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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2018)
CONTRERAS SENTENCED FOR RESERVATION SHOOTING TRUMP INVITES PUTIN TO WHITE HOUSE REGION/3A NATION/7A FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2018 142nd Year, No. 185 Your Weekend • • • Pendleton Bike Week roars through town Brews by the Blues in Milton-Freewater 3-on-3 basketball tourney in Hermiston For times and places see Coming Events, 6A Weekend Weather Fri 87/53 Sat 87/54 Sun One dollar WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD McConnell withdraws Bounds nomination minutes before vote East Oregonian, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday abruptly withdrew one of President Donald Trump’s appel- late court nominees when it became apparent he did not have enough support to pass. The decision came just min- utes before the confirmation vote and after senators voiced concerns about his college writings. McConnell indicated that the administration would be withdraw- Bounds McConnell ing the nomination of Ryan Bounds, an assistant U.S. attorney who was born and raised in Hermiston, to serve on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Republicans have been able to use their thin majority to push sev- eral of Trump’s nominees through despite overwhelming Demo- cratic opposition. Arizona Sen. John McCain’s absence has given the GOP even less cushion, with Republicans holding a 50-49 vot- ing edge. That edge evaporated when Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said he needed more infor- mation about Bounds. “After talking with the nomi- nee last night and meeting with him today, I had unanswered questions that led to me being unable to sup- port him,” Scott said. A person familiar with Scott’s thinking said he had concerns about some of Bounds’ writings. The per- son spoke on condition of anonym- ity because Scott was not detailing his concerns publicly. Scott said he felt like he needed “more information,” and other Republicans joined him in asking See BOUNDS/8A 91/58 Finicum family lawsuit moves forward By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Lawyers for the family of Malheur National Wild- life occupation spokesman Robert “LaVoy” Finicum have 15 days to confirm they served dozens of defen- dants in his wrongful death lawsuit. Magistrate Judge Patri- cia Sullivan handed down the directive Wednesday in federal court in Pendleton during a conference with the lawyers representing the Finicum family and a host of defendants. Sullivan said she wanted to meet the law- yers “because I think we may be spending some time together.” The lawsuit names the United States as a defen- dant, along with the FBI, federal agents, the state of Oregon, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, Oregon State Police, Harney County, and more — including 100 law enforce- ment “John Does.” The suit seeks more than $5 million in damages for Finicum’s estate, his wife Jeanette Fin- icum and each of their 12 children. SEE FINICUM/2A Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP The Substation fire burns near where the Deschutes and Columbia Rivers meet along Interstate 84, east of The Dalles. SAVING LIVELIHOODS Oregon fire crushes hopes of wheat farmers just before harvest By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press, EO Media Group F armers rushed to save their livelihoods as a wildfire roared through vast Oregon wheat fields Thursday and crushed their hopes at the peak of what was expected to be one of the most bountiful harvests in years. Farmers used water tanks on the backs of pickup trucks and tractors to battle flames whipping across fields for the third straight day. One man was found dead near his charred tractor Wednesday, apparently overrun as he tried to clear a strip of land to protect a neighbor’s property. Farmers who grow tens of thou- sands of acres of soft, white wheat typically bound for Asia said they are confronting walls of fire up to 30 feet high and wind so strong that it tosses embers ahead of the fire’s leading edge. The conditions threaten farm- ers working to stop the blaze from reaching the wheat. “It’s been day after day after day of pretty horrendous winds and then the fire creates its own wind,” Alan von Borstel, who has battled the flames with his son, said by phone. “As the fire gets closer, you actually start to feel threatened, and if it gets too close, we realize we can’t do it, (and) we get the hell out of Dodge.” Wheat farmers like von Borstel always have water tanks loaded on the back of trucks during the hot, dry summers. When a fire breaks out, they race to the scene along- side professional fire crews. If they have time, the farmers mow down standing wheat to slow the fire’s progress and come behind fire trucks to tamp down flames with their water. But their most important job is called “disking.” They use a trac- tor attachment to till the wheat into the soil, creating a gap up to 150 feet wide between the advanc- See FIRES/8A HEALING THROUGH WRITING By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Author Betty Husted poses for a photograph on Burke Road near Cayuse on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The reservation is the setting for Husted’s first novel “All Coyote’s Children.” Even if you’ve never spent a day in northeastern Oregon, it may start to feel familiar after a few chapters with Bette Husted. The river, the wilderness and even the stopping points along Inter- state 84 between Pendleton and Port- land all play pivotal roles in Husted’s new novel, “All Coyote’s Children” — serving to the book’s characters as places of suffering, discovery and healing. “I think maybe it’s because I grew up in the country, in rural places, but I can’t even imagine not being affected by your place, wherever you are,” said Husted. Husted sits in her Pendleton liv- ing room, surrounded by books and artwork that depict the birds, wild- life and culture of the Pacific North- west. Her Boston terrier mix, Fiona, sits in her lap, listening to the sound of Husted’s soft voice. “It’s kind of a miracle,” she said of the story’s conception. The idea first came in 2007 after she penned a piece of fiction for a writer’s group. A longtime writer of poetry and per- sonal essays, Husted decided she wanted to write a story that encom- passed a world she has lived near and been a part of, but can’t claim as her own. “I’m not at peace with being a non-Native person on this continent and how to live with what happened, See HEALING/2A
