WEEKEND EDITION
NOVEMBER 18-19, 2017
An old Dodge pickup truck
sits in a fi eld off River Road
near Cayuse on the Umatilla
Indian Reservation.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
142nd Year, No. 24
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Round-Up
wrangles
with board
president
nomination
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
from becoming a reality. The
BLM record of decision only
addresses the power line as it
crosses over federal lands, so
Idaho Power must now shift its
efforts to obtaining state permits
through the Oregon Department
of Energy, and specifi cally the
Energy Facility Siting Council.
Mitch
Colburn,
who
manages transmission and
distribution strategic projects
for the utility, said the line will
not be completed until 2024 at
the earliest. Idaho Power has
On Tuesday, Pendleton Round-Up
stockholders will convene at the Let’Er
Buck Room for their annual meeting,
where they will listen to a fi nancial report,
get updates on the rodeo’s future plans and
elect a new president for the Round-Up
Association Board of Directors.
The latter could be the most contentious
item of the night.
Stockholders
recently received a
letter signed by all
17 directors stating
the board’s intention
to nominate Dave
O’Neill — an eight-
year director who left
the board after the
2016 Round-Up — O’Neill
for board president.
“Unfortunately,
we have recently been advised that several
past directors intend to nominate a different
candidate,” the directors wrote. “We are
very concerned about this proposed action
to circumvent the will of the board. There is
no doubt this action would be divisive and
destructive to the cohesiveness and cooper-
ation on the board that currently exists, as
well as to the effectiveness of the board in
continuing the success of this organization.
Moreover, we believe bringing this type
of public disturbance to the association is
not only unfair and unwarranted, but also
detrimental to not only how it is viewed
by the community, but also by its partners,
vendors, rodeo peers, staff volunteers,
and contestants. Lastly, it would certainly
create division and resentment that would
compromise our effectiveness to work
with the past directors.”
See POWER/16A
See ROUND-UP/15A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A crew works on a transmission line tower Friday outside of Boardman. The Bureau of Land Management has announced a
300-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line that will be built from Boardman to just outside of Boise.
BLM approves transmission line
300-mile power line would cross fi ve counties en route to Idaho
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
The Bureau of Land Manage-
ment signed off on a contro-
versial 300-mile, 500-kilovolt
overhead transmission line that
would run from Boardman to
near Boise, boosting electrical
capacity between the two
regions for future growth.
It is a major step forward for
the Boardman to Hemingway
project, or B2H, which was fi rst
proposed by Idaho Power in
2006. More than a decade later,
the BLM released its record of
“I do think that, through the process, we
have minimized impacts to a great extent.”
— Mitch Colburn, manages transmission and
distribution strategic projects for Idaho Power
decision for the power line on
Friday, which would cross fi ve
Eastern Oregon counties en
route to southwest Idaho.
Ryan Zinke, Secretary of
the Interior, said in a statement
that building B2H is a Trump
administration priority, focusing
on infrastructure that supports
America’s energy independence.
Umatilla
County
Sheriff’s
deputy
Steven
McDaniel
brings his
20-years of
service in
the Oregon
National
Guard to
the patrol
and criminal
division
of the
department.
Staff photo
by E.J. Harris
“Today’s decision is the result
of extensive public involvement
and will support the environmen-
tally responsible development of
resources to meet the needs of
communities in Idaho, Oregon
and the surrounding region,”
Zinke said.
Yet despite the announce-
ment, B2H is still years away
Sheriff’s offi ce looks to
balance skills with experience
Steven McDaniel joins patrol and
criminal division of department
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Steven McDaniel likes his fi t with the
Umatilla County Sheriff’s Offi ce.
“Mainly, what I’ve done has been some
form of helping people,” he said.
At 38 he has almost 20 years of service
in the Oregon National Guard and pilots
helicopters for the military’s aviation unit
at the airport in Pendleton. He worked in
Afghanistan as a contractor for a transport
company and served in 2005-06 in the war
in Afghanistan. McDaniel also worked
as a corrections offi cer at Eastern Oregon
Correctional Institution and the Umatilla
County Jail, both in Pendleton.
Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan
said McDaniel exemplifi es what the sher-
iff’s offi ce is looking for as it develops its
staff. Rowan is a full year into his second
term, and beefi ng up the patrol and criminal
division has been a primary focus of his job.
“Our approach has been to fi nd candi-
dates with character traits that meet our core
values, combined with a balance of skill set,
work ethic and maturity,” Rowan said. “We
are trying to maintain a balance between
and within our ranks. Some of the new hires
have deep skill sets, others have several
years working in public safety, while others
are just beginning their careers in public
See POLICE/16A