LEGENDS, FUTURE
STARS SHINE AT
HERMISTON RACEWAY
FILMMAKER TRIES NEW
MEDIUM AT CROW’S
SHADOW IN MISSION
SPORTS/1B
COMMUNITY/6A
TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2018
142nd Year, No. 207
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
PENDLETON
Developer to
deliver pitch
for Westgate
apartments
East Oregonian
Under a proposal from a Clackamas con-
struction company, Pendleton’s housing mar-
ket would receive a significant boost.
The Pendleton City Council will meet for
a workshop Tuesday night, where members
will hear a proposal from I&E Construction to
build a 204-unit apartment complex on land
the city owns on Westgate.
Renderings and plans submitted by I&E
show a large-scale complex that would sit on
land formerly occupied by the Eastern Oregon
Training Center before the city acquired it in
2016.
The complex would include 72 two-bed-
room, two-bathroom units, 36 studio units,
36 one-bedroom, one-bathroom units, 36
three-bedroom, three-bathroom units, and
24 two-bedroom, two-bathroom units. Floor
plans range from 549 square feet to 1,204
square feet.
Other amenities include a 399-space park-
ing lot, a recreation building, a play area, and
a swimming pool.
City Manager Robb Corbett said city offi-
cials met I&E President Karl Ivanov several
years ago and stayed in touch about Pendle-
Photo compilation by E.J. Harris
Pendleton on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, on the left, and Pendleton on Monday, Aug. 20, 2018. Pendleton has marked some of
the worst air quality for the state according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
Smoke chokes skies
See WESTGATE/8A
PENDLETON
Turner leaves
downtown
association
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Molly Turner rose from intern to executive
director of the Pendleton Downtown Associa-
tion in eight months, and a little more than a
year after her ascension, she’s moving onto a
new job.
The
nonprofit
announced Monday that
Turner would depart at
the end of August so she
can take a position with
Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College.
In an interview, Turner
said
she was grateful for
Turner
the opportunity offered
by the association, but was “not the best for
the current role,” suggesting someone with a
background in business would offer a better fit
for the position.
See TURNER/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A construction crew works on building a temporary bridge at the Eighth Street river crossing on Monday in Pendleton.
Fires push unhealthy air
into Umatilla County
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
matilla County’s air quality
deteriorated Sunday evening as
smoke from multiple fires drifted
into the area.
On Monday morning, smoke still
shrouded Pendleton like an unwanted
houseguest that wouldn’t leave. Drivers
used car headlights to make themselves
visible. Most people stayed inside
homes and offices, but some unlucky
souls ventured outside to do their jobs.
Paul Lavadour, of Buttercreek Con-
tractors, breathed smoky air as he
prepped to install sewer pipe near Pend-
leton’s Eighth Street Bridge. Lavadour
said the smoke took him back to his
time on a Bureau of Indian Affairs fire
U
crew.
“I feel it in my lungs,” Lavadour
said of the haze.
At Til Taylor Park, Charles Ten-
nent sat at a table in a quest to recruit
bus drivers for Mid Columbia Bus
Company. Tennent remained cheerful
despite the smoke, but admitted he felt
heaviness in his chest.
“My wife’s upset at me for being out
here,” he said, flashing a grin.
The Oregon Department of Environ-
mental Quality measures the tiny par-
ticles and gases in smoke that can irri-
tate lungs, eyes and heart. The toxic
mixture includes carbon monoxide,
organic carbon and an array of 5,000-
to-10,000 different gases. By midnight
on Sunday, DEQ readings for Pendle-
ton topped out at 404 micrograms per
cubic meter, which is considered haz-
ardous. The bad air lingered Monday.
By noon, air quality had improved to
248, better, but still “very unhealthy”
and the highest in the state. The mea-
surement refers to fine particulate mat-
ter with a diameter of less than 2.5
micrometers, which is 3 percent the
diameter of a human hair. The tiny par-
ticles can be inhaled deep into the lungs
of those who breathe them.
The Umatilla County Health Depart-
ment reported hazardous air in Pend-
leton and Milton-Freewater and “very
unhealthy” air in Hermiston.
As fires dot the state, smoke would
have rolled into the area no matter
which way the wind blew. Most flowed
from British Columbia, where around
600 fires burned. A NASA satellite cap-
tured images of the smoke from space.
A National Weather Service simula-
tion shows smoke flowing southwest
into the Pacific Northwest from British
Columbia and northeast from Califor-
nia and Oregon in two swirling masses
See SMOKE/8A
STANFIELD
Dozens of dogs, two children
removed from derelict home
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A trio of small dogs huddle together in one of the isolation rooms at
PAWS on Monday in Pendleton. The three dogs were only a few of
dozens that were confiscated from a home in Stanfield on Sunday.
Stanfield police raided a home Sun-
day where officers arrested four adults
and placed two children into state cus-
tody, and local animal rescuers housed
more than three dozen dogs.
Police Chief Bryon Zumwalt said
the case began after officer Tristan
Walker responded Saturday at 5:11
a.m. to a 911 call about a disturbance at
230 S. Lucy St. What Walker observed,
including the living conditions of two
children, ages 3 and 6, led to obtaining
a search warrant.
The four-person police depart-
ment received help from the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Office in serving the
warrant early Sunday. Police arrested
husband and wife Richard Tyron
Ruiz, 47, and Martina Garcia Ruiz,
48, on 35 counts of animal neglect and
two counts each of child neglect and
endangering the welfare of a minor.
Police also arrested Richard Ruiz on
nine counts of felon in possession of a
weapon and Martina Ruiz on a warrant
for failure to pay fines.
Their son, Michael Ruiz, 26, and
his partner, Timi Jean Murray, 24, also
ended up in the Umatilla County Jail,
See REMOVED/8A