REGION
Saturday, January 7, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
Police identify victim,
possible suspect in stabbing
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Hermiston police are
having a tough time deter-
mining what happened
Thursday that led to a stab-
bing.
Police
chief
Jason
Edmiston said there have
been no arrests because of
conflicting initial statements
and people not cooperating
with
the
investigation,
including the victim.
“We want to make sure the
threshold is there before we
arrest somebody,” Edmiston
said.
Edmiston
identified
the victim as Troy Curtis
Rutherford, 30, and the
possible suspect as Marcus
Allen Nelson, 32, both of
Hermiston.
Hermiston
police
Thursday morning responded
to reports of a stabbing
at a trailer at Dun Rollin
Trailer Park, 445 E. Jennie
Ave., Hermiston. Officers
found no one involved, then
checked at Good Shepherd
Medical Center, Hermiston,
where Rutherford received
treatment for superficial stab
wounds to the head and back
of his shoulders, according to
statements from Edmiston.
Police also found Nelson
at the hospital and detained
him, but he does not
currently face charges, nor
does anyone else.
Edmiston stated potential
witnesses are not complying
with
the
investigation,
Rutherford has been unco-
operative, and initial state-
ments from Rutherford and
Nelson conflict. Edmiston
also reported police don’t
yet know Rutherford’s
“true intention” of going to
Nelson’s residence.
And while police have
yet to know just what went
down, Edmiston said his
department would hand over
its findings to the Umatilla
County District Attorney’s
Office to consider any
charges.
Rutherford has a misde-
meanor theft case and a
trespassing case pending
in Umatilla County Circuit
Court, according to court
records. And Nelson has
hearings Jan. 17 to change his
pleas in an identity theft and
forgery case and to charges
of methamphetamine posses-
sion and misdemeanor theft.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
HERMISTON
Council to consider Ranch & Home
store replat, renaming Airport Road
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
A final replat for a planned
Ranch & Home store is on
the agenda for Hermiston’s
city council on Monday
night.
George Dress, owner of
Tri-Cities retailer Ranch
& Home, plans to build a
Hermiston location on an
18 acre piece of property
on South Highway 395 near
the Wal-Mart Distribution
Center. The property is
currently made up of three
separate lots; the replat
would reconfigure the lines
between those lots. The
agenda also includes an item
to “consider authorizing
the city manager to sign the
development agreement with
George Dress for develop-
ment of a Ranch & Home
store.”
On Monday the council
will consider a recommen-
dation from city manager
Byron Smith to petition
the county to rename East
Airport Road. The Eastern
Oregon Trade and Event
Center is located on the road,
and Smith said in a memo
to the council that since the
event center opened many
delivery drivers and visitors
have ended up lost on the
neighboring Airport Way.
Renaming East Airport Road
to something less similar
could alleviate some of the
confusion, Smith said. He
did not make a recommenda-
tion for what the new name
might be.
Mayor David Drotzmann,
municipal judge Thomas
Creasing and at-large city
councilors Manuel Guti-
errez, Doug Primmer, John
Kirwan and Rod Hardin
will be sworn in on Monday
night and the council will be
asked to elect a new council
president for the year.
Before the regular 7 p.m.
meeting, the council will
hold a work session at 6 p.m.
with city staff on the subject
of downtown parking.
The meeting will be at
city hall, 180 NE 2nd Street.
The full agenda can be found
online at hermiston.or.us/
citycouncil-meetings.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
MILTON-FREEWATER
City considers solution to trailer park’s water
East Oregonian
Milton-Freewater
city
manager Linda Hall recom-
mended city council consider
a proposal to provide clean
water to Locust Mobile
Village.
The manufactured home
park at 1501 N. Elizabeth
St. is outside the north end
of Milton-Freewater’s city
limit, but inside the urban
growth boundary. The park
has endured water-quality
problems for years, and the
30-or-so residents there have
been living under a warning
from the Oregon Heath
Authority to boil their water
due to contamination.
The state health agency
in December identified a
grant that would cover the
cost of providing clean water
to the park. Hall, in a memo
to the council, reported one
solution would be extending
city water lines to the park at
“absolutely no cost to the city
or its citizens or ratepayers.”
The extension makes the
most sense, she explained,
because the park is near the
city boundary and drilling a
new well would be risky.
The
Oregon
Water
Resources
Department
declared Milton-Freewater a
“special water management
area” due to its declining
aquifer, according to Hall.
New well permits, she
stated, “are very likely to be
prohibited in the very near
future.” And if the city ever
annexed the property, she
said “it would be awkward”
to have a private well inside
city limits.
The
council
meets
Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the
Albee Room at the city
library, 8 S.W. Eighth Ave.,
Milton-Freewater.
The
council also will consider
updating the city code.
Ten escape fire uninjured
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Ten people escaped a burning home in Hermiston Thursday night, but no one
was injured.
Umatilla County Fire District 1 responded with multiple fire engines to
reports of a fully-engulfed house on East Cherry Avenue about 10 p.m.
Chief Scott Stanton said to the district’s “best count” there were 10 people
in the home when the fire started, and the district ended up paying to house
seven of them in a hotel for the night.
The fire is believed have been caused by an electric heating source.
BRIEFLY
Frozen switch
stalls Union
Pacific train
PENDLETON — A
frozen switch was to blame
for a Union Pacific train
that stalled Friday morning
in northwest Pendleton,
blocking at least one
crossing at Murietta and
McKennon roads for hours.
Justin Jacobs, UP
spokesman, said the
stoppage was first reported
at 5:30 a.m. as overnight
temperatures dropped as
low as zero degrees. The
train was finally moved by
early afternoon.
The weather in
Pendleton is expected to
warm over the weekend
into the low to mid-30s,
though snow and freezing
rain are in the forecast.
The Oregon Century
Farm & Ranch Program is
now accepting applications
for 2017 to honor farms and
ranches in continuous family
operation for 100 years.
To date, 1,175 families
have formally received the
century farm or ranch desig-
nation, while 33 others have
received the sesquicentennial
award, marking 150 years.
There are 74 century or
sesquicentennial farms and
ranches in Umatilla County,
and 27 in Morrow County.
Century farms or ranches
must be in continuous family
operation to qualify for the
program, and generate a
gross annual income of at
least $1,000 for at least three
out of the past five years
prior to application. Family
members must also live on or
actively manage the land to
this day.
A committee reviews
documentation
provided
with each application, which
may include photos, original
deeds or other historic
records. All documents are
archived for public access,
providing a glimpse of
Oregon’s agricultural history
and settlement patterns.
Successful applicants will
receive a personalized certif-
icate with acknowledgment
from the governor and state
Department of Agriculture,
as well as a metal roadside
sign. Each family will be
honored during a special
ceremony and reception at
the Oregon State Fair on
Aug. 26. The deadline to
apply is May 1.
The Oregon Century
Farm & Ranch Program was
established in 1958, and is
administered by the Oregon
Farm Bureau Foundation
for Education. For more
information, contact Andréa
Kuenzi, program coordi-
nator, at 503-400-7884 or
cfr@oregonfb.org.
www.oregonohv.org.
For more information,
contact Jeff Trejo at jeff.
trejo@oregon.gov or
503-986-0585.
Boom rattles
Volunteers needed windows around
for ATV advisory Hermiston
HERMISTON — A
committee
mysterious boom rattled
Volunteers are needed
to fill four vacant positions
on the Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department’s
All-Terrain Vehicle
Advisory Committee.
The committee,
established in 2010, meets
two to four times per year
at locations throughout the
state. Members are tasked
with making recommenda-
tions to Oregon State Parks
on ATV classifications,
safety requirements and
funding for grant projects.
Representatives are
needed for the Americans
with Disabilities Act,
Oregon Vehicle Dealer
Association, rural fire
protection district and
emergency medical services
provider. Application forms
can be found online at
windows, and a few nerves,
around Hermiston Friday
afternoon.
Residents in various
part of the city, and in
surrounding areas, reported
hearing a booming sound
that shook windows and
homes about 2:45 p.m.
The noise resulted
in several calls to
law enforcement and
widespread speculation on
at least one social media
group forum on Facebook.
LOCAL
Hermiston police
chief
Jason Edmiston said his
department received calls
about the sound and he
also heard whatever it was
himself.
“I was in a closed-door
meeting in my office and
it rattled my windows,”
Edmiston said.
Edmiston, one of his
captains and other officers
drove around the city to
investigate, but nothing was
found to explain the noise.
“It would not surprise
me if it turned out to
be something at a high
altitude,” he said, like a
meteor or a sonic boom
from an aircraft.
As of early Tuesday
evening there was no
confirmation of what
caused the sound, which
some people described
as sounding like an
earthquake.
The U.S. Geological
Survey has not recorded
any earthquakes in either
Oregon or Washington state
over the last 24 hours.
ENROLLING NOW
LOCAL RESIDENTIAL | COMMERCIAL | INDUSTRIAL
ENROLLING NOW
FOR SPRING 2017
Sunthurst Energy, LLC
Applications being accepted for
century farm & ranch program
East Oregonian
Staff photo by George Plaven
A frozen switch was blamed for stalling a Union
Pacific train in northwest Pendleton Friday morning.
Turning Sunlight to Savings
Wednesdays,
Your
Trusted
Consultant
Jan. 11 (show Jan. 14) &
Jan. 18 (show Jan. 21)
& EPC
PARTNER
LAST CHANCE TO BUY DINNER & SHOW TICKETS!
$38 each
"Show only" tickets will be
sold at the door - $15 each.
(310) 975-4732
sunthurstenergy.com
All tickets sold only at
Cottage Flowers
in Hermiston
OR CCB 201975
Information: 541.701.7014
Saagei’s Shoe Shop
Winter Clearance Sale
Staits Monday, Decembei 26 th !
3 33333 3 3 33 3 3 3333
Savings up to
50% off
Men and
Womens shoes
Presented
P
Pre
Pr
res
re ese
sent
ente
nte
ted
ed By y:
y:
Hermiston H.S.
S. .
ow Starts @ 7:00 P.
P.M.
.M.
H E R M I S T O N
Tickets:
$20- Adults & $10 Students +
$5 if bought at the door
Tickets outlets: Hermiston Chamber & www.desertartscouncil.com
Taos
Jafa
50%-70 off
Fidji
Womens
Altia
Apparel
Hoka One One
SAS San Antonio
Shoemakeis
Biooks
Dansko
Teva
Pikolino
Aicopedico
El Natuialista
Wintei/Fall collections
Bussola
including sweateis, blouses,
Boin
tunics, diesses and jackets
Eiic Michael
Tamaiis
Ahnu
Eaith
Eaithie
Meiiell
Keen
50% off Smaitwool
Monday - Sat :8 am - 6 pm
Socks
541-938-5162
www.saageishoeshop.com
613 N. Main Stieet, Milton Fieewatei, OR
Sunday :12 pm - 4pm.
