REGION
Thursday, April 27, 2017
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
Merkley to speak in
Pendleton, Heppner
Documentary highlights pipeline protest
East Oregonian
A film highlighting resis-
tance to the Dakota Access
Pipeline in Standing Rock,
North Dakota, will be shown
in Pendleton.
Dan Nanamkin, a water
protector who was present
at the camps in Standing
Rock, will speak during
the screening of “Awake: A
Dream from Standing Rock.”
The free event is Friday at 5
p.m. at Pendleton Center for
the Arts, 214 N. Main St.
Donations will be accepted.
The
documentary
premiered on Earth Day at
the Tribeca Film Festival
in New York City. It has
received positive reviews
and currently has 9.9 out
of 10 stars on the Internet
Movie
Database.
The
84-minute film captures the
story of the American Indi-
an-led defiance fighting for
clean water, the environment
and the future of the planet.
Contributed photo
The Standing Rock Sioux
Tribe and others gained
international attention as they
protested the Dakota Access
Pipeline, which crosses near
their reservation.
Local water protectors,
including Willa Wallace,
Jiselle Halfmoon and Anson
Crane, invite community
members to attend the docu-
mentary screening. Those in
attendance can learn more
about what took place at
Standing Rock, what the
movement stands for and the
purpose of the defiance. In
addition, information about
local environmental issues,
such as proposed pipelines
in Boardman, also will be
available.
A two-day bake sale
to help with costs of the
event concludes Thursday
from 8 a.m. to noon at the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
Governance
Center
in
Mission. Items available
include chocolate chip and
pumpkin chocolate chip
cookies and pumpkin cream
cheese muffins.
For more information,
contact casey.brown.lynn@
gmail.com or 541-429-0593.
For more about the film,
search Facebook or visit
www.awakethefilm.org.
East Oregonian
The third Congressional
representative to visit in
two months, U.S. Sen. Jeff
Merkley will hold town
halls in Pendleton and
Heppner this weekend.
The junior Democratic
senator will hold town halls
at Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College and Heppner
Elementary School on
Sunday, where he will
discuss “what we need to
do to strengthen our state
and our nation,” a Merkley
press release states.
Although
several
HERMISTON — Local
police caught a fleeing
driver after a high-speed
chase early Wednesday
crossed the Umatilla and
Morrow
county
line.
Chester
Brent
Paradiso, 45, of
Irrigon, is in the
Umatilla County
Jail, Pendleton,
on
multiple
charges stemming
from the chase.
M o r r o w
County
under-
sheriff
John Paradiso
Bowles in a
written statement
reported a Umatilla County
sheriff’s deputy began the
pursuit Wednesday at 1:41
a.m. near Umatilla. The
fleeing driver took Inter-
state 82 south to Interstate
84 westbound.
Paradiso reached speeds
above 100 mph as he
entered Morrow County,
and
Morrow
County
sheriff’s deputies near the
Paterson Ferry exit joined
the pursuit.
Oregon State Police
tried to spike the car’s tires
near milepost 171, Bowles
reported, but the driver
Corbett gets high marks in council evaluation
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
By the numbers, the
Pendleton City Council’s
evaluation of city manager
Robb Corbett was glowing.
But words that reflect the
council’s opinion won’t
be found on official public
record.
The city council met
behind closed doors to
discuss Corbett’s evaluation
April 18, and after a public
records request, the city
provided the East Oregonian
with a copy of the document
Tuesday. The city has fought
to keep councilor comments
out of public record in
previous years.
Noticeably absent from
his evaluation were the coun-
cilor’s written comments,
a prominent feature of past
city manager evaluations,
although Corbett continued
to get sterling marks.
Each member of the
council was given the
opportunity to rate Corbett
as “exceeds expectations,”
“meets expectations,” or
“needs improvement” in 16
different categories that eval-
uated his duties and “core
values.”
Corbett received a total of
46 “exceeds expectations”
and 94 “meets expecta-
tions.” He received only
three “needs improvement,”
from the council, receiving
a single tally in the “fiscal
responsibility,”
“commu-
nication” and “leadership”
categories.
Under Oregon law, the
city council is allowed to
call an executive session, a
meeting held behind closed
doors than can be convened
under special circumstances,
to discuss the city manag-
er’s evaluation. The verbal
comments made during exec-
utive session are protected
from public scrutiny but the
document itself is public
record.
Mayor John Turner said
the council decided to keep
their comments verbal this
year, a move he thought
would lead to more honest
discussion on Corbett’s eval-
uation rather than exchanging
written comments.
When asked if the change
was meant to shield council
opinion from the public eye,
Turner laughed and said “no
I don’t think so.”
Corbett said there was no
difference for him to receive
comments on his evaluation
verbally or in print.
The 2017 evaluation
represents a slight improve-
ment from the year before,
which was largely positive.
Corbett maintained the
same number of “meets
expectations” ratings while
increasing his share of
“exceeds expectations” and
decreasing the amount of
“needs improvement” scores.
The written comments in
2015 and 2016 were largely
positive, although some
councilors were critical of
some of Corbett’s staffing
decisions.
Turner described Corbett
as being a “conscientious
guy” and rated him highly
on
his
communication
skills, pointing to his public
outreach initiatives like
the city newsletter and the
“Coffee with the City” series
of meetings.
Corbett served as the city
manager of Burns, Prineville
and Sutherlin before he was
hired by Pendleton in 2011,
replacing longtime city
manager Larry Lehman.
After the council evaluated
Corbett, the council raised
his salary to $123,356.
——
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
HERMISTON — You
can turn in old prescription
medications Saturday at
one of three collection sites
in Umatilla County during
National Prescription Drug
Take Back Day.
The federal Drug
Enforcement Agency works
with local agencies to hold
the events from 10 a.m. to
2 p.m. to get unused and
unwanted prescription drugs
off the streets. Locals can
take their pills and other
solid prescriptions, such as
patches, to the following
sites: Hermiston Police
Department, 330 S. First
St., Hermiston; Umatilla
Tribal Police Department,
46400 Timine Way, on the
Umatilla Indian Reservation,
Pendleton; and Pilot Rock
Police Department, 143 W.
Main St., Pilot Rock.
The local agencies
are among the 180 sites
in the Pacific Northwest
participating Saturday.
Jason Edmiston, Hermiston
police chief, said liquids and
needles are off limits, but
the service is free and no
questions asked. Police Capt.
Darryl Johnson will be on
hand to oversee the vent.
Hermiston police during
past drug take backs,
Edmiston said, received
around 150-200 pounds of
substances.
For more information, visit
www.dea.gov and click on
the take-back links, including
for a list of more sites.
Grief center
hosts fundraiser,
information event
PENDLETON — The
public is invited to a kick-off
fundraiser for an Eastern
Oregon grief program.
People can learn more
about Cason’s Place: Grief
Support for Children and
Families of Eastern Oregon,
as well as make donations.
The event is Friday from
5:30-7 p.m. at Oregon Grain
Growers Distillery, 511 S.E.
Court Ave., Pendleton. A
no-host bar will be available
and appetizers will be
served.
The nonprofit
organization is named in
memory of Cason Terjeson,
who died in an Eastern
Oregon farming accident
in 2007. His parents, Matt
Terjeson and Jan Peterson-
Terjeson, and sister, Lydia,
gained help through the
Dougy Center in Portland.
The Terjesons and others
have met regularly to make
plans to create a similar
facility in Umatilla County.
For more information,
contact 541-377-3049, janpt.
loss@gmail.com, search
Psdchological Services
of Pendleton, LLC
Dr. Stephanie Evans
541.278.2222
135 SE First Street, Pendleton
8 - 6 pm Mon – Th ur
8 - 5 pm on Fri
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Stephanie Evans, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist to our clinical
staff . Dr. Evans completed her doctorate at the Washington
School of Professional Psychology in 2014, her Psychology
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ton State, and her Psychology Residency at Psychological
Services of Pendleton LLC. Dr. Evans provides diagnosis
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and evidence-based treatments for both adult and adolescent issues,
depres-
sion, relational challenges, and trauma. She is comfortable working with clients from a variety
of cultural backgrounds, including members of the LGBTQ community. Her scope of practice
includes evaluating competency, psychiatric diagnoses, behavior problems, and personality.
She joins Drs. Terry Templeman, Connie Umphred, and Natalie Kollross at Psychological Ser-
vices of Pendleton LLC.
avoided the trap. Paradiso
next took the exit for the
Port of Morrow and circled
the south side of Boardman.
Police used spikes again
near Paul Smith Road and
the canal access
road, and this time
were successful.
“Mr.
Para-
diso’s
vehicle
got stuck in
some brush after
crashing through
a gate blocking
access to the canal
road,” according
to Bowles.
Deputies
from both counties took
Paradiso into custody and
found he was driving with a
suspended license and had
methamphetamine.
Bowles reported the
Umatilla County Sheriff’s
Office is the lead agency for
the pursuit, and the Morrow
County Sheriff’s Office will
handle charges stemming
from the property damage.
Paradiso faces initial
charges of attempt to elude/
flee, reckless driving,
reckless endangering and
possession of methamphet-
amine.
BMCC to cut ribbon on
Boardman workforce
training center
BRIEFLY
Get rid of old
prescription drugs
Saturday
members of Congress have
faced raucous crowds at
town hall meetings since
Trump assumed office,
town halls Rep. Greg
Walden, R-Hood River,
recently held in Weston and
Boardman were relatively
subdued. A town hall held
by Democratic Sen. Ron
Wyden also came and went
without incident.
Merkley will hold
the Pendleton town hall
at BMCC on Sunday at
12:30 p.m. The Heppner
town hall at the elementary
school is later that day at
5:30 p.m.
High-speed chase ends
with crash, arrest
PENDLETON
Councilors gave no
written feedback
on city manager’s
job performance
Page 3A
Facebook or visit www.
casonsplace.org.
East Oregonian
BOARDMAN — Blue
Mountain
Community
College will cut the ribbon
Thursday on its new Work-
force Training Center in
Boardman, which officially
opened April 3 to the public.
The ceremony will run
from 4-6 p.m., including
an open house, tours and
dedication of the “Carlson
Room,”
named
after
Louie and Betty Carlson
of Heppner. Cam Preus,
BMCC president, and Chris
Brown, board chairman,
will be on hand, along with
the Boardman Chamber of
Commerce and an appear-
ance by Timber, the BMCC
Timberwolves mascot.
Hermiston FFA
sets plant sale
HERMISTON —
Vegetables, flowers and
students designs are featured
in the Hermiston FFA
Chapter plant sale.
The event is Friday from
3:30-6:30 p.m. and Saturday
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the
Hermiston FFA greenhouse
at Hermiston High School,
600 S. First St.
Money from the
sale will help support
the FFA program. For
more information, visit
www.facebook.com/
HermistonORFFA.
The Workforce Training
Center is the first of three
major construction projects
to be finished after voters
approved a $23 million
bond in May 2015. The
Precision Irrigated Agricul-
ture facility in Hermiston
will celebrate its grand
opening on June 29, and
the Facility for Agricultural
Resource
Management
in Pendleton should be
completed by September.
The Workforce Training
Center is located along
Olson Road in Boardman,
adjacent to the SAGE
Center, and hosts BMCC’s
data center technician,
industrial systems and
early childhood education
programs.
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