REGION
Saturday, July 22, 2017
PENDLETON — State
environmental regulators
fined Pendleton property
managers almost $3,000 for
allowing raw sewage to run
in the street.
The Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality in
a written statement reported
real estate managers and
brokers Garton & Associates
failed to “quickly address
a broken pipe that caused a
discharge of raw sewage”
at 609 S.E. Eighth St.,
Pendleton.
The pipe broke on Jan.
4, according to the DEQ,
and the raw sewage “ran
down the street and onto a
neighboring property.” A
plumber repaired the pipe on
Jan. 20.
The mismanagement
of the sewer discharge
led the DEQ to issue a
$2,850 penalty to Garton &
Associates.
The environmental
department in its June 15
notice of the fine pointed out
the company “failed to have
the broken pipe repaired for
more than two weeks while
the discharge of sewage
continued. Failing to ensure
that all plumbing fixtures are
connected to a sewer system
and that all waste water or
sewage is discharged into a
sewer system is a violation
of Oregon environmental
law.”
The state agency further
stressed the sewage was a
public health hazard.
The DEQ also reported
Garton & Associates
appealed the penalty.
Irrigon man
takes deal, avoids
sexual crimes
HEPPNER — An Irrigon
man who faced first-degree
rape and other serious sex
crimes took a plea deal
Thursday.
Jason Kane Kissler,
35, pleaded no contest
to the domestic violence
charge of fourth-degree
assault. Circuit Judge Lynn
Hampton sentenced him to
13 months in state prison,
per the plea agreement he
made with the Morrow
County District Attorney’s
Office. He also has to
serve two years post-prison
supervision.
The Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office arrested
Kissler on April 15 after
responding to a disturbance
at a home off Depot Lane,
Irrigon. The victim told
deputies that Kissler raped
her, according to a statement
from the sheriff’s office.
The district attorney’s
office subsequently charged
Kissler with rape, sodomy
and unlawful sexual
penetration, all in the first
degree, and the one count of
fourth-degree assault.
The state dismissed all the
sexual assault crimes in the
plea deal.
toward a plea bargain.
Villegas, 27, has
undergone two evaluations
to determine if he is
mentally fit and can
participate in his own
defense, according to
Umatilla County Circuit
Court records. His attorney,
Kara Davis, notified the
court of the intent to rely
on insanity defense. And
District Attorney Dan
Primus raised concerns
Villegas was trying to fake
mental illness.
Villegas’ most recent
court hearing was in June
to evaluate the status of his
case. Circuit Judge Lynn
Hampton then set Aug. 10
for the next proceeding — a
change of plea hearing.
The state accused
Villegas of stabbing and
killing his wife, Maria
Villegas, 24, and trying to
kill their two young children
in May 2016 in their
Milton-Freewater home.
He faces charges of murder,
attempted murder, assault
and more.
Committee raising
money for Main
Street courtyard
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston Downtown
District’s beautification
committee is raising money
for improvements to the
Main Street courtyard
between Andee’s Boutique
and Bendixsen Law.
If donations are made
before July 31, Edward
Jones and the National Main
Street Center will match
the donation up to $2,500.
The committee has raised
$1,950 so far out of a goal
of $5,185.
The money will be used
to add benches and shade
trees to the plaza, providing
a place for downtown
shoppers to take a break in
the shade.
To donate, go online
to www.ioby.org/project/
hermiston-main-street-
courtyard.
———
Briefs are compiled
from staff and wire reports,
and press releases. Email
press releases to news@
eastoregonian.com
Motor home goes up in flames
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
A New Hampshire
couple escaped injury
after their motor home
caught fire Friday morning
on Southwest Emigrant
Avenue in Pendleton.
The blaze likely started
in the vehicle’s engine
compartment
before
spreading into the coach,
according to Pendleton
Fire Chief Mike Ciraulo.
Bystanders watched as a
cloud of thick, noxious
black smoke forced police
to temporarily close the
road.
“It was nasty,” Ciraulo
said.
Carrie
Beloit,
of
Lewiston, Idaho, was
eating breakfast with her
husband, Tom, at Cadillac
Jack’s when they first
noticed the RV in flames.
“The back end was all
engulfed,” said Beloit, who
is visiting for Pendleton
Bike Week. “It’s very
Photo courtesy Kelsey Williams
The rear of a motor home burns Friday on Southwest Emigrant Avenue, Pendleton.
heartbreaking. It’s like
losing your home.”
No one was hurt, though
the RV is likely destroyed,
Ciraulo said. It was also
towing a trailer with a
vehicle and other equip-
ment inside that sustained
some
minor
smoke
damage. The couple was
driving through Pendleton
on their way to the coast,
he said.
Friday marked the
second motor home fire in
Pendleton in the last two
months. On June 8, an RV
burned up on Southwest
Court Avenue near the
Round-Up
Grounds,
hauling $80,000 worth
of pinball materials. The
driver was not hurt.
———
Contact George Plaven
at
gplaven@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-966-0825.
HERMISTON
City to consider authorization for eminent domain
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
The Hermiston City
Council will consider a series
of resolutions paving the
way for a new trail along
Highland Avenue, including
permission to use eminent
domain if needed.
The council will have a
work session at 6 p.m. at city
hall to hear a presentation
on the proposed new taxing
district for the Oregon
State University extension
center, followed by a regular
meeting at 7 p.m. that will
include action on items
related to the planned trail.
The trail, when completed
in 2018, will stretch along
the south side of Highland
Avenue from Southwest 11th
Street to the bridge over the
Umatilla River, where it will
loop underneath the road
and connect with River-
front Park. Work is being
completed by the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion.
According to a memo in
the agenda packet, project
engineers have determined
easements will be needed
from five parcels along the
trail route. The easements
would need to be 20 feet
wide to accommodate the
trail plus slopes to contain
earthwork. Assistant city
manager Mark Morgan said
the two resolutions before
the city council Monday do
not condemn the properties
in question, but give ODOT
the authority to contact
those property owners and
begin negotiations, and also
to begin the legal process
for eminent domain should
they not be able to come to
a mutual agreement with the
property owners.
One of the largest parcels
along Highland Avenue
is owned by Hermiston
Christian School, where city
councilor Rod Hardin is
principal.
Another resolution on
the table Monday would
authorize the mayor to
sign an intergovernmental
agreement with the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife, transferring Steel-
head Park to the city. The city
would be given the five acres
adjacent to Riverfront Park
at no charge on the condition
that it make improvements,
including a boat ramp on
the Umatilla River, by 2025.
The acquisition of the park
will allow the city to connect
the West Highland Trail to
Riverfront Park.
Monday’s agenda also
includes approval of a
downtown light pole project
that is part of the Hermiston
Downtown District’s efforts
to beautify downtown,
plus consent agenda items,
committee reports and the
May and June financial
reports.
The work session at 6
p.m. will provide informa-
tion about the proposal to
create new tax districts in
Umatilla and Morrow coun-
ties for OSU Extension. The
property tax rate of 33 cents
per $1,000 of assessed value
would pay for things like
additional staff and supplies.
The extension service plans
to place the proposal on the
ballot in May.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
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Change of plea on
schedule for Villegas
murder case
MILTON-FREEWATER
— The murder case of Oscar
Pastor Garcia Villegas of
Milton-Freewater is moving
Page 3A
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