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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2018)
COMEY LIGHTS INTO TRUMP IN NEW BOOK NATION/6A HERMISTON CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES DEBATE AT FORUM REGION/3A ROUND-UP KICKOFF CONCERT ANNOUNCED REGION/3A FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2018 142nd Year, No. 126 Your Weekend • • • Welcome baseball season with Adams Day Base of the Blues Bash in Milton-Freewater Arbor Day tree giveaway in Pendleton For times and places see Coming Events, 5A Weekend Weather Fri Sat Sun 57/43 63/42 58/40 Watch a baseball game One dollar WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Dayton changes plea to murder Life sentence handed down with parole at 25 years charge increased Dayton’s prison sentence from 20 years to at least 25. Dayton, 24, appeared Thursday morning via jail room video Dayton in Umatilla County Circuit Court, Pendleton, to change his plea. Judge Christopher Brauer called the hearing unusual and the first for him in his 12 years on the bench and By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Conor Michael Dayton of Milton-Freewater changed his plea from manslaughter to murder for killing Marcos Gutierrez Rodriguez in 2017. Pleading guilty to the harsher more than 30 years of practicing law. Dayton killed Rodriguez under a Milton-Freewater bridge on May 20, 2017, and two days later burned the body to cover up the crime. Dayton pleaded guilty on Jan. 18 to first-de- gree manslaughter and first-degree abuse of a corpse. Brauer asked Dayton if it was his intent to have the court withdraw the original pleas for the charges of murder and first-degree abuse of a corpse. “Yes, your honor,” Dayton replied. Defense attorneys L. Kent Fisher and Herman Bylenga of Pendleton were in the courtroom. Brauer told them he needed a reason to alter the deal. Bylenga said Dayton had not fulfilled certain elements of the plea agreement, but he did not specify what, and as such Dayton was willing to admit to murder. Dayton again affirmed this was what he wanted. After some legal formalities, the judge asked Dayton how he pleaded to murder and first-degree corpse abuse. THE BLING WHEELMAN vs. Hood River at Hermiston Doubleheader Saturday at noon Trump weighs rejoining the TPP See TRUMP/2A Wolf count hits 124 in state Annual report by ODFW tallies base population By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Bureau By KEN THOMAS and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON — In a striking reversal, President Donald Trump has asked trade officials to explore the possibility of the United States rejoining the Trans-Pa- cific Partnership agreement, a free trade deal he pulled out of during his first days in office as part of his “America first” agenda. Trump’s request comes as he faces pressure from farm-state Republicans anxious that his protectionist trade policies could spiral into a trade war with China that would hit rural America. Trump spent the 2016 pres- idential campaign ripping into the multi-national pact, saying he could get a better deal for U.S. businesses by negotiating one-on-one with countries in the Pacific Rim. See PLEA/9A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Jose Adan Guardado of Irrigon has overcome a lot of adversity in his life, and is now starting a design business selling T-shirts with help from his long-time friend, Laurie Ellis. Dysfunctional body can’t cage indomitable spirit By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian J ose Adan Guardado has every right to be mad at the world. He was born with cerebral palsy in El Salvador, where his mother abandoned him as a toddler. His grandparents collected the little boy and raised him at their home in Irrigon. Multiple disabilities make each day a climb up Mt. Everest for the 23-year-old. He can’t speak intel- ligibly. He struggles to control his muscles and eats via a tube connected to a port in his stomach. Painful spasms make his muscles cramp and contract. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Laurie Ellis checks the sizes and number of T-shirts left in a box at Jose Adam Gaurdado’s resident in Irrigon. While others might give up in the face of such obstacles, Guardado stubbornly figures out ways over, through and around them. See SPIRIT/9A SALEM — Oregon wildlife officials counted at least 124 wolves at the end of 2017, an 11 percent increase over the year end total for 2016, according to the latest annual report released Thursday. The survey, which is conducted by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, is not a true population estimate but documents the minimum number of wolves across the state based on verified evidence such as visual sightings, tracks and photographs. ODFW will present an overview of the findings at the next Fish and Wild- life Commission meeting April 20 in Astoria. “The wolf population continues to grow and expand its range in Oregon,” said Roblyn Brown, ODFW wolf program coordinator. “This year, we also docu- mented resident wolves in the northern part of Oregon’s Cascade Moun- tains for the first time.” See WOLVES/10A Opposite stances arise in county races By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Athena Mayor John Shafer answers a question about the capabilities of the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Department during a commissioner forum Wednes- day in Hermiston. Shafer is challenging Umatilla County Commissioner Larry Givens, at right. Umatilla County commis- sioner candidates managed to take some shots at each other Wednesday night in spite of forum rules banning exchanges. Rick Pullen and Tom Bailor are challenging Commis- sioner George Murdock for Position 1 on the county’s three-member board. All three live in Pendleton. And Athena More inside Hermiston city council candidates discuss housing, economic development. Page 3A Mayor John Shafer aims to unseat Commissioner Larry Givens of Umapine from Position 2. The five men sat at the same table Wednesday night for a forum at Armand Larive Middle School, Herm- iston. The Hermiston Chamber of Commerce helped sponsor the event, which attracted about 50 people. Under the rules, a moderator asked each candidate the same question, but the candidates were not allowed to debate each other. The topics ranged from economic development and housing to mental health, from law enforcement to balancing the county budget. See RACES/10A
