Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 2017)
2016 WEATHER REPORT: EXTREME AND ABNORMAL JOHN MURRAY BUILDING SELLS FOR $100,000 RECORDS/5A REGION/3A FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 2017 141st Year, No. 214 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Your Weekend Catch a movie ToonBox Entertainment, Gulfstream Pictures A squirrel teams up with other rodents and a pug to stop an evil mayor from building an amusement park in “The Nut Job 2.” For showtime, Page 5A Weekend Weather Fri Sat Sun 101/68 95/63 80/54 MILTON-FREEWATER Villegas pleads guilty but insane to murder Staff photo by E.J. Harris Parking lot attendants direct traffi c on Thursday as the stream of cars lined up to get into the Umatilla County Fair in Hermiston increases. Figuring out the flow New traffic plan in effect after Wednesday backup By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Oscar Villegas of Milton-Freewater pleaded guilty but insane Thursday to murdering his wife and trying to murder their two children. The pleas send the 27-year-old Villegas to a state hospital for the rest of his life. Villegas changed his pleas Thursday morning in the Pendleton courtroom of Umatilla County Circuit Judge Lynn Hampton. He appeared via video from the county jail a few miles away. He told the judge he did not want to be in court in person. Villegas’ attorney, Kara Davis, explained that two independent evaluations of his mental heath found he suffered from “bipolar disorder with psychotic features,” a chronic condi- tion. She said the clincher for those fi ndings came from evidence showing Villegas experienced delusions a year before the crimes and even went to an emergency room for help. While a doctor noted his symptoms, Davis said no one diagnosed him. Villegas stabbed and cut See VILLEGAS/10A By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Customers place orders at the Hermiston Lions Club food cart on Thursday along the promenade at the Umatilla County Fair in Hermiston. The taste of summer By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian This year’s Umatilla County Fair features new faces and new places, but the fl avors are familiar. Local standbys like elephant ears from Umatilla High School and Lions Club burgers made the transition to the new fairgrounds. “We’ve got the best burgers here,” Phil Hamm said as he worked a volunteer shift in the bright red Lions Club food trailer. The mobile trailers for the nonprofi ts are new this year, provided by the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center to make up for the loss of the permanent structures at the old fairgrounds. See FOOD/10A With the Umatilla County Fair in full swing and the Farm-City Pro Rodeo just beginning, Wednesday was the busiest night at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Events Center so far. That activity translated to some major congestion in the parking area, which led to delays for people both entering and leaving the fairgrounds. Hermiston police reported traffi c backed up as far as Port Drive on Highway 395 near the water tower for about an hour in the evening as vehicles lined up to enter the fairgrounds parking lot. Don Miller, a fair and EOTEC board member, added that police said there was no danger to driver safety, and the traffi c cleared within an hour. But he said the orga- nizers of the fair realized they needed to change the “(The new entry) should keep the fl ow good, and resolve the high degree of delays we experienced on the fi rst big night of the fair.” — Don Miller, fair and EOTEC board member on the new entry lanes parking structure for the remaining days of the fair. Here’s what that will look like: Exits Starting Thursday, Miller said there will be three separate exit points. The fi rst will be the main parking lot exit onto Airport Road. “Umatilla County Sher- iff’s Offi ce will directly monitor traffi c control at those sites to make it work smoothly,” Miller said. See TRAFFIC/10A PENDLETON Tiny library honors voracious reader Anderson cast vote for school bond measure from hospital bed By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Staff photo by Kathy Aney Kimbra Cook, Carolyn Frasier and Scott Fairley gather around a little library they placed in Cook and Fairley’s front yard to honor Roberta Anderson. After her death in 2015, Roberta Anderson’s family members wracked their brains for a good way to honor the family matriarch. Anderson, who died at age 103, was a force. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at Washington State College (now University). After her husband, Fred Frasier, died of Lou Gehrig’s disease, the widow and single mother of three taught courses in child development at her alma mater and eventually became depart- ment head. Her daughter, Carolyn Frasier, remembers being the only kid in school with a working mom. Anderson married again on her 60th birthday to Rictor Anderson, See ANDERSON/10A
