REGION
Friday, November 11, 2016
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
Page 3A
ECHO
Photo courtesy Oregon State Police
This photo, taken in 2014 from a neighbor’s trail cam,
shows the trophy mule deer poached by Pendleton
resident Todd Longgood later that year. Longgood
pleaded guilty in the case last week in Baker County.
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Echo School students form an American flag during their Veterans Day parade through Echo on Thursday.
Students honor veterans with parade
Outfitter pleads
guilty to poaching
trophy mule deer
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Pendleton resident
resigns from
national Mule
Deer Foundation
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
A local hunter, outfitter
and former board member
for the Mule Deer Founda-
tion admitted Tuesday to
poaching a trophy mule deer
buck two years ago.
Todd Longgood, 40,
pleaded guilty to one count
of unlawful taking of a
game mammal in Baker
County Circuit Court. He
was sentenced to three years
probation, a $1,000 fine and
ordered to pay $7,500 resti-
tution to the Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish & Wildlife.
Longgood’s hunting license
has also been suspended for
three years.
The case stems back to
the 2014 archery season.
Longgood, who was hunting
on private property near
Daly Creek in Baker County,
legally harvested a trophy
mule deer. He then shot
another, larger buck the next
day, according to senior
trooper Dain Gardner with
the Oregon State Police Fish
and Wildlife Division.
Gardner, who led the
investigation, said that Long-
good preserved the second
animal for a full year until he
could apply his 2015 archery
season tag. The poached
buck reportedly registered
212 inches on the Pope &
Young scoring system, which
measures both the length and
spread of the antlers.
“It was a magnificent
buck,” Gardner said.
It wasn’t until Aug. 9,
2016 that Gardner was able
to issue search warrants in
Baker, Umatilla and Morrow
counties — just a week or
two before the statute of
limitations was set to expire.
“On a lot of these cases,
we just wait for information
to come in,” Gardner said.
“That’s all you can do.”
After
serving
the
warrants, game officers were
able to find photographs
indicating the deer was
killed in 2014. Longgood,
who lives in Pendleton and
co-owns Sheep Mountain
Outfitters in Hermiston, was
indicted Aug. 11. Gardner
said there is no evidence the
poaching took place on a
guided trip.
Longgood could not
be reached for comment
Thursday. He was required
by the court to forfeit the
head and antlers from the
deer, though the head may
be returned.
Baker County District
Attorney Matthew Shirt-
cliff issued a statement
commending Gardner for his
work on the investigation.
“This is an important
case, as these cases can be
difficult to prove when the
game crime is committed on
private property,” Shirtcliff
said. “Concerned citizens are
always important in bringing
incidents like this to light,
and were beneficial in this
case as well.”
Longgood works as a
broker for Whitney Land
Company in Pendleton, and
is a longtime rancher in the
region. He has also served
since 2015 on the board of
directors for the Mule Deer
Foundation, a conservation
group with more than 40,000
members nationwide.
Mike Moretti, president
and CEO of the foundation,
said Longgood officially
resigned Thursday and
relinquished his lifetime
membership. His name and
photo were removed from
the Mule Deer Foundation
website that afternoon.
Moretti said the founda-
tion subscribes to the ethics
of fair chase, and is a huge
supporter of anti-poaching
legislation.
“We hate to see this with
one of our board members,”
he said. “It’s something we
don’t tolerate. We hold all
our members to a higher
standard.”
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
BRIEFLY
Author plans
book signing
PENDLETON — Author
Allen Hanson, a former
Pendleton resident, will sign
copies of his book “Uncle
Allen’s Tales” Saturday from
noon to 3:30 p.m. at Great
Pacific Wine & Coffee Co.,
403 S. Main St. Copies of
the book will be available
for purchase.
“Uncle Allen’s Tales,” a
book of Aesop-esque fables,
is geared toward ages 2-12
but can be enjoyed by all
ages.
For more information,
contact Hanson at
allenohanson@gmail.com.
Department will serve as
waiters Saturday from 5-9
p.m. at the restaurant, 8 S.E.
Court Ave, Pendleton. All
tips will be donated to help
fight cancer.
For more information,
call 541-278-1100 or visit
www.facebook.com.
———
Submit information to:
community@eastoregonian.
com.
With chants of “USA!
USA!” the students of Echo
School showed their appre-
ciation for military veterans
Thursday with a parade
through town.
Kindergarteners
were
dressed in camouflage,
holding signs up thanking
those who served in the U.S.
Army. Other classes honored
the other branches of the
military, or held signs paying
tribute to specific veterans.
During an assembly
held later in the afternoon,
students shared songs and
poems to thank veterans from
the community who were
in attendance. Each fourth
and fifth grader also shared
information about two or
three veterans with ties to the
community.
“Above all, we want to
honor our veterans,” junior
high teacher Brandi Russell
told the audience. “But just
you being here also allows
these young men and women
to see what honor and courage
is, and that somebody stood
up for what was right.”
The assembly’s keynote
speaker was Lee Sweet, a
former sergeant with the 1186
MP Co. Oregon National
Guard. He served from
2005 to 2013, deploying to
Afghanistan in 2011. Sweet
told the students that his time
in the National Guard helped
him learn teamwork and
serve with people from all
over the world.
“I made many new
friendships with people I
still keep in contact with
today,” he said.
He said through the
training he received and
the various positions of
leadership he held during his
time in the National Guard he
also found the confidence to
do things he never thought he
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Echo School students honor Coast Guard veterans during a Veterans Day parade
through Echo on Thursday.
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
An Echo School student
holds a sign thanking
veterans during a Veter-
ans Day parade through
Echo on Thursday.
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Echo School high school students lead a Veterans
Day parade through Echo on Thursday.
many moments in
his children’s lives
that he will never
For video of the parade
visit eastoregonian.com get back.
“The best feeling
in the world, after
could do.
being
deployed
Sweet told the students and away from family is
that his service did not come coming home — when I got
without a price, however. home and off the plane and
While deployed he missed my family and friends were
More online
waiting,” he said.
Sweet said he was honored
to be called a veteran, and
humbled by the support the
Echo School students and
others had shown to him for
carrying that title.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
BOUTIQUE: Average ticket price is higher than SeaPort
Continued from 1A
new partner, I’m anticipating
a sharp rise in enplanements
and I don’t think we will need
to deal with this issue again.”
Chrisman didn’t respond
to a subsequent request for
comment.
The development puts
an end to Pendleton’s five-
month battle to hold onto its
Essential Air Service subsidy,
which the DOT planned
to strip from Pendleton
because it failed to meet
the boarding threshold
required for the $1.8
million subsidy.
The city originally
argued that its airport
shouldn’t be subject to
that requirement. When
that proved unsuccessful,
it attributed the decline in
passengers to SeaPort’s
problems.
Pendleton’s case was
aided by SeaPort declaring
bankruptcy in February and
liquidating the company
in September after the city
chose the upstart Boutique
over SeaPort during the
bidding process.
Boutique’s $99 average
ticket price is significantly
higher than SeaPort, but
the San Francisco company
plans to make up for the cost-
lier ride with better planes
and reliability.
Meanwhile, both the city
and Boutique are starting to
make arrangements for the
latter’s impending arrival.
At a Pendleton City
Council meeting Tuesday, the
council will consider leasing
the airport’s service counter
and a pilot house to Boutique
through the duration of the
EAS contract, which runs
through 2018.
Sergeant
Corporal
Elton Fraser
James “Jim” E. Fraser
Army - WWII &
Korean War Veteran
Army
Korean War Veteran
“Our Hero”
Love,
your family
Clyde Nobles Jr.,
Air Force A 1/C
Veteran
Saluting our Veterans
Cops for a Cause
combats cancer
PENDLETON — The
public is invited to enjoy a
nice meal and support the
American Cancer Society at
the same time.
Hamley Steakhouse
& Saloon is hosting Cops
for a Cause. Officers
from the Pendleton Police
Electricians Mate
2nd Class
Larry Burd
Navy Veteran
Specialist
Greg Dennis
National Guard
Currently Serving
Petty Officer
2nd Class
Austin Dennis
Navy - Veteran