REGION
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
PENDLETON
Missing hunter
Crews battle early morning blaze found alive
Fire burns 10 acres north of river
East Oregonian
Fire crews fought
a 10-acre blaze early
Tuesday on the north
side of the Umatilla
River in Pendleton.
Pendleton Fire and
Ambulance
Services
at 1:47 a.m. received
the call-out for the ire.
Pendleton Fire Capt.
Dave Baty said the blaze
was in multiple areas,
east of the Eighth Street
Bridge behind Wash-
ington School. Fire-
ighters from the Pilot
Rock Fire District, the
Bureau of Indian Affairs
and others contributed to
the effort.
“We put out the help
call to everybody who
could come,” he said.
“A lot of guys walked
across that river a lot of
times.”
Crews got the burn
under control and around
7:30 a.m. a second team
from Pendleton soaked
the site to make sure
nothing would lare up.
Baty said an inves-
tigation is underway to
determine the ire’s point
of origin and cause.
Man spent 48 hours
wandering Ochocos
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A Pendleton ireighter picks up hose line after mopping up
at the scene of a grassire on the north side of the Umatilla
River in Pendleton.
PENDLETON
Round-Up exhibit features EO photographers
Opening reception is
Thursday at arts center
East Oregonian
Photojournalists use the
art of photography to tell
a story, and the Pendleton
Round-Up provides local
professionals with imagery
for some of their most
dynamic and exciting tales.
Images from ive staff
and freelance photographers
who work for the East
Oregonian will be on exhibit
at Pendleton Center for the
Arts. “The East Oregonian
Captures the Round-Up”
opens Thursday with a
reception from 5:30-7 p.m.
at the arts center, 214 N.
Main St., Pendleton. The
event is free and open to the
public.
“The rodeo, animals,
parades,
night
show,
Indian village, Main Street,
carnival and thousands of
visitors provide a never-
ending number of subjects
for our photographers,
day and night for a week
every September,” said EO
publisher Kathryn Brown.
The featured photographs
were shot by E.J. Harris,
Kathy
Aney,
Rachael
Owen, Joe Duty and Cody
Duty between 2010 and
AFSCME offering associate
degrees to members, families
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Jesse Wright of Milford, Utah, leaps onto the back of a pick-up rider during saddle
bronc riding during a past Pendleton Round-Up. The work of E.J. Harris and other
staff photojournalists and freelance photographers are featured in a new exhibit
that opens Thursday at Pendleton Center for the Arts.
2015. They were selected
by Brown for their artistic
quality.
“The EO is fortunate
to have such a strikingly
photogenic event take place
right here in Pendleton every
year,” Brown said. “The
Round-Up offers our staff
photographers and freelance
photographers a chance
to blur the line between
photojournalism and visual
artistry.”
When the East Oregonian
covered the irst Pendleton
Round-Up in 1910, it had
already been in business for
35 years. Each year since,
the paper has delivered an
up-close view of the iconic
event.
The exhibit is made
possible
through
the
support of The Ford Family
Foundation. It will remain
on display through Friday,
Sept. 30.
The arts center is open
Tuesday through Fridays
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and
Saturdays from noon to 4
p.m. Admission is free.
For more information,
call 541-278-9201 or visit
www.pendletonarts.org.
Athena burglary defendant could face more charges
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
An Athena man could
face more charges following
the results of a search
warrant.
The Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Ofice in a written
statement reported deputies
on Aug. 14 investigated a
burglary at storage sheds on
East High and South Water
streets, Weston. The victims
reported
their
storage
unit was broken into and
ransacked, and several items
valued at thousands of dollars
including tools, sporting
goods, trading cards, ammu-
nition, glassware, porcelain
dolls and family photographs
were taken.
A 75-year-old hunter
who went missing for
two days in the Ochoco
National Forest was found
alive and safe Tuesday
morning on a ranch near
Mitchell.
Wheeler County Chief
Deputy Michael Boyd said
the man walked roughly
10-15 miles through dense,
rugged terrain before
making it out of the woods
and inding his way to the
Antone Ranch, where he
was located. The hunter
was treated for a pre-ex-
isting medical condition
and complained of being
sore, but was otherwise
in relatively good health,
Boyd said.
Boyd did not release
the hunter’s name, but said
the man is from Bend and
largely unfamiliar with the
area. He was bow hunting
in the forest with a partner,
but left by himself early
Sunday and became lost.
His partner reported him
missing that evening, and
authorities assembled a
search team to try and ind
him.
More than 30 people
participated in the search
from Wheeler, Grant and
Crook counties, as well
as the Mountain Wave
Search and Rescue group
from Portland. The Oregon
Army National Guard and
Life Flight also lew over
in helicopters, though Boyd
said the forest is too thick
to see much from the air.
“If he was lying on
the ground, you’d have
to be within a step or two
to see him, especially if
you’re wearing camoulage
clothing,” he said.
Boyd said the hunter
was not carrying a GPS
locater and did not have
any overnight camping
gear with him. Overnight
temperatures are starting to
dip into the low 40s in the
Ochoco Mountains — cold
enough for hypothermia to
set in.
Boyd said the incident
once again shines a light
on the importance of being
prepared when entering the
wilderness. He said it was
fortunate this case didn’t
end in tragedy.
“After days go on, the
odds are ... against you,” he
said.
———
Contact George Plaven
at
gplaven@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-966-0825.
Deputy Nathan Rankin
discovered plywood on the
interior wall between the
neighboring storage unit was
pried loose and provided a
point of entry for the burglar.
The property manager told
deputies that Shane Purcell,
31, of 304 N. Fourth St.,
Athena, was renting the
neighboring unit.
Purcell’s disabled vehicle
was in front of his storage
unit, according to the sher-
iff’s ofice, and deputies saw
the victim’s property inside
the vehicle. Other witnesses
also told the deputies they
saw Purcell in possession of
the victim’s property.
Deputy
John
Reitz
arrested Purcell on Aug. 15
and booked him into the
BRIEFLY
Police respond to a domestic disturbance
HERMISTON — Hermiston police responded to the 400
block of Elm Avenue Tuesday morning shortly before 8:30
a.m. after a neighbor reported hearing gunshots, but did not
ind evidence of a shooting.
Police Chief Jason Edmiston said it appeared to be a
domestic disturbance between a man and a woman. The
male had left the scene before police arrived. The woman
had a small cut on her hand from breaking a window but was
otherwise unharmed. No casings, holes or other evidence of
gunire were located at the scene.
Two guns were located in the home. They were
coniscated and the woman was taken into custody for a
probation violation.
county jail, Pendleton, for the
burglary and for possession
of methamphetamine. Court
records show the district
attorney’s ofice charged him
with second-degree burglary,
a felony, and second-degree
theft, mischief and trespass,
all misdemeanors.
The district attorney’s
ofice on Aug. 22 asked the
court to release Purcell and
postpone hearings after a
witness in the theft case did
not show up for a grand jury.
Circuit Judge Christopher
Brauer on Aug. 24 approved
the release and continuance.
The next day, according
to the sheriff’s ofice, Rankin
conducted a legal search on
Route work
pays for my
children’s
activities.
Motorcyclist dies in highway crash
A 45-year-old man was killed Tuesday after crashing his
motorcycle into a commercial truck on Highway 395 near
Ritter Butte in Grant County.
Kelly Wortman, of Puyallup, Washington, was
pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver, 47-year-old
Matthew Gilliland of Pendleton, was not injured.
Oregon State Police responded to the scene at
approximately 10:30 a.m. A preliminary investigation shows
Wortman was traveling south on the highway near milepost
78 when he crossed the centerline trying to negotiate a
corner. Wortman then collided with a trailer being towed by a
Peterbilt truck heading northbound.
No other information has been released. OSP was assisted
by the Grant County Sheriff’s Ofice and Oregon Department
of Transportation.
———
Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports, and press
releases. Email press releases to news@eastoregonian.com
Become an
East Oregonian
Carrier.
211 SE Byers Ave.
Pendleton
or call:
541-276-2211
1-800-522-0255
Purcell’s storage unit and
vehicle and found several
more items of the victim’s
property. The sheriff’s
ofice also stated Purcell is
a suspect in other pending
investigations. And Purcell
has criminal cases pending
in Umatilla County Circuit
Court for interfering with
police, skipping court on a
violation of driving while
suspended, and possession
of methamphetamine.
A free associate degree is
now a possibility for thou-
sands of Eastern Oregon
residents.
The American Federa-
tion of State, County and
Municipal
Employees
(AFSCME) has partnered
with Eastern Gateway
Community College in
Ohio to offer online classes
for an associate degree to
all AFSCME members and
their families across the
country. There are about
1,700 members of the union
in the area, and the beneit
is available to their spouses,
domestic partners, children,
stepchildren, grandchildren
and stepgrandchildren as
well. It also applies to retired
AFSCME members.
Participants must ill out
the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid and
take advantage of education
beneits that their employer
offers, and then AFSCME
will pick up the tab for all
additional tuition, fees and
books after that.
Two-year programs for
associate of the arts, associate
of criminal justice and asso-
ciate of business manage-
ment degrees are currently
available and in the spring an
associate of early childhood
education degree will be
added. All requirements can
be completed online.
The fall semester at
Eastern Gateway Commu-
nity College began Aug. 22
and some local AFSCME
members
are
already
enrolled in classes. The
beneit will continue to be
available for members and
their families, as well as
future new members who get
hired for current openings
at places like Two Rivers
Correctional Institution.
Registration and addi-
tional information is online
at freecollege.afscme.org.
SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS
Submit information to: community@eastoregonian.
com or drop off to the attention of Tammy Malgesini at
333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211
S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-
966-0818 with questions.