East Oregonian : E.O., June 08, 2017, Image 1

67/46
HOOFIN’ IT
ACROSS THE
HIGH DESERT
GOLDEN STATE
NOW ONE WIN
FROM 16-0
REGION/3A
SPORTS/1B
THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017
141st Year, No. 168
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
One dollar
Cattlemen vote to sue USFWS for
keeping wolves on endangered list
By KATY NESBITT
EO Media Group
Courtesy Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Two adult wolves from the Walla Walla Pack were
caught on remote trail camera Jan. 2016 in northern
Umatilla County.
The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association
announced this week its intent to sue
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for
its failure to complete an environmental
study that would remove gray wolves
from the endangered species list in the
lower 48 states.
Citing the agency’s lack of deci-
sion-making following the publication
of its 2013 proposed rule in the Federal
Register to remove the gray wolves
from the Federal List of Threatened
and Endangered Species, Jerome Rosa,
executive director of Oregon Cattlemen,
said the membership voted to fi le a
60-day letter of intent to sue U.S. Fish
and Wildlife at its Pendleton spring
quarterly meeting June 2.
Rosa said the Cattlemen will be
represented by the Pacifi c Legal Foun-
dation of Sacramento, Calif.
“One comment we’ve gotten through
the years is that the cattle industry often
tends to be playing defense,” Rosa said.
“Many of our members feel by moving
forward with this we are being on the
offensive side of things instead of trying
to defend what we do.”
See WOLVES/8A
PENDLETON
Makeover
in works
for Rodeo
City Inn
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
that provided up to $150,000
for initiatives to improve atten-
Nary a window remains intact at
the derelict three-story Rodeo City Inn
outside Pendleton.
But Umatilla County offi cials are
hopeful its owner can bring the place
back to life. Or at least clean it up.
The county in 2013 declared the site
a crime property, and a lawsuit from
tenants in early 2014 shut it down.
County counsel Doug Olson told the
board of commissioners Wednesday
morning the owner said on the phone
he plans to have crews there this week
to start repairs and has a franchise
agreement for the property.
Olson said the owner claimed he
bought a number of hotels and has been
renovating them. The inn, Olson said,
is the last on the list. The limited-lia-
bility company Western Hospitality
and Properties of El Centro, California,
in 2014 bought the Rodeo City Inn for
$379,000, according to county records.
The East Oregonian was not able to
contact representatives with Western
Hospitality by press time.
Rodeo City Inn sits on crumbling
and pot-holed asphalt off Interstate 84
about fi ve miles west of Pendleton.
Along with missing windows, plenty
of rooms lack doors. Olson said the inn
was the only property the county has
received multiple complaints about,
including at a recent public meeting,
and in spite of the property’s poor
shape, the county lacks the legal power
to deal with dilapidated properties.
Commissioner
Larry
Givens
suggested the county should remedy
that. Fellow commissioners Bill
Elfering and George Murdock agreed.
“I think it’s an absolute travesty,”
Murdock said. “This is a gateway to
Pendleton. I think it’s also a safety
See SIGNS/8A
See MOTEL/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Nicholas Jennings, Richard Jennings and Perry Jennings place a paper template for the translations of Washington Elementary
in both Umatilla and Weyiiletpuu on Tuesday in Pendleton.
THE SIGNS
THEY ARE
A-CHANGIN’
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
The latest sign of the Pend-
leton School District’s push to
boost Native American education
is quite literal.
Washington
Elementary
School has been adding Umatilla
and Weyiiletpuu translations
to internal signs throughout
the school year, culminating
in a Umatilla translation of the
school’s name on the building’s
front façade that was installed
Tuesday. Weyiiletpuu is a Nez
Perce dialect spoken by Cayuse
people,
whose
traditional
language is now extinct.
The signs and many of the
district’s recent American Indian
education initiatives have be paid
for by state and federal grants. But
with those grants expiring and not
much local funding to back them
up, the future of at least one of
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
All of the signage at Washington Elementary is now displayed
in English, American sign language, the Umatilla language,
and Weyiiletpuu, a local dialect of Nez Perce.
those programs is in doubt.
The new signs were funded
through the Tribal Attendance
Pilot Project grant, a state grant
Long-distance relationship with legislators
Hansell, Barreto hold
bi-monthly video chats
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Rep. Greg Barreto and Sen. Bill Hansell hold a video conference
call at BMCC on Monday in Pendleton. The pair of local politi-
cians regularly hold the calls and they are open to the public.
As they sip coffee and sit back in
comfy swivel chairs, a half a dozen
locals speak truth to power every other
Monday morning.
Anyone can participate in these video
chats with Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena,
and Greg Barreto, R-Cove, in the Blue
Mountain Community College board-
room. The two lawmakers sit behind
microphones in the Capitol’s media
room. This Monday, the Pendleton group
included BMCC President Camille
Preus, Pendleton Chamber Director
Gail Nelson, Casey White-Zollman,
vice-president of public relations at
BMCC, and several others.
These discussions during the Legis-
lative session take on the air of any
congenial coffee klatch among avid
political junkies, despite Hansell and
Barreto being 250 miles away.
On Monday, attendees scrutinized
legislation dealing with the Public
Employees Retirement System, trans-
portation infrastructure, restrictions on
the awarding of noneconomic damages
in wrongful death claims, predictive
scheduling and other topics. The list of
bills has been whittled down over the
past few months.
“It’s all coming down to the wire,”
Barreto said.
Occasionally the biweekly conversa-
tions lead to concrete changes in Salem.
Take Senate Bill 43, for example. An
See VIDEO/8A