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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 2016)
WEEKEND EDITION FARMERS HELP PROTECT NEIGHBORS FROM FIRE 9A A SALUTE TO YOUR FURRY FAA OKs PENDLETON UAS FRIENDS LIFESTYLES/1C RANGE TO FLY HIGHER 3A AUGUST 27-28, 2016 140th Year, No. 226 WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD $1.50 MILLION DOLLAR MILE Sheriff candidates spar over jail inmate releases Matrix remains in effect, despite Rowan’s claims By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris A sign sits at the site of a proposed industrial park at the intersection of Airport and Stage Gulch roads west of Pendleton. Pendleton working to connect Planned water and sewer utilities to prime industrial land extensions at the airport N.W. Stage Gulch Road rt R oa d See JAIL/12A Eastern Oregon Regional Airport Legend Air Sewer line Water main Interim pump station Pendleton city limits N 2,000 feet th Rie ad Ro See UTILITIES/12A Westgate 30 84 Um Visit the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce for a free charm trail starter bracelet Park West t R por oad PAUL SHERMAN OF MILTON-FREEWATER In Pendleton’s water and sewer master plans, the city stated it should extend water and sewer lines to the western and northern ends of the airport’s industrial area within Airport Industrial Daniel Road the next five years. po A small sign with big plans sits at the intersection of Airport and Stage Gulch roads in northwest Pendleton. Replete with factories and manu- facturing plants, the sign depicts the western part of the Airport Indus- trial Park the way Pendleton city offi cials have long envisioned it. The intersection plays a pivotal role in Pendleton’s plans to turn the farmland and empty fi elds into an industrial hub. But before it can change above ground, a lot must change below. Steve Chrisman, Pendleton airport manager and economic development director, has called it the million dollar mile. It’s a stretch of proposed water and sewer lines from the airport’s current industrial park to an area near the Airport- Stage Gulch that would carry a seven-fi gure price tag. Chrisman said conventional wisdom would have the industrial park grow incrementally to the west, the city building out the corre- sponding utilities as needed. But much of the land between the airport and intersection is either too uneven to develop or can’t be purchased because it’s under the jurisdiction of the Federal Aviation Administration. Chrisman said that makes a long, do-it-all-at-once utility line necessary. The city used a 4-cent gas tax and federal grant money to extend Airport Road to the Barnhart Road exit on Interstate 84 in 2009. They Air By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian lla Riv e r ati Source: City of Pendleton Antonio Sierra and Alan Kenaga/ EO Media Group Arrest, weapons conviction no hurdle to Huston having a gun By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Although the company is head- quartered in Portland, with fabric manufacturing mills in Pendleton and Washougal, Washington, the See WOOL/12A See HUSTON/12A By WILL DENNER East Oregonian EO fi le photo Pendleton Woolen Mills products are being more widely introduced to the Japanese market, including branded stores expected to open in the next 5-7 years. products, which will include new product lines available only in Japan. Under the deal with Sojitz, the company expects to have Pendleton stores in Japan within 5 to 7 years. HERMISTON Jason Huston of Hermiston on Dec. 16, 2009, brought a Glock 9 mm handgun onto Union Pacifi c Railroad property. That led to the Marine veteran’s arrest for menacing and unlawful possession of a weapon, both misdemeanors. He took a deal in 2010 and pleaded no contest to the weapon charge and the state dismissed the menacing, according to court records. Huston completed his probation in 2013 and the court reduced the charge to a violation. Huston used a Glock 9 mm handgun on Aug. 18 to kill his lifelong friend in Hermiston, shoot his ex-girlfriend, kill her 14-year-old son, and shoot and kill himself. The 2010 conviction, though, would not have prevented Huston — or most anyone else in Oregon — from buying, owning or possession a gun. “Generally, when you’re convicted of a felony, then you are prohibited from possessing or owning a fi rearm,” said Morrow County Sheriff Ken Matlack. Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan said the only misdemeanor conviction that could stand in the way of purchasing and owning a gun would be domestic assault. Courts also can issue provisions limiting someone from having a gun, but that was not the situation in Huston’s case. And the conviction also did not prevent Pendleton Woolen Mills expand in Japan Pendleton Woolen Mills is ramping up its retail effort in Japan, looking to give the company a far greater interna- tional presence. The expansion will not only increase the Portland-based company’s brand in the Far East, but could also provide exposure for the Eastern Oregon town to weave into international markets. Pendleton Woolen Mills agreed in terms this spring with Japanese distributor Sojitz Corpo- ration that will help with logistics of shipments to Japan, said Bob Christnacht, Pendleton Vice Pres- ident of Worldwide Sales. More than 500 stores in Japan currently sell Pendleton products, specifi cally in outdoor and hipster boutiques. Christnacht said the latest expansion will increase the number of fashion retailers and department stores that carry those The Umatilla County Jail continues to release inmates due to overcrowding, even though Sheriff Terry Rowan said he ended the years-old practice four months after taking offi ce in 2013. But since Rowan has been sheriff, the county jail in Pend- leton has drastically reduced the number of inmates it sets free to avoid overcrowding. Rowan And he implemented a policy to hold new inmates for 36 hours, the amount of time law dictates they can be in custody without an arraignment. Rowan is seeking his second term as sheriff. Pendleton police Cpl. Ryan Lehnert Lehnert is challenging for the position and asserted the jail is not holding many low-level offenders for the full amount of time. “If you’re going to claim to hold people for 36 hours, you can say that to the public,” he said. “But as police offi cers we know it’s not true.”