Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 13, 2017)
REGION Tuesday, June 13, 2017 BRIEFLY East Oregonian HERMISTON Police catch homicide suspect Houfmuse East Oregonian Staff photo by Jade McDowell A serious injury crash blocked the overpass on High- way 207 at the Interstate 84 exit 182 Monday morning. Crash shuts down Hwy 207 overpass HERMISTON — The Highway 207 overpass above Interstate 84 south of Hermiston was closed to traffic for several hours after a wreck Monday morning. Oregon State Police reconstructed a serious injury crash that happened at exit 182 at about 10:30 a.m. on the overpass. A Umatilla County Fire District 1 ambulance responded and a LifeFlight helicopter was also called. No further details were available Monday afternoon. Two men injured in Saturday crash BOARDMAN — Two Boardman men were injured in a crash on Interstate 82 Saturday afternoon. Israel A. Martinez, 21, and Adrian Virelas Hernandez, 23, were transported to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston and Martinez was later transported by air ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane. According to the Oregon State Police log entry Martinez was driving a white Mazda with Virelas Hernandez as a passenger when he fell asleep at the wheel at approximately milepost 10 and drove off the roadway shortly before 3:30 p.m. Sheriff’s office cleans out illegal Stanfield homeless camp STANFIELD — Umatilla County cleaned out a homeless camp Friday in Stanfield. The sheriff’s office reported work crews filled half of a large waste container with refuse from the camp. The sheriff’s office in a written statement Monday reported people “were unlawfully residing” in tents for the past several months on county property along the banks of the Umatilla River near the bridge on Seymour Street in Stanfield. Sheriff’s deputies, along with employees from the county planning department and community justice, started the clean up at 9 a.m. “Our deputies checked the camp regularly and communicated with the campers to encourage them to vacate the property by the clean up date,” according to the sheriff’s statement. “During the clean up, the crew worked with the two campers who were present and assisted them in packing and loading their belongings into a privately owned vehicle.” They left, according to the statement, and the work crew cleaned up the site in a couple of hours, throwing trash and debris into the large container, which Sanitary Disposal Services in Hermiston provided The sheriff’s office also reported the “operation began and ended peacefully and no one was arrested.” Recent poetry award winner to headline First Draft Writers’ Series PENDLETON — Joe Wilkins, who was recently presented the Stafford/Hall Award for Poetry at the Oregon Book Awards, will share form his latest works during the First Draft Writers’ Series. The award, which is the highest honor the state gives to poets, was presented for his poetry collection, “When We Were Birds,” which also was selected by Billy Collins for the Miller Williams Poetry Prize series. The collection includes what has been described as, “a panoply of voices” and a “motley chorus,” that ultimately reveals “what binds us and makes us human.” The event, which is Thursday at 7 p.m. at Pendleton Center for the Arts, 214 N. Main St., will include a book signing and open mic sessions for up to 10 local authors. There is no admission charge. Wilkins lives in the Willamette Valley and teaches writing at Linfield College. His 2012 memoir, “The Mountain and the Fathers: Growing Up on the Big Dry,” received the 2014 GLCA New Writers Award in Nonfiction. Also, it was named a 2012 Montana Book Award Honor Book and was a finalist for the 2013 Orion Book Award. It explores the life of boys and men in the unforgiving, harsh world north of the Bull Mountains of eastern Montana. For more information, call 541-278-9201 or visit www. pendletonarts.org. For more about Wilkins, visit www. joewilkins.org. ——— Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports, and press releases. Email press releases to news@ eastoregonian.com Umatilla police on Monday caught the lone suspect in the recent killing of James Cragun. Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston in a written statement reported a Umatilla police supervisor arrested Tyree Houfmuse around 2:35 p.m. Monday after a traffic stop in the area of Southshore Drive and Highway 730, Umatilla. “Taking Mr. Houfmuse into custody without inci- dent is a critical never recovered. component in He was 38. the investigation Edmiston of the death of reported Umatilla James Cragun,” police took the Edmiston said in 35-year-old the statement. Houfmuse to the Hermiston Hermiston Police police early May Department 27 responded to and turned him a shooting at 525 Houfmuse over to officers S.W. 13th Place. there. Police The first officer on the scene later booked him into the found an unresponsive Umatilla County Jail, Cragun and began CPR. Pendleton on the warrant Emergency medical techni- for his arrest issued earlier cians took over, but Cragun this month. “Since the killing of James Cragun, our agency has been in constant contact with our local partner agencies,” Edmiston said in the statement. “The arrest of Mr. Houfmuse is a great example of teamwork on display.” Edmiston explained a plain clothes Hermiston police detective worked “seamlessly” with members of the Umatilla Police Department in filtering information that led to Houfmuse’s capture. MISSION Wyden talks tribal issues at Nixyaawii First town hall senator has held on reservation By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian If all politics is local, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden’s Saturday town hall felt like it couldn’t happen anywhere else but the Umatilla Indian Reservation. At the Nixyaawii Community School gym, Wyden talked about issues that affected both the tribes and rural Oregon in general, while including criticisms of President Donald Trump and his administration. Armand Minthorn, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees, opened the town hall with a traditional tribal prayer before mentioning that this was the first time the tribes have hosted a town hall. The Democratic senator said the town hall was made possible by members of the CTUIR Youth Council, who approached him at an April town hall in Milton-Freewater and invited him to come to the reservation. He took the opportunity to address questions about tribal matters. In response to some audience member concerns, Wyden said he would fight to protect funding for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and benefits for American Indian children under the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Wyden said tribal veterans some- times “fall through the cracks,” and promised to work with Toni Cordell, the CTUIR veteran coordinator, to establish a veteran service organization on the reservation. Health care was also a hot topic at the town hall, with Wyden saying that the Republicans’ health care bill would hit rural Oregon hard. Wyden said health care was a major employer in the region and would negatively affect hospitals like St. Anthony in Pendleton. Wyden blamed Trump for the uncertainty in the insurance market- Staff photo by Antonio Sierra U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden hoists a basketball signed by the Golden Eagles girls basketball team at a town hall at Nixyaawii Community School Saturday. place because he hadn’t committed to making subsidy payments to the insurance companies. “Without rural health care, you can’t really have rural life,” he said. Trump’s proposed budget was a frequent Wyden target, and he came out against its request to privatize the Bonneville Power Administration, which he said would take away jobs while increasing power prices. “I stopped the Bush administration from selling off Bonneville and I’m going to stop the Trump administration from selling off Bonneville, too,” he said. Wyden said he sits on the Senate Budget Committee because he wants to protect programs important to the people in the room rather than the “tax breaks for people born on third base (who) thought they hit a triple.” He is also a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and was among those who questioned former FBI director James Comey on Thursday at the U.S. Capitol. During the hearing, Comey said he believed he was fired because of the bureau’s ongoing investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the presidential election, and also said Trump asked for his loyalty at a one-on-one dinner. Wyden said Russia’s meddling in the election and FBI’s investigation is something that should concern all Americans. “It certainly affects our institutions at the ballot box, and it also tells you something about whether the executive branch, the Trump administration, put their interests first rather than yours,” he said. While many of his talking points were met with cheers from the audi- ence, the loudest ovation came when he recognized the Nixyaawii girls basketball team, which won the Class 1A state title in March. Wyden, who initially attended UC-Santa Barbara on a basketball scholarship, playfully dribbled the basketball and even shot a lay up as he posed for pictures with the team. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@ eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. Umatilla police arrest Carrillo brothers for assault East Oregonian Umatilla police arrested Jesus Carrillo Jr., 31, along with his brother, Rodolfo Abel Carrillo, 27, early Sunday for third-degree assault and second-degree disorderly conduct. Police also arrested Jesus Carrillo for resisting arrest. Disorderly conduct and resisting arrest are misde- meanors, while the assault charge is a felony. The brothers are in the Umatilla County Jail, Pend- leton. A 9-1-1 caller at 3:49 a.m. reported two males jumped another male on Eighth Street, Umatilla, according to the Umatilla police bulletin. Jail records show the arrests occurred at a home at 701 Eighth St., Umatilla. Jesus Carrillo has a criminal history that includes convictions for manufacturing marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school and assault, according to Umatilla County Circuit Court records. He also shot and killed Heriberto Aparicio Garcia in late 2011 when the two fought at party in Hermiston. Carrillo took a deal in 2012 and pleaded guilty to felon in possession of a firearm and criminally negli- gent homicide for the killing and received four-and-half years in prison, along with credit for the time he was in jail. District Attorney Dan Primus at the time said the punishment was fitting because witnesses said Garcia used a knife in the fight, and forensic scientists found Carrillo’s DNA on a bloody knife at the crime scene. Carrillo served his time at Snake River Correctional Institution, Ontario. Snake River’s spokesperson, Cathleen Shroyer, said the Oregon Department of Corrections released Carrillo Dec. 29, 2015 Court records show Jesus Carrillo received a citation in June 2016 for driving without a license and owes $512 for that, and he has a case pending for driving while suspended and care- less driving on May 6. And Rodolfo Carrillo owes $325 on a Feb. 23 ticket for driving while suspended or revoked and driving uninsured. Additional information about the arrest wasn’t avail- able Monday. OPENINGS FOR OPERATORS OF NEW RETAIL LIQUOR LOCATIONS OLCC is recruiting applicants for new retail liquor locations. The open recruitment process is a market-driven effort to improve customer convenience by expanding retail liquor locations with a measured, but consistent amount of growth. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission is accepting applications and aiming to add new retail liquor locations in the following counties: Baker County Crook County Deschutes County Gilliam County Page 3A Grant County Hood River County Jefferson County Morrow County Sherman County Umatilla County Union County Wallowa County Wasco County Wheeler County Applicants are evaluated on background, knowledge and work experience in: • Retail business management • Inventory/cash management • Retail sales and operation • Customer service/public relations in a retail environment • Financial ability to open and operate a retail liquor location A detailed business plan will be required as part of the application process. Join us today! For additional information on open recruitment for new retail liquor locations and application information, visit: http://www.oregon.gov/OLCC/LIQUORSTORES/Pages/liquorsalesoutlets_openrecruitment.aspx Questions can be directed to OLCC.RetailServices@oregon.gov or call 503-872-5020 (toll-free 1-800-426- 2004, Dept # 62). Provide your name, email address and phone number. Applications can also be picked up at 9079 SE McLoughlin Blvd., Portland, OR 97222. An application with a business plan must be received at OLCC’s main office in Portland at the above address, by 5:00 PM, Monday, July 31st, 2017. Applications received after this deadline will not be accepted. Additional open recruitments for these areas and others in the state may occur in the future. Apply Online: Text for more info: