WEEKEND EDITION
PENDLETON BOYS STAY
DESPITE PERMIT,
PERFECT IN CRC SPORTS/1B A TRIP TO INDIA LIFESTYLES/1C NO TURKEYS KILLED 3A
JANUARY 27-28, 2018
142nd Year, No. 73
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, file
Robert “LaVoy” Finicum
Finicum
family
sues U.S.,
FBI, OSP
Seeks $5M for
widow, 12 children
By STEVEN DUBOIS
Associated Press
PORTLAND — The
family of an Arizona rancher
who was killed by police
during the armed occupation
of a national wildlife refuge
in Oregon alleged in a U.S.
lawsuit Friday that he was
“deliberately executed by
a preplanned government
ambush.”
The
wrongful-death
lawsuit filed in Pendleton
on the second anniversary of
Robert “LaVoy” Finicum’s
death seeks at least $5 million
in damages for his widow
and each of their 12 children.
The United States is listed as
a defendant, along with the
FBI, Oregon State Police,
Gov. Kate Brown and others.
FBI spokeswoman Beth
Anne Steele said the agency
does not comment on pending
litigation. Representatives for
the governor and state police
did not immediately return
messages seeking comment.
Finicum served as a
spokesman for the armed
group led by Ammon and
Ryan Bundy that occupied
the Malheur National Wild-
life Refuge in 2016 to oppose
federal control of land in the
U.S. West and the imprison-
ment of two ranchers.
Investigators determined
that state troopers were
justified in shooting Finicum
three times in the back after
he exited his vehicle at a
police roadblock, put his
hands in the air and then
reached toward a handgun in
See LAWSUIT/12A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Inmate tutor Fabian Solis helps fellow inmate Wayne Woodruff understand a math question during a GED class on Thursday at Eastern
Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton.
PRISON PUPILS
BMCC instructors help inmates earn nearly 6,000 GEDs since 1985
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
Doreen Matteson often gets
goosebumps.
The teacher works deep inside
the Eastern Oregon Correctional
Institution helping inmates learn
what they need to know to get
their high school diplomas. Her
students are convicted criminals
who often have spent more time on
the streets than in the classroom.
She regularly marvels at the
transformation she observes in
inmates working to earn their
General Education Diplomas
(GEDs). Away from drugs and
alcohol, the men start to see school
through a different lens.
“A lot of these guys had drug
and alcohol issues in high school,”
Matteson said. “In here, their
heads clear out. They may be
fearful they will fail again at first,
then it starts clicking and it’s ‘Oh,
my gosh — I can do this.’ They
catch the vision that they can
succeed at this. It is attainable.”
That’s when the goosebumps
come.
Matteson had never stepped
foot inside a prison before taking
the job teaching English as a
second language here. She and
the eight other teachers inside
EOCI actually work for Blue
Mountain Community College,
which contracts with the prison
to provide education services.
The program consistently awards
more GEDs than any other prison
education program in the state.
The state of Oregon ranks in the
top five nationally in corrections
education.
See PRISON/12A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Inmate tutors Ryan Huebner and Eric Burnham both have advanced
degrees. Huebner is studying for his masters degree in psychology
and Burnham is studying for his PhD in counseling.
HERMISTON
‘Smart meters’ let residents
know how their water flows
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
New meters installed by
the city of Hermiston will
help residents be smarter
consumers of water and
power.
While the city is just
beginning to install new
electrical meters around
town, installation of new
water meters is finished and
customers can now track
their water usage by the day,
by the hour or even in 15
minute increments.
Assistant city manager
Mark Morgan said while
some customers might not
care about monitoring their
“For those customers who are really
sensitive to rate increases, this gives
them the ability to track what they can
do to decrease their own bills.”
— Mark Morgan, Assistant city manager
water usage more carefully,
others may find it helpful to
look at where their water is
going. For example, when he
did a test run of the app a few
months ago, he was able to
experiment with the timing
of how he watered his lawn
and reduce his bill.
“For those customers who
are really sensitive to rate
increases, this gives them
the ability to track what they
can do to decrease their own
bills,” he said.
Customers will be able
to create a variety of charts
and graphs after logging into
their account, such as a line
graph showing daily water
usage compared with the
temperature for those days.
See WATER/12A
Hermiston residents can download an app on their smartphones to monitor their
water usage via the new “smart meters” installed by the city. Staff photo by E.J. Harris