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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2016)
REGION Thursday, October 20, 2016 East Oregonian Page 3A High-speed chase Center to help children deal with grief “It’s all about the kids. We want to through Pendleton give them the self esteem, give them the coping skills to live their life.” ends with arrest By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Oregon State Police forced a leeing driver to a stop Tuesday night, ending a high-speed chase that began on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Umatilla Tribal Police initiated a high risk stop on a car at 7:42 p.m. Tuesday on Mission Road near Short Mile Road, according White to a written state- ment from Chuck Sams, spokesman for the Confed- erated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The white Ford Focus matched the description of a vehicle stolen out of Washington state. The Ford stopped, according to Sams, then sped off and tribal police pursued. The chase left the reser- vation on Mission Road and entered Pendleton via East- gate Drive. Cop cars followed as the Ford zoomed through downtown and neighborhood streets on the lower parts of the city’s North Hill. Police radio communications stated the car was going about 80 mph. Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts reported his oficers were not involved in the chase through town. The Ford left the city at exit 209 and headed east on Interstate 84, according to state police, and Sams described the speeds as “exces- sive.” The Ford’s run came to an end near milepost 224, where state police reported troopers used a “tactical vehicle interven- tion technique” to force the car to a stop. There, tribal police arrested Lionel Elias White, 29, of Yakima, and booked him into the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton, for unautho- rized use of a vehicle, felony attempt to elude reckless driving, and for driving without a license. Sams reported White is enrolled as a member of the Yakama Nation. Natasha M. Jackson, 23, a member of the Yakama Nation, and Brittany M. Wesley, 28, of Pendleton were in the Ford as well, according to Sams and state police, but oficers let them go. BRIEFLY Police called for threatening grafiti in bathroom at Sunridge PENDLETON — Police were called to Sunridge Middle School Wednesday morning for the second day in a row after a student found threatening grafiti in a girls’ bathroom stall. Principal Dave Williams called Pendleton police, which responded with four oficers and Police Chief Stuart Roberts, according to an automated call sent out by Williams. Police investigated the grafiti and area around the school, but weren’t able to ind a culprit, according to Superintendent Andy Kovach. Police maintained a presence at the school all day, but Kovach said classes went on as usual. On Tuesday morning the school was evacuated for a ire in a boys’ bathroom and police investigated the case as an arson. EOTEC board to OK barn contract HERMISTON — The Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center board is set to approve a contract for the barn buildings that will host future Umatilla County fairs. The board meets Friday at 7 a.m. at the EOTEC event center building, 1705 E Airport Road in Hermiston. Knerr Construction and Frew Development Group are working as general contractors on the EOTEC project, but they put manufacture of the metal barn structures out to bid. Awarding that bid is on the agenda for Friday’s meeting. On Friday the board also plans to hear construction updates, consider making changes to employee retirement plan options, and consider waiving two requirements in the contract with Hendon Construction to build the rodeo arena. According to a memo in the agenda packet, legal counsel recommended waiving the requirements because they were “standard provisions” for residential or design-build projects but were not needed for construction of an arena. St. Anthony Hospital schedules drive-through lu shot clinic PENDLETON — St. Anthony Hospital will hold a drive-through lu shot clinic from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, in the hospital parking lot. The shots are free. At an earlier drive-in lu shot clinic on Oct. 3-4 at the Pendleton Convention Center, hospital medical staff gave 1,200 doses of the vaccine. St. Anthony spokesman Larry Blanc said the hospital received calls from multiple people who had missed the irst clinic, so a second one was scheduled to run until the several hundred remaining doses are gone. Potato Show includes book sale WESTON — The Friends of Weston Library annual book sale will be held in conjunction with the Umatilla County Potato Show. Books and other media can be purchased in the downstairs club room Friday from 4-7 p.m. at Memorial Hall, 210 E. Main St., Weston. In addition, the sale continues Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular prices are $1 for hardback books and 50 cents for paperbacks. The last hour of the event provides bargains with a bag sale — $1 buys everything that its into a bag. Money from the sale supports library programs and projects. For more information, call Kathleen Schmidtgall at 541-566-2378. The Potato Show runs Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Memorial Hall. There is no admission fee. It features food, crafts, youth and adult exhibits, a quilt show and rafles. In addition, a lunch featuring potatoes will be available for purchase. Started in 1921, the Potato Show was established by area potato growers to show off the variety of crops in the region. Over the years, it has expanded into an opportunity to showcase the talents of area residents. For more information, visit www.westonoregon.com. Grief is never easy to talk about, but having the conversation with someone who understands can help. Two families hope to provide that opportunity for children in Umatilla County by opening the Center for Loss and Grief of Eastern Oregon. The center — which they hope to have operational by the fall of 2017 — would provide support groups and healing activities for children ages 5 to 12 who have lost a parent, caregiver, sibling or close friend. Matt Terjeson and Jan Peterson-Terjeson of Pend- leton lost their son Carson nine years ago at the age of 16. They were living in Beaverton at the time, but he was working for extended family on a farm outside of Helix for the summer when the brakes went out on the wheat truck he was driving. Carson’s death was devastating for them, but also for their daughter Lydia, who was 12 at the time. They began taking her to support — Matt Terjeson, of Pendleton groups at the Dougy Center in Portland, which serves grieving children. There she could paint, make music, hit things with foam noodles, or just talk with other children her age who had also lost an immediate family member. “As our daughter said, ‘You don’t have to say everything, because they’ve already been through it,’” Matt Terjeson said. The Terjesons credit the Dougy Center with helping their daughter becoming the thriving college student she is today, and as a result when they moved to Pendleton they decided they want to start something similar in Umatilla County. They teamed up with Jon and Melissa Nitz and a few volunteers to begin creating a business plan and bylaws to start the Center for Loss and Grief of Eastern Oregon. The planning group meets the irst Thursday of each month, rotating their meetings between Pendleton and Hermiston as they look for a suitable building for the center. Terjeson said they hope to eventually have a music room, art room and other spaces similar to the Dougy Center, but their irst order of business will probably be to start a support group for teens. “We don’t know how much we will have to start with, but we’re going to try to add as much as we can,” he said. According to a brochure the group has put together, the center will strive to provide a safe place for children to explore their grief, help them adjust to their family’s “new normal,” nurture resiliency through coping strategies and keep families from becoming isolated during bereavement. “It’s all about the kids,” Terjeson said. “We want to give them the self esteem, give them the coping skills to live their life.” He said at the Dougy Center parents spent time together to a separate room while the children played, and often connected with each other over sharing tips for helping their children through the grieving process. Jan Peterson-Terjeson said that they plan to look for a licensed social worker to oversee the center, but they will also depend heavily on volunteers to help run activ- ities, fundraise, maintain the building, answer phones and other tasks. “It’s going to take a community to uplift our families,” she said. For more information, or to get involved with the planning of the Center for Loss and Grief of Eastern Oregon, contact Matt Terjeson at 503-720-1620 or matt.loss12@gmail.com. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. Winter apparel giveaways planned for region Events include Christmas assistance registration By TAMMY MALGESINI East Oregonian As the temperature begins to dip, a couple of area agencies will distribute winter coats and apparel for those in need. In addition, sign-ups for Christmas assistance will take place during the events. Coats for Kids — which offers warm weather apparel for people of all ages — is planned Saturday and Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Salvation Army, 150 S.E. Emigrant Ave., Pendleton. Jackets will be avail- able for children, youths and adults. Also, other winter accessories may be on hand. A Winter Coat Sharing Day is set for Saturday, Oct. 29 and Tuesday, Nov. 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Agape House, 500 Harper Road, Hermiston. Items are limited to one coat for each family member, while supplies last. In addition, other winter apparel items may be available. Registration for Christmas baskets will be taken at both sites during the giveaway events. Low-income single parents or couples with children are eligible to receive Christmas assistance, which include food and gifts during the holiday season. To register for the Christmas assis- tance program, people need to bring proof of income (pay stubs, Oregon File photo Sylvia Scruggs, of The Salvation Army Pendleton Corps, and her son, Tyler Scruggs, organize gifts during a past Angel Trees project, which provides gifts for those in need during the holiday season. Sign-ups for Christmas assistance and winter apparel giveaways are planned Oct. 22 and 24 in Pendleton and Oct. 29 and Nov. 1 in Hermiston. Employment Department documents or 2015 tax information). In addition, identiication must be presented for each family member. For children, school records, immunization records or a document that identiies the house- hold makeup are acceptable — this could include letters from the Depart- ment of Human Services or the Social Security Administration. Winter apparel is still being accepted for the distribution events. The items should be new or gently used. They can be dropped off at The Salvation Army or Agape House. For more information, call The Salvation Army at 541-276-3369 or Agape House at 541-567-8774 HERMISTON High school test day includes free SAT for seniors By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Hermiston High School saved its seniors $58 and a Saturday spent illing in test bubbles by offering students the SAT for free on Wednesday. The school held Test Day for its students in grades 10-12 on Wednesday while freshmen went over infor- mation about the school’s programs of study. Seniors were given the opportunity to take the SAT, which is required for most college applications, free of charge. In years past they have had to register about a month in advance and pay an application fee before traveling to an SAT test site on a Saturday to take the test. According to informa- tion provided by Hermiston School District commu- nications oficer Maria In this Jan. 17 ile photo, a student looks at questions during a college test preparation class. Duron, this year the high school decided to pay for SATs to be administered to all seniors. The district received a discount from the normal $58 to a reduced rate of $37 per student. She said in addition to saving the students money and helping make sure they didn’t miss registration deadlines, offering the test on a school day means students don’t have to get someone to take them to the test site — sometimes in another city — on a weekend. “It saves (parents) a lot of time, I can tell you that,” she said. On Wednesday juniors were taken to the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center building to take the ASVAB, which stands for Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. The 10-section test, proctored by the military, covers subjects ranging from math to auto- mobile mechanics. It shows students their vocational strengths and is required if they choose a career in the military. The ASVAB was free to juniors, but if they didn’t want to take it they could instead pay $15 to take the PSAT (the P stands for “preliminary”). Sophomores on Wednesday also took the PSAT, offered to them for free as a practice for taking the SATs later in their high school career. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. 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. BMCC DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC AND FOUNDATION PRESENT: Workshop highlights disaster response HEPPNER — Judith Warren, the Episcopal Diocesan disaster planning coordinator, will present a Disaster Preparedness Workshop in Heppner. Sponsored by the Shared Ministry of All Saints Episcopal and Hope Lutheran Churches, the free event is Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at All Saints Episcopal Church, 460 N. Gale St., Heppner. A light lunch will be provided. For more information, call 541-676-9970. ——— Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports, and press releases. Email press releases to news@eastoregonian.com FEATURING THE MUSIC OF ROGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN OCT. 19 • 22, 7:15 PM & OCT. 23, 2:00 PM TICKETS: $10 • $5, @ BOB CLAPP THEATRE Tickets available at: Pendleton Art and Frame and at the door. For info: 541-278-5174 BLUE MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE IS AN EQUAL OPPOR- TUNITY EDUCATOR AND EMPLOYER. FOR COMPLETE EEO DISCLOSURE, PLEASE SEE WWW.BLUECC.EDU/EEO A BENEFIT FOR STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS!
