REGION
Friday, January 20, 2017
The local police drug task
force took down three drug
houses in three cities in three
icy days.
Pendleton police chief
Stuart Roberts said the Blue
Mountain
Enforcement
Narcotics
Team
made
two arrests Tuesday in
Pendleton, then Wednesday
netted 10 arrests at a site in
Milton-Freewater. And on
Thursday morning they were
at a home in Stanfield and
arrested another two.
“It was an extremely slow
roll to Milton-Freewater
yesterday,” Roberts said,
because of the weather. “But
they got the job done.”
Roberts said police at all
three locations served search
warrants and seized drugs,
primarily methamphetamine
but also heroin. The searches
also yielded guns, as well as
a cache of stolen goods in
Milton-Freewater, which the
Umatilla County Sheriff’s
Office is investigating.
The raids in Milton-Free-
water and Stanfield required
the Oregon State Police
SWAT team due to the threat
of certain suspects. Even
so, Roberts said, the team
of police did not beat down
doors, but instead surrounded
homes and called out for
occupants to surrender.
Roberts said the more
cautious approach has gained
traction nationwide. The
tactic reduces danger but
takes longer and comes at a
cost. At the Milton-Freewater
and Stanfield raids he said
suspects tried to destroy
evidence
before
police
entered.
Roberts, who chairs the
drug team’s board of direc-
tors, said the three sites sold
drugs independently of each
other and each had their own
supply source. The investiga-
tions that culminated in this
week’s arrests took three to
six months. He stressed the
SWAT team was essential to
this week’s arrests.
The drug team assesses
threats before a bust, Roberts
explained, and investiga-
tions revealed “some pretty
dangerous
characters.”
Three people at the home in
Milton-Freewater and one
in Stanfield “were self-pro-
fessed gang members,” he
said.
The ice storm that hit the
region Tuesday night was not
enough to call off the raids.
Troopers throughout Oregon
serve on the SWAT team,
so once the drug task force
coordinates with state police
and sets dates, backing out
represents a significant waste
of time and money.
The sheriff’s office online
jail roster shows police
arrested 10 people Wednesday
at 122 S.E. Third Ave.,
Milton-Freewater, including
Salvador Duran Saucedo Jr.,
27, and Terry Diaz, 27, for
possession and delivery of
meth. They and eight others
also face the misdemeanor
charge of frequenting a place
where drugs are used.
Umatilla County Circuit
Court records show Diaz
lives at the 122 S.E. Third
address and has a history
of driving violations going
back to 2008. In 2016 he
faced misdemeanors for
committing harassment and
attempted assault on March 5.
The Umatilla County District
Attorney’s Office dismissed
the case on Jan. 12.
Three witnesses saw Diaz
assaulting the victim on the
side of a road, according to
the state’s motion to dismiss,
but those witnesses now may
not be able to identify the
defendant. And the officer
who responded and arrested
Diaz is facing charges and
cannot be a witness for the
state.
The motion does not iden-
tify the officer, but the state
conceded it cannot prove the
case.
Court records show the
state also dismissed a misde-
meanor fleeing charge in
early 2016 against Saucedo.
The roster also shows the
sheriff’s office arrested one
person at the home — Jaime
Torres, 21, for possession of
burglary tools, a felony. He
also has an ongoing criminal
cases in Umatilla County for
possession of meth.
MILTON-FREEWATER
New police station, Hispanic advisory
committee among city council goals
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Built in 1910, Milton-Free-
water City Hall is not only one
of the centerpieces of the city,
but central to the city govern-
ment’s goals for the future.
In a report to the
Milton-Freewater
City
Council before the members
adopted the goals Jan. 9, city
manager Linda Hall called
the list for 2017-2022 “one of
the longest and most wide-en-
compassing that I have seen in
my career.”
Although the list spans
several different areas, the
future of Milton-Freewater’s
historic city hall took several
bullet points.
The
Milton-Freewater
Police
Department
is
currently housed in the city
hall basement, a fact the city
would like to change.
Hall said in an interview
that the people in charge of
building city hall couldn’t
have anticipated a larger
police force, computers or a
records retention schedule,
meaning the modern police
department
operates
in
cramped environs.
“It’s pretty horrible,” she
said, adding that there’s also a
lack of natural light.
Hall said the council is
interested in building a new,
stand-alone police station on
a city-owned lot west of city
hall.
From the bottom of city
hall to the top, Hall said the
city also wants to explore
restoring city hall’s third
floor, an old auditorium,
and turn it into the council’s
permanent chambers.
The council currently
meets in a room at the
Milton-Freewater
Public
Library.
Accessing
the
third
floor, or any other besides
the ground floor, is also an
issue for city hall. Without
an elevator, the building
doesn’t meet Americans with
Disabilities Act standards.
Hall said installing an
elevator into the building
would set the city back
roughly $500,000.
Besides city hall improve-
ments, other goals include
establishing more funding for
parks and recreation, re-es-
tablishing the city’s urban
renewal district and securing
long-term funding for street
maintenance.
On the latter goal, Hall
said a $3 million state grant
from several years ago
helped the city with some
major street projects, but
there’s still a need for more
road improvements.
Hall
highlighted
Broadway Avenue, a four-
lane road that used to belong
to the state that is now starting
to accrue some wear and tear.
While the feasibility of
some of the goals has yet to
take shape, others are already
showing progress.
The city is interested in
re-starting a schools resource
officer position — Hall said
the position was eliminated
during a round of budget cuts
in mid-1990s — a prospect
the Milton-Freewater Unified
District has already discussed
with the city.
The
council
also
continues to consider starting
a Hispanic advisory council
after
Umatilla
County
Commissioner Bill Elfering
in June approached the city
about starting something
similar to Hermiston’s advi-
sory council.
Hall said Milton-Free-
water has requested the
ordinance that established
the original advisory council
from Hermiston and is
waiting to hear back.
“We’re intrigued by
Hermiston’s services, but
they’re bigger than we are,”
she said.
Because the population
of Hermiston is more
than double than that of
Milton-Freewater (16,745
and 7,050, respectively),
Hall said the council is also
considering appointing a
single liaison rather than an
entire committee.
At 43.1 percent of the
population,
Milton-Free-
water has the highest share of
Latino residents in Umatilla
County.
School board to discuss snow day exemptions
The Oregon State Board
of Education will discuss the
possibility of a temporary
exemption to instructional
time requirements, in light of
the unusual number of snow
days for schools around the
state.
The state sets a minimum
amount of “seat time” for
students in the classroom
each year, but many school
districts have had too many
cancellations due to inclement
weather to meet that require-
ment without adding more
days on to the school year.
Hermiston School District,
for example, did not originally
build any snow days into its
2016-2017 schedule, then
later moved graduation back
a week in order to accom-
modate the five snow days
the district had been forced
to take. The district is now up
to six snow days and two late
starts and has not specified
how or where it will make up
the extra time. The district did
state that the date for gradu-
ation will remain the same.
Pendleton and other Umatilla
County school districts have
had a similar number of snow
days but have held off in
addressing make-up days to
see if the state would allow
any flexibility.
Prior to 2015, schools
were allowed to count up
to 14 hours of time off for
inclement weather toward
their mandatory instructional
time. Under a rule change in
2015, schools were no longer
allowed to count any time off
as instructional hours.
The proposal before
the Oregon State Board of
Education during their Jan.
26 meeting would allow local
school boards to petition the
state’s Deputy Superintendent
to count up to 14 hours of
time off for inclement weather
toward their instructional
hours for 2016-2017. If they
want to count more time than
that, they can submit a request
for a waiver for up to 22 hours
that would be have to be
approved by the State Board
of Education.
The discussion will take
place at the Oregon State
Board of Education’s Jan.
26 meeting from 1-5 p.m., in
the Public Service Building,
Room 251 at 255 Capitol
Street NE Salem. The
board’s deliberations will
also be live-streamed online
at
https://livestream.com/
accounts/4436497/ODEV-
ideo. The agenda estimates
the snow day discussion will
start about 2:15 p.m.
Page 3A
HERMISTON
Drug team makes three
busts in three days
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Vehicles move through a flooded intersection at the corner of Northwest 11th
Street and Orchard Avenue.
Melting snow creates wet mess
East Oregonian
Temperatures in the
mid-30s on Thursday after-
noon in Hermiston helped
melt ice off the roads but
created a slushy mess on
side roads.
The city of Hermiston’s
snow plows were still
encouraged to pile the snow
on lawns, not the road.
Clearing the area around
street drains, which may be
blocked by a pile of snow,
will help flooded intersec-
tions drain faster, meaning
less ice on the roads when
the temperature dips back
below freezing.
out Thursday afternoon
clearing slush off the streets.
The day before, city crews
were out early spreading
gravel at intersections to
help cars get traction on the
ice.
As residents and busi-
nesses clear their sidewalks
and parking spaces they are
BRIEFLY
Humanities
program starts
conversation
The Conversation
Project brings Oregonians
together to discuss
important and challenging
issues and ideas
More than 90 free
programs will take place
in communities around
the state this winter and
spring. Programs presented
in Umatilla County are:
•Good Food, Bad Food:
Agriculture, Ethics, and
Personal Choice by Kristy
Athens. Wednesday, Jan.
25 at 10 a.m. at BMCC,
2411 N.W. Carden Ave.,
Pendleton.
•Life after War:
Photography and Oral
Histories of Coming
Home by Jim Lommasson.
Friday, Feb. 3 at 6:30
p.m. at Frazier Farmstead
Museum, 1403 Chestnut
St., Milton-Freewater.
•Homeless in the Land
of Plenty by Ryan Stroud.
Wednesday, Feb. 8 at
11 a.m. at BMCC, 975
S.E. Columbia Drive,
Hermiston.
Other topics offered
across the state include
immigration, racial
diversity, gender issues,
the purpose of prisons and
refugee communities in
Oregon.
For more information
about presentations, visit
www.oregonhumanities.
org/calendar. For
questions, contact Mikaela
Schey at 503-241-
0543 or m.schey@
oregonhumanities.org.
Ciao! Italy
HERMISTON — A
trip overview for an
Italian adventure will
be presented through
Chamber Explorations.
The once-in-a-lifetime
experience is Oct. 17-26.
Ryan Campbell of
Chamber Explorations will
share about the itinerary,
which includes round-trip
airfare from Portland,
11 meals, wine tasting, a
cooking class and many
sight-seeing highlights.
The informational
meeting is Wednesday,
Jan. 25 at 6 p.m. at
Holiday Inn Express,
245 N. First Place,
Hermiston. For
more information or to
RSVP for the meeting,
contact Debbie Pedro at
541-567-6151 or debbie@
hermistonchamber.com.
Tickets can be purchased
from FFA or booster club
members during basketball
games. The drawing will
be held Saturday, Feb. 11
during the basketball game
against Horizon Christian.
In addition, metal art
trees created in the shop at
Ione Community School
will benefit the Farmers
Ending Hunger project.
They are available for
purchase in the gift shop
at the SAGE Center, 101
Olson Road, Boardman.
For more information,
contact 541-422-7131 or
erin.heideman@ionesd.
org.
Student anthology
seeks submissions
PORTLAND — The
deadline for student art,
photography, poetry
and prose is Jan. 31 for
an anthology created
by a Portland-based
conservation organization.
“Honoring Our Rivers”
seeks submissions from
kindergarten through
college students from
across the state. Items
submitted should reflect
the relationship between
students and Pacific
Northwest rivers and
watersheds, including
weather, land, plants,
animals and habitats that
make up river systems.
A special feature,
Working Rivers — in
honor of the Port
of Portland’s 125th
anniversary and in
celebration of rivers
connecting communities
— focuses on towns,
traditions and economies
(fishing, agriculture)
connected to rivers, iconic
bridges and historical
expeditions. Students are
encouraged to be creative.
For details on the four
ways to submit, visit
www.honoringourrivers.
org. Photographs of art
installations, bulky items
or sculptures also are
accepted.
In addition to the
publication, students artists
and authors are celebrated
during special readings
and gallery exhibits across
the state.
Library seeks
friends members
HERMISTON —
People who enjoy
books and libraries are
encouraged to join the
Friends of the Hermiston
Public Library.
The group meets
quarterly and assists the
library by raising money
through the annual book
sale and periodic basket
raffle baskets. Members
can help decide how
money that is raised is
used.
There are membership
dues, but with that comes
perks — including a
preview and discount for
the book sale. To learn
more, attend the next
meeting Wednesday, Feb.
8 at 6 p.m. at the library,
235 E. Gladys Ave.,
Hermiston.
For more information,
call 541-567-2882.
———
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.
Ione FFA hosts
fundraisers
IONE — An Apple
watch is being raffled off
to benefit the Ione FFA and
the Ione Cardinal Booster
Club
Donated by the Port
of Morrow, tickets are
$5 each or five for $20.
13th Annual
Cattleman’s Workshop
Navigating the Future in the
Cow/Calf Industry
Saturday, January 21st, 2017
Blue Mountain Conference Center • 404 12th Street, La Grande, OR
9:00 - 9:15
Workshop Introductions & Overview
Kevin Ochsner, Host Cattlemen to Cattlemen TV; Kersey, CO
FREE!
No
Pre-Registration
Required.
Lunch Included.
9:15 - 10:00
Cattle Market Challenges and Opportunities in 2017
Dr. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
10:00 - 10:45
Genetic Technologies in the Poultry Industry, The Other Protein
Dr. Mitch Abrahamsen, Senior VP Research & Development;
Cobb-Vantress, Siloam Springs, AR
10:45 - 11:15
Break (provided by sponsors)
11:15 - 12:00
Ethics, Values & Science. Finding the Right Mix For
Building Consumer Trust
Donna Moenning, Center For Food Integrity; Gladstone, MO
12:00 - 1:15
Lunch (provided by sponsors)
1:15 - 2:00
Keys to a Successful Heifer Development Program
Dr. Che Trejo, Zoetis Beef Technical Services Veterinarian; Malad, ID
2:00 - 3:00
Navigation Tools for the Cow/Calf Producer
Kevin Ochsner, Host Cattlemen to Cattlemen TV; Kersey, CO
NOTE: For more information, please contact Kim McKague at
(541) 562-5129 • http://oregonstate.edu/dept/eoarcunion