Tuesday
Cloudy with
occasional rain
51/48
DAWGS
HEAD TO
STATE
FINAL
CHARLES
MANSON:
LEGACY
OF EVIL
SPORTS/1B
NATION/2A
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2017
142nd Year, No. 25
WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
One dollar
PENDLETON
Urban
renewal
district
up for
debate
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
With the urban renewal district
nearing the end of its lifespan,
the Pendleton Development
Commission met to discuss the
last six years of its current term
and the possibility of extending
it further.
Moderated by Susan Bower
of Eastern Oregon Business
Source, members of the Pend-
leton City Council and its asso-
ciated committees met Friday
to consider the future of the
urban renewal district: should it
maintain its current path, tweak
“Let’s identify what we
want to accomplish and
let’s see if that merits
extending the district.“
Getting into the Christmas spirit
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Santa greets a little boy Saturday during the Altrusa Annual Holiday Bazaar at the Pendleton Convention Center. For more on
regional holiday events that took place this weekend see page 3A.
Pendleton police ID
body found Thursday
East Oregonian
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts identifi ed the
body found Thursday in Pend-
leton as Alfonso Alva-Reyes,
58, of Milton-Freewater.
Police worked through the
weekend trying to fi nd Alva-
Reyes’ relatives or someone
who knew him, Roberts said.
The man lived in many places
but there was little information
about who he knew. Police
fi nally connected Monday with
someone in Mexico, Roberts
said, and that effort required a
Spanish-English interpreter.
Dog walkers found the
body Thursday morning near
the southeast edge of the
McKennon Station fence, off
the frontage road paralleling
the Umatilla River. Roberts
said police found no obvious
signs of foul play at the scene,
but the Oregon State Medical
Examiner’s Offi ce in Portland
performed an autopsy and
tests.
Roberts said the medical
examiner ruled Alva-Reyes
died from advanced cirrhosis
and hypothermia.
Commissioners take on dangerous
roads, taxes, ambulance service
East Oregonian
Ambulance service, a transient
tax and the dangerous intersection
at Edwards and Feedville roads will
lead off the Umatilla County Board
of Commissioners meeting.
The board meets Wednesday at
9 a.m. in room 130 at the Umatilla
County Courthouse, Pendleton.
Commisioners will consider
adopting the county’s latest
ambulance service plan, which the
Oregon Heath Authority reviewed
last month. The state organization
found several strengths in the plan,
including clear requirements for
emergency communications and
systems access.
OHA also found areas for
improvement, including the need
for a plan for better quality and why
Weston and Athena must reply on
mutual aid to cover their calls, rather
than having existing agencies cover
the area.
A county-wide transient room
tax also is up for discussion, as well
as the possibility of a four-way stop
at the intersection of Edwards and
Feedville roads, the site of another
terrible crash two weeks ago.
Among other issues, the board
will consider updating the county’s
policy to prohibit most animals and
pets from county facilities.
— Scott Fairley,
Pendleton City Councilor
some of its goals and program-
ming, or should the development
commission target certain areas
for improvement.
At the beginning of the
meeting, Charles Denight, the
commission’s associate director,
went through a presentation
that detailed some of the urban
renewal district’s successes.
Since its start in 2003, the
commission’s investments are
almost evenly split between
$2.2 million for public projects
that included land purchases,
gateway enhancements and
parks, and $2.1 million for
private investments within the
district.
The lion’s share of private
investments went to the façade
program, which provides grants
to downtown businesses and
buildings interested in improving
their storefronts. As Denight
fl ipped through the slides, he
showed as the stucco and wood
of the pre-renewal façades gave
See PENDLETON/8A
Former Hermiston resident found dead in Lincoln City
Cause of death has
yet to be determined
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
Contributed photo
Jeana Beck, a former Hermiston resident and autism advocate, was
found dead in Lincoln City on Friday. Beck had been visiting the
coastal town for a job conference with her son.
Jeana Beck wore many hats,
as an autism advocate, a Board of
Realtors member and a friend to
many in Hermiston. But according
to her son, one role really stood out.
“She was ‘mom’ to all my friends, she
was friends with all my friends,” said
her son Jesse Smith. “Exactly what
you’d want out of a mom.”
Beck was found dead in Lincoln
City on Friday after her son, Jacob
Smith, reported her missing the night
before. There were no visible marks on
her when she was found, and the cause
of death has yet to be determined.
The circumstances surrounding her
death are still unclear, and family and
friends are searching for answers. She
went out on Thursday evening and did
not return to the Rodeway Inn where
she and her son were staying. She
was later found in a canal behind the
motel.
Smith said his mother was in
Lincoln City accompanying Jacob to
a job conference.
Lincoln City Police Chief Keith
Kilian said the circumstances of
Beck’s death are still under investiga-
tion, and that they are waiting for the
results of the autopsy report from the
medical examiner’s offi ce.
“We’ve heard multiple things,”
Smith said. “We’ve heard everything
you can think of. The truth is, we
don’t know.”
See BECK/8A