REGION
Friday, January 27, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3A
TOLLGATE
JOHN DAY
Spout Springs ski area to try to
resolve parking lot safety concerns
Emry pleads guilty to
unlawful possession
of machine gun
Resort remains closed
EO Media Group
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
The owner of Spout Springs Ski
Area at Tollgate will meet with Umatilla
National Forest Supervisor Genevieve
Masters to try to resolve safety concerns
over sharing the resort’s parking lot
with snowmobiles.
John Murray announced in December
he would close Spout Springs for the
2016-17 season, claiming that snowmo-
biles were creating an unsafe environ-
ment for skiers and snowboarders.
Spout Springs operates under a
special use permit with the forest, and
the parking area — set up on both sides
of Highway 204 — is designated as a
Sno-Park, which pays for the Oregon
Department of Transportation to do
plowing and snow removal.
As a Sno-Park, Walla Walla District
Ranger Mike Rassbach says multiple
winter uses are allowed, including for
snowmobiles to access nearby trails.
Murray, however, says the parking lot
has become so inundated with snow-
mobiles and trailers that he’s concerned
about one of his customers getting hurt.
According to the ski area’s special
use permit, there is an area for snow-
mobile trailers to park overnight in the
north lot. Larry Randall, recreation
program manager for the forest, said
the parking situation at Spout Springs
hasn’t changed since 2004.
Randall said Murray has raised the
Contributed photo
Spout Springs Ski Area is roughly 1,400 acres large and has been closed
this season due to safety concerns over snowmobiles in the parking lot.
issue of snowmobiles from time to time
over the years.
“We sought to try to come up with
different parking arrangements that
would meet everyone’s needs,” Randall
said.
There is a condition that would allow
the Forest Service to revoke Murray’s
permit if he were to essentially abandon
Spout Springs. But Randall said they
intend to work with him and figure out a
solution together.
“We want to see Mr. Murray success-
fully operate that ski area,” Randall
said. “That’s where our energies are
being diverted.”
Joani Bosworth, spokeswoman
for the Umatilla National Forest,
said Masters, the forest supervisor, is
arranging to meet with Murray some-
time in the next few weeks.
Murray, who also runs a dry dock in
Portland, has been trying to sell Spout
Springs for the last two seasons. The
resort is listed for $1.25 million.
———
Contact George Plaven at gplaven@
eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0825.
BRIEFLY
M-F cop seeks deal
through settlement
MILTON-FREEWATER
— The Milton-Freewater
police officer charged with
assaulting a handcuffed
suspect is considering settling
the case.
Brian David Scott, 37,
had a hearing Wednesday
in Pendleton before Circuit
Judge Christopher Brauer.
Defense attorney Sean
Riddell of Portland and
Scott called in. Riddell said
he submitted a mitigation
and settlement letter to the
Umatilla County District
Attorney’s Office and
needs more time to have a
settlement conference.
District Attorney Dan
Primus said the state also is
inclined to go that route.
“I think this is a compli-
cated matter and one that
would be best for a settlement
conference,” Primus said.
Primus asked the court to
set it six weeks from now.
Brauer said his clerk would
get back to the attorneys with
possible dates.
Scott pleaded not guilty
to charges of second-degree
assault, unlawful use of a
weapon and first-degree offi-
cial misconduct. The charges
stem from his Sept. 26, 2016,
arrest of Jeffery Allen Fields,
46, of Milton-Freewater.
IMAC serves
Saturday breakfast
IRRIGON — The Irrigon
Multicultural Arts Center is
hosting its monthly breakfast
this weekend.
For a hearty home-
cooked meal, head to the
fundraiser Saturday from
7:30-10:30 a.m. at Stokes
Landing Senior Center, 195
N.W. Opal Place, Irrigon.
The cost is $4.50 per person.
The group of volunteers
hope to preserve Irrigon’s
1921 school building and
create a regional arts center.
For more information, call
Peggy at 541-567-3806.
OHSU professor to
discuss health care
in rural areas
PENDLETON — The
topic of the upcoming
AAUW meeting is health
disparities for women living
in rural areas.
Cynthia Perry, Family
Nurse Practitioner Program
director and professor
at the Oregon Health &
Science University School
of Nursing, is the special
speaker. The public is invited
to the no-host gathering
Saturday, Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. at
The Prodigal Son Brewery
& Pub, 230 S.E. Court Ave.,
Pendleton.
The American
Association of University
Women works to advance
equity for women and girls
through advocacy, education,
philanthropy and research.
For more about the
Pendleton affiliate, contact
Kathy Chaney at cecil296@
aol.com or 541-379-9997.
or voice graduating spring
2017 from an Oregon high
school and continuing
their collegiate/university
academics as a major or
minor in music at any
college or university in the
country.
Any questions may be
emailed to info@omhof.
org, or visit www.omhof.org
where an online version of
the application is available.
All items must be mailed
together, in order to qualify,
to Oregon Music Hall of
Fame, P.O. Box 82173,
Portland, OR 97282.
The Arc seeks
Music scholarships vendors for sale
HERMISTON — An
available
indoor yard sale provides an
PORTLAND —
Applications for Oregon
Music Hall of Fame college
scholarships are available
again and the application
deadline is Feb. 14, 2017.
The scholarships rose this
year from $1,000 each to
$2,500 each, with a total of
four scholarships available
for 2017.
Each applicant should
be a student studying music
with the talent of instrument
opportunity for people to stay
warm while shopping and
support The Arc Umatilla
County.
People can purchase table
space for $10 each to sell
items during the event. The
Indoor Yard Sale is Saturday,
Feb. 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
at The Arc Building, 215 W.
Orchard Ave., Hermiston.
For more information, call
the office at 541-567-7615 or
Jan Schroth at 541-567-6172.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
FRIDAY, JAN. 27
PENDLETON
DELPHIAN
CLUB, 1:30 p.m., Vert Club Room,
345 S.W. Fourth St., Pendleton.
PENDLETON
MASTERS
SWIM CLUB, 5-6 p.m., Roundup
Athletic Club pool, 1415 South-
gate, Pendleton. $5 per session
coaching fee; non-RAC members
pay $8 pool fee per session. (Ta-
nia Wildbill 541-310-9102)
PENDLETON EAGLES LA-
DIES AUXILIARY KITCHEN, 6-8
p.m., Pendleton Eagles Lodge,
428 S. Main St., Pendleton. (541-
278-2828)
SATURDAY, JAN. 28
MEN’S BREAKFAST, 8 a.m.,
Bethel Assembly of God Church,
1109 Airport Road, Pendleton.
(541-276-7559)
UMATILLA COUNTY POMO-
NA GRANGE, 12:30 p.m., Colum-
bia Grange Hall, 32339 Diagonal
Road, Hermiston. Lunch will be
followed by a meeting. (Tom or
Doris 541-567-9742 or 541-567-
8663)
PENDLETON
EAGLES
STEAK AND LIVE MUSIC,
6-11:30 p.m., Pendleton Eagles
Lodge, 428 S. Main St., Pendle-
ton. Dinner from 6-8 p.m., music
from 8 p.m. to midnight. Members
and guests welcome. (541-278-
2828)
ly-August or Christmas-New Year.
(RaNiel Dunn 541-289-4696)
SUNDAY, JAN. 29
TUESDAY, JAN. 31
PENDLETON
EAGLES
BREAKFAST, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.,
Pendleton Eagles Lodge, 428
S. Main St., Pendleton. Open to
members and guests. (541-278-
2828)
PENDLETON TOASTMAS-
TERS NO. 154, 6:30 a.m., Pend-
leton City Hall community room,
501 S.W. Emigrant Ave., Pendle-
ton.
TOPS CHAPTER OR 1110, 8
a.m., Missionary Baptist Church,
125 E. Beech St., Hermiston. 8
a.m. weigh-in followed by meeting
at 8:45 a.m. (Margaret Wetterling
541-720-0276)
GREENFIELD GRANGE PI-
NOCHLE, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Green-
MONDAY, JAN. 30
IRRIGON MOOSE LODGE
TACOS AND BINGO, 6-9 p.m.,
Irrigon Moose Lodge, 220 N.E.
Third St., Irrigon. Tacos from 6-9
p.m., bingo from 6:30-9 p.m. Open
to members and guests. (541-922-
1802)
OREGON EAST SYMPHONY
CHORALE REHEARSAL, 7 p.m.,
Pendleton High School music de-
partment, 1800 N.W. Carden Ave.,
Pendleton. The OES Chorale will
rehearse for the March 11, 2017
concert of Ola Gjeilo’s “Sunrise
Mass.” Call the OES office to re-
ceive a vocal score. (J.D. Kindle
541-276-0320)
INLAND NORTHWEST MU-
SICIANS CHORALE REHEARS-
AL, 7-9 p.m., Harris Jr. Academy
gymnasium, 3121 S.W. Hailey
Ave., Pendleton. No tryouts; all
welcome. No rehearsals June-Ju-
field Grange 579, 209 N.W. First
St., Boardman. (541-481-7397)
BIBLE STUDY, 10 a.m., First
United Methodist Church, 352
S.E. Second St., Pendleton. (Rev.
Jim Pierce 541-276-2616)
“THE LIFE MODEL: LIV-
ING FROM THE HEART JESUS
GAVE YOU” BOOK STUDY
GROUP, 1-2:30 p.m., Bowman
Building, 17 S.W. Frazer Ave.,
Pendleton. (Pat 541-276-6671)
TOPS CHAPTER OR 1169,
4-5:30 p.m., Hermiston Assembly
of God Church, 730 E. Hurlburt
Ave., Hermiston. Use west side
door. (Janell Bailey 541-571-5744)
MULTI-MEDIA SALES
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Michael Ray Emry
faces up to 10 years in
prison and a $10,000 fine
after pleading guilty to
possessing a machine gun
illegally in John Day.
Emry, 54, pleaded guilty
Monday before U.S. District
Court Judge Ann
Aiken to unlawful
possession of a
fully automatic
.50-caliber
machine gun that
was not registered
to him, according
to a press release
from the U.S.
Department
of Emry
Justice.
After accepting the
guilty plea, Aiken sched-
uled Emry’s sentencing
hearing for April 3. Emry
faces a maximum sentence
of 10 years in prison, a
$10,000 fine and three years
of supervised release.
According to court
documents and statements
made in court, on May
6, 2016, federal agents
executed a search warrant
on Emry’s trailer at the
Grant County Fairgrounds
and RV Park in John Day
and recovered a Browning
M2 machine gun with an
obliterated serial number.
Emry told agents that the
firearm was fully automatic
and could fire between 550
and 650 rounds per minute,
that he had stolen it from
a man in Idaho and that
he had removed the serial
number prior to bringing it
to Oregon.
Prosecutors said Emry
was also in negotiations
to sell the machine gun
in Oregon to a person he
had been told was a felon
and the captain of a Texas
militia group, who was
actually an undercover law
enforcement officer. They
said Emry also possessed
a belt of blank .50-caliber
shells for the gun and the
blasting cap, which is a
detonator for a bomb. They
also mentioned Emry’s
testimony from
a 2004 case in
which
Emry
admitted to ille-
gally making a
bomb out of C-4
and a silencer for
a drug dealer but
cooperated as a
witness to avoid
prison and that he
illegally made 66
machine guns for a friend.
“A man with a history
of making a bomb and
silencer for a drug dealer
to kill witnesses, and
manufacturing 66 machine
guns for another person in
preparation for a civil revolt
— who then brings a .50
caliber machine gun to our
state during a time of unrest
and then negotiates to sell
it to someone purporting to
be a felon and the captain of
a militia — poses a serious
danger to the community,”
prosecutors said.
According to an article
on The Voice of Idaho News
website, Emry was the
proprietor of that organiza-
tion, as well as The Voice of
North Idaho and The Voice
of Grant County, Oregon.
The case was investi-
gated by the FBI in close
collaboration with the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives,
and is being prosecuted by
Nathan J. Lichvarcik, assis-
tant United States attorney
for the District of Oregon.
PENDLETON
School board to review
superintendent again
follow-up to a closed-door
meeting the board held in
For the third time since November to offer input on
he started his job in July, his performance.
The board also held
the Pendleton School
Board will meet behind another executive session
on Jan. 17 to
closed doors with
discuss the results
Superintendent
of a survey where
Andy Kovach to
Kovach gathered
discuss his job
input about his
performance.
performance
The
board
from 20 district
called for a
employees
he
special meeting
works
closely
Monday, which
with.
McBee
will be almost
said
Kovach
entirely held in
will provide an
executive session, Kovach
updated version
which is closed to
of the survey in March,
the general public.
Although the board is which the board will discuss
convening the executive in executive session.
The standard year-end
session “to review and eval-
uate the employment-rated superintendent evaluation
performance of the chief will most likely be held in
executive officer,” an allow- May, McBee said, and will
ance prescribed in Oregon feature a more expansive
state statute, board chair- survey with comments
woman Debbie McBee said from staff and community
the meetings were to offer members.
Previously the principal
the first-time superintendent
as much input as possible of Ontario High School,
Kovach currently earns
during his first year.
McBee said Monday’s $127,500 per year as a part
meeting would be a of a three-year contract.
East Oregonian
OREGON
HUNTERS
ASSOCIATION
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Chris McClellan,
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benefits and mileage
reimbursement. Benefits
include Paid Time Off (PTO),
insurances and a 401(k)/Roth
401(k) retirement plan.
Banquet, Raffl e & Auction Featuring
An All State ELK Tag Sponsored by
the Access and Habitat Program
February 11th • 5:00 pm
at the Pendleton Convention Center
Raffl e & Auction Items including a D&B
Treasure Chest & M2D Properties Youth Hunt
To Register Call Rebecca 541-379-1074
or Terry 541-231-4384
MONEY RAISED BY OUR BANQUET
STAYS IN OREGON!
Columbia Basin Chapter supported the
following events and many others:
• Youth Bow Hunt
• Coyote Predation Management
• OHA/ODFW Pheasant Hunt
and Skeet Shoot