REGION
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Lightning sparks small
ires on national forests
East Oregonian
Signiicant
lightning
activity over the weekend has
sparked a number of small
wildires on forestland across
northeast Oregon, including
one blaze that has spread over
50 acres east of Pendleton.
The Gibbon Fire is burning
in steep terrain near Meacham
Creek and Stumbough Ridge
on land managed by both
the Umatilla National Forest
and Oregon Department of
Forestry. Two engines, one
helicopter, one ire crew and
four rappellers are working to
contain the ire and additional
resources are on the way. No
structures are threatened.
Six other ires were
reported on the Umatilla
National Forest, all of which
were less than an acre in size
and quickly contained. Fires
were also spotted on the
Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest as far south as French-
glen in Harney County, and
as far north as the Wallowa
Mountains.
The largest is the Phillips
Fire, 13 miles southwest of
Baker City, which ireighters
contained at one and a quarter
acres.
ODF is responding to
several additional ires,
including a cluster of blazes
near Pedro Mountain in
Baker County. A Type 3
incident management team
has responded and so far held
that complex to 11.5 acres.
Another ire is burning
about 15 miles east of Juntura
near the Idaho border, and
is nearly 8 square miles,
according to the Bureau of
Land Management’s Vale
District.
Additional holdover ires
are expected throughout
the day. To report a ire, call
Blue Mountain Interagency
Dispatch at 541-963-7171 or
dial 9-1-1.
In other ire updates:
• Weigh Station Fire —
Started July 30 on Emigrant
Hill east of Pendleton, grew
to 688 acres and is now 95
percent contained. It was
human-caused, and remains
under investigation.
• Rail Fire — Started July
31 west of Unity in Baker
County, and has grown to
10,482 acres. It is just 10
percent contained. A total
of 740 people, 24 crews, 10
dozers, 29 engines, 19 water
tenders and 6 helicopters are
assigned to ight the ire. The
cause is unknown.
Umatilla County deputy
arrests suspected burglar
East Oregonian
A Hermiston man said he
felt guilty after committing a
burglary in Adams, according
to the Umatilla County Sher-
iff’s Ofice.
The suspect, Julio Cesar
Guardado-Garcia,
29,
Hermiston, is in the Umatilla
County Jail, Pendleton, due
to the swift work of a sheriff’s
deputy and Pendleton police.
An Adams resident on
Thursday reported a burglary
at his neighbor’s home, 56812
Bingham Road, according to
a written statement from the
sheriff’s ofice. Deputy John
Reitz responded to investi-
gate and spotted a silver van
parked at the far west end of
the property.
Reitz took down the license
plate number from the van and
observed the driver, a female,
before following the neighbor
to the property. There, the
deputy noticed signs of a fresh
break-in at a shop.
Reitz did not ind suspects
at the site, according to the
sheriff’s statement, but he
saw a foot trail through the
grass from the broken shop
door where the van had been,
along with a pair of black
gloves on the road. Reitz
talked to neighbors who
claimed they saw a Hispanic
man with an injured eye at
the victim’s property on two
occasions during the previous
the two days.
Reitz
broadcast
an
“attempt to locate” for the
van and driver. Oficers
from the Pendleton Police
Department found the vehicle
at a residence in Pendleton
and identiied the driver as a
17-year-old female. She was
in the company of Guarda-
do-Garcia.
Reitz talked to Guarda-
do-Garcia, and he matched
the witness descriptions,
according to the sheriff’s
ofice, and his shoes matched
the footprints at the crime
scene. Guardado-Garcia also
admitted to being on the
victim’s property but claimed
he did not take anything. He
said he went there with a
second male suspect who said
the property belonged to him.
“After further ques-
tioning,” the sheriff’s ofice
reported, “Guardado-Garcia
admitted that he broke in
to the shop and claimed he
put back everything he took
because he felt guilty.”
The sheriff’s ofice also
reported Reitz recognized the
17-year-old girl as the driver
he saw at the scene, and she
admitted she was driving the
van. She also admitted she
transported property from
the victim’s residence and
gave consent to search her
room. The oficers recovered
several items of the victim’s
property, including riles,
shotguns and hunting gear.
Reitz booked Guarda-
do-Garcia in the jail on
charges of burglary, theft and
criminal mischief. The sher-
iff’s ofice also stated the case
remains under investigation
regarding the other people
involved and anticipates
more charges.
Construction projects start Wednesday
PENDLETON — The
Oregon Department of
Transportation will restrict
lane sizes and intermittently
close on- and off-ramps to
Interstate 84 near Pendleton
until mid-September for
paving and striping work.
Starting Wednesday from
6 p.m. until 6 a.m., the state
agency will reduce east and
westbound lanes of I-84 to
a width of 13 feet from mile
point 203.65 to 217.75. The
road work also will lead to
periodic closures of the ramps
at exits 207, 209, 210 and 216.
No more than two
interchange ramps will be
closed at any given time,
noted ODOT. The department
estimates it will complete the
project on Sept. 16, when the
Pendleton Round-Up is in
full swing.
Drivers can also expect
delays up to 20 minutes
on Highway 11 between
Pendleton and the Washington
border this month, while state
road crews perform shoulder
work.
“We’ll try to keep
delays and trafic impacts
to a minimum and ask
for everyone’s patience,”
ODOT District 12 manager
Marilyn Holt said in a written
statement. “Our maintenance
workers
will
reshape
deteriorating shoulder areas
and widen locations where
there isn’t room to pull off,
which should improve safety.”
Most delays will be 10-15
minutes, though some will
be longer. The transportation
department also advised
drivers to watch for orange
cones, signs and crews and
be prepared to stop.
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
Parade kicks off county fair
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
The best of Umatilla
County was on display
Saturday in a miles-long
parade to oficially kick off
the 101st Umatilla County
Fair.
The Kick-Off Parade drew
thousands to line the streets of
Hermiston for more than two
hours of loats, horses, free
candy and more.
Rose Jurcich, a Hermiston
High School sophomore,
said her favorite part of the
parade was spotting her
friends waving from various
loats, representing FFA
and marching with the high
school’s band.
She came along to watch
the parade with Arely Amaya,
who said her favorite part of
the parade was the horses.
“I liked it when the
Hispanic people came and
the horses were dancing to the
music,” she said. “I thought it
was pretty great overall.”
Both girls said the parade
put them in the mood to go
to the fair, which they were
looking forward to next
week.
Pat Brown of Hermiston
also said the horses were her
favorite part of watching the
fair parade each year.
“There were awfully
pretty cowgirl outits and
horses,” she said.
Her favorite loat was
the one celebrating Filipino
heritage, which featured
traditional Filipino clothing
and music.
Alan and Donna Vore of
Portland were in town visiting
family, and said they were
glad that the visit coincided
with the parade.
“I loved the parade,”
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Fair manager Don Slone hands out candy during the Umatilla County Fair Kick-Off
Parade on Saturday. BELOW: Teenagers hand out watermelons for Bellinger Farms.
Donna said. “It’s small town,
and I just loved the feel of it.”
She said there’s a certain
kind of pride that comes from
living in a small town that’s
fun for big-city residents to
see — not to mention a taste
of farm life.
“I loved the tractors,
because you don’t get to see
those in the city,” she said.
Alan said one of his
favorite parts was watching
his grandchildren run around
collecting candy thrown from
loats.
“They got a lot of loot,”
he said. “It’s better than
Halloween.”
There was plenty of candy
for the kids, but the adults got
excited about a few handouts
too.
All ages were scrambling
in the streets when the
Tillamook Cheese contingent
walked by, scattering shrink-
wrapped samples of their
famous cheddar cheese. And
there were plenty of adults
who didn’t mind jumping up
and down to catch the atten-
tion of the children and teens
handing out free watermelons
from Bellinger Farms and
Walchli Farms.
The parade was the ofi-
cial kick-off to the Umatilla
County Fair, which opens its
gates to the public Tuesday
morning at 9 a.m.
Minamisoma delegates arrive in Pendleton
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Dignitaries and students
from Minamisoma, Japan
were welcomed with open
arms to their sister city
Pendleton on Saturday.
Pendleton Mayor Phillip
Houk and Minamisoma
Mayor Katsunobu Sakurai
gave speeches, exchanged
gifts to display at their
respective city halls and
signed an updated sister city
agreement during the event.
“We want to express
our deep appreciation for
Pendleton,” Sakurai said
through a translator, adding
that he hoped the partner-
ship between the two cities
would continue “forever.”
Pendleton has had a
sister city agreement with
Minamisoma since the early
1990s, including an exchange
program where high school
students from each city spend
two weeks visiting the other.
In 2011, after Minamisoma
was devastated by an earth-
quake and tsunami that killed
hundreds and sparked an
equally devastating nuclear
disaster,
the
exchange
program was suspended.
It resumed last year, and
another group of Pendleton
students returned from Japan
two weeks ago.
This year, in addition
to students and teachers,
the Japanese delegation
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Pendleton Mayor Phil Houk, left, listens to Mina-
misoma Mayor Katsunobu Sakurai speak at the
Pendleton city hall about the earthquake and
tsunami that devastated his city in 2011.
included
Sakurai,
the
Minamisoma chamber of
commerce director and
several city oficials.
“This is my irst visit to
Pendleton and the United
States,” Sakurai told the
group. “I am very, very
impressed. Your country is
huge.”
He thanked Pendleton not
only for hosting students, but
also for the aid that was sent
during the aftermath of the
tsunami and nuclear disaster
in nearby Fukushima.
Houk expanded on that
theme, also thanking the
Pendleton residents in the
room for stepping up to
help their sister city with
everything from monetary
donations to a batch of 300
Pendleton Woolen Mills
blankets.
He said the city deserved
it after the wonderful way it
always treats the Pendleton
students who come to visit.
“When they go to Japan,
the hospitality that they
provide is over the top,”
Houk said. “We just can’t
compete.”
He said the irst year the
city tried out the exchange
program they didn’t get
many applicants, but since
then it has grown into a
popular learning experience.
“I can tell you that after
the irst group of students
came back, then we had an
enormous amount of appli-
cants after that,” he said.
Mihoko Endo, a Mina-
misoma teacher, presented
Houk with a vase from her
country. She said she had
lost count of how many trips
she had made to Pendleton
but she believed this was her
ninth.
“Every time I have been
here, I am so moved by how
you have received us,” she
said.
After the signing cere-
mony Courtney Canield,
an incoming senior at
Pendleton High School, said
she had a great time visiting
Minamisoma this summer
and she hopes the Japanese
students enjoy their stay in
Pendleton just as much. She
said the relationships she
formed during her stay were
the most memorable parts of
her trip, but part of the fun
of the exchange program is
experiencing cultural differ-
ences like new food.
“I hope they like our
food, like hamburgers,
because I deinitely missed
those while I was over
there,” she said.
The Japanese students
have traditionally come
during the week of the
Pendleton Round-Up, but
the timing is dificult due to
Japan’s high school testing
schedule so they came
early this year and plan to
continue to visit in August in
the future.
FIRST FOODS
Festival & Race
Saturday, Aug 13th
July Grounds- 73310 July Grounds Lane, Pednleton, Or 97801
RACE AND EVENT TIMES
• 7:10 AM- Kanine Ridge Hike Departs July Grounds
• 9:00 AM- 10k Spawn Run • 9:30 AM- 5k Smolt Run
• 10:30 AM- Family Fun Walk & Cycle (Noncompetitive)
JACKETS AND MEDALS FOR 1ST - 3RD PLACE FOR HIKE, 10K & 5K RACE EVENTS.
2ND ANNUAL CHUMASH LACROSSE TOURNAMENT:
8:00 - 2:30
Friday Night D inner
August 12th • 5:30 pm
Hot Roast Beef
Sandwiches
• Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
• Vegetables
• All You Can Eat Salad Bar
• Dessert
Proceeds to benefit Pendleton Elks’ Charities
Pendleton Elks Lodge #288 14 SE 3rd, Pendleton
509-948-2163 • 541-276-3882