WEEKEND EDITION
TOP SEED BEAVERS
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES/1B
SILENT FALLS LIFESTYLES/1C
URAL THOMAS
BRINGING
THE PAIN TO
PENDLETON
ENTERTAINMENT/3C
JUNE 10-11, 2017
141st Year, No. 170
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
BOARDMAN
Mega-dairy
responds to
petition to
halt business
Argues stay on permit
would cripple operation
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Shoppers browse through sale items at the J.C. Penney store in Pendleton. The store is closing after being in business in the
same place for 106 years.
As Pendleton’s oldest store
liquidates, memories fl ow
Pendleton J.C. Penney
stayed put for 106 years
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
Michelle Mizerka-Peters’ offi ce is a
Spartan affair, devoid of leather couches,
plush carpet or any other hint of ostenta-
tiousness. With yellowing tile fl oors and
basic furniture, the biggest perk of the
century-old offi ce is an expansive, birds-eye
view of the general manager’s domain —
the sprawling main fl oor of the Pendleton
J.C. Penney store — through a wide, glass-
free window.
These days, the view is a bit jarring.
On a recent day, she looked down at a
dozen-or-so customers who roamed the
fl oor. Above the browsing patrons hung
bright going-out-of-business signs.
“Nothing Held Back. Everything Must
Go. Store Closing.”
See J.C. PENNEY/10A
The owner of a controversial new mega-
dairy in Morrow County says his farming
practices go above and beyond what’s
required to protect the environment, and
efforts to halt his operation would cause
“tragic” injuries to the cows already on site.
Greg te Velde, a California dairyman
with more than 40 years of experience,
recently opened Lost Valley Farm on a
portion of the former Boardman Tree Farm
following an extensive permitting process.
Lost Valley Farm was approved in
March by the Oregon Department of Agri-
culture and Department of Environmental
Quality, which jointly administer the
state’s confi ned animal feeding operation,
or CAFO, program. Offi cials described the
permit as the most restrictive of any CAFO
to date, ensuring the dairy would properly
handle waste from up to 30,000 cows.
Opponents, however, are urging regu-
lators to change their minds. A coalition
of groups has fi led a petition for recon-
sideration, arguing the dairy does not go
far enough to protect water quality. The
petition also asks for a stay of Lost Valley’s
CAFO permit.
Members of the coalition include the
Animal Legal Defense Fund, Center for
Biological Diversity, Center for Food
Safety, Columbia Riverkeeper, Food &
Water Watch, Friends of Family Farmers,
Oregon Physicians for Social Responsi-
See DAIRY/12A
School staff
‘took the fi ght’
to assailants
Middle school principal released
from hospital; teenagers jailed
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Retired J.C. Penney employees Suzie Fortier and Nora Pointer worked a combined
60 years at the Pendleton store.
Linda and Tim Turner are the
fi rst in a unique group of home-
owners in Hermiston — they live
in a house constructed largely by
high school students, in a neigh-
borhood growing at the rate of one
home a year.
“We started driving by during
the fi rst year when it was being
built, and we just fell in love with
it,” Linda said.
The Turners will soon get some
new neighbors, as the third student-
built home in as many years is now
on the market.
On Friday, students got to show
COLLEGE PLACE — Two teenagers
were being held Friday for an assault that
injured the principal of John Sager Middle
School Thursday afternoon and locked
down that school and College Place High
School.
One of the suspects, Jaymond Oakhurst,
18, appeared this morning in Walla Walla
County Superior Court. According to a
police report presented in court, the second
suspect is Lamont Oakhurst, 16, who is
Jaymond Oakhurst’s brother.
At the court hearing, Judge John
Lohrmann set bail for Jaymond Oakhurst
at $100,000. The amount was recom-
mended by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney
Jill Peitersen based on the seriousness
of the alleged offenses and concerns
about Oakhurst’s mental health “as he’s
presented here today.”
During his fi rst appearance, Oakhurst
appeared lethargic and confused, speaking
in a nearly inaudible, somewhat incoherent
fashion. During questioning by Lohrmann,
he kept his head lowered slightly and
paused before answering routine questions
about his age, address and ability to under-
stand his constitutional rights.
He was returned to the Walla Walla
County Jail after the hearing. He is being
held on investigation of fi rst-degree
assault, second-degree malicious mischief
and harassment. His younger brother was
lodged in the county juvenile detention
See HOMES/12A
See SCHOOL/12A
“I just loved the people – I miss the customers so much. Everyone shopped
there and it seemed like everyone worked at Penney’s at some point.”
— Nora Pointer, retired J.C. Penney employee
HERMISTON
A student-built neighborhood
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan
The three student-built homes at Fieldstone Crossing on
Southwest Angus Court in Hermiston.
By ANDY PORTER
Union-Bulletin