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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 2017)
76/55 BUCKS DEFEAT DAWGS Yoshioka takes charge as interim superintendent SPORTS/1B REGION/3A WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2017 141st Year, No. 142 WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Dufloth named Umatilla mayor By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Daren Dufl oth is the new mayor of Umatilla. Dufl oth was unanimously appointed by the city council Tuesday night after David Trott resigned in March, and immediately took up the gavel to run the rest of the meeting. “This is really exciting,” Dufl oth said at the end of the meeting. “We’re at the tipping point for some really good things.” Dufl oth has lived in the commu- nity for 19 years and owns the Riverside Sports Bar and Grill in Umatilla, a local strip club. He is a former city councilor, Umatilla High School sports Dufl oth booster and has volunteered with a variety of sports organiza- tions, including Little League and Babe Ruth baseball. During a question and answer portion between Dufl oth and fellow candidate Lyle Smith, Dufl oth said Umatilla’s greatest asset is its approachable and open residents, followed by its prime location along the Columbia River. “We have a lot to offer to the area, we just have to polish the jewel off, so to speak,” he said. Dufl oth agreed with a previous answer by Smith that one of Umatil- la’s greatest challenges is getting more people involved in the city, and added that the city needed to create trust and buy-in from its residents by taking a “5,000 foot view” in planning for the city’s future. Smith, who is also a former city councilor, told the council before their vote that he would “absolutely” be willing to run for one of the two council positions declared vacant Tuesday. He also praised Dufl oth and said he wouldn’t want to see coun- cilors vote for Smith only out of a concern that there might be “outcry” from the community over the fact that the Dufl oth owns an establish- ment that includes a strip club. If councilors were concerned See UMATILLA/8A PENDLETON An alternative site for alt school By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian The nomadic Hawthorne Alternative High School program in Pendleton could be in line for more changes. At a school board meeting Tuesday, district administrators proposed merging the alternative education program into Pendleton High School. “I do think that under the current circumstances, given the very low numbers of students that are attending regularly at the alternative school and in light of some of the budget reductions, this might be an opportunity to do it,” interim superinten- dent Matt Yoshioka said. The district won’t eliminate the alternative education program under the proposal, instead pushing it under the Pendleton High School umbrella. Pendleton High School principal Dan Greenough compared the potential move to a similar situation in the Hermiston School District, where adminis- trators recently folded the Innovative Learning Center into Hermiston High School. But before the district can make the change, it will have to sort through some logistical and emotional issues fi rst. Greenough said he’s still considering whether to keep Hawthorne at the Pendleton Technology and Trades Center or move it to the nearby PHS campus. If he does move the alternative program to the larger high school, he wants to have a space in the building specif- ically for alternative school students. Greenough said one of the main factors in this decision is teacher availability and One dollar State tax structure ready for remodel By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — Oregon lawmakers began discus- sions Tuesday on the broad strokes of proposed changes in state taxes that could raise as much as $3 billion per budget cycle. The proposed changes, under an outline formally released Tuesday, could include three main features — a new tax on gross busi- ness sales; the elimination of the corporate income tax; and reductions in the personal income tax. Sen. Mark Hass, D-Bea- verton, co-chair of the legis- lature’s newly formed Joint Committee on Tax Reform, said the plan released Tuesday is an attempt to address what he has described as a volatile state revenue system that relies on the personal income tax. The plan’s proposed reduc- tions to the personal income tax also seem intended to counter criticisms that a tax on business sales will increase consumer prices. Lawmakers are contending with a $1.6 billion gap between what the state anticipates in revenue and what it will cost to main- tain current services in the See TAXES/6A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Sophomore Matthew Gordon reads a website about early media in the Americas while studying English on Tuesday at the Hawthorne Alternative High School in Pendleton. Smith stands up for media By PETER WONG Capital Bureau awarded for the top entries. In addition, kids can deco- rate their bikes and other community members are encouraged to get creative and join the parade. Beas Fitzgerald said the parade’s grand marshal is Francisco Maass, Oregon’s Mexican consul general. He will speak Saturday at approximately 2 p.m. “He will dedicate the ceremonies,” she said. Natali Armenta, Daisy Cardenas and Jaleslie Torres, who were recently elected as the Cinco de Mayo royalty court, also will be introduced. The PORTLAND — Gordon Smith says President Donald Trump is wrong when he branded some news organi- zations as “the enemy of the American people,” a phrase usually describing hostile nations or subver- s i v e groups. Smith made his comment Tu e s d a y during a keynote s p e e c h Smith at the 17th annual breakfast of the Portland Business Alliance. More than 1,000 attended the event at the Oregon Conven- tion Center. “Of all of President Trump’s tweets, the one I think that is most regrettable is the one where he said the media is the enemy of the American people,” Smith said. “It is not.” Coming from the presi- dent and chief executive of the National Association of Broadcasters since 2009, Smith’s comment is hardly surprising. Coming from Pendleton’s former Republican state senator, Oregon Senate pres- ident and one of Oregon’s U.S. senators for 12 years until 2008, Smith’s comment may be surprising. Trump’s original tweet See CINCO/5A See SMITH/8A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Staff photo by E.J. Harris Junior Mikeighla Velazquez monitors the progress of a laser engraver during her robotics class at the Hawthorne Alternative High School on Tuesday. The Hawthorne Alternative High School is currently in its new home at the Pendleton Technology & Trades Center in Pendleton. their ability to travel from one campus to the other. In talking with school staff, Greenough was told population. Board member Steve Umbarger said the issue of Hawthorne identity that students strongly identify with the Hawthorne name and its separation from the rest of the high school would fade after three years because new high school See HAWTHORNE/8A HERMISTON Two-day Cinco de Mayo event offers twice the fun By TAMMY MALGESINI East Oregonian Organizers are gearing up for double the merriment Saturday and Sunday as Hermiston’s Cinco de Mayo celebration expands to two days. People can register for the parade Saturday between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Oxbow Trail, located at 11th Street and West Elm Avenue. The parade will get rolling at 1 p.m., traveling east on Elm Avenue. It will head to Butte Park, 1245 N.W. Seventh St., the site of the event. Cinco de Mayo committee chairwoman File photo Members of mariachi band Los Temerosos participate in the 2016 Cinco de Mayo parade in Hermiston. The group will perform Sunday as part of this year’s two- day celebration. Clara Beas Fitzgerald invites people to dress their pets up in costumes for the parade — prizes will be
