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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 2017)
REGION Wednesday, October 18, 2017 East Oregonian Page 3A MILTON-FREEWATER PENDLETON Six arrested in drug raid Three parks to get new playgrounds By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Police made six arrests during a Tuesday morning drug raid in Milton-Free- water. Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts said members of the Oregon State Police SWAT team served a search warrant for the Blue Mountain Narcotics Team at approximately 5:10 a.m. at the home at 109 N.W. First Ave. Roberts is the director of the drug task force’s board. He confirmed police made the following arrests: • Kathy Ann Thomas, 50, for delivery and possession of methamphetamine and frequenting where drugs are kept and sold; • Joseph Lee Sumerlin, 37, for delivery and posses- sion of methamphetamine and frequenting; • Shirley Mae Weems, 29, for frequenting; • Cristobal Jaimes Rogel, 31, for frequenting; • Timothy Lee Prock, 56, on a Milton-Freewater Municipal Court Warrant and for frequenting; • and Jeffrey Carl Ellis, 29, for frequenting. The frequenting charge is a misdemeanor, while Thomas and Sumerlin face felonies for the possession and delivery charges. All six remained in the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton, as of Tuesday evening. Roberts did not provide details of the takedown. This is the second BENT raid this year in Milton-Freewater. The team on May 31 arrested Adan Nievez Torres, 43, of 504 Elzora Loop, and Carlos Razo Cisneros, 43, of 1501 N. Elizabeth St., Space F in the Locust Mobile Village. Torres has pleaded not guilty to 14 counts, including delivery and possession of heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. Umatilla County Circuit Court records show he paid $150,000 on Aug. 16 to bail out of jail. His next court hearing is Nov. 16. Cisneros faces four charges — methamphet- amine delivery and posses- sion, tampering with phys- ical evidence, and unlawful possession of a firearm – and has pleaded not guilty to each. He remains out of jail on a conditional release and has a pre-trial conference Wednesday in circuit court in Pendleton. ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0833. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Fire units respond to a brush fire along the southern banks of the Columbia River off of Pleasant View Road east of Irrigon. Fire burns part of wildlife refuge A fire that started as an agricultural burn singed about six acres east of Irrigon on Tuesday afternoon. A man was burning in his back yard when the winds picked up and took the fire into another yard, and to the nearby Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge. “The wind just got away from him,” said Lt. Adam Cole with Boardman Fire Department. Boardman, along with the Umatilla Rural Fire District, assisted the Irrigon Rural Fire Depart- ment with the blaze. No structures were burned, but the man’s house, his corral and a neighbor’s house were threatened. Cole said 90 percent of the burning was in the refuge area. He asked people to be careful and watch the weather, even though fire season is over. “If he had looked out for the weather — he didn’t even check — the winds are gusting 10-15, and getting up to 25 miles per hour,” Cole said. BRIEFLY Conservation grants available through NRCS PENDLETON — The Natural Resource Conservation Service is accepting appli- cations from farmers, ranchers and private forestland owners for financial assistance through the agency’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, which helps agricultural producers to offset the cost of conservation projects. Examples of conservation activities include installing efficient irrigation systems to save water and reduce energy consump- tion; planting cover crops to improve soil health and water quality; and removing invasive juniper trees to enhance wildlife habitat. Oregon EQIP funds are available within targeted watersheds in each county to address natural resource concerns, as identified by landowners, government agencies and conservation partners. The deadline to apply is Nov. 17. For more information about the program, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov. Umatilla County firefighters help battle Santa Cruz blaze HERMISTON — Several Umatilla County crews are among the Oregonians in California battling wildfires this week. Three people from Umatilla County Fire District and several from Pendleton are now fighting the Bear Fire in Santa Cruz, after starting in the Los Angeles area. Crews from Oregon that were helping fight the fires in Northern California will be returning to their home stations in the next day, as weather improves and firefighters work to contain the blaze. The affected parts of Southern California still remain under Red Flag warnings, and weather is expected to be hot, dry and windy. Oregon crews are expected to be there at least through this weekend. LEARN HOW TO KEEP THE FARM IN YOUR FAMILY. Transitioning your family farm or ranch to the next generation can be overwhelming without a solid plan in place. Learn the key components that you need to know now to make sure your farm stays in the family! Call us toll-free now to reserve a place at your preferred location and time. Family members and guests are welcome but space is limited. CALL TO SCHEDULE YOUR RESERVATION! 541-728-0873 LA GRANDE, OR ENTERPRISE, OR WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25TH 6:30 PM TEN DEPOT STREET 10 DEPOT STREET THURSDAY, OCT, 26TH 6:30 PM WILDERNESS INN 301 W. NORTH STREET During the workshop, you will learn . . . ■ How to minimize the impact of inheritance and death taxes on a family farm or ranch. ■ About solutions to challenges that are unique to farmers and ranchers. ■ What mistakes your neighbors are making that you can avoid. ■ How to preserve and protect your assets for the next generation. When the ice thaws and the snow melts, children from North Hill, South Hill, Sherwood Heights and from across Pendleton will have access to three new playgrounds. The Pendleton City Council approved the replacement of playgrounds at Aldrich, May and Sher- wood parks at a meeting Tuesday. Parks and Recre- ation Director Donnie Cook said the city plans to install the new equipment in the spring. The playgrounds Aldrich, May and Sher- wood were three of the five the parks department shut down in 2015 after safety inspections deemed the structures unsafe. While the playground removed at Vincent Park went unreplaced because of its proximity to Pioneer Park and the Kiwanis Club of Pendleton agreed to take on maintenance and liability of the Kiwanis Park play- ground if it was reopened, the parks department began writing grant applications to acquire new playgrounds for the other three parks. The department raised $95,000 through a $56,500 state grant and smaller private grants. The city was also aided by the winning playground vendor, GameTime of Fort Payne, Alabama, who agreed to match the city’s $50,000 equipment purchase. Cook said this means the city was able to buy higher quality equipment with a larger footprint, while the rest of the budget can continue to go toward excavation, the playground surface and installation. The new playgrounds will also feature new swing sets, although it’s not included in the bid package. Cook said a combination of grant funding and the parks budget will cover the swing sets, which Cook estimates cost $1,500 each. With most of the parks’ playground inventory now in good shape, Cook said his next focus will be to replace the equipment at Airport Park. JOHN DAY Poet laureate to share poetry, stories of poetry. In addition, Woody writes short fiction, essays and is a visual artist. Her work is held in high acclaim, Oregon Poet Laureate Elizabeth Woody will share selections from her poetry and including by The Bloomsbury Review, stories during an informal event in John Day. which highlights lively writing by authors Open to the public, the free gathering is who might not receive attention due to Monday at 7 p.m. at the John Day United smaller promotional budgets. “Her poems are like hands and Methodist Church, 126 N.W. hearts and also like lights: they Canyon St. After Woody’s read- grip and pulse and illuminate. ings, a reception will be held so Like the woman herself, the work people can greet her. is grand and modest and forceful. Woody is the state’s eighth poet It will shake you, and move you laureate since 1921. There was deeply,” the publication said about a lapse in appointments between Woody’s work. 1990 to 2005. Woody’s two-year Woody earned a master’s appointment features outreach as degree in public administration an ambassador of poetry across through the Mark O. Hatfield the state. School of Government’s Exec- In March 2016, she was Woody utive Leadership Institute at appointed Oregon’s Poet Laureate by Governor Kate Brown — the first Amer- Portland State University, a bachelor’s ican Indian to be so named. An enrolled degree in humanities from The Evergreen member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm State College in Olympia, Washington, Springs, Woody is of Yakama Nation descent. and studied creative writing and two-di- “Woody follows in the tradition of mensional arts at the Institute of American peoples who have understood the power Indian Arts in Santa Fe. She has taught at of language, and the place of a poet/singer/ the Institute of American Indian Arts and at storyteller at the center of the world,” said Portland State University. For more about Woody, visit www. Joy Harjo, a playwright and poet. Woody received the American Book oregonpoetlaureate.org/elizabeth-woody. ——— Award in 1990, and the discretionary William Contact Community Editor Tammy Stafford Memorial Award for Poetry and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Awards Malgesini at tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com in 1995. She has published three books or 541-564-4539 East Oregonian IRRIGON East Oregonian East Oregonian ■ How to equitably transfer assets to both your farming and non-farming beneficiaries, and much more! www.farmerstockmaninsurance.com FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR FARMERS AND RANCHERS ESTATE PLANNING | WEATH PRESERVATION AND TRANSFER ANNUITIES | LIFE & LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE | MEDICARE SUPPLIMENT, CANCER AND ACCIDENT INSURANCE 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.
