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.”