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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 2018)
WHEAT WORRIES NORTHWEST/2A LILLARD TIME IN RIP CITY SPORTS/1B MEETING IN THE WORKS NATION/7A FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2018 142nd Year, No. 102 WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD One dollar Your Weekend • • • “A Soldier’s Tale” at Bob Clapp Theatre “Gotcha Covered” rocks Wildhorse “Searching for Mean- ing” Sunday in Ione For times and places see Coming Events, Page 8A Catch a movie Disney “A Wrinkle in Time” brings classic children’s sci-fi tale to the big screen. For showtime, Page 3A Weekend Weather Fri Sat Sun Staff photo by E.J. Harris 54/31 56/35 58/35 Sherwood Heights Elementary School counselor Lisa Roberts smiles while watching a slideshow prepared for her by students and teach- ers during an assembly Thursday in Pendleton. Roberts is battling breast cancer and the administration and students put on the assembly to show their support. Love through it all Watch a game vs. BMCC softball vs. Southwest Oregon Doubleheader Saturday Round-Up financials show rodeo on the grow By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian The Pendleton Round-Up Association has been trum- peting that 2017 was one of its best years. Last week it officially released the numbers to back it up. The Round-Up released its financial statement for the fiscal year — Nov. 1, 2016 to Oct. 31, 2017 — at its Feb. 27 stockholder’s meeting. The statement shows the nonprofit rodeo organization in a good financial standing going into 2018. • After tallying all the revenue and expenses, the Round-Up made $295,846 See ROUND-UP/8A younger students joined in. “When you’re weak, I’ll be strong When you let go, I’ll hold on When you need to cry, I swear he kids kept the secret for three That I’ll be there to dry your eyes weeks. When you feel lost and scared to death, On the sly, Sherwood Heights Like you can’t take one more step Elementary students practiced a special Just take my hand, together we can do it song during recess and times when I’m gonna love you through it.” counselor Lisa Roberts was away As they sang, they waved daffodils, getting cancer treatments. They planned which they would later give Roberts. to sing Martina McBride’s “I’m Gonna After the song came a video featuring Love You Through It” to Roberts as individual shots of children holding a way to encourage her through the handwritten messages for their ordeal. The students spent part of each counselor. The sentiments melded one music class rehearsing the song. into another. Principal Theresa Owens instigated “You are a rock star,” said one. the idea. The administrator often “You are brave.” encourages the children to sing. She “You are powerful.” herself sings every morning during Staff photo by E.J. Harris “You are strong.” announcements. A group of students have daffodils in the air while singing the “You are loved.” “I firmly believe singings builds Martina McBride song “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” during “We believe in you.” community,” she said. an assembly. For video of the song, visit eastoregonian.com Roberts soaked in the love. As So it seemed the perfect way to uplift students filed out of the gym, Roberts into the gym expecting to find a child in distress, Roberts, who has breast cancer. They gave them hugs. When they had gone, Roberts looked momentarily stunned as she took in the would sing their support. reflected on the three weeks since chemo scene. Owens directed her to a row of folding On Thursday, it was showtime. started. She said the students have supported chairs where members of her family, including The school’s 500 students quietly filed into her with encouragement and thoughtful gifts. husband and police chief Stuart Roberts, sat the school gym and waited on the bleachers in One day, four siblings pooled their money and waiting for her. hushed expectation. Owens’ guitar sat at the “We love you and want you to know we’ve got bought flowers. On another, a boy brought her ready. Someone was dispatched to get Roberts. his favorite toy car. your back,” Owens told her into a microphone. “They told me a student was having a melt- “Every day has had silver linings,” she said. Roberts smiled as fourth and fifth graders down,” Roberts said later that day with a smile. sang the first verse. As they got to the chorus, the “The kids have been so sweet.” The child development specialist, who strode By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian T Blue Mountain Wildlife flutters into the future Center relies on donations, grants By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian The bald eagle should be dead. Blue Mountain Wildlife, Eastern Oregon’s leading animal recovery center, took in the ill female juvenile raptor in January and ran a lead test. Staff had to dilute the eagle’s blood twice to obtain a lead level low enough to register on the machine. The result: 813 micrograms of lead per deciliter. Lynn Tompkins, the center’s director, said that was the highest lead level the center has measured. A level Staff photo by E.J. Harris of 20 is toxic. Spirit, a great grey owl, flies up to a perch in one of the flight pens at Blue Moun- “She’s still hanging in tain Wildlife on Thursday outside of Pendleton. Spirit was found near Deadman’s there. We just got her moved Pass in 2004 after being hit by a car and has lived at Blue Mountain Wildlife as an outside three days ago,” education bird ever since. Tompkins said. “It’s kind of a miracle that she’s still alive.” Blue Mountain Wildlife had its own surprise in the fall when it needed a new x-ray system to assess animal injuries. The x-ray machine is portable, can take images of animals as small bats and songbirds and about costs about $1,300. But the computer that digitizes the images costs about $26,000. Tompkins asked for dona- tions in the center’s weekly newsletter. One donor, she said, committed to $10,000, and within two weeks the center had $19,000. “That was a pretty over- whelming response,” she said. See WILDLIFE/8A