REGION
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Local bands, choirs travel to Hawaii
Page 3A
BRIEFLY
Principal resigns to pursue small business
HERMISTON — Sunset Elementary School principal
Devin Grigg submitted his resignation for the end of this
school year, and the district is seeking his replacement.
Grigg said he and his family are moving to the
Phoenix, Arizona, area to start a small business. He has
been the principal of Sunset for eight
years, and before that a middle school
assistant principal for four years, two at
Armand Larive and two at Sandstone.
“I love this community, love this
district,” Grigg said. “There are
phenomenal people, they’ve been very
good to us.”
Grigg said the hardest part of the
decision to move was leaving the people Grigg
in the district, but he wanted to try to
pursue his dream of owning a small business.
Grigg was named district administrator of the year for
the 2015-2016 school year.
Applications for the new principal are due April 10,
and from April 11-14 district staff will review and screen
applications. Candidates will be interviewed and visit the
district between April 20 and 21. The new principal will
start July 1.
Will participate
in Pacific Basin
Musical Festival
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
Several musically gifted
students from Echo, Ione,
Irrigon and Stanfield will
soon get to travel to Hawaii
to share their talents.
Fifty students and 20
adult chaperones will spend
spring break at the Pacific
Basin Music Festival in
Honolulu. The choir and
band festival is in its 32nd
year, and brings high school
and junior high students
together from nations in
the Pacific Rim, such as
Canada, Australia, Japan
and the U.S., for a week of
learning and performing
classical music with their
peers.
“They’ll
perform
with other groups,” said
Stanfield band director
Deborah Wryn. “There are
adjudicated activities. Our
band will meet and rehearse
with a band from Perth,
Australia.”
The students, 10 of
whom are singing with the
choir and the rest of whom
are in band, had to commit
to the trip last school year,
and since then have been
rehearsing once a month.
Each group is learning
a collection of songs from
different genres of music,
which they will perform
with another band or choir.
They will also perform a
few songs with the entire
group of students attending
the event.
The trip was open to any
students from 8th to 12th
grade who wanted to go, but
students had to find ways
to finance the travel. Some
parents helped out with
fundraisers at local sporting
events and activities.
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan
Ione music teacher Bryan Bates directs band students in a rehearsal leading up to
their trip to Hawaii, where they will meet and perform with students from several
different countries.
“It’s pretty exciting. For my senior year,
it’s cool to get to do something like this.”
— Jenny Stanger, percussionist from Irrigon
“It’s pretty exciting,”
said Jenny Stanger, a
percussionist from Irrigon.
“For my senior year, it’s
cool to get to do something
like this.”
The trip will also allow
students to learn from their
peers. “We’re going to play
with other groups, and listen
to other groups play as
well,” she said.
A couple of years ago,
some of the schools took a
spring break music trip to
Disneyland. But for many
of the students, the trip will
be a chance to try something
completely new — whether
interacting with people from
a new culture, or traveling
this far away from home.
“I’ve never done this
before,” said Yanira Garcia,
a senior choir student from
Ione Community School.
“I’m really excited.”
The students will be
touching on some new
material, including a song
in French for which they
said they’re still unsure of
pronunciation. But they’ll
get to sing some old favor-
ites, as well.
“We’re singing ‘Pure
Imagination,’ from ‘Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory,’”
said Colton Hollis, an Ione
Community School senior.
“I’m nervous,” said
senior Julia Fernandez, a
choir student from Echo.
“I’ve never been on a plane
before. But I’m excited
about the different cultures
we’ll get to see.”
Some of the time will be
structured, but students will
get some time to explore the
island and enjoy their spring
break, as well.
“We’ll sing five songs in
front of an adjudicator, and
three with the mass choir,”
said Natalie Sherman, a
junior choir student from
Echo.
Janna Frazier, the choir
teacher at Echo School, said
it has taken a lot of prepara-
tion to get ready for the trip.
“We’re doing contem-
porary, gospel, and some
modern rock,” she said.
“And then we’ll have a few
mass choir songs.”
Bryan Bates, the Ione
band and choir director,
said his students will learn a
march by John Philip Souza,
a song called “Carnival,”
and a couple of ballads.
“It’s all very contempo-
rary,” he said. “We won’t
really be playing any clas-
sical music.”
The students prepared
for their big trip, which
starts March 24, with a
performance for parents and
friends Friday afternoon.
–——
Contact
Jayati
Ramakrishnan at 541-564-
4534 or jramakrishnan@
eastoregonian.com
Local dance teams score at state
PENDLETON — The Pendleton and Hermiston dance
teams scored big at the state competition this weekend,
with Pendleton’s Rhythmic Mode taking second place
for the 5A category and Hermiston’s Stardust taking fifth.
There were 13 teams in the 5A competition.
The Pendleton dance team, which has 31 students,
performed a jazz routine, called “Fear the Mindkiller,”
and received several individual honors as well. Senior
Ashleigh Bolling received a $1,500 dance scholarship,
and senior Abby Rinehart received a $1,000 academic
scholarship. Two students, Bolling and Madison Cates,
were also voted to the All-State team, which honored
eight dancers from the 5A category.
The Hermiston dance team, which has 18 students,
performed a jazz routine titled “The Witch Hunt.”
Hermiston senior Aristea Loveland was also selected
to the All-State team.
TRCI inmate dies unexpectedly
UMATILLA — An inmate of Two Rivers Correctional
Institution died unexpectedly Tuesday morning.
David Lewis Purcell, 72, was at TRCI, Umatilla,
when an ambulance at about 4:15 a.m. took him to an
area hospital, according to the statement from the Oregon
Department of Corrections. He died at 5:30 a.m. of
apparent natural causes.
Purcell entered the state prison system on Dec.
8, 1999, from Clackamas County on three counts of
first-degree sodomy and one count of first-degree sexual
penetration. His earliest release date was July 21, 2025.
As with all unanticipated deaths in state prisons, the
Oregon State Police Criminal Investigation Division is
conducting an investigation.
The corrections department also stated attempts to
notify the next of kin were unsuccessful and no other
details are available at this time.
PENDLETON
Pendleton teen goes to prison for rape
Ag pad at airport will remain open
PENDLETON — Cole James Pryor, 19, of Pendleton
pleaded guilty to raping multiple girls. The 19-year-old
now heads to state prison for more than 14-and-half years.
Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus charged
Pryor with several cases of raping and abusing girls 16
and younger in 2015 and 2016. Court records show Pryor
on March 14 pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree
rape, two counts of second-degree rape and one count of
second-degree sexual abuse. The state dismissed the other
cases against Pryor.
Circuit Judge Jon Lieuallen on Monday sentenced
Pryor to prison for 14 years, seven months, the mandatory
minimum sentence in Oregon for first- and second-degree
rape. When Pryor gets out, he will have to serve 20 years
of post-prison supervision.
Pendleton police arrested Pryor on Nov. 10 for
first-degree rape of a 12-year-old girl. That investigation
led to the others. Pendleton police chief Stuart Roberts at
the time said Pryor met some of his victims through their
older sisters and others through social media. Pryor and
some of the girls were friends on Facebook.
Blast wall to assuage safety concerns with drone range
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
The northernmost agricultural pad at
the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport is
open for business.
Members of the Pendleton Airport
Commission held a special meeting
Monday to resolve safety concerns
between the pad and nearby drone oper-
ations. The city recently purchased two
40-foot shipping containers that will
act as a blast wall to protect sensitive
equipment. The containers are expected
to arrive at the airport by Wednesday.
Darryl Abling, who manages the
Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems
Range, previously recommended the
airport temporarily close the ag pad
while UAS activities are relocated to the
north end of the airfield. The concern,
Abling said, was planes kicking up
rocks and debris that could possibly
damage drones or injure flight crews.
After meeting with stakeholders last
week, Abling agreed a barrier would be
an effective solution in the short term.
Crop dusting pilots stressed the need to
settle the issue quickly, since farmers
are already applying fertilizer to their
fields and the window for work is finite.
Two pilots had expressed interest in
using the disputed ag pad — Andrew
Kilgore, of K2 Aerial Application, and
Brad Wahl, of Wildhorse Helicopters.
Kilgore hired an attorney after he was
denied use of the pad, but never got to
the point of litigation.
There was some discussion about
making the pad open to the public
under a pay-as-you-go system, though
that raised questions about who would
manage the pad and whether it would
open the city to liability. As it is, the
airport leases its ag pads to single oper-
ators.
The airport commission ultimately
agreed it would lease the pad to Wahl,
who would share use with Kilgore.
“I don’t think it has to be compli-
cated,” Wahl said. “I think I can work
with him, he can work with me and that
would be fine.”
Kilgore’s attorney, Michael Schultz,
said he felt the agreement was a step in
the right direction.
“I am heartened that we are in the
position today where we are cooper-
ating,” Schultz said.
Robb Corbett, Pendleton city
manager, questioned whether the airport
commission and city council should
consider changes in how the ag pads are
managed and leased to ensure a pilot is
not excluded in the future.
“I understand there’s cooperation
going on now, but there may be times
when there isn’t,” Corbett said.
Alan Gronewold, airport commission
chairman, said that is a subject they will
visit at a future meeting.
———
Contact George Plaven at gplaven@
eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0825.
HERMISTON
I found Dad’s remote in the fridge again.
…I’m beginning to get worried.
IT’S NOT LIKE HIM.
Route work
Senior center construction to begin in April pays for my
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
The Hermiston City
Council approved a contract
with G2 Construction to
build Hermiston a new senior
center.
The
Kennewick-based
company will begin construc-
tion on the Harkenrider Center
in April. The center, built with
a combination of funds from a
federal Community Develop-
ment Block Grant and the city
general fund, will be located
on Ridgeway Avenue north-
west of the Hermiston Public
Library where Armand Larive
Middle School once stood.
G2 Construction was
the low bidder of three
companies, with a $2,198,000
base bid plus $80,000 for an
elevator. Mayor David Drotz-
mann said he was pleased to
see a bid that came in under
budget and allowed for the
addition of the elevator.
“Considering the construc-
tion landscape we’ve seen,
this is exciting not having to
value-engineer everything,”
he said.
The council also took
care of several housekeeping
items, including addition of
language in the Transient
Room Tax rules that acknowl-
edges that the tax cannot be
applied to federal employees
staying at a hotel while on
official federal business. They
approved an update to the
employee handbook stating
that city employees required
to use a cell phone for their
job can choose between a $40
per month reimbursement
toward their personal phones
or carrying a city-supplied
phone to only be used for city
business.
The council denied a
request from the Hispanic
Advisory Committee’s Cinco
de Mayo nonprofit for a beer
garden at Butte Park during
this year’s two-day Cinco de
Mayo event.
Councilor Clara Beas
Fitzgerald, who also serves
as Cinco de Mayo committee
chair, said the celebration
can’t be held in its former
spot along Second Street
because of construction on
the Harkenrider Center and
can’t move up to the Eastern
Oregon Trade and Event
Center as planned because of
ongoing construction there.
They need the revenue from
the beer garden to cover the
expense of the bands they are
hiring, she said, and all OLCC
requirements for security
would be followed.
City councilors weren’t
keen on the idea of making
an exception to the city ordi-
nance against alcohol in city
parks, however, especially at
an event that will bring a large
number of families with small
children to the park.
“To me, it’s a family event,
and when you bring alcohol
in it can cause problems,”
Manuel Gutierrez said.
Mark Gomolski, who
recently joined the Hispanic
Advisory Committee, told
the council they needed to
approve the request because
the “at this point it’s really
settled,” and it was an oppor-
tunity to support Hermiston’s
Hispanic community.
Drotzmann pushed back,
saying that “it’s already
planned” is not a reason
for the council to make any
decision and the concern was
about selling alcohol in a city
park, not about support for the
event.
In the end councilor John
Kirwan made a motion to
approve the request, but it
died for lack of a second.
children’s
activities.
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