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
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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.
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OF THE
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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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