REGION
Thursday, October 13, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
PENDLETON
Drug team busts Wicked Kitty owner
Sept. search found
methamphetamine,
marijuana, more
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
The local drug traficking
task force took down a
downtown Pendleton busi-
ness owner.
Jason R. Lybrand, 45,
owner of Wicked Kitty
Tattoo & Piercing, faces
felony charges of delivery
and possession of metham-
phetamine (two counts each),
possession of a controlled
Schedule II substance, and
misdemeanors of unlawful
delivery of marijuana and
possession of a Schedule IV
controlled substance.
He is in the Umatilla
County Jail, Pendleton, in
lieu of $80,000 bail.
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts said the Blue
Mountain
Enforcement
Narcotics
Team
began investigating
Lybrand earlier this
year, culminating
in a court-approved
search of his vehi-
cles on Sept. 12.
Roberts, who over-
sees the team, said
the search revealed
11.7 grams of Lybrand
methamphetamine,
10.3 pounds of marijuana,
372 prescription pills, two
vials of liquid methamphet-
amine, two sets of scales,
three riles and two handguns,
plus paraphernalia with meth
residue and $7,590 in cash.
Lybrand ended up in jail
the same week as the search.
Roberts said that was due
to Lybrand violating a court
order out of Multnomah
County.
BENT sent evidence
from the seizure to the
Oregon State Police Forensic
Services Division
for testing and
analysis, Roberts
said, and a Umatilla
County
grand
jury reviewed the
case Tuesday and
indicted Lybrand
on the charges.
As soon as
police had the
indictment,
he
said, they asked for an arrest
warrant. Police documents
show task force members
arrested Lybrand at 4:28 p.m.
Tuesday at his business, 132
S. Main St.
Roberts explained the
Schedule II and Schedule
IV charges stemmed from
some of the pills. And some
of the marijuana from the
September search was in
packages and ready for ship-
ping out of state.
“The investigation is
ongoing because there are a
lot of legs on this,” Roberts
said.
That includes a inancial
review of Wicked Kitty’s
books to see if Lybrand used
the business to launder drug
money, Roberts said.
Lybrand is the father of
two teenage children who
live with their mother. Court
records show he “has not
exercised parenting time with
his children since January
2015.” And since February
2016 he was ordered to
pay $660 a month in child
support, but in July the
children’s mother wrote to
Lybrand’s attorney stressing
the need to pay his child
support.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0833.
PENDLETON
Land across from prison to be
marketed to housing developers
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Pendleton city oficials
think they’ve found land
for the next major housing
development at the site of a
former mental health facility.
Without
objection
from the Pendleton City
Council, City Manager
Robb Corbett said at a work
session Tuesday he would
start marketing the former
site for the Eastern Oregon
Training Center to housing
developers.
Mayor Phillip Houk liked
the idea.
“I personally think that’s
a perfect spot for all kinds
of apartments,” he said.
“It’s across the street from
the prison, it’s close to the
college, no one is going to
complain too much about it.
It’s in a location where you
can get to a lot of locations.”
Corbett said nearby
Blue Mountain Community
College is not interested
in building dorms on the
property, although he has
ielded previous interest in
developing the property for
housing.
“We’d maybe be willing
to give up some value if we
could get some affordable
housing and we could
get something that could
complement the college
campus. If someone puts
apartments there, I could see
that it would be very attrac-
tive to college students,” he
said. “Having a connection
with the college could make
it even more attractive. Some
developers are just going to
come in and they’re not going
to think about the connection.
They’re just going to want to
slap something up and make
a buck.”
Mayor-elect John Turner
said the land could be used
for either an apartment
complex or townhouses.
Councilor Paul Chalmers
said he was interested in
whether the housing could be
sold and become owner-oc-
cupied, rather than rentals.
But Economic Development
Director Steve Chrisman said
the land’s proximity to the
Eastern Oregon Correctional
Institution would make that
less than ideal.
“I think ... staring into a
prison is going to be tough
sell,” he said. “That’s a
deicient piece of property
from a high-end residential
standpoint.”
With positions open at
nearby Keystone RV Co.
and Newlyweds Foods, and
BMCC scholarship athletes
in need of housing, Chrisman
said apartment rentals would
be more appropriate.
The city acquired the
10-acre plot north of West-
gate for free after the state
shuttered and demolished the
facility.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
inciweb.nwcg.gov via AP
In this Aug. 24 ile photo, a plane drops ire retardant
near the northwest side of Owyhee Canyon south of
Vale. ODF declared an end to ire season Thursday.
Fire season ends
on ODF land
East Oregonian
As of Thursday morning,
ire season has come to
an end on the Oregon
Department of Forestry’s
Northeast Oregon District.
The district includes
roughly 2 million acres
of private, state, county,
municipal
and
tribal
forestland in Umatilla,
Union, Baker, and Wallowa
counties, as well as small
portions of Grant, Morrow
and Malhuer counties.
ODF declared ire season
June 28 in the district, which
saw a total of 38 ires that
burned 871 acres — well
below the district’s 10-year
average of 7,500 acres.
Fourteen ires were started
by lightning, which is the
lowest number since 1960.
Cooler, wetter weather
is now in the forecast,
MISSION
Tanya Tucker
concert postponed
Show rescheduled
for Jan. 8 due to
medical emergency
East Oregonian
Photography workshop focuses on Boardman tree farm
East Oregonian
The changing fall colors at the Green-
Wood Resources tree farm near Boardman
will make a picture perfect venue for an
upcoming photography workshop.
Offered through Hermiston Parks &
Recreation, special permission has been
arranged for the class, which will be 4-7 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 25. Participants will meet at
Hermiston City Hall, 180 N.E. Second St.,
for the outing. Open to ages 16 and up, the
cost is $15 for Hermiston residents and $19
for non-residents.
Participants will be taught how to use
manual settings, learn about aperture, shutter
speed, ISO and saturation to capture the vivid
fall foliage colors. Those attending the class
must have a DSLR (digital single-lens relex)
camera.
The registration deadline is Friday, Oct. 21.
To register, visit www.hermistonrecreation.
com and click on “Program Registration,”
call 541-667-5018 or stop by the recreation
ofice, 180 N.E. Second St., Hermiston.
EO ile photo
Poplar trees shimmer in the sun at the GreenWood Resources Tree
Farm near Boardman. Shutterbugs will have an opportunity to take fall
foliage photos at the site during an upcoming photography workshop.
HERMISTON
County counts down last days of fair manager
Move to EOTEC
eliminates position
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Don Slone’s job as
Umatilla
County
Fair
manager comes to an end
Saturday, along with Ed
Peterson’s position as head
of fair maintenance.
County Commissioner
Larry Givens said moving
the fair to the Eastern
Oregon Trade and Event
Center, Hermiston, means
the county no longer needs
to fund the positions.
“We don’t have a fair-
grounds any more,” Givens
said. “And a lot of the fair
manager position was over-
seeing the grounds.”
The county hired Slone
and Peterson in
February. County
counsel
Doug
Olsen said the
fair
manager
made $5,181 a
month and the
maintenance lead
made
$2,934.
Givens said there
have been no Slone
decisions on who
will manage the 2017 fair
and who will pay for that
work. The city of Hermiston
and Umatilla County are
co-owners of EOTEC.
The fair’s ofice assistant,
Angie McNalley, will keep
her job. Olsen said she is
the lone county employee
working at EOTEC
We will be closed on
Mondays starting
January 2nd 2017.
125 S. Main, Pendleton, OR 97801
(541) 276-9292 • penbkco@eotnet.net
The county planned to
extend its lease for the old
fair site, which the
Hermiston School
District now owns,
to accommodate
a horse sale and
collegiate rodeo.
But Givens said
the school district,
which bought the
property, decided
not to extend the
lease.
Not being able to extend
the lease has some cost
advantages.
“Economically, it makes
more sense for us to put our
efforts into getting the fair
moved,” he said.
Groundbreaking
is
underway on the rodeo
arena, he said, which will be
home to the Farm-City Pro
Rodeo. After that, barns will
be built for the 2017 fair.
The county also is creating
storage facilities at EOTEC
to house fair materials.
The bi-monthly EOTEC
board meeting was resched-
uled from this Friday to
Friday, Oct. 21.
Country music star
Tanya Tucker was forced to
postpone her Saturday, Oct.
15 concert at Wildhorse
Resort & Casino
due to a medical
emergency.
The show is
rescheduled for
Sunday, Jan. 8,
2017. Tickets for
the October show
will be honored
for the January
date.
Juliana
Luke, Wildhorse Tucker
events manager,
said the time of the resched-
uled show and further
details will be announced as
soon as possible.
Tucker has been hospi-
talized with an upper respi-
ratory infection and needs
to focus on her health, Luke
said.
“I cannot apologize
enough to all the fans who
bought tickets and were
looking forward to seeing
us on the road,” Tucker
said. “I just feel terrible, but
I’ll get even worse if I don’t
take care of myself. I love
you all.”
Ticket holders who
plan to attend the January
Mark Your Calendars!
OCTOB
3rd Annual Crab Feed
21
Mission Longhouse
(aka Crab Shack)
October 21st @ 5pm
Tickets are $25 each (All You Can Eat!)
Contact Lisa to Purchase at
541.278.7542
All Profi ts Go Toward
Building of the New
Yellowhawk Tribal
Health Center
Or email lisafusselman@yellowhawk.org
Or via PayPal by visiting
http://yellowhawk.org/crab-feed/
• Salad Bar
• Rolls and Dessert
Proceeds to benefit Pendleton Elks’ Charities
Pendleton Elks Lodge #288 14 SE 3rd, Pendleton
509-948-2163 • 541-276-3882
ER
The 3rd Annual Yellowhawk Crab Feed
will be held at the
October 14th • 5:30 pm
• Homemade
Mac ‘n Cheese
concert date don’t need to
take any action. They can
simply present their ticket,
which was dated for the
Oct. 15 show, at the door of
the rescheduled show.
Those with tickets
who can’t attend the Jan.
8 concert who would like
a refund need to return to
the place of their purchase.
Refunds must be requested
prior to Thursday,
Nov. 10:
•For internet
ticket
orders,
visit www.wild-
horseresort.com
and follow the
directions. Cards
will be credited
the full amount of
purchase — allow
5-10
business
days for the credit to appear
on the account.
•Tickets purchased at the
Wildhorse Gift Shop need
to be returned by the person
who made the purchase.
Tickets will be refunded
by the same payment
method as the original
purchase. Tickets must be
surrendered at the time of
refund.
For those who made
hotel reservations at Wild-
horse for the Oct. 15 show,
reservations can be canceled
by calling 800-654-9453.
For other questions or
concerns, contact events@
wildhorseresort.com.
Submit community information to: community@ea-
storegonian.com or drop off to the attention of Tam-
my 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.
Friday Night D inner
Fried
Chicken
though Mitch Williams,
wildland ire supervisor
in La Grande, cautioned
that conditions can change
quickly. Williams urged
landowners to remain
vigilant, especially when
burning slash piles.
“If we have periods of
warming and drying later
in the fall, it’s essential
for landowners to go out
and check slash piles for
remaining heat that could
cause a problem,” he said.
“It’s not uncommon for us
to be ighting escaped slash
ires in late October and
November.”
Slash burns must be
registered with the local
ODF ofice at least seven
days prior to burning. Land-
owners should also check
with their rural, city or tribal
ire departments for further
burning restrictions.
YELLOWHAWK
TRIBAL HEALTH
CENTER
Entertainment: James Dean Kindle
and the Eastern Oregon Playboys