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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2017)
PICK YOUR FALL HOME SIDE, SHOW IMPROVEMENT YOUR PRIDE INSIDE TODAY: AND CAR CARE POSTERS INSIDE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2017 142nd Year, No. 7 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Transgender inmate settles lawsuit over medical care Michalle Wright to receive hormone therapy, $167K in damages By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PORTLAND — The state prison system in Oregon will provide a transgender Two Rivers Correctional Institution inmate with hormone therapy, bras and women’s underwear and will consider transferring her to the state’s only all-women’s prison as part of a settlement agreement announced Tuesday. The state will also pay Michalle Wright $167,500 in damages, waive medical fees associated with three suicide attempts, provide counseling and consider referring her for gender surgery in January if it’s deemed medically necessary, according to the agreement. The agreement was announced by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon and confi rmed by the Oregon Department of Corrections in a brief statement. “She was begging for help, I was begging for help — but nothing was See TRANSGENDER/8A Mat Dos Santos/ACLU of Oregon via AP This July 2017 photo provided by the ACLU of Oregon shows transgender inmate Michalle Wright at the Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem. Hermiston to partake in national drug take- back day By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris A serpentine of riders carrying U.S. fl ags makes its way across the Pendleton Round-Up Arena at the end of the Westward Ho! Parade during the 100th Anniversary of the Round-Up on Sept., 17, 2010. Round-Up lassos new property Association buys property that houses Frontier Tavern By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Like the pioneering spirit the rodeo has promoted since its conception, the Pendleton Round-Up is expanding westward. In the last two months, the Round-Up Association has purchased three properties on the western edge of much of its current holdings and the famed Round-Up Grounds. On Sept. 19, just days after the 2017 rodeo concluded, the Round-Up Association bought a 36,142 square- foot commercial property at 125 S.W. 18th St. that houses the Frontier Tavern for $325,000, according to Umatilla County records. Two weeks prior, on Sept. 6, the association completed the purchase of a 4,791 square-foot residential property at 1821 S.W. Byers Ave. The group later purchased a second residential prop- erty at 18 S.W. 18th Street on Sept. 28 for $85,000 — more than twice the real market value. The purchases add to the host of properties the nonprofi t organization owns in that area. The acquisitions represent the fi rst expansion the association has made since 2011 and adds to their consider- able catalog of land. Across three separate entities — See ROUND-UP/8A Staff photo by E.J. Harris One way to combat the nation- wide opioid epidemic is to get unused prescription drugs off the street before they get into the hands of people who abuse them. On Saturday, the Drug Enforce- ment Administration’s 14th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, Umatilla and Morrow County resi- dents can drop off unused pills at the Hermiston Police Department, 330 S. First St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. During the last such national collection, Oregonians dropped off 12,120 pounds of unused drugs, which reminded Oregon law enforcement how prevalent prescrip- tion opiates had become. Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts said prescription drug use and abuse have been on the rise locally over the last several years. Roberts said his police department has a secure MedReturn in their lobby, where residents can drop off unused prescriptions at all times. A few times a year, law enforcement has the collection incinerated. Amy Ashton-Williams, the Umatilla County Director of Human Services, said opioid use is a serious local concern. And as law enforcement cracks down on abused prescription avenues, users can turn to more dangerous ways to feed their addiction. “For those who are addicted, even if they’re receiving them legally, they’ll go and buy illegally, or turn to an alternative form like heroin,” she said. A report from the 2018 Oregon- Idaho High Intensity Drug Traf- fi cking Area strategy states that an The storefront building housing Jim’s Frontier Tavern has been purchased by the Pendleton Round-Up Association. See DRUGS/8A Tree-free paper may benefi t local farmers Washington-based pulp plant under construction By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Image contributed by Columbia Pulp Construction is underway for the Columbia Pulp plant near Lyons Ferry, Washington. The facility will use wheat straw, as opposed to wood, for tree-free paper products. Farmers in Eastern Oregon and Washington may soon have another option for selling their leftover wheat straw after harvest, turning a potential source of waste into a source of cash. A new pulp mill is under construction near Lyons Ferry along the Snake River in southeast Washington that will turn straw, as opposed to wood, into material for making household products such as paper towels and tissues Columbia Pulp, based in Dayton, Washington, held a groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 27 and CEO John Begley said the mill could be up and running by late next year. Once completed, it will take 250,000 tons of straw per year and produce 140,000 tons of market-grade pulp. Though the plant is located an hour northeast of Walla Walla, Begley expects a portion of the straw will be sourced from Umatilla See PULP/8A
