest. “Others
may feel that memorials intrude on
their experience of the forest.”
Two men have been guarding the
memorial for nearly three weeks, in
response to several instances when
the memorial was altered or disap-
peared completely in the middle of
the night. William Fisher, of Salmon,
Idaho, and Jamey Landin, of Burns,
say these three weeks are the longest
the site has been untouched.
“They know we’re there,” said
Fisher, referring to anyone who
might want to alter the site. “We’re
doing something here.”
After reaching the 14-day stay
limit allowed in the nearby desig-
nated campground, the two moved
across the road and founded a
dispersed campsite. There, they can
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The U.S. Forrest Service has said the roadside memorial to Robert “LaVoy” Finicum on Highway 395
north of Burns must be removed.
stay for an additional 30 days.
Both Fisher and Landin say they
are unarmed, and they say they
intend to remain peaceful. By law,
they are not allowed to carry guns
because both men are convicted
felons.
The Forest Service said the
memorial items are prohibited and
need to go, but the agency has not
speciied a timeline for when it could
be removed by the agency.
“The Forest Service does
not want to have any conlict or
confrontations,” said Stearly. “Law
enforcement is in contact with those
folks, and communications are in
place.”
In late May, four men were cited
for allegedly attempting to install a
permanent cross in concrete at the
site. The Harney County Sheriff’s
Ofice charged the men with third
degree criminal mischief, a violation
that could carry a $5,000 ine.
Larry Jay, one of the four who
was cited, said he and the other
defendants in the case plan to plead
not guilty to the offense.
Stearly suggested Finicum’s
supporters pursue the Forest
Service’s “Plant-A-Tree” option,
which allows donors to plant seed-
lings in honor of a loved one.
Fisher scoffed at that option.
Those trees wouldn’t be planted
where Finicum was shot, and he
dislikes that the seedlings would be
planted via a federal government
program.
The men said they won’t leave
until a permanent memorial is in
place at the site. They said others
will take their place when their stay
limits are up.
“We are prepared to do this for
as long as we need to,” said Fisher.
“We have wall tents with wood
stoves if we need them. We have
snow machines. We have whatever
it takes.”
Fisher and Landin are both
currently unemployed. Before he
began camping with Fisher, Landin
worked as a gas attendant in Burns.
They are now supported by food and
monetary donations from Finicum
supporters and friends.
“You’ve got angels,” said Fisher.
“If you’re supposed to be some-
where, then the universe will make
sure you’re provided for.”
Fisher maintains an active Face-
book page and occasionally solicits
donations through social media.
The recent activity at the
memorial has some Harney County
residents worried that the tension
around the site could lead to further
conlict with land agencies or even
another occupation.
“There’s no need for this whole
thing,” said Burns resident Helen
Patton, a retired school principal. “If
they want to honor (Finicum), why
don’t they do it where he’s buried?”
She said the memorial supporters
don’t seem to have a grasp of the
laws they’re breaking.
“They’re just prolonging this
whole thing,” said Patton. “It’s a
strange situation, and it just needs to
go away. We just need to get back to
normal.”
On Sunday, Finicum supporters
from as far away as Utah and
Wyoming attended a Father’s Day
ceremony at the site. Finicum’s wife,
Jeanette, attended and emphasized
her hope that supporters would
continue her husband’s mission.
Fisher said meeting Jeanette
Finicum in person strengthened his
resolve to remain at the site and
stand up to federal agencies.
“They want to ight us just
over a small little memorial,” he
said. “Fine, we’re here. You might
have killed the messenger, but you
haven’t killed the message.”
HERMISTON
Rodriguez body found at Harris
Council to set taxi rates, rules Park, not behind burned garage
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
The Hermiston city council
will discuss a 25 cent increase
for its senior and disabled taxi
program during its Monday
meeting.
The council also will
consider adoption of a set
of policies governing the
program, which uses taxpayer
money to subsidize taxi rides
for senior and disabled Herm-
iston residents.
Assistant city manager
Mark Morgan said the price
was set at $2 per ride in 2010.
Since then minimum wage has
risen $1.10 per hour and will
continue to rise 50 cents per
year through 2022.
“We need to recoup some
of those costs,” he said.
The taxi ticket program
used to be administered by
Hermiston Transit Services,
which has since gone out of
business, and is now under
Umatilla Cab Company.
Morgan said the transition
has caused some confusion
with riders who had grown
used to certain services, so the
proposed policies are meant
to “get everyone on the same
page.”
The policy manual states
that personal care assistants
and children may accompany
the senior and disabled riders
for the cost of a ticket, instead
of full fare, but a ticket must
be used. Riders who have so
many groceries that they take
up a seat that could be used for
another passenger must use a
second ticket to pay for that
seat.
The policies also outline
rules for passengers, including
not eating or drinking in the
taxi, and outlines what drivers
cannot do, including leaving
their taxi unattended to help
put away groceries or walk
through assisted living facili-
ties looking for a passenger.
The full list of policies
can be found under the June
27 agenda online at www.
hermiston.or.us.
On Monday the city
council also will be asked to
make recommendations to the
League of Oregon Cities on
what its top legislative priori-
ties should be for the coming
year.
The council will discuss the
LOC’s preliminary list during
a 6 p.m. work session irst.
In a memo to the council,
City Manager Byron Smith
said his recommendation,
based on the “current political
situation” in Salem, was for
the council to ask the LOC to
focus on property tax reform,
PERS reform, a transportation
package and recreational
immunity.
Morgan said rising PERS
costs continue to raise costs
for the city. Property tax
reform is also needed, he said,
particularly adjusting the way
assessed value is calculated.
The state calculates “assessed
value” as the market value the
last time the house was sold
minus 10 percent, with a cap
of 3 percent growth per year.
The result, he said, is that two
identical houses in the same
city can have wildly different
assessed values, neither of
which match market value.
The city would also like to
see measures taken to ease
compression.
Morgan said additional
money for transportation
projects is needed, since at this
point there is a very small pot
of money for bicycle/pedes-
trian projects and “streets need
not apply.”
The city also is interested
in
seeing
“recreational
immunity” restored for cities.
Oregon law used to shield
cities from being sued if
someone was injured in a
public park, but a recent court
case ruled that the city’s indi-
vidual employees can still be
sued, and the city must defend
its employees. The League
of Oregon Cities is pursuing
legislation that would expand
the immunity to include city
workers.
The city council meeting
will be Monday with a 6
p.m. work session and 7 p.m.
regular business meeting at
city hall, 180 NE Second
Street.
Umatilla man in jail after violent confrontations
East Oregonian
A
Umatilla
man
Wednesday pleaded not guilty
to 14 counts stemming from
accusations he threatened to
kill a man.
Orlando
Garcilazo
Madrigal, 30, around 12:20
a.m. June 8 pointed a pistol at
the head of Jesus Tena in his
residence at Southgate Village
Apartments, 1105 S. First St.
Hermiston, according to a
report from Hermiston police.
Madrigal then tried to pull
his ex-girlfriend, Esmerelda
Chavez, from a vehicle
belonging to Elisha Cribbs.
Cribbs took off with
Chavez in the car, according
to the report, and Madrigal
followed them through town
“attempting to force them off trial in the case starting
the road multiple times with Aug. 9. Madrigal remains
his vehicle” while in the area in the Umatilla County
of Northeast Fourth Street Jail, Pendleton, in lieu of
and East Elm Avenue
$500,000 bail.
before leeing.
Madrigal
in
The
Umatilla
2014
pleaded
County
District
guilty to second-
Attorney’s
Ofice
degree disorderly
charged Madrigal
conduct,
a
with pointing a
misdemeanor, in
irearm at another,
exchange for the
fourth-degree
state dismissing
assault, three counts
multiple charges
each of harassment
of menacing and
and unlawful use of Madrigal
unlawful use of
a weapon against
a weapon against
another, and two counts each another. He also is the
of menacing, reckless driving, brother of Alonso Madrigal,
and recklessly endangering 23, who was shot and killed
another person. Court records March 4 in Hermiston.
show he pleaded not guilty.
That case remains an active
The court set a three-day investigation.
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Happy 80th
Birthday Jim
Love
from
your
family!
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Editor’s note: This
story updates and corrects
information from a Friday
story.
Umatilla County under-
sheriff Jim Littleield set
the record straight Friday
on where police found the
body of homicide victim
Gabriel Ledezma Rodri-
guez of Milton-Freewater.
The body was found
May 27 near Harris Park
southeast of Milton-Free-
water, he said.
Police had searched
the site of a May 18 ire
that destroyed a garage
at 83949 Highway 339,
Milton-Freewater. Little-
ield conirmed, though,
that no body was found at
that site. The East Orego-
nian in a previous story
misreported there was.
Robert Gage Sregzinski,
19, of St. John, Washington,
remains a suspect in Rodri-
guez’s murder, though he
does not face any charges
in the death and police
could be looking for others
connected to the case.
Rodriguez had been
missing since last April. A
May 19 search warrant afi-
davit that Umatilla County
sheriff’s detective Kacey
Ward wrote to investigate
arson at the Milton-Free-
water home states the
Walla Walla Police Depart-
ment identiied Sregzinski
as Rodriguez’s killer.
Sregzinski on April 28 water.
tried to lee Milton-Free-
A ire broke out the
water police after oficers morning of May 18 at a
uninhabited
saw guns in his car during two-story
home at 83949
a trafic stop.
Highway
339,
Police
and
Milton-Freewater,
Umatilla County
which was a block
District Attorney
east of Winesap.
Dan
Primus
An investigation
said Sregzinski
revealed the garage
ired a shotgun
had no power and
at oficers who
arson could be
returned
ire,
involved.
striking Sregz-
Walla
Walla
inski.
police the day
He remains Sregzinski
of the ire asked
in the Umatilla
County Jail, Pendleton, on Milton-Freewater oficer
12 charges stemming from Dan Lackey to go to the
the incident, including scene and look for a body.
attempted
aggravated He found carpet matching
murder and unlawful that from the homicide
possession of a short-bar- scene, the afidavit states,
and a pile of rocks and
reled shotgun.
A search of Sregzinski’s cement blocks and even
car turned up guns, black said he caught he scent of
ski masks, rubber gloves, a a dead body.
But Littleield said
roll of duct tape and more.
Ward in the afidavit police dug up the site and
stated Walla Walla police found no body. Instead,
detective Steve Harris on police on May 27 later
May 4 reported a witness found Rodriguez’s body
saw Sregzinski shoot east of Milton-Freewater
Rodriguez in a Walla on Walla Walla River Road
Walla home in April, roll near Lincoln Mountain
the body into a carpet and Road.
Sregzinski
was
in
had the witness help move
the body to Sregzinski’s custody at the time of
vehicle. Sregzinski then the ire and does not face
arson charges. Umatilla
left to bury the body.
Walla Walla detectives County District Attorney
questioned
Sregzinski Dan Primus said only that
about Rodriguez’s death, the case remains an active
according to the afidavit, investigation.
———
and he mentioned Winesap
Contact Phil Wright at
Road, so detectives looked
for the body along the road pwright@eastoregonian.
that runs near Milton-Free- com or 541-966-0833.
90TH BIRTHDAY
OPEN HOUSE FOR:
HENRY KREBS
Everyone Welcome!
Sunday July 10th
Ione American
Legion Hall
1:00pm - 5:00pm
Hostesses: Robin Krebs, Roni Krebs, Penny Krebs,
Jane Krebs Brinkman, Rosanne Jewett
Card Shower: Henry R. Krebs
P.O. Box 336, Ione, OR 97843