Page 14A
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Saturday, January 21, 2017
REACTION: ‘I think everybody just
needs to settle down and see what he does’
Continued from 1A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Jim Cheney, owner of the Hill Meat Company, speaks after his business was named
the business of the year at the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce’s First Citizens
Banquet on Friday at Wildhorse Resort & Casino in Mission.
PENDLETON: U.S. Bank manager
Katie Nooy named boss of the year
Continued from 1A
Wilkins was a member of
a 1986 task force that evalu-
ated and made recommenda-
tions on Pendleton women’s
sports as the district faced a
potential Title IX lawsuit.
When the Pendleton
School Board considered
cutting 16 sports, she helped
found the Buck Boosters to
provide the needed funding.
When
she
wasn’t
involved
in
athletics,
Wilkins has also volunteered
at West Hills Intermediate
School, the Helping Hand
food pantry and the First
Presbyterian Church.
“It’s kind of tiring to
think I did all that,” she
quipped as she accepted her
award.
Wilkins credited her
passion for volunteering to
her father and mother, who
is turning 100 this year,
suggesting Wilkins has
more years of philanthropy
ahead of her.
Fouquette also made a
name for himself in athletics.
For 35 years, Fouquette
was the man who supplied
sporting goods to Pendle-
ton’s youth as the titular
owner of Dean’s Pendleton
Athletic.
When he wasn’t selling
kids gear he was coaching
them in it, having served
as a basketball coach at
Blue Mountain Community
College, Echo High School
, Helix High School and at
the AAU level.
Fouquette
has
also
founded or co-founded
the Pendleton Outlaws,
a baseball team for men
40-plus, the Linebacker’s
Club, a organization that
raises funds for athletics and
scholarships, and the Clash
at the Border AAU Basket-
ball Tournament.
Among his non-athletic
contributions,
Fouquette
co-chaired the political
action
committee
that
helped pass a $55 million
bond in 2013.
Fouquette said Pend-
leton had a long history of
“I think that speaks to the quality of this
community. We have so many people
doing so many good things.”
— Dean Fouquette, Pendleton man of the year,
on the city’s long history of supporting its youth
supporting its youth.
“I think that speaks to the
quality of this community,”
he said. “We have so many
people doing so many good
things.”
Besides man and woman
of the year, the chamber
handed out five other awards
to Pendleton individuals and
businesses.
• After 70 years of
making it, Hill Meat Co. is
finally bringing home the
bacon.
Hill Meat claimed the
business of the year award,
which was due in part to
the company’s numerous
community sponsorships,
including the Round-Up,
Relay for Life and Special
Olympics.
Hill Meat also recently
expanded and added 20
workers, meaning it now
employs more than 90
people.
Hill Meat owner Jim
Cheney said that the
company went from a
regional meat supplier when
he started in 1992 to now
stocking meat in markets
across the western United
States.
• The President’s Award
was bestowed on the notably
giddy members of Altrusa
International of Pendleton,
who could be heard cheering
in the hallway as they left
the event room.
Chamber immediate past
president Arne Swanson
said Altrusa was the differ-
ence between Pendleton
“surviving and thriving.”
•
Mark
Mulvihill’s
two-year reign as boss of the
year is over.
The
InterMountain
Education Service District
superintendent won the
award in 2014, but since no
one was nominated in 2015,
Mulvihill hung onto the title
until Kathie Nooy of U.S.
Bank took home this year’s
prize.
U.S. Bank’s Pendleton
branch manager, Nooy’s
employees
highlighted
her
inclusiveness
and
motivational skills, her
sympathy when employees
experience familial issues
and the Christmas breakfast
she personally organizes for
workers each year.
• Nothing helps a dental
professional better than a
nice smile.
As the office manager
and receptionist at Main
Street Dental Care, bosses
and clients alike said Lori
Sutphin’s positivity and
enthusiasm made her worthy
of employee of the year.
“I love the people I work
with and the people I work
for — the patients,” she said.
•Although he doesn’t
serve customers or clients,
Dr. John McBee’s dedica-
tion to his patients secured
him the customer service of
the year award.
Since he starting prac-
ticing surgery in 1994,
McBee has been known to
strap on ice cleats to meet
with patients when condi-
tions weren’t safe enough to
drive and open his practice
up to high school students
interested in job shadowing.
• For its role in enriching
the “Pendleton experience,”
the Pendleton Center for
the Arts was awarded the
excellence in tourism award.
Harriet Isom, a member
of the art center’s council,
said the award was dedi-
cated to executive director
Roberta Lavadour, who was
in Portland on Oregon Arts
Commission business.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
WILDLIFE: 6,748 roadkill reports in 2015
Continued from 1A
By using dogs to increase the
success rate of cougar hunts,
he said it could help increase
ungulate populations.
“I think it would be a good
idea,” Becktold said.
Hansell said cougars may
also pose a public safety
threat when they get pushed
out of their usual territory
and closer to communities.
“They just don’t interface
well with human popula-
tions, and can be dangerous,”
Hansell said.
Another of Hansell and
Barreto’s proposals, Senate
Bill 372, directs the Oregon
Fish and Wildlife Commis-
sion to create a permit
system for salvaging roadkill
deer and elk. Similar laws
are already on the books in
nearly 20 states, including
Washington, Idaho and
Montana.
“You always see carcasses
laying across the side of the
road, left to decay,” Hansell
said. “I thought this might
be a productive use of an
unfortunate situation.”
The Oregon Department
of Transportation logged
6,748 roadkill reports in
2015, of which 1,539 came
out of Eastern Oregon. The
vast majority of animals hit
were deer, amounting to
5,832. The total number of
elk hit and killed was 229.
ODOT currently handles
the carcasses in a number
of different ways, such as
natural disposal, incineration,
composting or, in rare cases,
burying. SB 372, on the other
hand, would issue permits
allowing people to recover
the meat. Antlers would be
submitted to ODFW.
“Other states have done
this, and done it success-
fully,” Hansell said.
Finally, Hansell and
Barreto are both signed on to
Senate Bill 373, which would
give cities the ability to peti-
tion ODFW to control urban
deer populations within city
limits.
“It’s a pretty basic bill,”
Barreto said. “All it does is
give local control to take care
of this problem.”
Michelle
Dennehy,
ODFW spokeswoman, said
urban deer are definitely
a problem in some places
across the state. As deer
become
habituated
to
humans, Dennehy said
they may begin to act more
aggressively. Too many deer
in cities can also mean more
collisions with vehicles, she
said.
Hansell said the idea for
SB 372 started with Dennis
Sands, the mayor of Joseph.
But after a backlash from
concerned residents, Sands
told the Wallowa County
Chieftain in December that
the bill had “less than a zero
(percent) chance of passing
the legislature.”
Still, Hansell said they
are moving forward with the
proposal. He said the bill has
received positive feedback
from both ODFW and the
League of Oregon Cities.
“(Deer) should be out
in the woods, not living in
cities,” Hansell said.
Hansell said cities could
pass an ordinance under the
bill declaring urban deer are
of nuisance,
Hermiston
causing oyota
a public
and petitioning ODFW
to euthanize the animals
humanely. The meat would
be distributed to the Oregon
Food Bank, and cities would
collect the antlers and hides.
“It is not an open season,”
Hansell said. “Hunters are
not going to be marching
down the streets.”
All three bills are sitting
in the Senate Committee on
Environment and Natural
Resources for review.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
Moore’s first choice from
the Republican field of
candidates, he said the man
is now his president and it
will do the country good to
accept that. Those who are
unwilling to work with the
new administration are just
as much of the problem, he
said.
He also said he was
pleased with the president’s
Cabinet picks and is looking
forward to seeing what the
Republican-led Congress
and White House will do
in the next four years to
lead the country in a new
direction.
———
Chuck Becktold, chapter
president for the Oregon
Hunters Association, said
he wasn’t sure how Presi-
dent Trump would impact
hunters moving forward.
Speaking personally, Beck-
told said he felt people were
overreacting to Trump’s
rise to the Oval Office.
“I think everybody just
needs to settle down and
see what he does,” Becktold
said. “We just have to back
him, unless he turns out to
be a Nixon, and then we can
get rid of him.”
———
Jose Garcia, the Herm-
iston Hispanic Advisory
Committee’s new chair,
said he was inspired by the
inauguration ceremony.
“I watched Trump’s
speech, and I was moved,”
he said. “My wife, she’s a
Democrat, and she rolled
her eyes, but I said ‘Look,
he moved me.’”
Garcia has worked
in addiction recovery
programs for more than 20
years, and watches drugs
and gangs destroy peoples’
lives every day. Often it
makes him feel powerless,
he said. If someone doesn’t
have $10,000 on hand, for
example, it usually takes
about four months to get
them into a rehabilitation
facility.
“I lost my brother to
addiction,” Garcia said. “He
was young. Thirty-four. I
was powerless. I wanted
to send him to rehab and I
couldn’t get him in.”
Trump’s talk of putting
America first and taking
care of the people in our
own backyard has reso-
nated with Garcia over the
past year. The president
specifically
mentioned
ending “the crime and the
gangs and the drugs that
have stolen too many lives
and robbed our country
of so much unrealized
potential” in his inaugural
speech, and said power was
being handed back to the
American people when he
took the oath of office.
Garcia said he was so
excited that he sent Trump a
message via Twitter telling
him he wanted to be his
addiction advisor.
———
Mark
Peterson
of
Pendleton, a member of
the Democratic Party of
Umatilla County, said he
is trying to keep an open
mind.
“No one likes to lose,
whether it is in athletics
or politics,” he said. “I’m
taking a wait-and-see
attitude. I’ll give Trump
a chance and hope he
succeeds. Because —
regardless of your opinion
of him — if he succeeds our
nation succeeds.”
He said the new pres-
ident could help bring
the country together, but
perhaps not in the way
Trump imagines.
“He’s getting people
involved in the political
process again,” Peterson.
“It’s all our country, you
know.”
———
Writer Shaindel Beers
teaches for the English
Department of Blue Moun-
tain Community College.
She said she did not watch
the inaugural address.
“As a survivor of
various types of violence
and advocate of women’s
rights, Donald Trump
is very triggering to me
and many women. I will
be making protest signs
tonight and marching
tomorrow [Saturday]. If
Donald Trump is triggering
to you, I hear you, and I
believe you. You are not
alone.”
———
Anne
Emmons,
president of the League
of Women Voters West
Umatilla, said she was
trying to focus on the
league’s goals of equality
and education.
“We need to have respect
for the office of the presi-
dent,” she said. “We may
not agree with the policies,
but we have to work to hear
all sides.”
The League is a nonpar-
tisan group, and usually
does not support one posi-
tion.
This year, Emmons
said the League’s national
chapter would be protesting
at the Women’s March in
Washington, D.C., and
that some local members
planned to participate in
marches in Pendleton, Port-
land and other local events.
“They’re marching for
rights for all,” Emmons
said.
Emmons
said
that
watching the inauguration,
she had some personal
concerns about Trump’s
presidency, but was hopeful
citizens would continue to
encourage diversity and
support equal rights.
“I went to the MLK
march
on
Monday,”
Emmons said. “Mayor
Drotzmann
said
that
America is a melting pot. I
think we’ve forgotten that.”
She said the league
would continue to do
outreach and help people
exercise their rights.
———
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston said he
found inspiration in the
peaceful transfer of power
from one administration to
the next.
“Not having tanks in the
road, things along those
lines,” he said, “It’s pretty
awesome to think about.”
Paid Advertisement
Rogers Toyota of Hermiston
1550 N. First Street, Hermiston, OR 97838
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Residents of Hermiston and Surrounding Area:
2017 is upon us and we would like to extend a thank you to all the
customers that have chose to do business with Rogers Toyota of
Hermiston and helped us reach a record breaking sales goal in 2016.
Due to the success of 2016, Toyota has provided us with an additional
allotment of New Toyotas. We currently have over 130 new Toyotas in
stock. We thought the best thing we could do is offer our customers
all of our in stock inventory at EMPLOYEE PRICING + $1.00. This is
the biggest and best savings that we can offer - couple that with great
incentives from Toyota, and great interest rates from our local credit
unions and banks, and you will truly see there has never been a better
time to buy.
EVERY NEW AND PRE-OWNED
VEHICLE IN INVENTORY WILL BE
PRICED AT WHAT EMPLOYEES PAY
+ $1.00
Furthermore, with the success of 2016 we have obtained a great
selection of quality local trade-ins. Currently we have over 80 pre-
owned vehicles in stock. We have cars, trucks and SUV’s of every
manufacturer; not Just Toyotas. These quality local trade-ins will be
priced at EMPLOYEE PRICING + $1.00 as well. Vehicles starting as low
as $5,999.***
• No Payments until up to 90 Days *
• Top Dollar for Trades
• Appraiser On-Site
• Extended Special Financing and Terms for this Event
with Top Banks
• 0% Financing on 10 New Models *
• Rebates up to $3,000 **
• New 2017 Camry LE: $199/mo • $0 Down! **
• College Grads get an additional $750 Rebate
on Select Models ****
*Not valid with any other offers. In-stock vehicles only. No Payments until February 2017 for Tier 1-3 New Toyota buyers up
to 60 months. On approved credit through Toyota Financial Services.
**Stk#17t025. Sale Price $21,588. Rebate $1,500. $0 Cash down. Residual $13,779. 36 months $199.19 mo. 12,000 miles
a year. Does not include tax, title or $75 doc fee.
**$3,000 rebate based on in-stock Toyota Avalon Models.
***2007 Honda Civic. Stk# 17th132c.
****College Graduate Finance Program is valid on the lease or finance (including preferred option) of select new untitled
Toyota models or on Toyota Certified Used Vehicles. College Graduate Rebate is only available on new untitled Toyota
Camry GAS (excl. Hybrid), Corolla, Prius c, RAV4 (Gas only), Tacoma and Yaris vehicles. (TCUVs are not eligible for the
Rebate Program). The College Graduate Rebate Program and College Graduate Finance Program are available upon
credit approval from and execution of a finance or lease contract through a participating Toyota dealer and Toyota Financial
Services (TFS). Not all applicants will qualify. See store for details.
For questions or more information go to
toyotaofhermiston.com or call 541-567-6461