REGION
Friday, January 6, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
Happy Canyon names 2017 princesses 4-year-old
boy dies
Virginia Conner,
Gabriella Lewis to
be introduced Jan. 21
of respiratory failure
pick her up before taking
them both to Good Shep-
HERMISTON — A herd Medical Center.
While another child went
four-year-old
Hermiston
boy died Dec. 29, from into the bowling alley to get
what is believed to be a Hendricks, the boy stopped
breathing. A passerby began
respiratory infection.
Jasper Duree McKenzie CPR on the child and an
ambulance was
had been sick
called, but life-
for a few weeks
saving measures
with a respiratory
failed and the boy
illness but was an
was pronounced
otherwise healthy
dead
at
the
child, according
hospital.
to his aunt Kendra
Hendricks
Aylett.
described Jasper
“It was out of
as a loving, caring
nowhere, all of
and happy child
the sudden,” she McKenzie
with a giving
said Thursday.
spirit.
According to
“He had the best smile
a report from the sheriff’s
office, Jasper was having in the world,” she said in a
trouble breathing at his message relayed by Aylett.
“He loved his mom and
home near Hermiston.
His mother, Krista (three) sisters and grandma,
Hendricks, 28, was working and to help do chores.”
A benefit account has
at Desert Lanes bowling
alley in Hermiston and been set up at Bank of
her boyfriend, Christopher Eastern Oregon for Jasper’s
Mallory, 29, brought the family under the name
boy to the bowling alley to Kendra Aylett.
East Oregonian
East Oregonian
The Happy Canyon Board
of Directors has announced
Virginia Conner, 20, and
Gabriella Lewis, 18, as the
2017 Happy Canyon prin-
cesses.
A public reception will
be held Saturday, Jan. 21 at
the Pendleton Convention
Center to introduce both
princesses, beginning at 10
a.m.
“We are so excited to be
represented by Virginia and
Gabriella in 2017,” said Kipp
Curtis, court chaperone.
“They provide the poise
and confidence that’s so
necessary to promote Happy
Canyon as it begins its next
100 years.”
Conner is the daughter of
Kevin Blueback, of Warm
Springs, and Kristen Conner,
of Pendleton. An enrolled
member of the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation, she graduated
from Pendleton High School
in 2015, where she earned
letters all four years in swim-
ming.
Conner was also active on
the CTUIR Youth Council,
and served as secretary of the
Native American Board of
Representatives from 2012
to 2014. She is the fourth
generation of her family to
participate in Happy Canyon,
having held a number of roles
in the night show. Several of
her relatives have also served
as Pendleton Round-Up and
Happy Canyon royalty.
Conner is currently a
student at Blue Mountain
Photo contributed by Dallas Dick of the Confederated Umatilla Journal
Gabriella Lewis and Virginia Conner are the 2017 Happy Canyon princesses and will
meet the public Jan. 21 at the Pendleton Convention Center.
Community College and
works behind the counter
Dave’s Chevron in Pend-
leton. She plans to transfer
to a four-year college where
she will pursue a bachelor’s
degree in business manage-
ment.
Lewis is the daughter
of Joe and Kathy Lewis, of
Spokane Valley, Washington.
She graduated in 2016 from
University High School in
Spokane, and is now studying
graphic design at Walla Walla
Community College.
Lewis is an enrolled
member of the Nez Perce
Tribe, and her relatives have
camped at the Pendleton
Round-Up since its inception
in 1910. Lewis has camped
at the Round-Up every year
since she was a baby, and was
named best dressed woman
during the Tribal Ceremonial
Dancing Competition in
2015. Like Conner, Lewis
has also held a number of
roles in the Happy Canyon
Night Show.
Once she graduates from
Walla Walla Community
College, Lewis plans to
attend either the University
of Oregon or Boise State
University to earn a bach-
elor’s degree in graphic
design.
STABBING: Multiple controlled substances were involved
Continued from 1A
potential suspect. He was
still detained Thursday
evening, according to police
chief Jason Edmiston, and
was cooperating with the
investigation.
Residents of the trailer
park were being questioned
shortly after the attack
by Hermiston police and
members of the Blue Moun-
tain Enforcement Narcotics
Team, and the owner of the
trailer where the stabbing
was reported was immedi-
ately notified. Because the
trailer park is within three
blocks of Sunset Elementary
School, police notified
Hermiston School District
officials of the incident and
told them there was no direct
threat or link to the school.
Edmiston said that there was
no immediate threat to the
public.
“This investigation is very
active as differing accounts
of what transpired have
been given,” said Edmiston
in a press release Thursday
afternoon. “Detectives have
several additional people
to interview before making
a determination of what
charge(s) may be applicable.”
Edmiston
also
said
that multiple controlled
This week’s cold snap
might make residents cringe
when they get their elec-
tricity bill for the month, but
cranking up the heat isn’t
overloading Umatilla Elec-
tric Cooperative’s system.
Most utilities are at their
peak in the winter, member
services administrator Steve
Meyers said, but Hermiston’s
agricultural roots means that
UEC’s system reaches its
peak loads during irrigation
season in June, July and
August.
Despite an unusually cold
and snowy winter (December
was an average of 5 degrees
colder than usual in Eastern
Oregon),
Meyers
said
so far the system has not
experienced any widespread
outages.
He said one reason for
that is that over the last three
years UEC has worked to
rebuild portions of its Weston
Mountain distribution system
to better withstand snow,
wind and other weather
events.
Drunk drivers
stalled by high-
intensity patrols
PENDLETON — The
Umatilla County Sheriff’s
Office arrested six drunk
drivers and handed out
86 citations and warnings
during a recent high-
intensity enforcement
period.
The sheriff’s office
increased patrols between
Dec. 9, 2016, and Jan. 1,
2017, thanks to a $9,000
grant through the National
Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Oregon
State Sheriff’s Association.
“Our goal was to
increase our presence in
the community, reduce
impaired driving, and
promote safe travel during
the holiday season,” said
Sgt. Josh Roberts.
Sheriff Terry Rowan said
they evaluate the success of
these patrols, which happen
four or five times a year, by
the number of serious or
fatal accidents caused by
intoxicated driving.
The next enforcement
event funded by grant
dollars is scheduled for
Super Bowl Sunday on
February 5.
Man ‘combative’
after accident
Staff photo Jayati Ramakrishnan
HPD officers question residents of the RV park where a reported stabbing took
place Thursday morning.
substances were involved in
the incident.
“I can say with confidence
that user level amounts of
controlled substances were
a contributing factor into the
poor decision-making that
took place today with the
individual involved,” he said.
He also added, in a
statement he admitted was
political, that incidents like
this should lead to reconsid-
eration of the legalization of
controlled substances.
“This is a classic example
of a situation involving
user levels of controlled
substances having impact
on the quality of life of those
Electric Cooperative keeping
the heat on during extreme cold
East Oregonian
BRIEFLY
The Red Cross recom-
mends everyone take steps
to make sure that if there
is a power outage during
extremely cold weather, they
are prepared. Recommenda-
tions include keeping enough
non-perishable food and
water (a gallon per person
per day) for everyone in the
house to survive on for three
days, plus flashlights, extra
batteries, heavy blankets, a
radio and extra cell phone
battery. If the power is out
for long residents should run
water through their pipes to
keep them from freezing.
People should never use
a generator, grill, camp stove
or other device that uses
gasoline, propane, natural gas
or charcoal inside their home,
garage or other enclosed area
where poisonous carbon
monoxide will collect.
people in the immediate area
as well as the individual who
received the stab wounds.”
–——
Contact
Jayati
Ramakrishnan at 541-564-
4534 or jramakrishnan@
eastoregonian.com. Daniel
Wattenburger contributed to
this story.
PENDLETON — A
man was transported
to the hospital after his
vehicle spun off the road
on Highway 37 north
of Pendleton Thursday
afternoon.
Pendleton Fire Chief
Mike Ciraulo said the
man was driving too fast
at a curve, causing his
truck to leave the road
and stop in a field.
Ciraulo said the man
was “a little combative”
when emergency
responders arrived at the
scene, requiring assistance
from the Pendleton Police
Department in transporting
him to St. Anthony Hospital
for further evaluation.
Cold closes portion
of refuge to hunting
With bitter cold weather
causing stress to waterfowl,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service has announced
it will close a portion of
the Whitcomb Unit in the
Umatilla National Wildlife
Refuge to hunting several
weeks early this season.
The closure, which took
effect Thursday, impacts
roughly 2,000 acres of
the Whitcomb Unit in
Washington, though the
rest of the unit and all other
hunting areas in the refuge
remain open.
Lamont Glass, refuge
manager, said that surveys
of waterfowl in the area
show that two-thirds are in
poor condition.
“When it’s this cold,
and with snow covering
other food sources,
waterfowl need additional
resources in order to
survive,” Glass said.
To do this, workers
for the agency will begin
knocking down corn and
other crops in refuge fields
to provide food for ducks
and geese. Without a
hunting closure, this would
create what’s known as
a “baiting” situation. In
Washington, it is illegal to
hunt for waterfowl in areas
where food has purpose-
fully been provided.
A map of the closed
area can be found online
at www.fws.gov/refuge/
umatilla. For more informa-
tion, call 509-546-8333.
FLU SEASON
MASKING
• VISITORS • PATIENTS • VENDORS
CHI St. Anthony Hospital is committed to protecting our
patients from infl uenza (the fl u). This fl u season, we are
asking all visitors who have not received a fl u vaccine this
year to please wear a mask while you are visiting our hospital.
If you would like to receive a fl u shot, they are available to
anyone ages 18 and over free of charge. Please have a staff
member contact the nursing supervisor if you are interested in
this service, if you are under 18 please contact your primary
care provider for fl u vaccine information. In addition, if you
have cough/cold symptoms and need to visit the hospital, we
kindly ask that you wear a mask while you are here. Thank
you for helping us to keep our patients safe!
For More Information
Contact:
EMILY SMITH
MSN, RN, CMSRN
541-278-2627
2801 St. Anthony Way • Pendleton, OR 97801 • www.sahpendleton.org