CAMPERS
EVACUATED
NEAR PAISLEY
BUCKS
PREP FOR
SEASON
OREGON WILDFIRES/3A
FOOTBALL/1B
Visit Antiques and Art on Main
in Pendleton for a vintage
cookie cutter and $10 coupon
MARILYN DALE
OF MILTON-FREEWATER
FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2016
140th Year, No. 220
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
HERMISTON
COACH, TEEN DEAD
Suspect allegedly kills self after killing fellow coach; teen’s body found hours later
East Oregonian
A man was killed and a
woman was shot Thursday
in a Hermiston home by
a man who then turned
the gun on himself. And a
teenager related to one of the
victims was also found dead
Thursday night in a remote,
rugged area outside of town.
Kenneth E. Valdez was
killed at his home at 130
Northwest 11th Street. A
35-year-old woman, not yet
identifi ed by police, was
also found at the scene with
a gunshot wound and taken
to the hospital after giving
a “detailed statement” to
police.
Jason E. Huston, who
volunteered alongside Valdez
as an assistant wrestling
coach at Hermiston High
School, was found dead at
Your Weekend
Contributed photo
James “JJ” Hurtado,
14, was found dead
Thursday night outside of
Hermiston.
the home from an apparent
self-infl icted
gunshot.
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston said the
department is not searching
for other suspects.
Police
searched
throughout the day for James
“JJ” Hurtado, 14, who police
said was “related to one of
the parties involved.” Hurta-
do’s body was found around
8 p.m. in a “remote, rugged
area outside of Hermiston,”
according to a release from
Edmiston. Hurtado was last
seen at 10 a.m. when Huston
picked him up in Umatilla
and said they were going
to play disc golf at McNary
Park.
Police fi rst responded
to the house on 11th Street
after an 11:18 a.m. report of
a shooting. They entered the
home and found Valdez and
Huston dead and the injured
woman in the same bedroom.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
See SHOOTING/10A
Police investigate the scene of a shooting that left two dead and one injured at the
corner of Northwest 11th Street and West Madrona Avenue, Thursday in Hermiston.
UAVs take flight at first Ag Drone Rodeo
Farmers weigh
the question:
rent or own?
•
•
•
Milton-Freewater Rocks!
at Yantis Park
Morrow County Fair
in Heppner
Pilot Rock Community
Day on Saturday
For times and places
see Coming Events, 5A
Catch a movie
Laika Studios/Focus Features via AP
“Kubo and the Two Strings”
is the latest stop-motion
wonder from Oregon-based
Laika Studios.
For showtime, Page 5A
For review, Weekend EO
Weekend Weather
Fri
89/55
Sat
95/62
Sun
97/59
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Standing on a stage at the
fi rst Ag Drone Rodeo, orga-
nizer Jeff Lorton compared
the day’s events to those at
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina,
the site of the fi rst manned
fl ight in 1903.
The attendees of Thurs-
day’s events were primarily
concerned with unmanned
fl ight, as dozens of people
from across the state gath-
ered at Ron Linn Airfi eld
east of Stanfi eld for a series
of drone demonstrations
focused on agriculture.
Hosted by the Pendleton
Unmanned Aerial Systems
Range and Oregon Future
Farm, drone manufacturers
and vendors like RDO,
Insitu and MicaSense fl ew
their UAS. Each company
talked about their drone’s
crop imaging capabilities
and ease of use while
piloting it on a short mission.
Lorton said UAS would
be a regular part of farming
operations within 10 years
and there was one already
working on Hill Ranches
near Pendleton.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Farmer Forrest Frantz of Hood River gives a close inspection to the Sensefl y eBee UAV on Thursday during the
Ag Drone Rodeo at Linn Airstrip east of Stanfi eld.
“This drone thing you’ve
heard so much about is a
reality,” he said.
It’s certainly a reality
for a group of students
at Yamhill-Carlton High
School, who are building a
drone from scratch.
A Yamhill County farmer
commissioned the drone so
he could use the unmanned
aerial vehicle on his
blueberry fi elds and other
crops, Yamhill-Carlton math
teacher Jordan Slavish said.
The farmer agreed to pay
for half of the cost to build
it. A dedicated afterschool
group of 6-7 students now
gets a hands-on experience
building their own drone.
Slavish was accompanied
by Jeff Breazile and his son
Zach, one of the students
working on the drone.
Breazile, an engineer at
Intel, said his employer is
covering the expenses of
the trip to Eastern Oregon,
which the contingent is
See DRONES/3A
HERMISTON
Local specialty crops
featured at OSU dinner
Region grows more
than 200 varieties
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Phil Hamm is never one to
hold back when it comes to
promoting the Columbia Basin as
an agricultural powerhouse.
Farmers throughout the region
grow more than 200 types of
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Naomi Sanchez, left, with Finley Fresh Produce, hands a bag of crops, Hamm said, thanks to a
vegetables to Anna Rademacher at the crop up dinner Thursday at unique combination of climate,
HAREC in Hermiston.
soils and clean water. The result is
a bounty of nutritious vegetables
like potatoes, onions and carrots
to go along with sweet treats like
famous Hermiston watermelons.
All those and more were on the
menu Thursday during a special
“crop-up” dinner hosted by
Oregon State University and the
Oregon Department of Agricul-
ture. The dinner, which was held
at OSU’s Hermiston Agricultural
Research and Extension Center,
featured dishes inspired by local
ingredients, meant to educate
and excite the public about
See CROPS/10A