REGION
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
East Oregonian
MILTON-FREEWATER
BRIEFLY
Power fails for 4,600, closes school
East Oregonian
A problem at an electric
substation in Walla Walla
Tuesday
morning
left
about 4,600 customers in
Milton-Freewater without
power and canceled a day of
school, city manager Linda
Hall said.
Bonneville
Power
Administration spokesman
Kevin
Wingert
said
Milton-Freewater’s power
went out around 5 a.m. and
was restored around 10:30
a.m.
The
BPA
supplies
electricity to the city of
Milton-Freewater, and when
a conductor was tripped
early Tuesday morning, the
city and two other utility
organizations lost power.
Wingert said BPA crews
worked to reroute the supply
to restore power by the late
morning and repaired the
conductor by 1:37 p.m.
The
prolonged
power failure caused the
Milton-Freewater Unified
School District to close its
schools and Blue Mountain
Community College to
close its Milton-Freewater
campus.
Milton-Freewater Super-
intendent Rob Clark said
the district initially made
the decision to delay the
schools’ start time, but once
the outage persisted past
8 a.m., he made the call to
cancel school for the day.
Barring a snow day
because
of
inclement
weather, Clark said school
is currently scheduled to
resume on Wednesday.
Hall said city hall utilizes
a backup generator during
outages to keep the building’s
dispatch center operational,
but other city facilities are in
the “dark and cold.”
MISSION
Rez killing,
shooting
trial gets
2nd delay
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
The federal criminal trial
for the March 2016 shooting
and homicide on the Umatilla
Indian Reservation has been
delayed again.
Julian Darryl James
Simpson of Idaho faces
murder
for
the
shooting
d e a t h
of Tony
Jimenez
Jr.
of
Pend-
leton.
A n d
c o - d e - Simpson
fendant
Victor Joseph Contreras of
California faces attempted
murder and assault for
shooting
Beau
Welch.
Federal prosecutors also
charged
Simpson
and
Contreras with gun crimes.
Their five-day trial was to
start Feb. 7 at U.S. District
Court, Portland. Benjamin
T. Andersen, the defense
attorney for Simpson, asked
the court on Jan. 20 to delay
the trial to gather more
evidence.
“My investigation is
ongoing,” Andersen stated
in his request. “The govern-
ment indicates that it is in the
process of providing more
discovery related to their
ongoing investigation.”
This was Andersen’s
second motion to continue.
Paul Maloney, assistant
federal prosecutor, joined the
latest request, according to
the document, and Contre-
ras’s attorney, Francesca
Freccero, also asked for a
delay.
Judge Anna J. Brown
granted the motion and
reset the trial for April 11 in
Portland.
And Brown in December
reset the trial of Joseph
Aaron McIver, Edward
Duarte Ayala and Armando
Ruben Vargas to May 16
in Portland. They each face
weapons charges stemming
from the shooting death
of Thadd Nelson on Jan.
27, 2016, at his home near
Meacham on Umatilla Indian
Reservation land.
———
The Boardman rest area
stabbing case concluded
in early January when
18-year-old Talon Davis
of Idaho pleaded guilty to
one count of second-degree
assault.
Davis was 17 in May 2016
when he stabbed a woman in
the restroom off Interstate 84
near Boardman. He pleaded
guilty to second-degree
assault. Morrow County
District Attorney Justin
Nelson recommended a
prison sentence of five years
and five months, which
Circuit Judge Christopher
Brauer agreed to hand down.
The prison time is five
months fewer than the stan-
dard mandatory minimum
for the crime. Nelson said
two circumstances figured
into the sentence: Davis had
no serious criminal history
before the attack, and he was
high on methamphetamine
and marijuana when he
committed the crime and
believed someone was after
him.
Nelson said opting out
of the mandatory minimum
prison time is incentive for
Davis to participate in mental
health programs and drug
treatment to earn time off his
sentence.
Davis also must serve
three years of post-prison
UP employee dies
on train tracks
BURBANK, Wash. —
A Union Pacific Railroad
employee died on the
railroad tracks in Burbank
at 5 a.m. Tuesday.
John P. Schneider, 54,
of Spokane Valley, was
killed at 5 a.m., close to the
Boise Paper mill near U.S.
Highway 12.
The incident was still
under investigation as
of this morning, but it
appears Schneider died
instantly, said Walla Walla
County Coroner Richard
Greenwood.
Schneider was part of
a work crew but the only
person outside the train at
the rail switching when he
died, Greenwood said.
There were no other
injuries in the incident, said
Justin Jacobs, a spokesman
for Union Pacific,
adding he had no further
information. — Walla
Walla Union Bulletin
Ukiah woman
takes deal on
health care theft
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Weekly protest marches on
Dakota Access Pipeline protesters walk along Pendleton’s Main Street on Satur-
day as part of their weekly stance against the project. President Donald Trump
recently signed an executive order reviving the controversial pipeline.
PENDLETON
Old city hall owners get
court date to dispute fines
East Oregonian
The Pendleton Munic-
ipal Court is the last thing
between the family that
owns old city hall and
potentially hundreds of
dollars in fines.
At a Feb. 21 trial,
municipal court judge will
hear the Quezada family’s
case to fend off nuisance
code enforcement from the
city.
The historic old city
hall was set on fire after
an explosion in July 2015,
killing Eduardo Quezada
and heavily damaging the
building.
The
building
went
unrepaired for more than a
year, a violation of the city’s
nuisance ordinance, which
can fine offenders up to
$500 per day.
With assurances from the
family that they intended
to restore the building and
turn it into an apartment
complex, the city gave
the Quezadas a couple of
extensions.
But despite arguments
from family members and
advisers that the winter
weather was hindering
their efforts, the Pendleton
City Council voted to begin
enforcing the ordinance
because repairs weren’t
completed by Jan. 1.
How much the Quezadas
will be fined is now in the
hands of the municipal court
judge, who has the discre-
tion to nix the fines if the
family is able to complete
the roofing project by the
court date, city officials say.
Marco
Quezada,
a
member of the family,
said the family has made
strides since the city council
decision, having cleared the
alley behind the building
of debris, boarded up the
broken windows and made
significant progress on the
roof.
He said the roof needs
one final layer to reach
completion and could be
finished in a week to a week
and a half with dry weather.
Unfortunately for the
family, the National Weather
Service is forecasting snow
for most of the week.
Umatilla County to reimburse
ranchers for wolf problems
East Oregonian
Six Umatilla County
livestock producers could
receive grants totaling about
$24,000 due to wolf depre-
dation.
County attorney Doug
Olsen said most of the
grants would pay for
methods to keep livestock
safe from wolves, but some
would cover the cost of
livestock that wolves killed.
He explained the money
comes from the Oregon
Department of Agriculture’s
wolf depredation fund.
The Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife investi-
gated seven claims of wolf
depredation in Umatilla
County in 2016, according
to its online listing of
depredation investigation
reports. Three investigations
confirmed wolves killed the
following livestock:
• One lamb in May on
private land in the area of
the South Fork Walla Walla
River.
S T U D EN T
O F TH E
W EEK
C am ille Riley
McLoughlin High School
Camille has a 3.97 GPA and is our Senior Class
Presidenc. She is a member of Nacional Honor
Sociecy, FBLA, Varsicy Club and Key Club. Wich all
chese clubs Camille has spenc numerous hours
doing communicy and school service. She has
been one of our oucscanding volunceers for 4
years. She has helped chair our fund raiser for che
Sc. Mary’s Cancer Cencer. Camille is a member of
our crack ceam, played soccer and cennis. Camille
is a Varsicy Cheerleader ac Mac-Hi. Wich all of che
sporcs ceam Camille has helped wich youch
camps. Camille spends her summer as a lifeguard
ac che Milcon Freewacer Pool. Her parencs are
Kevin and Jennifer Riley.
Proudly Sponsored by
2801 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton, OR • 541-276-5121
Page 3A
• A 450-pound calf in
August on private land in
the Meacham Creek area.
• Two sheep in September
on public land in the North-
east Mount Emily Wildlife
Management Unit. Wolves
in that case also injured two
other sheep.
The county board of
commissioners will consider
the grants during its meeting
Wednesday at 9 a.m. in
room 130 at the Umatilla
County Courthouse, 216
S.E. Fourth St., Pendleton.
UKIAH — A
20-year-old Ukiah woman
is in jail after admitting she
stole health care benefits
from the state.
The Medicaid Fraud
Unit at Oregon Department
of Justice prosecuted the
case and alleged Tyanna
Billings obtain health
care payments larger than
what she was entitled
in fall 2015 and in early
2016. The state on Nov.
22 charged Billings with
four counts of making a
false claim for health care
payment and four of first-
degree theft by deception,
all Class C felonies.
Billings on Monday at
circuit court in Pendleton
took a deal and pleaded
guilty to two counts of
each crime.
Circuit Judge
Christopher Brauer
sentenced Billings to
20 days in jail, though
he allowed the Umatilla
County Community Justice
Department to consider
her for alternatives to jail.
She also has to serve three
years probation and pay
restitution of $4,817.
Grant provides
transportation for
seniors and vets
PENDLETON — The
city of Pendleton received
a $20,625 grant from the
Oregon Department of
Transportation to provide
public transportation
through June 30 to
low-income seniors,
people with disabilities and
veterans.
According to Pendleton
finance director Linda
Carter, qualified individuals
can buy $3 one-way tickets
to take them to doctor
appointments, pharmacies,
therapy and the grocery
store.
For more information,
call 541-966-0207.
OCT to offer
grant info at
Pendleton Center
for the Arts
The Oregon Cultural
Trust is providing tips
to local arts and culture
nonprofits who want to
apply for a cut of the $5
million in grant funding
available to them.
As a part of a series of
discussions led by trust
manager Aili Schreiner, a
session will be Thursday,
Feb. 16 from 3:45-6:15
p.m. at Pendleton Center
for the Arts, 214 N. Main
St.
The trust encourages
libraries, arts organizations,
museums, cultural centers,
historical societies, arts
alliances, literary groups,
heritage organizations and
other similar nonprofits to
attend the meeting.
Registration is not
required.
VA to hold town
halls in Morrow
County
Town halls for veterans
will be March 7 in
Boardman and Irrigon.
The meetings will
give local veterans the
opportunity to hear updates
and to voice their concerns
directly to Veterans Affairs
officials.
Walla Walla VA
Medical Center director
Brian Westfield will lead
the meetings in Morrow
County and provide
updates on facilities and
the Veterans Choice
Program. Morrow County
Veteran Service Officer
Linda Skendzel will also
be available to answer
questions and provide
assistance.
The Irrigon session
will be from 10-11 a.m.
on March 7 at the Oregon
Trail Library (200 South
Main St. in Irrigon), while
the Boardman session will
be 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the
Port of Morrow (2 Marine
Drive in Boardman).
Many thanks
to all those
who expressed
sympathy and
love to Doreen
Brown before,
during and aft er
the ceremony at
Folsom-Bishop.
Gerald Brown
