ALTHEA GIBBS
OF STANFIELD
Enjoy a free
large mocha
at Bloomz
Coffee Bar in
Hermiston
9-YEAR-OLD
A RISING
BMX STAR
KIDS GET
LESSON IN
LOCAL AG
SPORTS/1B
REGION/3A
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016
140th Year, No. 255
Your Weekend
•
•
•
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Hermiston holds walk, vigil for victims of domestic violence
Community campfi re
and hayrides, Hermiston
Fall Quilt Show at
Boardman Senior Center
Wine & Stein: Altrusa
Oktoberfest, Hermiston
For times and places
see Coming Events, 6A
Weekend Weather
Fri
Sat
Sun
64/51
74/51
76/53
ODOT to
straighten
curve on
dangerous
highway
By KATY NESBITT
The Observer
MINAM — The travel
routes into Wallowa County
can be treacherous, and the
Minam Grade on Highway 82
east of Elgin is no exception.
As part of its effort to make
the highway safer near the
Union/Wallowa County line,
the Oregon Department of
Transportation will straighten
the worst of the curves in
2018 at a projected cost of
$4.5 million.
Ken
Patterson,
area
manager of the ODOT offi ce
in La Grande, said the agency
is working on a project to
smooth out the 25-mph curve
on the descent into Minam
Canyon.
“It’s been a location of a
number of accidents in the
past,” Patterson said. “We got
some money a couple years
ago to build in 2018, and it’s
currently under design.”
The state is working to
get environmental clearances
because of the amount of rock
that will be removed to ease
the curve.
The most recent project on
the Minam Grade, fi ve years
ago, required the removal
of 100,000 tons of rock.
Patterson said crews will need
to haul away closer to 400,000
tons during the 2018 work.
The permitting process
through the Army Corps of
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A small group of marchers walk towards McKenzie Park to participate in a candlelight vigil honoring victims of domestic violence on
Thursday in Hermiston.
Help is waiting
Victims of abuse urged to reach out to
Domestic Violence Services, police
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
A handful of Hermiston residents
gathered Thursday night at McKenzie
Park for a candlelight vigil honoring
victims of domestic violence.
The event — one of several in
Umatilla County and Morrow County
this week sponsored by Domestic
Violence Services — was held in
recognition of Domestic Violence
Awareness Month.
“Domestic
violence
affects
If you or someone you know is
a victim of domestic violence,
call the 24-hour crisis line at
1-800-833-1161
everyone, not just the victims,” said
Hermiston police and fi re chaplain
Terry Cummings. “Entire families are
affected, and I’ve seen the results in
the lives of children fi rsthand.”
During the vigil Cummings told
those gathered that one in four women
in the United States will be affected
by domestic violence of some kind
during their lifetime. He asked anyone
who is experiencing abuse or believes
a loved one is being abused to reach
out to Domestic Violence Services,
the police or a trusted friend.
The nonprofi t offers a 24-hour crisis
hotline, immediate shelter for people
See ABUSE/8A
Independent
joins Brown,
Pierce debate
Candidates address housing,
transportation, graduation rates
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
See MINAM/3A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
McKay water levels below average
Low water levels at McKay Reservoir have exposed what appears to be the remains of
an old rail line on Tuesday south of Pendleton. As of Wednesday, there was approximate-
ly 16,000 acre-feet of water in McKay Reservoir, according to Mike Ladd, region manager
with the Oregon Water Resources Department in Pendleton. That’s about 1,000 acre-
feet more than last year, though Ladd said the average for this time of year tends to be
around 18,700 acre-feet.
EUGENE — Candidates in the contest for
governor faced off in a debate at Churchill High
School Thursday, offering their take on how
to address the housing crisis, transportation, a
revenue shortfall and the state’s low graduation
rate.
The third of fi ve debates between Gov. Kate
Brown and GOP nominee Dr. William “Bud”
Pierce, the event also featured for the fi rst time
Cliff Thomason, Independent Party of Oregon
candidate and an industrial hemp farmer from
Grants Pass.
The candidates are seeking election to
complete the last two years of former Gov.
John Kitzhaber’s four-year term. As former
See DEBATE/8A
In turnaround, Bundy denies leading refuge occupiers
By STEVEN DUBOIS
Associated Press
Ammon Bundy
PORTLAND — Under a
brief, but rapid-fi re cross-ex-
amination Thursday, Ammon
Bundy denied leading the occu-
pation of a national wildlife
refuge and defended receiving
a U.S. Small Business Admin-
istration loan.
Bundy, 41, who’s on trial for
conspiring to impede Interior
Department workers from
doing their jobs at the Malheur
National Wildlife Refuge, was
quickly reminded by Assistant
U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight
that he had earlier testifi ed that
he was the leader.
Bundy said he was not
a leader in the way Knight
considers him to be. The man
who led followers to the refuge
for the 41-day standoff with law
enforcement said he teaches
“core principles” to people and
lets them govern themselves.
Those principles, spoken of
in great detail during three days
of testimony this week, include
Bundy’s belief that the federal
government can’t own land
within a state’s borders, except
for limited purposes.
Knight closed his 15-minute
cross-examination by getting
Bundy
to
acknowledge
See TRIAL/8A
