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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2017)
REGION Tuesday, March 7, 2017 East Oregonian Page 3A PENDLETON Local protest morphs as DAPL moves forward By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian On Saturday, the Dakota Access Pipeline protesters from the Pend- leton area tried something a little different — staying in one place. Instead of their usual march down Main Street, a protest the activists have doing since November, the Standing Rock supporters held a rally in front of the bucking horse statue at the Pendleton Round-Up Grounds. A group of about a dozen protesters gathered on the street corner, holding out their signs and chanting “water is life” and its Lakota and Umatilla language equivalents. Rather than serve a political purpose, organizer Willa Wallace said the change in scenery was a way to get their message in front of more sets of eyes, especially consid- ering the 2A high school basketball tournament at the nearby Pendleton Convention Center. “If even one person looks up DAPL because of us, we’re a success,” she said. The fate of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a pipeline that transports oil from North Dakota to Illinois, has shifted dramatically in recent months. While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers slowed down the project when it ordered an environmental review, the corps abandoned those efforts after President Donald Staff photo by Kathy Aney About a dozen people protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline gathered in front of the Pendleton Round-Up Grounds on Saturday to chant and wave signs at passing motorists. Trump signed an executive order to advance the pipeline. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe has long contended that the pipeline would leak into their water supply on the Missouri River, and their efforts to stop the pipeline’s construction attracted thousands of supporters to North Dakota. Although she admitted it was unlikely anyone would be able to stop the pipeline before the oils starts flowing, Wallace said the movement opened people’s minds to environ- mental and American Indian issues. While maintaining the local Dakota Access Pipeline protests, Wallace is turning some of her atten- tion to the Carty Generating Station near Boardman. Wallace is a part of a group of volunteers circulating a petition opposing expansion of the natural gas-fired plant. Wallace also wants to organize a discussion featuring speakers who traveled to the Standing Rock camp. Veterans of the Woman’s March on Pendleton also want to take a local approach. Pendleton resident Casey Brown convened a meeting at the Pendleton Center for the Arts Saturday — some of the members of the small group of attendees had just arrived from the pipeline rally — to discuss current events and what kind of actions they BRIEFLY Winter weather prompts travel advisory Photo contributed by Oregon Department of Agriculture Common bugloss Weed department lands pair of grants Projects to treat common bugloss, tansy ragwort By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian The Umatilla County Weed Department has received more than $25,000 from the state to uproot two species of noxious weeds invading local farms and watersheds. Officials plant to treat 90 acres of tansy ragwort near Milton-Freewater and Pilot Rock, and another 200 acres of common bugloss in the Walla Walla River Basin. Both projects were funded by a pair of grants from the Oregon State Weed Board. Tansy ragwort, with its dark green leaves and bright yellow flowers, has been found on Saddle Mountain above Milton-Freewater and in the Bear Creek drainage above Pilot Rock. It is toxic to cattle, and both areas are used primarily for grazing. “Our goal is to reduce the seed bank, eradicate and control the spread of tansy ragwort throughout the county,” said Teddy Orr, county weed department supervisor. Of the 90 acres treated, 60 will be in the Saddle Moun- tain area and 30 on Bear Creek. Workers will continue to monitor another 2,500 acres between the two sites. Common bugloss was first discovered locally in Meacham Canyon, and traced back to the Walla Walla River drainage near Milton-Freewater. It is a perennial herb, growing about two feet tall with deep blue or purple flowers. Once the plant spreads into an alfalfa field, it can be difficult to control and molds hay from the inside out. Orr said the weed poses a threat to farmers, and the department plans to target 200 acres of farm and resi- dential land around the Walla Walla River. Letters will be sent to private landowners asking for permission to PENDLETON — Old Man Winter continues to make driving a headache for Eastern Oregon motorists. The National Weather Service in Pendleton issued a winter storm watch Monday across much of the northern Blue Mountains, with snow accumulations of 6 to 9 inches at lower elevations and 9 to 13 inches above 4,500 feet. Impacted areas include Tollgate, Meacham and Ski Bluewood around Dayton, Washington. Snow began to fall Monday morning in the area and is expected to continue through Tuesday before tapering off Wednesday morning. Drivers should expect slick roads and possible blowing snow along sections of Interstate 84 and Highway 204 between Weston and Elgin. At lower elevations including Pendleton and Hermiston there is an 80 percent chance of snow Tuesday morning, according to the weather service, and it is expected to turn to rain as the day goes on. For the latest travel conditions and road closures, visit www. tripcheck.com. Pendleton police chief to discuss pot shops Photo contributed by Oregon Depart- ment of Agriculture Tansy ragwort access and treat common bugloss on their property. Treatment is expected to begin April 1 and will be finished by Nov. 1, roughly the time when common bugloss blooms for the year. Tansy ragwort control is expected to run from June 1 through Sept. 15. Anyone with questions about weed identification and control should contact the county weed department at 541-278-5462. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0825. PENDLETON — Stuart Roberts, Pendleton police chief, will discuss marijuana businesses at the upcoming Roundup Republican Women meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend the no-host luncheon gathering. The meeting is Thursday at 11:45 a.m. at the Red Lion, 304 S.E. Nye Ave., Pendleton. The cost is $11 for members and $13 for non-members. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP by Wednesday morning. To RSVP, for more information or to submit questions for Roberts, contact Marcia Stewart at rounduprepublicanwomen@ hushmail.com or 541-276-1206. People Power presents resistance training PENDLETON — A grassroots organization is launching an effort to resist the Trump administration’s attacks on civil liberties. A one-hour ACLU Town Hall Resistance Training is taking place in Florida with live-stream events across the country. Local residents are invited to participate in People Power Saturday with sign-in at 1:30 p.m. and the live-stream event beginning at 2 p.m. in the Community Room at the Pendleton Public Library Community Room, 501 S.W. Emigrant Ave. A discussion will follow from 3-4 p.m. For more information, call Miriam at 425-748-4487. Trampoline trip includes ice cream stop PENDLETON — Children ages 7-15 are invited to “catch some air” Monday, March 27 during a road trip to the ultimate trampoline palace in the Tri-Cities. A city mini-bus will leave the Pendleton Recreation Center parking lot at noon and return at approximately 5:15 p.m. The $20 fee includes transportation and one hour of jump time. Those who would like to purchase ice cream on the way home should bring money. The registration deadline is Wednesday, March 22, and this popular trip will fill up fast. Register at www. pendletonparksandrec.com, the parks office Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 865 Tutuilla Road, or call 541-276- 8100. Spray Rodeo seeks queen SPRAY — Tryouts for the 2017 Spray Rodeo queen will be held Saturday, March 25 at 1 p.m. at the Spray Rodeo grounds. Contestants are welcome from throughout the region, they do not have to be Wheeler County residents. Those applying must be at least 15 years old and never have been married or had children. In its 70th year, the rodeo, which is held in conjunction with the Eastern Oregon Half Marathon, is May 27-28 in Spray. For more information or an application, call 541-468-2442. ——— Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports, and press releases. Email press releases to should take to respond to them. Many of the people at the meeting talked about their experiences participating in the women’s march in January, the sense of despair after Trump’s election turning into relief as the march from Pendleton City Hall to the Umatilla County Courthouse swelled to more than 400 people. While the march was a galva- nizing event, the members of the discussion group each expressed interest in further activism. Brown said she wanted to orga- nize the meeting around the idea of “think globally, act locally.” Much of the discussion centered around the “Day Without Immi- grants” protest, the national event that saw a significant number of Umatilla County students miss school in protest of Trump’s immi- gration policies. While there was support for starting an event in support of immi- grants, the group noted the difficulty of doing it in a predominantly white, conservative community without any immigration advocacy groups. Before the meeting ended, the group agreed to reach out to other organizations and individuals, including cities with higher Latino populations like Hermiston and Umatilla, to gather support for the event. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. 20-year sentence for mistaken honor killing of Boardman man YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — A Wash- ington state man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing a Boardman man he mistakenly believed impregnated a 13-year-old girl. Yoset Dominguez-Serrano, 21, of Outlook, Washington, received the sentence Friday in Yakima County Superior Court, the Yakima Herald reported. Dominguez-Serrano in January pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the February 2015 killing of Antonio Hernandez-Ledezma, 24, of Boardman. Dominguez-Serrano told police he believed Hernandez-Ledezma had impregnated Dominguez-Serrano’s 13-year-old relative and killed the Oregon man to protect his family’s honor. But DNA tests showed Hernan- dez-Ledesma wasn’t responsible for the pregnancy. “You honored no one,” Judge Richard Bartheld told Dominguez-Ser- rano. “You dishonored your family by committing a heinous crime.” Yakima County sheriff’s detec- tives say Dominguez-Serrano lured Hernandez-Ledezma to a meeting by pretending to be interested in buying his car. Investigators later found the car abandoned with the front passenger window broken and blood on the passenger seat along with a spent bullet cartridge under the emergency brake lever. In September 2015, a hiker found Hernandez-Ledezma’s skeletal remains near an orchard. DNA tests confirmed they belonged to Hernandez-Ledezma. Defense attorney Aaron Dalan said Dominguez-Serrano isn’t a sophisti- cated criminal. “He believed he was acting, at least in his mind, to protect his family and the honor of his family,” Dalan said. Claudia Hernandez, Hernandez-Le- dezma’s sister, spoke with other family members in court about their loss. “I just want to say that he left a big family, a family that never got to say goodbye for the last time,” Hernandez said. Dominguez-Serrano faces deporta- tion to Mexico once he completes his sentence. Blue Mountain Diabetes Champions Topic: Healthy Eating on the Run Diabetes History Newly Diagnosed Know someone who has diabetes? Wednesday, March 15 th Conference Rooms 3 & 4 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Christine 541-278-3235 March 17th, St. Patricks Day • 7:00pm 541-276-6111 Red Lion Lounge • 304 SE Nye, Pendleton Melissa 541-278-3249 2801 St. Anthony Way Pendleton, OR www.sahpendleton.com
