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WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2016
140th Year, No. 193
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
PENDLETON
Fire station
location
down to two
MONSTERS SWARM CITY
Pokémon Go
a hit locally,
nationally
City to decide between
former cinema, hospital
By WILL DENNER
East Oregonian
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
The Pendleton City Council have narrowed
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sites formerly occupied by Pendleton Cinema
and St. Anthony Hospital.
But the council and public’s opinion on
which would make for a better location are at
odds.
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options and the bond the city would need to
pass to pay for it at a workshop Tuesday.
Based on response times, Fire Chief Mike
Ciraulo and his staff prefer the Pendleton
Cinema site, which was purchased by Good-
will Industries of the Columbia to turn into a
thrift store and collection center.
Although Goodwill has since abandoned
those plans, Ciraulo said Goodwill wants to
work with the city because it intends to open a
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The asking price for the Pendleton Cinema
property is $550,000 and demolition costs
should be around $50,000.
See PENDLETON/9A
Farmers
sue Water
Resources
Department
Agency accused of failing
to protect water rights
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A group of Pokémon Go
players sit underneath the
“Let’er Buck” statue play-
ing the game on Tuesday in
Pendleton. The statue, like
many other monuments, is
a Pokéstop where players
can collect game pieces and
attract Pokémon to catch.
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
A group of farmers suing the Westland
Irrigation District for allegedly cheating
them out of water is also suing the Oregon
Water Resources Department for failing to
protect their senior water rights.
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County Circuit Court and accuses the Water
Resources Department of standing by while
the Westland Irrigation District “system-
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junior rights holders.
Plaintiffs in the case include ELH LLC,
owned by Patrick and Dixie Echeverria;
Oregon Hereford Ranch LLC, owned by
Doug and Don Bennett; Paul Gelissen;
Frank Mueller; Maurice and Lucy Ziemer;
Craig and Cynthia Parks; and Richard and
Kristine Carpenter. Together, they farm more
See WATER/10A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A Pokémon called a Nidoran appears on the screen of a
smartphone outside of the Prodigal Son brewery in Pendle-
ton. Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game in which the
game interfaces with the real world.
Only a week since it has
been released, Pokémon
Go has become an instant
cultural phenomenon.
Nintendo’s latest entry
in the Pokémon (a language
twist on pocket monsters)
franchise was released on
July 6 on iOS and Android
devices free of charge. Cate-
gorized as an “augmented
reality game,” Pokémon
Go uses Google Maps tech-
nology to create a virtual
map of the user’s current
location. With their smart-
phones, users have to phys-
ically walk around in order
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Pokémon are nearby, people
can swipe in the direction
of the animal to throw Poké
Balls and capture them.
To some, the concept
might seem silly, but game
participation is growing
quickly. Pokémon Go is
soon expected to surpass
Twitter in daily active users.
People are creating Face-
book groups and events for
users to meet up and play.
Nintendo stocks climbed 25
percent Monday.
The game has caught
on locally, too. Walk a
few blocks in downtown
Pendleton and you’re bound
to see someone wandering
around looking down at his
or her smartphone.
Parks, monuments and
other distinguishable build-
ings are designated as Poké
Stops, where players can
pick up items and capture
Pokémon. Players can also
set “lures” at these loca-
tions, which attracts more
Pokémon to the area for a
temporary amount of time.
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lures simultaneously and
have discovered an added
social element from playing
the game.
“I used to stay at home
and play games online,”
said Tyler Heath, 17, of
Pendleton. “Since I started
playing this I’m never on
social media anymore and
I’m meeting people face to
face now.”
Certain locations are
more advantageous for
users. Take for example
Pioneer Park at 400 NW
Despain Ave, where there
are four Poké Stops within
See POKEMON/10A
UMATILLA
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By ALEXA LOUGEE
East Oregonian
The Umatilla Rural Fire Department
has handed leadership over to a new chief
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chief Steven Potts was sworn in on July 1.
Those years of service have come at a
personal cost to Roxbury, who said despite
everything he’s seen he would not have
chosen a different career.
“It’s the best job I ever hated,” Roxbury
said. “And the worst job I ever loved.”
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was a natural path for Roxbury, whose
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Umatilla. All the years of responding to
calls took a toll on his mental health.
“It came to a point where the only things
“It’s the best job I ever
hated. And the worst
job I ever loved.”
— Mike Roxbury, retired Umatilla
Rural Fire Protection District Chief
that made sense were scenes of chaos and
destruction,” he said.
Roxbury said he stopped having a life
outside of work, and the abnormal became
his normal. He was more comfortable at a
scene of a tragedy than sitting on his couch
at home.
Around May 2015 those feelings
became overwhelming. It was the 10-year
anniversary of the drowning of Thomas
See ROXBURY/9A
EO fi le photo
Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District Chief Mike Roxbury sits
in a 1977 water tender during a 2014 campaign for a tax to pay
for new equipment for the fi re department.