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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 29, 2017)
84/57 HERMISTON TRAP CLUB REPEATS STATE TITLE WEST NILE REPORTED IN UMATILLA SPORTS/1B REGION/3A THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2017 141st Year, No. 183 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD FBI agent pleads not guilty to lying about Finicum shooting By STEVEN DUBOIS Associated Press PORTLAND — An FBI agent pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges that he lied about shooting at a key fi gure in last year’s armed occupation of a national wildlife refuge just before the man was killed by Oregon police. W. Joseph Astarita was indicted on fi ve felony charges after the inspector general of the U.S. Justice Department last year began investigating possible FBI misconduct and whether there was a cover-up. He said nothing during a brief court hearing and was released on his own recogni- zance, declining to comment as he left. Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, a spokesman for the group that took over the remote bird sanc- tuary to oppose federal control of land in the Western U.S., was fatally shot Jan. 26, 2016. Oregon State Police opened fi re after he got out of a vehicle at a police roadblock and reached toward a handgun in an inner jacket pocket. Investigators determined the troopers were justifi ed in shooting Finicum but also found members of an FBI See SHOOTING/8A Lawmakers strike deal on transportation package By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — State lawmakers have reached an agreement on sticking points of a multi-million dollar transportation package, Gov. Kate Brown said Wednesday. The details of the proposal will be released later this week, Brown said. Legislators have less than two weeks to fi nish and vote on the package. The plan includes new taxes and fees and increases in other taxes and fees to fund maintenance and improvements to roads, bridges, transit and sidewalks. The agreement addresses issues that had previously threatened to undermine the future of the transportation plan. The plan still addresses about eight to 10 years of needs, according to the governor’s offi ce. Those included the overall amount of taxes and spending in the package, what the money went toward and cost controls on the state’s low carbon fuels standard, Brown said. “In terms of the low carbon fuels stan- dard, that is being institutionalized to bring stability and certainty to the system. I think there is a consensus amongst stakeholders. You’ll see the consensus approach as the bill draft comes out,” the governor said Wednesday. Brown declined to say how the overall amount of the package has changed but said she is excited “about the signifi cant invest- ment we will be making in public transit.” “Suffi ce it to say there is bipartisan consensus on the levels,” she added. PENDLETON Staff photo by E.J. Harris Safeway cashier Mike Fitzmorris of Pendleton was recently recognized for his 45-years-and-going career with the company. COMPANY MAN There’s a little shine to Mike Fitzmorris’ Safeway uniform these days. The grocery store chain recently gave Fitzmorris a pin with three stones on it — two green gems, each representing 20 years of service, and a clear gem that signifi es another fi ve. The pin is one of the few reminders that the unassuming man working the checkout counter has been at the grocery store for 45 years. For Fitzmorris, it’s a summer job that never ended. As a 16-year-old in 1972, Fitzmorris became a courtesy clerk at Safeway in Aloha as an alternative to mowing lawns and delivering newspapers. “I didn’t have to wake up at 3 in the morning anymore,” he said. Fitzmorris met his wife, Robin, at work and when she sought to return to her home- town 10 years ago, they moved their family from the Willamette Valley to Pendleton. Fitzmorris stuck with Safeway the entire time, even as technology changed the way he did his job. While he now uses a touch screen when scanning food into bags, Fitzmorris said Safeway cashiers used to have to memo- rize item prices when customers went through the checkout line. When item prices changed, Fitzmorris and other employees would use hairspray to remove the tag and replace it with a new one. Fitzmorris has held other positions with the company, like produce manager, but in his East Oregonian words, “that’s ancient history.” He likes working the checkout line, being able to greet customers and build a rapport with community members. But Fitzmorris also has prac- tical reasons for sticking with the job. He said Safeway’s health benefi ts and paid vacation package was a strong incentive to stay with the company. When Fitzmorris was interviewed Monday, he had just returned from a trip to the Redwoods Pendleton residents looking for a Fourth of July fi reworks show will have to look elsewhere this year. Becky Marks, who helped organize the past three shows as a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, said no one took her place when she decided to take a step back from the fundraising More inside effort. As a result, there will be no For a list of fi reworks show. Fourth of July Marks said events around there was no the region organized effort to see Page 3A raise the $10,000 needed for the show and the April deadline to order the fi reworks has long since passed. The last time Marks checked the Eagles’ fi reworks account, it contained only $500. See SAFEWAY/8A See FIREWORKS/8A Fitzmorris took summer job at 16 and never left Safeway By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Fireworks show canceled due to lack of funds Irrigon homes saved from fast-moving brush fi re By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris A fi re fi ghter sprays down a hot spot while battling a brush fi re off Washington Lane on Wednesday in Irrigon. Several Irrigon families had a close call Wednesday afternoon after a fi re swept through about fi ve acres of brush surrounded by homes off Snyder Road. One woman was transported by ambulance to Good Shepherd Medical Center to be treated for smoke inha- lation and three sheds were burned, according to a news release from Morrow County Sheriff’s Offi ce. But all three houses directly bordering the burned area were saved. Lt. Casey Zellars of Boardman Rural Fire Protection District said the fi re started when a property owner was mowing the tall grass, trying to prevent a fi re hazard. Instead, a spark from the mower started the grass on fi re. “He saw smoke and was unable to stop it,” Zellars said. “He called 9-1-1 immediately.” Irrigon Fire Department, Boardman Rural Fire Protection District, Boardman Ambulance, Irrigon Ambulance, Morrow County Sheriff’s Offi ce, Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District and Umatilla County Fire District 1 responded. Around the edges of the fl aming fi eld where fi refi ghters worked, groups of neighbors also helped protect homes and yards using hoses, buckets and shovels. One of those neighbors, Preston Morris, had soot marks across his chest and stomach. He said he was sitting on his back porch when the fi re started. See IRRIGON/8A
