STANFIELD
HEADED
TO TITLE
GAME
DARRELL POWER
OF ECHO
Enjoy a free double scoop
of Tillamook ice cream at
the SAGE Center
SPORTS/1B
The Stanfi eld
Tigers celebrate
their 32-13 victory
over Kennedy in a
state 2A semifi nals
match Saturday in
Hillsboro. Stanfi eld
will take on Regis in
the championship
game Saturday at
4 p.m. in Hermiston.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2016
141st Year, No. 26
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
ATHENA
Bank of Eastern Oregon to move in
U.S. Bank closed its Athena branch Nov. 4
East Oregonian
U.S. Bank shuttered its branch Nov.
4. The bank had operated continu-
ously in town since 1912.
Members of the community
gathered in August to brainstorm
ways to keep a banking option in
town, whether by appealing to keep
the U.S. Bank branch open or by
The small town of Athena won’t
have to live without a local bank
branch for much longer.
Bank of Eastern Oregon is plan-
ning to open a full-service branch in
early 2017, fi lling a hole left when
courting another lender.
Bank of Eastern Oregon CEO Jeff
Bailey said the amount of recruiting
of his company from the outreach
effort was “considerable” and played
a factor in the decision to open a
branch in Athena.
“We want to do business where
we’re wanted,” he said, adding
that Athena resembles many of the
communities where Bank of Eastern
Oregon has a presence.
Bank of Eastern Oregon is based
in Heppner with branches and loan
offi ces in 18 towns in 13 counties.
It has a loan offi ce in Pendleton, but
this will be its fi rst branch in Umatilla
County.
While moving into the vacated
U.S. Bank building at 310 Main
St. is a possibility, Bailey said bank
offi cials still have to take a look
at the building and meet with the
landlord before determining where
the company will locate.
With the bank subject to a federal
regulatory process to open the new
branch, Bailey expects it to open
sometime during the fi rst quarter of
2017.
New
public
health
director
named
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A century of Pendleton
Elnor Alkio, who turns 100 years old Tuesday, sits in her antique shop, the Collector’s Gallery, on Monday in Pendleton.
Elnor Alkio, collector of town’s
treasures, celebrates 100th birthday
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
The LaDow
block was
started in
1884 and
fi nished in
1890 with
apartments
in the top
fl oors and
shops on
the ground
fl oor. More
photos
inside.
More inside
Elnor Alkio lives a life steeped
in history.
Alkio, who turns 100 Tuesday,
spends her days surrounded by
antiquity. You can fi nd her most
afternoons in her Pendleton shop,
the Collector’s Gallery, which
sells everything from cowboy hats
For more on the LaDow block
see Page 8A
and kitchen supplies to books,
jewelry, lampshades and faux
fruit. The wide-ranging merchan-
Staff photo by
E.J. Harris
See ALKIO/8A
Umatilla
County
has a new public health
director.
James Setzer comes
from Namibia to lead
the Umatilla County
Public Health Depart-
ment. He leaves a job as
senior technical advisor
with the Maternal Child
Survival Program in
Windhoek, Namibia.
The new director has
a background in public
health with qualifi ca-
tions as an epidemiol-
ogist, health planner
and health information
systems. He holds a
masters degree in public
health from Tulane
University and a bache-
lors degree from Haver-
ford College. Setzer was
interviewed remotely
on two occasions and
recently made an on-site
visit to Pendleton for
further consideration of
his candidacy.
George
Murdock,
chair of the Umatilla
County
Board
of
Commissioners
and
interim public health
director, said the inter-
view committee felt
strongly that Setzer’s
qualifi cations
and
experience fi t well with
modernization efforts in
the fi eld of public health.
“With the expansion
of health care coverage
to many more of
our residents,” said
See SETZER/8A
PENDLETON
Main Street spotlights Native
people of past and present
Chief Clarence Burke bronze revealed
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Two distinctly different
statements in support of
American Indian culture
were made in Pendleton over
the weekend.
A few dozen people
marched down Main Street in
protest of the Dakota Access
Pipeline, past the space
where a bronze of former
Round-Up Indian Village
Chief Clarence Burke was
set to be unveiled minutes
later.
For the past several
Saturdays, marchers have
gathered at Brownfi eld Park
around noon, bringing and
sharing signs with messages
that included “Can’t drink
oil, keep it in the soil.”
The march was organized
by sister-in-law pair Katrina
Wiley-Melton and Willa
Wallace, who visited the
Standing Rock camp last
week to share supplies.
More inside
Offi cers douse pipeline
protesters in subfreezing
weather Page 6A
Wiley-Melton,
a
non-tribal member who grew
up on the Umatilla Indian
Reservation, and Wallace,
a member of the Seminole
Nation of Oklahoma who
lives in Pendleton, felt
strongly enough about the
issue to start organizing
See BURKE/8A
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
A statue of Chief Clarence Burke faces Main Street short-
ly after being unveiled Saturday afternoon in Pendleton.