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140th Year, No. 223
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Carnegie Library turns 100
Sregzinski
gets 10 years
for gun fi ght
with police
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Remnants of the 2016 Rock Camp can still be seen on the crosswalk outside the Pendleton Center for the Arts. The building
housing the arts center was originally built as a Carnegie Library and fi rst opened it’s doors on August 26, 1916.
Arts center to celebrate Friday with live music
By WILL DENNER
East Oregonian
Rich in history and stories, Pendle-
ton’s Carnegie Library — once a major
social hub — reaches its centennial
milestone this week.
Initially opened as the Umatilla
County Library on Aug. 26, 1916, the
building was built with the fi nancial
backing of Andrew Carnegie, a
Scottish-American philanthropist. His
foundation helped fund over 1,600
U.S. libraries between 1886 and 1923,
including 31 in Oregon.
Now known as Pendleton Center for
the Arts, the building, located at 214
N. Main St., will celebrate its 100th
anniversary this Friday starting with
a noon reception free to the public,
executive director Roberta Lavadour
Courtesy of Roberta Lavadour
said. Acoustic Celtic band Molly’s
An original architectural sketch of the Umatilla County Library, designed by Folger
Revenge also will play a concert at
Johnson and overseen by R.W. Hatch.
the arts center beginning at 7 p.m. The
the library opened, was one of the most
With grant money and city funding
reception will include the unveiling of
a new exhibit highlighting the history of the integral people in getting it built. According secured, Folger Johnson designed the
building and the key people connected to it to Lavadour, Nason knew how to work the building, drawing on inspiration from the
Carnegie grant process, having already done
throughout the years.
See BUILDING/8A
Sabra Nason, the county librarian when so at other libraries in the U.S.
Wildfi res straining ODF staff, budget
Less time for restoration, timber sales
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
The Oregon Department of
Forestry is straining both its
staff and its budget to withstand
more grueling wildfi re seasons,
according to a state audit
released Tuesday.
Last year, fi res burned
roughly 55,000 acres in the ODF
Northeast Oregon District alone
— nearly twice as much as any
other year since 1960. Yet the
audit, prepared by the Secretary of
State’s Offi ce, revealed the agency
as a whole is still fi ghting blazes
with the same number of full-time
employees as 20 years ago.
As a result, ODF is spending
more time on fi res and less time
on other programs, including
restoration and timber sales.
Overtime hours spent on fi re
protection increased 197 percent,
and staff in Salem have reported
they’re feeling overworked and
Cheryl Chipman/Inciweb.gov via AP
This fi le photo provided by Inciweb.gov, shows smoke from By-
bee Creek Wildfi re drifting over Crater Lake, July 30. According
to a state audit released Tuesday The Oregon Department of
Forestry is straining both its staff and its budget to withstand
more grueling wildfi re seasons
fatigued.
“As fi re seasons lengthen and
intensify, ODF needs long-term
workforce planning to address its
fi refi ghting and fi re-prevention
missions, while still maintaining
broader forest management
responsibilities,” said Secretary
of State Jeanne Atkins in a
prepared statement.
Fires also have created a
See ODF/8A
The College Place teen who is a homi-
cide suspect in Walla Walla is going to
prison for 10 years for trying to kill police
in Milton-Freewater.
Robert Gage Sregzinski, 19, pleaded
guilty Monday in circuit court in Pend-
leton to charges of
attempted aggravated
murder,
unlawful
use of a weapon and
menacing stemming
from a gun fi ght he
had with Milton-Free-
water police on April
28. He admitted on
court documents to
fi ring a short-barreled Sregzinski
shotgun at an offi cer
in an attempt to kill him.
Sregzinski gave the plea in a deal with
the Umatilla County District Attorney’s
Offi ce in exchange for the decade-long
sentence and three years post-prison super-
vision. Judge Christopher Brauer handed
down the sentence Monday.
Sregzinski tried to fl ee from
Milton-Freewater police after a traffi c stop
the evening of April 28. He fi red at offi cers
during a chase through the town, according
to Umatilla County District Attorney Dan
Primus and court records, until one offi cer
rammed Sregzinski’s 2007 Ford Focus,
disabling the car.
Sregzinski stepped out of the Ford and
continued to shoot at police, who returned
fi re and wounded Sregzinski, thus ending
the fi ght.
Walla Walla police identifi ed Sregzinski
as the suspect in the killing of Gabriel
Ledezma Rodriguez, 34. Police think
Sregzinski killed Rodriguez in late April
in the basement of 1589 E. Alder St.,
Walla Walla, then buried the body near
Milton-Freewater.
Following the shootout, police found
duct tape, rubber gloves and a drop cloth in
Sregzinski’s car. Police found Rodriguez’s
body on May 27 outside Milton-Freewater.
No one, though, faces charges for the death
of Rodriguez.
Valdez family
seeks healing
in memories
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
As they begin to work through the
pain that comes from losing a loved one,
Kenneth Valdez’s family is grateful for
the memories and condolences that the
community has shared with them.
Valdez died Thursday at his home in
Hermiston, shot during a murder-suicide
that claimed three
lives and injured a
“He was
fourth person. His
genuine. If
brothers
Daniel
Diaz of Hermiston you talked to
and Tony Valdez
his friends,
of Kennewick said
their family has
they would
since found solace
in reading the
say Kenny
messages friends
would be
of their brother
Kenny have posted
there in a
to his Facebook
page or sent to
pinch.”
them directly.
“Social media — Tony Valdez,
Kenneth’s brother
has been fantastic,”
Tony said.
The grief and shock still feel raw days
later, but Tony said he has started reaching
out to some of Kenneth’s friends and the
family hopes to talk to more during the
candlelight vigil scheduled for Wednesday
night and at Kenneth’s memorial service
Saturday.
“People have been good about letting
us grieve, but our family is defi nitely
See VALDEZ/8A