Friday, March 24, 2017
CRITFC announces
new executive director
Pinkham will take
over April 24
Center,
a
nonprofit
providing technical support
to tribes in Minnesota,
North Dakota and South
East Oregonian
Dakota as they redesigned
their government systems.
Prior to that, Pinkham
A new executive director
is coming to the Columbia spent two decades in the
River Inter-Tribal Fish Pacific Northwest advo-
cating for tribal sovereignty
Commission.
Jaime
Pinkham,
a and treaty rights, including
member of the Nez Perce a stint at CRITFC from
2005 to 2008 as
Tribe with more
watershed devel-
than 30 years of
opment manager.
experience
in
Pinkham has a
American Indian
degree in forestry
affairs, will take
from
Oregon
over at CRITFC
State University.
beginning
He has twice
April 24. The
been elected to
Portland-based
the Nez Perce
commission
Tribal Executive
works on behalf Pinkham
Committee, and
of four tribes,
led its natural
including
the
Umatilla, Warm Springs, resources program focused
Yakama and Nez Perce, to on salmon restoration, land
enforce treaty fishing rights acquisition, wolf recovery
and influence fisheries and water rights negotia-
tions.
management.
CRITFC
chairman
With his selection,
Pinkham becomes the 10th Leland Bill said Pinkham’s
director of CRITFC in 40 work on tribal sovereignty
and natural resources stood
years.
“As a treaty fisher and out among the field of
hunter, I am humbled to candidates for executive
work with the member director.
“We look forward to
tribes
of
CRITFC,”
Pinkham said in a state- working with Jaime as we
ment. “CRITFC plays an face a number of current
important role working issues that impact salmon
at the intersection of each and tribal treaty fishing
tribe’s individual autonomy rights, including climate
and their unified voice. change, an altered federal
Healthy and harvestable government landscape and
salmon runs are funda- the renegotiation of the
mental to the sovereign Columbia River Treaty.”
Pinkham succeeds Paul
identities and cultures of
Lumley, who served for
the four member tribes.”
For the last eight years, eight years before leaving
Pinkham has served as to lead the Native Amer-
vice president of the Bush ican Youth and Family
Foundation in Saint Paul, Association in Portland.
Minnesota, where he led the Rob Lothrop will continue
Native Nations program. to serve as interim execu-
His work led to the creation tive director until Pinkham
of the Native Governance arrives.
BRIEFLY
Warrant sweep nets nine arrests
MILTON-FREEWATER — The local police inter-
agency drug team arrested nine people Tuesday morning
in the Milton-Freewater area.
The Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team,
Umatilla County Community Justice Department,
Milton-Freewater police and other agencies conducted
a warrant sweep through the area, according to a
statement from Milton-Freewater Police Chief Doug
Boedigheimer.
Police arrested five people on probation detention
warrants, according to the statement, one person on two
felony Umatilla County warrants, one person on a felony
warrant from Washington, and another on a felony
warrant from Idaho. Police also arrested one man on a
Umatilla County warrant for multiple charges, but the
information nor court records revealed what they were at
this time.
Officers also knocked on about 20 doors to talk to
speak with people “for various reasons,” according to the
statement.
Hermiston police will start ticketing
for illegal stopping in roadway
HERMISTON — The Hermiston Police Department
will start issuing tickets Monday for drivers illegally
stopping in the roadway.
Police chief Jason Edmiston said the problem has
been most pronounced at the Dutch Bros. coffee shop at
East Jennie Avenue and Highway 395, but the rule will
apply everywhere.
“Over the course of the last several months, members
of the Hermiston Police Department have attempted to
educate people on the dangers involved with inappro-
priately stopping in the roadway waiting for access to a
drive-through entrance,” he said.
The department tries to use ticketing as a last resort,
Edmiston said, but has found it necessary as stopping in
the roadway has become a major safety issue.
“We are now at a point where enforcement must take
place since our education efforts are falling on deaf
ears,” Edmiston said.
Edmiston said officers will issue $110 tickets to
offenders, but the amount may vary depending on how
the courts choose to handle each case.
Activity night features spring fun
HERMISTON — Crafts, an egg hunt and snacks
are featuring during The Arc Umatilla County Activity
Night.
Open to the public, the event is Tuesday from 5:30-
6:30 p.m. at The Arc Building, 215 W. Orchard Ave.,
Hermiston. There is no admission charge.
The Arc Umatilla County is a nonprofit organization
that advocates for the rights of children and adults with
intellectual and developmental disabilities. They work to
connect families and community members and improve
services for people with disabilities.
For more information, call541-567-7615 or visit
www.thearcumatilla.org.
REGION
East Oregonian
Page 3A
PENDLETON
Local stars to dance for charities
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
A night of glamour and glitz is
planned as local stars team up with
professional dancers to raise money for
local charities.
Sponsored by Community Action
Program of East Central Oregon,
Dancing With Your Pendleton Stars
connects local celebrities with members
of the Utah Ballroom Dance Company.
They will present a fun evening of
entertainment that also provides a
boost to the budgets of local nonprofit
organizations.
Local stars include Danny Bane,
Donna Biggerstaff, Mike Ciraulo, Scott
Fairley, Debbie McBee and Kristin
Swaggart.
A Pendleton native, Bane is known
for his work with children, including
with Lost & Found Youth Outreach,
as an adverse childhood experience
trainer and youth engagement consul-
tant. Bane, who will cut a rug for
United Way of Umatilla and Morrow
Counties, chose the organization as a
way to say thank you for their support
of Lost & Found.
“No other organization in Pendleton
supports grassroots action like United
Way,” he said.
Growing up in Pendleton, Bigger-
staff has owned a downtown business,
worked for the Round-Up and currently
is employed by the city of Pendleton.
She will be dancing for Pendleton
Younglife. Biggerstaff supports youth
sports and activities and hopes to
highlight the mission of the faith-based
Pendleton Younglife program.
“Younglife is about building solid
relationships with kids, with the under-
standing we just love them where they
are, hiccups, hurts and hang-ups,” she
said.
A newcomer to town, Ciraulo
moved to Pendleton a little more than
a year ago to become chief of the Pend-
leton Fire Department. Falling in love
with the community, Ciraulo feels all
people are called to help those in need,
which is why he’ll be hitting the dance
floor for Pregnancy Care Services of
Pendleton. The organization provides
emotional support and services for
people making decisions regarding an
unplanned pregnancy.
“They serve a cause that is close to
my heart,” he said.
Fairley serves as the Eastern Oregon
coordinator for Gov. Kate Brown’s
office. He is also a member of the
Pendleton City Council and has served
on many committees and commissions.
Bane
Biggerstaff
Ciraulo
Fairley
McBee
Swaggart
Dancing With Your
Pendleton Stars
Saturday, April 8, at 7 p.m.
The Vert Auditorium,
480 S.W. Dorion, Pendleton
Tickets: $20
In addition to dazzling his wife
with his newly acquired dance skills,
Fairley hopes to provide some relief
for Pioneer Relief Nursery. The orga-
nization offers support and resources to
at-risk families.
“All children deserve safety, love
and the opportunity to realize their full
potential,” he said.
A Pendleton resident for more than
two decades, McBee has served on
numerous boards and volunteered in
many capacities. Among the causes she
has championed over the years is the
Children’s Museum of Eastern Oregon,
which she proudly worked with
hundreds of people to help make the
nonprofit play space a reality 20 years
ago. Because of that, she’ll be making
some moves on the dance floor to help
support the Children’s Museum.
“I have been blessed to be able
to watch the Children’s Museum
grow and support the development of
children,” McBee said. “As a thriving
facility for families, it is near and dear
to my heart.”
Swaggart likes to cook things up.
A culinary arts instructor and coach of
the culinary team at Pendleton High
School, she also shares her skills with
others.
With a heart for giving back to
the community, Swaggart’s students
prepare and serve food weekly during
the winter months at the Pendleton
Warming Station. She hopes to sizzle
on the dance floor to raise money for
the warming station.
“We are very connected to the
charity,” she said.
The event is Saturday, April 8 at 7
p.m. at the Vert Auditorium, 480 S.W.
Dorion Ave., Pendleton. Tickets are
$20 and are available at CAPECO,
Dave’s Chevron, Pendleton Chamber
of Commerce, each dancer and their
charities.
Money from ticket sales supports
CAPECO programs. Money donated
on behalf of each dancer goes to the
charity of their choosing and counts for
their overall score.
For more information, call 541-276-
1926 or stop by the CAPECO office,
721 S.E. Third St, Suite D, Pendleton.
———
Contact Tammy Malgesini at
tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com
or
541-564-4539.
PILOT ROCK
State clears former officer of dishonesty
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Pilot Rock hired Gary
Thompson as a police officer
in February 2015, and nine
months later he was accused
of lying and fired by the city
council.
Thompson
maintained
throughout that he did not
lie, and a state investigator
for the Oregon Department
of Public Safety Standards
and Training in January
concluded there was not
enough evidence to show
Thompson was dishonest.
“The bottom line is, I
didn’t lie,” Thompson said
this week.
Teri Porter, the Pilot Rock
city recorder, was integral in
pursuing Thompson’s termi-
nation. She said in an email
the city “has a clear policy not
to discuss personnel matters,
so I must decline offering a
statement.”
Pilot Rock relied on
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts to investigate
whether Thompson lied
about ordering activity book-
lets and stickers for children
in the community. Roberts in
an email said he had not seen
the recommendation that the
state close the matter and he
would not comment.
Thompson said their
responses did not surprise
him. But the findings from
the state came as a relief.
“The bottom line
is, I didn’t lie.”
— Gary Thompson
“It’s been a hard road with
this,” Thompson said. “You
think you did something
wrong and you start to believe
it — until I got this.”
He pointed to the investi-
gator’s memo.
The one-page document
from Kristen Hibberds, the
state’s professional standards
investigator and coordinator,
states Pilot Rock terminated
Thompson on what it
perceived as his dishonesty
for not admitting to placing
the order. The memo states
Thompson told Porter he
spoke to a company about
ordering the items and he told
Umatilla County commis-
sioners he ordered them.
“Thompson stated he
never lied at any point in
being questioned about the
incident,” according to the
memo.
Porter initially told the
investigator there were two
witnesses to the conversation
between her and Thompson.
“Upon speaking to one
of the witnesses,” the memo
goes, “she stated she couldn’t
remember anything at all
about the conversation, just
what had been relayed to her
by [Porter].”
The other witness initially
seemed unsure about the
meeting, then said she remem-
bered Thompson denying
he made the purchase.
According to the memo, the
second witness still worked
in city hall with Porter at the
time of the investigation.
The company that sold the
items provided the city with
a recording of Thompson
placing the order, which the
city council and key staff
heard. The investigator’s
memo states the recording
was the company calling
to confirm the order, and
Thompson reported it did
not record his first call in
which he said he did not
have authority to approve the
purchases.
The investigator also
noted the police department
previously bought the items,
and the company contacted
Thompson regarding the
department’s supply and
need.
Hibberds
concluded
this was a case of “he
said/she said” that lacked
enough evidence to prove
Thompson was dishonest
under state administrative
rules and recommended
closing the case.
Thompson said this means
he and his wife, Valoree, have
some closure.
They said losing the job
forced Gary to travel to the
Great Lakes to work as a
mariner with the Merchant
Marines, where he had previ-
ously worked for a decade.
Valoree is a corrections
officer at Eastern Oregon
Correctional
Institution,
Pendleton, and said the East
Oregonian’s coverage of the
firing made her job all the
more difficult as inmates
confronted her about her
husband.
He is now back home in
Pendleton working nights as
a truck driver, which he said
is a good job. He also said he
still has his police certifica-
tion, although it has lapsed.
The couple said they
considered suing Pilot Rock,
and their attorney, Michael
Breiling of Pendleton, told
them the outcome would
be getting the cop job back.
Thompson said he had no
desire to work again for Pilot
Rock.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0833.
March 25th
7PM
No Cover
CH11115
541-276-6111 • Red Lion Lounge • 304 SE Nye, Pendleton