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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2018)
REGION Saturday, January 20, 2018 HERMISTON Former coach and mother of five dies from childbirth complications By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Community members are raising money for the family of a former Hermiston volleyball coach who died Wednesday from complica- tions from childbirth. Priscilla Iliganoa Ena Boyd, 30, is survived by her newborn son Alovale, her husband Cole Boyd and sons Tupou, 7; Faafiaula, 6; Viliamu, 3; and Sone, 1, and a large extended family. Her sister-in-law Leini Ena said Priscilla was a funny, warm, giving person, but one of the things that most stood out about her was that she was an “amazing mother” to her sons. “She definitely had her hands full, but she loved those boys so much and always made sure they had everything they needed,” Leini said. She said Priscilla always went above and beyond for her friends, was active in her church and loved being part of any community she lived in. She moved from Hermiston to Fayetteville, Tennessee, less than two years ago to be closer to her husband’s family, but her parents Siu and Fuamai Ena still live in Hermiston. “She had a great big laugh Photo contributed by Leini Ena Former Hermiston volleyball coach and mother of five, Priscilla Ena, died Wednesday from complications from childbirth. and a great sense of humor, just like her dad,” Leini said. Priscilla was a standout athlete during her time at Hermiston High School, competing in volleyball, basketball and track and field. She was often listed in East Oregonian sports articles as a top-scoring player in varsity girls’ basketball games. “She was an athlete three seasons out of the year in high school,” Leini said. “She loved competition.” She later coached freshman volleyball for the high school. A GoFundMe account, which can be found at www. gofundme.com/support-for- enaboyd-family, had raised more than $13,000 of its $100,000 goal by Friday evening. Leini said family and friends of the Ena Boyd family hope that the boys will “never feel the financial impact of not having a mother.” Several of the condo- lences left for the family on the GoFundMe page called Priscilla a “beautiful person,” inside and out. “So many of my best memories were made with Priscilla,” wrote Adelita Bentley. “Her silly, sweet, generous and warm spirit made this earth a better place.” Leini said Friday that newborn Alovale has not been released from the hospital yet but is doing well. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. East Oregonian Page 3A Utah man arrested after high speed chase East Oregonian A Utah man led police on a multi-county chase Thursday that began on Interstate 84 and ended after police fired gunshots in rural Wasco County. Rudy Foki Paea Fifita, 30, of West Jordan, Utah, was even- tually arrested and charged with two counts of attempting to elude police, four counts of recklessly endan- gering another person and reck- Fifita less driving. An Oregon State Police trooper first attempted to stop the Dodge pickup that Fifita was driving westbound on the interstate about 3:20 p.m. Thursday. He had two passengers in the car — a 23-year-old woman from Hawaii and their 1-year-old son. Fifita did not stop the car, but instead cut across a grassy median and began traveling eastbound. About 10 minutes later, a Sherman County sheriff’s deputy located the vehicle near Moro, again traveling at a high rate of speed, and made another attempt to stop the vehicle. The suspect again refused and the deputy discontinued the pursuit due to concerns for public safety. A short time later, an Oregon State Police trooper spotted the vehicle driving south through Sherman County. Troopers planted spike strips at two separate locations in an attempt once again to stop the truck, but the strips were unsuccessful both times. The vehicle traveled through the small town of Tygh Valley at unsafe speeds, according to OSP, and once again law enforcement stopped the chase. At about 4:35 p.m., a Wasco County deputy located the vehicle off Highway 197, about four miles south of Tygh Valley. As Fifita tried to drive back onto the highway, the deputy fired several rounds at the vehicle. The truck came to a stop and the driver was taken into custody without incident. Fifita was not injured and neither were his passengers, according to OSP. Because of state law, the investigation into the chase and law enforcement action will be led by Oregon State Police. Wasco County Sheriff’s Office will not participate in the review. HERMISTON Fed commission OKs Wheatridge transmission line By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ordered Umatilla Electric Cooperative to provide wholesale transmission service to a Wheatridge Wind Energy project, rejecting a protest by Heppner-based Columbia Basin Electric Cooperative that the action would encroach on its exclu- sive service territory. The proposed wind farm, broken up into two areas a few miles north of Heppner, would include up to 292 turbines and generate up to 500 megawatts of energy. The project’s developers have been working with UEC on a plan for UEC to construct a 230-kilovolt transmission line connecting the project to Bonneville Power Administration’s Morrow Flat substation in UEC’s service territory. The wind farm is in Columbia Basin’s service territory, and the cooperative argued that the proposed transmission line would violate Oregon law barring electric utilities from making retail sales of electricity within other utilities’ exclu- sive service territory. It filed a complaint with the Oregon Public Utility Commission on Jan. 13, 2017. According to a news release by UEC, in response to the complaint Wheatridge and UEC filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to confirm the transmission line was subject to federal jurisdiction, not state, and requesting that the commis- sion order UEC to provide transmission service to the project. Columbia Basin filed a protest against it, again stating that the project would illegally violate its exclusive service territory. Although the stated purpose of the transmission line would be for whole- sale and not retail sales, the FERC ruling shows Columbia Basin argued that its retail service would be directly affected because the cooperative would either have to rely on Umatilla Electric’s transmission line or construct a duplicate line at a cost to its members. It stated that it was willing to provide transmission service from the Wheatridge site to the edge of its territory, at which point UEC could pick up transmission. On Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis- sion issued a final order in UEC’s favor, stating that the transmission line was solely to facilitate whole- sale sales and would not violate Columbia Basin’s exclusive service territory. It ordered UEC to provide “the requested interconnection and transmission services” for Wheatridge. “We’re thrilled with the ruling,” Robert Echenrode, UEC general manager and CEO said in a statement Friday. “We have maintained all along that this is a federal issue rather than a state issue, so we are gratified that FERC affirmed that in its decision.” He said that the coopera- tive hasn’t “fully digested” the content of the order yet and there would still be other challenges with the project to be addressed, but UEC looks forward to continuing to work with Wheatridge. Thomas Wolff, CEO and General Manager of Columbia Basin Electric Cooperative, said the cooperative accepts the decision from the federal level. He said they will work with Wheatridge, which was transferred to NextEra Energy in 2017, and UEC as the wind farm and transmis- sion line move forward. He said it is “very important” to Columbia Basin that the transmission line meets the Morrow County Planning Commis- sion and governor’s office’s concept of a “utility corridor” that has the capacity to serve other future renewable energy projects in Morrow County besides the Wheatridge NextEra project. That concept grew out of a BRIEFLY Phillips cited for early January burglary City council, county to have joint meeting on EOTEC HERMISTON — Hermiston Police said the man who stole a Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office patrol car Thursday was also involved in a break-in at a local store earlier in the month. Video footage of the burglary at Eastside Market led them to identify Christopher Phillips, 23, as the suspect in the theft this week. On Jan. 1, police responded to a break-in at a business on East Main Street in Hermiston. They saw Phillips on surveillance video that two unidentified suspects, one wearing a mask, had come to the closed business around 4 a.m., smashed a window, entered and stole multiple packs of cigarettes before leaving. On Jan. 18, officers identified a vehicle similar to the one in the video from the first theft. Following some investigation, they arrested Devon Hollenbeck, 24, and Phillips, both of Hermiston. Both have been charged with burglary, theft, conspiracy and criminal mischief. Hollenbeck was taken to the Umatilla County Jail and Phillips was already in jail for his theft of the patrol car. Officers say both men may be involved in other recent burglaries, and investigations are ongoing. Anyone with related information can call Hermiston Police at 541-567-5519. HERMISTON — Hermiston’s city council will meet at a different time and place than usual Monday in order to facilitate a conversation with Umatilla County Commissioners regarding the future of the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at EOTEC, 1705 E Airport Road, and will function as a regular business meeting for the city council — not a work session — as well as a public meeting for the county commission. After discussion and possible action on a recommendation about EOTEC that will be presented before councilors and commissioners, the city council will continue with other city business, including acceptance of the city’s yearly audit report and reports from city committees. The council will also consider awarding a contract for construction of a planned festival street downtown on Northeast Second Street. According to the agenda packet, Moreno & Nelson Construction Corp of Walla Walla is the apparent low bidder at $857,164. ——— Submit information to: community@ eastoregonian.com or drop off to the attention of Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-966-0818 with questions. recommendation by an advi- sory committee of farmers and utilities established by governor Kate Brown in 2015. A single transmission line for multiple projects, they said, would take less farmland out of production than building a separate line for each project that comes along. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. Big Lots open after crash East Oregonian Big Lots in Hermiston is open for business, two days after a car drove through the front of the store and shattered a window, causing thousands of dollars in damage. Store manager Teresa Martin said there is an 18-foot area in the front of the store that is boarded up while they wait for materials to be delivered. “We hope it will be fixed up by Tuesday or Wednesday,” she said. Martin added that repairing the inner doors will take a little longer. Martin said a cash register was damaged beyond repair, but the store has four that remain fully operational. “It was a little bit of a shock,” Martin said of the crash. “But then we all just came together.”
