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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 8, 2017)
OFF PAGE ONE BAND: Also looking for brass, woodwind players Page 10A East Oregonian A man plays the drum in the Pend- leton Cowboy Mount- ed Band during the Dress-Up Parade during the 2012 Pendleton Round-Up. Continued from 1A The mounted band broke up in 1938, but was rebooted in 1985 for the Round-Up’s 75th anniversary. Musicians come from all around the Northwest to play at the Round-Up and participate in about 10 parades and other events each year. Borrowing horses for the band is a long- time tradition. Currently, only about 10 musicians own their own horse. “A good majority of the band members had never been on a horse before,” Dennis said. “For some, the only time they sit on a horse is for the mounted band.” The musicians generally take it in stride. “For most, it’s just a chair on top of a horse,” Dennis said. “They go from one chair to another chair 10 feet off the ground.” Some rides are smoother than others, though. EO file photo “You can’t play an instrument on a horse that’s jigging and jogging,” Groupe said. “That can be dangerous to your health — especially the musicians playing brass instruments.” Occasionally, a horse loses its cool and tosses its rider or drops and rolls. That’s the reality of dealing with horses, Dennis said, but keeping drama to a minimum is the goal. During parades, the band’s outriders stay close to the musicians, fetching fallen items and herding the horses along. The musicians are able to drop their reins and play. “We watch the band,” Dennis said. “We look out ahead for things that could happen. We get a 360-degree view of things. If someone drops their drumsticks or music or a cinch or bridle breaks, we are there. Some- times we take the horse by the headstall and lead it. We try to stay as invisible as we can.” As the guy who oversees the recruiting of horses, Dennis relies on owners’ knowledge of their horses’ temperaments. In this current recruiting year, the group will amp up the matchmaking process between horses and potential riders, involving owners more fully in pairing up horses and musicians according to their chemistry. Owners can be involved as little or as much as they desire in helping transport horses to events. “The owner will dictate what happens,” Dennis said. Those seeking more information about lending horses to the band may email pendleton.bandhorse@gmail. com or call 541-379-7857. “We need about 10-20 new horses,” Dennis said. “Horses die and things happen so we need replacements.” The bands also could use additional musicians, especially brass and woodwind players. LOVE: Other churches join in goodwill campaign Continued from 1A fall in response to tragedies that had struck the commu- nity. New Hope Community Church and Templo de Fe Esperanza y Amor have now joined the effort, and they’re inviting any and all community members who are interested to volunteer for the April 8 event. Previously, Hermiston Assembly members had donned the red I Love My City shirts for free car washes in the fall and free gift wrap- ping in front of Wal-Mart before Christmas. Haight said there were a few people who were suspicious of being offered something for free and declined to participate after the volunteers refused to take a donation. But for the most part, people said they appreci- ated the positive message that the group was portraying. “We’re not marketing anything except we love our city,” Haight said. “We’re just loving people, because that’s what Jesus did.” They plan to do some sort of I Love My City event every 90 days. Haight said they hope to do a free community barbecue over the summer, or possibly rent out the aquatic center. The April 8 event coin- cides with Hermiston’s annual spring recycling event. Resi- dents can bring everything from old tires to unused paint to paper in need of shredding down to the Umatilla Electric Cooperative parking lot (at 750 W. Elm Ave.) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day to get them recycled for free. “What many of those stations require is a supervisor to make sure that the right stuff goes in the right bin,” parks and recreation director Larry Fetter said. If individuals and families aren’t interested in volun- teering there, they can sign up to pick up trash around town, or to wash cars for free at various locations around town. Haight said organizers have some back-up projects in mind if they get too many volunteers to accommodate at currently planned locations. Chris Hankel, pastor of worship ministries for New Hope, said church members were excited to join the other churches for the event. When it was announced on Sunday, 80 families signed up to participate. Hankel said the church wants to be a positive part of the community beyond just their own congregation. It also wants to facilitate service opportunities for families who attend New Hope. “Part of church is learning to serve people for no other reason than just to serve, without any expectation of reciprocation,” he said. Anyone interested in volunteering on April 8, whether a member of a church or not, can sign up online at www.ilovehermiston.com. Wednesday, March 8, 2017 AIRPORT: 16 support Kilgore Continued from 1A city manager Robb Corbett, Schultz said the city has no rational basis for limiting Kilgore from using the airport. Schultz said they would be happy to meet any lawful safety measure the city chooses to implement, but that has not been specified. “Those concerns have not been shared with us,” he said. Both Corbett and airport manager Steve Chrisman declined to comment through city attorney Nancy Kerns. There is, however, a Pendleton Airport Commission meeting scheduled Wednesday, where the board will discuss temporarily closing its northern-most agricultural pad while UAS operations are being relocated. In an action item addressed to the commis- sion, Chrisman said that the UAS range safety officer, Darryl Abling, has deter- mined that there is a safety risk to personnel and equip- ment by allowing operations at the launch pad. “UAS operations are often testing new function- ality ... and while every effort is made to mitigate the risks associated with new technology, things can go wrong when it is initially flight tested,” Chrisman wrote. “Having non-par- ticipating personnel (or) equipment in the area poses an unnecessary risk should an anomaly occur.” Kilgore, 32, is a Pendleton native who returned home after serving in the Air Force and completing his flight training at Central Oregon Community College. He launched K2 Aerial Applica- tion in 2013, serving farmers across Eastern Oregon. Kilgore said he has received many requests to spray fields around Pendleton, which is why he approached the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport. Time is of the essence, he said, since many wheat farmers are already beginning to apply fertilizer to their fields. Kilgore already shares the Boardman Airport with Aerovel Corporation, another developer of small unmanned aircraft based in Washington. Tad McGeer, the company’s president, said that he and Kilgore have no problems getting along. “We let each other know what we’re doing, and that’s good enough,” McGeer said. “I’m not aware of any reason why there should be a conflict.” In his letter to Corbett, Schultz indicated that any safety concerns about UAV operations raise a dilemma for the city: either the program is dangerous because the city has not worked out proper safety procedures, or it is not dangerous and the concerns are merely an excuse to discriminate against Kilgore. “The city cannot have it both ways,” Schultz wrote. Furthermore, Schultz said farming is the economic basis for the community and the airport should be supportive of bringing in another service where farmers can have their crops sprayed for pests and diseases. Kilgore has received signed letters of support from 16 farmers asking for the airport to make its facili- ties available. “We believe this is an occasion to make additional crop services available for farmers,” Schultz said. Though Schultz said he and Kilgore are reviewing their legal options, he stopped short of saying they were considering a lawsuit. ODOR: Police officer detects stronger pot smell in gun store than in studio Continued from 1A Fred Bradbury and his son Jeff Bradbury, who own and operate Elite Guns & Bows. Sierra was representing himself. He said he was renovating the space to turn it into a recording studio/concert venue. Sierra and the Bradburys had met in municipal court last August about a previous odor complaint. In that case, then-municipal court judge Jeff Wallace found Sierra guilty and assessed a suspended $500 fine, the maximum penalty under the ordinance. After a follow-up walk through from Pendleton Police, Wallace dropped the fine. Police testimony The city was represented by Pendleton Police Depart- ment patrol officer Chris Freeman, who also testified about his investigation into the matter. Freeman told the court that Jeff Bradbury called the police department at 9:19 a.m. on Dec. 9 and complained about cannabis odor coming from Citadel. When he arrived at Elite Guns & Bows, Freeman said he could smell the scent of burnt marijuana in the store, rating the strength of the odor at a “4 or 5” on a 1-10 scale. Sierra allowed Freeman to walk through Citadel, where Freeman noted that the smell was fainter in Sierra’s building, rating it a “1.5.” Although he didn’t execute a search, Freeman said he didn’t notice any marijuana or paraphernalia during his time in Sierra’s space. Before leaving the area, Freeman warned Sierra that Jeff Bradbury could sign a citation against Sierra. Jeff Bradbury followed through and signed the citation, sending the issue to municipal court. An East Oregonian reporter also arrived at the gun store that morning after hearing the call on the police scanner, but was denied access by Jeff Bradbury. Citadel testimony Sierra had two theories as to why the Bradburys were accusing his business of imparting the smell of mari- juana onto their business. One theory is that the Brad- burys were misidentifying the source of the smell. Sierra said between the Packard Tavern at 118 S.E. Court Ave. and the Second Street businesses, there is an alley where people smoke cigarettes and do drugs. Sierra said the alley is frequently littered with ciga- rette cartons and needles and showed Perkinson a photo of the alley he took last spring. Since the alley runs past MULTI-MEDIA SALES Great work environment. Super awesome team. Good pay. Retirement plan. Weekends off. Interested? East Oregonian has an opening for multi-media sales. No multi-media experience? That’s fine, as long as you understand the importance of customer service, working hard and a desire to enjoy your job. Could this be you? Send resume and letter of interest to EO Media Group PO Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048 by fax to 503-371-2935 or e-mail hr@eomediagroup.com Base wage plus commissions, benefits and mileage reimbursement. Benefits include Paid Time Off (PTO), insurances and a 401(k)/Roth 401(k) retirement plan. Elite Guns & Bows’ air condi- tioning and heating system located at the back of the store, Sierra said marijuana odor could enter the Bradburys’ store through the system from people smoking in the alley. Sierra’s other theory was that the Bradburys were creating the marijuana scent themselves in an effort to run their neighbors out of town, an assertion that Perkinson called a “scandalous claim.” Sierra called his girlfriend Kayla Webb to the stand, who testified that no one has ever used marijuana on the premises. Webb said she and Sierra were at Citadel the morning of Dec. 9, but only to install new music equipment. Jan Denman, Sierra’s mother and the Citadel building owner, was also used as a witness. Denman said the Brad- burys were “crazyville” and doubted that marijuana odor could travel between businesses when there was a windowless, 18-inch wall that separated them. Denman said the conflict had escalated to such a degree that they were afraid to go to Citadel. Elite Guns testimony During his own testimony, Fred Bradbury said that as he walked to Elite Guns & Bows on Dec. 9, he could smell marijuana in front of the Citadel storefront. Jeff Bradbury said he could also smell marijuana as he opened the store, with the odor especially concentrated in the front half of the store. Because of where the mari- juana smell was concentrated, the Bradburys were skeptical that it was coming from the alley. Jeff Bradbury also said the walls were thinner toward the storefronts, making it easier for the smell to travel between buildings. The Bradburys suspected Citadel was the cause of the odor because they hadn’t encountered the smell in the three years they’ve been on Second Street before Citadel moved in. The father and son pair each said they don’t smoke marijuana but are able to identify it from previous expe- riences being around people who do. Jeff Bradbury said they don’t have a problem with people smoking marijuana, but did take issue with the odor affecting Elite Guns & Bows. “That’s the bottom line for us,” he said. “Don’t smoke it in your building.” Jeff Bradbury said they’ve received comments about the smell from customers, which includes law enforcement and people who bring their families. The verdict Before he issued his ruling, Perkinson pushed back against some of Sierra’s arguments. Perkinson said he didn’t think the Bradburys were conspiring against Citadel by smoking in their own store, and although the alley could be a source of cannabis odor, he thought it was more likely to manifest itself in the back of the store than the front. However, Perkinson said there wasn’t enough evidence according to the “50 percent plus a feather or more” standard to prove Citadel was causing the odor, highlighting Freeman’s observation that the smell was stronger in Elite Guns & Bows than it was in Citadel. Perkinson urged both parties to work together to resolve their issues. “They say good fences make good neighbors,” he said. “Good walls make good neighbors too.” Earlier in his testimony, Fred Bradbury said he’d be willing to sit down with Sierra and both father and son testified that the odor issue has improved since the last complaint. Perkinson also encouraged the Bradburys to call the police again if they encountered odor problems again. “This is not a waste of time,” Perkinson said. “This is not a waste of the court’s time.” Tuesday’s trial is among a handful of cases that have gone to trial since the Pend- leton City Council added marijuana odor to its nuisance ordinance in 2015. I found Dad’s remote in the fridge again. …I’m beginning to get worried. IT’S NOT LIKE HIM. STUDENT OF THE WEEK Justin Keeney 11 TH G RADE S TANFIELD S ECONDARY S CHOOL Justin is a quiet hero as a student and a citizen. He strives for excellence in the classroom, always putting his best effort forward. His work is always very thorough and thoughtful. He asks challenging questions and is always inquiring about specific information. He is incredibly respectful, kind, and good to his peers. He is trustworthy and honest and represents the very best of Stanfield Secondary School. 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