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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2016)
REGION Friday, September 16, 2016 East Oregonian Page 3A BOARDMAN Teen arraigned for shooting death By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Staff photo by Kathy Aney David Alexander Alvarez, 17, faces charges of murder and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon for Sunday night’s shooting death in Boardman. Alvarez turned himself into law enforcement Monday night in Washington state, according to Boardman Police Chief Rick Stokoe, and is in the juvenile jail at the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facilities, The Dalles. The state arraigned him Wednesday afternoon for shooting and killing Evencio Salas Birrueta, 27, of Irrigon. Alvarez was to appear via video from the jail, with Morrow County District Attorney Justin Nelson in court in Heppner and defense attorney Dean Gushwa in the Hermiston courtroom of Circuit Judge Eva Temple. However, the video feed to Hermiston malfunctioned. Nelson said while the arraignment was oficial, Staff photo by Kathy Aney Junior American Indian Beauty Pageant winner Ka- Happy Canyon Princess Appollonia Saenz boosts the lan Spencer, 13, of Pendleton, waves her fan Thursday conidence of one of the younger competitors during the Junior American Indian Beauty Pageant Thursday. morning during competition at Roy Raley Park. Junior American Indian Beauty Pageant returns to Roy Raley Park Report: Malheur County rich with gold mine potential By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Driven into the conines of the Lincoln Primary School gym by persistent rainfall last year, the 55th annual Junior American Indian Pageant was back to its usual home at Roy Raley Park Thursday morning, with only the faintest trace of clouds in the sky. Seventy-six girls ages 4-13 from tribes across the Northwest and beyond lined up for a chance to be crowned the 2016 winner, many of them hoping they would one day become a Happy Canyon princess like the two escorting them onto the stage. The pageant was presided over by chiefs and representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and was being judged by a panel comprised of Becky Bishop Martin, a member of the family who owns Pendleton Woolen Mills, George Murdock, the chairman of the Umatilla County Board of Commis- sioners, and Bud Pierce, Oregon’s Republican nominee for governor. As the contestants were presented before the crowd, parents coached their kids from the audience before comforting those who didn’t make the inal 10. In the end, the judge’s panel selected a local girl as the pageant’s winner. Kalan Spencer, 13, of Pendleton, a By AMANDA PEACHER Oregon Public Broadcasting Staff photo by Kathy Aney HERMISTON City adding temporary Main Street coordinator East Oregonian Hermiston’s downtown will get some extra attention over the next 11 months with the addition of a Main Street Program Coordinator. The new position was created for Emma Porricolo, a RARE participant. RARE stands for Resource Assis- tance for Rural Environments and is an Americorps service program with a mission of helping rural communities improve their “economic, social and environmental conditions.” The program is run through the University of Oregon’s Community Service Center and places about 25 participants throughout the state each year to focus on areas such as community development and natural resource planning. Porricolo will use her time in Hermiston to strengthen the downtown district, according to a news release from the city, by using the Main Street approach, a “nationally renowned program that has been implemented in cities of all sizes across the country.” The program focuses on creating opportunities down- OF THE BASE BLUES BASH SEPT 24 5-8PM • Tickets $35: Avbl @ MF Chamber, local Rotarians or online baseofthebluesbash.com EVENT WILL BE AT THE MILTON-FREEWATER ARMORY A new report from Oregon’s Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shows that an area that conservationists want to protect has a rich vein of mining potential. Malheur County has a lot of gold, silver and uranium, says DOGAMI spokes- woman Ali Ryan Hansen. There’s enough of it that it might be economically feasible to develop a mining operation there,” said Hansen. But Malheur County is also the home to the Owyhee Canyonlands, which conservationists want to see protected, in part, from new mining. The minerals report from the state comes two months after Democratic senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden introduced a bill in Congress that would block new mines in the Owyhee. The Southeastern Oregon Mineral Withdrawal and Junior American Indian Beauty Pageant runner-up Grace Sobatta, 12, of Lapwai, Idaho, competes Thursday morning at Roy Raley Park. member of the Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla tribes, was declared the winner after brief deliberation by the judges. Spencer’s victory helps her follow in the footsteps of her grandmother, Matilda Sampson Spencer, who was a Happy Canyon princess in the 1930s. Second place went to Grace Victory Joy Sobotta, 12, who is a member of the Cayuse, Nez Perce and Yakama tribes. A resident of Lapwai, Idaho, Sobotta is a descendant of Chief Joseph and town in four categories: orga- nization, economic vitality, design and promotion. Porricolo graduated from the University of Oregon with a bachelor’s degree in envi- ronmental science and minors in geology and public policy, planning and management. She said in the news release that she hopes to pursue a career focused on how people interact with and affect their physical environment. Porricolo is originally from Pelham, New York, and chose to do the RARE program for a chance to experience a new place, help a community and grow professionally. She said she looks forward to learning more about downtown Hermiston and gathering perspectives from downtown stakeholders. She can be reached by email at mainstreet@hermiston.or.us and encourages people to send her their thoughts about ways to revitalize the down- town area. Temple wanted another hearing Thursday morning when she would preside in court in Heppner to allow Alvarez to see his attorney. Records show Gushwa entered not guilty pleas for his client on the two weapons charges and reserved entering any plea on the murder charge. Temple set bail for Alvarez at $2 million. His next hearing is Wednesday, and Temple set Oct. 6 for him to enter his plea on the murder charge as well as for a bail hearing. The shooting occurred Sunday around 9 p.m. at the Wilson Road Mobile Home Park, 600 Wilson Road, Boardman. Police arrived and found Salas shot in the “shoulder area of the arm,” according to Stokoe. Police tried to save Salas, but he died. The case remains an active investigation. Boardman police asked anyone with information regarding the shooting to contact the department at 541-481-6071. former Cayuse Chief Paul Showaway. The top three were rounded out by 12-year-old Dreama Wyena, a member of the Muckleshoot and Wanapum tribes in Washington. Wyena wore a dress from her grand- mother and is active in tribal activities and athletics, including softball, basket- ball and volleyball. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@ eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. Economic Preservation and Development Act would also block oil and gas drilling. The bill hasn’t gotten further than introduction in the Senate. Hansen pointed out that high levels of mineral deposits doesn’t mean that new mines are easily approved. “Even though we have determined that there’s high potential for gold, silver other kinds of resources out there, there are so many other things that determine whether a mine can make a go of it,” Hansen said. According to DOGAMI, seven signiicant mines are permitted in Malheur County. Most are industrial or gold mines. Conservationists have lobbied President Obama to create an Owyhee National Monument in Malheur County. Many local residents oppose that designation. The President has given no indication that he plans to designate a monument in Oregon before the end of his term. Marine Corps rides into Round-Up City Mounted color guard rides ‘100 percent wild’ palomino mustangs By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Marine Gunnery Sgt. Antonio Flores leads a unique unit — the U.S. Marine Corps’ last mounted color guard. “I never even knew the horse team existed in the Marine Corps until I got to the unit in 2014,” he said. Five of his seven-member team traveled over the course of four days from Nashville to Pendleton to appear for the Round-Up. The team will march through the crowd- lined streets of Pendleton in Friday morning’s Westward Ho! Parade and present the lag Friday and Saturday nights to close the Happy Canyon Indian Pageant and Wild West Show. The mounted color guard operates out of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California, where Lt. Col. Robert Lindsley formed the horse team in 1967. The next year, the Corps designated the team as an oficial mounted color guard. The team rides “100 percent wild” palomino mustangs, Flores said, which the Corps adopts from the Bureau of Land Management’s Adopt a Horse and Burro Program. The Corps sends the horses to the inmate saddle training program at the Northern Nevada Correc- tional Center, Carson City, Nevada, where, Flores said, they get “green broke.” From there, the horses go to the Marine base at Barstow, and the Marines continue to train the horses. “We were looking for new things to add,and the Marine Corps of course its with our stated goals of patriotism.” — Casey Beard, Round-Up general manager Flores said only one of his team rode and worked with horses before joining the Corps. But in Barstow they learn under the team’s trainer and farrier, who has around 40 years experience working with horses and readies Marines to ride. The team travels to 20-30 parades, rodeos and patriotic events each year in the U.S., and Flores said it has been at least a decade since the color guard rode in Pendleton. This will be his irst time at the Round-Up. Casey Beard, Round-Up general manager, said the idea to have the color guard participate came last summer while talking with Marine recruiters in Portland. “We were looking for new things to add,” he said, “and the Marine Corps of course its with our stated goals of patriotism.” So, Beard said, the Round-Up put in its request for the horse team and this year made the list. Team members stay for two or three years before the Corps orders them to new assignments. Flores said he is making the most of his time. “I love it,” he said, “... It’s just a great time.” ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0833. 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