WEEKEND EDITION
The
invention
of pork
CHURCHES SHARE PIONEER roast
SMITH
ALL-EO
PLAYER OF
THE YEAR
HISTORY LIFESTYLES/1C
SPORTS/1B
OPINION/5A
APRIL 15-16, 2017
141st Year, No. 130
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
IMESD
to offer
online
school
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Starting in July, many Eastern
Oregon administrators will be able
to make any house with an internet
connection in their district a school.
Over the summer, the InterMoun-
tain Education Service District plans
to launch IMESD Online as a part of
its local service plan.
That means that along with its
usual special education and technical
support, the IMESD will be able to
offer online school to all 18 school
districts under its purview, which
spans Umatilla, Morrow, Union and
Baker counties.
IMESD superintendent Mark
Mulvihill has high hopes for the new
program.
“This could be as transformational
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Rachel Bieren, wife of Staff Sgt. Austin Bieren, 25, who died last month in Syria receives her husband’s ashes after they were
fl own home and transported by hearse to Umatilla.
Bieren’s ashes return home
Air Force Staff Sgt. who died in Syria escorted by Patriot Guard Riders
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Staff Sgt. Austin Bieren’s
ashes were returned home with
honors on Friday.
Flags lined the main street
through Umatilla in honor of the
Air Force security forces airman,
who died of apparent natural
causes on March 28 while on
active duty in Syria.
Bieren, 25, grew up in
Umatilla, and his family has been
an active part of the community
there. On Friday friends and
family stood in support of
his wife, Rachel Bieren, as
she received the wooden box
containing his ashes at her home.
Members of the Patriot
Guard Riders also stood at
attention in a fl ag line around
the home, while other members
Honoring Bieren
A celebration of life for
Bieren, open to the public,
will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday
in the Umatilla High School
gymnasium.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Patriot Guard Riders escort a hearse holding the ashes of
Staff Sgt. Austin Bieren, 25, back to his wife’s home in Uma-
tilla on Friday afternoon.
of the motorcycle group rode in
the procession from the Pasco
Airport to Bieren’s home.
Gary David, Patriot Guard
Riders ride captain for the
Hermiston area, said that the
group hoped the family was
comforted by the support.
“Of course, it’s our honor
to do these for our military
veterans,” he said.
The group will also provide
a fl ag line for Bieren’s funeral
service on Saturday. “We come
from all walks of life, here
for one purpose: to honor the
veteran and his family,” David
said.
Along with the Patriot
Guard Riders, vehicles from the
Umatilla Police Department,
Pasco Police Department and
Umatilla Rural Fire Protection
See BIEREN/10A
See IMESD/10A
Rural residents
defend trapper
program; don’t
want cuts
By ANDREW THEEN
The Oregonian
PORTLAND — In many Oregon
communities, county governments
are hard up for cash, a decades-old
fact of life arising from falling timber
revenue, stagnant property values
and a deep-seated aversion to local
tax levies.
So locals are used to prioritizing
services. Lincoln County Chair Terry
Thompson recalls a time a few years
back when a group of rural residents
wanted to make their wishes known
to the county board.
“We want good roads that we
can travel on,” he recalled them
saying, “and the trapper. The rest of
the things are just for people in the
cities.”
See TRAPPER/12A
Getting an education in independent living
HHS grad Kodie Arnold attends
Washington school for the blind
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
Kodie Arnold runs lightly down the steps of a
large brick building to open the front gate.
“Sorry,” she says, opening the iron handle after a
moment’s effort. “I’m kind
of sore, I did a workout
yesterday.”
As Arnold makes her
way back up to her room
in the Washington State
School for the Blind, she
uses her hands to guide Editor’s note: Promise &
her, barely hesitating as she Potential is an ongoing
goes up the four fl ights of
series following young
stairs.
Arnold, who was raised adults as they leave
in Hermiston and graduated high school and head
from Hermiston High into the world.
School in 2016, has always
been fully blind, learning to
read Braille and use a cane when she was young.
She was born a few months early, and her eyes were
See ARNOLD/12A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Receptionist Sam Nash helps Kodie Arnold put on a blindfold in the front offi ce of the Oregon
Commission for the Blind on Wednesday in Portland. Students at the school are taught what
it is like to be fully blind and Arnold has some sensitivities to light.