REGION
Thursday, August 31, 2017
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
State accuses forgery
defendant of new crimes
while he was free
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A wheelchair charging station has been installed on the ground fl oor of the Umatilla County Courthouse in
Pendleton. Fifteen wheelchair charging stations have been installed in the county over the course of the summer.
Courthouse gets power chair charger
By EMILY OLSON
East Oregonian
The Umatilla County
Courthouse received a new
power chair charger on
Wednesday, making it the
14th site in Umatilla County
to receive a charger this
summer.
The charger, a gray box
containing an air-cooled,
fi ve-amp unit, is the brain-
child of Pendleton’s Darrin
Umbarger.
Umbarger relies on
a wheelchair because of
his multiple sclerosis and
dreamed up the charger two
years ago as a way to mitigate
fears of a dead battery.
“I thought I’d just make
a couple for Pendleton,” he
said. “It’s only expanded
from there.”
Pendleton was the fi rst
city in the United States to
install the chargers, said
Donnie Cook, superintendent
of the Parks and Recreation
Department. The department
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Ginny Kearns, Jim Setzer, Darrin Umbarger, Umatil-
la County Commissioner George Murdock and Dan
Lonia stand for a photo with the new wheelchair
charging station at the Umatilla County Courthouse
in Pendleton.
alone put in 10, including two
at the aquatic center.
And
this
summer,
Umatilla County Health
installed 15 thanks to the Plan
4 Health initiative funded
by Good Shepard Medical
Center. Seven are housed in
Pendleton, fi ve in Hermiston,
two in Milton-Freewater, and
one each in Stanfi eld and
Pilot Rock. Ginny Kearns, an
intern with Umatilla County
Health who helped oversee
the installations, said they had
plenty of candidates for good
spots — anywhere that was
open and convenient. Based
on the success in Pendleton,
the department had no doubts
people would use them.
“Just having the chargers
around is symbolic,” said
Jim Setzer, the county health
director. “We’d like to make
it so it’s easy to be healthy in
the community. The county is
committed to inclusion, and
we hope we’ll show the way
for everyone else.”
Umbarger said he’s
unaware of any other compa-
nies that make the charging
stations. He’s already sold
about 60 at a retail price of
roughly $350. The Oregon
State Capitol was one notable
customer. This June, Oregon
became the fi rst capitol with
a charging station.
One county in Ohio has
also installed a few chargers,
and Umbarger said he got a
call from the St. Louis Zoo
about two weeks ago.
“These could be every-
where,” Umbarger said. “If
you have time to sit and wait,
you could be charging.”
BRIEFLY
Historic cemeteries
commission
partners with
SOLVE
SALEM — Cemetery
cleanup efforts are planned
across the state to help
ensure they are spruced up
prior to Veterans Day.
The Oregon Commission
on Historic Cemeteries is
partnering with SOLVE to
bring cemetery cleanups
into the statewide Beach &
Riverside Cleanup, presented
by the Oregon Lottery.
Many of the cemeteries were
established in the 1800s and
are in need of helping hands
to remove invasive weeds
and woody debris, clean
headstones, and assist in
other tasks.
Most of the planned
cleanup efforts are Saturday,
Sept. 23 unless otherwise
noted at www.solveoregon.
org/historic-cemetery-
cleanups.
For more information
about the historic cemeteries
commission, contact Kuri
Gill at 503-986-0685 or kuri.
gill@oregon.gov.
Local students
R-E-P-R-E-S-
E-N-T Umatilla
County
SALEM — A pair of
Umatilla County students
are among the 63 star
spellers from 27 counties
across the state who will
compete at the Oregon State
Fair.
Tad Farley of Hermiston
and Zoe Russell of Pend-
leton will participate in the
Oregon Statewide Spelling
Championship. KOIN 6‘s
Andrew Dymburt is the
master of ceremonies for the
event, which is Saturday at
10 a.m. in Picnic Grove at
the fairgrounds in Salem.
Students competing in the
championship have made
their way through prelim-
inary rounds at the school,
district and county level.
Following the champion-
ships, Dymburt will emcee
The Bee at the Fair. A verbal
spelling bee that’s open to all
Oregon State Fair patrons,
the junior division starts at
2:30 p.m. and the teen/adults
will compete at 3:30 p.m.
It will be held in Columbia
Hall.
In its ninth year of spon-
soring the contest, Oregon
Spellers is an all-volunteer
group funded solely by
donations and sponsored
by the Oregon Association
for Talented and Gifted. For
more information, contact
oregonspellers@kaynor.net
or visit www.oregonspellers.
org.
HHS class of 1962
holds reunion
HERMISTON —
Members of the Hermiston
High School class of 1962
are gearing up to celebrate
55 years since turning the
tassel.
The no-host gathering is
Friday, Sept. 8 from 5 p.m.
to midnight at Midway Bar
& Grill, 1750 N. First St.,
Hermiston.
For more information,
search Midway Bar on
Facebook.
Youth theater gets
set for zany season
HERMISTON —
Budding actors and actresses
are invited to participate in
the Children’s Community
Theater program, which
includes staging a comedy.
The class provides
information on stage
presence, voice control and
acting techniques. The group
will rehearse Oct. 2 through
Nov. 15 for upcoming
performances of “Fearsome
Pirate Frank.”
Offered through
Hermiston Parks &
Recreation, the class
will meet Mondays and
Wednesdays from 5:30-7:30
p.m. at the Hermiston
Conference Center, 415
S. Highway 395. A pair of
performances will be staged
Saturday, Nov. 18.
The play centers around
the star of a popular pirate
play. Fearsome Pirate Frank
is the teen heartthrob of
Page 3A
every girl in Shakespearean
England. However, he can’t
seem to remember his lines.
Laughs will be plentiful
with the narrators and a
stream of hilarious sign-
carriers. The zany spoof
also features pop culture,
including an appearance by
Spider-Man.
The cost is $50 for
Hermiston residents or
$63 for non-residents. The
registration deadline is
Friday, Sept. 15.
For more
information, visit www.
hermistonrecreation.com,
call 541-667-5018 or stop
by the recreation offi ce
at 180 N.E. Second St.,
Hermiston.
Theater leaps into
sensory-friendly
viewing
HERMISTON — A
special viewing of “Leap!”
provides a comfortable
atmosphere with the lights
up a little, the volume
down and the fl exibility for
audience members to move
around.
The Arc Umatilla
County in conjunction
with Hermiston Stadium
8 Cinema is offering the
sensory-friendly showing.
Individuals with special
needs and their families or
caregivers are invited to
attend.
The sensory show is
Saturday with the doors
opening at 10 a.m. at 355 W.
Theater Lane, off Highway
395 in Hermiston. The
movie starts at 10:30 a.m.
and costs $5 per person.
The Arc advocates for
the rights of individuals
with intellectual and
developmental disabilities.
They offer activities to
help connect families and
community members
and focus on expanding
opportunities for people with
disabilities.
For more information
about The Arc programs,
services and activities,
call 541-567-7615 or
visit www.facebook.com/
arcofumatillacounty.
Book club to
discuss ‘The
Japanese Lover’
HERMISTON — A
novel by best-selling author
Isabel Allende is featured
at the upcoming Hermiston
Public Library book club
meeting.
Bookminders will
discuss “The Japanese
Lover,” which is described
as a magical and sweeping
love story that focuses on
a couple who is forced to
hide from the world. The
gathering is Wednesday,
Sept. 13 at 1:30 p.m.
at The Pheasant Bar &
Grill, 149 E. Main St.,
Hermiston.
The book club, which
is free and open to
everyone, meets the second
Wednesday of each month.
For more information, call
541-567-2882.
———
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.
Dustin James Verrall of
Pendleton was on Wednes-
day’s circuit court schedule
to change his plea to charges
of
making
counterfeit
money.
But Pendleton
police
arrested
him
Tuesday
morning
for
illegally entering
a vehicle and
trespassing at the
Pendleton Baptist
Church, 3202 S.W.
Nye Ave. And Verrall
by
Wednesday
afternoon the Umatilla
County District Attorney’s
Offi ce charged Verrall with
multiple counts in fi ve more
cases.
Prosecutor
Jameson
Hayes told Circuit Judge Jon
Lieuallen the circumstances
moved fast and “came to a
head” Wednesday. He said
while Verrall was out of jail
he continued to commit new
crimes.
In addition to the charges
of unlawful entry into a motor
vehicle and second-degree
trespassing from Tuesday,
court records show the
state charged Verrall in the
following cases:
• second-degree theft and
unlawful entry into a motor
vehicle from a July 23 theft
of tools and attempt to steal
a motorcycle;
• unlawful entry into
a motor vehicle and two
counts each of identity theft
and fraudulent use of a credit
card on Aug. 7 and 8;
• attempted second-de-
gree theft; unlawful entry
into a motor vehicle, two
counts of identity theft, two
counts of fraudulent use of
a credit card; and
seven counts of
aggravated identity
theft.
Hayes
also
charged
Verrall
with
possession
of methamphet-
amine. The deputy
district
attorney
explained
the
crime
occurred
Nov. 15, 2016, but the state
was waiting on results from
the Oregon State Police
crime lab.
Lieuallen set bail on the
new cases at $90,000 and set
preliminary hearings in each
for Sept. 7.
Verrall is one of fi ve
Pendleton men the state
charged with altering $1
bills to look like $100 bills.
Co-defendants
Zachary
James Norton, 33, and
Timothy McMurphy, 30,
are serving probation after
pleading guilty to fi rst-de-
gree forgery. Court records
show the other two, Dan
Elmer Wilson Jr., 33, and
Tyler Dunn, 18, remain at
large with warrants for their
arrests.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
Judge Lieuallen takes
no guff from jail inmate
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Kimberly Diane Dooley
of Pendleton earned herself
more than a month in the
Umatilla County
Jail for cussing at a
judge.
Dooley,
27,
was in the jail
in Pendleton for
failure to appear on
methamphetamine
possession
and
delivery case and
on a case of felon Dooley
in possession of a
fi rearm, according
to court records, as well
as for violating probation.
She appeared Wednesday
afternoon in circuit court in
Pendleton via video from the
jail.
Dooley’s court appointed
attorney, Kittee Custer, told
her the district attorney’s
offi ce offered a deal of 15
months in prison on the
charges, but it upped that
to 16 because she skipped a
previous court appearance.
Dooley became upset
and stated she needed time
to prepare her residence for
her prison stay and wanted
to say goodbye to her son.
Custer and Circuit Judge
Jon Lieuallen told her not to
talk in open court. Dooley
ignored them and pleaded
for release.
Lieuallen said he hears
hard-luck stories often, but
Dooley did not show for her
required court appearance.
Dooley responded by calling
the judge “a [expletive]
punk.”
Lieuallen said that earned
her two days in jail for
contempt of court.
Dooley didn’t stop,
however and the judge
ordered the deputy at the jail
to mute her microphone.
Lieuallen allowed her
to speak moments later
to deal with her
probation viola-
tion. He said she
did not complete
key
provisions
of her probation
and owed more
than $400 in fees.
Custer said the
state would revoke
her
probation
as part of the
16-month deal.
“I’ll take the 16 months,
I’ll take the revoke, or what-
ever,” Dooley said. “Then
I’m done.”
Custer told her she would
have to stay in jail until
next Wednesday, when she
would have a change of plea
hearing and could receiving
sentencing.
Dooley again fl ung invec-
tives and again called the
judge “a [expletive] punk.”
Lieuallen, keeping his
composure, said “that’s
gonna cost you 30,” and
closed the hearing.
Dooley’s change of
plea remains on the court
schedule for Sept. 6.
TWO
HOURS
every
morning
paid off
my credit
card debt.
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