COLUMBIA GORGE
FIRE 100 PERCENT
CONTAINED
BUCKS
DROP
BLAZERS
NORTHWEST/2A
SPORTS/1B
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2017
142nd Year, No. 32
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Weekend Weather
WESTON
Fri
Sat
Sun
48/35
45/34
43/30
PENDLETON
Police say
theft suspect
failed to
drop pistol
Condition of man that
was shot is unknown
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Pendleton police reported
an offi cer shot a theft
suspect Wednesday night
near Walmart after he fl ed
a confrontation and did not
drop a pistol.
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts said an ambu-
lance took the male victim
to St. Anthony Hospital,
Pendleton, where he under-
went surgery and was fl own
to Oregon Health & Science
University, Portland, for
further treatment. No offi cers
were injured and the condi-
tion of the man is unknown.
Roberts did not identify
the victim nor the offi cer who
shot the man. The offi cer
is on an automatic 72-hour
leave. Roberts said Oregon
State Police would handle the
investigation.
The shooting occurred
around 8:45 p.m. near the
busy intersection of South-
west 20th Street and Court
Avenue in Pendleton. In a
written statement Thursday
morning, Roberts said offi -
cers responded to Walmart
for a theft in progress. Loss
prevention
employees
described the suspect to offi -
cers. Police confronted him
near the front of the store,
according to the statement,
and he “failed to comply with
verbal commands.”
The man took off running
through the parking lot.
Offi cers caught up to him
on Southwest 20th Street.
Roberts said the offi cers saw
a dark colored pistol, and the
offi cer fi red when the suspect
failed to drop it. Roberts did
not identify the type of pistol.
Pendleton police, Umatilla
County sheriff’s deputies
and Oregon State Police
troopers all responded to the
scene, along with Pendleton
ambulances. Police blocked
access to Southwest 20th
See SHOOTING/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Senior planner Nick Foster, with Kittelson & Associates Inc. of Boise, third from right, talks with Weston Mayor Jennifer Spurgeon, second
from left, while doing a walking tour of the area around Athena-Weston Middle School on Thursday in Weston.
Schools hope to step-up street safety
District looks to
improve sidewalks,
crosswalks for students
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
As the sun crept over the Blue
Mountains, students came at Weston
Middle School from all sides.
During the usual morning rush
before school starts, students
Thursday trekked down the steep
decline of Wallace Street to access
the school from its south side. Other
kids hoofed it from the north through
Broad Street, vying for space with
cars and buses as they all made their
way to the set of concrete stairs that
lead to the main entrance.
The young pedestrians spend
most of their walk to school in the
street, not necessarily because they
want to, but due to the fact that there
isn’t another option.
A group of offi cials from the
city of Weston, the Athena-Weston
School District, and a consulting
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Student exit school buses in front of Athena-Weston Middle School
on Thursday in Weston.
fi rm watched foot traffi c patterns
early Thursday morning in an effort
to fi gure out a way to increase pedes-
trian safety at a school surrounded
by few sidewalks.
Over a two-day period the group
held a joint city council-school
board meeting, a walking tour of the
middle school and a series of open
houses on the topic.
The events rose out of a transpor-
tation plan Weston adopted a few
years ago. According to Nick Foster,
a senior planner with transportation
consultant Kittelson & Associates,
Weston’s poor pedestrian access
was one of the top issues raised by
the community during the planning
process. When Weston received a
grant to focus on the middle school,
the city rehired Kittelson.
The new set of plans comes as
the school district carries out capital
improvement projects associated
with an $8 million bond. That bond
has already spurred the school
district to consider rearranging the
school bus and car drop-off zones.
“We don’t want to slow down the
bond,” said Jennifer Spurgeon, the
mayor of Weston and the vice-chair
of the Athena-Weston School Board.
“That’s why this is rapid response.”
The city and school district will
spend the next few months studying
the issue before seeing what they
can fi x quickly and what would need
to be taken care of later through
additional dollars.
Weston fi fth grade teacher Jackie
Culham and middle school principal
Ann Vescio pointed to Wallace
See SCHOOL/8A
HERMISTON
Farm Fair seminars highlight latest research, trends
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Heading into its second year at the Eastern
Oregon Trade and Event Center, the Herm-
iston Farm Fair continues to add new lectures
and seminars highlighting previously over-
looked aspects of Columbia Basin agriculture.
Historically speaking, the Farm Fair has
focused on the latest and greatest develop-
ments in potato production — the signature
crop supported by Oregon State University’s
Hermiston Agricultural Research and Exten-
sion Center.
The 44th annual event, however,
introduced a number of new presentations
Thursday covering topics such as organic
crops, precision irrigation and pollinators.
Phil Hamm, station director at HAREC,
said he did not know the exact attendance, but
estimated it was in the hundreds.
“What we’re trying to do is (reach) as
many of our stakeholders as possible in our
region,” Hamm said.
Last year’s move to EOTEC from the
Hermiston Conference Center has certainly
helped, Hamm said, providing a larger venue
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Guests mingle with vendors during the Hermiston Farm Fair on Thursday at EOTEC in Hermiston.
See FARMING/8A