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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2018)
Page 8A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Thursday, January 18, 2018 FORENSICS: CJ program at full strength FIRE: City was $25,000 under its the property with DeGarmo and two adjunct instructors estimate when it bought Even though the scope of the fire Continued from 1A Continued from 1A He stood back and watched and listened. DeGarmo’s journey to this moment is an interesting one. He describes himself as a D student in his Missouri high school who often got in trouble for skipping class. After graduation, he enlisted in the Army, but was rejected after a physical revealed a heart murmur. He had already quit his job at an auto parts store, so he half- heartedly enrolled in community college. There, he suddenly found ambition in a criminal justice class that fascinated him. He eventually enrolled in a four-year university and went all in. “I was making A’s in all my classes,” he said. “For once in my life, I was focusing.” DeGarmo planned to become a police officer, but after he completed his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration, he didn’t stop before earning both a master’s degree and doctorate. He took one detour to reenlist in the Army, when his heart murmur had ceased to be an issue. After attending officer school, he served as a platoon leader for an engineer company that constructed floating bridges. When working on his Ph.D. at Washington State University, he spent a week inside a Mexican prison at Chiapas, studying the prisoners and their ways of navi- gating life there. “The wives and children stayed with the prisoners,” DeGarmo said. “(Mexican) statute says that a man cannot be separated from his wife.” DeGarmo and his then-wife bought a hobby farm in Joplin, Missouri, and lived there while he spent a year writing his disser- tation. They raised chickens and goats, along with 20 stray cats and 12 dogs. Each day, he drove to Starbucks and wrote for eight hours. That done, he took a crimi- nologist research job at Arkansas State University, studying rural drug markets in the Ozark Moun- tains. While in Arkansas, he also worked as a reserve sheriff’s deputy. In this first year at BMCC, Staff photo by E.J. Harris Instructor Matt DeGarmo, right, gestures while critiquing a group of students on their crime scene investigation during a pre-test lab in a forensic science class Tuesday at BMCC in Pendleton. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Ian Speed of Athena uses his cellphone to take a photo of evidence during a forensics class project Tuesday at BMCC in Pendleton. DeGarmo said he exposes his students to the criminal justice system with lectures, prison and court tours, panel discussions and hand-on lessons such as the crime scene simulation. He also started a criminal justice club, which has 29 members. The criminal justice program isn’t brand new at BMCC, but it sputtered when past coordinator Rebecca Blaine got seriously ill. Most recently, another instructor taught remotely. Now the program is full strength again with DeGarmo and two adjunct instructors. Students may earn certificates (for work in corrections, court technician or law enforcement) and also get an associate of applied science degree that allows entry to law enforcement, corrections or probation and different types of investigation. A board made up of individuals from law enforcement, correc- tions, law and academia advises DeGarmo. Board members include Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts, Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston, Tribal Police Chief Timothy Addleman, EOCI Superintendent Brigette Amsberry, TRCI Superintendent Troy Browser, Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan, Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus and others. After Tuesday’s exercise, the four teams of students discussed the evidence and turned in their best guess about what happened. DeGarmo revealed more details about the murder scenario. He said a male forensic teacher and a married woman had been giving each other foot massages after class when the woman’s husband stormed into the class- room. When the husband stabbed his wife through the heart, the teacher fled, leaving a trail of syllabi, knocked-over chairs and a National Enquirer. The husband gave chase. Out on the grassy hill, the husband shot his cheating wife’s lover four times. He threw love notes he had found (with two differing handwriting styles) on the body and departed. At the end of the semester, the students will assess a different crime scene. ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or 941-966-0810. fire station’s floor with concrete. Ciraulo said emergency personnel can step in blood, feces or toxic chemicals in their line of work and tracking into a carpeted facility could let the germs found in those substances fester, but carpeting was the cheaper option. Additionally, the outdoor training area, one of the main selling points for the new station, will be reduced in size and graveled instead of paved. Less essential features such as a brick veneer, cornices, heated concrete surrounding the fire station, interior glass doors and a metal roof were also swapped out for less expensive options. Ciraulo praised city staff members for reducing cost else- where in the project, like the public works department agreeing to do the site preparation, which requires removing the remains of the old helipad and parking lot. A reader board that would have displayed fire department informa- tion was to be removed as a part of the cuts, but Ciraulo said Facilities Manager Glenn Graham is close to securing a grant to purchase one. station has been narrowed, Ciraulo still thought it was something the community will be proud of. He told the council that the city is on track to break ground on the new station on Southeast Court Avenue, at the former site of St. Anthony Hospital, in May and open it to personnel and the public in fall 2019. And the fire chief still considers the new station a marked improve- ment over the current station, which is widely considered too small, awkwardly located near an uncontrolled intersection and unhealthy to its employees. The city has come in under budget on other parts of the bond. The city was $25,000 under its esti- mate when it bought the property from St. Anthony for $360,000 and the $573,000 on capital expenses — ambulances and assorted medical and emergency equipment — was $57,000 under budget. The city will reveal updated renderings and answer questions from the public about the project at a community meeting on Feb. 6. The meeting will be held in the Community Room at Pendleton City Hall, 500 S.W. Dorion Ave. BOAT: Lawsuit claims Maess suffered emotionally and financially Continued from 1A hurts and a wound on his shin has not fully healed, according to the lawsuit. He initially experienced neck pain, vision issues, headaches and a hyper-extended left thumb after floating with the debris from the wreck in the cold water. The lawsuit also claims Maess, 47, suffered emotionally and financially after needing to take time off work. McMahon is also an officer with the Hermiston police department and was a member of the regional SWAT team before the collision. He also took time off. Police Chief Jason Edmiston said he requested McMahon be temporarily removed from the SWAT team when he found out about the wreck, and McMahon later decided to step down entirely. He is now one of two school resource officers in Hermiston, Edmiston said, but wasn’t able to start that job right away because the wreck happened shortly before the school year began. Larsen, 75, pleaded not guilty in September to three counts of fourth-degree assault, three counts of recklessly endangering another person and one reckless operation of a boat charge in connection with the case. An early resolution conference in the criminal case has been sched- uled for later this month. Larsen, a Roseburg resident who owns the Harborview Resort in Hammond, could not be reached for comment by The Daily Astorian. He told The Oregonian last week that allegations he was using his cellphone before the crash are “fake news.” A video of the incident — taken from a camera on the smaller boat — was shared on Facebook by Angling Oregon — a website operated by McMahon. Watch the video at https://youtu. be/agWmkZYu31Q OREGON HUNTERS ASSOCIATION HUNTER’S RIGHTS • HUNTABLE WILDLIFE • HABITAT NEW Banquet Time Same Great Banquet Save the Date April 7th 5PM at the Convention Center Raffles, Wall of Guns, Games New events and lots of fun MONEY RAISED BY OUR BANQUET STAYS IN OREGON! 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