Page 12A
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Saturday, August 20, 2016
SHOOTING: Investigation remains active
though no other suspects are being sought
Continued from 1A
to police and emergency
services of shots ired at
Hermiston Avenue and 11th
Street, Hermiston. About 10
minutes later, another caller
reported gunshots at a home
on Madrona Avenue, which
intersects 11th Street a block
from Hermiston Avenue.
Edmiston said Huston
himself made one of three
calls to police to report
gunshots.
Dispatchers and police
were uncertain if the
gunshots were on the east
or west side of Hermiston,
so police went to at least
two locations. Edmiston
said Hermiston detectives
and police Capt. Travis
Eynon responded to the
area of Northwest 11th, saw
the door ajar at 130 N.W.
11th St., made a “high risk
entry” and found the crime
scene.
The investigation remains
active, he said, and he antici-
pated a debrieing and review
to come at a later time.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The State Police forensic unit van sits at the end
of Country Lane Friday near the spot Justin “JJ”
Hurtado’s body was found late Thursday evening west
of Hermiston.
Valdez volunteered in
2013 and Huston became a
volunteer coach a year later,
said Hermiston Shool district
spokesperson Maria Duron.
Both men wrestled for
the school’s team when they
were students, and both grad-
uated in the class of 1989.
“These gentlemen grew
up in the wrestling program,
so they’ve been in the
community for a long time,”
Duron said.
Huston was arrested in
December 2009 on charges
of menacing and unlawful
possession of a irearm. He
pleaded no contest to the
gun crime and the menacing
charge was dropped. He
was sentenced to probation
and 20 hours of community
service.
DEATH: ‘Hopefully we can
get through this together’
Continued from 1A
time, Hurtado’s Facebook
page features pictures of
him with various family
members, grinning and
hugging away. Baldridge
said he Skyped and called
his siblings and cousins from
other parts of the country
almost daily.
One example of his dedi-
cation to family came when
his grandmother passed
away a couple of years ago.
Baldridge said Hurtado was
a huge support to his grand-
father afterward, spending
the night on a regular basis
and doing whatever he could
think of to help out around
the house or just keep his
grandfather company.
That big, loving family
has now gathered in Herm-
iston, Baldridge said, along
with a circle of close friends,
to support Hurtado’s family,
particularly his mother,
who is still in the hospital
but expected to make a full
physical recovery.
“It’s
pretty
new,”
Baldridge
said
Friday
afternoon, less than 24 hours
after the family was notiied
of his death. “We’re still in
the numb stage.”
She said even in their grief
the family is still keeping
in mind the other families
that are also affected by the
tragedy.
“Everyone’s in pain,” she
said.
As word of the family’s
tragedy spread, a YouTube
video tribute labeled RIP
JJ HURTADO also spread
online, showing a montage
of him with his family and
friends. The video was
created by Mischa Meyer,
11, who became friends with
Hurtado after making friends
with his younger sister.
Mischa said she made
the video to show positive
memories of his life to
contrast with the “heart-
breaking” news of his death.
“He is greatly loved
and missed by so many
people,” she said in a written
message.
She said one of Hurtado’s
best qualities was his gener-
osity.
“He had a very generous
personality and always put
other people irst,” she said.
Maria Duron, spokes-
person for the Hermiston
School District, said the
district was greatly saddened
Photo by Ashley Seibel Photography
James “JJ” Hurtado
“We’re still
in the numb
stage.”
in “safe rooms” at the high
school and middle school
all day Friday for students
and staff who wanted the
support.
“When you have a
tragedy like this, you never
know how it will affect
students and staff,” Duron
said, noting that sometimes
people who weren’t close to
the victims of a tragedy can
still be deeply affected as it
brings up feelings about past
or current tragedies in their
own lives.
“We do have a safe place
for them here, for our staff
and students and coaches,”
she said. “We need to check
on one another, and hope-
fully we can get through this
together.”
EO ile photo
Teams ish for walleye below the McNary Dam on the Columbia River during
Smoker Craft-Sylvan Spring Walleye Classic near Umatilla in March 2007.
WATER: All motorized boats required
to have an invasive species permit
Continued from 1A
from getting too close to the
dam. Rapid surges in water
levels can pull an anchored
boat under water in
seconds. There are unseen
currents that can pull a boat
upstream into a spillway
and quickly capsize it.
Changing currents and
unpredictable waves make
it dificult to control a boat,
even for the most experi-
enced mariner.
On a Thursday afternoon
he points to a small ishing
boat on the water with a
father and son at its helm.
“I would’ve never taken
that out on this river,” he
said.
A summer afternoon on
the water might sound like
an ideal way to spend a few
hours, but for Johnson, it’s
all work.
“I’m taking everything
in,” he said. “What are they
drinking? Do they have life
jackets?”
According to the Oregon
State Marine Board, 85-90
percent or more of boating
related fatalities could be
prevented if the victims
wore life jackets.
All boats must carry at
least one U.S. Coast Guard
approved personal lotation
device or life jacket for
every person aboard. And
the jackets should be in
good shape with no rips,
tears, or broken straps.
All life jackets must
also be kept “readily
accessible.” Life jackets
in a storage compartment
are not considered readily
accessible.
Johnson is also looking
for what he refers to as a
“type 4 throwable,” which
would be something like a
buoy life ring or cushion
and is required on all
boats 16 feet and over.
Neglecting to have one can
net you a $260 citation, as
two boaters from Idaho
discovered that afternoon.
Johnson is also checking
for aquatic invasive species
permits. All motorized
boats,
and
manually
powered boats ten feet
and longer, using Oregon
waters are required to have
an invasive species permit.
The permit program was
initiated in an attempt to
prevent what the Oregon
State Marine Board calls a
“devastating introduction
of zebra or quagga mussels
into Oregon waterways.”
On
average,
these
mussel species are the size
of a ingernail, but the price
— Terressa Baldridge,
Hurtado’s great aunt
by the news of his death.
Outside
of
school,
Hurtado was an active
member of the youth group
at Hermiston Assembly of
God. The church has posted
link to a GoFundMe account
for Hurtado and Valdez’s
families on its website,
www.hermistonassembly.
com.
There also is a separate
GoFundMe account that
Hermiston resident Tiffany
Dawson opened.
Valdez has had a long
history with Hermiston High
School wrestling.
He wrestled for the Bull-
dogs during his high school
career, culminating in an
individual district cham-
pionship his senior year at
the 171 pound weight class
under coach Rod Bragato
and helping the Hermiston
grapplers place seventh in
the 1989 state tournament.
Valdez graduated from
Hermiston High School that
June.
After graduation, Valdez
became involved with
Bulldog wrestling as a
volunteer assistant coach for
the high school.
He was employed with
United Parcel Service at the
time of his death.
School
administrators
and counselors met with the
cross country team, wres-
tling team and all coaches to
reassure them that support
was available. The district
also made its counselors
and psychologists available
HERITAGE
WHAT ENERGY SAVINGS
AWAIT YOUR HOME?
LET’S FIND OUT.
Start by doing a free online Home Energy Review from Energy Trust of Oregon.
You’ll get customized energy-saving recommendations and learn all kinds of
ways to get more from your energy. Plus Energy Trust can help you with cash
incentives and inding a trade ally contractor for your home energy project.
LUNCHEON 2016
A Walk Through Oregon
K ERRY T YMCHUK • Executive Director
Oregon Historical Society
+ Get more from your energy.
Visit www.energytrust.org/start or call us at 1.866.368.7878.
Saturday • October 1st •12-2 pm
Pendleton Convention Center
$40 UCHS M EMBERS
tag of their presence in the
Columbia River would be
anything but small.
Rick
Boatner,
the
Invasive Species Coordi-
nator for the ODFW, said
if the mussels get to the
Columbia River dams there
would be an initial invest-
ment of at least $25 million
and then a minimum of a
million dollars annually in
maintenance.
The mussel species
multiply rapidly, clogging
irrigation and dam cooling
pipes as well as water
grates. They also adhere
to ish ladders, tearing
into salmon and steelhead
and causing infection and
death.
Both
Johnson
and
Boatner agree that it’s
more of a question of when
the mussels will appear
in the Columbia River,
not if. But each year the
species doesn’t make it
into the Paciic Northwest
waterways is another year
millions of dollars are
saved.
Johnson’s position with
the Umatilla County Sher-
iff’s ofice may be seasonal,
but he returns year after
year. This is his 24th year
working as marine patrol
deputy.
$50 G ENERAL P UBLIC
Tickets available at Heritage Station Museum & Pendleton Book Company
Serving customers of Portland General Electric,
Paciic Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas.