REGION
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
Page 3A
PENDLETON
Chamber hires new Neighbors come out for National Night Out
tourism manager
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Pendleton Whisky Fest,
Pendleton Bike Week and
The Pendleton Chamber Oktoberfest, and launched
of Commerce has hired a “tripster” advertising
a new director to lead its campaign aimed to bring
tourism and promotion 20-something tourists to
town.
committee.
According to
In a press
the La Grande
release,
the
Observer, Dollar-
c h a m b e r
hide resigned in
announced
September 2016
that
it
was
from the Union
hiring
Kristen
County Chamber
Dollarhide
as
of
Commerce
the
tourism
after three years
and hospitality
on the job. Previ-
manager
for
ously, Dollarhide
Travel Pendleton. Dollarhide
spent
time
Dollarhide, a
former executive director working for St. Alphonsus
for the Union County Medical Center in Baker
Chamber of Commerce, City.
Although Travel Pend-
will replace Pat Beard,
who was hired as the Pend- leton is under the chamber’s
leton Convention Center umbrella, the committee is
manager after four years funded through the Tourism
Assessment
as the event recruiter for Promotion
Charge, a city-imposed,
Travel Pendleton.
Under Pat Beard’s lead- $1.50-per-night tax on
ership, Travel Pendleton hotel rooms.
Dollarhide will start her
has attracted or supported
new events including new job Aug. 14.
East Oregonian
BRIEFLY
Contributed by the city of Hermiston
Mayor David Drotzmann and other members of
the Hermiston delegation pass out watermelons
in 2016 during the annual watermelon giveaway at
Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square. Hermiston
officials return to Portland for the traditional event
on Friday to promote Hermiston watermelons and
other locally-grown produce.
Portlanders line up for annual
Hermiston watermelon giveaway
HERMISTON — Several representatives from
Hermiston will head west this Friday to spit seeds and
share watermelons.
Mayor David Drotzmann will face off against
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler in this summertime
favorite, as part of the two cities’ annual watermelon
giveaway on Friday at 11 a.m., at Portland’s Pioneer
Courthouse Square, 701 S.W. Sixth Ave., Portland.
The event dates back to 1991, when former Herm-
iston Mayor Frank Harkenrider challenged then-Port-
land mayor Bud Clark to a watermelon seed-spitting
contest. The event became an annual tradition that
lasted until 2008. In 2015, the two towns revived the
event, with Hermiston representatives returning each
summer with truckloads of produce to hand out to eager
Portland residents.
Local farms donate produce for the event, including
Bellinger Farms, Walchli Farms, and other farms that
chose not to be named. This year, Drotzmann, Herm-
iston councilors Jackie Myers and Rod Hardin will
have dinner Thursday night with Wheeler and Seraphie
Allen, the assistant for policy and community affairs for
the city of Portland. The group will discuss ways for the
two cities to work together.
The seed-spitting contest and produce distribution
will be Friday at Pioneer Courthouse Square.
“This is a great event that continues to build on our
relationship with our partners in Portland,” Drotzmann
said.
Gray Ribbon Challenge honors
late rodeo board member
HERMISTON — Competitors can look forward to
a new twist at this year’s Gray Ribbon Challenge at the
Farm-City Pro Rodeo, which carries on the memory of
a late rodeo supporter.
“There’s no belt buckle this year,” said Rhonda
Sallee, the founder of the challenge with her daughter
Jolene Sallee-Davis. “Instead, we’re giving out a
memorial knife.”
The basic tenet of the event is the same, though, as
a way to honor Sallee’s husband, longtime Farm-City
volunteer and board member Darrel Sallee. Sallee
joined the board in 2004 and died in 2014 from brain
cancer.
“He was a volunteer since the rodeo started,” said
Sallee. “He worked security in the parking lot, he
parked cars. He used to take his horse down and park
them on horseback. He was a jack of all trades.”
Sallee said she and her daughter started the challenge
in 2015 in his memory, and cowboys from all timed
events compete. Contestants wear gray ribbons,
designated for brain cancer awareness, and gray
feathers in their hats.
The memorial knife will be awarded on Saturday
night to the champion header of the team roping event.
Additionally, $500 will be awarded each night to a
competitor from one of the four timed events, and the
order of the timed events will be determined closer to
the rodeo and posted for competitors.
The money for the cash prizes is donated by the
Sallee family.
“It’s been a nice hand-up to the cowboys,” Sallee
said.
SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS
Submit information to: community@eastoregonian.
com or drop off to the attention of Tammy Malgesini at
333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211
S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-
966-0818 with questions.
The snow cone line
was long at Pendleton’s
National Night Out celebra-
tion. Participants lined up
Monday evening across the
grass at the city’s aquatic
center for the free iced treats
in sunny weather verging on
100 degrees. The free hot
dogs also were going fast.
Members of the Pendleton
Police Department and their
families prepared and served
up the goods, courtesy of
local businesses, including
Wal-Mart, Hill Meat Co. and
Franz Bakery. Pendleton was
one of a multitude of commu-
nities joining the effort to
bring people together to fight
crime and encourage looking
out for one another.
Ashlee and Joshua Dow
of Pendleton said they
enjoyed past Night Out
gatherings. She said there
is a real benefit in meeting
neighbors and seeing police
interact this way with the
locals. Her husband agreed.
“It brings everybody
together, it’s nice,” Joshua
Dow said, “especially on a
hot day.”
Horacio and Vanessa
Zamudio of Hermiston
brought their two children
for a fun day at the aquatic
center, but said they were
keen to participate in the
happening. The couple
said they support law
enforcement, and Zaiden,
their 6-year-old boy, loves
cops. Vanessa Zamudio said
the boy can’t get enough of
police shows or finding out
about officers.
Zaiden even demanded a
photo with Pendleton Police
Chief Stuart Roberts, who
was happy to oblige.
For
Roberts,
those
Staff photo by Phil Wright
Lexi Bowen and Aubrey Lehnert prepare snow cones Monday evening during Pend-
leton’s National Night Out event. The pair are entering the leadership program at
Sunridge Middle School and are daughters of Pendleton police officers.
eyes and ears police rely
on. That happened early
Tuesday, when a citizen’s
description of a suspect led
to the arrest of Cody Ray
DuBois in connection to
another vehicle break-in (see
more on that in the Public
Safety Log).
Roberts continued to
advocate for residents to
make their property hard
targets, but beyond that, he
urged anyone to call police
when something suspicious
happens. If officers are
busy with an urgent call,
they might take a while to
respond, he said, but the
Pendleton Police Depart-
ment still adheres to a policy
of answering every call.
After all, he said, that is
what police are there for.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
Staff photo by Phil Wright
Zaiden Zamudio, 6, of Hermiston, sits with Pendle-
ton Police Chief Stuart Roberts for a photo Monday
evening during Pendleton’s National Night Out event.
The lad’s parents said he loves police.
moments exemplify the
community building of
National Night Out aims to
achieve.
“It truly is a partnership,”
he said, because police
cannot be all places at once,
and the community are the
MILTON-FREEWATER
Chiropractor loses court fight to keep license
Accused of violating billing rules,
defrauding insurance company
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Milton-Freewater chiro-
practor Brandon Hatch lost
an Oregon Court of Appeals
ruling to keep his license
to practice, but said he is
planning to take the case to
the Oregon Supreme Court.
“My
attorneys
are
working in court to restore
my license,” Hatch said in a
written statement. “I expect
their efforts will soon put
me back to providing chiro-
practic care for my patients
— which is why I’m here.”
Hatch owns Amon Chiro-
practic, 85458 Highway 11,
Milton-Freewater,
which
operates as Stateline Family
Chiropractic Clinic. His
father, Lance Hatch, also a
chiropractor, worked at the
clinic. The Oregon Board of
Chiropractic Examiners in
2014 revoked both of their
licenses after an investiga-
tion determined the father
and son violated state rules
for keeping patient records
and Brandon Hatch engaged
in billing fraud and unpro-
fessional conduct.
Brandon Hatch was in a
car crash in December 2009,
according to the board’s final
disciplinary order, and his
father treated him in 2010.
The board in October 2011
received complaints against
the Hatches for possible
billing and coding errors
along with poor record
keeping. The complaints
prompted an investigation
that found “irregularities”
in Brandon Hatch’s patient
record, including multiple
occasions of signing his own
patient charts. The board
also contended Brandon
Hatch billed for services
not provided, defrauded
an insurance company and
was dishonest in answering
questions from a peer review
committee that looked into
the issues.
The board on Nov. 21,
2014, ordered the revoca-
tion of their chiropractic
licenses and ordered them to
pay more than $21,000 for
administrative hearings.
The father and son asked
the board to hold off the
punishment. But the board
denied that request in March
2015. That prompted a
petition to ask the Oregon
Court of Appeals to stop the
revocations.
The appeals court in
2015 put a temporary hold
on Brandon Hatch’s revo-
cation, noting he made an
initial showing he would
suffer irreparable financial
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standing is Hatch was on
vacation when the ruling
came out.
This was the second revo-
cation for Lance Hatch. The
chiropractic board in 2006
revoked his license after he
stated on his renewal form
he had a criminal conviction.
Lance Hatch in 1993
lived in Utah, according to
federal court records, and
participated with several tax
professionals in a scheme to
transfer clients’ properties
and businesses into trusts to
avoid paying income taxes.
He pleaded guilty in
2004 to conspiracy to
defraud the United States,
and on Sept. 11 of that year
started serving 20 months
in prison. The court also
sentenced him to three years
of post-prison supervision
and a $10,000 fine.
Hatch admitted he caused
a total loss to the United
States exceeding $1 million
and a tax loss of $248,000,
according to the chiropractic
board’s revocation order.
He was able to end his
probation early, and in
2009 he reapplied for his
license. The board granted
that request, noting on the
consent order the crime did
not involve his chiropractic
patients and he cooperated
with federal prosecutors.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
injury if he could not prac-
tice. Lance Hatch could not
make the same showing,
however, and his revocation
stood.
But the appeals court on
July 24 issued a final ruling
without an explanation
that affirmed the board’s
decision to revoke Brandon
Hatch’s license.
Cass McLeod-Skinner is
the director of the Oregon
Board of Chiropractic
Examiners. She said this
case is unusual because the
appellate court’s stay has
lasted so long. And now the
board will wait to hear if
the Oregon Supreme Court
takes up the case. Until then,
the board is following the
latest order.
“As of July 20, the revo-
cation was in effect,” she
said.
“I was disappointed
with the board’s action,”
Brandon Hatch responded,
“because it keeps me from
my first priority, giving my
patients the excellent care
they need.”
He also said he “appre-
ciated the expressions of
support” from patients and
others, and his attorneys
advised him to allow the
court process to go forward
without further comment.
McLeod-Skinner said the
examiners board is inves-
tigating whether Brandon
Hatch was practicing since
July 20. The board’s under-
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