REGION
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
East Oregonian
ECHO
Page 3A
PENDLETON
Oktoberfest draws world-traveling guests Police chase ends
with arrests in field
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Echo’s second Oktoberfest
garnered international atten-
tion.
Three Germans plunked
themselves into the midst of
the small town’s big fund-
raiser Saturday night. Sarah
Weimer, Julia Friess and
Liona Schmid said they were
heading back to Vancouver,
Washington, after visiting
just about every sight they
could cram into a three-week
West Coast trip, from San
Fransisco to Las Vegas to
the Grand Canyon. Weimer
said they pulled into Echo
to find a place to rest for the
night when the horse-drawn
wagon advertising the town’s
Oktoberfest caught her eye.
They had to check it out,
she said.
Each member of the trio
sported smiles and a pint of
beer. Friess said the glasses
in Germany, however, hold
a liter of beer — a tad more
than a quart.
The Germans were a
smash at the downtown
scene, which drew about
150 locals and started at 4 in
the afternoon while the rain
still was coming down. The
downpour, though, didn’t
seem to dampen anyone’s
spirits, though the crowd size
was smaller than 2016’s.
Echo Kiwanis members
started the Oktoberfest last
year. Kiwanis member Phyllis
Shovelski of Echo said the
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Phil Wright
Liona Schmid, Julia Friess, and Sarah Weimer, all from Germany, take a moment Satur-
day evening with Hermiston’s Blake Bettencourt during the Echo Oktoberfest. The trio
of travelers have been on a West Coast trip and found themselves in the small town.
inaugural event drew more
than 400 and raised $6,000,
and this year’s festival sold
150 tickets in the weeks
before. She said the proceeds
benefit scholarships and the
St. Peter’s Catholic Church
restoration project.
The Hermiston Brewing
Co. provided the beer for
the party, giving locals the
opportunity to take a step
outside their safe zone. That’s
just what Alan Kitchen and
Micheal Fielder wanted.
Kitchen is the head brewer
at Hermiston Brewing, and
Fielder is the assistant brewer.
They craft 21 beers and
brought 10 of the brewery’s
top sellers, plus one mass-pro-
duced domestic beer.
Kitchen said craft brewing
still has a small footprint in
Eastern Oregon, so some
beer drinkers are comfortable
staying with what has been on
tap here for decades. Kitchen
and Fielder, however, tried to
steer folks to try something
with a bit more local flavor.
And if customers ask ques-
tions about the beers, that’s all
the better.
“I can find you a beer you
like,” Kitchen asserted.
Chris Klein of Hermiston
said he has tried several of
the brewery’s beers, so he
went for something new —
the Dunkle, for “dad’s your
uncle.” After a few sips, he
said, the dark concoction just
might be his favorite.
The Dunkle and a Hefe-
weizen were the two more
traditional German brews on
the menu. Kitchen said they
even used hops from Munich
to craft the Dunkle.
Weimer and Friess said
they found the brews were
pretty good, even if they were
not German.
BRIEFLY
Cyclist hit by
vehicle, taken to
hospital
HERMISTON — A
man riding a bicycle was
struck by a vehicle Monday
afternoon at the corner of
Highway 395 and Jennie
Avenue in Hermiston near
Dutch Bros.
He was alert and talking
with police officers at the
scene, then loaded into an
ambulance.
According to the police
scanner the man was
complaining of a broken
ankle.
Park celebration
set for Wednesday
HERMISTON —
Hermiston residents are
invited to celebrate winning
a grant for new playground
equipment for Sunset Park
on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
The grant comes from a
contest sponsored by Moda
Health and the Portland
Trail Blazers. Hermiston
won more than $16,000 this
summer after beating out
Tillamook and Portland in
an online voting contest.
The celebration at Sunset
Park, 11 N.E. Fourth St.,
will include a ribbon-cutting
ceremony at 4 p.m. and
refreshments. Senior vice
president Robin Richardson
will represent Moda Health
and vice president of social
responsibility Christa Stout
will represent the Blazers.
Hermiston parks and
recreation director Larry
Fetter said the playground
equipment paid for by the
grant was ordered in July
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Personnel from Umatilla County Fire District load a
man onto a stretcher after he was reportedly struck by
a car Monday afternoon while riding his bicycle at the
corner of Highway 395 and Jennie Avenue.
but has not yet arrived, and
he does not have a firm date
for when it will. He said
it was disappointing the
equipment wasn’t in place in
time for the celebration but
it is “beyond our control.”
BMCC students
invited to EOU
transfer day Nov. 9
Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College students
looking to transfer to
Eastern Oregon University
can skip their application
fees and get their questions
answered during transfer
day on Nov. 9.
Students can speak to
Wendy Sorey, regional
advisor for EOU’s Pendleton
center, on the Pendleton
BMCC campus in Morrow
Hall from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
They can also speak to
Hermiston/Pendleton center
director Kerry Thompson
at the Eastern Oregon
Higher Education Center in
Hermiston from 8 a.m. to 11
a.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Students who bring
their official transcripts to
the Nov. 9 event and meet
admission requirements
may get instant admission
to the university without
paying application fees. All
students who attend will be
able to ask questions and
get guidance on transferring
credits, online programs,
time to graduation and
scholarship opportunities.
For more information
visit eou.edu/transfer-day,
call 541-278-5777 or email
soreyw@eou.edu.
Morrow County
deputy recognized
for crisis work
HEPPNER — Morrow
County sheriff’s deputy
Todd Siex was among
five nominees for the law
enforcement officer of
the year award from the
Northwest Regional Crisis
Intervention Team.
Undersheriff John
Bowels said Siex earned
the nomination for his
ability to work well with
people in crisis. Siex in one
case helped get a person
treatment, Bowels said, then
checked back on the person
in subsequent days. Bowels
credited the deputy for
making that extra effort.
The Northwest team held
its seventh annual awards
ceremony Oct. 4 in Bend,
the first time an Oregon city
held the event, according to
the organization’s written
statement. Attendees came
from Oregon, Washington
and Idaho and included
public safety professionals,
clinical providers and
professionals involved in
assisting individuals in
crisis.
While the officer of
the year award went to
Roseberg police officer
Anthony Powers, Siex
received a certificate to note
his accomplishment. Bowels
added the deputy does fine
work for the citizens of
Morrow County.
According to the list of
nominees, Siex was the lone
person from Eastern Oregon.
Police made two arrests
following a car chase Friday
near Pendleton.
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts in
an email reported
an officer Friday
at 11:08 p.m.
observed a 2002
black
Cadillac
Escalade pull into
the parking lot of
a mini-mart on the
east end of town.
The officer knew Smith
the driver had a
suspended license
and approached
the Escalade.
The
officer
saw four people
inside, but not the
original
driver,
and confirmed one
of the occupants,
Jordan
Ryley James
Smith, 28, of
Adams, had a
felony arrest warrant. When
the officer attempted to get
Smith to step out of the car, a
back seat passenger, 19-year
old Frances Alexandria
James, climbed into the driv-
er’s seat and started the car.
“The officer verbally
advised James if she
attempted to leave she would
be arrested,” according to
the email.
James drove away, fleeing
the parking lot heading east,
the report stated, and the
officer pursued the Escalade
onto Interstate 84 to South
Market Road to Spring
Creek Road. Oregon State
Police joined and
a trooper got in
front of the pursuit
and set spike
strips on the road.
The Escalade ran
over those before
crashing into an
open field near
43921 Rockwell
Road.
The four occu-
pants attempted
to flee, but police
detained them.
Oregon State
Police
trooper
Jeremy
Gunter
arrested Smith on
warrants, while
Pendleton police
arrested
James
for the following:
unauthorized use
of vehicle; felony attempt to
flee; hindering prosecution,
also a felony; and on misde-
meanors of interfering with
a peace officer, trespassing,
reckless driving and reckless
endangering.
Police booked James
and Smith into the Umatilla
County Jail, Pendleton.
Roberts reported police
interviewed and released the
other occupants.
Saturday fires burn homes in
Stanfield, Irrigon, Lexington
East Oregonian
Fires damaged or ruined
a few local homes Saturday.
The Umatilla County Fire
District responded at about
1:30 p.m. for a fire at 230
Willow Drive, Stanfield. No
flames were coming from
the single story wood home,
according to a written state-
ment from the district, but
“low velocity gray smoke”
escaped from the eves and
gable ends of the roof.
Firefighters found no
visible fire inside the home,
where temperatures were
high and the smoke heavy.
Fire Lt. Matt Dodge said
the fire has burned itself out
by the time the crews was
inside, but the blaze was
active before that.
Firefighters made sure
the flames were out, then
ventilated the home by 1:51
p.m.
Dodge said two people
live in the home, but they
can’t stay there now. The
home was worth $170,000
before the fire, and the district
estimated it lost $110,000 in
value from the damage.
The cause of the fire
remains under investigation,
Dodge said, but evidence
points to the living room as
the starting point.
The district reported
23 personnel, including
members of the Umatilla
Rural
Fire
Protection
District, four engines and
four other emergency vehi-
cles responded to the fire. No
one suffered any injuries.
Fire also burned in a
house Saturday afternoon on
the 200 block of Southeast
Fourth Street, Irrigon. Fire
agencies from Irrigon and
Boardman responded, along
with the Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office.
The American Red Cross
Cascades Region reported
it sent disaster responders
to the single-family fire that
affected one adult. The char-
itable organization provided
resources to meet immediate
basic needs.
Firefighters
Saturday
morning also responded to
a report of flames shooting
from a roof on North D
Street, Lexington. Volunteer
departments from Hepper
and Lexington put down the
blaze.
OUT OF THE VAULT:
Historical Vignettes from the East Oregonian
By Renee Struthers
A second look at the first draft of Umatilla County’s history, from stories of crime
and punishment to natural disasters to the odd and absurd.
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