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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 2017)
Generations of war Four veterans of the U.S. military share their stories of service LIFESTYLES/1C Veterans Day Tribute SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE HOLIDAY WEEKEND EDITION NOVEMBER 10-12, 2017 142nd Year, No. 19 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Deadly day on quiet stretch of I-84 Two wrecks hours apart block traffic; at least one dead By TIM TRAINOR East Oregonian A usually quiet stretch of Interstate 84 west of Boardman was the site of two terrible scenes Thursday, one of which stopped eastbound traffic for much of the day. Javier Tejeda and Tyler Hall were traveling eastbound on the interstate just before noon when they saw a plume of dust and smoke just ahead of them, then heard and watched as multiple vehicles — semi-trucks, pickup trucks and small passenger vehicles — crashed into one another. “It was terrible, it was awful,” said Tejeda, who works with Hall for Gordon’s Electric. He called 911 as Hall ran toward the crash, breaking out a windshield with a hammer, stabbing through an air bag and ripping a man’s seatbelt off so he could get him out of his vehicle. Tejeda said he described the horror of the scene to the Umatilla County dispatcher who answered his 911 call, but once he narrowed down the location of the crash was told he needed to be trans- ferred to Morrow County for assistance. “The phone (then) just kept ringing and ringing,” he said. He said it felt like more than a minute before he got through to a new dispatcher, a delay that he thought was too long with lives on the line. He A last-minute flight cancel- lation had pushed state Senator Bill Hansell’s bedtime back to 2 a.m. on Wednesday morning, but he was still sitting in front of constituents at Hamley’s Cafe in Pendleton by 8 a.m. “I may fall asleep up here,” he said, perhaps only half-jokingly. He and Rep. Greg Barreto were hosting the first of five joint town halls over two days, broaching a wide-ranging series See I-84/11A See TOWN HALL/16A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Sen. Bill Hansell and Rep. Greg Barreto listen to a question on climate from former Pendleton City Councilor Chuck Wood, third from right, during an early morning coffee hour talk at Hamley Cafe on Wednesday in Pendleton. Who are you going to call? Ground work By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Barreto, Hansell hear bill ideas from constituents If your street has a pothole or the new factory next door smells like vomit, it can be hard to know who to call for help. The most passionate Facebook rant in the world might get a gratifying amount of likes, but that pothole will stay as long as the government agency in charge of the road doesn’t know about it. So who exactly is “the government” and how can you make sure you hear your well-reasoned treatise on why the neighborhood park needs another restroom? Cities City officials in small towns are often so accessible, you might have a By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Andrew Clark of Pendleton discusses domestic violence leg- islation with Sen. Bill Hansell on Wednesday before an early morning coffee hour talk at Hamley Cafe in Pendleton. See GOVERNMENT/16A PILOT ROCK Korean War veteran shares Navy stories with students By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris The Pilot Rock student body lines a hallway as veterans and their families walk to the gymnasium for a Veterans Day Concert on Thursday in Pilot Rock. Standing in front of nearly the entire Pilot Rock School District, Bob Deno was nervous. The Korean War veteran was in the Pilot Rock High School gym to for the school’s Veterans Day celebration. After a school-hosted break- fast, veterans and students were ushered into a morning assembly where bands and choirs performed patriotic tunes led by music teacher Jacob Try and a slideshow was shown of local veterans. Deno, who served four tours in Korea, was the keynote speaker at the event, scheduled right in the middle of the proceedings. Deno looked over the crowd of a few dozen veterans and the entire student body, some outfitted in stars and stripes, and proceeded to find some levity in his experience with war. He talked about joining the Navy and seeing the ship he would be stationed on for See VETERANS/16A
